Thank you everybody for the lovely wishes!!!
I had a REALLY lovely day which has been a delightful surprise in among some dark days dealing with my frail parents.
I was thoroughly spoiled by my darling hubby

He gave me flowers and an M&S birthday cake AND a new posh maple shoulder-rest for my viola

I was given some beautiful cards and pressies from friends too.
We had a lazy coffee-and-danish breakfast followed by a wonderful walk up by Invercauld House in Royal Deeside here in Scotland. The trees were glorious with Autumn colours and the smell of the pine was gorgeous. If you ever visit the NE of Scotland then Deeside has some fantastic scenery.
Tonight hubby took me out for dinner to a very smart Indian restaurant in one of the local villages. The food and service were delightful and for dessert I had a 'POOKIE PANDA' which was a little plastic panda full of chocolate ice cream - it's really for kids but we were laughing SO much and it was SO cute

The chef presented it on a huge glass plate decorated with swirls of chocolate and fudge sauce, a little cream and strawberry island with a parasol, and a little birthday candle which played 'Happy Birthday' so loudly in such a squeaky sound that the whole restaurant was giggling
Now I'm cuddling my dogs on the sofa and have just had an email to say my new viola music has been "despatched" so I can't wait to try it out when it arrives

Still, back to my scales tomorrow
Thanks again - I'm sure all the good wishes resulted in the day being so special