Dianne DeVanna benefit

Queenee, Barbara and I went to a benefit dinner/show for the Dianne DeVanna Center last night. Dinner was buffet-style and wasn't bad. The show itself was good. The speaker volume was a bit loud for the room, which wasn't designed for acoustics, but it was fine. Billed as "Roy Orbison and Friends", the show was a group of impersonators, starting with Buddy Holly, then Dionne Warwick, Elvis, Tina Turner, Celine Dion and finally, Roy Orbison. The Warwick, Dion and Orbison singers were very good, and Elvis was really funny. We had a good time and the place was sold out, ten to a table and at least twenty tables. None of us won anything in the raffle, but that was ok. We really don't need another basket of stuff.

We saw Janet LaBerge there, dancing away and having a great time. She managed to get Queenee up and dancing, along with a slew of other folks. She is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, kind, thoughtful and generous - and just a lot of fun to be around. Queenee did a fair bit of dancing throughout the evening!

After dinner, the plates and leftovers were collected to be thrown away. It seemed such a waste and I mentioned to the young man clearing our table that I would usually ask for a doggie bag to take home leftovers for the foxes. He said they really weren't set up to do that, since then everyone in the room would be wanting a doggie bag, but he'd see what he could do. Bless his heart, about twenty minutes later he tapped me on the shoulder to let me know that there was a bag of leftovers under my chair. The foxes will have a feast tonight, thanks to him!

Queenee's excellent colonoscopy

Now there's a headline for you!

Queenee got a clean bill of health for yesterday's colonoscopy — no polyps, no problems, no need for another colonoscopy for ten years!

Her friend Bev was not as lucky. She had surgery to remove her lung cancer, but it is wrapped around many arteries and cannot be completely removed surgically. The doctors got out what they could, but she'll have some serious chemo and radiation to go through. Fingers crossed.

Wizard of Oz

Thank you, Elder Pea!

She bought tickets weeks ago for the one-night-only digital showing of The Wizard of Oz and we saw it last night. The D's and Peas, Queenee and I all went. We had dinner at the Olive Garden to start, which was a small adventure in itself. The D's had never eaten at an Olive Garden and they both enjoyed their meals. We had an apprentice waiter, his first night, and the poor thing dumped a tray of drinks on two women sitting in a booth behind us. DamCat and I both assured him that it happens to all waitstaff sooner or later, and it was probably a good thing that he got it out of the way on his first night. He seemed fine when we left to head to the theater.

The movie was preceded by a short introductory piece narrated by Robert Osborne (of TCM) and Angela Lansbury. Then on to the movie, which looks great. You can see Judy Garland's freckles on the big screen, something I never noticed on tv. The remastering has really enhanced the image and brightened the colors. The sound has been remastered as well, and it sounded great to me (through my earplugs).

I was surprised that the movie wasn't sold out. Queenee was surprised that nobody showed up in costume. EP and I considered going in full costume, but I wouldn't have had time between getting home from work and heading out to dinner. We had a great time anyway!

Happy Birthday Queenee!

Happy Birthday to our Queenee! We'll raise a glass and toast to you! xoxoxox

Happy birthday Dawg!

It's Dawg's happy birthday today! Best wishes drift your way through the ether - hope you enjoy your day of fishing!

Enjoyed Family

Well, I'm home in the Keys again after my visit "home" in New England. I always get so excited to get there and tearful to leave. Everyone is healthy and after I left I"m sure went on diets and read up on Betty Ford. We had a feast for the holiday, and wined and dined the other days. Pop Pop and I did get a project done and the rug we all worked on is beautiful and will be more so once it is inside! The rest of the time I was at leisure. Queenee is the other half of my soul and it is hard to leave her when the time comes to fly back. I always leave feeling that if we had just one more day.... one more hour, the time away wouldn't be so hard. I want to pack her up and take her away with me to some foreign land for a week, month, year or more. But, I'm just one of many that feel that way.

I'm one of those folks that believes in past lives and always feel a connection with Pop Pop when we get together and easily step to the same beat when working side by side. Reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho on the plane home didn't help either! It left me feeling that I found my personal legend here in the Keys and should move back home where the heart of the family is. Can ya'll make the cold go away??

All and all, seeing everyone did my heart good, and coming home to open arms and the occasional bitch that I was gone was the usual riot act. The Cats have a bit more white hair and the turtles scramble to exit the pond when seeing me, but all are just fine. The ants parade about the counters, and will receive a special potion from me after I get to the store tomorrow!

We all look forward to Mr. B's new cornea and Miss P's future news on her ankle.

It was a thrill to see the foxes in person. Right there in front of me! You can set a clock by them, first one, then all three... the seven o'clock feeding then the 8 o'clock. Beautiful, gray with some chestnut in the head area... and long fluffy tails that help them disappear as if in a cloud of mist. Pop Pop and I caught view of a single large deer behind the stonewall, and during a walk out back with wwabbit I watched a well fed cottontail rabbit hop through the grass into the woods. Birds galore, great weather and the smell of grass.

We even caught the space station pass over the clear sky one night. What can I say. I love the moon rise here in the Keys, and it was just as magical seeing it rise up over the lake.

