A JOYOUS DECEMBER TO ALL!!!!!!!
(To mis-quote that little girl from POLTERGEIST, ” It’s HEEERE!”)
Are we ready for the lights
and the cards
and the tinsel
and the angst
and the carols
and the carols
and the carols
??????
Tape your ankles, shoppers, the time has come again.
And I have BARELY finished putting away the Halloween candy…
…or picking the turkey and pumpkin pie from my teeth…
(that was Thanksgiving Day in my front yard.)
I had a small, quiet, wonderful, and warm Thanksgiving this year. I actually rode my bike through this little town under 70 degree sunshine and bright blue skies, listening to the sound of football from various windows, smelling turkey wafting through the trees. My smile muscles were aching. I hope yours were too.
Whew…the time has WHIPPED by since last I typed!
I have been in Savannah to celebrate the 100th birthday of Johnny Mercer
(That’s me and the fabulous Nancy Mercer, Johnny’s niece at his grave in the sexiest graveyard I have ever experienced. Face it, Savannah is one sexy city!)
I have been to the Berkshires AGAIN ( July 4th wasn’t enough.) This time Michele and I got to experience a true eastern Autumn.
AND we got to share our beloved Brel music with a truly appreciative group of Berkshire-ites. This was a grand experiment for me.
I was nervous. I was doing the very first evening ever of just me (and the divine Michele Brourman ) singing all the Brel songs I have known and loved for so long. Not a note of McBroom. No comfort zone here. Would people like it? Would it be too dramatic? Would it be too FRENCH?????
Would it need all the orchestral bells and whistles that my CHANSON CD has in spades? Could we pull it off, just a voice and a piano?
I was DEPENDS nervous! I was I -shouldn’t -have -eaten -that -sandwich nervous!
I walked out on that stage with all these strange faces before me and all this history behind and remembered Debbie Reynolds’ words to me at the Golden Globes so very long ago. She said…”Lamaze, baby! Lamaze! Big deep breaths!” So I breathed and I opened my mouth and ….it was a hurricane!
It was a BLAST!
They loved it!!!
At one point I told the story of how I first heard Brel in San Francisco at theMarines Memorial Theatre and how I loved the show so much and saw it 7 times and then one of the women in the show left and I auditioned and was cast and changed my life forever.
After the concert, my beloved pal Teri Ralston came up and said,”You know the woman you replaced in San Francisco? That was ME!!!”
She went off to do a little show called A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC on Broadway. God bless her!
THEN Michele and I headed to crispy, autumnal Manhattan for a week of singing Brel at the Metropolitan Room.
The concerts there were wonderful. The review in the NY Times was wonderful.
The party David Zipple gave for me in his awesome penthouse on Central Park West was BEYOND wonderful.
And then I came home and the concert here in Los Angeles at the MOST prestigious Catalina’s Jazz Club was BEYOND wonderful.
And then…
I went to Las Vegas where I saw the Divine Miss Midler at Caesar’ Palace sing my song for several thousand people waving their lighted cel phones and singing along. What an amazing experience!
Life is my new caffeine!!!!
And now it’s holiday time, and I a, beyond ready. I love this time of year. I love remembering beloveds, and hearing from people all over the world who are sending thoughts of love.
I am writing cards and knitting scarves for my pals in cold climes. Yes…I knit.
This scarf is my current favorite.
And this is my favorite shaggy dog story of the moment….
A dark and stormy night….. Bob Hill and his new wife Betty were vacationing in Europe… as it happens, near Transylvania.
They were driving in a rental car along a rather deserted highway. It was late and raining very hard. Bob could barely see the road in front of the car. Suddenly the car skids out of control! Bob attempts to control the car, but to no avail! The car swerves and smashes into a tree. Moments later, Bob shakes his head to clear the fog Dazed, he looks over at the passenger seat and sees his wife unconscious, with her head bleeding!
