On a much cuter note...

Allie and Izze wanted to pink up their lives today, so before they went to camp, I sprayed their tresses with a metallic baby pink hairspray. They are attending "Catskills, West" through the City of Beverly Hills Parks & Rec. program, and working on a performance of The Lion King. Allie is Rafiki, and Izze, Ed the Hyena. They are having the time of their lives there together...a great way to have some cousin-bonding time.
Izze's been sleeping over here (keeping Allie busy while I've been healing) so it's like they're sisters instead of identical cousins.

Ben's sleeping over at Ian & Colin's tonight (he really missed seeing them) so I know he's the happiest boy on the entire planet right now.

I hope they don't get into any trouble!

The Zipper.

I just want to take a moment and thank all of you who took the time to send me your healing wishes. I'm back on my feet now (the staples were removed this morning) and getting back into the game of life.

Sorry about the photo...I'm just a tad too fascinated with the morbid stuff not to share. The single holes are where they tried to do the operation "laproscopically" (unsuccessfully, as you can see)...then came the giant "zipper", which looks less painful than it really was. Healing up quite nicely though.

Ghost Writer: Part Deux...

Home Sweet Home

Yay! Suzi will be returning home tomorrow! Monday is not only Paris' last day in prison but Suzi's as well...though they did take very good care of her at Temple Hospital.
Now that she's due back we can hope only hope that she will be well enough to blog again soon (I know everyone is waiting)!

Ghost Writer

...by little bo peep

Monday Suzi checked into Temple Hospital to have the egg-sized gall stone removed and has an anticipated release date of next Monday, July 25th. Coincidentally Miss Holly Holly is in a hospital on the other side of town having an elective procedure. They like to do everything together!

We wish them both well! That is all...

Friday night at the Casbah...

A Post-graduation, pre-evening party for Ben, courtesy of Chachi, at the Bungalow Club.
Note the fried avocado spring rolls, the mojito martinis and the "Ahi 3 ways"...attendees Harm, Arianna, Alanna, Ben, Chachi and myself had a naughtily-good time Friday night. This would be a great place to have a private party, as there is an upstairs Moroccan-style club available for a mere $1,000. room fee (holds up to 100 people.) Something to remember.

Beverly Vista Elementary Class of 2007

And here's the graduation!
Ben was not happy to have his picture taken. Whatever.
He was presented with a medal for his outstanding musical gift.
Ben was the only soloist of the event.
He's been friends with these 3 since kindergarten!

"Them what contributed to the attack of the Gallstones..."

This is the fabulous graduation brunch at The Odyssey Restaurant (Granada Hills) which totally contributed to the pain of the day. Remember, no fried or fatty foods? At least it was delish!

When will your "gumball" be gone?

...asked little Allie, gently rubbing my shoulders.

I had a very unfortunate experience yesterday/today, when a sharp ache filled my abdominal cavity. Twelve hours of shivers and hot flashes combined with the searing pain prompted me to head to the emergency room at 1:46 this morning.

Diagnosis? A Gallstone has impacted itself in the opening duct of my Gallbladder.

Treatment: Lots of fluids, some constant pain-killers, and no fried or fatty foods.

End result: I missed spending the day with my dear friend Debby Schuh (in town from Buffalo to teach at Sweetpeas,) slept most of the day away, and am sitting here with the dull throb of an aching tummy, re-medicating when the pain gets too strong.

Stupid Gallbladder!

I hear music

All around me.

Last night the kids had their "Taste of Broadway" performance; the last of the sememster, the final session ever for Ben, who had participated in every workshop since it's inception. The instructor, Jenny Gordon, took a moment during the show as an homage to my son (very touching) then we sat back to hear some solos. One Day More (Les Miserables,) and Do you love me? (Fiddler on the roof) stood out, but an Our Time (Merrily we roll along) medley brought down the house. That piece was presented as a brother/sister act, with little Allie belting it out right there with Broadway-boy. This was a total goose-bump moment.

Ben will be working after school next semester as a T.A. for the Broadway class; community service credit never sounded so good!

