Tuesday, July 14, 2009
ladies who lunch-part 5
Betty had directed everyone to sit in a certain area of the living room because she said, since I didn't want any "things" for my Birthday, she had decided, along with the others, that it would be fun to put on a little show for me, especially since I cannot get out to see shows any longer. Now, Clap your hands and say O00000000-----That's what I did. So the first thing Betty did was to say a Limerick she had written for me many many years ago...For those who don't know, Betty is one of the great great limerick writers--ever! And most of them are rather bawdy, which is a lot of fun....also, all of them are written for people she knows. 
And when Betty says them, they are always in a sort of British accent...I don't know why except I think she thinks they sound more Shakespearean, sort of....lol....So, here is that limerick she wrote for me......There Once Was A Girl Named Naomi,
Who Bathed In Sweet Oils Like Salome,
And Here's The Best Part,
Whenever She'd F*art,
It Made The Bath Water All Foamy!
And that's how I discovered what the papers were all about. Remember back in Part 2, I showed you this picture of Betty writing on a piece paper? Well, this is what that piece of paper said!
It was the "order" of performers of this little show they were going to put on for me...(She hadn't put Kim's name down because Kim had just gotten back from New York and didn't know about the plan).....She was talking to everyone in whispers--I guess--And they were writing down the order too, so that each one would know when it was their turn---thus, the paper in Dianne's lap, and the paper in Bridget's hand..(Those were the only ones I just happened to catch with my camera.....)Then, Betty introduced Dianne.....
Dianne read a wonderful poem that she had written about Martha Graham which she said could have been written for me, too....It was about how "tall" Martha Graham was even though she was rather tiny, in height....It was a really beautiful tribute to this fantastic Dancer/Choreographer/Teacher.....Then....Betty introduced Jacquie.
Jacquie said a wonderful monologue from a play by Craig Lucas, called "Grief"....It was very very funny---I know you wouldn't think so because of the name of the play, but it was. It was a mother telling her children what she was going to leave them when she died....the word 'turd' came into this monologue quite a bit...lol.....We all were rolling on the floor! Then, Betty introduced Annie......
Annie told a joke. I know we absolutely adored it! But none of us can remember what the joke was now.....lol! I should call her and just ask her....!
Then Kim got up, and though she hadn't prepared anything because she didn't know about it, she said some lovely things to me about our friendship and how much she loved me. It was really touching to me.......Then.....it was Seemah's turn.....
She told two funny stories....One was about something her oldest son had said to his Dad when he was probably around three years old....the punch line was that he, Paul, was going to send his Dad to a 'Used Father Lot'....lol. The second story was about a phone call between Seemah and me, where Seemah asked Paul---now a grown man, to go to my house and pick up this extra copy of Betty's book that I had---she was leaving the next day for England and wanted to take it to her friend Nicole.....Paul left to come to my house while Seemah and I were still on the phone...And it is about a forty-five minute drive from Seemah's house to my house...He picked up the book and went back home---another 45 minutes....When he got back to the house, Seemah and I were still on the phone.....lol! Needless to say, there was a lot of laughter over that story.....Then came Bridget!
Bridget sang a song that Betty had written, both words and music many years ago, which she used in her show, "Betty Garrett, Closet Songwriter".....it is called "How Sweet It Was"....and it is kind of a surprise 'revenge' song. A woman singing to a man---who had been a special man in her life, who then dumped her....then she sings about how sweet it was when she was able to tell him off---six ways to Sunday....A Very Very funny song....Again, much laughter.....When Bridget finished she then introduced the vaudeville team of Nan Ray and Mrs. Drinkwater......And here they are! 
Mrs. W: "Hey you - hey lady there - you!Nan Ray: "Are You Speaking to me?"
(Mrs. Waterfall, a disreputable looking woman of indiscriminate age, wearing old sneakers, shabby skirt, blouse, sweater, and a ridiculous hat. She chases a respectable looking, trimly dressed woman, who's name is Nan Ray)
Mrs. W: "Yeah you - you Mrs. Nan Ray?"
