26

So far, 26 seems much the same as 25, only I have new memories and new belongings.

My birthday was good. Matt was working on Monday, so on Sunday he took me out to the cinema to see Starter for Ten*, then we went on to a steak dinner at The Standing Order, which is a beautiful pub which used to be a bank. I ate my dinner facing the great big door to the old vault. Oh, and in case anyone has any delusions of grandeur, we had vouchers for two steak dinners and a bottle of wine for £12.99. Stylish, eh? We snuck out the back (well, actually the front, but that's where no-one would see us) with the half bottle that was left over, and made our freezing way home. It was one of the best nights. We laughed a lot.

Matt stayed up way late that night to make me a birthday card. Much spirograph, and his trademark penguin on skis. He says that's the only thing he can draw, which is a lie. He can also draw tractors.

On my birthday, the alarm was set for 8am. I woke up at 7. Then 7.17, 7.21, 7.26 etc...
And the postman knocked at 7.59.

I got excellent presents. Matt knows not to spend too much, but always manages to get multiple gifts. Books, DVDs, a computer game, a hoodie (so cute - purple and black stripes, little horns on the hood, thumbholes, and a skull zip) and a bag (also with skulls on).
I also received the shiny (in the manner of a necklace) from my in-laws, and the wonderful gift of Freeview from Colin and his family.
I'll let you know when I get a gift from any of my family.
Bastards (you know I love you anyway).

Anyway, we went to our favourite Italian restaurant, De Niro's, for dinner. We did, I must admit, clink our glasses together and say "To crime!" Ok, we're not cool, but at least we're uncool together. It was a delicious meal. I can never get through a whole meal there. As you may or may not know, I can't eat much at a time. I only ate about half of my main course, and the waitress came over and was asking in a very worried manner if the food was all right, or was there something wrong with it? I promised her there wasn't, and asked if I could take the rest home. Mmmm. Leftovers. Much nicer than my usual leftovers.

Then, once we were home, there was a quick visit from Colin and Robbie to drop off (and install) their gift, then we snuggled up on the sofa and watched Ice Age 2 and Shrek 2.

So there you have it. A far-too-detailed description of my birthday.

*(Very good, very funny, starring the delightful James McAvoy. The characters of Brian and Alice were portrayed very sympathetically in comparison to the book, but the film was none the worse for it. Incidentally, the actress who played Alice had previously played the character Lenox in one of my favourite Poirot adaptations. Oh, and the girl who played Rebecca made me like the character as much as the one in the book. One final piece of trivia: the characters in the book are called Alice and Rebecca, and so are the respective actresses.)