Friday 4 May 2018

birthdays and cakes and wind

Yesterday our daughter turned 22. I know everyone says, "When did that happen?", but truly I believe the expression that the days go slowly and the years go quickly. Sometimes the hours go slowly!! She's just finished up her fourth year of university and is home to live with us for the summer and to work a summer job.

We had a little family gathering with her requested supper of "Greek food". That means chicken breast done up with Greek seasoning (often on the barbecue, but not this time), a big Greek salad, basmati rice, tzatziki  sauce, and Naan bread (yes, I know that's not Greek). She also requested chocolate layer cake. This is the standard birthday cake for everyone. I asked if she wanted me to change it up, make a different kind of cake, a different dessert, but no. It had to be the chocolate cake. (Homemade, not from a mix, with homemade icing). And so of course that is what I did. Tradition is a good thing. Traditionally, some candles are put into the top of the cake, husband dims the lights, and I carry the flaming cake to the table while we all sing "Happy Birthday" and then pictures are taken. The candles are then blown out, and then I cut great big slices and we have coffee or milk with cake. As well, the Happy Birthday sign is hung on the wall and a few streamers are strung from the light over the table to the corners of the room. It does not matter how old you are - you get the Happy Birthday sign and the streamers.

We had a very nice wine, from a local winery called Hoity Toity Cellars. They produce ciders and wines. This one was called Dusty White Glove.


Here is my "baby girl" and I before the candles were blown out.


At one point, daughter's boyfriend commented about how she was eating her birthday cake. She just laughed and had him look at my plate. This is what he saw:


Yes, this is how you eat layer cake so that you finish with the most icing possible. You eat the cake part at the bottom and between the layers, and then the decadent icing in the middle, at the outside and on the top. Is there anyone else out there who does this?

Today we had a heck of a wind storm. Our power went out from trees toppling on wires. Our very large Norway Spruce had a huge limb come down, thankfully not on the house, or on wires. I will take a picture in the light tomorrow so you can see it. I have no idea how we are going to deal with this, but we will need outside help for sure. Thankfully the wind has died down now, but there will be much clean up tomorrow.

15 comments:

  1. I say 'nai' (yes, not no) to that greek meal! Yes to the naan bread instead of pitted and definitely yes to your chocolate cake. Na zisei San ta psila vouna. May she live as long as the tallest mountains

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  2. How lovely to have family birthday traditions like that.

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  3. It's true. Years flash by but 15 minutes can take an hour to pass, even if you are enjoying yourself.

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  4. How nice that you make an event of a birthday dinner no matter the age of the celebrant. Yes, I always eat the cake first and save the thickest part of the icing for last.

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  5. Happy Birthday to your girl. Three of my five children also had birthdays this week!
    That storm was NUTS. My cousins in Hamilton had a big tree come down on their vehicles, ripping the hydro right off their house in the process. Thankfully we just had some light things blow into the bushes.

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  6. Happy birthday to your daughter! Looks like such a lovely time. And homemade cake is certainly the best.

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  7. Congratulations with your daughter...here in Holland we have beautiful weather sitting outside now after work and a funeral this afternoon...let the weekend begin....cheers!....love Ria x 💜

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  8. I so love that photo of you two in the candlelight. And smart cake eating. Why waste the calories on the cake first? Although homemade chocolate cake, sans mix, is worth enjoying the whole thing! It looks like a wonderful time!

    We had big wind yesterday too. I'm so sorry about the big limb on your tree.

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  9. Belated birthday wishes to your daughter. We aren't big cake eaters but on some cakes I've been known to eat the middle only.

    That was a horrible wind, rain, thunder lightening storm yesterday. We also lost power, twice, first time for about 45 minutes, second time for about 5 hours. Today all you can hear is the chain saws going as people cut up the trees (so many) that were toppled yesterday. Thankfully we didn't loose trees or roof shingles. ... Mary-Lou =^..^=

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  10. How sweet to do homemade birthday's with home cooked foods and deserts. Awesome.
    Happy Birthday to your daughter.
    xoxo
    Kris

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  11. The picture of the two pieces of cake on the plates made me laugh. Have to admit I've never seen cake eaten that way. Belated Happy Birthday to your daughter. She's a Taurus like me!

    Curiously, I had a very vivid dream last night about a terrible wind storm with trees coming crashing through windows. No bad weather here though and I'm glad you didn't have any more damage than you did. I get really queasy during wind storms. :o( Do NOT like them.

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  12. My son is also 22 and yes, it has gone by so fast. In a blink, it seems.

    Happy Birthday to your girl and to you, her mama.

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  13. The windstorm was a beast Friday...took down the neighbours fence and one of the cedar trees out back. We watched the shingles being ripped off a house one street over. No power loss here thank goodness. Oh...and for the record....that's how I eat cake too.

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  14. Gosh, it was a storm, wasn't it? Good luck with clean up.
    Happy birthday to the young lady! My daughter turns 39 this year!!!!
    (ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!

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  15. Greek food and chocolate cake... that's what I call the perfect meal. It's amazing how quickly the year go by. Have a wonderful week, Jenn.

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