Happy Birthday Catherine!

[Tobi]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CATHERINE,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

[Cibach]

Yes, Many Happy Returns!!!

Penblwydd Hapus i chi, o'r moch cwta Cymraeg. (Happy Birthday from the Welsh guinea pigs.)

[Catherine]

Thank-you. The Forum calendar does it again.
I am excited about turning sixty. It seems like a very good age to be.
I have taken the whole week off from work just to be at home with my babies and do the things I like doing...when I feel like doing them.

I promised myself a Japanese Maple for my back garden. When I got to the garden centre there were not too many left, but they were on sale. You can see where this is going. I bought two and a little cypress to set them off. I just planted them(before the rain). I will take pictures when the sun is out again.

The birds stayed in the other trees and chittered at me the whole time. The Maples are only a couple of feet tall now, but when they are eight feet I am sure the birds will approve.

This is my dream vacation and my dream birthday.
I have given myself time, time to just be and enjoy being.

I wouldn't even try to pronounce the Welsh greeting, but thank-you to the piggies.

[Tobi]

What a lovely idea to take some time off at home to be 'you' and with your animals.
And a few new trees for your birthday is a lovely present! I bet the Japanese Maple is already beautiful, and will be super for the birds when it grows taller.

My favourite birthday is similar. A walk in my special woods a few miles away, and the fields around it -(Misty and I used to go for that birthday walk there. She didn't have a birthday so I let her share mine! LOL)
Then some nice food, and peace & quiet!

When I was 60, for my birthday I got a "10% off" card for my local DIY store! Total WOW! Only usable on a Wednesday....how many times I have forgotten it and been there on a Friday....blahhh!

[Catherine]

Quote:What a lovely idea to take some time off at home to be 'you' and with your animals.
And a few new trees for your birthday is a lovely present! I bet the Japanese Maple is already beautiful, and will be super for the birds when it grows taller.

I thought about what I really wanted and this is it. I lead an active and sometimes exciting life. Toronto is high paced. Just letting things go and slowing down long enough to watch the birds is a real treat.
The Maples do look nice already. I need to do some more cleanup in the area around them. The actual path has shifted and I will put down red cedar mulch to mark it. It is not a big space, but it is full of life and colour.

If it rains, I will come in and spend time sorting through my quilting fabrics. I want to get the pieces together so I can actually start working on a quilt. I have been collecting for years with quilts in mind. I see something and I know it will match so I get a piece. Now I need to organize enough so that I can do something creative.
I have some nice pieces to use as quilt backing. I have a whole bolt of pleasant, but simple material, golden brown with leaves on it, that would work for several quilts that I have in mind.

I am having fun!

[Janay]

A bit late, but Happy Birthday Catherine!

Japanese maples are stunning, I wish I had a garden to grow one in.
It sounds like you've been having a nice day - that's exactly the way I love to spend my birthdays, simply relaxed, with my boyfriend and pets, doing anything I want, eating anything I want (in my case that means mountains of pizza).

.

[Catherine]

Thank-you for your kind thoughts. You are not actually late. Remember you are ahead of me so I am just starting the actual day.

This year I wanted time to do things at home and be with my little guys so I have taken the whole week off.
I was lucky that the Maples had gone on sale so I was able to get two. They are two different kinds, but both have fine feathery leaves and rich red colour.

I am being taken out for dinner Tuesday night and I have a pot luck style dinner with other friends on Wed night. Thursday I should be able to go to the zoo. Friday is still open to possibilities. This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. I have always thought of that as being sort of part of my Birthday. I look forward to pumpkin pie.

[LPC]

Gosh, Tobi was so fast off the blocks that I only just got around to adding my wishes. According to my calculations, your birthday (7th) is only just starting in Canada!

May your special day be full of fun, love, laughter and joy, in the company of your "babies"! Happy birthday!

[Catherine]

Thank-you LPC.
Your calculations are right. In fact, according to the time of day I was born, allowing for time zone differences, my actual birthday is in 4 minutes.
I am less precise about celebrating. I have given myself the whole week off. It has been beautiful to just have time, time to listen to the birds and watch the leaves fall. My babies have gotten used to having me around and I am enjoying seeing them all day long.

Going out for dinner is going to be enough excitement for a very mellow week.

Added bonus is the fact that there is going to be a lunar eclipse, if I can stay awake that late.

[AnimalFamily]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS!!!!!!
Have a beautiful day, doing whatever you love best!!
We will be thinking of you on this special day and celebrate with a 'toast' in your honor.........well a little later in the day, I suppose.
Love ya!!!!!!!!!! ~~~Mama Bear