A good Mail day..

Happy New Year's Eve!!...

Wow, the mail came today and the book I sent for "A Gift of Dragons" is here already! How fast is that! Amazing! (Of course if it was something important it would take weeks.. but hey, I'll take what I can get!)

I was very surprised, not only that it got here so fast.. but it was small. Hmmm, didn't expect that, thought it would be normal size for a hardback book., but noooo it's a whole 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches. Like I said... small.

I was leary as I flipped thru it.. but quickly a smile came across my face. It was illustrated beautifully!! Just the way I think ALL fantasy books should look! Each page was outlined with dragons and graphics.. and every so often a full page sketch !!

The artist is Tom Kidd. I never heard of him before but when I quickly did a search of his name I found that he is indeed on the web as an artist/ illustrator.

I looooove that look! Just "sketches" not intricate drawings or paintings.. though I like all of that this had the right look! It's the way I had pictured my stories to look if they were in book form! Now, that's cool.. I guess it also makes me not very "original".. or.. it's just what I like. Yeah, guess that's it. A sketch gives you something to invision but not everything, so your imagination can still work.

I'm no artist but the sketches I made for my stories (which can be found here: http://www.geocities.com/kesterwoodgirl/kesterwoodart.html) really remind me of how this book was put together. And ya know... that makes me feel good. It makes me feel like my choices were right. Nice to feel that way, for a change.. and nice to wind up 2005 on a high note.

I scanned a page from the book for the journal.. it shows a full page sketch by Tom Kidd and the way the written pages are "framed".. I think I will kick back today and do some reading in this "small but very fine looking" book!

So.. I hope everyone has a Happy New Year's Eve.. and a "non-hangover" New Years Day!!.. have a good one!

DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!! I would like you all back here next year!

Restraint isn't my best quality..

Being on the Barnes and Noble, or Amazon, or Half.com websites is dangerous!

I've got to stop going to these websites.. I spend money and I can't afford to do this! ARGH!

In my continual search for the original Shannara books I came across Anne McCaffrey's name.. one of my favorite authors. I love love love all her books on The Dragon Riders and Pern. At first I was more then happy to see as I flipped the pages on pages with her name on it that I had all the Pern books, including the two her son has written. (well that's a good so far) .. Then I came across a Pern title I didn't recognize! Hmmmm, it's not new.. so how did I miss this?? I jotted the title down, "A Gift of Dragons". Then I searched it out further and read that it's 3 short stories. Hmmm, I'm not a big short story fan, maybe I skipped this on purpose?

Hmmmm.I read further and decided I couldn't go on without sending for the book.. argh! Like who has money after Christmas? not me! lol.. But hey, it's only 12.99.. sigh.. "click, click , click.." SOLD! Now I get to sit and wait for it.. that's the drawback from buying on line instead of in the store where you can walk in bare handed and walk out penniless but happy ..heh.

All this and I still haven't found what I started out to find... groan.

I've got to get better control of myself. I just CAN NOT be in a bookstore (on line or in the flesh) and not want to buy something!! Thankfully, the writers I like most don't put out a lot of new books so it may go for some time in between spending spurts.. but when it hits, I go nuts! I keep talking to myself as I pick up each book and read the back.. "i can't afford this.. I can't afford this.. I don't need this... I don't need this"...I get almost ecstatic when what I read doesn't grab my interest and I set the book back on the shelf, it's at that point I should run to the nearest section of books that i KNOW i won't buy, but do I do that? cha! of course not! I am a gluten for punishment!

I will be very happy when I finally get the Shannara books so that I will stop going to the book web sites!!

Ok.. you win..

You have to appreciate the tinacity of animals...

Each day i get the same "dribble" from Booboo Kity when he wants some dry food. (You'd think he was starved to death..yeahrightsure)



First it's the "attention getter":








Then comes the "smoshing"..











Then the crowning glory of the "love bites"..





I wonder how they learn to do this? How do they know that if you "kiss butt" you get what you want? .. and like most kids, they DO get what they want!

In Search of..

Well, by now everyone should be calming down from all the hubbub of Christmas. Ok, so not everyone! heh, I forgot those "gift cards"! Best time to get the most from that money is right now, the after Christmas sales! Wish I had a way to get to some stores myself.. I wouldn't mind some of those sale prices!

During the holidays I had ordered presents over the web and I'm glad to say everything got delivered in time. I had ordered books for my grandson which got to florida in plenty of time. Then a book for my brother of fashion photography which also arrived in time, and lastly a movie for David of Finding Neverland, since he's a big Johnny Depp fan.

My best friend Annie, from (http://journals.aol.com/desannie/Anniesmeanderings/) gave me a gift certificate from Amazon.com which I had No problem whatsoever spending! LOL.. I bought a group of books by Terry Brooks .. they followed an old trilogy he had out years ago called the sword of shannara. If you remember back in my journal I was holding and reading that first book with a cat on my head!

