Emma's 16th birthday

Another day, another birthday! This time it was (Rico's sister's daughter) Emma's Sweet 16. Rico and I were driven to their house in Edison, New Jersey by Charley and Michelle.

There was enough filipino food and cake to feed a houseful of people, which is lucky since that's as many who showed up! The tune of Happy Birthday (and countless other songs) was played on the piano, live!

Perhaps Emma felt a little out of place, as the average age of the crowd must have been at least 40! Even I can't remember what I did on my 16th Birthday!!

Yvette's birthday

How fast a year goes by in New York. It doesn't seem that long ago we were celebrating Yvette's birthday last summer in her apartment. This year we marked the occasion at Cendrillon. The New York Times recently gave the restaurant a good review so the place was packed.

"Cendrillon probably uses as much vinegar per ounce of food as any restaurant in Manhattan, and uses it perhaps most memorably in its chicken adobo. The chicken is braised in a mixture of rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and Thai chili pepper, and then bathed in a reduction of that liquid, paired with coconut milk."

I can confirm the chicken abodo is indeed as sumptuous as the words used to describe it :) We all ate 'till our stomachs were happily full and then sang Happy Birthday Yvette!!

Miriam's 99th

Today was my Great Great Aunt Miriam's 99th birthday party! Malou, Sylvan, Marc and myself gathered around the table as Miriam reminisced on the past 99 years: how her only brother loved to tug on her braided hair as a child, when she went to a Mikveh and when she made dresses (included the one below). She spoke in English, German, French and Dutch, always translating back into English for my benefit and each time it was something worth hearing (e.g. "Change happens all around you. You just have to learn to accept it.") She is quite a lady and we are all looking forward to seeing her reach 100, an event Mayor Bloomberg might not want to miss...!