Happy birthday to me

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birthday.jpg

I meant to scan in one of my old baby photos for today’s birthday post, but then I went and packed all the photos. And then I meant to have Billy take a new photo of me for today’s post but forgot to do that, and now it’s after midnight so officially my birthday and Billy is asleep and here we are, and so we’ll have to make do with some random photo I found lurking in my iPhoto files. It’s actually more in keeping with how I’m feeling right now than a smiling current birthday shot or some cute baby photo would, so it’s just as well.

I’ve been promised blueberry pancakes and the luxury of Billy running baby interference while I drink a leisurely cup of coffee, uninterrupted, in the morning. I’m actually going to get to drink my coffee hot! Before the baby was born, I never would have predicted that the promise of a hot cup of coffee sipped rather than gulped would please me so.

The house smells of cardboard and cheap packing tape. Everything is in piles and heaps or in boxes. Nine minutes ago I turned 34. (Or I’ll turn 34 at 8:10pm. Depends on how much of a birthday purist you want to be.) With everything going on right now, there won’t be much celebration beyond that hot cup of coffee. But I do hope there will be cake.

Certainly, cake.

(And maybe I’ll finally get my Ravelry invite? Though that might be too much to hope for. There were still something like 1600 people ahead of me when I checked the queue yesterday.)

The most wonderful thing happened on Saturday. We had planned to have the Salvation Army come pick up all the things we’d set aside for donation when I went through the boxes in the basement, but they couldn’t come until the 31st, and we’ll be long gone by then. Well, on Saturday we instead decided to take advantage of the traditional Brooklyn method of freecycling and set the stuff out in front of the house, unwrapped so people could easily see what was there. Less than twenty minutes later there was a crowd of neighbors sifting through the stuff, carrying armloads away to their houses, coming back for more. And SMILING. Big grins…the kind I always get when I find something I really love or have use for on the street like that. It felt so great to not only get rid of the stuff we don’t need or want anymore, but to also get to see other people really excited to have it. I was going to post on freecycle.org about everything we put out, but everything found a new home the old fashioned way.

150 Comments on “Happy birthday to me”

  1. Happy Birthday! 34 is a great age to be. I hope the coming year is Fantastic. You’ll be in your new home! Yay! Enjoy the coffee and cake.
    Posted by: Karma

  2. Ahhh, the Brooklyn sidewalk swap-meet, it’s a beautiful thing. And great wishes for the coming year – happy, happy!
    Posted by: melissa

  4. Happy Birthday! 34 is a great age to be. I hope the coming year is Fantastic. You’ll be in your new home! Yay! Enjoy the coffee and cake.
    Posted by: Karma

  5. Ahhh, the Brooklyn sidewalk swap-meet, it’s a beautiful thing. And great wishes for the coming year – happy, happy!
    Posted by: melissa

  8. Happy birthday to you and enjoy your coffee! I´ll be 35 day after tomorrow 🙂
    Posted by: Eva

  9. Muchísimas felicidades Cari!! have a great day 😉
    Posted by: Lía

  11. Happy Birthday – August does seem to be the month of choice for knit bloggers!

    Posted by: zoe

  13. Happy 34th birthday Cari. Enjoy that hot cup of coffee.

    Last time we did a major clean out we used that same clear out method. It was fascinating watching who took what.
    Posted by: Ginchy

  14. Happy birthday! I hope the next year is filled with many blessings.
    Posted by: Ginny

  16. Happy birthday to you and enjoy your coffee! I´ll be 35 day after tomorrow 🙂
    Posted by: Eva

  17. Muchísimas felicidades Cari!! have a great day 😉
    Posted by: Lía

  19. Happy Birthday – August does seem to be the month of choice for knit bloggers!

    Posted by: zoe

  21. Happy 34th birthday Cari. Enjoy that hot cup of coffee.

    Last time we did a major clean out we used that same clear out method. It was fascinating watching who took what.
    Posted by: Ginchy