However, long ago I loaned that first book to someone and never got it back, so I must have gotten rid of the other two from the trilogy since I didn't have the complete set. That turned into a big mistake! Now I am trying to find those original books with the original covers (artwork).. I found two of them on ebay in "excellent" condition considering the age of them, but I don't have Paypal so i had to watch them disappear from my grasp at a mere five and a half dollars! Boy, that made me cry!

I see more of them on ebay but most are from England and the shipping is more then the book costs! I got a bit upset because now on amazon and half.com they have stopped showing the covers of the used books so I can't see the condition of them.. one persons opinion of "very good" and mine are at times not the same. Sooo, I sit and wait to see if others come up for sale. I want to get them and re read them before I start the new set I purchased. I hope it doesn't take forever to find them in a good condition. These are the original covers... book one the artwork is by Hildebrandt and books two and three are by Darrell Sweet.. I think i want the artwork as much as the books!


Since then I rooted around in a box i found in the basement of mine and found a book I had enjoyed also.. "Chekov's Enterprise". It was written by Walter Koenig who played Chekov on the original Star Trek series. I remember when I first read it, I thought he had a fantastic sense of humor and really enjoyed the book.. but somehow when i found it recently it was waterlogged and ruined.. sigh.. here i go again looking for another old book to replace! Once again I found it in excellent condition on ebay.. sigh. I will try to email the seller since he takes a charge card, I don't like putting it on line to a place like Ebay so we'll see how the seller responds. I guess I need to get paypal but I've heard some horror stories and not thrilled to think it could happen to me too.

I'm at least glad that I know they are out there.. I just have to be able to get them! lol.
I hope your Christmas was the best ever!!

Patricks Personality Test

and he's right!.. this is the most like me of any test so far!..

***Your Personality Is***

Idealist (NF)

You are a passionate, caring, and unique person.You are good at expressing yourself and sharing your ideals.

You are the most compassionate of all types and connect with others easily.Your heart tends to rule you. You can't make decisions without considering feelings.

You seek out other empathetic people to befriend.Truth and authenticity matters in your friendships.

In love, you give everything you have to relationships. You fall in love easily.

At work, you crave personal expression and meaning in your career.

With others, you communicate well. You can spend all night talking with someone.

As far as your looks go, you've likely taken the time to develop your own personal style.

On weekends, you like to be with others. Charity work is also a favorite pastime of yours.

The Three Question Personality Test http://www.blogthings.com/threequestionpersonalitytest/

The Day Before Christmas Eve!

I was at Donna's journal (http://journals.aol.com/mosie1944/MYCOUNTRYLIFE/) reading about her hounds and treats that she got for them when I remembered one Christmas when we bought a rawhide bone for our dog Panzer, who was a German Shepard. It was 3 foot long! I knew i had a picture of her dragging it around by one end but when I went searching for it, naturally I couldn't find it. I can see it clearly in my mind so I know I've come acrossed it not that long ago...sigh.. well.. it's got to be another senior moment. I'm getting enough of them now that i guess I can't deny being a senior huh?! Ugh!

Anyway.. In my search for the picture of Panzer and her rawhide bone I came across two other pictures that were just as ancient. One does at least deal with Christmas.. this one...


This is my son George ..at almost 2 yrs old I don't think he was overly thrilled meeting Santa lol. And if memory serves me right, when he was only one he had the same reaction. Hmmmm, good thing he never saw Santa walking around the house huh? No telling what he would have done lol.

This second picture has nothing to do with anything lol.. I just came across it.. It's a picture of me and my "last boyfriend".. I've been told he was quite a pig! heh.. figures huh?! lol lol

Actually this is Sir Wintston, a Potbelly Pig that lived with Tippi Hedren at her Shambala home. He was "housebroken" but still liked to walk outside once in a while and "torment" the lions by walking by them on the OUTSIDE of the fences where they couldn't make a meal of him.. He wasn't quite as smart as his "namesake" was!!

Well.. here we are. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!! I want to wish everyone the Best of Christmas's and wish a healthy and happy New Year!!

Flick

Earlier in my journal i talked about the movie "A Christmas Story" with my friend Scott Swartz as one of the kids.. well, the movie is on tonight on TMC and I just saw the part where Scott (as "Flick") got his tongue stuck to the flag pole lol.. I've seen it before but it cracked me up all over again lol.

I thought since it was on tv right now I'd share a picture with you.. first of his childhood character "Flick" and a picture I took of Scott over Halloween at the show I went to...





This is Scott at age 14! (yes, he was small for his age!)







And this is Scott as he looks today...






















I heard him tell someone that he still see's Peter Billingsly regularly..so they have stayed friends ever since they made the movie. Pretty nice to keep a friend who you worked with for that long... especially in hollywood lol..

Whelp.. this was just a thought.. hope you enjoyed seeing what Flick looks like now! And I hope you get to see the movie before Christmas is past!!

