I was still in my PJs, pre-shower, 

when Alex appeared yesterday morning with birthday flowers:

His gift was an hour massage at his (nearby) chiropractor - 

which no doubt will be wonderful!

As it turns out, Tom did "bake" me a cake ~

and there was even ice cream to go with it.  So instead of my usual pre-gym breakfast of oatmeal, I had my arm twisted and had this breakfast of champions:

Brownie was not impressed...

I look forward to trying out Marilyn's gift, penguin ice cubes!

Tom also got me a smaller net to use in the pool, which means now I won't have to keep taking the other one off the pole and then putting it back on.  

Sandy and Andy sent me a soft, comfy shirt.  I'm still in my PJs this morning, but maybe once I get motivated to get dressed I'll wear it today!

I had thought about cancelling the gym yesterday, but didn't.  However as I was about to pull into the parking lot Jim called.  His wife had just called him at work; she'd fallen at home and needed him to take her to the ER because her foot? leg? was swollen to twice it size.  I did see him before he left, and assured him I was not upset <LOL> that he needed to cancel.  (At least I did stay and ride the bike for ten minutes before leaving.)

Soon it was time to head over to the Wildflower to eat and gab with Jan!  I brought along the birthday crown for her and wore my flashing birthday glasses, so we got lots of smiles, Happy Birthday wishes - and also free cake for dessert after our delightful lunch.  (Jan also brought me some carrot cake, which I expect will be yummy.)  

Jan is doing well, considering her grief at losing Denny.  They'd been married 55 years, and even "knowing" it was coming (and thinking she was prepared) of course it's still been hard.

After lunch I made quick trip to Target across the parking lot, but parking was so limited I had to wonder what they were giving away.    

It was definitely a surprise to find the store fairly empty (but no complaints about that) so there was no obvious reason as to why the lot was jam packed.  I located all but one of the things on my list (a laundry drying rack for Alex's shirts), and got out of there for under $50. 

 

During the afternoon I received birthday phone calls from Andy (I am tasked with arranging to get Mom's ashes) and Lily (she's having a good time in Maryland, and will head to Pennsylvania today for tomorrow's wedding), and of course enjoyed catching up with both of them.  

Naturally there were also numerous Happy Birthday posts on FB.

Last evening's birthday dinner was at George & Son, where Tom, Alex and I shared our dinners as usual whenever we dine on Chinese.   Everything was good, and there are yummy leftovers for lunch today.  

Unfortunately all three of us were too stuffed to want any of my chocolate cake when we got home, but no doubt I'll dive into that today!

We did some more work on the puzzle when we got home, but it continues to be slow going even with fewer pieces to sort through.  Just wish I'd noted the date we started working on it so we'll know exactly how long we've been dealing with it.  

Because while it's not quite as difficult as this puzzle looks, it's still taking a LONG time!

Alex has been a big help, but now we're on our own for the weekend because he's back-packing to Indian Maiden Falls.  It won't be an easy hike (and there are some places he'll have to swim) but it does look like it'll be well worth it.