Friday, June 29, 2007
"the ladies who lunch"
The Good News: It was a wonderful fun afternoon....The Bad News: Neither Betty or Annie could come. Betty was very under-the-weather, and though normally that would not stop her....It did, yesterday. (She is much much better today, I'm happy to say....having been to her doctors yesterday and today...)
Annie's 'table reading took much longer than expected, etc....so, she never got here....Okay. Now for the good stuff: That is the table above as it looked, all set and pretty much ready for my guests....
The first to arrive---the always right-on-time, Kim Hamilton....She looked beautiful as ever and we had a few minutes to chat, just the two of us.....Then, the very dear talented Jacquie Scott arrived.....You may remember her from "The Fugitive".... she played David Jannsons sister...And probably did 100 other televisions shows, too....
Jacquie is a wonderful spirit and a brilliant actress, as is Kim, too, by the way....They had not seen each other in a very very long time, in fact, not since Kim lost her husband and not since Jacquie lost her son....so they had a few minutes to catch up before the other guests began arriving....
It was a little bitter-sweet for both of them...they go back a long long way....Then, the lovely Lee Meriwether arrived and she had not seen Kim for a very long time either, so they got a chance to catch up a bit....
I'm not big on posed pictures, but this one had such a genuine feel to it....I just had to show it to you....Both these ladies are wonderful wonderful people, and all of our 'connection' to one another is Theatre West. Kim was a dues paying member for years and years and years, and finally gave up her membership because she and Werner lived more in New York, than here...But those Theatre West ties of friendship are truly strong....we all worked together so very many times and the Monday Night Workshop was the "work" place and the meeting place and you just didn't miss it, if you were here in Los Angeles and not working on a show in television, or films....
By this time Bridget Hanley had arrived and so had Seemah Wilder. Seemah is talking to Will Grover, the wonderful man who "did lunch"....It was iffy about Seemah coming, too, because her husband had fallen and broken his hip not quite two weeks ago---had to be operated on and had some complications...But, I'm happy to say, he was well enough for her to join us!
And then, the last of our little group arrived, dear Dianne Travis...Again, the Theatre West connection. In fact, Betty and Seemah and Dianne are all in the current production there, and Lee is understudying both Seemah and Betty....and there was some talk about Lee possibly going on tonight...but, as of this afternoon, Betty will play the show.
So, we were just about to sit down to the beautiful luncheon that Will had prepared...You can see those beautiful croissants there on the table...And they were huge and scrumptius!
And here was our lovely lunch....We had three salads....My favorite and as close to 'the original' as you actually ate at The Brown Derby, where it was invented...The Cobb Salad. The real real Cobb Salad. And it was a taste treat that I cannot even give words to....the memories that eating this salad evoked....Oh My Dears....Then, we had a green salad with a little bit of fruit in it and some feta cheese and some more avacado---one can never have too much avacado, by my standards, and then a fruit salad with lovely pineapple and berries and other yummy things, like two kinds of melon.....This is Part One.....More as soon as I can do it....
There is definitely
More To Come....
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 4:33:00 PM
Thursday, June 28, 2007
the day after
Some beautiful flowers arrived yesterday from another Blog Friend....dear Terri, from Island Writer....and the most amazing thing is they are from that Fabulous Florist I adore so much! Terri, you are a wizard, and so very very thoughtful.....I got so many BEAUTIFUL cards and comments from so very many people out there in the Blogesphere...it was overwhelmingly wonderful! And some people posted about my Birthday, which was also so very very dear and I thank you all, with all my heart....
Another lovely flower, above, that is part of this Beautiful arrangement from Terri.....This will sit on my Dining Rooom table tomorrow...well, today, now, at the "Ladies Who Lunch" Birthday Celebration.....I so look forward to that!
It is already on the table, but the table is not 'set' yet.....I am going to do that in the morning.....And then the Ladies will be arriving at 1:00pm.I had a call today from Annie Guilbert that she got a job! (Actresses never retire...and isn't that wonderful?) So they have what is called a "table reading" tomorrow, (today, really) at 1:00pm, so she will not be here till much much later....And for those who don't know, a 'table reading' is just that. The cast and writers and director and producers ALL sit around a table and 'read' through the script for the first time....this is part of the routine in a situation comedy....
