Still alive, with cake

Today is my half-century. It was blowing a gale and raining, so not good for hot air ballooning over the valleys or any other grand symbolic gesture. So I went to work and brought in lemon drizzle cake (gluten free) and chocolate flapjacks for my colleagues and some of the children.

It was a health-crisis day at work, but I was sung to and feted. Someone even offered to put me in the hoist to give me 'the bumps'! Then the roof started leaking and we all ran for basins and 'wet floor' signs.

Later, I went to meet my oldest friend in Stroud, Robin, and we had lunch at The Retreat, which is a wine bar and executive lunch place.When I was a researcher/editor/ worker at Gaia Books, we barely needed an excuse to go there, but nowadays it's a rare treat. We had hot smoked chicken sandwiches with salad, and I decided I might start drinking Guinness again instead of cider, now I am in my sixth decade.

After that, I went in search of a vintage handbag.YAY! I may have found one.

Now we are lolling around watching the news, and planning to eat locally later. I had thought we could walk, but the storms may put an end to that plan. Thank goodness we are not as badly off as most of the West Country, which has suffered landslides, flooding, and power loss over the past few days (as well as the long term floods in Somerset which have been affecting some households since last Christmas).

I took this shot with the 50D before I went to work. There was no sunlight, sadly, but I think you can see the pattern on my pretty new jug and mug. They are part of a load of patterned china I bought in a January sale, but which only arrived yesterday. My present to myself!