My little mom has become a little bit smaller this week with the extraction of her appendix, which happened unexpectedly on Monday. Quite a scare, quite a scare, to say the least! But she's home and okay now. Should be back on track next week. They did not keep it in a jar even though I asked them to. Oh well.

Fall has kicked us back into "productive mode" (I think) so it was perfect timing for the painters to come last Saturday and buff out the scuffs on the walls -- we're in the midst of reassembling the living room but the new blinds are up and pics are on the walls and it's really quite exciting.

Whenever people get down on L.A. a dose of the Hollywood Bowl seems to pick them up -- me included. Caroline and Mike got us all tickets to Brazilian night last Saturday and we ate picnic dinner beforehand so it was all good even before the orchestra came out -- but man, Pink Martini was fantastic! I had no idea. Vocalist China Forbes puts so many other singers to shame, I can't believe more people don't care about this 12-piece orchestra/band. They played with the L.A. Philharmonic, so you can imagine. Excellent.

Our whirlwind weekend was worth the effort for the perfect weather, QT with the Peavey family, and quick visit with Heather and John -- but I've GOT to find a job with more than 5 allotted vacation days a year. By caffeinating ourselves, we packed a lot into 3 days: Todd took us out into Salem Harbor to the Rockmoor Restaurant, this floating contraption that serves pretty decent seafood, then we drove all over the north shore to ogle beach houses before dinner at Victoria Station near his place up there, right off Salem Common.

Saturday the entire Peavey family (incl. Akhil) paddled out by kayak from Wequetequock (yes, that's spelled right) Cove to Sandy Point, and then we all splurged on a rich and giant dinner at Skipper's Dock in Stonington Borough. It was hard to sleep with pitch black and only the sound of chirping crickets, I'm not kidding, but then it's been a very long time since I've been "home" to Connecticut in the summer. Three years, I think, at least. Amazing! I thought my hometown was kind of lame growing up but now that I've seen some alternatives it doesn't seem all too terribly bad. Here are the intrepid:

Akhil and I zoomed up to Boston to see Heather's funky new condo in Beacon Hill on Monday and then took off to the western burbs to see how the pre-bubble buyers live there, too. The sunny, clear, balmy beautiful weather put the northeast in its best light. Somehow I was still glad to get back to L.A. Sunday night -- at least until the alarm went off at 5:45 Monday morning.

Life has a way of putting things in perspective, and this week has an eerie feel similar to Sept. of 2001. Coverage of the Katrina aftermath seems absolutely unreal -esp. for those who know New Orleans and even for those who don't. My 24-year-old cousin Colin and wife Aimee, a Folsom native, bought a house in Mandeville last year and they drive to New Orleans to teach every day. School was just about to kick off this week but they evacuated to Auburn, AL pre-Katrina and they're fine -- maybe even their house too -- we don't know that much yet. Having spent a couple of memorable Spring Breaks and Mardi Gras there as well (during Colin's wedding weekend), I know why they say it's one of the nation's most glorious cities. I've noticed a lot of people using the word "was," as if they think it's gone for good. Sure looks dire but I just can't imagine there won't be a reconstruction effort. Not much to do but send cash: American Red Cross has our info solidly in their database, that's for sure. Large-scale tragedy has become somewhat of a regular part of our generation's lives. Off to the east coast tomorrow night!