random thoughts – Day 1,846 – (Sunday) – happy family time

Today is one of the days that are heavy on birthdays. According to the Facebook birthday reminders, five of my FB friends and family members have birthdays today. There are probably more, but not everyone is on FB. The list includes my niece, a former colleague from Tennessee, a friend from Tennessee, a high school classmate, and a belly dance sister. Fun!

Dance practice went very well again this week, and then it was off to my sister’s house for lunch and birthday cake to celebrate my middle niece. Today kicks off a string of family birthdays with at least one close family member birthday in April, May, June, July, and August. Party season has officially opened.

Didn't work like in the video, required a knife.

I arrived in the midst of the pre-dinner comedy show involving a pineapple and a YouTube video. The person in the video had a technique to divide a pineapple without having to cut it. There was rolling, and slamming it on the counter three times, and then the little sections were supposed to be able to plucked out individually. 

It worked in the video, but not in real life in Sis's kitchen. The sections did not pluck out. There was pineapple juice everywhere. Sis eventually used a knife to get some of the sections out. But watching the attempt was certainly entertaining and we all had a great laugh.

Birthday candle fun.

Today’s festivity featured my sister’s cooking with baked chicken, cauliflower, and sweet potato, followed by cake. The cake had a fun candle feature with small birthday candles and a musical mobile that turns like the wooden Swedish Christmas candle spinners. My eldest niece, who lives in Nevada joined us by video chat and we had a fun time. 

These are the things I missed while living in Tennessee.  All the birthdays and lunches and spontaneous gatherings and family moments that I would hear about from afar or maybe not at all. They kept chipping at my stony little heart and I needed to come home.