20 September 2008

Great Events

Today is our eleventh wedding anniversary, but that's been eclipsed by my mother-in-law's 80th birthday party. David's oldest brother, Don, hosted the party of thirty people, one of whom said that he'd known Raema for 65 years. That is pretty incredible. It was also pretty incredible the way he kept patting her on the head like a pet, but I guess that's the familarity that comes with time...?

The day started with a mist over everything, like a foggy mountain morning (not the usual sort of weather for sunny Brisbane), then burned off to become quite a warm day. So we had our first swim of the season in Don's pool.

The other big event of the day was Callum's teeth. I noticed that he was sporting two new top teeth, bringing the grand total to six (four on top, two on bottom). This explains quite a bit of his recent restiveness during sleeps. He was a big hit at the party -- always is, to be frank, because he is so friendly and relaxed almost all the time. I do worry he's going to grow up to be a bit of a Casanova.

Anya had a great time running around with her cousin Siena, who is only 3 days older but looks about six months older as she is larger and sturdier. Luckily for Anya, Siena is the youngest of three, so doesn't mind Anya's bossiness.

We each brought a few dishes -- I made an enormous supply of nasi goreng, while David made a green salad and the birthday cake -- all absolutely delicious. I never actually looked up a recipe for nasi goreng before and was surprised how simple it was -- I used to buy it frozen from Trader Joe's (when I lived in LA) and add slivered almonds, and it seemed to have some ineffable flavor. Turns out that's a blend of kecap manis, shrimp paste, soy sauce and chili sauce! Not so mysterious now that I live in Australia where Southeast Asian food is practically home cooking.

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