Bah Humbug

Argh!... if you live in New Jersey or New York area, you more then know about the transit strike. *sigh*

Gads, I am sick of it already! I really don't understand something.. the first day of the strike they had news on nearly ALL DAY about the strike and how people were getting to work and school etc. Oooookay.. one day was sufficient! I don't get why they do so many hours of it each day?!!

The people it effects the most aren't even home watching it!! They are out there trying to get to work! Sooooo...why are they showing this for hours on end to the people not leaving their homes ???? It's a simple question that I'd like to know the answer to!!

Do they think telling ME about traveling in NY is going to help those going there? I don't think so! So why am I and others made to suffer thru a transit strike?? What do the newspeople think we need to know that they haven't already said a million times?? I hate being a grump at this time of the year but I sure wish they would talk about it during their 2 hr newscast in the evening instead of all day long interrupting programs like we at home can do something about it!! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

For Christmas I'd like the news to give some happy news.. somewhere I'm sure there is some!
Ok.. I'm done complaining...I just wish the news was done too! heh..

One more story for J.J.

Some time ago I used this photo of DeForest and myself in one of my journal entries and said "that was yet another story", so for J.J. who seems to enjoy my stories of De here's the story about this picture.

I have to precede the picture and tell you of the first time I ever met Carolyn and DeForest together. I was on a "Star Trek Cruise", and DeForest was one of the many guests (along with the likes of Jimmy Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takai, and Nichole Nicoles) I was on the cruise with my youngest son Tom and a friend I knew from conventions was DeForests "body guard".

Somehow he got an invitation for my son and I to his stateroom to meet De and Carolyn and so we went. Since it was the first time "this close" to my favorite star I was nervous to say the least. (little did I know we would become good friends over the years back then).

We arrived at their room and were introduced and sat down to idle chatter, when my friend "the body guard" up and dropped the bomb.

"De, did you know that Pat can do a great imitation of Lily Tomlin as Ernestine, the telephone operator?"

(instant dry mouth hit me!)

"Oh really?" said De, "I think we'd like to see that."

(ohhh lord...why me?!)
If looks could kill, his body guard would have been stricken down where he sat!

With my heart in my throat I managed to "snort" out a Lily Tomlin impersonation to which Carolyn and DeForest howled at. (As I look back I realize this was the catalyst that set in motion the fact that I would do nearly anything after that to make them laugh)

Ok.. that said.. we fast forward a number of months, in which I began writing to the Kelley's regularly and our friendship was beginning...
Then DeForest signed to do a convention in California. (at that time I lived in Florida).
His fan club president Sue Keenan convinced me (which didn't take much) to come out for the convention. She would gather me up at the airport and I would spend the night at her apartment and then we would all go to the Ambassador Hotel In LA for the weekend and the convention.

All went well and we woke at 4 am to get in line to get the front row seats.. half the fun of a convention back then was meeting the people that were all there for the same reason you were there. Sue and I and other friends all had front row seats and I had my camera ready with the 300 zoom to get good pictures of De on stage.

Out he came to a thunderous applause! The room was filled to capacity.. 1,500 people!! But I was glued to the camera and snapping away from the minute he walked on stage. As I focused for yet another snapshot I saw thru my lens that he was looking right at me with a grin on his face and I, for whatever reason, lowered the camera.

"Well I'll be..." I heard him say.. "If it isn't Lily Tomlin in the audience!"

(heh, ok very funny De)

"Would you mind coming up and doing a little of your telephone operator?"

(I now know where the term "cotton mouth" came from!) "ummm, me?"

"How about some applause to get her up here?" I heard him say as my eyes opened as wide as my mouth, which had dropped down considerably!
In all honestly I DO NOT REMEMBER walking on to the stage.. If that's stage fright then that's what I had. How could he do this to me? That little sh*t !

Still grinning he hands me the microphone, I glanced momentarily in the audience and saw a blur of flashes going off!

I gulped.. and snorted.. "one ringy dingy.. two ringy dingys.. is the party to whom I am speaking? Dr McCoy? (snort) I was wondering if I could get my appointment for my examination?"

De guffawed! I couldn't look at the audience the flashes were still going off! I handed him the microphone and kissed him and walked off the stage.. he NEVER told the audience that I wasn't Lily Tomlin!

When he was done and left the stage my friends were gathered around me laughing their butts off.. I was still shaking. There was a tap on my shoulder and when I turned around a small line had formed and they were asking for my autograph!!!

I told them that I wasn't Lily Tomlin and De was only joking...
"yeah right" I heard one person say, "DeForest wouldn't lie to us"~!.... heh.. little did they know!

Suffice to say, Mr Kelley had one hellava sense of humor, and he liked nothing better then playing a joke on you and getting away with it! He never did admit to anyone that I wasn't who he said I was and to back up what I say, at a much later date he did it again when he passed me off as Lily Tomlin at a Restaurant in Florida!!