Despite the rain and unfamiliar countryside, Bob knows he has to get her medical assistance. Bob carefully picks his wife up and begins trudging down the road. After a short while, he sees a light. He heads towards the light, which is coming from a large, old house. He approaches the door and knocks. A minute passes. A small, hunched man opens the door. Bob immediately blurts, “Hello, my name is Bob Hill, and this is my wife Betty. We’ve been in a terrible accident, and my wife has been seriously hurt. Can I please use your phone?”
“I’m sorry,” replied the hunchback, “but we don’t have a phone. My master is a doctor; come in and I will get him!” Bob brings his wife An older man comes down the stairs. ”I’m afraid my assistant may have misled you. I am not a medical doctor; I am a scientist. However, it is many miles to the nearest clinic, and I have had a basic medical training. I will see what I can do. Igor, bring them down to the laboratory.”
With that, Igor picks up Betty and carries her downstairs, with Bob following closely. Igor places Betty on a table in the lab. Bob collapses from exhaustion and his own injuries, so Igor places Bob on an adjoining table. After a brief examination, Igor’s master looks worried. “Things are serious, Igor. Prepare a transfusion.” Igor and his master work feverishly, but to no avail. Bob and Betty Hill are no more.
The Hills’ deaths upset Igor’s master greatly. Wearily, he climbs the steps to his conservatory, which houses his grand piano. For it is here that he has always found solace. He begins to play, and a stirring, almost haunting melody fills the house. Meanwhile, Igor is still in the lab tidying up. His eyes catch movement, and he notices the fingers on Betty’s hand twitch, keeping time to the haunting piano music. Stunned, he watches as Bob’s arm begins to rise, marking the beat! He is further amazed as Betty and Bob both sit up straight! Unable to contain himself, he dashes up the stairs to the conservatory.
He bursts in and shouts to his master: ”Master, Master! ….. The Hills are alive with the sound of music!”
Handy Hint department…
This may be useful to know
when grocery shopping, if it’s a concern to you.
The whole world is afraid of China-made “black hearted goods”.
Can you differentiate which one is made in Taiwan or China ?
If the first 3 digits of the barcode are 690, 691 or 692, the product is MADE IN CHINA.
471 is Made in Taiwan …
Remember if the first 3 digits are:
690-692then it is MADE IN CHINA .
00 – 09USA& CANADA
30 – 37FRANCE
40 – 44GERMANY
47 … Taiwan
49JAPAN
50UK
And then there is this piece of wisdom. Who knew????
Subject: The Amazing Cucumber
The Amazing Cucumber This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their “Spotlight on the Home” series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.
1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!
They left one out. But who’s counting?
Culture Suggestions….
BOOKS: Guernsey Literary and Sweet Potato Pie Society…very sweet.
MOVIES: THE GOLDEN DOOR… Italian, set in Sicily, turn of the century, GORGEOUS!
AND “Accentuate the Positive…the life of Johnny Mercer” documentary is awesome!
As is the HBO special of the 25th Anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame !
MUSIC: Abagail Washburn and Bela Fleck – The Sparrow Quartet – art and banjos, who knew????
And finally…
My favorite words of wisdom for December
1. Read with an open heart
2. No man or woman is worth your tears, & the one who is, won’t make you cry.
3. Just because someone doesn’t love you the way > you want them to, doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.
4. A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand & touches your heart.
5. The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them knowing you can’ t have them >
6. Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.
7. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
8. Don’t waste your time on someone, who isn’t willing to waste their time on you.
9. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one, so that when we finally meet the person, we will know how to be grateful.
10. Don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened.
11. There’s always going to be people that hurt you so what you have to do is keep on trusting & just be > more careful about who you trust next time around…
12. Make yourself a better person & know who you are before you try & know someone else & expect them to know you.
13. Don’t try so hard, the best things come when you least expect them to.
I wish you and yours a beautiful, loving holiday, whatever you are celebrating!
Much love,
Amanda
PS!!!! Here is a great idea:
When doing your CHRISTMAS cards this year, take one card and send it to this address. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get. When you are making out your card list this year, please include the following:
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001
If you approve, please pass it on.