Surprise!

Trip to Nashville TN: two tanks of gas.

Birthday present arranged in May: two autographed Rich Nathan books.

Surprising Sehlat on her birthday: Priceless!

It's all about the planning.  You have to ask for the boyfriend's cell phone number well in advance of using it to plan your arrival.  You have to remember the Vineyard National Conference in May is at Rich Nathan's church and get the books autographed, then keep them safe for four months and find them again in time for the trip (this was the hard part).  You also have to keep the secret when Sehlat unexpectedly turns up at your church the weekend before, not mention ANYTHING on the blog, or tell anyone who might let it slip.  Happy birthday Sehlat, I hope it was a good one!

We turned up at her doorstep on Saturday lunchtime and spent the rest of the day hanging out and eating.  Coldstone Creamery was heavenly, Jillian's was a hoot.  Played a rowdy game of Apples to Apples that night and much hilarity ensued.  Went to the main service at Sehlat's church and headed home after lunch.  Got a little knitting done on my Prairie Shawl on the drive to and from, finished off the first ball of beige Blue Sky Worsted and started on the pale pink.  There is subtle colour variation in each skein, but I rather like it.  The shawl feels soft, heavy, and cushiony.  I think it'll be great for cold weather.

There was one other reason to go to Nashville:

The first pair of cowboy boots I owned came from Nashville, picked up on our first trip to the US in 1997.  We stayed with Sehlat for a couple of weeks starting the day after my graduation from University of Surrey.  The old boots died from wear some time ago.  Saturday morning we got these replacement boots.