Birthday brunch

Birthday girls: Sara and Lori

We had the whole gang over for brunch today -- our three kids and their partners -- for a double birthday celebration for Lori and Sara, Nathan's girlfriend.

Though the actual birth date was two days ago -- Sept. 27 -- both enjoy celebrating a birthday week rather than a single day. And why not? If friends want to show their generosity a day or two ahead of time -- or a day or two or three afterwards -- with a complimentary lunch or dinner, who's to argue?

Friday: Lori and I went to dinner with our friends Erin and Beth. Amazingly, Beth also was born on the 27th, so we had a nice celebration at Sushi Mazi, a great little place on Southeast Division. The birthday girls went for the grasshopper sushi -- as in, yes, a real grasshopper on a bite-sized serving of rice.  Erin and I played it safe (no insects for us, thank you) and were more than happy to eat everything else that came our way.

Erin and Lori

George and Beth

Saturday:Jordan and wife Jamie drove down from Spanaway, Wash., yesterday afternoon. I had prepared white bean chicken chili for dinner but we never touched it. Why? They arrived shortly after we lost power because of the big storm and there was no way to reheat it. So, we snacked and chatted for a few hours by candlelight, then went out for an impromptu dinner at Shandong, our go-to for Mandarin Chinese cuisine. Scrumptious, as always.
 
Sunday: The rain and wind continued, but the electricity stayed on. A good thing, too, because we had a nice time with everyone contributing to a delicious meal that featured a frittata, roasted potatoes, two salads, two cakes and mimosas.  No rooftop dining, of course, but lots of laughter, cards, gifts and a few birthday candles.

Brunch is nice when it's just the two of you. But it's also so much fun when you can celebrate with your adult children and their significant others. Along with Jamie and Jordan, Nathan and Sara came from Southeast Portland and Simone and Kyndall from North Portland.


In addition to the eight of us two-legged creatures, we also had five dogs. Jamie and Jordan brought Brandi, their Chocolate Lab, and Jax, their Boxer-Pit Bull puppy, who they recently adopted after initially taking him on a foster-care basis as he was recovering from a broken leg. Sara and Nathan brought their Yorkie, Uni. And Kyndall and Simone brought Quimby, their regal Chihuahua-Pug.

Otto, our trusty and accommodating Jack Russell terrier, welcomed them all.

Nathan was planning to take Sara out for her birthday dinner tonight. Lori has two dinner dates with friends lined up this week. I'd say that's celebrating in fine style.