Nan Ray: "Miss Nan Ray - I'm not married."Mrs.W: "Well congratulations! I'm glad to meet you Miss Nan Ray. My name's Mrs Waterfall." (She wipes her hand on her skirt and shoves it at Nan Ray)
Nan Ray: (ignores the hand) You wished to speak to me?Mrs. W.: Yeah, I heered you was an agent that gets people jobs.
Nan Ray: Yes, that's true.
Mrs. W.: Well, I thought you could get me a job.
Nan Ray: Well, I doubt it, but what do you do?
Mrs W: I work the streets.
Nan Ray: You work the streets? (Laughs a lot).Mrs W: Yeah, I make a bit of money that way.
Nan Ray: You do??
Mrs. W: Yeah. (puzzled) Oh, I get it - You think I sell my body?
Nan Ray: Well - yes.
Mrs W: Hear that t*tties? She thinks we sell our body.
Mrs W: Get about 2-cents a piece for you.
Mrs. W: "Don't worry t*tties, I still love you." And the "sketch" went on...it turned out that Mrs. Waterfall sang! And People threw money at her....but, not very much because as she said....
Mrs W: "I'm a lousy singer." She then kind of begs Nan Ray to let her sing for her and Nan Ray says..."Let's hear 16 bars". Now, the whole reason Betty chose this sketch was because she saw these two vaudevillian's waaaaaaay back in the 1940's and loved the song that Mrs. Waterfall sang.....It was a kind of Pig Latin version of "Alexander's Ragtime Band"......
"Come onika here ka lere ka dere, Come onika here ka lere ka dere,
Alekazackas racka dacka Backs lacka.....".....Then ending with a kind of show biz ending, when you don't actually have a band playing for you.....
"Ta Plata Plunk!"......Nan Ray doesn't know what Ta Plata Plunk is and Mrs. W is so disgusted with her she says, "You sure you are a show biz agent?" And Nan Ray kind of blows her off.....Mrs W. then proceeds to say:
"Cheap agent! Probably would have charged me 10% of my take----well I don't need her." Nan Ray leaves in a huff, and Mrs. Waterfall skips off singing "Come onika here......". And that was the show. You had to ne there...lol.....
Now just to remind you what Betty had on before the show.....
And somewhere right after Bridget came on, Betty disappeared---she was behind me so I didn't see her go....And when she came on in the sketch she was dressed in her "costume"! 
All the pictures were taken when they did the sketch for a second time--I had asked them to do it so I could take pictures....These were all during the performance (And there are a lot more...but I figured, you might get bored....)---nothing is posed. I took the one above after they did the sketch for the second time, and then this last one which I asked them to sit there so I could take it. They both were adorable! And we all had a lot of laughs wuth this sketch!
And there you have it! My "Ladies Who Lunch" Birthday Celebration....I hope this was worth waiting for.....(lol). It sure was a lot of fun to see....!
More To Come.......
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 1:11 AM
Saturday, July 11, 2009
ladies who lunch-part 4
Isn't this a darling Cat? This card was from Kim. The card itself had these words printed inside: "See---The more gray hair you have the cuter you look!"....Very sweet and some very sweet personal words from dear Kim, who had just returned from New York.....Hopefully she will stay till Thanksgiving, as she did last year....
And staying with the Feline Theme.....this sweet little card above was from Dianne.....And she had just returned from Ireland. Holland and Munich, Germany, where her dear darling husband, Mark, has been teaching and doing Seminars for Film Students....Mark is a fantastic Director and teaches all over the world....And sometimes Dianne gets to go with him---this was one of those times.....
And the third of the Cat Cards came from Jacquie Sue (Scott, that is...). I hope you can read what it says.....It is one of those cards that does something when you open it up......
In this case.....it "Meowed" a lot.....lol! It was very funny and the words from Jacquie were really touching to me....No one has ever called me The Birthday Fairy before......And then, the last card.......
Oh, ain't it the truth! LOL...Then inside it said.......
