66 days left...

... and I celebrated that fact by spending an indecent amount of money on craft papers and stickers at the Aldi supermarket. And I mean a really indecent amount, considering the fact that I can barely store what I already had. But they were so beautiful... Yes, it is an addiction. I consoled myself with the knowledge that if I would go to the Il Divo concert in December (which I won't), the cheapest ticked would cost three times as much. I still have a guilty conscience, though.

OTOH I've finished the second Christmas-themed pocket letter and it turned out really pretty. I promise pictures later. So, now that I've figured out how it works, I promised my colleague that we'll make them for the charity fair with her 6th term class. I hope it works out. At least three kids can work on one such letter together, so it will cost them less time than it cost me; especially if I produce the panels already cut and all they'll have to do is to decorate them. *knocks on wood*

I also watched Das Große Backen in the afternoon, which is the German version of The Great British Bake-off. Now I'm afraid I'll have to try my hand on the Opera cake somewhen.

You are cordially invited...

People who've known me for a longer time know that I'm throwing a virtual birthday party every year. It starts on October 1 and closes on October 9 (my actual birthday) at midnight, sharp. When I checked my LJ calendar, I realized with a mild shock that I've been doing this for the last 12 years! Where has the time gone?

So, since it has been so long, and since most of the older participants have abandoned me (and LJ) anyway, I thought I'd try something new this year. I'll continue with the retirement countdown, but I'll make the posts in the next 9 days so-called motto posts: I'll give a theme to each one, and we can talk and joke and laugh about it.

Of course, participants are welcome to open different topics in their comments. The goal, as always, is to make as many collapsed threads on as many pages as possible; only that this year we'll do each day separately. At least that way LJ won't crash the party, as it happened in one year when the comments became too many for it to handle. (My heart bled...)

Feel free to spread the word on your own journal, new guests are always welcome. It isn't exactly a friendzy, but meeting new people is always delightful.

Oh, and if someone is interested what the other parties were like:

This was 2006

This was 2008
(apparently, we left out 2007 - I wonder why)

This was 2009

This was 2010

This was 2011

This was 2012

This was 2013
(That was my first attempt to do daily posts for the party; it didn't really work at that time but perhaps we'll have more luck this year)

This was 2014

This was 2015

This was 2016

This was 2017

Should anyone be inclined to give me a birthday present (you don't have to, you understand, everybody is welcome to the party anyway), paid LJ time would be nice. It isn't so that I couldn't afford it, I just can't technically do it, due to our horribly weak national currency and the fact that I'm useless at online shopping and everything that it entails. So, if people would like to help me keep my paid account beyond next April, I would be very grateful. I can offer hand-made cards and small felt ornaments in exchange - anything that can be sent as a simple letter-