Even with all of this I sure loved Carolyn and DeForest.. and the years that followed I never enjoyed myself so much as when I was doing or saying or writing something that made them laugh. I had one DE-lightful audience with them!

Thanks Mom

How can anyone decorate their whole home, put up a Christmas tree and adorn it and wrap many presents.. and at one moment or another, not wish they were a kid again?

They are called the "innocent years" for a reason. It's a time when you still don't know how hard life can be, or how much your parents went through for you to have a dream filled Christmas.

Is it wrong to wish you could have that feeling once more? I don't think so. It's really not so bad to wish you didn't know all the "adult problems" and could once again believe in Santa, just for that one day. Wouldn't that be a grand gift? To have a day when you didn't realize anything except the joy of the day, and not to worry about tomorrow or even what will happen next.

It's such a grand gift we were given, and if you are like me, it's one you never really forget and pass on to your children for as long as it can last.

Some people don't think it's right to let their children believe in santa, even for just a day. If that is your belief then, then that is right for you, and whatever works for you cannot be wrong.

But for me, .. I wish I could have that day again.. be the child again with no worries, no stress, nothing but pure joy for that one day again. And i couldn't wish that if I didn't have it at one time in my life So.. thank you mom. Thank you for the very special Christmas's I had, and the memory that has lasted me all of my life.

The Christmas That Almost Wasn't

I was sitting here and a memory popped into my head..

My boys were very young and "'twas the season" as it is now. I took them to a movie called "the Christmas that almost Wasn't."

It starred a man named Paul Tripp. (he also had a young children's show on television when my oldest son was still small enough to keep in a play pen. Somewhere I have a picture of him standing in the playpen with his bottle hanging from his mouth, as he watched Paul Tripp on television, Paul had the very young children that were his "audience" all singing "Hi Mike, Hi Mike, I like to say Hi Mike .. Hi Mike Hi Mike I like you very much".. they sang this to the boon microphone so that they weren't afraid of it) (geez my head is full of garbage!)..

Anyway, I took both the boys to the movie. It was in the afternoon and the theater was filled with parents and their very young children. It wasn't long after the movie began that I was very surprised to notice, you could hear a pin drop! The kids were GLUED to the screen!

The crux of the movie was that the mean villain was going to close down the South pole if Santa couldn't pay the rent by midnight Christmas Eve. So naturally Santa went to work as a "store Santa" to earn the money. The villain did all he could to make it so Santa wouldn't make it in time.. naturally.

The movie was nearing the end and the villain was pacing in Santa's home watching the clock tick down to midnight, when (surprise surprise) suddenly you heard the roar of the sleigh landing outside with only one minute to go... the whole theater erupted and all the kids stood and yelled for Santa to hurry! When he handed over the money to the villain, all the kids began to cheer... and I... began to cry!

To this day I don't think I have ever seen so many happy kids in one place. The joy they were feeling made me cry because I was no longer one of those kids... I don't know what happened to that movie, it doesn't come on television, it's probably just as well.. I'd probably cry all over again!

I wish you all a "Child-like Christmas"!!

....p.s. I just went to IMDb and looked up the movie I had forgotten who played Santa and the name of the "villain" .. too funny.. "Phineas T Prune" was the villain lol..
Rossano Brazzi... Phineas T. Prune
Paul Tripp .... Sam Whipple
Mischa Auer .... Jonathan, the elf foreman
Lydia Brazzi .... Mrs. Claus
Alberto Rabagliati .... Santa Claus

Countdown

Isn't it strange how Chrismas can't come fast enough when we were young.. but when we grow old it comes too fast!

My Favorite "Dame"

I received a movie in the mail i had sent for, The Ladies in Lavender.

I know many probably haven't even heard of it but it has my favorite actress in it, Dame Maggie Smith so I ordered it.I've loved Maggie Smith for a long time. One of my all time favorite movies of her's is "Mruder by Death". That was such a funny movie. If you want a good laugh watch it some time. It's in black and white, and a spoof on the old time "detectives" like Nick and Nora Charles, Charlie Chan, and Mrs. Marble. The stars in it are all outstanding.

Eileen Brennan .... Tess Skeffington
Truman Capote .... Lionel Twain (side note: Lionel Twain lived at Two Two Twain)
James Coco .... Inspector Milo Perrier
Peter Faulk.... Sam Diamond
Alec Guinness .... Jamesir Bensonmum (yes, Obwan! playing a blind butler! he's hysterical!)
Elsa Lanchester.... Miss Jessica Marbles
David Niven .... Dick Charleston
Peter Sellers.... Inspector Sidney Wang
Maggie Smith .... Mrs. Dora Charleston
Nancy Walker .... Yetta
Estelle Winwood .... Miss Withers
James Cromwell .... Marcel
Richard Narita .... Willie Wang

It's a movie worth watching.. or rewatching~

If there were an actress I could ever meet it would be Maggie Smith. I think more then anything I'd love to see her on stage. Here are a few of her "many faces" and her movie credits.. Of course most young people know her as Mrs McGonagall from Harry Potter.