Do click on it so you can read what it said--especially on the left side there......Something I didn't expect at all----The Ladies took care of the Lunch and dear Will....! It was a truly wonderful generous surprise from everyone which I so very much appreciated and particularly because it was 'consumable'....lol! And though I said 'no presents', there were two tiny little keepsakes with Dianne's card....
These adorable little Dutch shoes, which is a little magnet for my 'collection'. She got these in Holland just a few weeks before....And they are very sweet......
And here it is.....now a part of my magnet collection.....And below, a closer look at it's place over there on the left side......
A little closer look at it's 'home'.....Don't they look cute? And the other little gift Dianne brought me from her trip was this wonderful tiny dear Heart, below.....
It's this lovely unfinished metal Heart that is about one half inch, all around. It is really really sweet and I put it in a little special dish that I keep in my bedroom so it doesn't get lost.....Then....Jacquie opened her presents.....
She wasn't expecting that, at all...but she did seem very very pleased that people had brought her some goodies!
That was a little Candle Holder from Bridget, which came with some extra candles....Very Very pretty......
I cannot remember if that was Bridget's Card to Jacquie or maybe Kim's.....Oh Dear. Well, whoever it was from, it was delightful to all of us!
Above, a darling little Ladybug Pin that Kim gave to Jacquie....Do you know that Ladybugs are good luck? Well, they are.....Here below, a closer look at that very pretty pin.....
I loved this pin....I am a lover of Ladybugs....Jacquie loved it, too.....I didn't have anything for Jacquie that day, because I had given her, her Birthday present a few weeks before. I gave Jacquie and her husband Gene, two tickets to Betty's 90th Birthday Bash....They Loved It!
Dianne brought Jacquie a little Dutch Shoe Box, all the way from Holland, and it was filled with delicious hard candies also from Holland....Betty had left her present for Jacquie at home, by mistake...So, she said she would get it to her later....Then Seemah & Annie gave Jacquie their present, and it was in this beautiful bag....!
I loved all the colorful decoration on the outside of the bag.....Here below is a closer look at those wonderful decorations....
Isn't that pretty and imaginative? Inside was this beautiful special Rigaud Candle! They are the most beautiful candles I've ever smelled, and very 'dear' as we use to say---i.e. Expensive (lol).......I have one that has been here in my house for over twenty years....I just burn it very occasionally and very sparingly, too---it lasts 50 hours....Mine is Green, and it has the deepest most wonderful aroma of Cypress....Mine was a gift, too, from a lovely gentleman.......
Believe it or not.....Bridget had brought some Birthday gifts for Dianne on that day, too.....Bridget had somehow missed Dianne's Birthday back in March....I think it was because her Grandchild had just been born....
Yes, we are a bawdy bunch.....! And inside that box were these very colorful candies....!
Do click on that picture above so you can see what that actually says.....Like I said, we are a bawdy bunch and we love it! Bridget had given Dianne her real gift, too.......
These are Lavender Relaxing Bath Salts...'because making waves every day is exhausting'....lol...That is what the card said that comes with this pretty jar....Dianne was very happy with her gifts.Okay. I have teased you long enough.....the next post----the final post of this l-o-n-g Birthday Series "Ladies Who Lunch", tells all....The list, the change of clothing, etc., etc., etc......
More To Come, Indeed........
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 12:28 AM
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
ladies who lunch-part 3
Our Menu for the day was Quiche...not Lorraine, but a beautiful mixture which included Mushrooms and Zucchini, plus the usual eggs and cheese...It was fabulous, fantastic, and it tasted pretty damn good, too......
Along with the Quiche, we had a delicious Salad--Butter Lettuce, Pears, Caramelized Walnuts and Crumbled Roquefort Cheese....GREAT Combination, with a light Vinaigrette Dressing.....plus, some wonderfully fresh baked Croissants and Butter.....You must have butter with Croissants because it enhances the already rich flavor.....(lol)!
You wouldn't know from this picture above that anything much was happening in the kitchen....The Magic Of Will Grover! But, indeed, he does work his magic and brings it all to the table for all of us to partake in and deeply enjoy!