So I'm off to bed now, having had a lovely quiet day filled with lots of Birthday Cards and Birthday Calls and a few lovely presents...Gee it's nice to have a Birthday....
More To Come.....
Note: Go on over to visit Bob-Kat, across the pond...it's her Birthday, today!
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 1:30:00 AM
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
birthday!
So, 6-27-31! That was the date. 3:25 AM! That was the time. I think that is why I have always been a nightowl....I have always loved the night-early morning hours, and I still do.....Last year was a Big Huge Milestone Year....And I had a Big Huge Virtual Party here on my blog....This year I thought it would be fun to show some old pictures covering each decade of Birthdays...I don't have pictures for everything, but here are some....! Starting with that first picture on top!
This one above is around 1936-37, in Miami Beach, Florida. North Bay Road. I'm over on the far left, and next to me is my dear sister Robin, who was eight years older than me, then my sister Gene, who is five years older than me and then my brother Gordon, who is two years older than me...This next picture is around 1940-41, just before that serious illness that has now come home to roost.....
Such an innocent little face...... Next, 1947....The Cocoanut Grove in The Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles. My 16th Birthday.....
My mother, over on the left, then me, and then my sister Gene....That was an exciting night. To be in the famous Cocoanut Grove during it's amazing heyday....Truthfully, I don't remember very much about the evening, but I do remmeber being very excited to be there....This next one is around 1957-58.....Something like that....My dear brother had a little runabout docked in Manhasset-Port Washington, and we would go out as often as we could....Sometimes just the two of us, and sometimes with friends....this was taken on the boat, by Gordon, who is a WONDERFUL photographer.....
Many times we would go around Manhatten Island in this little 18 footer....It was, at times, rather daunting because of the bigger boats and the tides, especially down around the bottom of Manhatten going from the East River to the Hudson....But it was a lot of fun!My three best friends from High School, and me....I'm over on the far left in the picture, which was taken at Christmas, 1960.....I moved to Los Angeles, February 1st, 1961.
Flo, Ann, and Alice....Dear Alice I have known since we are five years old....! We are all turning 76 this year....in fact the three of them have already reached that milestone....June 4th, June 15th and June 16th....I am the baby in this group! So, Alice and I have known each other for 71 years! And Flo and Ann I have known for 62 years. Mind boggling, isn't it? Then....the year my mother died, April, 1966, I spent almost the entire summer in Great Neck with my sister Gene...taking apart everything in my mothers house, packing up, sorting, etc....I turned 35 that summer in Great Neck, and came back to Los Angeles with three little wonderful kittens....
That's Sugar, who was the dearest of cats...he would go to anybody and even people who didn't like cats absolutely loved him. They said it was because he was like a dog....! (lol)....but he was all cat, believe me....Here we are together in my kitchen....
That's Sugar, who was the dearest of cats...he would go to anybody and even people who didn't like cats absolutely loved him. They said it was because he was like a dog....! (lol)....but he was all cat, believe me....Here we are together in my kitchen....1971, Ankrum Gallery. The Opening of one of my Art Shows....two very important people in my life.....Bernie Casey, a painter and fabulous man, and Samella Lewis, an Artist and Art Historian, and the first African American woman or man, to be hired by the Los Angeles County Museum, not in a custodial position....A very brave woman....
You've got to see this man....so here is another picture of him with me, in San Francisco, 1973, another opening of a one woman show of mine in The Bay Area, as we say.....
He is a poet, too, by the way..... Next.....1978, the three sisters...!
Robin, Me, and Gene....at a party after another opening of another Art Show of mine....It was lovely to have both Robin and Gene there....Gordon was not able to come to this Art Show, and in fact, it was the only one that Robin ever saw....Gene saw quite a few, I'm happy to say....1981. New York. September.
Backstage...Betty G's Dressing room, after the show, "Supporting Cast"...a trip I had planned and then my father died suddenly.....I came East for his funeral, etc...and then came into Manhatten to see Betty and Joyce Van Patten....both in the play....That is Charley Berliner in the picture...he is a fabulous Set Designer/Costume Designer....and a great friend.... 1989...New York, again. Christmas. Betty is in another show, "Meet Me In St. Louis".....
