Lobster? Rhubarb? It must be a spring-time birthday

It isn't that we don't like the month of May; we definitely do. It's just that when it's over, we're surprised and thankful that we've survived it once again.

Just to remind you, here are the cards that have ended up on our mantelpiece over the past month:

Here's a different view, same cards:

And here's one, with Grizzly "helping" because cats always "help" in these situations:

We started with Mother's Day on May 8. We celebrated my birthday on May 14 — a lovely birthday.

We marked our 28th wedding anniversary on May 26 with a low-key enjoyable celebration.

And as the calendar ticked down, it was Dan's birthday yesterday. It was a milestone birthday and we had special friends join us to make a simple party fun and memorable.

Valerie tried to get Dan to make a speech; he didn't but he was gracious about it.

(Photo by Valerie Mansour)

Friends Claude (Goulet), Lynn (Stewart) and Douglas (Blackmore) listened politely.

(Photo by Valerie)

We had lots of cheese and paté and olives and crackers and some of Chuck Hughes' no-knead bread but even when you're keeping things simple, if you tell people there will be lobster rolls, that becomes the high point. Because I always like to have things done in advance, I spread the making of the lobster roll filling over a couple of days. Shelling the lobster is the most time-consuming so I shelled a bit on Friday and a bit on Saturday. It's hard work but someone has to do it.

The lobster rolls were do-it-yourself. Here's Lynn.

And while everyone likes a lobster roll, I thought the cake would be well-received also. It was made (by me) with luscious fresh rhubarb that Valerie brought from Amherst. Valerie is very generous with rhubarb throughout the season and it's become an annual challenge to come up with new recipes to enjoy the tart treat. We've made cakes and crisps and crumbles. We've made chutneys and savoury sauces and muffins. We've made jams and jellies. Pies, of course.

This was the latest creation:

William did the honours and we all sang lustily.

(That's William and I and Cousin Dale — photo by Valerie.)

And Dan took care of the candles:

He did a lovely job of cutting and serving:

Valerie seemed to enjoy her cake and Ann (Roman) opted for take-out. She was going to take her cake to work for lunch the next day.

And that's about it. It was a joyous occasion and I know we were all happy to fête Dan on his birthday. After the guests left, he decided that he might as well finish the Prosecco — a sparkling wine — because if he didn't, it would go flat. Then he listened to La Traviata from the Metropolitan Opera and he listened to it nice and loud.

So with the month of May once again behind us, we have a good six months to prepare for the next family birthday when William turns 22 in November.

Flowers, cake, good quotes: a happy birthday for me

I've had my birthday so I'm a little bit older today than I was yesterday. I suppose that's the case every day; it just seems more obvious on one's birthday.

I love my birthday. I feel I can do as I please — or not — and I can say, "Well, it's okay I did that because it's my birthday." I let myself get away with so much. The day after the birthday is such a let-down. Back to best behaviour, as much as I can manage.

I looked at my daily horoscope in The Globe and Mail:

IF TODAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY

A Venus-Pluto link on your birthday means no one will be immune to your charms. Both in your personal affairs and in your work you will find it easy to persuade others to hand over what it is you desire.

It reminded me of a conversation I had with my hairdresser this week. I can't even remember the context but during our chat — and there were others around in the salon — she said, "Sharon, I can't imagine anyone not liking you." I told her she might be surprised. There are people who probably don't like me, I said. "But why?" she asked.

"I'm a bit if a know-it-all," I said.

"But we learn so much from you, "she said. "Who wouldn't like that?"

"Other know-it-alls," I said.

It was my best line of the day.

William worked the night shift last night and brought the beautiful tulips home with him. They were awaiting me when I came down and I thought they were spectacular.

They've been opening as the day progressed.

The book is new poetry by my old friend and former co-worker, Sue MacLeod. She's a wonderful poet and I look forward to reading her new work.

I had lovely/funny cards from friends and family. The one in the photo is from Dan who manages to out-do himself every time. Look how sweet it it, with the little bows. This wasn't a milestone birthday for me but he checked around, looking for something special to relate to my special day. He found this quote from Dr. Sheldon Cooper, the genius theoretical physicist from The Big Bang Theory.

“The best number is 73…. 73 is the twenty-first prime number. Its mirror, 37, is the twelfth and its mirror, 21, is the product of multiplying (hang on to your hats) 7 and 3…. In binary, 73 is a palindrome: 1-0-0-1-0-0-1, which backwards is 1-0-0-1-0-0-1.”

It was the perfect quote for my birthday — and I sometimes identify with Sheldon too. Not with the genius, more with the compulsive control freak.

Dan had printed out the quote and placed it over the quote that came with the card. He made it so I could lift the Sheldon quote to see what was underneath. And underneath, there was:

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. Picasso

Dan thought that after I'd just written two blog-posts about misogynists — here and here — I might not want to be confronted with Picasso at the very beginning of my birthday. The quote is good though and I did acknowledge that, in spite of everything, Picasso made some fine art so it all worked out.

Cousin Dale joined us for dinner. We went to Eliot & Vine, a newish restaurant in Halifax, right in our own neighbourhood. We had a lovely evening and some tasty, photogenic food.

Dale and I both had the scallops as a first course — with leeks, prosciutto and bacon dust(!), with a fried quail's egg.

For Dan, it was the salad with fried haloumi, apple, pine nuts, micro-greens, with a lemon-thyme vinaigrette. He loved it.

William went with the carpaccio with horseradish aioli, pickled radish, arugula. It was supposed to come with nasturtiums but I notice William didn't complain at their absence.

The main courses in a restaurant are like the second and third born children in a family — there are never as many photos of them. By that time, there are too many dishes on the table and the novelty of photographing the food has worn off. Suffice it to say, we had more food and we enjoyed our evening a lot.

We came home for dessert because, along with the flowers, William had brought home a cake — a luscious Black Forest cake. I was serenaded and then invited to blow out the candles.

And did I make a wish?

You bet I did.