It was a little like a Chinese puzzle. There were a bunch of unique pieces that came together to make something wonderful.My birthday was last Thursday and the number signified was one of those big round kind that draws a bit more attention than is usually comfortable for me. 60. I'm not one bit bothered by the sound of it because I've actually been practicing out loud for a few months. I was a little worried about the potential fuss made of it.
But my fabulous family worked out the coolest celebration ever, if a little over the top: We took a little trip together to San Diego. Sounds simple enough, but it required extra time off from intense work schedules and some logistical creativity to make it all work out. And not just for the four of us. Emi took time off her job and Mike flew in for the weekend from Chicago so that we could all be together the whole time. Seriously.
Thursday morning, Tom and I drove to San Francisco to meet up with Dylan at his shop. Dylan has several orders stacked up and one of them, a bed frame, had to be delivered that afternoon. So we snagged him for some lunch and then we helped him put a final wax coating on the pieces (first photo) before loading it into his friend's truck for transport.
Later, the three of us picked up a few items (on our way to Rachel's place) for the perfect dinner that Emi and the kids had planned: Artisanal cheeses to start, main dish of make-our-own sushi, and chocolate layer cake for dessert! The cake was Emi's first-ever from-scratch cake and it looked (as you can clearly see) and tasted (believe me) as though she were a seasoned bakery chef. "Ganache" frosting, for heaven's sake.
The cheeses were fabulous. I can't remember their names--Rachel, the Resident Expert, chose them. Cows AND sheep were represented, however, as I recall. And the sushi was wonderful! Salmon, ahi, scallops. We took turns designing different rolls. Dylan's was most elaborate, of course (that design dominance). And, as if that all weren't enough...
...we spent the night at Rachel's, and, by late morning, we were all on our way to SFO for our flight to SD. More in the next post...
