Happy birthday, Sophia!

Andrew Glazer

CORONA DEL MAR -- She celebrated her first birthday party ever with

friends, margaritas, polka music and taco salad.

“I was always busy working,” said Sophia Cook, who turned 95 years old on

Friday. “I never had time to celebrate.”

But on Friday, Cook -- whose arthritis in her knees has confined her to

her bed and wheelchair for the past five years -- partied hard.

A church group from Our Lady Queen of Angels in Eastbluff brought

meatball soup, a heart-shaped birthday cake and margaritas -- her

favorite drink. They plugged in a small boombox and cued up “Moonlight

Polka.”

The women have alternated visiting Cook -- who is at home alone with her

caretaker and talking green parakeet, Sam, most days -- for months.

Rosemary Warde brings her soup, so Cook calls her “Soup Lady.” Vicki

Klein brings German crepes and is called “Blini Lady.” There’s also a

“Beer Lady,” “Margarita Lady” and “Leftover Lady.”

On Friday, they all joined Cook at her cozy home. A Costa Mesa

hairdresser cut and styled her white hair into a neat bob. And he made

her up lightly, to bring out her eye color.

“I was afraid he might tart you up,” said Barbara “Beer Lady” Tate.

Cook smiled and quietly laughed at the ladies’ jokes -- not one slipped

by.

“We were going to put in 95 candles,” said Klein as she carried in the

cake. “But we didn’t want to start a bonfire!”

While she sat in her wheelchair wrapped in a white knit shawl, her

brilliant green eyes darted around the room like the bee that flew into

her living room.

Cook said she’s frustrated that she can no longer make clothes, drive her

gray Toyota Celica sports car or tear through crossword puzzles as she

used to.

“My mind is still sharp and energetic, but my flesh is weak,” she said.

But for the most part, she said, she has enjoyed her life -- especially

working. Her favorite job she ever had was working as a typist at the

state Department of Motor Vehicles.

She said her secret to living long has been working and eating a lot.

Specifically, she recommended eating “peasant food” -- a balanced diet of

sauerkraut, pig’s feet and ham hocks.

At her party, she nibbled at her portion of taco salad and sipped her

soup. For desert, she spooned a crimson rose, sculpted from icing, right

off her cake.

“Haven’t you always wanted to do that?” asked “Leftover Lady” Pamela

Hoffman. “I think when you’re 95, you can do pretty much whatever you

like.”

The ladies said sometimes it seems like they have more fun visiting Cook

than she does herself.

“She really gives me a great outlook on life,” Klein said.

“She’s a role model and we really feel her blessing,” added Hoffman.

Before leaving the party, Hoffman set the agenda for her next visit,

which is scheduled for today.

“I’ll come by and we can eat the leftover soup and dish on all the other

ladies,” she said, as a smile appeared on Cook’s face. “We can talk about

what they were wearing and how their hair looked.”