Several years ago we learned that my former pastor and the Chief both have July birthdays, so we started having joint birthday parties. Sometimes it was just the 3 of us, sometimes more; sometimes we grilled, or cooked in, and last year we experimented with having an Italian place cater it. (Not bad, but not as good as we'd hoped.) This year the Chief decided he wanted to host a group for lunch at the Italian place.
Today 10 of us assembled at noon and filled up a round table, so we could all face each other. The restaurant serves groups of 8+ family style. This meant that we chose a salad, an appetizer, 2 pasta dishes, 2 meat dishes, and 2 desserts for the table to share. They brought out 2 plates of each item, with the salad & appetizer coming out together, and starting around the table. We quickly found that passing the dishes around, and "who wants the last stuffed mushroom?" or "anyone want more lasagna?" only added to the fun.
Not only were we celebrating the 2 birthdays, but 2 of our number were newlyweds, adding to the fun. M, who's a talented photographer, got pictures of everyone on her phone, including the plate of pretty little cookies w/ lit tapers anchored in a strawberry, presented to each of the birthday boys.
The service was leisurely, which was just fine - we had a group that didn't get to gather nearly often enough, and the new groom was new to most of us, so we had time to get past introductions.
What a wonderful way to pass nearly 3 hours on a perfect summer afternoon - the day was not too hot, the humidity was (finally) low, and there was a nice breeze. The Chief is already talking about what he wants to do next year - go back to this restaurant, find a different one, or do something here at the house?
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