  22. Happy birthday! I hope the next year is filled with many blessings.
    Posted by: Ginny

  23. happy birthday 🙂 I hope you find some time in the middle of all the running around to enjoy your birthday- even if it is over a cup a coffee (and cake!).
    Posted by: Rebecca

  24. Happy Birthday and best of luck with the moving/packing and unpacking. I’ve just moved from the city (London UK) to the seaside (Brighton UK) and it’s worth all the anguish!
    Posted by: Wibbo

  29. Happy Birthday!! Enjoy that coffee and the rest of your day!
    Posted by: chris

  30. Happy birthday, with best wishes for a wonderful, wonderful new year filled with marvelous adventures!
    Posted by: Anna

  31. happy birthday! isn’t freecycling great? i didn’t know it was called that, actually 🙂 we always put stuff out to the street and it’s gone in no time.
    Posted by: gleek

  32. happy birthday 🙂 I hope you find some time in the middle of all the running around to enjoy your birthday- even if it is over a cup a coffee (and cake!).
    Posted by: Rebecca

  33. Happy Birthday and best of luck with the moving/packing and unpacking. I’ve just moved from the city (London UK) to the seaside (Brighton UK) and it’s worth all the anguish!
    Posted by: Wibbo

  38. Happy Birthday!! Enjoy that coffee and the rest of your day!
    Posted by: chris

  39. Happy birthday, with best wishes for a wonderful, wonderful new year filled with marvelous adventures!
    Posted by: Anna

  40. happy birthday! isn’t freecycling great? i didn’t know it was called that, actually 🙂 we always put stuff out to the street and it’s gone in no time.
    Posted by: gleek

  41. Happy Birthday Cari! You have so many changes ahead of you…it’s going to be quite a year! May it be the best ever.
    Posted by: margene

  42. Happy birthday!!!!!!! Here’s to sipping that hot cup of coffee!!
    Posted by: Elinor

  43. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope you enjoy the hot coffee. It’s the simple things that really matter, you know.
    Posted by: Anna

  44. Happy birthday, Cari, and have a wonderful trip to your new home. I’m so excited for you and your family!
    Posted by: Carrie

  45. happy birthday!

    i can commiserate with the awful smell of packing supplies – 18 boxes down, only a billion more to go.

    enjoy your coffee (and pancakes) and have a wonderful birthday.
    Posted by: stephanie

  47. Happy Birthday Cari …. and many more. Hope your B-day breakfast has been tasty. A bit more packing and you are on your way ;). Looking forward to your travel-logs.

    Do keep an eye on the weather as you head south and west. It has been very hot down south and very wet in Texas. The tropical storms have started cranking up for the year, so be prepared to make some detours! I just call it exploring when I end up on a road/in a town that wasn’t on the route sheet 🙂

    Happy Trails
    needleworker in carolina
    Posted by: M

  48. Happy Birthday! I hope this is a fantastic year for you!
    Posted by: beverly

  49. Happy Birthday Cari! You have so many changes ahead of you…it’s going to be quite a year! May it be the best ever.
    Posted by: margene

  50. Happy birthday!!!!!!! Here’s to sipping that hot cup of coffee!!
    Posted by: Elinor

  51. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope you enjoy the hot coffee. It’s the simple things that really matter, you know.
    Posted by: Anna

  52. Happy birthday, Cari, and have a wonderful trip to your new home. I’m so excited for you and your family!
    Posted by: Carrie

  53. happy birthday!

    i can commiserate with the awful smell of packing supplies – 18 boxes down, only a billion more to go.

    enjoy your coffee (and pancakes) and have a wonderful birthday.
    Posted by: stephanie

  55. Happy Birthday Cari …. and many more. Hope your B-day breakfast has been tasty. A bit more packing and you are on your way ;). Looking forward to your travel-logs.

