When I was 8 or 9 years old, I had a birthday party at Ontario Place. This ode to Ontario with its futuristic dome and buildings elevated above the water made an indelible mark on me. (Remember, “Give us a place to stand and a place to grow…”?) But what I remember about that birthday was the cake my mom homemade and brought with her for the party. She had boiled some coins – nickels, dimes and quarters – and baked them into the cake. Pictured on the right is me and my brother with my mom, circa 1972.

I was thinking back this weekend to some memorable birthdays and this Ontario Place party was one of the earliest birthday parties that I could remember anything about. Of course, my Bar Mitzvah on June 25, 1977 was another memorable party, the reception for which was hosted on Captain John’s “new” boat at the foot of Yonge St. (The new boat replaced the tugboat that had been a Toronto dining mainstay for many years.)

The next birthday that came to mind was my 24th. It occurred on board the Greenpeace vessel M.V. Beluga in a Lake Michigan port of call (was it Bay City, Joyce?) amid a summer of shenanigans on the Great Lakes in 1988.

My 30th was a low-key affair in which I was showered with newly Loblaws “Green” products – an inside joke since I had participated in a public campaign attacking the food retailer’s lax criteria in branding products “green” in order to capitalize on the green consumer trend of the early 90s.

While my 40th birthday was a grand bash held at our home in Toronto – including a tent, a caterer, lots of old and new and dear friends – it was my 39th that was memorable for the fact that it was lost in all the anxiety in the days leading up to the birth of the twins.

This weekend I celebrated another birthday. (Do your own math.) I was showered with gifts, presented in bed first thing when I awoke with a cup of freshly brewed coffee. The day was mostly spent prepping for our “summer’s finally here” cocktail party that wasn’t a birthday party on Saturday evening. About 20 of our new friends and acquaintances here in Edmonton joined us for another one of LA’s well-planned and flawlessly executed parties. The champagne cocktails were a hit – French 75s and plain old vodka topped with bubbly – followed by a refreshing white wine sangria that LA whipped up. Gone are the days when you needed a full bar for a cocktail parties. These days most people are happy to drink what you offer. If it’s a choice of a few cocktails or beer or wine, they’ll pick one.

The party was followed by a gorgeous day today – clear blue skies and warm. The place just sparkles on days like this. I could not resist the temptation and the twins had a birthday party to attend, so I took the opportunity to get a nice 45 km bike ride in the river valley. Despite the previous nights partying, I felt strong and rode pretty well. In the afternoon, I took the twins with some friends to a small water slide park nearby for some good old-fashioned outdoor pool fun.

“That was sooo fun. Can I go down again?” Ella exclaimed. They loved it.

So, the perfect birthday weekend is about to come to an end – but not before the season 7 premiere of Entourage.