I've already received the best gifts ever. Last night, we went down to the pub (yes, I know). I thought we were just meeting some friends who wanted to have a birthday drink with me and couldn't make it this evening. It turns out that almost all my friends were there. Not only that, but they surprised me with a cake and a present. And I was surprised.

No one has ever done that for me before. If I want a birthday party (and I do, I do), I call all my friends and tell them where I'll be and to get their asses down there. No one has ever arranged a party for me since my mother did when I was a child, and none of them were surprises, that I recall. This year, however, my friends have spent all sorts of time texting each other about this, and Popeye and Miss Kitty went and got me a cake (with two nifty candles reading 38 which I need to remember to remove from my shoulder bag), and Popeye spent all day traipsing around finding me a card in English (which everybody signed) and a fondue pot. Not that I need another fondue pot, mind you. I was looking at it this morning, and it's a complete Fondue System, with a lazy susan for sauces and matching ladles and everything. It's the nicest fondue set I have ever seen.

I have the Best Friends In The World, is all I can say.

And I managed not to cry, which was good.

Elvis gave me a watch, which I adore. It has a gold case, a white face and a black leather band. The stem is at 5:00 instead of the more usual 3:00, which looks pretty funky, I think. The big hand is a quill, the little hand is a key. No numbers, just a scroll at 12:00. I love it. It is perfect.

And he's taking me out to dinner tonight at our favorite restaurant. It's the one owned by Belgians, so the food is always superb.

After that, of course, we'll go for a drink or two at the pub. Last night was very low key-- almost everybody has to work today-- so I'm up for it. We'll see who turns up. I should text Sir, come to think of it. Neither he nor Lady Jane was there last night, and I didn't want to ask where they were in case they just forgot to tell him about it.

The weather today is exactly like yesterday: gloom and pelting rain, interspersed with ten minute intervals of sun and clear blue sky, with gale force winds throughout. Yuck-o. I'll be venturing out soon, though. I want to go buy my friend in the states a nice piece of pottery. Also, since we're flying out on Saturday morning, I really ought to start packing. I've been thinking about what to take though, so it should be easy. Lots of things that could do with a dry clean, mostly, since it's much cheaper and faster in the US.

I'm looking forward to our trip. It's only for a week, and for business reasons, but we haven't been back to our "home city" for over three years now. When we do go back, we usually visit our families in their respective states, and don't have the time (or energy) to fly down and see our friends.

It's too bad we have to leave this Saturday, though. If we didn't, I'd have spent Friday night in celebrating my birthday in wild style. My poor, beleaguered (and now slightly older) liver, however, is rejoicing.

Time to eat lunch so I can get this show on the road.

But first, I think I'll cruise the internet for a while and look for some meat fondue recipes.