Blogstipation Part Deux

No free time to jot down anything. Parents left this morning so one less generation to entertain. I will try to get back on track this week. Stay tuned.

Will Nine Be Fine?

Contradictions fly

Sweet, mean, happy, surly, kind

Today she is nine

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to Linda, my beautiful friend in Eugene, Oregon.

I can't find a recent picture of her but Linda has thick brown hair and a perfect face that seems to get better with age -- I should hate her for that reason alone but I don't. (I won't even mention her perfectly proportioned figure that is curvy in just the right places.)

Linda and I have been friends since our junior year of high school (gulp, nearly 40 years ago.) I don't know if Linda knows it or not but I find her very wise. I have learned so much from her over the years especially about being a mom. Linda and I are both adoptive parents (Linda has 3 kids and her youngest son is from the Ukraine.) I remember one very bad day when my Leah said she wanted her "real" mom. I was upset and when I told Linda this story she said "oh, even the kids I gave birth to have told me they want a different mom." I loved how she put it all in perspective for me. I replay that conversation many times in my head and it always reassures me.

What I admire most about Linda is her steady and thoughtful demeanor. Her mom died about 9 years ago after a battle with Alzheimer's and Linda was a strong and loyal daughter throughout. She treated her mom with love and respect and her actions have inspired me to be a better daughter.

So happy birthday my dear friend. I look forward to our next visit.

P.S. Even though my birthday card is a little late, I promise this is not a repeat of your 17th birthday. The birthday that no one remembered -- not even your own mother. (Linda played the part of Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles only it was real-life.)

Six Degrees

If you know me at all, you know I love celebrity gossip. Just got back from Los Angeles where we attended the Rose Bowl. Whenever I go to LA, I assume I'll see someone famous. So far, I have only see a glimpse of Milli Vanilli (yes, that's correct -- it was back in 1992.)

I remain hopeful that one of these visits I will see a big star!

My friend Mary Beth lives in Los Angeles. Her sister in law, Valerie, has a PR firm with some famous clients (who shall remain nameless.) Last time I visited we had lunch at the Brentwood Country Mart with the hope that someone famous would happen by. Of course no one did, but Valerie was there a couple of weeks ago and stood next to Harrison Ford in line to order his food.

At the Rose Bowl tailgate party on Friday, my friend Janice ran into Ty Burrell (the dad on Modern Family) near the port-a-potty. Of course I missed him too. He was wearing a Prefontaine t-shirt (I googled him and see that he was born in Grants Pass, OR.)

I guess I will have to cling to my memory of meeting Jimmy Stewart some 48 years ago. I have no picture and I've lost the autograph so you'll just have to believe me.

Traditions Fit Me to a Tea

I know I've mentioned that I'm blessed with many good friends. My blessings include the KKC (Kitty Kat Club -- we don't really remember how we came up with the name.) Every Christmas we have high tea at the Phoenician and it is one of my favorite days of the year.

The KKC was formed about 18 years ago (we think!) and our current membership counts four -- all original founding members (Kathy, Karen, Jill and me). Our bylaws do not permit expanding the membership. Our mission is to eat, dish, drink and laugh.

High Tea at the Phoenician is fabulous. We settle into our first class table with a spectacular view looking south at the Valley of the Sun. I order Delicate Orange Spice tea "a spicy cinnamon aroma is balanced by the sweet orange flavor, creating an inspired cup". Oh my, I was most inspired after my first sip of this holiday beverage. Then Natalie (who claimed to remember us from previous years) brought the first of many glasses of champagne... more inspiration.

First course is a selection of tea sandwiches. See photo. My personal favorite is egg salad which sounds very pedestrian but when it's on tiny circular bread placed on fine china, surrounded by other delicate sandwiches it becomes anything but common. Other sandwiches include English cucumber, hickory smoked salmon, Phoenician's lemon and thyme chicken salad, crisp asparagus and galic herb mousse and pepper crusted beef. Mmmmmm.

Did I mention that in between champage, tea and mini sandwiches we exchange gifts? Oh, that is the main event. At the end of each holiday tea we pick names for the next year's gift exchange. We have forgotten what the dollar limit is and we concentrate on quality and making the right choice. We also buy a "small" gift for each other person. The small gifts are usually identical. The KKC delights in reminding me that I was the last member to participate in the small gift exchange. This tradition morphed over time and it wasn't until year 9 or so that I caught on to this added pleasure. But I must say that a few of my small gifts have surpassed expectation thereby erasing my slow start.

Back to food.

Apres tea sandwiches, Natalie serves the buttermilk and cranberry scones. Best part of the scones??? Lemon curd! I love that stuff. At this point, I am sure we are going to see Mary Poppins clip by as it is all very British. Now we have opened nearly all of our gifts. So we focus on champagne and celebrity gossip.

After scones there is more bubbly, more tea and then the beautiful mini-desserts. This year I was too full from the two previous courses and, uncharactersitically, the Phoenician offered us doggie bags for our desserts. Pleasant surprise. Dessert include a fruit tart, maple cheesecakes, chocolate dipped strawberries, holiday eclair, brulee tart and chocolate cherry petit gateau.

Dessert is followed by a silver tray stacked with steaming cylinders of white linen napkins. An elegant and indulgent way to conclude the day.

We slowly gather our loot and make our way to the valet stand. There is always an obligatory stop at the Christmas tree for our group photo.

Then it's to the car and back down the hill to real life. Heading to 68th Street and back across the Salt River on Mill Avenue. With twinkle lights surrounding us through downtown Tempe, we continue dishing on husbands, kids and celebrities. Speaking of... Karen believes she saw Whoopi Goldberg getting on the evelvator at the Phoenician.

Stay tuned for posts about our lovely gifts.

There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays

Guess what we did this afternoon?

P.S. She's convinced she's getting a Yorkie from Santa. Help me ... how do we handle this one?

Santa, We Need Your Help

This is Leah's Christmas list.