What a day!
It started with an early morning outing to the Valley to supervise the delivery of a piano. That was the smoothest delivery ever, with the guys arriving within their window of time on time, no broken pieces or dirtied floors, and a reassembled instrument put together by a very polite crew.
From there it was off to Sweetpeas, where the incomparable Helle Greer was presenting her "Secrets of the Vintage Sisterhood" file folder book. I was so happy to see her again, and though it was a big let-down not to see dear Michelle with her, Vickie more than made up for the disappointment. I love meeting new people!
The class turned out to be more than full; it was a good thing Helle had made up extra kits, as those seats were snapped up so quick it was unbelievable!
The kids were whispering with stars in their eyes when they spotted Katey Sagal in the shop. She is such a warm, down-to-earth girl, taking the time to talk to the kids and letting them pose for a picture. She really made their day. I can tell that she's a really cool mom (congrats on the new baby!!!)
The workshop ended way past seven (Helle promised not to finish until the last pages were complete!) and she had to go back down to Coronado. Miss spending time with you, lady!
I am so exhausted right now...I'm going right to bed!

Grease: Allie's night.
Allie's performance in Grease was tonight. She seemed to be a foot shorter than all the other girls (though not the youngest...) but her big personality made her stand out again. I took a short clip of her singing ...you can tell how exhausted she was, but she's so dern cute. We had a great time the past few weeks rehearsing and all, but I'm so glad it's over. Between her three shows this week, and Ben's three last week, we're all pretty much Grease'd out.

Coming up this Monday night: A Taste of Broadway's showcase, "The Best of Broadway."
It will be Ben's last performance in this unique after-school program created by the dynamic Jenny Gordon.

Spoon Swap...
I've signed up to participate in the Sparkle Bella spoon swap; here's a sneak peek at the dozen work-in-progress spoons I started on this morning. I'm a sucker when it comes to hand painting things. They're ready for the finishing dimensional touches; will it be Swarovski crystals, ribbons, or something else?
Hmmm.

Dinner with the girls...
My friend Susan took me to dinner tonight at Oishi* for another celebration; Donna and Harmony were able, at the last minute, to join us for the fun. The fish there is always so fresh and full of flavor (and very reasonable...)...a real pleasure. Of course, the company made it even better than usual. Donna and Harm had never met Susan before, and they all hit it off beautifully.
I've been helping Susan with the John Tracy Clinic "crop" she's organizing for Saturday, July 14th (at the clinic) and Harm & Donna were the perfect people to talk with when it comes to brainstorming. I think that this event is going to be the best cropping opportunity I've seen in a long time. Susan has put quite a program together; rumor has it that sisters Linda Woods and Karen Dinino (Visual Chronicles, Journal Revolution) will be leading one of the three free workshops during this 12 hour event.
Want in on the fun? Go to www.scrapbookroyalty.com to register!

*The top dish is the special Lobster Roll, the bottom, Tuna sashimi.

Po' Allie.

Today Allie's fourth grade class had their field trip to Knott's Berry Farm (to learn about the Gold Rush.) Because of her still broken paw, it would have been difficult for her to negotiate the park on crutches, so she opted to stay back. Instead of taking the easy "day in bed" option offered up to her, she chose instead the "help out the little kids" option. I was very pleased with her choice, as the schools do get a daily stipend from the state based on attendance. So little miss marvellous spent the day helping Mrs. Lucky and Mrs. Lehman (1st & 2nd grade instructors, respectively.) No worries on Allie's part about missing out on the fun. She knows she'll be going to Knott's this summer on a camp field trip.

Tonight...

I went with Allie to Temple Emanuel Beverly Hills for a Shabbat family dinner followed by their "Synaplex" Shabbat service. This congregation is the warmest, most welcoming group of people that I've ever come across. Of course the fact that they put out a mighty delicious buffet didn't hurt the experience. Two kinds of rice (one with saffron, the other with a tempting mix of fruits, nuts, and other imaginative bits), potatoes, chicken nuggets (not dry), roasted chicken, stuffed chicken medallions, brisket with broccoli, Chinese chicken salad (and another big salad), and egg roll were just some of the bites offered up. There was a lemonade fountain for the kids (very cool) and a decadent dessert bar. Allie was in heaven!

When we entered the sanctuary for the service, there was my friend Hilary with her son Noah! She was there for my friend Jennifer Cohen's son Max Schwartz' Bar Mitzvah! Small world.

We snuck out just before the Oneg (Allie was just wiped out.)

What a wonderful night!