Pushers Needed (2005) (announced)
Keeping Mum (2005) .... Grace Hawkins
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) .... Minerva McGonagall
Ladies in Lavender. (2004) .... Janet
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) .... Professor Minerva McGonagall
My House in Umbria (2003) (TV) .... Mrs. Emily Delahunty
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) (as Dame Maggie Smith) .... Professor Minerva McGonagall
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) .... Caro Eliza Bennett
Gosford Park (2001) .... Constance Trentham
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) .... Professor Minerva McGonagall
David Copperfield (1999) (TV) .... Betsey Trotwood
All the King's Men (1999) (TV) .... Queen Alexandra
Curtain Call (1999) .... Lily Marlowe
The Last September (1999) .... Lady Myra Naylor
Tea with Mussolini (1999) .... Lady Hester
RandomWashington Square (1997) .... Aunt Lavinia Penniman
The First Wives Club (1996) .... Gunilla Garson Goldberg
Richard III (1995) .... Duchess of York
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) .... Mother Superior
The Secret Garden (1993) .... Mrs. Medlock
Suddenly, Last Summer (1993) (TV) .... Violet Venable
Sister Act (1992) .... Mother Superior
Memento Mori (1992) (TV) .... Mrs. Mabel Pettigrew
Hook (1991) .... Granny Wendy/Middle-Aged Wendy
Romeo-Juliet (1990) (voice) .... Rozaline
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987) .... Judith Hearne
"Talking Heads" (1987) (mini) TV Series .... Susan (episode "Bed Among the Lentils")
A Room with a View (1985) .... In Florence - Charlotte Bartlett, a chaperon
A Private Function (1984) .... Joyce Chilvers
Lily in Love (1984) .... Lily Wynn
Mrs. Silly (1983) (TV) .... Mrs. Silly
The Missionary (1982) .... Lady Isabel
Ames Evil Under the Sun (1982) .... Daphne Castle
Better Late Than Never (1982) .... Miss Anderson
Clash of the Titans (1981) .... Thetis
Quartet (1981) .... Lois Heidler
California Suite (1978) .... Visitors from London - Diana Barrie
Death on the Nile (1978) .... Miss Bowers
Murder by Death (1976) .... Mrs. Dora Charleston
Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973) .... Lila Fisher
Travels with My Aunt (1972) .... Aunt Augusta
The Millionairess (1972) (TV) The Merchant of Venice (1972) (TV) .... Portia
Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) .... Music Hall Star
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) .... Jean Brodie
The Seagull (1968) (TV) .... Irina Arkadina
Hot Millions (1968) .... Patty Terwilliger
Man and Superman (1968) (TV) The Honey Pot (1967) .... Sarah Watkins
Much Ado About Nothing (1967) (TV) .... Beatrice
Othello (1965) .... Desdemona
Young Cassidy (1965) .... Nora
The Pumpkin Eater (1964) .... Philpott
The V.I.P.s (1963) .... Miss Mead
Go to Blazes (1962) .... Chantal
Hay Fever (1960) (TV)
Nowhere to Go (1958) .... Bridget Howard
Child in the House (1956) (uncredited) .... Party guest

I just wanted to share this fabulous Actress with anyone who reads my journal.
If you haven't had a chance to enjoy her you should put it on your "to do " list, she's well worth the time and effort.

She was great in Ya Ya Sisterhood, and two other of my favorites are My house in Umbria and Tea with Mussolini.

For now I think I will go watch Ladies in Lavender.. I get two "dames" for the price of one movie! Dame Maggie Smith and Dame Judith Dench!

This is a drawing I tried to do of Dame Maggie Smith.

More about Pookey

In my comments of the last entry ,Chris mentioned her mothers cat and how "docile" he was.. well... you couldn't get more docile then Pookey!

To this day I swear that whoever "dropped her off at my home" in Florida tossed the kitten out his car window and she HAD TO have landed on her head!

This cat did NOT know she was a cat.She never jumped up on anything.. you had to pick her up if you wanted her on your lap on the sofa. She never knocked things down by jumping onto a dresser or coffee table. I had to make "stairs" for her to climb up on my bed!.. this was not a cat like any I had ever known!

Even as an old cat with diabetes.. she would "lead me to the refrigerator" then turn and sit with her back to me while I got out the insulin and put it in the needle. I would then bend down and lift the loose skin on her neck and inject her. When that was done she would calmly walk to her food dish and sit and wait to be fed. Sound like a cat to you????

This was a cat that when I moved to California, I flew her with me in her carrier. Walked into my friends home (strange house to her) plopped the carrier down and opened the door for her. There waiting for her was my friends house cat and an 85 lb African Serval cat. She stepped out of her cage and calmly looked around admiring the place, walked right past an 85 lb cat as if she had done it all her life and sat by a dish waiting to be fed. (you have to admit.. this is NOT normal!)

