Insights from The Magic Tutu

Celebrating 60 years of I Love Lucy

We attended an event at the Paley Center in 
Beverly Hills to commemorate 60 years of
I Love Lucy. 

Desi and his sister, Lucie, were part of a 
panel that talked about their father's
music and the musical show Babalu
that they have performed in NYC,
Miami and Washington DC.

 After the panel they performed two 
songs from their father's repertoire ~
Old Straw Hat and Cuban Pete. 

 
Lucille Ball has been on TV Guide more than
any other celebrity and Desi was on the very
first cover of TV Guide.  All of the covers were
enlarged and displayed on a wall at the Paley
Center.  Here's a nice interview Desi & Lucie
did with TV Guide on Friday.  

On Friday morning we had breakfast at our 
favorite breakfast spot Il Fornaio.  Always
so happy to be with my two favorite people
in the world ~ Desi & Haley.

Happy Wonderful Monday dear friends.
May the Spirit of Christmas fill your
hearts and home.
xoxo Amy 

Big Orange Pumpkin

Happy Glorious Thanksgiving friends.
 This morning the sun rose out of the sea
like a big orange pumpkin.  
It is a perfect day at the coast.

Hope you have the best Thanksgiving with
your family & friends.

We are thankful for our new baby, Panda.
Abandoned in our yard, Panda is being cared
for by our feral colony.  His mother appears
each night to eat but leaves immediately.
Panda looks at her but doesn't follow.
She ignores him.  We are amazed how our
colony accepted this little loner, sleeping and
playing with him.

The dynamics of Mother Nature are awesome.
From the rising pumpkin sun to the interaction
of her creations.  We are thankful to be alive
and witness her majesty.

Hope your day is splendid!
xoxo Amy

Feeling extra Grateful today

Homes have washed away and left people with
broken hearts.  Beautiful young men dying a world
away in foreign deserts.  And right here, in this
corner of the world the birds are feasting at the
bird feeder, Mr. Bubbles is out for his morning
walk and Jelly is guarding the treats that were
set out for the kitties.
 

Grateful to Dr. Barton for keeping beautiful
Birdie as his Office Cat after she was abandoned
at his office full of cactus stickers. 

Grateful for good times with my family.
Desi, Haley & Billy backstage at the
Beach Boys in Las Vegas.

Grateful to pioneers like John Muir who did
so much to help establish our National Parks.

Still grateful for my old stove!

Grateful for good friends and SO many
little things that mean the world to me.
A hundred photos would not be enough.
Giving thanks today for the many blessings
in this life.  And that includes you!
xoxo Amy 

Red Chairs

This summer we lunched at a pristine lake in the
mountains 23 miles above Ashland, Oregon.  Hard to
believe the contrast of this paradise to being at home
in the sizzling hot Nevada desert.

During lunch I fell in love with the Red Chairs on the
restaurant's deck and asked myself why I have lived
in the desert since 1952?  The answer ~ my family,
friends and a fabulous old building called 
the Boulder Theatre.  

Maybe someday when I'm fully retired I'll 
sit in the Red Chair to my hearts content.  
Till then, the desert is home.  
Please stay and tell me about your Red Chair?  
 xoxo Amy 

 

Our CAbi fashion show

Mr. Arnaz didn't understand the concept of my girlfriends romping into his pristine Theatre to have the CAbi fashion show.  However, he said OK and we all love him more than ever.  It was a wonderful party with delicious food prepared by my girlfriend, Stephanie, who has her own business  Strawberry Creek  where she prepares the most YUM hors d'ouevres.  That's Stephanie in the photo with Haley.

We have a NO FOOD ~ NO DRINK policy in our Theatre but Mr. Arnaz even let that slide.  Thank you Honey.  Can we have another fashion show in the Spring since we were so tidy this time?

No men were allowed at the fashion show (except Desi) but he invited our official Theatre sound guy (Vales) and our superintendent (Pat).  They put colored gels in our lights, fired up the Disco Ball and turned our little fashion show into a Rock Star fashion show.  It was a most fun event and since we girls were so well behaved (ha!) we hope Mr. Arnaz will let us do it again.  That's Brett & Barbara in the photo ~ Mother & Daughter.  Love their hair.

Remember that pink coat I talked about? Haley modeled it.  I love the Hound's Tooth lining. I hope it looks as good on me as it did on her.  If you are ever invited to a CAbi party, GO.  You'll have a superb time and love the clothing line.  I posted lots of photos from the fashion show in a photo album in the left sidebar called CAbi Fashion Show.  A big THANK YOU to Aimee at September Sky Photography for these beautiful & fun photos.  Enjoy!

xoxoAmy

Grandpa Redwood Tree

We love the Redwood Forest in Northern California and just had the pleasure of visiting there.  Some of the trees are 3000 years old.  Thank goodness for the National Park system that protects these giants from logging.  After San Francisco burned to the ground following the massive earthquake in 1906, thousands of Redwoods were cut down to rebuild the city.  Hopefully they will never be logged again.  You can see the size of this Redwood called The Grandpa in relation to Desi.

