12/12/12

What a wonderful day!

Though, after years of imagining it, I didn't even notice 12:12 go by (I preset my birthday post)!  I think I was having too much fun to notice and I don't mind at all.

• my very own Pokemon "It's my birthday!" badge, which I wore all day--and everyone wished me happy birthday and the man at the Tibetan restaurant wished me "Many happy returns of the day!"
• more "Happy Birthday" on the piano
• calls from Aunt Banana, Gommie, Pop, Goo, and Lambeth!
• lots of emails and FB posts wishing me a happy day
• a pot of rose tea with my second-to-last teabag from Lady Mendl's
• a trip to the British Shop for Christmas goodies and a new teapot
• lunch at Tibetan Kitchen, with the best chai (I think it's just black tea, cardamom, and cream!); mango dhara, kinda like a lassi; Himalayan Ne-zom with tofu, peas, potatoes, and cauliflower in tomato sauce; Tingmo (steamed bread) and Bhaklep (pan fried bread); Shogo-ngopa, a potato with spinach curry-like dish; Shaptak, a beef dish with onions, bell peppers, and hot peppers; and drey-sil, essentially sweet rice with raisins served with sweet yogurt.
• a visit across the street to It's Only Natural, a delightful natural market with lots of interesting food products and gift items--we even saw a friend from church who works there!
• a stop at my new yarn store to pick up some pretty yarn I ordered last week
• listening to Code Name Verity on audiobook during our whole drive; it's a WWII YA (young adult) novel about a Scottish (!) spy taken prisoner by Germans and her friendship with a female pilot (no, this is YA not Sarah Waters; there's no lesbianism.  But you can imagine. . . . ).  It's on the notable children's books/young adult of 2012 in the NYTimes. 
• just hanging out.
• a dinnertime fondue party, with yummy melted cheese and bread, celery, carrots, and Triscuits, and then chocolate and poundcake, brownies, sugar cookies, and pretzels.  Delicious!  And such fun!
• an early bedtime for me, exhausted from all the activities (I'm still in the grips of my cold).
• while this is not officially part of the day, I woke up coughing around 3:30 and had a great discussion with Mama about her heart-wrenching book (I'd read the spoilers between sniffles a bit earlier).  I'm not sure I'll finish listening to it, but oddly, I would recommend it.  If you can handle the oft-mentioned tears.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped make the day extra-special, particularly my family!