Today is my mother’s 95th birthday.

We had an early celebration by going out to dinner last night. She wanted to try the Fat Greek, a little place at the foot of St. Louis Drive next to a place billing itself as Irish-Mexican, and just a few steps from Sabrina’s Italian Restaurant. And, no, that’s not Coke in the glass she’s toasting with.

Meda and I have a simple approach to restaurant selection. When you find one you like, keep going back. It makes for good food eaten in a limited number of spots.

My mother has the other approach. If the last place was good, she looks forward to what the next one will be like. I guess it’s like opening presents from friends. Some might miss the mark but it’s still fun.

I asked how she decided on the Fat Greek.

“I like to read “Dining Out” on Sunday,” she said. Apparently she pores through all of the restaurant descriptions and ads. Score one for the Honolulu Advertiser.

I have to say that Fat Greek was a very pleasant surprise. We arrived early and it wasn’t crowded. The food turned out to be excellent. I had the daily special, a lamb shank with salad for $14.95. It came with a wonderful hot sauce, which tasted like a creamy habanero sauce. The whole package was excellent!

She had a plate of garlic shrimp, which arrived with quite a pile of shrimp. They were well cooked, tasted fresh, and there were lots of them. Her only complaint was they came with shells intact, which didn’t really pose much of a problem but led to garlic fingers.

It was one of those meals that would put a stutter in our restaurant search. Good food? Just do it again.

After the meal, we went back to my mom’s house for presents, then cake and ice cream. I think her favorite present was her own copy of Gov. Ben Cayetano’s new book. My mom said she likes his writing style. “It’s like you’re having a conversation with him,” she said.

She also commented that Ben describes the Hawaii she grew up in. Decades later, perhaps, but with the same ethnic and social dynamics she experienced.

As we were eating birthday cake, Meda asked what the secret of getting to age 95 is?

She thought about the answer, then laughed.

“I don’t know. It just happened. I didn’t work at it.”

Thinking a bit more, she said, “Keep moving.”

She recalls receiving one of those funny cards for one birthday. It had a cartoon of a man asking God about the secret of long life. God replied: “Don’t stop breathing.”

So as we were getting ready to start the drive home last night, we asked what she was planning for today, the real birthday.

“Yard work,” she replied.

And so it goes.

[Friday Felines follow after our morning walk.]