I love freshly baked Croissants and that's why we have them so often at these Ladies Who Lunch.....And I also love Quiche! And I must say, all the Ladies seem to, as well----especially Betty, because this Lunch is really her Breakfast...So, it is a good choice on every level.....We ate heartily and then it was time for The Birthday Cake!
This is the cake I always get from Sweet Lady Jane's and I couldn't get over the fact that they had used colors this time around that fit soooo perfectly with my color scheme for the table....I mean, look at the side....Pinks and Lavenders and Blues.....Serendipity, for sure, cause no one told them what I was going to do, color-wise, cause I didn't know myself, till the day before, except I knew the Gift Bags were Lavender........
As I mentioned in the first Birthday Post, Jacquie Scott's Birthday was two days before mine, so we were celebrating her "day", too....Hence, her name is on the cake......
I always have Will get a special non-chocolate dessert for Dianne because she has had a problem with chocolate in the past...(She had a delicious Fruit Tart...) But she told me just two days ago that she no longer has a problem with my favorite food-----So, next time, she will not need a special non-chocolate dessert...Hooray for Dianne!
All the ladies seem to really love this very rich rather decadent cake, and I'm glad cause I am crazy about it, myself......Oh, and see the Lei's around every one's neck? They too, were in the Gift Bags......
Annie really enjoyed the cake and of course, we have to have our coffee. Regular and Decaf. As my long time readers know, I love love love...China! Those yellow hand-painted cups---I've had them since the mid 1960's....! So very very pretty....Frankly, I think everything tastes better when it is served in pretty china and glassware....don't you?
There was a lot of serious eating of sugar! But also, as always, a lot of laughs were had by all......!
We do have a very good time with each other....You know, when you all have known each other for such a long long time....some of us almost 50 years.....(I have known Jacquie for 48 years, and Annie and Betty for 47 years.....)....
Seemah is the late-comer in the group, for me....I've only known her 34 years....(lol)....Both Dianne and Kim for 40 years, and Bridget for 39 years.....So, because of working together as well as the social aspect, we do have a lot of shared experience, plus a kind of short hand that has developed over time....It is really wonderful and means a great deal to all of us, I think! We have all shared wonderful times of great happiness and terrible times of great loss and tragedy....plus working together in endeavors we all love with all our hearts----well, all these things bond you in ways that words cannot describe......
Then, it was time to move into the living room and open the cards....I had told everyone that I didn't want any presents....none---not a one. (Unless it was consumable.....lol)...."Please", I said, "don't give me any things....I have too many "things", now....just bring me yourselves.....", and that is what everyone did.....So, here are a couple of the cards.......
This was probably the prettiest card with the loveliest sentiment on it....This was from Seemah....And what she wrote inside was beautiful, thoughtful and very loving....She also included a piece by a women named Ellen Bass, which I will share with you, at a later time.....Suffice it to say, it touched me deeply.....
Above, a closer look at the "printed" words on this card.....Seemah's personal words were just that....and I will keep it that way, but just know, her words meant everything to me, especially during this extremely difficult time in my life. The understanding of these sweet dear friends, means everything to me. Everything.
This was Annie's card to me.....again, her personal words will stay personal, except for this----She said, "I am as sad as this pup because you are sad-----". Indeed, indeed. I will share one more card with you which I thought was one of the funniest cards I've ever seen. This from Bridget. If you read it out loud---be sure to be forceful and a little bit put-out!
I read it out loud. And the laughter in my living room could be heard in Vancouver! (Maybe even in Alaska.....), and all the way down to San Diego, and points South.......More To Come........
Note: I know you probably feel I am stretching this out...well, it was my Birthday, and I want to share it with you in my way.....Yes, my dear dears, the "papers" will be explained and revealed---all in good time sweet special blog friends......Like everything else I do, I must do it in my own way and my own time....The Beauty Of Blogging.....The Beauty of Being Oneself.....May all of you, as Shakespeare said, always be "To Thine Own Self Be True"......
