22-V-2020.
Violet's birthday. Didn't make a cake this time, Prleski works again, and I called two days in advance and we got it. I even found a place to park (on a very bad place, but for less than ten minutes) to get a helium baloon. Not the "birthday princess", we somehow convinced her to not be a princess but rather avoid the tedium and enjoy the freedom, so just "happy birthday" (yes, in english, baloons in other languages aren't invented yet).
Of course she was sleeping util mid afternoon (Raja got up scant hour earlier). Near last minute, when we already started pumping up the balloons and tying them into funny animals (these are popular last 7 years), Sanda wanted to go for a ride. So ok, I put her on the bike and took the chance to announce to the girls in the street that the birthday was at five - good, because they thought it was on next friday. Baba also went out with Linda and told the others.
We told Violet that for the birthday, she gets this set of fine glittery markers (and her drawing is something to behold - not only the end result, but the technique), and on monday, if she wakes up early enough, she gets a bicycle. It took a whole week - it was next monday when she got it.
By 16:45 everything was ready and the first couple of girls came. By 17:10 we had about a dozen kids in the yard. Table was laden with various sweets. Coke beat juice about 4:1. Even Raja came out and while he didn't play much with them, he did like the attention (he and I were the only boys in the yard). The six candles had to be lit three times, so both Nina and I could make good shots. Around 18:10 the girls went out to play in the street, all of them (including ours) and a few boys came in. They were served cake and coke and took to horseplay around the yard - the tent and the makeshift bench (one fosna, aka 50mm plank, over the old tires from the van) were the main thing. Around 18:30 we managed to ease them out and close the garage doors (the garage is the only way to reach the backyard without going through the house; I jammed the big ladder over the staircase into the basement, to serve as a fence so nobody falls in), and she lit the barbecue. Around 19:00 I was done with ćevapčići and neck steaks and just added the sausages and then Dragana and Borko came - tenth frendz parti. We sat outside for perhaps one cigarette, until I was done with the grilling (so they had a chance to appreciate the tucked-in yard before it got really cold, weird weather these days) and then we went in. We sat and ate and drank (apricot 2017 is now really smooth) and chatted - the usual. We're getting back in shape, promising to stay longer next... monday, not friday, it being more birthdays on the weekend. That'd include Borko's, he's turning 65 on 30th, retiring after not quite working since 16th of march, when the total lockdown because of the corona virus hit. Now since 7th the extraordinary state is lifted, but the schools still didn't reopen. Like most of the teachers, he kept working from home with as many kids as were willing (most were, he said), yet he didn't visit the school at all. Perhaps he never will. Maybe once to pick his stuff.
I think we adjourned around 1:00 or thereabouts.
Mentions: ćevapčići, Dragana Vitas (Dragana), frendz parti, Linda Sredljevich Aquilla (Linda), Mališa Borkovski (Borko), Nevena Sredljević (Nina), Prleski, Ryu (Raja), Sanda Sredljević Aquilla (Sanda), Violet, in serbian