Having a Lovely Time - makes a change!

This week I've had some lovely things happen to me.  Apart from ageing 12 months I mean... which has to happen to have a Birthday, so I guess one cancels out the other.  A bit of Yin-Yang.

I had a very unexpected delivery in the shape of an Amazon-gift-wrapped DVD set of Fawlty Towers  from my oldest (and gayest) friend in the world.  I don't mean he's the oldest person I know (although he IS the gayest, as I don't know any others, apart from his husband... oh, you know what I mean) anyway, we've  known each other since we were 5.  Isn't that lovely?  I think it is.  And so is the fact that we can go for months without any form of contact whatsoever (sometimes years, in fact) and then he can call - a proper telephone call, a little worse the wear for beer and have what HE thinks is a laugh (at my expense).  Which makes me realise that ours is a proper Forever Friends friendship. And even though we're officially grown-ups, I still want to stick my tongue out at him and pour a pint of beer over his head because he manages brings out the petulant child in me.

I also took delivery of a book for review by Dorothy Koomson 'The Woman He Loved Before' and although I felt slightly sorry for it (see last post) having to follow in the wake of the FANTABULOUS 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me' by Sarra Manning, I was delighted to receive it. 
In fact it filled up the following three days, it was so darned good.  EVEN THOUGH it contained three of my Deadliest Sins in a Book:
* a Prologue - which is the work of the Devil
* Flashbacks (the Devils' spawn)  and
* Diary entries (which formed the flashbacks - so double *aaargh* for me)

But I had my head turned.  Not only was I hooked after the first chapter, I actually couldn't put it down... it gave me right-wrist-sprain trying to keep it up in bed (no sniggering at the back, thank you) and even though I desperately wanted to find out how it ended, I wouldn't let myself.  It was a thoroughly gripping read and if I didn't know the meaning of the word 'page-turner' before, I do now.  Fab book.

For my Birthday on Tuesday, my darling, beautiful daughter presented me with the latest 'Writers and Artists Yearbook' and inscribed inside "THIS will be your year, Mummy" (as she has always insisted and inscribed every year for the past 4) and my beloved husband bought me some lovely CD's (Rumer, Paloma Faith, Bach) and then we double-dated on a trip to the cinema to see 'Paul'.

Which was lovely, and British and funny.  Just how I like it.

I also got a surprise present through the post from my lovely writing 'sister' Deborah Durbin which also made me squeak with delight, belying my advancing years!

I had so many Birthday Wishes on Facebook I could have spent all day sobbing with happiness at people's niceness... and

This morning I met someone from work for a coffee and a bun.  Something trivial to anybody else, but the fact I haven't socialised properly since the accident last April, for me, it meant the world - even though I know I was nervous, twitchy and itching to get back home.  I kept repeating in my head "Dolly Steps".

And now, after a fortnight (and 18 months of writing) of simmering and stirring and seasoning the latest book, I've finally managed to pluck up courage to send the first few chapters and synopsis of 'Grounded' off to The Agent who was interested in the last teenage book.... thinking maybe she'd forgotten about me.  A couple of minutes later she e-mailed back saying how she's looking forward to reading this one, and that the other one is still with the other person she passed it to, to read and comment on.

And the sun's out.

It don't get much better, do it?