Janet’s birthday was the last of my September/October birthdays, and we celebrated in style. Janet said she wanted a simple dinner; one that her grandkids Peter and Emily would enjoy too. I knew Peter liked chicken Parmigiano, so that’s what Janet picked for the menu. The rest of the dinner was simple rustic Italian that would compliment the chicken Parmigiano.
I was in the kitchen most of the day getting everything prepped and working on Janet’s cake. The cake too followed the Italian theme, and was an Italian lemon creme cake.
Larry and I also cleaned the house to get it ready for our little party. I set the table and got it looking very festive. (I accidentally broke my nice camera yesterday too, in the midst of the melay, so for now, I am limited to using cell phone pictures until we can either get it fixed or replaced).

We set the time for 5:30, but Janet and Bob came earlier since Bob was helping Larry with the sprinklers. Janet and I visited in the kitchen as I was cooking. Once everything was finished, and Janet’s son Brian and his family arrived, it was time to get the party started.
The birthday girl. The menu was chicken Parmigiano, a simple salad, garlic bread and sauteed zucchini and crookneck squash. Of course we enjoyed some Italian red wine to compliment the meal as well.



After dinner, it was time for presents, games and of course, CAKE. Even though Janet’s birthday is in October, ironically, hers was one of the first jewelry sets I finished in this busy birthday season. She likes warm earth tones, so her set is Tiger’s eye.

Janet loved her set and had me “autograph” them for her too. I recently started signing my pieces, and Janet wanted hers signed as well.

We took a little breather in between our big dinner and presents with a game of Telestrations, which is a hoot and a half. It’s similar to Pictionary. We play this game quite a bit, and we have all discovered it is much more fun when none of really know how to draw at all. The things we came up with; oh my. We laughed so hard and had a ton of fun.

After a few rounds of fun and laughter, it was time to bring out the cake (more on the cake later).


After cake, we played a few more rounds of Telestrations before everyone called it a night. Brian and his family had an hour drive back home. Dorrie and Juneau had to be part of the birthday celebrations too. They hate not being included in all the fun and festivities. After all, they are part of the family too. Even Otis and Nicky joined us after awhile.
Emily and Dorrie became fast friends. Juneau was camera shy, but she managed to get a little bit of her paw in the picture too. 🙂

It was a very fun and festive evening and Janet had a very Happy Birthday. Life is all about getting together with friends and family and enjoying all the good times together, especially over good food. Good friends, good food and good times! It doesn’t get much better than that. 🙂 We’ve been good friends with Janet and Bob for about 20 years, and counting. We decided years ago, we are more like sisters and family rather than just friends. 🙂
Have a great day and make everyday great. Celebrate all the good times as much as you can while you can. Life is short. Live life to the fullest and enjoy the ride, no matter what you do. ‘Til next time.







































































