So Christmas was in New York that year....it was cold, as you can see....We were standing out in the open at Rockerfeller Center having gone to see the tree all lit up and all the wonderful Christmas decorations.... 1991. My 60th Birthday Celebration. I gave a big party at a beautiful restaurant that doesn't exist anymore.....
Robin's lovely dear daughter Debbie, Gene, next to her....Jne Anne Smith O'Toole, a dear friend from High School....Warren Berry, another dear sweet friend....he and his two brothers were great great dancers, and Warren was also a fabulous singer...he is gone now....And then me.
And speaking of singing....here I am at that Celebration singing a song I needed the lyrics for.....it was a special song honoring all my friends and how important they are to me..... Next, 1993. England. The Cotswold's
The most memorable day for all six of us....and a trip none of us will ever ever forget.....This was Lunch, at The Lygon Arms in Broadway.....You can read ALL about it in my Archives from November-December, 2005.1996, the 65th Birthday at Betty G's house....
What a fabulously talented group in this picture....Over on the right, the brilliantly talented painter, Morris Broderson....that's Betty G's back...and we know how fabulously talented she is...Her composer son Garrett in the white shirt next to her....then me, then the fabulisly talented composer/lyricist, Ken Welch, who wrote my very first nightclub act....And Leslie Caveny, a superb writer, whose first film Penelope you can read about on IMDB.com, and about her, too....And she is talking to Andy Parks, Betty's other son who is a wonderful wonderful actor and has done two plays of Leslie's....And that's just the people in this picture.....
Dinner at a fun Italian Restaurant here in Los Angeles...that's the wonderful Shawn Flannigan, brilliant Event Co-Ordinator for STAGE.And last...but hopefully not least....
With dear Garrett, (Parks, that is...) in our silly glasses, last year, at my 75th Birthday gathering.....and the last picture is me, standing out on my deck with the wind blowing through my 'never dyed' hair and on my never 'lifted' or 'botoxed' face.....no funny glasses, just heavier than I would like to be.....
So there you have it....the life and times of Naomi....Probably more than you ever wanted to know, but, it was fun putting this together......And now I'm getting ready for the "Ladies Who Lunch" on Thursday....I hope someone else takes some pictures that day, too....(lol)
Here I Come......| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 1:24:00 AM
Sunday, June 24, 2007
surprises!
I've had two lovely surprises in the last two weeks....the most recent one came in a particularly hard week so that made it even more wonderful for me....A big long beautiful colorful box arrived and I couldn't imagine what it was or if it was something I ordered from somewhere, and forgot!So I got it opened....(it wasn't easy, either, lol) and there inside was a BEAUTIFUL Bouquet of Fresh Flowers, with a vase! Yes! Fresh Flowers in a box...will wonders never cease!
And I couldn't have been more surprised because I had never recieved flowers sent like this before....And they are truly gorgeous! WHO SENT THEM? Ahhhhh, that is the best surprise of all. One of my very first blog friends, who happens to be from Kentucky, the very dear dear Rachel from Sliding Through Life, and she sent them to me as an early Birthday present.....Now, just how lovely and thoughtful is that?
To say I was touched by this is an understatement.....Besides being such a generous caring thing to do which warmed my heart, to see these truly exquisite flowers just gave me such a lift! The colors are so vibrant and happy!
This bouquet is a true joy to look at, as you can see from these pictures.....And here are a few more picture----for you to enjoy.
Thank you dear Rachel, for making my difficult week, lighter and filled with so much colorful joy. I send you big hugs, dear dear Rachel.....
And another lovely surprise came from one of my newest blog friends.....Pearl, of PearliesOfWisdom.....A lovely lady from Toronto, Canada who sent me the most Beautiful book to hold photographs.....it is a work-of-art, in and unto itself! I hope this picture does it justice....
It's made of many things....Wood, being one of them as well as parchment.....She also sent me a Travel Journal....a lovely light weight book that I can write in or draw in, as the case may be....And here it is.
Again, a lovely thoughtful generous thing to do.....I was overwhelmed by the sweetness of these gifts....It says so much about the blog world that friendships can be formed that are unexplainable in a way, except to say, in some way we touch each others hearts, and that transcends distance and time and age....And I think that is such a lovely and important thing.....don't you?
