crafty birthday to me :)

I invited a couple of my crafty friends to an impromptu birthday party. They came with their kids after school and we made flower children peg dolls to welcome Spring, who is surely just around the corner. They came with lovely detail presents: wee jade plant, a shaped birdseed cake to hang on our porch, a hand-beaded bracelet. So sweet. Another couple of friends brought me a most delicious breakfast: 2 kinds of muffins, homemade wheat bread, a quiche full of everything, and the sort of fruit salad that even includes starfruit. So very kind.
My mom taught me the love of a handmade gift, and hers this year was fantastic. So masterfully sewn. I pretend sometimes that I'm as capable as her, but then I get put to shame... A reversible apron, in my favorite aqua & greens, with a scallopped hem and ric-rac slant pockets on both sides. I tried to catch the best details in this quick photo (no one around to document me wearing it). With accessories to match, of course: citrus juicer & crocheted dishcloth.
A hedgehog hat for Reuben from my sister Camie (modeled by her Mykita). My birthday gift for her last week was also actually for her kid. We're both just thinking that way lately (all sorts of baby on the brain).

Thirty five. Yup.
not too old. ? Well-wishers were split between "sheesh--old, V!" (my younger siblings, mostly) and "young 'un!" (everyone else, older!) but I look really wrinkly in the mornings lately. At night, I look good. That's probably why I'm a night owl 8>: just to stare at myself in the mirror when my skin is smoother.

Audrey, my pattern girl, pointed out that this year my birthday is both a square root & a multiplication problem: 3 x 3 = 9. Which obviously makes me especially cool this year.