Another diversion: cupcakes,a party, and opera friends

Another necessary break from Thanksgiving planning. Sophie has been invited to a party for all children who served as supernumeraries in San Francisco Opera's past season. As if being in an opera wasn't fun enough.

There will be several of her fellow castmates from Das Rheingold who Sophie is excited to see. They got to be pretty friendly during all those hours in the dressing room, in line for hair and makeup, and waiting in lines to do it all over and over and over.

Parents have been asked to bring something. Of course I thought first of opera cake. That would be fun, and Jen, who has made it, could help me.

But instead I made two dozen cupcakes, which are loaded into their double-decker traveling case and ready for a subway ride over to the city.

Kids will lick off the frosting, toss the cakes, never noticing that one half are a delicious chocolate sour cream and the other a yellow vanilla. But not being a big frosting eater, I'm always happy to eat the cupcake my child has licked clean. We work well together that way.

When we get home, it will be back to Thanksgiving prep. The silver is polished, and it's time to work on table linens.