Birthday--Special Extended Edition

Since my birthday, I've had many opportunities to continue celebrating. I have been taken to lunch or breakfast by friends Judy Rounds, Monica Rose and Juleen Clift. I was surprised and touched by the arrival of the hard-to-find DVD collection of the Canadian television show "Wind At My Back" from my boys. The Saturday after my birthday, Diana prepared a wonderful pizza fondue dinner and gave me a family photo calendar she made with pictures corresponding to each person's birthday or pictures appropriate to that month's celebration. For example, February has shots of each of the couples in the family--so cute!
One of the most serendipitous birthday celebrations occurred February 5th. Emmy was asked to audition for a non-union movie about a little girl who scares her sister to death (literally) with a doll, so she and I traveled to Southern California. I was skeptical about the quality of the script, but her acting teacher Tina Cole put a positive spin on it, pointing out that it was "classic" material. I jumped on the band wagon, pointing out that just like there are fairy tales, this was a scary tale! Kevin emailed his two cents, advising that Emmy's talent and enthusiasm could outshine the script. Off we went early Thursday morning (2/5) to Southern Cal for a stormy, slightly scary drive. Arriving in the nick of time in the area of the Hollywood Bowl, she did well, but was not cast. From there, we braved traffic on to Anaheim to spend the evening with Kevin and Jackie. Here are the photos from our visit to Jackie's delightful place of employ, Olivia's Dollhouse.






Olivia's is a tea party center, the normal guest age is 3-9, but Jackie has served at some unusual events there, too, like bachlorett parties! Jackie decided to treat us to a tour and honor my birthday. We visited the fabulous dress-up room full of costumes. Jackie typically dresses as Cinderella or Tinkerbell when she hosts parties, but had her stylist's apron on ready to give us up-do's. We saw the gigantic heart shaped table in the garden-like dining room where the girls have tea. There was room after room of collectable porcelain dolls. I kept thinking of the doll horror movie role Emmy had just read for and couldn't help finding irony.
The following day (2/6), we went along with Kevin to a scan and biopsy. The previous week, his car engine had completely gone out on him on the way to an initial scan. I'm not sure he would've told me that he'd found a lump if his car hadn't of broken down. I was grateful the doctors got him right in. I've also felt very blessed that both Jackie and Nathan Mills who's living in Long Beach have been able to help him with transportation. Nathan spent the day with us Friday. He's so nice to Emmy. I really enjoy his company.
So far, his scans have been suspicious. The pathology on the biopsy is abnormal but the doctor said it does not look like a recurrence of lymphoma. We are waiting to hear the results on more scans he will be having this week. Meantime, he was able to sell his old car for scrap metal and bought a used Acura CL that was within his budget. He was able to pay for it himself with money earned working at Time Warner/AOL. Kevin is an amazing young man!