Another Birthday Has Come and Gone

This year my husband informed me that he absolutely did not want to celebrate his birthday since he was turning to a year with a Zero at the end and was not enthusiastic about it!

Usually that falls on deaf ears because I love to prepare for and give parties! However, he had such a strong tone in his voice I decided that maybe I would just tone it down. Rather than have a lot of people at our house and announcing the festivities to others, I simply decided that he and I would go to our favorite restaurant, Manati, and have dinner with Claus and Annette there (they run the place) and if anyone happened to show up, they could join us.

His birthday falls on December 13th which was a Sunday this year. Generally there are not a lot of clientele at Manati on Sunday so my hopes of celebrating with a lot of our friends was cut dramatically! I was not dissuaded, however, and planned on bringing appetizers, a light pasta salad, bread and birthday cake. I made enough so that if 10-12 people showed up, we would have plenty of food.

On his birthday, Mike had consented to going to Manati and simply hoped there would not be a big crowd. Fortunately for us, several friends showed up and we enjoyed a lovely time with great weather and good conversation.

Part of the birthday group.

Lucky for us, Selayna and her friend, Markus, joined us. They are visiting from Germany and we were happy to see them as Selayna grew up on the island and we have known her since she was a child.

I presented Mike with his presents, which after opening he decided were pretty "nifty".

I bought him a special hat to wear at night. When he goes out to take evening photos, he often has a small flashlight in his mouth in order to see the settings on the camera. Also, when we return home at night and forget a flashlight (which, fortunately, does not happen often), this hat with its 3 LED lights under the visor would allow him to see the camera settings with one or two or three of the lights lit and see his way up the sidewalk to our house at night with his hands free to carry all the cushions, boxes, etc. that we have to remove from the boat! The shirt was just something I found in Florida during my visit this past November, and I could not pass it up!

We then enjoyed our meal and without the fanfare of singing "Happy Birthday". I made a special pasta dish I use to have in Minnesota as a child in which the main ingredient is teeny tiny macaroni rings I've only found in Minnesota. While in Florida in November, my cousin (bless his heart) sent me 5 boxes of small macaroni rings and for which I will be forever grateful. On the island, the types of pasta we can get is limited and these are really special. Combine them with any kind of raw or partially cooked vegetable, some cut up chicken or tuna, mayonnaise dressing, etc. and you have a wonderful feast. I topped them with sliced avocados and home made French Bread. Yummm.

All in all, my husband has eased into his new age and has found it is not half bad. We have a beautiful, simple home, a lovely place to live with beautiful scenery, activities to keep us busy and out of trouble and friends to visit and share our passing years with.

So, maybe next year he won't be so hesitant to celebrate!