Celebrating Birthday #77

At 10:25 a.m. my "odometer" officially rolled over another year and it's been a great day. Celebrating actually began last night when my daughter came over with my birthday gift and a piece of Coconut Cream pie from Achatz Pie Company.  Yum!  On Christmas Eve my kids wanted me to tell them about my pregnancies with each of them and share details of their birth.  

When I was pregnant with Lori I craved Coconut Cream Pie so that gave her the idea to give me pie instead of a birthday cake this year, but when she went to the shop to purchase it they didn't have any whole pies left, just one slice so she took what she could get.  No worries, because I've been diligently watching my weight since January 1st, and didn't need a whole pie tempting me.  One slice was perfect.  

Our son, Steve, and daughter-in-law, Sharon, picked us up at noon today and drove us to what was once the thriving Polish community of Hamtramck.  Some Polish residents are still there but over 60% of the population today is Muslim.

The restaurant Steve took us to is called Polish Village Cafe [established in 1979], and they serve authentic polish cuisine.  It was a beautiful, sunny day for traveling the short distance [about 10 miles] to Hamtramck.

The inside was very cozy with an 'old world' feel, and several patrons were coming and going.

 ~ We began with a cup of Kielbasa Soup ~

Jerry and I shared a meal of City Chicken [which is really cubed port on skewers, battered and baked].  It was so tender and delicious.  I have a recipe for City Chicken that I used to make and need to start preparing it again.  By sharing a meal we each got one skewer of City Chicken [instead of two] plus identical sides.  We also shared a plate of Potato and Cheese Pierogies. Everything was so yummy.

When we finished our meal our server brought me a slice of Cheesecake with a candle for my birthday.  We split it four ways because I didn't want to eat the whole piece myself.  

Another server joined our server singing a variation of Happy Birthday in Polish.

Sto lat, sto lat, niech zyje zyje nam.

Sto lat, sto lat, niech zyje zyje nam.

Niech zyje nam!

Happy birthday, happy birthday, may you live long.

Happy birthday, happy birthday, may you live long.

May we live long!

It was such a fun afternoon and I thoroughly enjoyed celebrating in Polish style.  Thank you, Steve and Sharon for making #77 so special.

On the way home Jeremy called from across the State in Zeeland to wish me a Happy Birthday and I talked to daughter-in-law Samantha on the phone tonight. Almost all of the grandchildren checked in too either by phone or text, so it's been a very good day.