Birthday Weekend

File Under: 42…so far, so good.

My birthday was on Saturday May 2. I turned 42.

Age is just a number. I’m not sure what 42 is supposed to feel like but I don’t think I feel it. I certainly don’t act like it.

The fun began Friday night. My friend Steve met me out at Jackhammer and he quickly announced “he will not pay for a single drink tonight.” I didn’t. I don’t know how many I had but there were a couple shots, too. When it was time to wander home, sometime around 2, I didn’t feel drunk, just very happy.

Saturday, I met my friends John and Vince for lunch in my neighborhood. They brought me flowers and a giant Hello Kitty birthday card, with a little something tucked into it. They also bought me lunch. It was fun spending time with them.

I went home and prepared a dessert for the evening. I’ll explain the evening that was ahead.
Dan asked me to pick the theme, and he would organize a small casual gathering of our little group. Each of them would prepare a dish. I chose Italian. I was told that I didn’t need to bring anything, though it was suggested that Luis is really fond of my chocolate ganache tart. It’s easy to prepare so I decided to bring it.

I arrived at the house at 7. Luis and Polo were prepping a couple dishes. Dan’s lasagna was in the oven. Denise arrived soon after, carrying an antipasti platter. Tina was noticeably absent from the festivities as she had family matters to tend to in Ohio. However we managed to have a good time.

Drinks were poured and the night of food and fun began. Denise’s cold platter was fantastic. We did a good job of emptying it in a pretty short period of time.

Next up was Luis’s contribution to the meal. He served grilled shrimp skewers with a light pesto sauce and pork meat balls with another delicious sauce. Those who know us know that we’re not shy and in a short period of time those dishes were cleaned. It was necessary though because we had to make room on the table for Dan’s famous lasagna. A creation that stands close to half a foot tall, filled with mushrooms, sausage, ho-made sauce and cheese…lots and lots of cheese. It’s fabulous.

We took a breather once the main course was done. Luis and Polo went into the kitchen and after a bit of whispering and some giggling, there was a bright glow coming from the kitchen. Polo came out, carrying a cake, stuck through the top of it was a rather large “sparkler,” which I believe was really a highway flare. Polo had his arms outstretched, Luis was about 2 feet behind him, looking kind of shocked. Polo set the cake on the table and we all jumped back. I heard “blow it out!” come from one of them. I tried, but all it did was scatter burning embers, causing us to jump back from the table and let it sputter out. Once the smoke cleared, we assessed the damage. A couple spots on the table, some singed eyebrows and watering eyes. Yet, we persevered and ate cake and it was delicious!

We sat in the dining room, talking, and laughing until close to midnight. It was a nearly perfect evening. Perfection would have included Tina.

I must share with you the present that was made for me by Dan and Luis. This sums up our friendship and our group of friends.

How cool is that??

Today was a very relaxing day. I went to the gym, then walked around my neighborhood for a while. I ran into Dan and Luis who were having lunch. The restaurant they were at had its windows open, they were seated next to the window. I was invited to join them, but was enjoying the weather too much to go inside. I was also intent on walking for a while as I need to step up my exercise routine. That’s another post. :)

I’m pretty damn lucky to have such an amazing group of friends.