Birthday Presents

Several birthday angels came to visit me last week and brought me all sorts of beautiful things.  In addition to gifts, I had not just one but two birthday celebrations!  I guess I was a very good girl this past year!  LOL  My actual birthday was last Tuesday the 21st.  That evening we all went out for a steak dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse compliments of Momma Ann, my sister/best friend/roommate Marianne's mom.  The party consisted of Marianne, Momma Ann and my sister/childhood friend, Deb.  Delicious food and a great time was had by all.  Thanks Momma Ann!  Then on Thursday, our good friend Gwen drove up from Athens, and we went to the Nacoochee Tavern and Pizzeria in Helen for a great lunch.  After walking around Helen for a bit, we came home to chocolate cake! Thanks Gwen!  Let me show you my wonderful gifts.

Gwen made these really cool outfits for my dolls. Aren't they beautiful?  I really admire people like Gwen, Marianne and their many friends on KnittingParadise.com who can knit.  I just don't have the patience for it.  And yet, I spend hours setting up scenes, creating storylines, posing and dressing my dolls and taking pictures for this blog.  Go figure!

I thought that Gwen was only going to make one or maybe two outfits, but she surprised me by making five. I have no idea how long it took her, but I know the needles are toothpick skinny. The detail work in these outfits is amazing!  Thanks again Gwen!

Remember Miranda's artist friend, Debra, from the last post?  Well these paintings were done by the real life Debra, my sister Deb.  Each painting measures 2-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches.  She's got incredible vision which comes out not only in her paintings, but in her photography as well.

She made a total of five paintings for me -- two landscapes, one portrait style and two abstracts.  That way I could pick and choose what I wanted for Casey's and for my other dioramas as well.

Casey really likes these since he wanted something "masculine."  No "fru-fru" stuff.  LOL Of course, Debra (Deb) did paint him some flowers which he will display in his place to appeal to his lady customers.  Thanks Sis!  Casey and I love them!

Marianne gave me the external hard drive and case I've been wanting.  One terabyte will hold a ton of pictures.  Now I can transfer some of my files to it and clear some room on this computer.  In addition to this, Marianne gave us that great lunch at the Tavern. Thanks Marianne!

I had an absolutely fun and awesome birthday thanks to all my "angels!"  It was a great start to another year on this beautiful planet. :-)