Everyday of her life this cat entered a room like it was the first time she had ever seen it and looked around like she was taking it all in. I swear, she HAD to have been tossed out on her head!

She always seemed like she was on some sort of tranquilizer medicine! Never in a hurry, nothing ..but NOTHING.. bothered her, ..but she always had to see me to bed! She would come on the bed and curl in my right armpit with her head on my chest until I fell asleep.

I will definitely never find a cat like that again in my lifetime... though I am surrounded by 9 of my brothers cats.. I will always miss her.

Pookey and the Movie Star

I've been waiting to tell this story..
I hope it does what it's meant to do, and that is to give you a grin!

It's about my cat Pookey. If you read my journal you know Pookey is gone now but I had her for 16 yrs (5 of which she was diabetic, and given insulin shots).

Ok, where to start?.. I guess we start with the fact that I lived in California for about 10 years. One nice day (most days are nice in southern California, and I lived in "the valley") my x roomy and I decided to have a barbecue. We invited the Lyles (A.C and Martha) and the Kelley's (Carolyn and DeForest).

Again, if you've read my journal you already know that these people were friends of mine. (not to say I wasn't a "fan" first.. 'cause i was!.. but things turned into better things and a great friendship developed)

So.. we had a barbecue... everyone arrived and were in good spirits to enjoy the day sitting outside and gabbing while enjoying food from the grill. When the eating time was over we sat and chatted, this and that and whatever. Carolyn asked how Pookey was and I decided to bring her outside for a visit.

Let me backtrack here a moment and tell you something about Pookey.. she was a phenomenal cat, who didn't know she was a cat. She never minded being bathed or letting me cut her nails. A little thing I did with her when clipping her nails was to lay her on her back on my lap, and when I needed the back feet to clip the nails I simply scratched her back legs and up the legs would come with her toes spread out. And in that position she would stay until I put her down again. Well, I never thought much of it, but one day my X roomy saw me doing this and began to laugh.. she laughed a lot! I asked what she was laughing at and she said "your cat looks like a little tramp"! (say what? MY Pookey?!) I looked down and her and realized that from her view... well.. she was right! and we both laughed.

Ok, that being said... Pookey came outside for a visit. I brought her around to everyone for some special pets and then sat down with her on my lap. My roommate mentioned (laughing while she did so), "why don't you show everyone how you trim Pookey's nails?" The thought even made me laugh... ok.. this is where I show you how Pookey looks when I lay her on my lap and scratch her back legs to get at her nails...

Now, you have to agree, ummm she does look rather.. ummmm "free spirited", heh.

I want you to take a good look at that picture again. I drew arrows so you could see her leg position.. but take note of the expression on her face as a hand reached out to her.
To me she sorta looks quizzical, like she might be saying, "did I give you permission to touch me?" (what do you think??)

Well, I scratched her legs and up went the legs spread out as far as they could reach. As soon as Carolyn and De saw this they cracked up.

"What a little slut" chimed in Carolyn (which made me laugh so hard i think i cried lol)

Doing what I ALWAYS did where the Kelley's were concerned (doing anything to make them laugh) I came back with, "I've taught her everything I know".

That nearly put DeForest on the floor! When he contained himself he reached over to Pookey (see picture) and the expression on her face was all she wrote! Her eyes followed his hand with wonderment and awww , hahaha.. she was "star struck"! lol lol

Never being one to be outdone, as DeForest pet Pookey he grinned and said, "Like mother, like daughter!" That about finished me! hahahaha..

What a day that was.. I'm glad I had these photo's because they are priceless in telling the story.. I guess you just had to be there, ya know?!

Waking up is hard to do...

There's nothing nicer on a cold winter's morn' then to wake up all cuddly and warm.......

Carolers

I was over at Helen's journal (http://journals.aol.com/madcobug/MyEverydayLife/) and she had a picture with some Christmas ceramics. It reminded me that I had some Carolers somewhere, that I had made over 30 yrs ago.. hmmmm, so I had to find them and dig them out for a photoshot.

Here they are!!..


Along with some of Santa's elves...

TGIF

TGIF.. Friday.. finally.

My morning was the way I guess it will be from now on.
With much back pain I get up and go downstairs, peek in to be sure my brother is alright.. and he instantly informs me, "I'll have an egg sandwich with cheese and Farina". I rush to the bathroom for my 2 minutes alone and back to the kitchen where i have to feed their 9 cats, and goldfish.. then its cook for my brother. After I serve him and clean up the pots and pans I get to go back up here to have my coffee.

At least we lucked in today and the snow that happened other places did not happen here. Instead we got rain. I was very happy about that! Until i went to bring my laundry down the cellar to wash.. seems it rained more then i knew and the entire floor is wet... sooooo i lugged my laundry back upstairs to wait until it dries down there.

