Happy Birthday To Us

As some of you will be aware, last week was WhyNotSmile's birthday, and I tell you this: I partied like it was 1999. Specifically, that part of 1999 during which I had a bad flu. I had a lazy day on the sofa, read some books, and ate chocolate. If I throw in a visit from Dozavtra, I've pretty much done the day justice.

WhyNotSmile's birthday is quickly followed by Mama Smile's birthday and Fathers' Day (unless WhyNotSmile's birthday is on Fathers' Day, which happens from time to time), and this happy collision of events inevitably warrants a Smile Family Barbecue (Sister Smile has her birthday a little earlier in the month, and gets a sort of honorary mention).

This is Father Smile cooking the barbecue:The large quantity of smoke is coming from raindrops falling on the barbecue; please note that the grill itself is not your ordinary every day sort of barbecue, but a 'Grillmore', as designed and made by Uncle Smile.

Here are Mama Smile and Sister Smile sheltering from the rain:

I have to say, I thought the addition of a table cloth to the plastic garden table was a little unneccessary, what with the rain and all. But who am I to argue?

So we sat around the table, drinking rapidly diluting Shloer, trying to eat the cheese before it went all weird and mushy, the way cheese does if you add water, and agreeing that it was the most fun we'd had in ages. Rain and wind always remind us of that other Smile Family favourite, camping trips, and I was thinking I must tell you about some of those some time (Sister Smile is trying to convince her boyfriend that they should go camping; so far he seems wise unwilling; I am not fully convinced that Sister Smile would still think it was such a good idea once she got there).

Anyway, then my aunt came and laughed at us for barbecuing in the rain, and we all went inside.