♒ my Turkish birthday ♒

Dear Blogettes
I am having a lovely time in Turkey, it was my birthday on Monday and I celebrated by sharing a boat trip with some friends around the blue bays of the coast here. The sea was the perfect blue, the boat a little rickety, the lunch was all produced in a kitchen the size of a cupboard and was delicious.

The sun shone all day as it should on birthdays... beginning with the breakfast for Kings, tomatoes, feta cheese, olives and bread, eggs and cherry jam...

Leaping from the boat into turquoise seas and bringing forth birthday sea urchins for my delight.. 

Another treasure to add to my nature table...

And the day ended as gloriously as it began, with tequila sunrises at sunset... all birthdays should be as beautiful as this for everyone.

❍oo·hulahula

One of my birthday presents.

I love useful presents.

My daughter bought me a weighted hula hoop.

I'm loving it. 10 minutes a day for a flat tummy apparently.

I took a while to master it and I can now keep it afloat for 5 minutes. 

I would like to teach Twiggy to jump through it 

so we can be a bizarre circus act,

but she runs a mile when I put it on as does anyone within 3 metres.

So with my yoga, swimming and dog walking I'm mostly knackered.

It's enough to make anyone reach for a cigarette and a bottle of gin.

**photo by Meg B**

✪ giving and receiving ✪

September... my birthday month. And my sweet sister gave me an early bird gift as I am off on my hols soon. This corsage from "seventyseventyone" . Not only do I adore my sister for going for the handmade gift which is close to my well being and that of the huge artistic community here on the widewonderfulweb, but that she made such a superb choice. The turquoise/teal corsage is handmade merino wool and soft as Twiggy's eyebrows (who's Twiggy? keep up, see blogpost below) it's one of those great accessories that will keep on working time after time. I can see it on a bag or a scarf or on my winter coat and it's going to look pretty fab just nonchalantly lying on my dressing table. 

(dressing table is a rather grand term for the big old mess that is a flat surface in my room) 

And it feels so nice I keep running my fingers through it to ruffle it up.

Gail at "seventyseventyone" does a delicious wrapping service 

(which is the understated joy of Etsy purchases)

and I love it. It takes the pain out of approaching forty effing six.

And my Mr didn't do too bad at taking the pic did he? And I felt ok about relinquishing control of the camera. 

For all late/newcomers, don't forget to comment on the giveaway blog post☟down there somewhere