The sun came out and most of the 8 inches of snow we had a week ago is gone, gone, gone! This is a good thing since it means the roads are no longer slippery and dangerous.

Oh, on a note about my last entry of The Jungle Book Record. I did more searching on it and found two antique places that have the cover and 78rpm records "in tact"!! One place is selling them for 155.00 and the other place 100.00. Somehow I'd consider finding a way to get them but........ 78rpm.. that takes not only an old phonograph (record player) but the precise needle to play it too.. neither of which I have.

I kept searching to see if anyone was smart enough to convert them to cd or dvd for preservation, but so far no luck.

I can't explain to you how wonderfully different that record is.. I only know of two ever done this way where the record is narrated and the "voices" are actually instruments such as an Obo or Trombone. This one, Jungle Book and Peter and the Wolf was once done similiarly. It's absolutely beautiful.

Now, I'm not "into" symphony music, but i'll tell you what.. if it was on cd or dvd you can bet I'd still listen to it today. How sad that a child today cannot hear it because no one thought to preserve it to cd. If i were in the position I'd buy it and have it converted and make copies for anyone that would want it. It's something that should at the very least be in libraries for years to come.

Well, I didn't mean to get off on that again but it is fresh in my mind from searching the web.

Oh well.. the sun is out, the streets are dry and it's only 8 days until Christmas!!Have a good day.. and a "not too hectic" last weekend before the holiday~

A Small Treasure

One of the few things I saved of my mothers when she died was an old 78rpm record cover. (what I'd give for some sort of copy of what was in it!!) The records were long gone but the memory of listening to it are not.

The record was a "talk/ music" version of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book:


When I was young Sabu was one of those actors I was in love with. (him and Turhan Bey) He was so brave and so smart for a young boy in the wilds. I became very attached to him, and the sound of his voice. To this day "Elephant Boy" remains one of my all time favorite movies to watch. It was such a shame that he died so young. Here's a short Bio on him:

Date of birth (location)27 January 1924Karapur, Mysore, India Date of death (details)2 December 1963Chatsworth, California, USA. (heart attack)
He became an American citizen on January 4, 1944, after which he served in the US Army Air Force during World War II as a tail gunner.
Father of Jasmine Sabu and Paul Sabu.

According to his widow, actress Marilyn Cooper, Sabu had a complete physical just a few days before his death, at which time his doctor told him, "if all my patients were as healthy as you, I'd be out of business." Thus, his sudden death of a heart attack at the age of only 39 came as even more of a shock than it would have been otherwise. His last film, Disney's A Tiger Walks (1964), was released posthumously, to good reviews.

The first Indian and middle-eastern actor to make it big in Hollywood. However, he was restricted to stereotypical roles of Indians.

In the late 1940s and 1950s, he was among the richest stars in Hollywood. In an era in which white actors often played Asian characters, he was respected not only for his physique but also for his natural acting abilities. He was a friend to many Hollywood actors including James Stewart and Ronald Reagan.

Most reference books have his full name as "Sabu Dastigir", but research by journalist Philip Liebfried suggests that was his brother's name, and that Sabu was in fact Selar Shaik Sabu.

He was 12 years old and cleaning out the stables of a wealthy Indian maharajah when he was spotted by director Robert J. Flaherty, who was in India looking for a lead for his film Elephant Boy (1937).


Ocassionally I search to see if there was some sort of audio made of the above records, but I've never found them. The record included Sabu's own voice and instruments such as an Obo for a voice of one of the animals.

It's sad when such treasures are lost. Be it recordings or old movies.. I know they are trying to save many movies, but along the way many will be lost forever.

At Christmas time, I think I will choose to hope that somewhere out there this particular recording was saved somehow

'Splain sumthin' to me Lucy..

ARGH!!!! I want to know something...
How come I can remember the dang words to "The Howdy Doody Show" and I can't remember why I walked into the kitchen?!!

Somedays I wonder if I really wake up just because I got out of bed and am walking around!!

Now that I have mentioned Howdy Doody I have that on my mind! I can even name the characters! (gag) Howdy, of course, Buffalo Bob, Clarabell, Mr Bluster,& Flubadub (can you imagine giving a child of today a toy named Flubadub?!) I'm also remembering the old television I watched it on.

Back when I was a kid (that would mean I was born before the 90's..the 80's..the 70's ..the 60's..and yes before the 50's!) Back then television in New Jersey consisted of SEVEN channels. That's 7, in case you thought you read wrong! We had channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13. And, oh yes we also had an "antenna" on the house!

