Here is the beautiful Seemah Wilder Idelson....and the occassion was her Birthday....And so, we had another Birthday Luncheon here on The Hill. This is a wonderful way for me to see a few people and to celebrate these special occassions, too. We used to all go to a restaurant for lunch to celebrate, but since I cannot do that anymore, the "restaurant" comes to me....lol!
It was fun setting the table...I used a different tablecloth and some different plates that I thought would go really well with the tablecloth....I have always LOVED pretty china, and I used to collect wonderful special pieces from Antique and Thrift shops, etc....And at this point on my life, I am going to use everything and enjoy it all! Here below, the actually lovely salad!
It was a delicious Cobb Salad...again, like the "original" that we all remember from The Brown Derby. It was absolutely scrumptious!
The table looked so pretty that I had to take a picture of it before we sat down to eat....But, before that, we had some appitizers, as people arrived. The 'Ladies Who Lunch', strike again!
Above....on the couch, over on the left is my dear Betty Garrett, then the next very dear, Dianne Travis, and then Seemah...and with her back to us, in the chair, is Lisa Zarowin, who was a very old and close friend of Seemah's daughter Ellen, who died a few years ago at 42. Lisa has stayed close to Seemah and it was lovely to have her here to help us celebrate Seemah's Birthday.
And above, the beautiful Kim Hamilton.....Bridget Hanley was there too, but she went out to look for Annie Guilbert, who had gotten lost, again! Annie had called on her cell phone and the signal kept going out---that is how it is, here in the Hills, I'm sorry to say----So, anyway, Bridget went outside in front of the house so that Annie would see her, and know she was in the right place.....
And once inside, Annie was her usual adorable self, as you can see in the picture below....We were all so happy to see her and to know she had finally found my house...And so was she!
And then we were ready to have our lunch!
After this delightful main course, we had desserts. Yes, we had two desserts...the beautiful "Chocolate Black-Out" Birthday Cake.....
And a gorgeous Lemon Cake that is to die for! I'm not a Lemon Cake person, but....this is a rare fabulous confection that has Marengue, too. Yuuuuuum......
You can see it in the background there, just behind Dianne's head....Seemah was so cute as she blew out her candles....Would you believe this was her 84th Birthday....I think she looks fantastic!
I don't remember what was said but Betty had all of us laughing and practically rolling on the floor.....
Though Seemah had said she ddn't want any presents, everyone just couldn't resist getting her a little something....! This below, from dear Bridget.....
Amazingly, or not so amazingly, Seemah got a few picture frames...And it is really the perfect gift for her at this time because her son Howie and his wife Laura just had twins and her son Jonathan and his wife Lea, just had a little baby girl about three weeks ago....The first grandchildren for dear Seemah.....
This one from Lisa will be perfect for the twins....And then below, a third pretty little frame from Annie.
And Kim gave her the dearest little Teddy Bear charm.....Here he is below.....
And Dianne found this really beautiful hand-made-hand-painted very colorful Rooster person, for Seemah....
Isn't he delightful? I am not sure what he is made of but what is nice is, he has some weight to him so you can stand him up or hang him up, too.....Betty gave Seemah one of these wonderful hand held fans that is like an 'art piece' really.....
This is what it does when you turn it on....It is really beautiful AND practical, too...especially in the heat of summer....You can easily carry it in your purse....Fun, isn't it? It's from Sharper Image, I believe.
Betty also gave her a wonderful booklet of essays that she, Betty, has written over the years....it is delightful, to say the least....And she read one excerpt from it to do with "aging".....very very funny......
And no one enjoyed it more than the birthday girl, herself....Betty also gave Seemah this card below. A fitting finish to a wonderful afternoon.....We can all relate to this, for sure, cause no matter what our ages...hopefully, we still feel this way!
And from all of us, too, dear dear Seemah....A Very Happy Birthday To You, And Many Many More To Come.....
It was another sweet fun afternoon, and our Birthday Girl had a wonderful time, and all the rest of us did, too....These "celebrations" become more precious with each passing year, as you can well imagine. They lift the spirits and they remind us all about the 'wonder' and importance of friendship.
More To Come.......
- had this to say:
I love you and your 'ladies who lunch' posts! They are simply gorgeous. How lucky you all are to have one another and to share your special days with one another. I can only imagaine the chit-chat that goes on during those luncheons. You seriously make me smile *smile* (Oh and how lovely was that rooster???)
