And what a weekend it was!

Closing out another year of life and opening a new one has never been difficult for me - but this year was particularly beautiful:

• Debbie drove me home from Calgary on Friday evening because I was so exhausted after the annual National Sales Conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake
• Before we left Calgary, Debs and I had dinner with Bronwyn, the boys and Brenda in celebration of Paul and Bronwyn's wedding anniversary. Paul was working in Turkey; but we had his presence with us in the form of a delightful little frog statue, perched on the side of a birdbath, who had his front hand (do frogs have hands?!) propped up next to his mouth just like my handsome brother-in-law often has
• Saturday morning early, there was a phone call - Debs was outside the TH door wanting to be let in to help. It was wonderful to have a kindred spirit to talk with and laugh with as we baked and tidied and prepared for the day
• Although we were missing Char and Brian, all the other people I love to see on a Saturday morning and lunch time came in, along with a few new faces who - who knows? - might also fit into the easy Saturday camaraderie that has evolved over the years
• The beautiful Rebecca, back from obtaining her Masters degree. Stick around for a while, dear one: we have a lot of catching up to do!
• Cabbage rolls and mac 'n' cheese and my favourite pear with carmelized onion and brie quiche!
• Six of my own family in for lunch
• Don and Norma in the evening (would they have shown if they knew how hard they were going to have to work?!)
• And then it was Sunday and Cath's birthday. Lunch was planned and executed by Dad and Deborah Joy. The crown roast was cooked to perfection, and the accompanying side dishes complemented the meat in such a way that my taste buds wanted to sing! All was capped by the lightest orange chiffon cake that practically melted in our mouths.
• A crazy busy afternoon and evening at the TH - thank you Krista, Brent, Kurt and Josie - followed by Ken and Bernadette helping me set up for the men's 7:00 a.m. Monday meeting
• A slight start when I looked up from my computer just after midnight to see a face peering in the window. The dude ran off, and I saw that he was accompanied by two friends so I went outside and called out, asking them what they wanted at this time of night. The reply was that the peerer hadn't seen the TH since it opened and he apparently thought that midnight was a good time to check things out. I advised them, somewhat snarkily, that a good time would be business hours and shut the east door a little more firmly than I needed to ...
• And then it was Monday and while the men were here, my beautiful aunt, Marilyn, called me to wish me for the day, and Brent texted me the entire Happy Birthday chorus (his new choice of performance arts studies are clearly paying off already ... Well, at least he'll have a back-up plan if he decides that 98% in premed studies is unacceptable for him!!)
• Kent, Sarah, Derek, Ian, Lisa - all from Carswell - sent me messages or called me. The magical MBG phoned, as did the most charming dentist ever to grace the planet. I found out what it really meant to be "friended" on Facebook: I received posts on my wall and so many messages too, letting me know that my friends were thinking about me and wishing me well. The As texted and emailed as did David in Afghanistan and Cyrano and Niccolo and Molly in Calgary and Little Dawn in Edmonton and Deborah Joy and Bronwyn and the boys ...

• Terry and Nevin popped in ("Grandma, you go get the present; I'll distract her," uttered in a stage whisper in inimitable Nevin-style) ...
• Dad and Cathryn arrived laden with gifts, all of them to be treasured. I even got the coveted "Queen for the Day" gift bag that was originally given to Mum and now is awarded to the birthday girl of the moment from Dad.
• One present that stands out in my mind is the evening bag Dad gave me: it had been my grandmother's and contained the gloves she wore and the handkerchief she took to M&D's wedding; and it had a note tucked in the side pocket stating that fact - along with the whimsical maple leaf and shamrock wedding favour that I had heard about for all these years and yet had never seen until today. Another was the sweet, already blooming lilac tree designated for the corner of my little lawn. Those girls never forget anything! I received so many gifts, every one chosen with care and love and all of them items I would choose for myself and will treasure. I got kitchen appliances and perfume and books from my childhood and books from even older than that and socks and soap and lotion and my favourite coffee whitener and DVDs and music and an outfit and note paper and a beautiful scarf and a glass parrot who is making friends with my Mum's picture on the piano, to name a few things!

• One more gift to mention is the painting Cath presented me. This piece of art was inspired by Cath's attendance of Handel's Messiah last Christmas, and deserves to be written about on a separate post. But the painting will be hanging over the piano when it is framed, a magnificent reminder that "Death will be no more, mourning and crying and pain will be no more ... See, I am making all things new."
• And Don and Norma ...
• And Naomi ...
• And a warm, cheerful "Happy Birthday being sung over the telephone from K &B ...
• And permission from my manager for my reports to be tardy ...
• And then the moment I was waiting for all day: supper at M&D's place, where Dad made me my all-time favourite dinner, "moat". I've mentioned this before; but this year it was no ordinary moat. Dad had made me an individual moat, and one side of the "wall" was the usual mashed potatoes, but the other side was made of turnips, mashed and buttered and S'n'Ped to perfection. The toast soldiers were all standing guard for me. The carrot salad was a lovely foil to the seasoned, gravied ground beef concoction with which the moat was filled. My Dad loves me!
• And my lovely Johnny Depp look-alike nephew gave me Boggle, my favourite table game. Better yet, he even played a few rounds with BA and me, and he graciously let his old aunt win in honour of the day ...
• A snooze on my Dad's couch (why was I tired?!) and a cup of tea for when I woke up

And now I'm back in the purple chair, sitting by the fire as the wind playfully sings to me outside. I am truly blessed beyond belief, beyond comprehension.

I was truly "Queen for the Day." Thank you, all of you dear ones, for making me feel this way.

But the clock's about to strike midnight and I find I've lost one of my slippers and so I'd better get cracking on those monthly reports ...