My Birthday Celebration
a unique adventure
Typically during December, around my birthday, Ron and I host a birthday/holiday party for our friends. We are known for having great parties, not because everyone gets trashed on expensive booze (we don’t even have hard liquor in our home), but because our home is small and that makes for a cozy environment.
I might even saber some bona fide French Champagne!
If the weather is bearable, the fellas usually hang around the outdoor grill where there’s always something hearty getting the low-and-slow grilling magic, while the women mostly stay indoors, gathering in the dining room/bar/kitchen. But when the weather is not pleasant, everyone comes inside the house! And we have a fairly small house, so it’s like wall-to-wall people. We love it.
My Kitchen
Here is a photo of the remaining half of us (we had about 20 guests) in 2022:
So you can see that “cozy” is a great word to describe our house parties.
Anyway, this year, Ron and I decided to visit my 86-year-old father during the week when we would typically have our party. (We’re moving it January instead because we think it’ll be good to raise everyone’s spirits during the winter doldrums.)
That said, we drove our travel rig to Mesa, Arizona, and I spent my 60th birthday with my two favorite men: My dad and my husband. I figured out that the last time I spent my birthday with my dad was in 1999 when my mother passed on December 13th, and I flew from California to Wisconsin — in yet another fucking snowstorm from hell — for her memorial service (she was cremated and did not want a funeral). I love my mother, but she hated me for leaving her and for me making it crystal clear that I would no longer travel to Wisconsin in December, and so I’m sure as shit her dying wish was to ensure that I’d have to do just that to honor her. (I love you, Mom.)
Again, I digress. Back to the Mesa birthday story.
Ron’s and my good friends Debby and Scott — who became full-time RVers in early 2023 — traveled several hours from their month-long stint at another RV park and paid to stay four nights in Mesa at a resort down the street from us JUST so they could spend my birthday with me. I love them dearly and could hardly believe that they would go to such great lengths.
The first full day in Mesa, while my dad was working (yes, he still does handyman work six months out of the year!), Ron, Scott, Debby, and I visited a riparian preserve. In this video, I saw birds and a bunny scampering around. So cute. Until I realized it was because a lady had thrown a handful of seeds into this open space. Seeds are the only food allowed by the preserve for the wildlife. And, well, the creatures are no longer truly “wild” if humans are giving them food just to bring them closer. Still, I hope you enjoy their adorable presence.
Later that afternoon, Ron and I performed an intimate concert for my dad and a dozen of his friends and clients in the lounge of his resort community center. Debby and Scott were there, too. It was very special.
Debby had told me about this unique venue in Mesa called Organ Stop Pizza, which houses the world’s largest Wurlitzer organ. Not something you find in your standard southwestern urban sprawl! As soon as I perused the website, I knew I had to go there for my birthday. My father gladly obliged. (You gotta check these kind of things with your old folks, because sometimes they don’t like certain aspects of a venue, and you’ll understand why after what I share following the link.)
Forget about the food and the general ambiance. It’s basically Chuck E. Cheese, without the electronic games. You walk in and place your order and get a call-in order number on an electronic screen. This is a fast-food playground on steroids.
Seriously, on the way to our balcony seating, I was almost catapulted down the stairs — twice — by gangs of running, screaming, unsupervised children who cut hard across the stairwell corner (they’re small and low to the ground) and simultaneously eating soft-serve ice cream cones while discussing the finer points of “This Is So Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
I do not want to outlive my father, and if I do, let it not be in such a gruesome manner!
To the restaurant’s credit, they did allow Ron and me to bring in a sealed bag of store-bought plant-based cheese for our pizza; a big plus.
And then, of course, there is THE ORGAN.
I was able to capture Glenn Tallar’s version of “Stairway to Heaven”! Given that Led Zeppelin is my favorite band, I think it put the crowing glory on my birthday evening.
Debby gave me a lovely bottle of 2020 Italian Montepulciano d’Abruzzo red wine for my birthday. I opened it the next evening and it was delicious.
Hey! What did my dad give me for my birthday?
My mother, my sister and two brothers, AND MY LIFE. The gift that keeps on giving.
Debby and Scott departed Mesa on Wednesday morning, but we did get to see them the night before to say our good-byes.
