Simple Sunday - Birthday Celebration during Covid

Due to the social distancing and all the restrictions of Covid, birthday celebrations are done so differently and so simple.  But it is possible to do something if you really want to follow and keep everybody safe.  So how did we do it.  Last week was my birthday and I decided to have a very small gathering in the backyard. We place some TV trays (2 each) on each corner of our deck.  The guests brought their own plates, cutlery, glasses and drinks.  One couple brought the salad, the other my birthday cake.  I made spring roll for appetizers and for our main dish, Thai Red Curry Shrimp, Satay Chicken with peanut sauce and steamed rice.  We shared stories, have a couple of toasts (for me , the neighborhood, and friendship). It was a perfect day, it was warm but not hot and the fact that it didn't rain was a real blessing.  I had received a lot of birthday cards, texts, emails and telephone calls.  So blessed that I was able to celebrate my birthday and had a bit of fun during these tough times for many people in Canada.  My hubby gave me a golf ball retriever, a set of fun socks and a couple of EOS lip balm. 

Aren't these socks cute?

The flower that bloomed on my birthday.

The cards from friends and family.

One of the text I received from my BFF.

Fairways Friday - Greens and Fairways

During the Memorial weekend in the USA, the Match (Golf) was on and I was able to record it but did not have enough time and it ended on the 17th hole.  It was such a nice treat to watch live golf again.  It's too bad the pairing was not Woods and Brady, and Michelson and Manning.  So I was torn because I love Tiger but not Payton and of course on the other side I love Tom but not Phil.  Anyway, the end result, Tiger won and even though Brady's team did not win, Tom had the play of the day when he had a nice iron shot on to the green and the ball rolled in the hole.  Yeah.  It was amazing how Tiger was playing in that rainy condition but he was always in the middle of the fairways.  That is one thing I learned from someone that when you are out there in the golf course, there are only two words you need to remember at all times - FAIRWAYS AND GREENS.  It doesn't work all the time but it's a good training in your head instead of maybe thinking of other hazards along the way.  A week ago, I decided to take a lesson from the PRO in my home course.  It has been over three years since I took a lesson.  So I thought I needed a little tune up.  I was very pleased that we don't have to correct too much with what I have.  Of course I am old so the body cannot do all that turning and all that power.  But one thing for sure that I can depend on is my drive (which is most of the time in the middle of the fairways) and my putt (two putt or less).  Where I struggle is the fairway woods and the irons, which is what my lessons will be concentrating on.  Hopefully after two lessons I will be able to apply what I have learned and not screw up what I have been depending on.  Last year I play with my BFF from Kelowna who works as a starter at one of the nicest course in that area.  Our 4th person was her neighbor and it was so funny that by the end of the 3rd hole, he said to me, "I have a new nickname for you, MRS. Fairways".  Then when we were visiting our friends back in San Jose, CA. I got a chance to play again with my golf buddies, and one of them gave me another nickname based on the previous story.  He said, your new nickname is " MRS. Always Fairways".  I just wish I could get more distance but for now I am happy with just being in the middle of the fairway.  

Toasting Tuesday - Not bread but birthday

How does someone celebrate a birthday when you get to a certain age?  Do you only celebrate the big years, like 40, 50, 60 etc?  Or should you celebrate every year after you turn 65 because you don't know when that time will come?  Oh that's not how to look on life.  I think you should celebrate your birthday every year no matter what.  It does not have to be a big party always.  It could be as simple as going for breakfast at Denny's, you get your breakfast for free up to the grand slam amount which is $11.69 or less. The you can  celebrate your birthday lunch with a few friends at Rosters for their wing special.  Apparently this bar and grill will serve you the number of wings based on your age for free.  You can share it with friends but you cannot take it home.  I think that is one great deal.  Now all you need is a place to go for dinner for free.  One of our friends, suggested Kelly O'Brien.  They said, that the birthday celebrant gets a free dinner.  So that covers you 3 meals and then if you want to celebrate more, I am sure there will be a bar that will give you the first drink on the house.  But it might be better to just get a few friends over for TGIT (thank god it's tuesday) or some sort of open house. Just serve appetizers and our neighborhood rule which is BYOB.  Maybe even have just desserts and drinks (TGITDD).  So how will I celebrate my birthday this year. 

• Breakfast at Denny's with Jeff
• A round of golf at Hillview Golf Course
• Lunch at Roster's with friends - wings to share among friends
• Dinner at the Green Pub - their special is Tacos Tuesday with a live band
• Cupcakes with the ladies on Wednesday after golf
• Desserts at home with some of the neighbors.

To all my family and friends, thank you for all your wishes today.  I feel very special and blessed to have an amazing life surrounded by all of you.  This day would have not been complete without the text messages, emails and of course phone calls.

Separated Saturday - Mother and Daughter

Today I wish I was still living in Ontario so I can help celebrate my daughter's birthday.  Sometimes life is not fair specially when you have to make decision where you live and you are so torn because whatever decision you make, someone gets hurt.  But today is not about being sorry, today is dedicated to my daughter and the many memories we had through the years. Of course not everything in life is all happy, there are many years of unhappy times, tough times.  But what I would like to share are some of the funny stories that we both  would never forget.  The question is, how many can I recall.  Let's begin and see how it ends. In no particular order.

