My Birthday & Other Goodies

I had a birthday! I think I mentioned that January 27Th was my birthday. We just had a little cake at home to celebrate. Nothing fancy. Hubby ordered the cake and why he put Happy Birthday Diane & Mama is beyond me! Amber said it looked like the cake was for two different people! When I got home from work, hubby asked me if I had any candles! I managed to find this #1 candle so we used it. I figure it can stand for one year older!
Here is a picture of my lovely cake. Doesn't it look all patriotic with the red, white, and blue roses?

Here I am getting ready to blow out the candle.
All my kids gave me great cards and hubby gave me a card with some money in it to spend. I did get one gift, though. My best friend, Barbara, send me a scrapbook paper carrier and some fantastic stickers! She is so sweet and never forgets me. Another friend, Debra, took me out for dinner for my birthday. My brother has mailed me a gift, but it has not arrived yet as he was late getting it sent off.
Here is the gift from my friend, Barbara. I can't wait to get started using them!

I think I told ya'll that we had made our living room into my dad's bedroom. Saturday I had to get in there and rearrange some things to put my mama's stereo back in there. This is one of those old wooden cabinet type stereos. The lid raises up and there is a record player and radio. This stereo had been in my family for as long as I can remember. I know it is older then me and it still works perfectly! I have listened to many a record on it and my mama loved it. When we moved into mama's house after her death and made the living room into Daddy's room we put the stereo in this building on our land in the country for storage. Well, little did I know that hubby decided he needed to clean out some of this storage stuff and he gave my mama's stereo away to a man he worked with. Now one day when hubby and I were driving somewhere together we were talking about this stuff in storage and I told him of a few thing he could get rid of, but I said the one thing I do not want to get rid of is my mama's stereo. Well, he had already given it away and did not tell me. Another day we went out to this storage building for something and when I went in I did not see my mama's stereo. When I asked him about it he told me he gave it away! I started to cry and told him I just could not believe he had done that after I specifically told him not to give it away. He told me he had given it away before I told him that. I tell you, I could not stop crying. I was so upset. He immediately called the man he had given it to and the man said he had it in a storage building and would bring it back. Now this man lives 70 miles away. It took months before hubby and the man could get together to get my mama's stereo back, but finally last week hubby got it back! I was so happy! So I had to clear out a spot in Daddy's room to put it. I should have taken a picture of it, but did not think of it. I cleaned it good. And polished it. It has a few nicks that were not on it before due to these men hauling it all over, but I was so happy to see it. When I still lived at home with mama I would listen to Christmas records on it every year while I decorated the Christmas tree. My mama loved to listen to her Christian records on it. Well, I finally got things rearranged so I had a place to put the stereo and I get my son to help me carry it and put it in the spot I had for it. I spread a little throw over it so it won't get messed up and as I am doing this my dad walks in. He looks at the stereo and tells me that it is older then I am. Then he says he doesn't want it and I can just throw it away! I looked at him and said "I want it! And I am keeping it!" After all I went through to get my mama's stereo back it just blew my mind for him to tell me to throw it away!
While I was in Daddy's bedroom I came across this pillow in a chair. I got Amber to go get my camera so I could take a picture of it. I have mentioned before about my brother, George, who died at the age of 13 back in 1967. Well, there were tons of flowers at his funeral and on each thing of flowers was a ribbon. My Mama wanted those ribbons and so someone collected them for her. Then this lady, who worked for my Daddy doing sewing in his furniture plant, took the ribbons and made some of them into this pillow. It does not look at beautiful as it once did, but then it is almost 42 years old. The center of it did have a round red piece of ribbon in it but years and years ago one of our cats tore that out. I have said for years that I was gonna fix it, but I have not gotten around to it. Maybe I will do that tonight while hubby is at work.
This is a close up of some of the ribbons. You can tell how frayed some of them are getting.
This is a close-up of the center. I will post a picture of it after I replace the center ribbon so you all can see. When my other brother, Keith, died in 1976 at the age of 24, my mother collected the ribbons from his flowers, also. But the lady who had made the first pillow for George had moved away and we never had anyone to make a pillow out of them. The ribbons stayed in a closet in a brown paper bag for many, many years. Finally one day when I was cleaning out the closet for my Mama I asked her about them and she told me to just throw them away and so I did.
I had to put clean out some of Daddy's drawers Saturday, also, and I came upon this stocking that I had crocheted him. I made it probably 30 years ago or more. I'm not even sure now, I can't even really remember making it. But I know I did. I was into making things like this way back then and it has a label on it that I put on it that says Daddy. I took it in the den and showed it to Daddy and he said he had forgotten he had it. It just makes you feel good to find something you made back when you were young, doesn't it?
Here is a close-up of the top of the stocking.
Here is a close-up of the bow and tag i had put on the stocking. After taking pictures I put it back in his drawer for safe keeping