It's The Birthday Fairy-Again!!!

Yesterday was my birthday, and I had a super great day. That's important when you reach these upper ages because we should make them count. And be memorable. And be fun. So, despite another winter storm coming our way, this one being named "Q," we packed the dogs in the car at 9am and headed 2 hours east toward the New Hampshire border for the Vermont town of Quechee. This is the nearly halfway point between my sister and I, and also where a great restaurant is, at the Simon Pearce glass workshop. We love getting together there, and have some great memories of lunches shared along the river.

We had snow most of the way, but it was in the 30's, and nothing was accumulating on the roads at all. They were just wet, more like it had been raining, and we watched the temperatures so we knew it wasn't freezing to cause any black ice. My sister and her husband, however, had a whole different story. They woke up to about 6 inches of snow, and this is what their drive looked like:

This is the interstate 89N heading toward Vermont, nothing plowed, one lane passable, and they went about 40 miles an hour until they were nearly to Quechee. Needless to say, they got to the restaurant about 40 minutes late. But we had a fabulous brunch, a great time chatting, and a fun couple of hours eating. Then we all got into our cars, and went a bit further north to the town of Norwich where the King Arthur Flour Bakery Store is. This is where I was getting my birthday present, and new bread maker:

Right now I have my first loaf of bread baking in it and it is beginning to smell really yummy. I love bread machines. I love bread too, and I love making fresh bread, but I don't always have the time it takes to do it. So this works great, especially when a loaf of nice bread (not stuff all sliced up for sandwiches) costs nearly $4.00, and I can get 5 pounds of King Arthur flour for $2.99. And my old bread maker just died right before Christmas, so I knew this is what I wanted for my birthday, plus lunch at Simon Pearce, and the shopping trip to King Arthur. Perfect day. Then you add in evening calls from each of my daughters, face time with the granddaughters, squeals from my grandson, and a call from my sister in Arizona, and it couldn't be much better. Oh, and a few cards arrived in the mail today:

So, it really was a wonderful way to celebrate. Here is the first loaf of bread fresh out of the baker:

Looks and smelly yummy.

Before I finish this up and head to bed, since I am a wee bit older these days, I have two more photos to share. Last week I worked the entire shift in the store on Tuesday and Wednesday because one of the girls was in California. It isn't that bad because it's only an hour longer than my normal shift since we do close at 6pm at this time of the year. But before I left on Wednesday, I took two pictures of Church Street still lit with all the lights. We go back on daylights savings time in two weeks, so even if I do need to stay late anytime soon, it probably won't be dark anymore when I leave. And it is just so beautiful all lit up:

It really does look magical. Thanks for sharing my birthday with me.