Monday, June 15, 2026

Yesterday, I orchestrated a 16-and-a-half birthday dinner for my granddaughter!

 My granddaughter's birthday is very close to Christmas, and all of us, her close family members, are usually really busy that time of year.  We've always talked about giving her a half-birthday, but it's never happened (except when she was six months old).

Our way of celebrating a birthday is to have a private dinner at home, with the birthday person choosing every part of the dinner.  She has chosen, no surprise to us, a sushi feast.  And for dessert, she's chosen her dad's family-famous cinnamon cake, created originally by her late paternal grandmother.

Making sushi might seem like a rather simple task but not at our houses.  We go all out and add just as many goodies as a nori sheet can hold without exploding, or being too large to get into our mouths.  So we had to start at least an hour and a half ahead of time because veggies had to be cut just so and asparagus had to be panko-breaded, tempura shrimp cooked (yes, they're insects of the sea, so I have no problem eating them.  I make my own vegetarian rules!  And I'm comfortable with insects, not that I've eaten any intentionally, except for these specific shrimp).

For decorations, we had a "Happy ... " banner, and balloons, some full, some half-full.  The cake had 16 tall candles and 1 "half-candle."  Oh, and I stumbled through "Happy Birthday, skipping every other syllable."   

It was silly, I know, but everyone had a very nice time, and the dinner and dessert were excellent.

Oh, one roll was so filled that after it was cut, a few of the pieces did "explode."


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