Happy(ish) birthday

I'd be lying if I were to try and imply that Mrs Raheny was ecstatic first thing this morning, upon realising that she is now officially in her late 40s. 
It was quite frankly a faltering start. The mood lightened up to 'subdued' by mid-afternoon. 
Things took a turn for the better in the late afternoon when her mate Laurence arrived and the bottle of prosecco was opened. 
The striploin steak with crepes de pommes de terre and shallot and cognac sauce further improved the general atmosphere and we hit the ecstatic strata by the time Mimi's pavlova arrived (which coincided with the last drop of prosecco being squeezed out of the bottle in the birthday girl's flute). 

She is well fluttered now and will no doubt fall asleep while we watch a new episode of Death in Paradise (the family-friendly evening option these day, and also her new ringtone on her new phone).