    Do keep an eye on the weather as you head south and west. It has been very hot down south and very wet in Texas. The tropical storms have started cranking up for the year, so be prepared to make some detours! I just call it exploring when I end up on a road/in a town that wasn’t on the route sheet 🙂

    Happy Trails
    needleworker in carolina
    Posted by: M

  56. Happy Birthday! I hope this is a fantastic year for you!
    Posted by: beverly

  57. Happy Birthday, Cari. I hope that hot coffee is all you’ve dreamed it could be!
    Posted by: Steph VW

  58. Happy Birthday – yay, another another Leo, and the same age, too. Leos are a pretty fabulous bunch, I must say.
    Posted by: Sara

  62. Happy Birthday, Cari. I hope that hot coffee is all you’ve dreamed it could be!
    Posted by: Steph VW

  63. Happy Birthday – yay, another another Leo, and the same age, too. Leos are a pretty fabulous bunch, I must say.
    Posted by: Sara

  68. Happy Birthday! I hope your coffee and pancakes were wonderful and relaxed this morning.
    Posted by: Rachel H

  69. Happy Birthday! What a monumental year 🙂 Hope you have a perfect day.

    Loved the story about the NY-style freecycling 🙂 On Ravelry, according to their blog, they should have their “grown-up” server up and open sometime late next week and they plan to open the floodgates with 5,000 invites!
    Posted by: jillian

  70. Happy Birthday, Cari! I hope you got your hot coffee!

    I think the “sidewalk swap-meet” is pretty universal – I know it worked in my old neighborhood in San Antonio, and I personally own an old sewing machine cabinet (complete with machine) that we picked up in Germany, on what was called junking day.
    Posted by: janna

  71. Gotta love the freecycling! Except when it comes back… Last year when my boyfriend was moving out of his house, he put all kinds of stuff out on the curb for garbage pick up (things that no longer worked) People came and took it all away anyway. One guy brought the printer he took back a few hours later though…I’m not sure that’s in the freecycling rules! 🙂

    Hope you have a great day…sending you virtual yummy cake of your favourite flavour!

    Happy Birthday.
    Posted by: Kim

  73. A hot cup of coffee? Drunk all at once?
    That’s some fine birthday living.

    Posted by: Stephanie

  75. Happy Birthday! I hope your coffee and pancakes were wonderful and relaxed this morning.
    Posted by: Rachel H

  76. Happy Birthday! What a monumental year 🙂 Hope you have a perfect day.

    Loved the story about the NY-style freecycling 🙂 On Ravelry, according to their blog, they should have their “grown-up” server up and open sometime late next week and they plan to open the floodgates with 5,000 invites!
    Posted by: jillian

  77. Happy Birthday, Cari! I hope you got your hot coffee!

    I think the “sidewalk swap-meet” is pretty universal – I know it worked in my old neighborhood in San Antonio, and I personally own an old sewing machine cabinet (complete with machine) that we picked up in Germany, on what was called junking day.
    Posted by: janna

  78. Gotta love the freecycling! Except when it comes back… Last year when my boyfriend was moving out of his house, he put all kinds of stuff out on the curb for garbage pick up (things that no longer worked) People came and took it all away anyway. One guy brought the printer he took back a few hours later though…I’m not sure that’s in the freecycling rules! 🙂

    Hope you have a great day…sending you virtual yummy cake of your favourite flavour!

    Happy Birthday.
    Posted by: Kim

  80. A hot cup of coffee? Drunk all at once?
    That’s some fine birthday living.

    Posted by: Stephanie

  82. Happy Birthday – may the next year be full of happiness and adventure 🙂
    Posted by: Penny

  83. Happy Birthday!

    And letting things go into the urban environment is always very satisfying.
    Posted by: Steph

  84. Happy birthday, Cari!! You’re feeling a little blurry, are you? I hope you really enjoyed your coffee this morning, and I certainly hope there is cake.

