Tuesday, January 06, 2009

unbirthday

Yesterday was my birthday. I celebrated by having a good but "normal" workday day. Well, in the knitting department, I was abnormal. Yesterday I finished knitting 3/4 length sleeves on a size 6(4mm) needle for a sweater sample. I knit both sleeves in 6 days...New Year's Eve- January 5th. I knit the second sleeve in less than 48 hours. There were a few moments where I thought my hands might break off; they are still a bit sore. That's a serious amount of knitting. I am now on to assembling the sweater and knitting the collar, so this is great progress towards hitting my deadlines! (enough progress to warrant a post-birthday blog post.)

I had a lot of lovely birthday notes, emails, cards and phone calls--thank you, friends! The professor bought me 1000 grams (1 lb)/2,000 yards of worsted weight mulberry silk yarn from India. What's a birthday without a fibery gift?! This is a marvelous one and I can't wait to dye this and knit something fabulous out of it.

Every year my professor makes me a card.
This year was no exception!

I got sent some other fun gifts...which I will try to snap photos of if I have a bit of time. Turns out my dear professor was afraid the yarn wouldn't arrive from India in time, so he ordered some flowers. Possibly the nicest roses I've seen in a long time...
We also had a great dinner, if I do say so myself. Ginger soy smoked salmon, a pasta dish with sauteed garlic, onion, artichoke, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, capers, with a white wine, olive oil and butter sauce. Then, I had a large piece of the all important chocolate cake. (Psst: I made dinner and the cake.)

All in all, a pretty good day. The best part is how much healthier I feel when compared to last year. I'm a year older, but possibly a year livelier than last birthday. The line I remember from that big NYC visit to the relatives was "Have you always gotten tired so quickly?" and my response, "Remember? I have a kidney infection!" Oh, I feel so much better that I can already tell 2009's going to be fabulous!
(... and the chocolate cake was very good.)

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13 Comments:

Blogger Geek Knitter said...

Happy Belated Birthday. I wish you a year filled with good health, good yarn, good food (especially the cakes), and good friends.

January 6, 2009 at 11:32 AM  
Blogger Deb said...

Happy Belated Birthday Joanne! Your roses are gorgeous -one of my favorite flowers. Your professor is very thoughtful....
Can't wait to see how you dye up your silk. I dyed a silk hankie now to find time to spin it up :)

So glad you are feeling better! Your right - 2009 is going to be a great year :)

January 6, 2009 at 11:44 AM  
Blogger Mary G said...

Happy bday a day late ... what a great gift from the Prof! Where did he get it if you don't mind my asking ....

And so glad 2009 is already on the upside for you ... we still haven't sold our house in Denver (we DO move alot, don't we) so if you could add that to your prayers, that would be wonderful!

Happy dying and knitting -- and don't forget to post when you dye the yarn!

January 6, 2009 at 11:56 AM  
Blogger Nancy said...

A wonderful birthday with all important fiber (and cake!) Have a terrific fiber month and hope today's ice isn't too bad for you (we have a touch of freezing rain here).

January 6, 2009 at 12:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

happy belated, and best wishes for a great 2009

January 6, 2009 at 12:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bother! Wish I'd known :-)

Do you accept late gifts? :-P Keep an eye on the mailbox next week(ish)

x x x

January 6, 2009 at 1:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy birthday+1! Your professor is a gem, and so are you.

January 6, 2009 at 1:49 PM  
Blogger SueJ said...

A very happy birthday from the otherside of the big pond! Stay happy & healthy!

January 6, 2009 at 1:52 PM  
Blogger cyndy said...

Late to the party--

Happy Birthday Joanne!

So glad to hear that your year is off to a terrific start!

Can't wait to see how that mulberry silk dyes up!

January 6, 2009 at 9:12 PM  
Blogger Peggy said...

Such a beautiful card and exquisite roses!!!! Glad you had a happy new year and Happy Birthday.

January 6, 2009 at 9:15 PM  
Blogger Romi said...

Yay!!! It sounds like you had a wonderful time. I'm SO GLAD you are feeling better than last year!!!

Happy birthday, my dear friend. :)

January 6, 2009 at 10:35 PM  
Blogger Cathy said...

Happy Birthday!

I, too, can't wait to see how the silk dyes up. Give my best to the Prof for his thoughtfulness - but how not?

January 7, 2009 at 8:24 PM  
Blogger Deborah Robson said...

Most happy birthday! You get a whole, fresh new year *two* ways: with the external calendar, and your own personal calendar. Cool!

January 12, 2009 at 2:12 AM  

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