Birthday Festivities

It was the perfect birthday. Jackie said I'm very difficult to plan for...I won't tell them what I want...I say "anything" when they ask...but right about the day or the day before the day...I said I would prefer home-cooked food.

Now home-cooked food requires ingredients. They settled on mutton rendang, mint and coriander rice and manchurian cauliflower. We went to the market. OK, there was a little contretemps before going. Jackie and Simon wanted to go alone. They asked for a list. I was glued to the TV. Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams, a birthday present. Mum wanted to go to. But she didn't want to go alone. Because then it would be three...and three, as everyone knows, is unlucky.

So there I was, one eye on the TV, another on the tantrum taking place...and so I clicked "pause" and then we took off for the market. Without the Big M. During which time, Jackie taught me a new word "intransigent". Which means stubborn or immoveable. Simon pointed out that it could be interchangeable for any of the Jacobs.

Jackie and I nodded.

It could.

We arrived at the market, got a good parking place, did our shopping quick smart (the mutton fler cheated us, and he asked me where I was from...I thought it was weird until I remembered that I was wearing my famous teal beret which I barely took off all birthday) and dangly turquoise earrings which is not accepted attire for the wet market.

Anyway we got home, I resumed watching TV and Jackie rushed around getting lunch ready. A few contretemps later and it was. And it was delicious. The manchurian cauliflower was a surprise...kind of like biting into what you assume to be sweet and sour pork and you find a cauliflower inside. The rendang was to die for. The rice was drool-worthy.

Just as Jackie had given up on the lemon pudding (gosh oh gee I do love lemon puddin' on account of it's my favourite puddin') Esther arrived. With an ice cream cake...I tell you serendipity and serendipity...so we cut the cake, took lots of pictures until we realised that cake was melting all over the table...served it up with port...a good time was had by all.

Ended the day watching Kungfu Panda 2. So I'm thinking about the three movies I chose to watch on my 40th birthday - High Fidelity - which is kind of about committing to love, Field of Dreams - which is about following that voice in your head no matter how strange it is - and Kungfu Panda 2 - which is about inner peace.

Is that to set the theme for the year?

I wonder...