Thank you both, dear Rachel and dear Pearl, from the bottom of my heart....You have made this coming Birthday richer in every way by your thoughtfullness and caring friendship across the miles....Bless you both.
More To Come......
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 11:20:00 AM
Friday, June 22, 2007
driving
For a few months I have had kind of an ax of sorts hanging over my head, in addition to the usual health issues...And it has been a problem that I couldn't see the way to solve....It was so very depressing to me because along with everything else that I have had "taken away from me" so to speak....losing this was more than I could bear. 
This is the birthday that I was to renew my driving license. I had recieved the notice that I had to take the written test, the eye test, and have my picture and thumb print taken. I got this notice in April and had not been able to figure out what to do about it. The reason being, as many of you know, I cannot go anywhere where there are a lot of people. The DMV in Hollywood is like the subway in New York at rush hour, even when you have an appointment. There was no possible way I could go in there, (or any other DMV here in Los Angeles) to take care of these things, given my lung problems.
When you reach a certain age, here in California, you have to redo these tests. Not the actual driving test, for me, because my record is very very clean, but you have to take the written test and the eye test----no matter what, every five years. I just knew they would tell me that the only way to take care of this was to make an appointmernt and come in there. And, I was right. I called the DMV and got a terrible woman who said there was nothing they could do...she had never heard of my problem and I would asbsolutely have to go in....When I protested and said there must be some accomodation for medical problems...she barely let me finish and said, absolutely not. I protested further and she said write the Governer. To say I was depressed was an understatement.
For me to not have a license was, in my view, one more 'nail in the coffin'. As of this coming birthday, June 27th 2007, I will have been driving for 60 years! SIXTY! I was part of the very first 'girls' driver training class in my High School, and I turned Sixteen just before I got my License. To be without a Driver's License now, even though I don't drive very much anymore, well....it just seemed too much to bear. And to drive here in Southern California without a license is more than foolish. It is dangerous beyond words, especially when you are considered 'elderly'. OY!
Okay. You get the picture. To make a long story just a little longer, a good friend, Mark Travis, saved the day for me. He came over to pick up some Theatre Tickets...(Oddly enough they were not for that evening, though I thought they were, having read the date wrong----that's how crazed I've been----but Thank God I did read it wrong, or this never would habe been resolved....) and he saw I was utterly distraught. I told him why and said I didn't know what to do and needed someone to help me with this....! He said, "let me see if I can help you right now". He is a Theatre Director and a take-charge-person, in the nicest calmest way. He made all kinds of phone calls to the AAA and then to Sacramento, and tha person gave him the number of another person, etc., etc., etc.
Finally, he got to a women who he said was terribly nice and I watched him and listened to him get her on his side! He was masterful. He explained everything in great detail and kept saying, "Isn't there some way we can make this happen for her"? Bottom line.....he made it happen with this wonderful women's help. So, without going into any other detail, except to say I was able to take all the tests and have my picture taken, etc, very very early Wednesday morning when no one----and I mean no one, was there except the person who administered all the tests, etc.
That Mark made this happen was a Miracle as far as I was concerned. Now, the next hurdle was that I had to pass the written test and the eye test. I had studied like mad and prayed that my eyes were still okay....I passed both tests and burst into tears. To know that I will still have a license for the next five years is such a relief----there are just no words. I came home and slowly began to unwind and napped, on and off, all the rest of Wednesday and Wednesday night.....and even on Thursday. I was so incredibly exhausted and relieved. These things that used to be a lot easier to handle just aren't anymore, and that weight being lifted, plus the worry....well, my body just fell apart.
And with the help of my little pal Sweetie, I slept and rested and began the recooperating process knowing that this worry was now behind me. Oh Joy!
And, this was the best best best possible Bithday present I could have given myself....with a lot of help from my dear old friend Mark....I know that there was no way this would have happened without him. Bless you Mark. Anyway, I hope to be back to my usual feisty self very soon. Meanwhile I am still somewhat 'in recovery', and that is why I have not been around to visit anyone....just trying to re-coop the energy spent on the worry about all this...now so wonderfully resolved! Yes....'sometimes there's God, so quickly'.....
More To Come.....
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 4:07:00 PM
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