h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Time: 12:55 CET
Weather - not bad today. Drop of sunshine at the moment, following the November fog. Dank, of course, but this sunshine is making a lot of difference and lifting spirits.

If I was Sol, I could tell you this in the third person. But you'll have to put up with me telling you myself.

Today is my birthday.



Hubby crept off this morning without a word or leaving anything, but I know he has got something and perhaps he wanted to let me sleep, so I could get better.



Littl'un phoned me at the office from Berlin to wish me a happy birthday. He was at uni. He's another of the family who has a birthday in November (there are four of us - five when my father was alive) - his brothers gave him an accordeon for his birthday. He will soon start blaming me for giving in and letting him give up the piano at 8 yrs, as did the others.



Yes, those cookies didn't get made, and tonight we'll be going out for a meal (I should be OK by then). I certainly hope to be fit enough to bake on Thursday evening, so that I have all those hundreds of cookies ready to take to work on Friday and school on Saturday.

A colleague has been supplying me with various infusions containing peppers and ginger and things that seem to have no English name, that she bought in Sri Lanka. They seem to help. The sore throat has gone and I've just got a bunged up nose now.

She's off again on one of her long distance holidays next week. Laos. So I'm on my own - battling the whole of France single-handedly for three weeks. So I'll need to be clear in the head for all that! My French sounds really good with this husky voice......

The girls at work got together and gave me a platter with lots of tiny jars of jam, honey, mini-cheeses etc. The main present was a voucher for the local cinema (in Karlsruhe, where my eldest lives, and some of my colleagues) which shows the most films with the original sound track. This is for the Sunday brunch events , which will be in German, but I can go with my husband and meet eldest son perhaps for lunch or coffee afterwards.

It's amazing what happens when nothing happens - that's about 6 topices I've touched on and today has been extremely uneventful.

Curious, that. All that happens is what happens in your brain.

If something happens and you aren't aware of it, then for you it hasn't happened. I expect prisoners dream vividly.

In German they always talk about sacks of rice falling over in China. Does it affect me?

So, either I think too much or I do too little. I expect that applies to everyone, really.

PS - I do know that the plural of topic is topics.

You share a birthday with my husband

What did you get for your birthday?

Oh, here, some belated and

Thank you, Bea!

I share a birthday with loads of people, Amy. It's one of those days which several people seem to have been born on. December 13th is another one. I bet everyone knows someone who was born on Decemer 13th - I can think of two friends immediately, and I know at some point, I counted another couple.

I got a DVD from my sister (Jane Eyre - I'd been wanting to watch that) and a kaftan from my mother. She apologised on the phone because it was so big. She'd bought it ages ago and not unpacked it to check, so she got a shock when she did finally look at it when she wrapped it up for me. By then it was too late to send it back and complain, she reckoned. Anyway, it's a big floral thingy and she said I could "waft" in it.

Waft - moi?

My husband actually went and got me the overlock sewing machine I had seen was on offer. That's something I've been thinking about for a while. I'll let you know how I get on - perhaps I can make lots of baby clothes for my grandchildren. When I have some.

From work I got a voucher for the cinema, but I think I've said that already.

Happy Birthday!

Thank you, HBFJ