Helene has a birthday and we celebrate at Ladies Lunch!

 Yesterday was ladies lunch at El Parmar which is located right outside the gate of the Las Jaibas RV park where many of us spent numerous happy winters together.  

8

On Monday it was our good friend Helene's birthday.  This is a photo I picked off her birthday post...

" The Lady in Red!" 

Ruth is our " party planner" and she was prepared with a special birthday hat for Helene.  It didn't want to stay on her head so she put a pointy one underneath but she still had to balance it on her head.  I think she looks like Queen Nefertiti!

Lots of us are readers and Helene had a favorite book with her..."Braiding Sweetgrass".  Pretty soon we were all sharing favorite reads.  Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese was my favorite this season.

Our happy birthday girl.  We don't get to see as much of Helene as we used to when she and Hal were in the RV park.   They now rent down in centro for the winter.  She loves it there but...she misses us too!

We are down to 6 as so many of the ladies have left for home.  Pat, Ruth, Marion, Helene and Mar.  

The waitress thought I should be in the picture too.  It was quiet in the restaurant as it was lunch time so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  It is a favorite as the sushi is very good here.  

Now that's a Nefertiti pose!  Hal and Helene are heading back to their home which is a Yurt in New Mexico.  Helene and I both chatted about how we missed our gardens and that it was time to get planting.  Marion joined in and we started discussing vegetables.

One of the vegetables I suggested was New Zealand spinach.  Not really a spinach but lovely, tasty green leaved plant and the it produces from spring until fall and .....it doesn't bolt in the hot weather!!  Marion was interested because her garden is in Saskatchewan and it gets hot there in the summer.   

Ruth and I shared three different kinds of rolls.  As she ordered two of them the leftovers went home with her.  They were all a combination of seafood...salmon, tuna, eel etc.  

Marion opted for a mixed teriyaki stir fry and it had lovely fresh vegetables that smelled delicious. 

Pat had a sushi roll too!

Mixed Teriakyi for Mar.

My salmon roll. 

My plate with all three rolls.  The one on the left is wrapped in tuna and I liked it the best. 

Ruth's tuna roll..😋 delicious!

Artfully presented.

Helene ordered the chicken teriyaki and it was very good.  

Me and the " birthday girl" trying to hold her hat on!

When the restaurant staff figured out it was Helene's birthday they presented her with a shot of Tequila and a chocolate dessert with her name on it and....they played happy birthday on their music system.  Helene was very touched by the whole birthday lunch and said it was the best birthday she'd ever had.  Isn't that nice!!

The birthday candle was lit and Helene made a wish and ....no she didn't tell us.😁  She is a very spiritual person so I'm sure it was something close to her heart.

Isn't that sweet!  Helene said it was very tasty but she was so full from lunch she had to take it home with her. She also took her special party hat with her too.  We all spent our time together discussing all sorts of things and reminisced about our happy times in the RV park together.  We all agreed that we were all very lucky to have met so many nice people and that we have  remained friends over the years. Only Pat is still in the RV park now but we all remain in the Mazatlan area and stay close through our weekly lunches, cards and bingo over the winter season.  

A really lovely lunch experience with good friends and really good food!

Thanks to Ruth for planning the birthday with party hats and especially the home made on for Helene.  😊