That evening, Ron and I performed a house concert at my dad’s resort for more friends. Shortly before we needed to get ready, we decided to prepare four Christmas songs that we typically perform with Ron playing the ukulele and me singing. But neither of us had music charts, so Ron went to our YouTube channel and listened to the video versions we had posted a few years ago, transcribing each song, right here in our trailer. It took less than an hour! He is very talented. We arrived at the host’s home in time to set up, and even had a few minutes to chat before starting to play.
Our host recorded the Christmas songs on her phone to share with folks who could not attend the event. I uploaded them to YouTube. Here is “Santa Baby”:
You can see the other three songs we did that night, as well as the versions from a few years ago, if you want to hear them all over again and see us wearing different outfits in each song!
If you watch the 2023 versions, you’ll notice that the Christmas tree randomly stops spinning and its lights go out. What’s funny about that is when Ron and I had finished setting up, the host offered me a glass of white wine. I initially set it on a little table to my right but I was concerned that I might knock it over when playing my flute. So I placed it on the floor instead. That seemed much safer.
Well, I was wrong. The spinning Christmas tree had some longer branches close to the floor that hit the glass just as we were starting our first song! White wine spilled all over the floor and the host came running with a towel. As I mopped up my mess, she came with a re-filled glass, which I placed on the floor in front of me. (And, no, I didn’t accidentally kick it over!)
The tree started randomly working again, so I joked that it must have lapped up some of that spilled wine and was feeling fine! When it stopped, we all laughed, saying that the tree was upset because it wanted more wine! It was a fun night, and my dad was there with us, too. (Birthday celebration getting better and better.)
The next day was our last day in Mesa, so we did chores at the campsite and ran a few errands. We both made dinner — Ron outdoor grilling burgers, onions, and mushrooms (all of which I prepped), and me frying garlic-herb potatoes on the stovetop inside the trailer. While the potatoes cooked, I chopped a spinach salad for the next day, since we had a loooooong drive.
As I was drying the last of our dinner dishes, our camp host wife dropped by with some home-baked pumpkin bread and two bags of travel treats, all in holiday-themed packaging. How sweet! She and her husband are a fun couple; he has a great sense of humor, too.
Then we headed out to see my dad. We pulled into his resort and, lo and behold, there was his truck outside of his current client’s home. I hopped out of the truck and went inside. He said he wanted to get his project to a certain point before stopping for the night. (That’s my dad. He’ll work until he nearly drops and be up in the early morning to get going again, still, at the age of 86.)
Ron came in and started working with my dad. I said, “I’m going a few doors down to visit our house concert host.”
Sure enough, she and two of the friends we’d met at the concert were there and they got me settled in with a glass of white wine. Ron joined us shortly thereafter and we stayed for another few minutes. We said our good-byes and drove to my dad’s place, where we talked with him for another half hour or so. It was getting towards 8:00pm and I wanted to make sure that he was able to get to bed soon (and before I got too sentimental).
Back at camp, Ron and I tidied up and settled in for the night. We knew that heavy, steady rain was in the forecast, so we wanted to prepare and wake up early in case the drive took longer than expected.
We were up and out of our site before 10:00 AM, which is kind of rare. I did feel rushed, but there was enough time to double-check the departure list. We experienced some rain — both heavy and light — on our 7-hour journey, yet we got to our campsite before dark, which is a big advantage. Doing back-in parking at a new RV park is challenging enough in the daylight, but in the dark, it’s brutal!
And here we are. We gained back the hour we lost going from Pacific to Mountain time, yay! We took the truck to get fueled up, then I made some gourmet grilled sammies for dinner. Tummies full, we are relaxing before another long drive to home.
Here is what I got to see after the crazy rain:
So there you have it: My 60th birthday celebration!
It has been beyond my expectations. And there is more to come. Ron says it’s my “birthday season.” Can I handle that much celebrating?!?!?!?!
I am wishing you all excellent health, total well-being, and joyful creativity!💖
Happy belated Birthday! Mine was the 18th. We're sisters! ^_^
Hugs to ya. xo
And now I'm going to be singing Santa Baby all day today...🙂