capricorns

the new year brings two birthdays in our house.  the first is my youngest son and then comes mine two days later.  i'll promise not to go on and on about this but i'm having a hard time believing that my youngest, my baby, is now 18. where did the time go?

i do have to talk about my birthday cake.  for reasons i won't bore you with, my daughter was moving on my birthday.  full blown renting-a-van-filling-it-with-a-couch-bed-etc.-moving.  so for more reasons i won't bore you with my middle son and i went with my daughter to her new home 2 and 1/2 hours away and helped her while my youngest stayed home.  we didn't get home till 2:30 in the morning but there, waiting for me, was a birthday cake, baked by my youngest who had never made a cake before in his life.  he even shaved some chocolate on top.  it was so unexpected.  it was beautiful.  it was delicious.  best birthday cake i ever had at 2:30 in the morning. 

and i was so pleasantly surprised to find the next post art exchange in my mail box!  even the mailer is a work of art.  now i've got to add my little bit to it and send it on.  i am loving this whole experience.  

more goodness

love, v - another blog, has featured the humble hand drawn calendar and so i must (happily) spread the love with a mention.

this picture is from the post titled belly.  even if you're not a dog lover, (i am) this has got to make you smile.

i love the look of this room, so warm especially on this cold january day.

thanks love, v.

oh, yes, and i had a birthday yesterday.  i'm not talking age here but it was a big one, one that i might have wanted to forget but my kids made it awesome. one of the best moments was while i was upstairs and they were all downstairs in the kitchen, cooking, preparing, listening to music.  i could hear their laughter and feel their unity in the making of a birthday dinner for me and it was a beautiful thing.  as they get older i see them growing more and more into themselves and life taking them in other directions, and these moments of togetherness happen less and less.  and what i liked even more about it was the fact that i was not a physical part of it.  it was somehow like knowing that they were going to be alright no matter what, that they have each other, separate from me.  that was an unexpected gift.

another unexpected gift was an overnight trip to gloucester, mass.  middle son thought i needed to see the ocean for my birthday and he was right.  also got awesome music and a book about making art from books.  perfect, i'd say.

and those kids made a dinner to die for. soft, cheesy polenta, perfectly cooked steak, salad with grapes, (love grapes in a salad) and cheesecake for the singing bit. i took pictures but god are they terrible, so i will have to leave it up to your imagination.