here, there, everywhere

Although my birthday actually is April 2nd, I was so happy - and surprised! - to receive a birthday package in the mail two weeks ago from my lovely sister Maggie. Inside was the best birthday card I've ever seen in my entire life: 

And, even more excitingly, BOOKS! more books than I know what to do with!

In case you're wondering, no, most of these are not in fact for me. They're for my awesome pre-schooler students, who have already fallen completely in love with the aptly titled "Banana." But the bonobo book - since bonobos are awesome - and the the two graphic novels were very exciting to see, particularly Unwritten. As a nerd who grew up nerdily obsessed with Sandman comics and embarssing epic fantasy paperbacks* whose covers I always hid whenever I rode BART, I've always been drawn to books that approach similar nerdy themes in smart, original, self-referential ways. Unwritten reminded me very strongly in both atmosphere and theme of the Sandman series,  and I probably finished it in about 20 minutes and then spent the day in that weird good-book haze I always have whenever I finish and yet stop can't thinking about a book I really loved reading. Really you should just read what my sister wrote, but the point is, if you're a huge nerd like me, you will probably love Unwritten. So anyway, apologies for the nerdy outburst - it was very exciting to spend a morning curled up in bed reading comics.

Also in the last month or so, I received not one but TWO belated birthday gifts - both yarn! -  from my grandparents. My grandmother has given me yarn every year for awhile now, and this year she ordered me a few skeins from an online yarn shop. Unfortunately, one of the colors was backordered, so it didn't ship until just recently. At the same time, a gift card to the same shop from last year's birthday - that I'd given up for lost in the mail right about the time we left for China - magically appeared in a package from my mom, tucked in with all the other mail I accumulate. I don't know how it got lost in the shuffle but it was tremendously exciting to find it (and to go crazy shopping for yarn online, which is sort of like being in a candy shop except for string!) So now there are piles of yarn spilling out of the closet and books everywhere - it's very exciting. Best moving birthday ever - thank you, Maggie and Grandma!