Michael Jackson was remembered and his life Celebrated yesterday in a very touching ceremony here in Los Angeles. My belief? After all is said and done, what will be remembered and cherished is his music and his true greatness as a spectacular and unique performer.....REST IN PEACE, MICHAEL JACKSON
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 12:06 AM
Sunday, July 05, 2009
ladies who lunch-part 2
Before we got to the Lunch part of the day...there seemed to be a lot of activity I was unfamiliar with from previous Ladies Who Lunch days....There is Betty writing something on a piece of paper.....Hmmmmmm.
And then...there is Betty again with a piece of paper in her hand---the same piece of paper as in the picture before when she was writing something down....And Dianne has some kind of a piece of paper in her lap! Hmmmmmm.
And there we are....once again. In truth, I didn't notice any of this till I was "playing" with my pictures---after the fact....And below...Here is Bridget with some kind of paper in her hands, too! Hmmmmmm.
All would be revealed much later on, after our lunch.....Now, it was time to go to 'the table' and sit and open our Gift Bags....I didn't take a lot of pictures of everyone actually opening their bags...But here below, is what was in front of Betty as she was getting all of the goodies out of her bag....
And below....the pile of Goodies in front of Seemah's place at the table.....
Okay...so what were some of things in this bag--"close-up" and personal? Well here are a few of them......
I am a sucker for soft little animals in pretty colors---this time round, we had two in our bags. These were from my bag. One is a sweet little Lamb and the other is a darling little Kitty Cat! And they are sitting on some "Happy Birthday" Pencils!
Here above we have some "Island" Playing Cards....They are as cute as they can be. I liked the shape of them and the color of the background....I'm not sure who that creature is in the middle with the Sun Glasses, but he does look quite cute!
Here are some "Toy" Binoculars.....'toy' is the operative word. They are really cute looking but they don't really work...lol....well, they work a little tiny bit.....But they look great, don't they?
This is one of my very-all-time-favorite things. It is a Bubble maker in the shape of a Guitar....Isn't that clever? Everyone always loves the Bubble Makers and I thought this one was so unusual, I had to get it for our gift bags......And you can wear it around your neck! You unscrew that top thingy and take out the wand, and blow little bubbles to your hearts content!
Isn't this the cutest Key Ring you've ever seen? These came in assorted colors, of course, as did many of the items I chose this time....I took all the Lavender/Purple shades for myself because it is my favorite color....I just loved this Key Chain a whole lot!
Above is a fold out fan in the July 4th motif (Remember we had those big July 4th Pin Wheels, too).....These fans are very handy now that the hot weather has come....and you can fold them up and carry them in your purse.
And my last July 4th Homage were these Tootsie Rolls.....Plus those little Fish Bags have Jelly Beans in them.....There were a few more things in the bag....like a "Lei" which some of the ladies put on and which you will see a bit later, and this sweet little bracelet, below.
I loved this darling little Heart Bracelet and so did everyone else.....It is one of the things that make these bags so much fun...Everyone loves the things they find and if they are wearable.....you can be sure they will put them on!
Above, a closer look at Dianne wearing the little Heart Bracelet and another Bracelet that was in the Goodie Bag made of little Sea Shells....plus, she had on the wonderful Flip Flop Ring....
These were adorable and sparkly and were in a variety of pretty colors......Here above, a closer look at the Rings......Mine was purple, of course......lol.......
Here above is a close-up of Seemah's arm with that Shell Bracelet and she also wanted me to see the other Bracelet she wore that day which had come from my dear departed friend Hannah's Jewelry collection.....
And here are the rest of the Goodies from the Gift Bag.....a collection of "smiley" face-stickers; a pen that had this poofy thing on top of it, which was great fun; the Back Scratcher of course; some Heart Stickers; a little Heart pad with this strange paper inside, which none of us could figure out what it was supposed to be used for.....And this eraser stick which is right there to the right of the Back Scratcher.....It was a full bag and a fun bag, too! And lunch was in the process of being served.......... More To Come........
Note: There truly is a lot more to come.....Part 3 will be next....and there may even be a part four! Time will tell......
