altariel: (Default)
altariel ([personal profile] altariel) wrote2012-01-11 11:11 am

Forty not out

So on Monday night I went out for what was billed as a quiet dinner with some friends who happened to be in town. When I got to the restaurant ALMOST EVERYONE I KNEW was there.

I may have said something a bit sweary at the sight of all these wonderful people, but it was as ever meant in a loving way.

Yes, I am FORTY soon (on Friday). However did you KNOW? And [livejournal.com profile] mraltariel somehow persuaded lots of my friends to come and celebrate this arcane and hardly-mentioned fact at Restaurant Alimentum here in the Unreal City. Here are some of the things wot we ate.

  • Smoked haddock, fried egg, potato and mustard

  • Duck terrine, fig and pear

  • Baked cod, herb crust, cockles and parsley

  • Sirloin beef and cheek, onion ash, red onion and carrot

  • Vacherin, white beer, truffle and onion

  • Pineapple and pernod foam and fennel

  • Black Forest Gateau: chocolate cherry and vanilla

Also there was a LOT OF WINE, and I may have got slightly tipsy. Or possibly sloshed.

And ALMOST EVERYONE I KNEW was there. And those who couldn't be there and were missed TEXTED ME and SKYPED ME mid-meal, and I was made even more incredibly happy.

And we all talked and laughed and were very happy.

And then - My cake, o my sisters, my cake! It is a cake in MINAS TIRITH shape. It is unbelievably beautiful. See, here are some photographs of an incredibly beautiful cake that is shaped like MINAS TIRITH. LOOK YOU CAN SEE THE WHITE TREE. AND THE HOUSES OF HEALING. It is a CAKE SHAPED LIKE MINAS TIRITH. I haven't cut into it yet. I want to look at it for a bit longer first.

Thank you my friends who came to my big happy party and texted me and skyped me: you are lovely, lovely people and I am a lucky, lucky forty-year-old!
ext_550458: (Gir cupcake)

[identity profile] strange-complex.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 11:28 am (UTC)(link)
Oh my word, that is certainly some cake! I love that you have given it its own special LJ tag, too. :-)

Happy birthday for Friday, and how awesome is [livejournal.com profile] mraltariel for putting on such a lovely event for you? I'm so glad you had such a fantastic evening.

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 12:03 pm (UTC)(link)
I may not get to use the tag often, but it really did deserve it!

[livejournal.com profile] mraltariel is 50 million different types of awesome. It was a lovely evening.

[identity profile] aliana1.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 12:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Happy almost birthday to you! What a wonderful celebration (with wonderful food)--it sounds like you have some amazing friends who truly adore you! And OMG most incredible cake ever in history. My fave part is the little White Tree on the top! Too great.

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:10 am (UTC)(link)
It was an amazing evening and I feel very loved. The white tree! I know!

[identity profile] matildabj.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 12:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Sounds utterly wonderful. Happy birthday and welcome to your forties! Still v. impressed by the cake.

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:10 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I'm feeling pretty positive about my forties, they've certainly had the best start!
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[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 06:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Just a brilliant evening. Feeling very spoiled.
muninnhuginn: (Default)

[personal profile] muninnhuginn 2012-01-11 12:22 pm (UTC)(link)
That is some awesome cake. I can see why you might not want to cut into it.

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:09 am (UTC)(link)
It'll feel slightly like vandalism!

[identity profile] executrix.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 12:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Many happy Returns of the Cake!

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 01:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! We were the Fellowship of the Cake!
ext_15862: (Default)

[identity profile] watervole.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 01:34 pm (UTC)(link)
That's an impressive cake!

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Isn't it?!
kathyh: (Kathyh Faramir hero)

[personal profile] kathyh 2012-01-11 01:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow! What a wondrous cake! Sounds like you celebrated turning 40 in an amazing way.

Happy Birthday in advance :)

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:11 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! Best possible start to being 40 :-)

[identity profile] carl-allery.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 02:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Happy cake-day! A truly awesome edifice. :)

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 10:59 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! :-D

[identity profile] curiouswombat.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 02:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh my Goodness! I should start by wishing you a lovely birthday but... A CAKE SHAPED LIKE MINAS TIRITH.... I envy you the smoked haddock, fried egg, potato and mustard... the duck terrine, fig and pear... and A CAKE SHAPED LIKE MINAS TIRITH!

It sounds as if it would have been a wonderful evening even cakeless.... but A CAKE SHAPED LIKE MINAS TIRITH!!!