I could spend every night sharing time with Mom, and getting hugs before bed. And our excursions shopping are the only time I ever go anymore. Shopping without her just isn't the same. Miss P is too busy to go, but she is all I can compare to our Queen, with the fun and the hunt of it all! I tried on clothes that were rack pretty and even came away with a few.. I need to loose weight because those lights in dressing rooms seem to be getting worse as the years and weight come on faster. Why not just have older women dressing rooms with fun-house mirrors for cripes sake! Maybe then we could laugh louder at ourselves while entertaining fellow dressing room customers.

Logan went spearfishing this afternoon with his friend and brought one of the hogfish he caught for dinner.... he left the rest with his friends mom since Hogfish is my favorite but the one that will land me dead and buried if I eat it again... Ahhhh they are eating it now,,, simple lemon on it, rice and black beans.... HEAVEN ON EARTH let me tell you... I can still imagine the flavor in my mouth! It was and is the best fish to eat in the Keys. .... .... , Logan has stated that other than Yellowtail as his favorite Hogfish could beat it due to a bit sweeter flavor and nice texture much like Yellowtail. He is a fan of our lobster here only if it's steamed.... and we all love the candy of Yellowfin Tuna. The KW Pink Shrimp are cheap right now and maybe we'll have that tomorrow. Cheaper than burger and much preferred.

The drive home with my friend the Bonster was wonderful, the weather rain in Miami but the sun shone bright in the Keys... we arrived here; relaxed a bit, had coffee and she headed home to KW to unpack and relax fully. We had the house to ourselves, the guys were at Bahia Honda swimming and arrived back an hour or so later. Should I explain the man smell in the bathroom? Nahh... no need.

Have I rambled? Yeah, and I'll ramble again soon. A big thank you to Wabbit from Mr. R for the CD... He is on it now. And from me for driving the crazy daisies around! Send me a picture of your bottle when finished.... I know you think I'm nuts with all the crazy projects I come up with... but if you paint on that hurricane bottle.... I think we'll really have something!

Hugs to everyone!

A week with Key Dear

She should be in Miami by now, or maybe on her way home, but we had Key Dear here for the whole week! She brought great weather, as promised, and Queenee especially loves having her around. We had bbq last weekend with the D's/P's and Halifax crews, then a fab dinner at DamCat's on Tuesday, where we all ate way too much but couldn't help ourselves and regretted nothing!

Key Dear painted the deck and got my big Afghan rug out of the barn and cleaned with EP's help. She taught us a new dominos game that is a lot of fun, we'll definitely be playing that again.

Key Dear finally had a couple hours with Queenee to herself yesterday before leaving to spend the night at Logan to catch a 5am flight with Bonnie and the small dogs. Queenee misses having her next door!

Old dog walking

I saw something really nice on my way home from work today. Someone was out walking his old dog. The dog may have been a Boxer, or a Pit Bull, something along those lines, but was obviously very old — he had a grizzled muzzle and was overweight, swaying and shuffling along slowly, taking small old dog steps. He was wearing a clean bandanna and seemed to be smiling and happy, just out for a small walk and getting a bit of fresh air.

The impressive thing was the 20-something young man walking with him. He wasn't in a hurry, content to walk very slowly with the dog, and he was pulling a wagon. The wagon wasn't a metal wagon, but a nice wagon with good wheels and wooden slat sides that came up about ten inches. Clearly he brought the wagon along knowing that at some point the old dog would need a ride. But how wonderful, to see that young man barely walking, allowing the old dog to set the pace, waiting patiently for him to be tired enough to need a ride home.

It's good to see there are still real men in the world. Most of those afflicted with a Y chromosome are merely guys.

One Love

Jersey Boys

Queenee and I saw Jersey Boys Thursday night at the Shubert Theater in Boston. If you were a fan of The Four Seasons, or like me were too young to be a fan but enjoy the music now, and you aren't offended by profanity (iTs haow dey tawk in Jerzee), you'll enjoy this show.

The story is told by each of the four original members of The Four Seasons, starting with Tommy DeVito, who formed the group and recognized Frankie Valli's voice as something different. Bob Gaudio wrote many of the group's biggest hits and is still a financial 50/50 partner with Valli today. Nick Massi takes some of the shine off of the stories told by DeVito and Gaudio and is the only original member no longer alive. Finally, Valli gives his impressions of the rise, fall, and continued success of The Four Seasons.

It's funny, sometimes sad, and very musical. I was one of the younger members of the sold-out crowd and people were swaying and singing along throughout the show.

If you get the chance, see it, you won't be sorry. It's worth it just to learn where Joe Pesci (yes, *that* Joe Pesci) really got his start.

A side note for those in Beantown - the Shubert has tiny, cramped seats. The man to my right and I were relieved to have an empty seat between us so we could get our knees out of the seatbacks of the row in front of us. Row E, Mezzanine level - those are the primo seats. Believe me. We were in Row D.

But the show was worth it.

Three foxes!!!

The 7pm fox came tonight, and about five minutes later, I spotted TWO more foxes coming along the stone wall. This is the first evidence that the pair may have successfully raised a pup!

Sadly, tonight's meal offering was meager and the 7pm fox got it all. I'm going to start buying bags of dog food and getting them used to eating that for the winter.