Yesterday was my birthday

I had a great day. I drove down to Laguna Niguel, to the Ritz-Carlton hotel there, where Charlie and Nancy Walker had a nice birthday lunch for me. We sat at a lovely table overlooking the ocean. Charlie ordered a bottle of champaigne and they toasted by birthday. It was a delightful couple of hours.

Then I drove to my sister Jackie's house, where she and her husband Martin hosted a birthday party for me. It was also an early Thanksgiving dinner; they will be in England on the actual day, and my sister Jayne and her husband will also be away, so Jackie made turkey and dressing and had all the usual Thanksgiving stuff.

The guests included Jayne and her husband Bernie, my daughter Claire and her friend Tami, my niece Jill and her son Dane, our friend Jean, my nephew Kenn and his family, my niece Tiffany, her partner Caroline and their two-year-old son Elijah.

After dinner they put some candles on a pumkin pie for me to blow out (with help from Elijah), and then they all gave me birthday presents. There was much good cheer and family affection. My brother Mike called from his home near San Luis Obispo to wish me a happy birthday. On the way home I returned a call to my other brother, Alan, who had called from his home in the eastern Sierras with birthday wishes. All together a very good day.

The day before, Saturday, my friends Joe and Marsha took me to a museum in Santa Monica to see an exhibit of paintings by the watercolorist Milfred Zornes. It was an impressive and most enjoyable show. We were joined by the Grieco's friends Brian Doyle Murray and his wife Tina (I have also known Brian for many years, through the Griecos); it was good to see them. We had a nice lunch on the patio of a comfortable restaurant adjacent to the museum. It was a beautiful, clear, balmy day, and lunch on the patio was a treat.

And today I had another birthday lunch, with my friends Richard Del Belso and Erika Callahan. I had worked with them both for many years when I was at Warner Bros., and have enjoyed seeing them frequently since then. Our lunch was at Nippon, a Japanese restaurant near WB that we had been to many times over the years. We were all very happy that Barak Obama won the election last week, and had a good time catching up with each other and sharing our opinions about lots of stuff - movies, tv shows, et cetera. Both Richard and Erika had been to London recently and agreed that it was fun if also very expensive.

I am excited today because my daughter Emily will be coming to town early in December, and her friend Abigail will be coming with her. I will also be seeing Emily later this week, as I am going to Kentucky on Saturday, to join Lynette, who is there to help care for her ailing mother. Emily is also going to Kentucky, this Friday. Lynette's mom's chemotherapy seems to be having some good effect, as she is feeling a little stronger. We are all glad about that. I will be there for a week. Lynette has been there for about a month now, and plans to be there for at least a few more weeks, depending on how things go with her mom.

That's about it for today.

Dan