seemah's ladies who lunch

After some interruption's for the 'Ant Problem and The Fridge Problem' and other stuff,---finally, we have "The Ladies Who Lunch" for Seemah's 85th Birthday......This time around, I did a few things that were a little different----not wanting the guests to be bored with the beginnings, I decided it was time for some different 'starters'......You know, those wonderful little things you find on the glass table in the living room which we can nibble on before lunch is served..... The Wonderful Will Grover, makes many many yummy things and for a lovely change, I chose a couple of these very delicious-nesses----(Is that a word??? I don't think so. But you get the picture...)----that I had not had before at these lunches, (except for one thing, that is)......like...... Chicken Breast-Tenders on Skewers with Peanut Sauce....Oh My, they were truly deliciousoso! I love chicken and particularly the breast, as do many people, so this was a big hit! Then....there were two rather interesting and very tasty treats....little mouthfuls that were perfect! On the left side of the plate were these delightful little goodies: Lox, sitting on a bed of Cream Cheese which sat on very thin squares of brown bread.....My mouth is watering just writing about them....And on the right side of the plate were these little Potato Halves with a dollop of sour cream and just a tiny bit of Black Caviar on top of that....Also, incredibly tasty! And, of course, something I always have, above, Crudites...otherwise known as Veggies with a Dill Dip....I happen to love Jicama (pronounced Hik-e-ma)....it's crunchy and very tasty and has quite a lot of juiciness to it, if it is ripe..... First to arrive, because she is always not only 'on time' but a little bit early, the beautiful Kim Hamilton. I had something special for her as a starter because she is having some dental work done and wasn't able to chew quite like the rest of us.....And it was in that Beautiful little bowl you see in her hand. A Curried Chicken with Raisins thingy that Will makes for me, which he had practically pulverized....And it was absolutely scrumptious! (I had some myself...)...
By this time, the lovely Jacquie Scott had arrived and at this point Kim was seeing if the slightly cooked String Beans on that Crudites plate were soft enough for her to chew....unfortunately, they weren't....But, Will put together something else special for her using the Lox and the Cream Cheese, which was soft enough...... Then the lovely Dianne Travis---my dear dear friend----arrived and was followed fairly quickly by the beautiful Lee Meriwether, having just returned from Waltham, Mass., where she had been working...... Lee had been playing in the Jerry Herman musical, "MAME" at The Waltham Theatre there in beautiful New England. It is why she couldn't be at my Birthday Lunch, but she had just returned two days before this celebration for Seemah, and we were all thrilled to see her back in Los Angeles and back among us, as well...... And then...the last two to arrive....The lovely Birthday Girl herself, Seemah Wilder Idelson, who is famous for being late to everything...lol...And, the dear Lisa Zarowin..... Lisa was a very dear and good friend of Seemah's sweet wonderful daughter Ellen, who died in September of 2003. Ellen had just turned 42 years old that June, and she was the most talented, funny, sweet, unique young woman you would ever want to know. Dear Ellen had been struggling with Crohn's Disease since she was eight years old. She was a truly amazing writer and actress and a lovely beautiful girl, too......Dear Seemah has remained close to a number of Ellen's good and dear friends, and she has stayed particularly close to Lisa.....This is Lisa's third year with us for Seemah's Birthday Lunch and it is always a real treat to see her..... There is always this very lovely period of time before we sit down for lunch, where we have a little bit of Hors D'oeuvres and lots of camaraderie.... Sometimes the talk is hilarious and sometimes it is serious, and sometimes it is both at the same time.....You may notice that two of our "usual suspects" are missing from this group.....Indeed, both Betty Garrett and Annie Guilbert were unable to be with us on that day. Both ladies were struggling with some physical illnesses that kept them away.....Both are feeling a lot better now, but, they were not well enough to join us on that day....So, though we were to have been nine ladies, we ended up being just seven, and as it turned out, it was a perfect number....!

And, you'll love this! At one point, I saw Kim lean over and she said...."I just killed an Ant!" Yes. There in my living room...a frigging f**king Ant! They had now moved from the Kitchen and the Guest Bathroom, to my Living Room! They had now invaded my Living Room......! I was shocked and appalled, to say the least.....Everyone began looking down at the little round rug where Kim had seen this ornery little critter......One of the 'scouts' no doubt......ugh! My biggest fear? That these itty bitty creepy crawly critters would next come into my bedroom...which is where I have been feeding my dear sweet beautiful kitty cat Sweetie since the onslaught of this relentless army.....


I knew now, that more drastic measures had to be taken, and very very soon. What we had been doing was not keeping these little creepy crawler's out of the house, and, if anything, they were gaining on me....Oy Vey, to say the least.....Stay tuned for Part Two of Seemah's Birthday Lunch....No, it won't be all about 'the ants', though they certainly took center stage later that day, as well..........Stay Tuned, as they used to say on The Radio.......

More To Come........