Hitchhiker’s Guide 42nd…

Hitchhiker's Guide 42nd Birthday Party

Mary Anne is 42, and therefore, the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Now, what was the question?

Lovely cake by Sugar Fixe.

Top of the lovely cake by Sugar Fixe. For those who don't know the books, that's a bowl of petunias, falling.

Curiously enough...

Star Girl, the star princess. (Self-named and titled.)

Moon rocks, macaroons, and mice.

Kavya and Uncle Jed intently make party decorations.

Towels, for those guests in need. (Several brought their own.)

I figured not everyone would have read the books, or would remember, so we printed out some relevant quotes and posted them around.

Hi!

Perfectly Normal Beast sandwiches.

Anand, waiting for the party to start, with digital distraction.

Kavya and Jed's art assemblage.

42!

Peanuts, important for cushioning matter transference shock, along with beer.

Babel fish! (Made of chocolate, thanks, Kev!)

I do love these solar system lollipops. Gods, they're beautiful. Shame about Earth being destroyed by those yellow Vogon ships.

Heather very kindly took over making a fruit bouquet. "*with the Infinite Improbability Drive it's entirely possible that the beef wellington would have turned out like lasagna � or a fruit bouquet."

Oh no, not again. (The tuna sashimi is supposed to be a whale that has just fallen from space.)

Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters! (Tasty, but would be more impressive with dry ice -- maybe next time.)

Tea! (It's supposed to be not-quite-tea, but this is the best I can do.)

Daniella totally got into the spirit of the thing!

I do like having babies around, especially when they're not mine. Baby Alice and Baby Rose, both sweetness incarnate.

Mike! (In proper Hitchhiker's bathrobe style)

Kristin!

The desserts would not all fit on the dessert table. Cake, Kevin's eclairs, macaroons, rock candy, Kev and Kavi's space meringues, chocolates galore, space lollipops, fruit pizza. There are more.

Alli Bax kindly took a pic for you!

And then we lit the cake on fire. :-)

Wheeee!!!!

Devi Bhaduri makes me an edible facehugger alien!

Craig, Mike, Linda, and Annemarie, playing Family Business. Gosh, this took me back to college twenty years ago, when we played this game a LOT at Skiffy. (The sci-fi club.) "The family says no!"

Not everyone played games after second dinner; there was an ardent conversation in the living room. No idea what they were talking about for hours, because I was playing games. :-)

Michi and husband Jessie (not sure if I'm spelling that right).

U of C friends Heather and Aaron; I think this photo has a slight alien tinge to it, with Heather's raised hand and the glowing light in the background. Take me to your leader? So long, and thanks for all the fish!

Mike, Linda, Annemarie, Lena, Esala. We'd moved on to Wise and Otherwise, which really is a fun group game, easy for new gamers to learn. Like Dictionary, but with proverbs. Lena, sorry for your expression in this photo -- I'm not sure exactly what you were doing here, but it was funny. :-)

Big thanks to Samanthi Hewakapuge, who basically fed everyone second dinner; she brought a host of curries, and I didn't have to cook any of them. Samanthi, a lot of people were raving about these after you left; I hope you heard some of the compliments in person.

At the end of the night, Anand really really didn't want to leave the party, though Kevin kept trying to take him upstairs and put him to bed. He hung out on my lap for a while while I was playing games, but eventually conked out on the chaise in the front room. The rest of us were in bed by midnight -- not like the old days, when we would play board games 'til 4. But given that Anand was up bright and early at 6:30 today, that's probably just as well. Great party!

Morning after the party. The star princess and star prince are fighting aliens. Or possibly turning into aliens, esp. when the star glasses are too big for Anand's face and fall off. The star princess says, solemnly, you must be as brave as I am to fight aliens. The star prince says, I am brave! I am brave!

6 thoughts on “Hitchhiker’s Guide 42nd…”

  1. Mary Anne Mohanraj

    I know — someone asked me recently if they were twins (they were both sitting in a grocery cart at the time, so the height difference wasn’t immediately apparent).

  2. Happy belated birthday! – From a reader who has been following you for several years now and is constantly inspired and amazed by all that you accomplish. Seriously, your journal has gotten me off of the couch and into the world on more than one occasion. Thank you!

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