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| Jandre, Danie, Kathy, Tom, me, Rita, Louise and Gerhard on the veranda overlooking the Crocodile River at Tom’s birthday party last year. (Photo is from the following day’s post on December 24th. Don, Kathy’s husband, took the photo). |
It’s a delightfully busy morning as I continue to prep today’s dishes for Tom’s birthday dinner party starting at 4:00 pm today. Yesterday, we posted the menu. If you missed it, please click here.
Thank goodness I managed to get all the chopping and dicing done yesterday. Although the menu is uncomplicated, it still requires tremendous preparation to pull it all together.
All I have left to do today is broil the garlic shrimp, broil the garlic bread, cook the sauteed Portobello mushrooms, bake the potatoes, toss the salad and wrap up the cake, which has been baked and is awaiting the finishing touches. It will be an easy day.
Yesterday we squeezed all the lemons for the Lemon Drop Martinis, and soon I’ll add the sugar and wrap up the mix to which our guests may add either gin or vodka, which I’ll whir with ice in Mary’s borrowed blender.
With limited space, I can’t set the table until it’s time to eat. We’re borrowing a table from Mary which, as it turns out, we’ll have to set up indoors. It’s a very cool and cloudy day with possibilities of rain requiring we eat indoors.
Tom will cook the already marinating New York Strip steaks to order on the grill while getting the remaining dishes ready to be served. No stress here. I’ve always strived to make dinner parties seamless by avoiding being in an uproar for any part of it.
Nothing stresses guests more when they see their hosts scrambling in an attempt to get the meal put together. We’ve strived to avoid such a scenario preferring our guests can relax and enjoy their time at our party.
I am overflowing with love and gratefulness for my husband. This morning I wrote a tribute to him on Facebook as follows, which says it all:
“Happy birthday to my husband Tom, my travel companion, friend, and forever lover. You always have been a loving and thoughtful partner, but this past year you further proved the “stuff” you are made of when you took care of me for many months while I recovered from open-heart surgery in South Africa and after that. Your love and devotion came through every day and continue now that I am well. This photo was taken when we were in Tanzania in the savannah. Now, my dream life continues with the man of my dreams when in 37 days, we depart for two months touring India. Happy birthday, my love. I love you always…”
Our goal is not to “toot our own horn” here if possible. Still, today I couldn’t help but remind Tom and our readers how fortunate I feel, we feel, to have one another, to be living this extraordinary life, and, most of all, to continue after this trying year.
But, this year is significant when we have the opportunity to share it with a part of Tom’s family; three of his six sisters, two brothers-in-law, and each other is usually warm and sunny Arizona.
May you have a fantastic day as the Christmas festivities continue…
Photo from one year ago today, December 23, 2018:
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| December 23, 2017: Happy 65th birthday to my darling husband, lover, travel companion, and forever friend who has made this special and unique life of world travel possible. Click here for details. For the post from one year ago today, please click here. |