Is this my birthday?

It's not. But today has been so rich, already, that I'm wondering at the bliss of it, it feels like a birthday.

Watched a mini-opera on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, about Kitty Cat who wanted a star for her birthday. The sets/costumes/makeup were amazing.

Watched a couple tele-evangelists (well, it's Sunday, what else is on, I don't have cable.) Kevin Copeland did an interesting bit on 1 John 4:7-8 (God is love) where he substituted love for the word God in other verses. For Love so loved the world, that he gave his son (John 3:16) Incidentally, 1 John 4:7&8 is one of the few verses I know by absolute heart because it was a song I learned in my girlhood, and the verse "address" was part of the song.

Finally moved over to the computer, where one of my favorite writers had emailed me to say thanks for including her novel in my list of favorites. I had to do a couple Google searches to see where she might have found me, I suspect through this blog. (Elizabeth Mosier, My Life as A Girl)

Then started the blog rounds, only to discover GLEE! that Nutmeg blogged a post.

It gets better.

But it would take all morning to write about it, and already have been writing comments, so here is a post made up of where I've been, who I've blogged with this morning, and the answer to the question, who is Nikki Sixx?

First, I stopped off at Adrian is Rad. Adrian is a blogger I found via my friend Pat Bird. Adrian is living in Taipei right now, and his posts on life East are fascinating, funny, and with the recent loss of his Red Sox hat, dare I say, poignant.

Then it was, gleefully off to New South Wales to visit Nutmeg. I would have loved ANYTHING from her, even the phone book transcribed, but she wrote about Schlindler and movies vs. books and all sorts of wonderfulness.

Then to check in on Babs of Behind the Stove. If you are thinking of starting a blog, giving it a title at the beginning of the alphabet is a great idea, but I'd check her every day anyways. She's reading some great books, like you're surprised. I commented yesterday, so today I just read what other folks had said.

Then back in the alphabet (and up on my blogroll) to Badger. I'd clicked on the post she wrote Friday a few times but hadn't had a moment to give it my full attention until this morning. It's still hot in Austin, her boy got STRAIGHT A's, and she's still reading Middlesex. I take a side trip to Google and then Wikipedia to find out who Nikki Sixx is.

blackbird writes about chocolate. Need I say more?

Off to Canada to visit Jess at daysgoby, who writes about national anthems and really gets me thinking about the stranger-in-a-strange land life I've lived.

"I forget, sometimes, that my children are Canadian. That they don't have the memories and stranger-in-a-strange-land feelings that I do, that the American flag isn't a comforting, familiar sight to them. That my son doesn't automatically think of The Star Spangled Banner when asked to sing a song for his country."

My comment: "hmmm about the thought of your kids being Canadian. I know part of why I love Pittsburgh is that it seems so much like the America I read about, saw in movies as a girl, when I lived in farflung locales."

Which I actually hadn't put together until I was writing the comment. I've often said that Pittsburgh is the city of my childhood--it has the rivers, like Bonn has the Rhine, and the mountains (or should we say hills), like Tegucigalpa, which means "Silver Hills." And now I can say Pittsburgh has people speaking English, which is the part I longed for when I lived in Teguc. Something to write out, more later.

In about an hour and a half or so, Max will return from his lessons and we'll go walk the South Side hills. GLEE!

Which gives me not very much time to figure out what I'm going to do for NH Sally's birthday, tomorrow. Not having my own car cramps the gift procuring...and we're not necessarily big "on the day" gift givers, the two of us. We're more the "I saw this and thought of you" types. But the combo of her helping me with the car saga and it's her birthday, I kind of feel like I need to do something special. And all at once I'm at a loss, partly because I have too many ideas and all of them require a trip to Borders.

I'm in a "not going to Borders" phase as a part of the Bible Study on Daniel, where Beth Moore has non-legalistically encouraged us to give something up (two more weeks!), the way Daniel didn't eat from the king's food. Some women have decided to not eat "rich meats," others have decided to accessorize less. The idea is NOT that it's a diet, but a reminder, as we're trying to not be influenced by the Babylon we live in. Not having a car is a BIG reminder that I live life too fast if I'm not cognicent of Sally's birthday and have left gift-procuring to the last minute. Part of me wants to do a bouquet of flowers, but that does require a trip to the grocery store, and I think flowers are a good thank you for helping me (so I'll probably get some), but I want something EXTRA for her birthday, because I am all into gift giving. (It's one of the ways I express love, just ask Babs.)

So off I go. I think maybe a framed photo...