labellementeuse | (no subject)

Man. Had such a great 23 hours in Wellington that I'm a little teary to be back.

So, it was my birthday on Tuesday, which was kind of fun and all. My mother decided she wanted to do some kind of family celebration, and extremely generously flew me and

sixth_light up to have lunch with my parents, my brothers, my sister, Lucy's parents, Meg, Meg's parents, and Robiyn (actually Rewi's godmother, not mine, but my godparents live in England, so.) We ate at strawberry fare, which was, um, delicious.

My mother got the three of us matching necklaces, which sounds a little ridiculous but they're gorgeous - pendants that are almost like a bunch of grapes made of either pearls, garnets, or greenstone (me, Meg, Lucy, respectively.)

There was photo-passing-around and memory-sharing, and I nearly cried, which is not something I tend to do when I'm happy. Incredibly, both my brothers were really articulate, which - they're 17 and 19: for them to be so articulate and loving is a huge deal and really special. All the parents there were also sweet, which is also really special, because after all I'm friends with Lucy and Meg, and I should be thanking them for producing my best friends! I felt all emotional and loved, which is a pretty ideal birthday emotion, IMO.

Presents! It all comes down to commodity fetishism, right? I got a beautiful pashmina from Meg and hand-made bracelet from Lucy; a lovely paperweght from Robyn; a Lush giftbox from L's parents; and a remarkable package from Lesley with two bamboo crochet hooks, five differently sized circular bamboo needles (which you can TAKE ON PLANES because metal detectors don't catch them - brilliant!), and two skeins of gorgeous yarn. It's a world of awesome. So, dear flist, I'm in a wonderful mood and possessed with the urge to remind you that you're beautiful people and I care for you. *squishes*