September 18, Happy Birthday to Me!

I'd considered writing a birthday blog, then stopped myself thinking, how very self-indulgent that would be!  Well, honestly, is there ever a better time for self-indulgence than on one's own birthday?!  And Virgos may just be the best at this when it comes to their birthday.  I counted at least seven women over sixty posting a selfie on Facebook telling us how old they turned today.  I guess it's really no big secret, and I suppose I should be proud to have lasted this long, but I'm sixty-seven today.  The Big 6-7.  Or little in my case so small of stature, the little 67.

Last night I woke up at 11:57pm and stayed awake to wish myself a happy birthday.  Remember when I said I'd come up with a "Rabbit Rabbit" for luck?  Well it came to me in an instant just before the clock turned midnight.  "Robert Robert, magic wishes, Robert Robert."  Why Robert?  Sounds a bit like Rabbit and Robert Tonner is one of my favorite doll artists.  I think he'd be tickled if he knew what a wizard we all thought he was.  He's made more magic for me than any other doll artist to date.

It's funny, but at that very late hour while I was waiting for the clock turn to 12:00am, it felt like Christmas Eve.  It's that kind of excitement that promises a day of surprises.  I was telling Betsy today that if you make your own fun, celebrate your own way by yourself, you'll never be disappointed.

Everyone knows my husband is a stinker, and he's the worst on my birthday.  Won't acknowledge it if it hits him over the head.  I took myself out to lunch today.  I'm not supposed to be eating sugar or fats, watching my blood sugar and high cholesterol (how boring!), but I indulged like mad today.  I bought myself a cut of German Chocolate cake from Raley's this morning and ate half of it for breakfast.  It's my favorite birthday cake and always has been.  Then I took myself out to lunch at the Twin Dragon Chinese restaurant.  

I told David I was going out to lunch, while he was head to 

toe deep in irrigation work.  Feeling a little guilty, I said he could come with me, but this is what I was doing, and he said he'd figure something out later.  I enjoyed myself, and brought home 70% of the meal since I really can't eat that much, and he scarfed down the rest while it was still warm.

Then a big pink box from Crumbl arrived with still warm from the oven gourmet cookies!  From Betsy, I told him.  "Oh.  Is it the 18th?  Uh.  happy birthday."  And that was his part in this.  Stinker.  Still, he got one of the big cookies for his dessert.  You can't change the stripes of a tiger, so why try?  An hour later, as gorgeous cake made entirely of gorgeous flowers with candles inserted and a helium balloon floating above it, arrived from my lovely friend, Heather.  If he didn't get the message with the cookie delivery, he couldn't miss the floral cake!  So, I'm feeling very loved and spoiled rotten right now.  And thank you so much to all my Facebook friends who sent me a little birthday wish!  

Stuffed on sugar, fats and carbs, I thought I'd crawl up into my favorite reading chair and while the rest of the day away reading.  But I just couldn't sit still.  I needed to write my birthday blog and continue the self-indulgence just a little bit more.

I thought about the dolls I've made to celebrate my birthday over the years and decided to post the ones "I remember".  There could be others but they don't come to mind.  I've bought myself birthday dolls, but these are the ones I dressed as birthday fun.

There was Peggy Sue.  Adding to her wardrobe, she got a pretty pink birthday dress and a new pair of roller skates.

There was the 16" Maggie Iacono I dressed as Virgo after one of my favorite Virgo illustrations (artist unknown).

Gracie in Year of the Rooster.  In Chinese astrology, I'm a rooster, so I made a Tonner Gracie doll a costume and rooster kite to illustrate Year of the Rooster.

Not my best flower outfit for tiny Esme, but she got an Aster dress.  There are other flowers associated with Virgo, the Morning Glory for one, but I couldn't figure out how to make a blended color in the petals for a Morning Glory, so Aster, it was.

I was thinking about what theme I would have for this year.  Route 66 was last year, and the road was pretty disastrous.  How does "sixty-seven, year of heaven" sound?  What else rhymes with "seven"?  Well, until I come up with something better, this is what it will be.  I could use a good year.  

Yes, there are two new years for everyone.  Your birthday year, and the calendar year.  I like marking time.  It's important to me.  This birthday was special to me since I was born on a Wednesday.  It also fell on the day of the Harvest Moon!  The full moon right before the autumn equinox.  Of course it's been silly, uncooperative weather the last two days, with a sky full of rain clouds that never gave us a drop

of rain.  Looking out my window right now, I see a little blue!  Maybe we'll get lucky.  The full moon is always best to see the night before, and if I want to try and see it tonight, it will be out in my pajamas on the driveway.  Its visible much later than the day prior.  

I love this illustration because it has my rooster and my moon!  Below are some of my favorite birthday illustrations.  It's been a good day. (David just walked in and complained that a cake is something you eat, not one made of flowers.  Stinker! But, he's my stinker.)

But, yes, it's been a wonderful day and I'm going to pick the TV show I want to watch tonight.  

This is the start of a new journey.  It's the 'bers, my favorite time of year, and I'm still all about Halloween right now.  I'm working on a project that has me feeling wonderfully creative and there are holiday dolls to buy and goody boxes coming from the VDC and what more could I ask? 

Betsy always reminds me each year of her favorite birthday poem by Rose Fyleman, called The Birthday Child.  It goes, "Everything's been different, all the day long.  Nothing has gone wrong, Nobody has scolded me.  Everyone has smiled.  Isn't it delicious to be the birthday child?"  Yes.

And now we're off to Autumn and Halloween!  Let's make some magic!