a birthday tale

It was just like the vision in my head, of an old-fashioned garden party...

A lovely way to ring in the beginning of a new decade...

yes, I have now 'officially' entered my 30s.

There were dark clouds in the sky, with the threat of rain all day,

but when he saw my sad face my dear husband agreed,

against better judgment, to set up the table outside...

then he kindly barbequed up a whole bunch of greek chicken and steak skewers.

The special guests chatted outside, glancing up at the sky on occasion,

while the flustered cook worked at last minute tasks in the kitchen...

including trying to grill veggies for dinner on two grills which were plugged into the same outlet.

If anyone has ever tried that, they may know that the inevitable result is a blown fuse...and some rather crunchy greek vegetables...oops!

Alas, the clouds did break, and the rain did start, just in time for the meal to begin...so there was a quick rescue operation and everything was brought inside and set back up in record time!

More special guests (0:

Shortly after this, the camera batteries died...but a lovely (if indoor) evening followed, with Greek food, yummy cheesecake made by a dear friend, gifts (despite the 'no gift rule'!), a charming ukulele, guitar and djembe ensemble, and lots of chatting and laughter.

Thank you for a great birthday party everyone.