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 02:38 pm (UTC)(link)
DID YOU NOTICE THE SHAPE OF THE CAKE?!!!!
ext_6322: (Birthday)

[identity profile] kalypso-v.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 03:09 pm (UTC)(link)
That is even more impressive than the wedding cake my friend made for his wedding in the shape of the Athenian Acropolis (when asked why it had the Parthenon but not the Erechtheion, he explained that if you counted the number of columns it was clearly the pre-Peisistratid Parthenon so the Erechtheion hadn't been built yet). Thank you very much for sharing the photos with those who couldn't see it in the, er, cake.

Incidentally, I was clearing some duplicate books out in another attempt to regain some sort of order on my shelves. I know you were reading Ulysses last year - should I presume you already have Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and dump them on Oxfam?

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:38 am (UTC)(link)
it was clearly the pre-Peisistratid Parthenon so the Erechtheion hadn't been built yet

:-D

Wish you could have been there to see it in all its cakely glory.

I do already have Dubliners and Portrait, thank you, so do feel free to send them to Oxfam.

[identity profile] azalaisdep.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 03:09 pm (UTC)(link)
The cake is beyond fabulous. I trust you have a candle to put at the very pinnacle of the City... shaped like Denethor...

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
"Thus passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion..."

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[identity profile] communicator.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 03:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, marvellous

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much for coming, I know how tricky it can be on a school night.

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[identity profile] tiggymalvern.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 04:45 pm (UTC)(link)
That is an awesome cake!

Happy oncoming birthday :-) It's kind of hard to think of ourselves as middle-aged, isn't it? My body reminds me by aching sometimes, but my brain refuses!

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:35 am (UTC)(link)
It is hard to think of ourselves as middle-aged! Creakier back, and slightly more forgetful - but with increased cunning and guile!

[identity profile] espresso-addict.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 05:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks for linking the photos of the amazing CAPSLOCK CAKE. I had a simply fabulous time.

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 06:34 pm (UTC)(link)
So glad you were able to be there. Hope your trip home was straightforward!

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[identity profile] sahiya.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 05:25 pm (UTC)(link)
That cake is pretty damn awesome!

Happy birthday!

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:35 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I wish everyone could see it up close, it's stunning!

[identity profile] raspberryfool.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 06:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, what a fabby cake! And what a lovely, lovely surprise evening you had! How wonderful. :-D

Happy pre-Birthday, Altariel. :-)

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:32 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you [livejournal.com profile] raspberryfool! It was a wonderful evening, very happy.

[identity profile] tyellas.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Happy birthday! I've been 40 for almost a year now, and it is so far vastly superior to my 30s. I hope it's the same for you.

And that cake is amaaaaaazing!

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:33 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I'm feeling very positive about my 40s, there's good things round the corner.

Isn't the cake astonishing? I wish you could see the detail up close. I don't know how I'm going to bring myself to cut into it.

[identity profile] sensiblecat.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I tried to leave you a note on Twitter but it wouldn't co-operate. Anyway, I'm glad you had such a fantastic time and that cake really is a wonder to behold!

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:33 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! :-) It was a smashing evening and I'm blown away by my gorgeous cake!

[identity profile] greylin.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
That is SOME CAKE!

Forty's great. (So was 50 in my case). Life just keeps getting better and better, the older one becomes!

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:09 am (UTC)(link)
I wish you could see it in cakey person, it's just mindblowing!

I'm looking forward to the extra gravitas, I think I will carry it well!

[identity profile] muuranker.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Happy birthday!

That is usually followed by a picture of a cake, but you never need that. You have the Picture of Cake which is unsurpassable!



[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:07 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! It is truly wondrous cake!
paranoidangel: PA (Default)

[personal profile] paranoidangel 2012-01-11 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
That cake looks amazing.

And happy birthday for Friday - if I leave it until Friday to say it I'll forget what day it is and not manage it :)

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:34 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I wish everyone could see the cake close-up, it's even more awesome.

[identity profile] vilakins.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, how can you bear to eat such a work of art cake? That is a thing of beauty and wonder. And you deserve it.

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:07 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much :-) I'm not sure how I'll be able to bear cutting into the cake, it is just so beautiful.

[identity profile] ideealisme.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Yay! Happy Birthday!

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 11:06 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you! :-D

Happy almost-fortieth!

[identity profile] dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com 2012-01-11 10:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow - that is quite possibly not-cake. It's too pretty!

Have fun storming that castle...

Dwim

Re: Happy almost-fortieth!

[identity profile] altariel.livejournal.com 2012-01-12 10:58 am (UTC)(link)
Partygoers on Monday suggested what I needed was a sugary version of Grond!

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