Thursday, April 22, 2010

A MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY

It's Blog Carnival time, and we have two choices--to relate a special birthday, or to tell our own birthday and zodiac sign. Not an easy choice; in fact, it's so hard to decide between them that I'm going to do both!

One very memorable birthday was my husband's 65th. We decided to have a party at our home, and that it would be dinner, ice cream, and cake.

The birthday boy said he didn't like the idea of a pot luck, that it seemed somehow wrong to invite people to dinner and then make them bring their own. I didn't have a problem with that. I'd cooked for twenty-five or thirty before, and figured I'd invite a hundred guests, good friends and relatives, and probably about half would be able to make it, if not fewer.

I sent out the invitations, which I'd designed and made:




The RSVPs started coming in. When the Yes responses topped fifty, I began to have second thoughts, but if you've told the first fifty people it isn't potluck, you can't very well tell anyone else that it is.

In the end, we had ninety-five guests. Ninety-five! I cooked and prepared for three days--fruit and vegetable platters, a lovely bouquet of scallions standing head-down in a vase with blooming chives standing amongst the stems, baked tofu in spiced peanut sauce, tossed salads, a taco bar, cake (which was store-bought!), and ice cream. There was more, and I'm sure I've got the menu written down somewhere. The important thing was there was plenty for everyone. In fact, we had left-overs for well over a week!

The children ran and played, people ate and talked, and dinner was followed by song after song led by the guests, with everyone who could joining in on the chorus. Several groups of children performed for us all. There was so much laughter, love, and fun. It stands as one of the sweetest evenings of my life, and of Bob's too, I think.

PS The photo on the front of the invitation is of Bob, aged 2. The one on the back is him, too, over six decades later.

Now for the other blog carnival choice, to give our birthday and zodiac sign. I was born on January 14th, which makes me a Capricorn. I pretty much fit the profile for a Capricorn, except that I'm rather more unconventional and flamboyant than most Caps tend to be. Maybe that's the Chinese Year of the Rat at work, huh?

I decided to see what Etsy had to offer in the way of goats (Capricorn) and rats. Here are a few of the things I found:







Now I ask you. Who knew rats and goats could be so fun, beautiful, and/or unusual?

5 comments:

Memories for Life said...

I LOVE the invitation :) And the story of Bob's party put a smile on my face! I love a big, fun, cheery get-together! Makes me wish I would have had a birthday party this year!
Love the goat in the truck pic :)

AWJ said...

What a great party! Love it.

And I love rats. We had pet rats for years. They are adorable, sweet, and smart. :)

Mollye said...

Hey sweets, what a party. I mean PAR-TAY! Bet Bob will never forget this one. I would love to do that for Punkin but he would be a "no show" at his own event if there were more than 6 present! Yep!!

Goats I adore and have most of my life owned at least one at a time. Rats, Mice.......they make my skin crawl, my insides turn over and my heart skip a beat. I H-A-T-E them. Am T-E-R-R-I-F-I-E-D of them.
And the phobia is so great I almost cannot look at a pic of them even if they are wearing clothes! And can talk! Luvs ya and happy weekend, Mollye

storybeader said...

you know how to throw a party, girl! Sounds like a wonderful day for everyone. Hope the cook survived... it was for a good cause!

Splendid Little Stars said...

What a wonderful post! I LOVE the invitation!! It's just awesome!
See, Bob's birthday was so important, ALL his friends wanted to come over to play! (And who wouldn't WANT to come with an invitation like that!)

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