And The Sixth Decade Begins

As self-isolating birthdays go, yesterday’s was a pretty good one. I mean, I was pretty much on my computer for much of the day but that somewhat suits me – you know, in lieu of doing something outside, of course. Speaking of which, I’m happy to report there were no ill effects experienced after Sunday’s longish ride – other than my needlessly sunburned hands and maybe being a bit (or more-than-a-bit) pooped afterwards.

As seen in my previous post, in addition to more-than-a-little computer time, yesterday also saw me take a few moments to make another (silly) video – this time featuring my latest batch of banana bread. Considering the talent and subject matter, it turned out reasonably well. Well-enough anyway.

Oh, and I forgot to mention in my previous post that after my ride on Sunday I got together (no closer than two metres, of course) with a few friends for what has become the now frequently seen driveway/front yard “party”. It was a fun visit and I ended up leaving with a container of birthday baking they made for me – hard to wrong with brownies and cookies. And there was Guinness too. Add that to my third loaf of homemade banana bread and I’m living the dream.

Birthday treats from friends (and there was a Guinness too)

That dream got a bit bigger as my “big day” also featured an early afternoon, somewhat impromptu but also clearly somewhat planned, birthday party out on the front lawn. With social distancing protocols being respected the entire time, I had a nice visit with my dad, aunt/godmother, uncle, cousin, cousin-in-law, and a couple of neighbours. And they even brought a piece of cake (complete with candles, although it was far too windy to light said candles). The (tiny) downside of the cake’s presence was that it kind of rendered the above GIF inaccurate … but I’m not changing it at this point. And, just to be clear, I’m in no way complaining about the cake. In “cake vs GIF”, cake wins.

In addition to the aforementioned party and cake, a few hours later my brother, sister-in-law, and my favourite eldest niece dropped by for a third front yard get-together. That get-together didn’t feature any cake (GIF integrity maintained) but it did present a sizeable dish of Rice Krispies squares … with some chocolate on top. Turning 50 certainly has its perks! Once again, an enjoyable (albeit, chilly) time was had by all – again, with a two metre buffer zone respected by all.

20 years. 20 stickers.

In the end, the day worked out really well. My favourite youngest niece, who’s currently in Austria, sent me a long-distance birthday e-mail which included a hope that my day was “fun and a little extra special”. It was.

Somewhat unrelated, in addition to my birthday, the arrival of May also brought with it the annual license renewal for my car. Much like the 50 years that are now officially behind me, the 20 years that I’ve had with my Miata have also gone by in a blur. And what a great 20 they’ve been. I can’t honestly say I expected the stack of stickers on my license plate to ever get to be 20 deep but that’s where we’re at today.

And I’m more than a little happy about it.