I am home from work today with this:

Hotbreath, as he put it! Fever and a sore throat is the way we mommies phrase it! It’s the perfect opportunity to share some more of my birthday gifts.

Isn’t this gorgeous! My dear friend Sandra made this for me! I love the little gold paisleys-each one is engraved with a pretty flower. Would you believe that she is brand new to beading? She has always had an amazing eye for detail and this is so amazing! I love it, San!

How cool is this? This came from Earl and the kids. I am a Scrabble freak and this is the super-de-duper deluxe version with a lazy susan base and barriers between the squares so the letters don’t slide around. Fabulous!

This pretty tile came from my sister-in-law, Deborah, and my brother, Jonathan. Deb painted this! She’s a quilter, knitter and mosaic artist too! Oh, and a real chef! Can you see why my brother loves her so much? She made dinner for us Sunday too.

Oh, yeah, there’s one other new thing, although it’s not technically a birthday gift:

Meet Yoda! My brother found her at a job site in Fresno, all alone, tiny, starving and covered with fleas. Her brought her home, took her the the vet for a clean bill of health and proceeded to make my children fall in love with her! She came home with us Sunday night and has stolen our hearts. Buddy, the dog, and Tiny, Frances, and Bob, the cats, would have not have such nice things to say about her! They’ll adjust! She is so stripey and spotted and is such a little house tiger! When she is content and purring, she makes these little chirpy noises. Yup, she’s a keeper!

So, a good birthday. I just can’t believe October is over. It went by in a flash. Now that all of my swaps are done, I would like to slow down a bit and enjoy my home and work on my Santa. It’s time to snuggle in.

Hugs to all.