Susan’s birthday was on Friday the 15th of August but we chose the party for Saturday the 16th. In spite of many who could not come our guest list quickly exceeded 40 people. That was the easy part! Then the real work began!
Without the effort of Caesar, Christina and Susan none of this would have been possible. Caesar found the tents and some chairs which we rented from Presto Catering in North Vancouver. They were really helpful and easy to deal with.
Susan wanted BBQ’s pig and she found a place in New Westminster who would do a whole pig, 20 kg, and carve it for us. We also decided to do BBQ sausages and chicken which I did on our own BBQ at the party.
Saturday morning Caesar and I set up the tents and tables and chairs. The weather on Friday was terrible. It rained all day and caused us some concern. But the weather report on our cell phones said the weather would clear on Saturday. To our great relief the rain ended on Saturday morning and by noon we were seeing sunshine. By four o’clock the weather was dry, warm and delightful!
Susan’s 80th Birthday Party
You would never know she was getting old. She never stops. She spends hours in her garden and then works till bedtime in the house. She plants and washes and cleans and cooks and still has time to makes sure I have a list of chores. No, you would never think that the years were creeping up on her.
Caesar and Christina came to me in July wanting to have a party for Susan. Since we had not had a backyard BBQ for several years we decided to make it a birthday party.
Hot sun or August rain both can cause discomfort without a tent. We rented two from Presto Catering in North Vancouver.
Sabrina and Anthony at Susan’s party.
Will and Wilma live across from us on our back alley.
From the left, Adele, Maria and Sherry.
We were glad Rose and Real were able to come.
Iara and her daughter Tina. It was Iara and Hilda that got Susan and I to meet.
Susan, Christina and Zia Anna with help from Caesar and others laid out a feast. We had BBQ roasted pig with the skin on for those who like that candy treat. I had BBQ’d chicken and mild Italian sausages on our BBQ. There was potato salad, which I made, mixed vegetables, cucumber, tomato and bocconcini salad, two kinds of pasta, green beans, and ….. well you get the picture. My Kathleen brought a Spinach Dip in a loaf of bread which is one of my favourites. There was more food than twice as many people could eat!
Spaghetti Pesto with basil from Susan’s garden.
BBQ’d pork with that wonderful skin still on it.
Sausage I BBQ’d as people were arriving.
My BBQ’d chicken thighs.
Mixed vegetables prepared by Susan.
Tomato Cucumber Salad, Potato Salad.
Desert was basically fruit and cake. Susan and Christina found the most incredibly tasty lemon cake. I was looking so forward to leftovers but Caesar took what was left home with him. Needless to say, I was crushed.
We finished with coffee, espresso or americano, and a little Bailey’s or an amaro from Sicily.
People began leaving as the sun was going down but stayed till 10:00pm talking and enjoying each others company. It was a great party and one that Susan deserved. She is an absolute rock in the family and we should stop now and then to recognize it. We will do it again for her nintieth birthday.
This was a rich heavy lemon cake. Really special!
Caesar has just lit the candles on Susan’s cake while Zia Anna looks on.
And here we all are. From the left, we have Real and Rose. Then comes Maria and Sue in the sun glasses behind Adele. Above Adele is John and seated in front of her are Will and Wilma. Beside Wilma is Christina and above Wilma and Christina is Rosetta and Sherry. In the top row is Ettore with Antonietta and then Dominic behind Sherry. Behind Susan are Olivia, and Flynn in the back row. Then just above Susan is Sean’s Sheila, then Lise and Caesar. In front of Caesar is Zia Anna from Powell River. Over Caesar’s shoulder is my daughter Kate and her husband Colin. To Caesar’s right is Sabrina, then Samantha with Hilda behind Sam, and above Sam is Anthony, Sabrina’s beau. The couple standing on the right are Barbra and Umberto. He is Susan’s nephew. And finally, seated on the right, is our friend Tony. Iara and Tina had left when this picture was taken.
CoCo posted this notice to be sure the quests knew where things stood!
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