American Idol very enjoyable this week!

I loved all the performances on country night American Idol. I thought Megan from Salt Lake sang Walkin' After Midnight as well as anyone I have ever heard sing it. She looked hauntingly beautiful, had been sick, in the hospital, and probably gave every body there the flu. Last week I thought she was quite hokey, but not tonight! Surprisingly I am worried about Scott McIntire from Scottsdale Arizona because although he is good I thought he got outperformed by a number of the others. I loved how the singer who chose a Willie Nelsen signature song, "You are always on my mind," also made it his own interpretation and stood out. I had to agree with Simon about the first singer out I thought would do well in this song category because he sings country. He sang a fast Garth Brooks song and I was relieved when Simon said he couldn't understand a word he said. I thought I was going clear deaf because I did not even know what the song was about. So Megan was my favorite tonight, but I think they have got an especially good crop of singers this year.
But I can't say the same for Dancing with the Stars. They found the worst dancing celebrities I have ever seen. I had to turn it off half way through. Everybody was getting 5's and 6's. I can't imagine why most of these celebrities even agreed to come on the show when surely they knew they could not dance. I thought Maxim, my favorite Russian dancer, performed a miracle getting a good performance out of Denise Richardson who was so petrified her first week I was in pain for her. And that poor cowboy married to Jewel confessed he forgot half of the dance. I think he got a 4 last week, but then he showed his bullriding techniques this week and was actually watchable. Maybe they rushed the show a bit. They should have beat the bushes longer for celebrities that were at least acquainted with tripping the light fantastic. When some famous person on that show says, "I have never danced before" I cringe.
Tomorrow Dan is bringing my grandson Dante to spend the day with me. I am looking forward to it as I am hoping to make another video with him. The poor kid went to California to visit his aunt and another young aunt tipped over an ATV on him. He was still feeling some pain. I hope he's going to be okay.


Dante is cool!

Arizonans beside themselves with excitement over a great football win

Above is a photo of Phoenix abuilding which we are still doing, but everybody stops to enjoy great football of which we have had far too little in past years. So I have never witnessed such frenzies of excitement as are going on here now. A great football game to me is like a great night at the theater. And this one had everything. Our quarterback performed like the old pro he is and all the other stars never had a better game. Everybody did what they came to do spectacularly well, and the poor Panthers looked like they had been blindsided by a foe that nobody expected to win. We didn't even expect it after a dismal record in the last few games on the east coast. A few weeks ago I thought one of the cardinal players who said last stop superbowl was flying a little too high in expectations for his team. But now that they are just one game away from going to the superbowl they have made a believer out of me.
I learned to watch and enjoy football with my sons, so I am just about as excited as they are. My sister Linda is a fan, too, and was having a football party to her house with her companion Leo and some of his family. Linda has been in an uproar for some time so this game was a welcome relief, as it was for many with bad economy troubles in Arizona. Her house is going into foreclosure. She is unable to work because of a mysterious ailment, so she can't pay the mortgage. She is getting ready to move to San Francisco, and will be leaving her partner Leo of four years. So leaving a house, a companion, and a city where you have resided for many years is not easy. She has acquired a lot of 'stuff,' and should not be lifting much at all to move it. We are going to be holding our breath to see if she gets through this move without injuring herself worse. Many and many a person has hurt themselves moving. Linda hates to ask people to help her, but she has got a strong son and a nephew, my son Dan, to do the heavy lifting. Dan has moved 3 times this past year, and he will move out of Linda's house when she goes, where he has been living to try to help with the mortgage, but Linda was one of those whose mortgage is just too high now to keep up.
I am looking forward now to watching the rest of the playoffs today. I was thinking of going to a mantinee movie but football will be a great show, so I better not miss it.

Memories of Christmas pasts: Pierre's decorated lobby

I thought I would have some fun this week featuring old pictures of holiday parties. On the big one Pierre was standing beside me looking like a premonition of death, one of the worst pictures he ever took. Up in the corner, whitehaired and looking wild, was my ex husband Dean, Raymond and Gary's father. Chad is standing next to him, and his sons, Raymond and Gary are in the back. Dan is with his then love, Angelina, mother of Dante. Daughter Ronda and their kids, Jamal and Ethan, are down front. Dante is the one making faces.
Raymond brought Dean to the party without telling him my new companion was going to be there (Pierre) or that I even had one, I am sure for fear he would suddenly refuse to come, so he thought Pierre was someone from the Westward Ho there to help people like me have parties. The Concho room was so beautifully decorated by Pierre. What else was he to think? He knew I could never have done it. At the same time he was trying to shine up to me, (I kept pushing his hand away) Dean kept trying to talk to Pierre and ask him about his job as party helper decorater, and this made Pierre nervous who kept trying to avoid him by running outside to smoke. Unfortunately we didnt get all the nervous singers singing together until it was almost time to go home, since both Dean and Pierre were known for their singing, and Raymond could sing a lick or two as could Gary. This was in 2003 to my best recollection. Robbie the robot karaoke machine might have been there, as I hardly gave a party without it along when Pierre was with me. We all must have sung something! The decorated lobby photo was from 2002. I am sure that lobby has not been so lavishly decorated either before or since. Christmas decorater Pierre, there will never be another you. Enjoy.

Fooling around customizing my blog some

By the way here is my new Christmas beanie hat and my new purse given me by my son Dan. I love it! We must show off our Xmas finery. Doc reeled when he saw this beanie. I love to surprise him. He has been burning, burning and so you will get a CD that features him at his best and me at my worst. Cause he can sing. Love, Gerry

Catching up on blogs, my own life and family

I have been kind of staying home today and seeing what needed to be done. I have been wanting to put in a blog list on my front page, because I think they are neat. They make the blog look very active with a feed into all these other blogs and it is so easy to click on one and travel. I wanted to do it for my son Raymond and also so it would be easy for visitors to find his blog, Cowboys and Bohemians. He has just been customing it so that it looks very dramatic.
I have returned to the family site again and again to read what everyone is saying about their Christmas and see the photos still being posted. One grand niece just posted a darling picture of her and her toddler son on the occasion of his first Christmas with his two dog friends. The dogs will probably come to think they are babies. And vica versa.
Doc is down burning our karaoke country DVD which I have decided to send out to a few of you who I know especially like singing and such. We laughed until our stomach muscles hurt. Doc is so much fun to sing karaoke with because he can actually sing, he jokes, the whole time, and says all this stuff to me about my less than admirable singing. I just go for laughs. He admires my boldness while not being able to sing. I never have had so much fun. because he gets all my jokes. Most people I have known who could sing took themselves very seriously and just could not tolerate a non singer singing as he can. It's anything for a laugh. My sister Ann actually asked for one. I sent one to my niece Cheryl who has got a sister-in-law who can carry the tune better than I can, but not much better. Her brother-in-law is the better singer, so I think she will appreciate my longing to be taken seriously as a singer. She has longings to sing, too. This DVD will encourage her.
I am sending a few journalists one. If you wanted to be on my list and weren't let me know. This DVD is definitely good for a laugh and a deeper look at the talents of Mr. Doc.
It's been unusually cold here today. We even got snow in Cave Creek, north of Phoenix. That is UNUSUAL. So thanks, Connie, for this snag, it fits the occasion today. Connie's blog is Windswept Whispers on my blog list. Check it out. Love that horse!