Rainy Days and Birthdays

In eighteen days I will have survived this terrible year of being thirty. Well, it started out terrible, but is ending reasonably pleasantly. Thirty-one just sounds like an easier age to be. Thirty-one doesn't require apology or explanation the way thirty does.

My sister-in-law is the first person who has asked me about plans for my birthday. I thought that I was going to be away in India for a meditation course, but I was off by a few days. Actually, the school placed me into a course to be held in Florida, not quite as exotic a destination as India, but somewhat cheaper for me to get to. So, if I had been accepted into one of the courses in India, I probably would be there for my birthday, but, since I only have to drive to Jacksonville, I can wait a few more days before I go. That's all well and good, but it leaves me no easy way to avoid my birthday.

I have a rather nice batch of friends with whom I could spend my birthday this year. I have been to several meet-up-at-a-bar type parties in the last few months, and I think I could enjoy something like that, if someone would organize it on my behalf. Not sure I'll let that happen though. I do not enjoy being the center of attention or the target of pity.

I think I will ask my parents to have my favorite chair reupholstered as a birthday gift. I would also like to have slightly longer legs put on it. Too much furniture is designed for people shorter than 6'. I'm thinking purple leather--how's that for impractical? If someone would give me HeartThrob for my birthday, that would be a very welcome gift. Are you reading this, New Best Friend? Threesome Twosome? Tractor Girl?

I am trying to determine whether to bid on a little house here in town. It's sweet and needs work and is on a street that makes me smile and people would definitely come visit and I could have casual dinner parties and always have people dropping by to have a beer or drop off a book or whatever. I like that. Also, it has quite a spectacular (if messy) back garden. I think the asking price is about $40,000 too high, but I don't think my agent is going to let me bid that low. We'll see. Still, it would be awfully nice to go ahead and settle this and start hiring contractors and ordering cabinets and shopping for window coverings. I'm dying to unpack my books.

I bought a new inner tube for my bike tire and intend to fix the wheel. I have hardly touched by bike since the unfortunate incident of the tire mangling. That was the last day that Bill kissed me. I haven't had the stomach to imagine biking without him until just recently. There's a short but lovely paved trail alongside out canal that I intend to ride. I also want to dig out my in-line skates and take those down there, although I'm afraid of making an idiot of myself. I would love to move fast on all those wheels, and to streamline my body whilst doing so. My life would be so very nice if only I weren't so huge.

Started M's baby's quilt last night. I cut out the squares for a Kite's Tail pattern. I have five pairs of colors. The squares are polka-dots and the backgrounds for those squares will be tone-on-tone solids of the dotted cloth. I'll do stripes. 8 squares wide by ten stripes long. Two stripes of each color. I think it will be nice. All the cloth is flannel cotton and it washed beautifully! I think I'll piece the back too, but I figure I should complete one pieced top before I could determine the size of the back. Anyway, that will give the new parents a choice of which pattern they prefer. And it's not like I have anything in mind to use up all this leftover circus-colored flannel. Might as well put it in the quilt.