I'm so old I remember sitting in front of the television and watching a big "5" in a circle with lines going up, down and off to the sides, while I patiently waited the time a show would come on!! If you think kids are amused easily today, can you imagine a kid sitting in front of a television "waiting" for a show to come on?!! Back then Howdy Doody was a hit (laughing right now) there was also a cartoon show I remember called "Junior Frolics" (you young folk never would never have made it back then LOL LOL)

As I got a little older (teenage) one thing i remember about those few channels was that there was never a time when they didn't have a good movie on. (today with a zillion channels sometimes it's hard to find a decent movie!) We had "the early show" (movie), "the late show" (movie),"The late late show" (movie), "The million dollar movie", and the "Saturday Matinee" There were others I'm sure but once again I seem to be having "one of those moments"

Our "entertainment shows" were shows like Ed Sullivan Show,

(For the life of me I just don't think todays kids would laugh at Senor Wences and his "talking hand puppet or the head in the box", or a puppet mouse called Topo Gigio, but boy how I loved them!),


Your Show of Shows (Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca), & Red Skelton,








for music we had "Your Hit Parade" which had all the popular singers of the time (like Rosemary Clooney and Frank Sinatra).

I really find it amazing how few shows we had back then, but when there wasn't any tv shows, there was always the radio. That too, was nothing like todays radio. In the evenings the radio had "shows" on them. Not just "talk shows".. but well scripted with stars voicing them. They had things from "Fibber Magee and Molly" to adventures like "The Lone Ranger"
to mysteries like, "Inner Sanctum". Talk about being on the edge of your seat! ANd we didn't even have special effects! Well, not visual ones lol.. we did have "sound effects"!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhkay.. I think i've rambled on more then I intended... and I still don't remember why I went into the kitchen!

Got Any Guesses?

In the entry below I have a picture at the end of "old radio shows". I kept looking at the picture and knew i could name some of them but not all. Now.. I know you youngin's out there wouldn't have the slightest idea who they are, but some of the "golden girls and men" might.

Soooooooooooo, here is their pictures again, I named the few I know but could use help with the others.. anyone out there know who they might be? Two of them that i didn't know i think i recognize the face but can't come up with a name. (must be a brain fart).. any help post your answers in comments please.

I don't know what's with this picture.. it's much larger at my aol site and i brought the same size here but for some reason it won't show the same.. if you need to see them better go to :

http://journals.aol.com/deslily/HereThereandEverywhere/

The Good Old Days

Gosh, that last entry with my drawings was totally unexpected. I was sitting and thinking of the post before that one about favorite songs and mainly remembering when I was young and this time of year would roll around and all the Christmas shows would come on.

I never, ever missed anything Perry Como did. He had a t.v. show for a long time that I never missed either. He had a way of making you feel so comfortable and relaxed, and the times he would smile and chuckle just made you do the same thing with him.




Andy Williams.. that's another one. Gosh, I'd wait for his Christmas Show to come on. It was always good. He'd have his whole family there, during good times or bad and he'd sing his heart out for everyone. What a beautiful, beautiful voice he had. Who couldn't remember and sing with him whenever he sang Moon River?!! (not that i can carry a tune mind you lol)




And Nat King Cole. Wow.. I am sighing just thinking of him. He had such a gorgeous voice and beautiful diction. I think he was the first black man to have his own show. Unfortunately it didn't last long, but while it did he had the big name people like Ella Fitzgerald on his show. No one turned down an invitation from Nat.


He effected me so much that I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news that he had died. I was working in a factory, on a line where speed was important. They would pipe in music which was nice, but this one day they broke in with the news that Nat had died. Everyone stopped working for a moment not believing what they heard. I totally lost it and began to cry so hard I had to go to the ladies room. I was heart broken. To this day I have about 8 CDs of Nats. Though his daughter Natalie sings, she can never replace her dad.

It's odd that i was taken with these singers when I was a teenager. I was very much into "Rock and Roll" and even playing drums back then. But it didn't matter, these and others like them were the "real singers". Talented as the R&R singers were and todays singers are, to me they will never come close to the talent of the old time singers. (ok.. maybe Josh Groban.. )

Gosh, I feel ancient talking about them like I am. Maybe it's because replacements for them never happened. It's too bad... I'll always miss them, and always remember them. I'm glad I had the opportunity to be able to see and hear them when I did.

Once Upon A Time..Long, Long Ago

I received an email from Anna ( http://annalisa135.blogspot.com/ ) it was pictures of trucks that had mural paintings on them. Immediately, I thought back to when my x-husband and I used to paint murals on motorcycles.

I've looked around but I can't find one picture of any of the paintings we did. I would draw a picture (generally copy from a picture, but i did it freehand, no tracing) From the drawing we would make xerox copies and i would cut out areas for him to airbrush. When the airbrushing was all done I would put in any "details" with india ink and pen. Then he would coat the whole thing with clear.

I wish i knew where some of the pictures were of them but i can't find them. But I do have the "original drawings" that I did that we turned into murals on some bikes. I will post them below. They are turning yellow from age, they are about 25 yrs old.

Anyway.. here are some of my drawings (copied from other pictures/ freehand)