• Whenever we do a video chat, she seems to have only very little charge left on her phone, so sometimes it would pause and say "battery low", and we would both laugh as I say, oh is that the sign to hang up?  or maybe it's time to hang up because she got too tired listening to me talk. LOL
• Many years ago when we lived together, I was going out to a party and decided to use a particular sandal that she has.  When she found out that I had borrowed it without asking, she got very upset and threw the sandal to me.  I ended up writing her a check and threw it back at her.  Many years later, I still have the pair of sandal and could not give it away as it had so much memories of laughter and tears. In 2017, I ended up just taking a photo as the heel disintegrated and had to throw it away.
• One evening my BFF and I went out to a club downtown Toronto. Later that evening on our way out, my daughter and her friend were just arriving and we bumped into them on the stairs. Her friend says "that looks like your mom, wait a minute, it is your mom".  The time was 11 pm.  The old ladies leaving and the young girls just starting their night.
• A few weeks before my move to San Jose, my daughter and I decided to spend the night in Niagara Falls.  We went for a nice dinner and were suppose to spend a couple of hours at their casino.  Unfortunately she got sick (food poisoning or just too much meat) and had to stay in bed the rest of the evening.  Luckily she felt better the next day. Although short, it was still a memorable time with her.
• On two separate occasion, I was able to be with her at an all inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  Spending time at the pool, having breakfast, lunch and dinner and even sharing time with her nephews and nieces.
• While visiting her and her hubby in their new place in Toronto, I realized that my daughter has become an amazing caring adult. I say this because when she took me to the train station, she made sure I was on the right train and was given the perfect instructions.  The tables has now turned, I felt like the kid on a school bus, I loved it.
• During her solo visit to San Jose, we were out shopping at Target.  She noticed some older kids were riding the shopping cart.  When we were done shopping, we saw a cart near where our car was parked, so she decided to ride inside.  We were laughing so hard and even more after she had a difficult time getting out of the cart.
• Last but not least, during her visit in Vernon for the very first time, her husband calls my name and as I was coming into their room, my daughter comes from under the bed and surprised me. This is what I love about her, she's still very young at heart. 

Warmhearted Wednesday - Just because

Today is one of my bff's birthday and I am dedicating this post today because I know she will be checking my blog.  She's one of my avid follower and although she's only started following my blog for at least four years, she is very loyal in that I get an email from her if she notices that I have not posted anything in a week.  This is so good of her to do it because it gets me going and do a bunch of post scheduled.  It has been almost four years since I saw her at our B&B in San Jose, CA.  We had such a great visit because she chose our home to celebrate her birthday.  She was such an awesome guest in that she didn't mind helping around the house (inside and out).  One morning after breakfast I saw her pulling weeds in our garden.  Another day she was showing me how to make home made tomato sauce from scratch.  She also made dinner for us, just to give me a break.  We had saw much fun when I took her to my spa, our local winery and the most part she enjoyed was the beautiful garden of  US Santa Cruz Arboretum.  She told me some of the names of some flowers that I never knew.  Since then every time I took a photo of some flower in and around the area, she would tell me their names and if they are easy to grow, etc.  She is my own personal master gardener.  I have invited her to visit us in the new location of our B&B but unfortunately she could not leave due to family commitments.  She is a dedicated daughter, mother, grandmother and a loyal friend.  She is caring, loving, thoughtful but most of all humble and kind.  Happy birthday Maria, may all your birthday wishes come true and may you have many years of happiness, great health and amazing friendships.

Whimsical Wednesday - A unicorn birthday

It's a little funny story that I wanted to share for my post today.  A week ago, my neighbor invited me to her birthday party.  She was going to be 8 and the theme is unicorn.  I got excited as I have never been to a Unicorn birthday party.  She told me that I could wear a pajama if I wanted to but she will have a unicorn headband for me.  She told me the date and the time.  A few days later I bought a couple of gifts that had unicorn on it.  Before making some extra give away for her five little friends, I ask her mother what sizes do they wear for flip flops. It took me a few stores before I found the right sizes I needed.  The day before her party I started decorating the flip flops and then realized I needed to make doubles. Anyway you will see what I am talking about.  On the day of the party, I put on my PJs and carried the gifts and extras plus my manicure basket (nail polish, tools, etc).  When all the girls arrived, they made name tags using the unicorn chart, played games, had unicorn treats and then I gave them all a quick mani pedi which they all loved.  Once their nails were done, it was Pinata time which I did not participate (as per Jeff's instruction). Anyway here's some photos I took for the very whimsical unicorn party. 

These became a unicorn friendship bracelets, it was meant for the flip flops,
but it was too late to crochet more.

Everyone gets this during their pedicure.

Sparkle Fudge

Unicorn cupcakes - I saved mine and took it home for Jeff.