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 1:59:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
What a lovely gathering :) It all looks so wonderfully fun, relaxed and warm all at the same time. That chocoalte cake looks delcious and so pretty.
Once more those dear little glasses of yours get an outing. I know what you meanabout using something. I used to save things because they were so 'nice' but now I use them and I find I get a great deal more pleasure from using them than I did from them being in a cupboard!
Happy belated birthday to Seemah. I can only hope I look that good when I reach her age! Your post as ever really conveyed the warmth that great friends share.- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 3:46:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
I always enjoy your birthday lunches with your friends. I hope to have those days my future, too. Seemah looks beautiful. What a happy time! Thanks for sharing that with us.
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 3:47:00 AM PDT
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I had to go back and check that you said 84. She is incredible - such a serene face and after such tragedy. She must be a very special person and what a lovely way to spend a birthday.Yum Yum. I'd like to know what the salad consists of. Looks like my kind of meal.mmmmmh!
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 4:46:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Seemah is absolutely gorgeous for her age!
I'd like to be a fly on the wall at one of your birthday luncheons, Naomi. But it would be better to be there in human form - so I could eat Cobb salad and chocolate cake!- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 6:24:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
What beautiful friends you have, Naomi! And what a delightful birthday get-together. The cake was just amazing!!! Thanks for sharing. :)
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 7:11:00 AM PDT
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had this to say:
Looks like so much fun! That salad looked delicious by the way!
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 7:18:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
My birthday is August 6. My daughter came over and cooked dinner. I enjoyed that so much more than if she had taken me out.
Your salad looks absolutely wonderful!- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 9:02:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Such a beautiful lady! You are so very sweet to have such a gorgeous party for your friends to celebrate a birthday. That salad looks fabulous.
Have a lovely day,
Kristen- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 9:10:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Doesn't look anywhere near 84!
Oh, we had Cobb Salad last night too! :) Did you order it some place, or make it?
The rooster... I have him! He's by a charming artist named Jim Shore. I'll send you the link.
LOoks like you had a fab time!
~S- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 10:06:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
I saw that Bridget Hanley is or will be in Nunsense. I was in a production of that show as Mother Supierior. Soooo much fun!!
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 10:11:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
you have such wonderful beautiful friends... i love the ladies lunches, and wow, did you really mean 84? not 64? OMG.
oh, the other day you visited a site about car racing in the pacific northwest...thats my older son, he is trying to blog again.- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 10:53:00 AM PDT
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had this to say:
I dropped in to see what was humming or blooming and wasn't expecting cake. It was such an exciting cake! And your friend looks amazing and natural at 84!
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 12:27:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Girls wanna have fun - and you ladies sure knows how to do it. I feel like a teenage boy when reading about all the fun, wonderful dishes and flowers and gifts and joy you "girls" put into real life.
btw: Guess who is here right now in our summerhouse, but my friend Hakon (from Vence in Southern France) Yeah- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 12:30:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Seemah is so lovely! so hard to believe she is that age!! I loved all the photos..almost felt like we were there..what a wonderful lunch...I am a new reader to your blog, It would seem u have spoken of these ladys of lunch before...I hope to see more in the future, thank you so much for sharing!!!
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 1:28:00 PM PDT
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had this to say:
Sure wish your restautant would come to me, I love the menu and the ambiance. How grand it is to celebrate a special occasion with friends whose years together reflect all that is forever in your hearts and indeliuble in your memories. Afternoons like that are gold.
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 2:21:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
I want to come to one of your birthday parties. They look so homey and a lot of fun. Mine is tomorrow. ;)
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 3:35:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
84 oh my goodness I can only hope I look that good when I hit 54 lol.
( not that that is anytime soon you understand haha)
I love the ladies who lunch posts, sigh it is so hard to believe it is nearly a year since we were lunching together !
BTW keep your fingers crossed and throw some break a leg dust our way,Mr 15 and I both auditioned for a commercial yesterday and it is for the US market not home but will be made here.
GOOD money ;)- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 5:36:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
oops I wanted to say it cracks me up that Annie gets lost everytime, I actually managed to find your place twice while driving on the wrong side of the road and everything *wink*
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 5:37:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
What a beautiful party for a lovely lady! You are the hostess with the mostest!
- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 6:24:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Hi naomi! Memories are made of these. Grand.
I had to pinch myself your friend is 84! I have hope then...I'm encourage to know that I can look as beautiful as you 'fellas'.
Belated birthday wish to your friend!- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 6:32:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
You always have such fun parties! And you're right ... that cake looks amazing!!!
I was watching an old "Dick Van Dyke Show" yesterday and saw Annie ... and thought of you and your wonderful friends :)- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 7:20:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
I am back home in Hickville.
I just left a comment at Rachel's place and told her I would visit you before hitting the sack.
I am POOPED!!!!!
My dad and brother will fly home from here tomorrow afternoon. I will put up a new post AT LAST after they head home to CA.
I have had such a wonderful two and a half weeks.
I look forward to sharing pics and stories about it all.
My brother will fly back to southern CA this coming Sunday. He enjoyed having a nice break, and now he has to start getting prepared for the school year. I sure hope the whole ordeal with his truck gets worked out without any problems.
I enjoyed this post. I am so glad that your wonderful friends come to your house for all these luncheons to celebrate birthdays and keep in touch with one another. Seemah looks so pretty. You and your friends are VERY FINE ladies!! :-)
My dad, brother, son, and I saw A LOT of beautiful dishes along the yard sale route. You would have loved some of the gorgeous glassware that was for sale. My bro bought a lovely candy dish for my mother.
I've got to get to bed now, and try and begin a normal schedule again. We've been staying up late and getting up early every day, so I plan to sleep in a bit tomorrow morning.
Naomi, you are truly a superb person. I am so glad to know you. :-)- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 9:36:00 PM PDT
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had this to say:
Did the same lady also get lost for 1 of your other parties that you wrote about?
Yummmm, that cake! You get the prettiest, most heavenly cakes I have ever seen.
You luncheon ladies certainly have got it going on!- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 10:33:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
I absolutely love your posts about the Ladies Who Lunch. Everyone looks so happy to be together and so full of life. I am amazed beyond belief that this was Seemah's 84th birthday(if I read that right) as she looks FABULOUS! You know using the good china should be an everyday occasion....most people say they save it for something special but who's more special than yourself..and those you love?
You are all 'fristers" (friend-sisters)!
So glad you all had such a great afternoon!
XOXO- Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 11:21:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Oh, how wonderful! it seems the "ladies who lunch" take the issue very seriously!
The birthday girl looks absolutely fab! well, you all do, I love seeing pics of your friends. I understand you are behind the camera so we seldom see you!
Every detail looks perfect, what a lovely luncheon- Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 4:05:00 AM PDT
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had this to say:
I just love being able to virtually attend your ladies luncheons and gatherings at your home! And this one was no exception.
What a great party. BUT I thought maybe that was a typo...about Seemah turning 84? My God, talk about aging gracefully! She looks exceptional.
I loved the photo of Dianne laughing....it just seemed to capture the fun of the moment. Candid and genuine.
What a wonderful gathering of such meaningful and wonderful friends. And thanks for sharing it all with us, Naomi!
A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Seemah!- Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 7:29:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Sounds like a really nice day. I think I'm going to have to go searching for more of these "ladies who lunch" posts I'm hearing about.
- Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 8:44:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Congratulations to Seemah, she's gorgeous. And what a wonderful birthday party you all had, I absolutely love the cake!!
And there's another reason for me commenting here.... Congratulations are due to you too... you are the lucky winner of my 100th Blog Post Commemmoratibe Giveaway.... contact me at allennef-at-yahoo-dot-ca and have a look at my blog....
Hugs!- Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 10:18:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
First of all, Happy Birthday to Seemah! She looks so beautiful and so young!
What a great post, Naomi! I love so much the 'Ladies Who Lunch' series! How luck you all are to have such a precious friendship!
Sounds really you all had a wonderful time! Love all photos!
Thanks for sharing that happy moment with us!- Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 11:18:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Oh my goodness. No way does she look 84. Gosh, I look older than she does!!! She must have found the fountain of youth somewhere along the way!!
I loved your luncheon and the food looks wonderful. I wish I had some of that Cobb salad about right now!- Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 1:14:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
wow, another successful ladies luncheon b'day party!! You sure know how to enjoy yourself Naomi!
it's so wonderful seeing a group of friends, like yours, having get togethers and not just talk on the phone or send emails!!- Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 3:58:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
My dad and brother headed back to CA this afternoon.