 "God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods.  But He cannot save them from fools."  ~ John Muir

If you have not had the experience of being in the presence of the Redwoods, you must.  Put it on your Bucket List.

xoxoAmy

Come to my CAbi fashion show!

CAbi stands for Carol Anderson By Invitation and CAbi is the name of a wonderful women's clothing line.  I have been wearing CAbi clothes for years and they last for years too.  One of my favorite items is a black CAbi jacket with a faux fur collar I've worn for 3 years and I just found this photo of Laura Bush on the CAbi blog wearing my coat.  I knew I liked that woman :)

This cute pink coat is part of the new line and it will soon have a home in my closet!  About the fashion show ~ Lesley and I are having the fashion show in our Boulder Theatre on Saturday, August 28 at 4pm to present the new Fall CAbi line.   Haley & Lesley are 2 of the models.  We'll have hors d'oeuvres starting at 4pm followed by the fashion show on stage.  If you're in Boulder City next weekend, be sure to drop by the Theatre and play with us.  It's for Ladies only but one man is invited and that's the World's Greatest Spotlight Guy ~ Desi Arnaz Jr.

xoxoAmy

Desi, Sean & Haley

Sean Astin came to visit us this week.  He's Desi's godson.  After lunch next door to our theatre at Evan's restaurant he spent the rest of the day with us.  As part of his visit, Desi introduced him to the feral cat colony that lives in our backyard.  If you've read my blog from the start you know we participate in TNR (that's trap-neuter-release) with help from the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society.  One cat (Zane) that we weren't able to trap, presented us with a litter of 5 gray kittens.  Sean liked that.  I snapped this photo of Desi, Sean & Haley in front of our theatre on Monday.  A lovable trio.

 xoxoAmy

The men in my life

 I'm appreciative for the men who are still in my life ~ my husband and my brother.  Our fathers have died but as Father's Day approaches they are in my thoughts all day long.  Even though they're gone, they are still part of my life and I sense their energy that came through so long ago. (In this photo are my husband and his father.  The photo below is my father and my mother.)

As for my living men ~ Desi & Tom ~ they're going to leave me one day too.  It's not meant to be gloomy.  It's just a pure fact, assuming of course, I out live them!  Desi has been a wonderful husband and father to both of his daughters and his godson.  Tom  has been the best brother a sister could want.  He was always very kind to me when we were growing up.  A good brother.   I love the men in my life ~ living and dead.  I feel blessed to have their energy protecting my Spirit.  Hope this makes sense to you. 

 I don't have any recent pictures of my brother, so I'll re-post this funny picture of us fishing in Utah when we were little.  I was a single mom for a long time before Desi & I were married, and Tom was always there for Haley.  Sure, he was her uncle, but his help during those years saved us.  So I hope you like the repeat of this old photo.  So goes Life.  Death takes away our precious fathers.  We suffer and we go on.  When I see a very, very old man who is the age my father would be IF he was still living, I can't resist absorbing their essence.  It is a treasure to talk to a man who was born 80 or 90 years ago.  Once that generation is 100% gone we will surely have a VAST vacancy on Earth.  I love my men and I pray they live long, happy lives.  I hope I out live them so I can help them through their deaths.  I think women are better at that then men are!  Happy Father's Day to the men in my life.  I love you.

xoxoAmy

Nurture Bowl

 Candles on Christmas Eve always add to the atmosphere and this year I made a Nurture Bowl for my family.  I saw this in Martha Stewart's Magazine a few years ago and made it one night for my cousin.  I forgot about it until she reminded me (thanks Jeanine!) so I made a Nurture Bowl and so did she altho she's 2000 miles away.  If you make one, be sure to squeeze a little lemon into the scooped out top of the apple to keep it from browning and be sure to use Tealight Candles so you can easily pop a new one in as they melt down.

 As we enter the last few days of 2009 I am cultivating my New Year's Resolution LIST (yes, it's a list!) in my mind.  On top of the list is my resolution to use items in my home and in my closet that I have been saving for a special day.  Today is a special day, right?  And tomorrow too.  I have made this resolution before and have done pretty good with it, but I can dig deeper.  Enjoy your week ladies!  xoxo Amy

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living.  We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our own windows today.
~Dale Carnegie