40

yep, that's right: I have been around for four decades now. Anna chose a birthday card for me with a kitten on it, and insisted on writing inside. Lewis translated: "Mommy" and "Anna." Thomas offered a card that doubles as a crown, which reads "Birthday Queen." (See photo.) And Iain liked the card he scribbled in so much that he didn't really want to give it to me. I can't blame him: the little lion on the front was pretty cute. 

no news on the home-sale front. we have had a quiet week, with no lookers at all. I admit, though, that I do enjoy having the house clean and neat all the time, just in case.