    You haven’t received a little musical something in the mail by any chance, have you?
    Posted by: alison

  85. Happy Birthday, you beautiful young thing. May your 34th year be truly wonderful.
    Posted by: claudia

  88. Happy Birthday! I think we’ll be invited to ravelry about the same time! I’m 1705ish. Also, we’ll have to hang out when you make it to portland!
    Posted by: Lorajean

  90. Happy Birthday – may the next year be full of happiness and adventure 🙂
    Posted by: Penny

  91. Happy Birthday!

    And letting things go into the urban environment is always very satisfying.
    Posted by: Steph

  92. Happy birthday, Cari!! You’re feeling a little blurry, are you? I hope you really enjoyed your coffee this morning, and I certainly hope there is cake.

    You haven’t received a little musical something in the mail by any chance, have you?
    Posted by: alison

  93. Happy Birthday, you beautiful young thing. May your 34th year be truly wonderful.
    Posted by: claudia

  96. Happy Birthday! I think we’ll be invited to ravelry about the same time! I’m 1705ish. Also, we’ll have to hang out when you make it to portland!
    Posted by: Lorajean

  97. Happy Birthday Chicken!!!

    Madrid te manda besosbesosbesos.
    Posted by: serena

  98. Happy birthday Cari! Sending you love and wishes for a wonderful birthday!
    Posted by: regina

  99. Oh, I totally suck. Happy Birthday! I’d better knit faster, since it’s your day today. Love you, sweetie.
    Posted by: Cassie

  104. Happy Birthday, Cari! (Hooray for a hot and leisurely cup of coffee!) Hang in there with the packing/moving. Portland’s worth it…my mom and I just went down for a yarn crawl last week. So many wonderful yarn shops in great neighborhoods.
    Posted by: amber

  105. Happy Birthday Chicken!!!

    Madrid te manda besosbesosbesos.
    Posted by: serena

  106. Happy birthday Cari! Sending you love and wishes for a wonderful birthday!
    Posted by: regina

  107. Oh, I totally suck. Happy Birthday! I’d better knit faster, since it’s your day today. Love you, sweetie.
    Posted by: Cassie

  112. Happy Birthday, Cari! (Hooray for a hot and leisurely cup of coffee!) Hang in there with the packing/moving. Portland’s worth it…my mom and I just went down for a yarn crawl last week. So many wonderful yarn shops in great neighborhoods.
    Posted by: amber

  115. Awww, that book seems so sad. But, man, from 52, 34 seems so desirable.

    Happy, happy birthday. I think you should put thoughts of birthday out of your head until after your big move and then celebrate your happy new life and your latest happy birthday all at once.

    I really enjoy your blog.
    Posted by: Sarah R

  116. Damn! The one time I hit “Post” instead of “Preview”….and I have a stupid typo. That first sentence should read “Awww, that photo seems so sad.” Someone in the office was talking and I was apparently typing what I was hearing instead of what I was thinking. That, or Alzheimer’s is setting in.

    Way to go, me.
    Posted by: Sarah R

  118. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

    Isn’t it great, knowing your stuff is going to someone who not only will use it, but who loves it to boot?

    Happy travels when you head this way.
    Posted by: shannon in oregon

  120. Happy birthday, Cari, and best wishes for your move.

    I love that there are places where this kind of freecycling still happens. Where we live, good garbage picking is a thing of the past (too many rules about when you can put stuff out).
    Posted by: jodi

  121. Happy birthday … I hope it’s your best year yet. Good luck with the move!
    Posted by: Laura

  124. Awww, that book seems so sad. But, man, from 52, 34 seems so desirable.

    Happy, happy birthday. I think you should put thoughts of birthday out of your head until after your big move and then celebrate your happy new life and your latest happy birthday all at once.

    I really enjoy your blog.
    Posted by: Sarah R

  125. Damn! The one time I hit “Post” instead of “Preview”….and I have a stupid typo. That first sentence should read “Awww, that photo seems so sad.” Someone in the office was talking and I was apparently typing what I was hearing instead of what I was thinking. That, or Alzheimer’s is setting in.

