A birthday was had

Obligatory birthday selfie. Very windy today, mostly cloudy, but gosh I feel calm & sunny for my birthday! 😂 #birthdayboy #lifeinnz #auckland #older

A photo posted by arthur_amerinz (@arthur_amerinz) on Jan 20, 2017 at 6:57pm PST

What on earth is a birthday but a legitimate opportunity for a selfie?! Yesterday I posted a selfie of me on my last day at 57, and today I repeat the favour (above) on my first day at 58. This should become an annual tradition. Clearly.

My birthday celebrations actually began yesterday when our niece and her fiancé joined us for a pizza dinner last night. They gave me a sampling of American treats (below). I won’t have them all at the same time, of course, and haven’t had any yet, actually. But, I will.

Tonight, my sister-in-law and her partner joined us for a BBQ dinner. Even after 20+ years in New Zealand, a BBQ in January is still quite exotic. It was yummy, even though I had to defend my affinity for A1 Steak Sauce. For the record, I declared no defence was necessary, that I was right regardless of what others might think. Birthday Boy prerogative.

And that was my wonderfully low-key birthday celebration. After a significant year, this was a very welcome thing.

Today has been an awesome day, really.

Some American snacks for my birthday given to me by our lovely niece and her fiancé (nephew in a few short weeks...). In case you're wondering, collectively they add up to 840 calories, which is about 3515 kilojoules (which is why I prefer to measure calories- it doesn't sound as bad!) these will NOT be consumed in one sitting! 😁 #birthdayboy #lifeinnz #family #expatlife

A photo posted by arthur_amerinz (@arthur_amerinz) on Jan 20, 2017 at 6:16pm PST