Monday, September 20, 2010

Happy Buy-thday

Today is my birthday, and while I have a gratifying number of birthday wishes on Facebook from fab friends, I am more than a little touched by the kind thoughts of complete strangers on this, my special day.

CDiscount emailed me to say they hadn't forgotten me, and offered 7€ off a birthday pressie I could buy myself. RueduCommerce offered me even more! - 10€ off a high tech item and although I'm not sure what that is, it's pretty exciting to think I could be saving 10€ on it. I was more than a little flummoxed, however, by CMonJour who offered me 50 Jouros off any number of items, but as I can't remember my login details, they will forever remain a mystery.

I was gratified that BirthdayAlarm had me noted down correctly - it would be a bit ironic if they forgot... ditto Astrology.com. I'm not the slightest bit interested in astrology and I can't remember for the life of my why I would have signed up to that site, but I'm sure there was a good reason. Life's too short to spend it joining commercial websites for the fun of it and filling up one's junk mail even more.

Of course, they were all happy to let me know they hadn't forgotten me, and strangely, each one had something marvellous to sell me thus reminding me inevitably of their existence which I was happily zapping on a day-to-day basis.

Unfortunately for them I have consigned them to the Empty Junk Mail exterminator so will not be taking advantage of any of their stupendous offers.

Posh butter
Instead, I gorged myself at lunch time on Madagascan prawns, posh Echiré butter, proper baguette, and a well-chilled glass of rosé (note the single determiner!). I was reading one of the Gouters Philo books on success and failure and agreeing with every word especially the bit where the target has to be yours for it to be a success (or failure) in your eyes. The Madagascan prawns were very much my target, and delicious, as was the rest of lunch so I felt success was mine.

Failure was nearly mine too however, as my youngest and his buddy who had come home for lunch were so late going back (my fault, gassing with the cleaning lady), that they nearly got locked out of school. Luckily they were hauled in at the last moment. Phew!

Tonight, they will be making me pancakes for my birthday supper to be had with my boiled fruitcake birthday cake (that I made). My expectations are high - the last lot they did for themselves was a roaring success apparently. I love pancakes, and I especially love them (and everything else) when they are cooked by someone else. It's great having growing boys! Soon they'll be able to buy me a pressie too!!

13 comments:

  1. Well good for you. and many H R of the D. It's a bit of a bugger when you have to buy your own prezzie and card but at least you get your own favourites!

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  2. Hi Lesley, good to see you here!
    Yes, it is a bit of a bugger, and I don't go around buying myself pressies as a rule. I did one year, an electric piano which I'd been wanting for ages and was on special offer at the Foire de Montpellier. That's the only one that springs to mind in fact.

    It seems rather sad to have to buy your own pressies. That's why I never get ones for the boys to get me. There's no real pleasure in it for me. I'd rather take them out for supper or now that they are bigger, have them cook supper! YAY!

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  3. Many happy returns...and much to look forward to with growing cooks enhancing their production skills year by year.

    Those prawns sounded good.....bit of slavering going on here...

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  4. Absolutely, Fly. I fully intend them to be competent cooks before they leave home.

    The prawns were yummy - those Madagascan ones cost a bunch more than standard prawns, but taste a whole lot better too. I didn't share, boys don't like prawns :)

    My youngest loves salted butter though so he'll love the Echiré butter. His favourite is Anchor but of course we can't get that here!

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  5. Happy birthday, how lovely of all those random companies to think of you and try to persuade you to part with your money.

    Hope you have a nice evening, enjoy your pancakes.

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  6. VBinC - Pancake evening turned into Armageddon. I was down the road enjoying a Veuve Cliquot apero with some pals when I started getting desperate phones calls.
    I went home and nearly cried. My lovely clean kitchen that had been sparkling after the cleaning lady had scrubbed it spotless resembled the Somme.
    It had All Gone Wrong, obviously. So there was no lovely plate of pancakes awaiting me, but a Big Mess which I had to clear up before I could hope to deal with the end of the batter.
    My eldest hadn't stirred the batter which had been sitting for an hour or so, and all the flour had sunk, so he found it liquid, added flour, mixed it, went to thick etc etc.

    I'll have to get him to cook more often!!!

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  7. Well happy birthday for yesterday.
    Shame about the kitchen.

    Nick

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  8. Thanks, Nick, and yes, a Big Shame! Never mind.

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  9. A belated: Happy Birthday! Look on the bright side: your eldest will know to stir next time.

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  10. Yes Hausfrau, it's a learning curve situation... a Very Steep One.

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  11. Hippy Bathday Sarah! Erm, it seems to still be Monday here in Seine et Marne, so I'm not actually late in wishing you Many Hippy Returns.... :)

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  12. Thank you, Antipo, does time stand still in Seine et Marne?
    Intriguing!

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  13. vraiment nul ce blog

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