I uploaded all the photos from our trip. What a job that was!!
I have so much to share!!
I decided to share it all, step by step, as it happened. It will take me several posts to tell it all and show it all.
The hummingbird videos did not turn out nearly as good as I would have liked. I was not able to zoom as closely as you did in your last few posts. I will ask my daughter to put them on You Tube or in some format that I can send you a link to. It may take me a few days to get all this together, but I will email you a link so you can view those videos, even though they aren't the best.
The video of you singing turned out good. I wish the lighting was better, but the sound is really good. I plan to put that on my blog when I write about my visit with you. Of course, you can use it at your blog also if you want to. I smile each time I watch it. :-)
I'm going to visit as many blog buddies as I can this evening. I have a lot of catching up to do.
Would you please email me your address? My mother wants to send you a gift package of almonds.- Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 6:48:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
That was really great! Everyone looks absolutely gorgeous and youthful... :) Did you say chocolate black out cake? Yum!
- Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 7:55:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Such a beautiful birthday!!!
And that cake hmmmm yummy!!!
Love,
Maria- Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 10:35:00 PM PDT
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had this to say:
That is so lovely of you to host a bday luncheon and the salad looks definitely gorgeous as well as the setting.
I hope I can join those wonderful luncheons you have and of course I will definitely cook for you. But it could have been nice as well if you can visit Norway and stay with us.- Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 8:03:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
This is a beautiful group. I hope that someday our Mom's Group turns into a Ladies Who Lunch bunch. From the table setting to the gifts to the cake...wow! What a fantastic time. Who needs a restaurant when they can visit you in the hills and have an afternoon like this?? That is, if they find their way there... LOL
- Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 8:41:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
That is beautiful to see the long-term friendships you ladies share. And one would never guess she was 84. Lovely ladies all
- Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 2:47:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
I heard all about you from Jamie Dawn so I knew you were a great host. Looks like a warm, well-fed and fantastic event.
- Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 3:44:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
What a beautiful person she is! I love how your lovely group gets together to celebrate each other's special moments...and that cake is wildly beautiful! Looks like a parrot! Such unique gifts too. Ypu all must feel very special when it is your turn!
I just posted about my dad's 88th birthday that was yesterday! He was happy to gwt his fav cake his mom used to make him!! White with pink icing!- Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 6:07:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
That BD cobb salad makes me salivate! After moving to Calif. a friend wanted us to go to the BD, but my life was so hectic I put her off and we never got there. The next thing I knew, she moved, has since died, and the BD is long since closed. How true whoever said, we regret the things we never got around to doing.
Would love to read BG's essay on getting older if she would be willing to share her words. Or, maybe she intends to publish a book of essays someday.- Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 8:21:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Best birthday wishes and what a lovely occasion to share with others.
Love the china and the thoughtful presents- Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 9:36:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Dropping by to say hello on this fine friday morning. Temperatures are down to pleasant 25ºC/77ºF!
have a lovely weekend!- Friday, August 10, 2007 at 12:28:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
The cakes looked so good I could almost taste them. Yum!
- Friday, August 10, 2007 at 3:53:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Oh WOW! Can't believe I missed Semah's birthday! HAPPY BELATED Semah! As usual the table was gorgeous, the salad looks scrumptious, and the love & friendship just can't be beat! It all shines through, you know! Nothing more fun than a group of good friends -- and a group that's been together as long as y'all have - WOW! I always love that you include US!
- Friday, August 10, 2007 at 6:17:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Oh my gosh, I can't believe Seemah is 84, she has aged beautifully!! I LOVED that rooster, was that a Jim Shore creation?? It sure looked like his stuff....I am a huge fan of his. What a great day, a yummy lunch and all those friends....I hope my circle of friends stays together like you all have, it's so heartwarming to see.
- Friday, August 10, 2007 at 9:52:00 PM PDT
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had this to say:
What a lovely gathering! And Seemah does NOT look her age. She is a beautiful lady.. Thank you for sharing with us!
- Friday, August 10, 2007 at 9:57:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
damn - I'm late for Seemah's birthday party! :-((
Belated Happy Birthday to you, Seemah - and what a wonderful party for those Ladies What Lunch....
:-))
cq- Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 1:55:00 PM PDT
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