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 12:08 AM
Thursday, July 02, 2009
the ladies who lunch-part 1
So....here is Part 1 of my Birthday Lunch.....These Gift Bag 'Bags', were from a different place and were somewhat taller than any I had used before...I loved the color! Lavender is my favorite color---so they were perfect....Except for one tiny problem....The little cute letters that I was sent by Betty's cousin Carol....though a wonderful idea, in theory.....just wouldn't stay on these bags....lol....Something to do with the paper that these particular bags were made of, I think......So I lost my "N" almost immediately...making my name 'aomi'....and the "Y" on Betty's bag came off, leaving her 'Bett'....I did try to keep putting them back on just long enough for all the ladies to see there full name....It was a loosing battle.
As you can see here....in both Betty and Kim's bags, the letters are coming away from the paper....My favorite is this one below....the "A" in Dianne, on the way down.....lol.
And if you look carefully at that first picture again or right in the picture above, you will see that when I put the "N" back in my name, I stuck it on upside down.....Like I said...More Trouble Than It Was Worth, but a very lovely idea....! In spite of that---the table with the bags really looked very pretty.....
Besides having the beautiful flowers, a gift from Van, (Terri's Flowers from Van were on the Living Room Glass Table....you will be seeing more of them along the way)---Van's flowers were in the middle of the table. Besides all these gorgeous arrangements, I asked Van to do something special that I could put on the table for each lady....like, maybe with an Orchid or something......
And he sure did come up with something incredibly pretty and something that each of them could absolutely take home....They were these truly stunning Orchid Sprays! I loved that he covered the little water glass with a leaf tied with a bow......
All I said to him was that my colors in the Table Cloth were Lavender, Pink and a bit of blue......I just loved what he did and so did the ladies......
Then, in front of each bag (And inside, too) were these little personalized 'Happy Birthday Naomi' bags of M&M's in colors chosen by me.....
It's just a nice little edible 'chocolate' touch that everyone can take home with them.....Oh, and by the way, each gift bag had a very tall thingy in it that commemorates July 4th, which I knew would be coming very soon after my Birthday.....
These were the biggest Pin Wheels I have ever seen...but I thought they were so very colorful and fun and appropriate for the coming Holiday....And as you can just barely see over there on the extreme left side...there was a Back Scratcher in each bag---all the Ladies were thrilled with this very useful item! (More about the gift bags contents, later.....).......
And so....here are the Ladies.....Above, the wonderful Jacquie Scott---who's Birthday was two days before mine, and who's name was included on the cake, and the fabulous Bridget Hanley. They were having a few laughs.
And me---The Birthday Girl and the very dear and extremely talented Annie Guilbert....This is the only picture of me, taken by Bridget...But I am very happy to have it, even though I am quite 'pudgy', shall we say...But, that is the natural color of my hair! So, drat it that I'm somewhat overweight---it's all that delicious chocolate I am always allowing myself......!
And above.....two more of the beautiful "Ladies", the very dear Seemah Wilder, who's Birthday we well celebrate at the end of July, and the still very gorgeous Kim Hamilton, who's Birthday we will celebrate in early September....Kim had just arrived back here from New York 4 days before the Luncheon....and she now has a second Great Granddaughter....Fantastic!
And rounding out our little group of eight Ladies, the incredible Betty Garrett, who, as we know, just turned 90 years old on May 23rd, and the very wonderful Dianne Travis, who's Birthday we celebrated in March of this year....and of course, there is dear Jacquie, again......Notice please, Betty's clothing.....Later, she changed into a very special costume as part of the "special" Birthday present that all of the Ladies gave me this year......
We had some goodies before lunch....My favorites: Hummus and Pita Chips, some Crudites with Dill Dip.......
And that Bowl above over on the right-----my all time favorite: It's a Chicken Curry with Raisins that you put on Crackers or Pita Chips....Yum, Yum, Yum.......! Oh, and by the way, look at these adorable earrings that Annie has on....Cute as a button!
She is a Mermaid.....! Everyone loved these earrings and wanted them for themselves........
More To Come.......
Note: Part Two will be coming along soon....and there may even be a part three.....Hope you have enjoyed Part One, my dears......
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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 12:49 AM
x4
