Happy Birthday Tony!

Our lovely friend Tony had his 40th birthday yesterday. The day was simply dreadful, with more rain than we have seen in ages. I went to my orchestras early in the day. I got a big surprise when Miss Doyle, boss of the 'cellos, wanted me to join a chamber music group. It was real honour, as I have only been learning for a year and a half. I'm off to practise in a minute, so I mustn't dally with blogging.

Anyway, back to the birthday. It was supposed to start with a picnic lunch at the beach, and finish with dinner in a gazebo in the gorgeous garden. The gazebo tried to fly to Australia in the night. The lunch was cancelled. We turned up at Tony and Claire's house and they had transformed the entire house. There was seating for over 50 people in the living room. The spare room had the buffet, the garage the bar, and the bathroom was the coat room. I found it really hard because there were only 5 people there I knew, including Mr. B. I took a prowl in the garden to see the finished landscaping and took some photos in the dark. I think they turned out quite interesting!

Artichokes. Mr. B and I love them so much that we have decided that we need a clump in our new garden. I have never actually eaten a fresh one. We like they way they look. Can you see the brilliant cobalt blue flower peeking out from behind?

This is a sculpture of a cabbage tree. It is not quite a metre tall, I think, and is by a Christchurch artist. There is a life-sized one at the Botanical Gardens. Sorry I cut off the bottom, it was pitch black looking through the camera lens.

Tony and Claire have a stunning wee vegetable garden that is incredibly productive. They have some interesting features in it, including this gorgeous weather vane. I want one! I think that is a bean making its way up the pole.

Last, but not least, this is Lola. She is a chocolate Burmese. Actually she looks quite plump here, but she is really a slender and dainty wee thing. I guess she has her fur all fluffed up in the inclement weather. I think she quite enjoyed the party as she was weaving in and out of all of the people for most of the evening.

Anyway, the food was so yummy. Claire is a wonderful cook. I must get the recipes off her. There was a beautiful bean and spinach salad with almonds and a delicious citrussy dressing. And the best risoni salad ever. The pudding consisted of a fleet of hazelnut meringue cakes with raspberries. There were lovely speeches, and the opportunity to share in the dedication ceremony which took place at church this morning for their dear wee baby girl Millie. That was for the people who wouldn't be making it to church (like us). When we went to go Tony said such lovely things to us that I burst into tears, and when I went in to say goodbye to Claire, who was busy feeding Miss Millie, I was blubbing worse than Millie ever does. Thankfully they are the kind of friends that don't mind a few tears, although I'm not sure what the other guests thought as I made a hurried exit clutching my hanky.

I'm off to practise now. I'm looking forward to a fun week at school, all going well. Mr. B is going away for 4 whole days. I might need some e-mails! XXX