The birthday girl and me

Her friends

Her other friends

Memories Monday - Life is good

It's another big birthday with a smaller celebration.  I don't know about you but I love celebrating birthdays but most specially the decades.  For example, for my 20th, it was what I would call a Holy One.  You might ask why?  I had only been living in Yellowknife for a few months and have not made a lot of friends.  So the guests were a few nuns (Sisters of St. Joseph) and a couple of priests. I was blessed right left and center.  Now for my 30th, it was with a group of great friends (couples and singles) but what I can remember is that I passed out on the couch half way through the celebration (a little too much drinking).  You know what they say about 40 - now I am over the hill.  Actually not yet.  The night before my birthday, my friend Debbie and I decided to go for a drink with the guys (mostly cops).  I guess I have not learned my lesson from ten years ago.  Mixing drinks was a bad thing.  I had never experienced a very bad hangover and my headache lasted for three days.  The sad part is that I had organized a party with 40 guests for my birthday.  I went to work only to find out I couldn't really concentrate. My supervisor was so kind and told me to go home so I could nap before the big party.  One surprise from a friend, a male stripper.  I was having such a big headache, it was a waste as I didn't pay attention to him. LOL.  There were a lot of gifts that I did not open until two days later.  Now to the best birthday ever, my 50th.  My daughter organized it at a local bar and 138 friends attended.  Of course we closed the bar and it was the best birthday ever.  The rest of the birthday are just regular and life goes on.

Today is sort of a big one because after today, I will be getting some great benefits even a discount at the local liquor store.  As they say age is just a number, it's all about how you live your life to the fullest, no regrets and no complaints.  Life is good.  Enjoy yours too.

Special Sunday - After all these years

It is a special Sunday because it is the birthday of my childhood friend.  A truly special friendship that lasted this many years.  But I have to tell you the rest of the story.  Maybe I have shared this but I will revisit it again since today is all about her. The friendship began at Kindergarten, that's right, we were 5 years old.  We lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same school from K-Grade 3.  Unfortunately their family moved to the bigger city and I did not see her for many years.  While attending a basketball game for our university team (similar to the NCAA), we saw each other and caught up with our stories.  What was interesting was that she recognized me from behind because she noticed the birthmark behind me left knee.  I was standing to cheer for our team and that's when she realized it was me.  After that we did not see each other again.  Her family moved to the USA while our family moved to Canada.  Many many years has passed but every now and again I wondered where she might be.  Not until late July of 2016 that I decided to do what everyone does when they are searching for someone.  Lucky for me, it did not take long to find her.  I was not sure if she would remember me so I did something old school.  There was an office address and I sat down and wrote her a letter, attached some copies of old photos from the past.  I waited patiently in the hopes that she will contact me.  Then one day in August I received a phone call and it was her.  We were both so happy to hear each others voice and we talked for a very long time as if nothing it was just yesterday.  Last April 2017 we did a road trip on our new RV and stopped by to reconnect with

her.  It was such as amazing feeling seeing your childhood best friend for the first after all those years. Now we continue to communicate using the latest technology.  I am so glad that I did my research and reconnected.  Today she celebrates her special birthday with her family and I know that we will see each other again sometime this year or next year.  Happy birthday my dear friend!

Fortunate Friday - Very lucky to have my SIL

It has been a long time since I had featured someone very important in my life.  Today is my favorite SIL's (son in law) birthday. Oh I forgot to mention, I only have one SIL.  I am using Fortunate even though it's not monetary but it's like I won the lottery when my daughter married Mike.  In 2010 when I retired I was not really sure how to explain how I felt about leaving my one and only daughter.  Even though she's a grown responsible woman and very independent, deep down she is still my kid. The only thing that made it easier to leave was that she was in good hands, actually change that, she's in excellent care of my SIL. I knew in my heart that he will always be there for her.  He also has an amazing family and they just embraced my daughter as one of theirs.  I could go on and on but today I just want to thank him and wish him an awesome happy birthday.  Maybe he might stumble upon my blog today so he will know how much appreciate him as my son in law. 

Sparkling Sunday - It's my birthday

No big party, no extravagant gifts and no birthday cake.  OMG am I getting old.  Wait a minute as my BFF Percy says "you are not getting old, YOU ARE OLD".  That's what friends are for, they tell you the truth and guess what, "I can handle the truth."  So today is just another Sunday but although there is no big celebration, somehow my friends manage to do a get together to celebrate it.  My friends just bought a big boat and we got on it for it's first boat tour. Afterwards we had a BBQ at their deck overlooking Discovery Bay.  I almost forgot to mention that Jean already gave me the birthday gift a month ago.  Jeff manage to get me a couple of things while were in Vernon, BC Canada and I love it because it was practical.  I am very thankful to be at my age still feeling young and able to do a lot of things, like play golf, tennis, bowling and even go out dancing.  Although my knee is only good for a couple of songs.  It has been almost seven years since I retired and I am so glad of that decision.  Being retired in California was a wonderful experience but life brings changes and we are very excited with the coming change.  Keep following my blog to read about our next adventure.