Sunday, May 22, 2011

Happy Birthday Dearest Sister Ellen

Sarah created this chocolate cake filled with a whipped cream chestnut filling. She bought flowers from Kremp and decorated the cake with them.

This was a SURPRISE PARTY for Ellen. She and Mom had no clue. Donna warned them, however, by saying she'd come over in an hour to show them her new teeth. She'd been in the dentist's chair for five hours, traveling from Hatboro PA to Amityville NY so her dentist daughter could do her teeth.

We all met up at Donna's Starbux and drove in a procession to Mom and Ellen's house. Balloons and all. Then we rang the bell and burst inside.

Surprise surprise!

Center stage on the dining room table.

My sister Lynn with Sarah. Birth order of the Greenwold Girls is Ruth Donna Ellen Lynn and Amy.

Melissa the dentist and mom Bernice, the matriarch. The patriarch is buried in Cleveland.

Grace and Nicole.

The two Cartagena sisters, Melissa diGrassi and Nicole Roche.

Ask Me Why I've Got Two Heads.

Ah, here she is now, the Birthday Girl.

Sarah's preparing the birthday candles. She told Ellen to wish for something she really wanted. Be bold! What would YOU wish for, dear Reader, son of Man.

Just learned that Patrick's middle name is Gabriel, the angel who announced to Mary she would bear The Son of Man.

Patrick loves his airplanes and his little cars. He makes incredibly realistic noises. I actually thought a plane was coming in for a landing down Gantt Drive.

Nikki took the bulk of these photos. You know what I was doing? Looking for my camera. Nikki was using it. I had no idea it was my camera since I'd never seen it from that angle. When she told me, I refused to believe her until I turned it around.

I'm downloading these photos as quik as I can so the family can view them. Then I'm going to Scott's for a night of film noirs.

The cake was light as a feather, melt in your mouth. Simply the best for our Ellie!!!

Nikki demonstrating an exercise for sciatica. Nearly everyone in our family has had it.

I can't stand talking about sciatica!

Sorry for the blur. Scott was there too, having come from his mom's house who was celebrating her 76th. He bought her a card and flowers at Kremp's.

I hope, sez I, you signed the card from Ruth and Scott.

No, he said, it never occurred to me.

Once upon a time this is what our family looked like. So long Dad and little David.

7 comments:

  1. Happy birthday to sister Ellen; why do you have two heads? Looks like Gabriel has just gotten wings; I'm sorry that you, your family members or anyone else must battle sciatta, but it must be kind of fun to watch Nikki demonstrate the exercises.

    I'm very sorry about your dad and little David.

    Very sorry.

    I know what it feels like.

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  2. thanks for your compassionate response, bill. ya know what? i was just wondering, what's the purpose of life anyway? no need to answer. we all grow closer to death, moment by moment. but of course don't realize it until we have our death epiphanies such as a loved one dying. o heck, let's get back into a good mood. i'll check your blog now but hey they're trying to kill the hero in my jack reacher book,

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  3. Wow is Sarah multi-talented. The cake sounds and looks amazing and I love the photo of your family--A great photo and meaningful to me since I actually met everyone in it such a long time ago.

    Oh how I envy Donna having a dentist daughter! Just what I need but alas, not my destiny.

    Your mother looks fabulous and wish you could stop thinking about sciatica. I sympathize a lot right now because my back and leg are horrible too at the moment.

    Please tell Ellen I said hi and Happy Birthday!

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  4. i thought you'd enjoy the pix, iris, juswt as i always enjoy seeing your family. spoke to jon katz earlier this week. his first cousin harriet - aka poodie - had passed away at 57. bad heart.

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  5. Sad to hear these things! Did you know her? I thought it was a wonderful picture! I don't know how you have endured the sciatica for so long. My "whatever it is" has now traveled up my arm, shoulder, side of face, head as well as lower back and legs. Waiting for call from the doc. Sitting with two heating pads right now but may not stay at computer for long.

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  6. sure i knew poodie when she was a teenager. her brother paul was my boyfriend when i was about 21. my brother david, our family photographer, took some great pix of him, which i happen to have in his photo album, w/ his neatly printed captions. david was a leftie.

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  7. oh, the agony of sciatica. sorry yours is extending upward. i get physical therapy for mine which makes it a teensy bit better. good luck!!! very tough condition.

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