    Way to go, me.
    Posted by: Sarah R

  127. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

    Isn’t it great, knowing your stuff is going to someone who not only will use it, but who loves it to boot?

    Happy travels when you head this way.
    Posted by: shannon in oregon

  129. Happy birthday, Cari, and best wishes for your move.

    I love that there are places where this kind of freecycling still happens. Where we live, good garbage picking is a thing of the past (too many rules about when you can put stuff out).
    Posted by: jodi

  130. Happy birthday … I hope it’s your best year yet. Good luck with the move!
    Posted by: Laura

  131. I hope you enjoyed your coffee this morning! Hope you have a wonderful birthday!
    Posted by: Jen S

  132. I’m just a lone month older than you – so far, 34 has been pretty good. So I hope it continues for you as well. Happy birthday!

    And congrats on getting rid of good stuff the old fashioned way. That IS satisfying.
    Posted by: Aura

  133. Happy happy birthday!!! What a funny thing to get to give your own things as a sort of birthday present.
    Posted by: Lizbon

  134. Happy Birthday!! I know just what you mean about the baby/coffee thing -ENJOY.
    Posted by: Paula

  135. Felicidades, vida! I keep getting interrupted by people coming in my office, so I’m behind on the well wishing.
    Posted by: anina

  136. What a nice thing! I bet all those people are thrilled to pieces about their new treasures.
    Posted by: knittripps

  137. Happy Birthday! I hope it was lovely. Continued good wishes with the packing and moving and all.
    Posted by: Jean

  138. Darlin’ I feel your pain. I am also surrounded by the boxes, tape and markers. And Mom made the mistake of telling me I should get bids for landscapers to get the yard cleaned up before the move. BEFORE FRIDAY? I may have slightly snapped and said rather loudly that the time for bids was past and it wasn’t happening this week!

    I’ve had a bath and I’m OK now.

    As for your birthday. You get to celebrate all month. So lots of cake for you! I say a piece in every state you travel through. 😉
    Posted by: Laurie

  139. I hope you enjoyed your coffee this morning! Hope you have a wonderful birthday!
    Posted by: Jen S

  140. I’m just a lone month older than you – so far, 34 has been pretty good. So I hope it continues for you as well. Happy birthday!

    And congrats on getting rid of good stuff the old fashioned way. That IS satisfying.
    Posted by: Aura

  141. Happy happy birthday!!! What a funny thing to get to give your own things as a sort of birthday present.
    Posted by: Lizbon

  142. Happy Birthday!! I know just what you mean about the baby/coffee thing -ENJOY.
    Posted by: Paula

  143. Felicidades, vida! I keep getting interrupted by people coming in my office, so I’m behind on the well wishing.
    Posted by: anina

  144. What a nice thing! I bet all those people are thrilled to pieces about their new treasures.
    Posted by: knittripps

  145. Happy Birthday! I hope it was lovely. Continued good wishes with the packing and moving and all.
    Posted by: Jean

  146. Darlin’ I feel your pain. I am also surrounded by the boxes, tape and markers. And Mom made the mistake of telling me I should get bids for landscapers to get the yard cleaned up before the move. BEFORE FRIDAY? I may have slightly snapped and said rather loudly that the time for bids was past and it wasn’t happening this week!

    I’ve had a bath and I’m OK now.

    As for your birthday. You get to celebrate all month. So lots of cake for you! I say a piece in every state you travel through. 😉
    Posted by: Laurie

  147. Happy birthday! Ah, the hot hot coffee – I know exactly what you mean. I actually got up extra early this morning (!) so that I would have time to drink my coffee piping hot whilst leisurely perusing my favourite blogs. It’s worth it. I hope that your coffee was perfect.
    Posted by: Kristy

  149. Happy birthday! Ah, the hot hot coffee – I know exactly what you mean. I actually got up extra early this morning (!) so that I would have time to drink my coffee piping hot whilst leisurely perusing my favourite blogs. It’s worth it. I hope that your coffee was perfect.
    Posted by: Kristy