Post-Thanksgiving....

My Thanksgiving went great. Everything came out perfect...probably because I didn't have the pressure of people coming over and I was cooking in my own kitchen in my own oven this year. I have a smaller stove/oven at the cottage and it doesn't cook the same. Plus, this year cause I was home I was able to roast my turkey in my grandmother's roasting pan instead of the one at the cottage. Her roasting pan is different from any that they sell in the stores nowadays. I really don't know how to explain it than to say that it's double-sided, and I've never seen a roasting pan like it anywhere. It just roasts better. So my turkey came out beautifully and everything else I made. I made enough for several people although it was only the two of us. So we now have lots and lots of leftovers. I admit I think I'm ready for a Cheeseburger by tomorrow!

Yesterday I went to the show and saw "New Moon"....it's so much like the book in a compact sort of way. When it ended, everybody in the audience groaned cause you just don't want it to end...we were muttering "That's the end???" Can't wait for the "Eclipse" movie to come out now. I wish they would make and show the movies back to back. Now we have to WAIT! I have the book on my Xmas list. I didn't want to start reading it until I saw "New Moon"....now I'm ready for "Eclipse".

I've been taking advantage of some of the after-Thanksgiving sales. I bought a 15" LCD TV for $99 that I'll take to the cottage for an extra TV. Since I didn't get up before dawn for the sales, I missed out on the 22" TV that Radio Shack had for $199...they were all sold out by the time I get there around noon. Well, Saturday Sears had a 22" on sale for $189 from 7 a.m. to noon.....and I was in the parking lot at 6:45!! So it's sitting in my bedroom now. Guess it pays off to get up before the crack of dawn sometimes.....

Thanksgiving Eve....

Tonight is Thanksgiving Eve. I wonder if the ghosts of Turkeys past come out to haunt us???....gobble, gobble, gobble

I got back from Caseville yesterday. I got the rest of my Fall yard cleanup done. Mainly, I needed to get the rest of my mums cut back....and I mulched the leaves that had blown into my yard with my lawnmower. So that is THAT!! DONE!!

On my way up when I was stopped at a light on Telegraph Rd, I saw a poor homeless man standing at the corner of Telegraph and 7 Mile holding a sign that simply read "HELP"....so I backed up and pulled over into the lane next to him and handed him a couple of bucks. He was very appreciative. The "Lord blessed my actions" and that night when I went to Bingo I won $28! Then on Saturday when I was in the Eagles lounge with my friend I won $5 on one of the pull-tabs (game). Sunday I went to the IGA and bought $33 worth of food goods and Monday I donated it all to the food pantry at the Helping Hands thrift store for those less fortunate to help with their Thanksgiving dinner. Yep...I'm just giving my money away!! If hubby needs a couple extra bucks from me, he'll have to go stand on a corner...LOL

We've done Thanksgiving in Caseville for the last 3 years, but we decided to do it here at home this year. We'll be going back up in a few weeks anyway to do Christmas in Caseville. One son is in NC...one will be with fiance and family...and the other will be with fiance and watching football. So we'll be spending the day just the two of us. I did some shopping today and it's nuts out there!! I got my beer and a bottle of flavored rum...so I'm ready for the holidays to start...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Short and Sweet....

I'm leaving for Caseville tomorrow...just me, Keno and Mini Sue. Next Tuesday is the last day for yard waste pickup there. I'll be spending the weekend cutting back the rest of my mums and raking or mulching whatever leaves have blown into my yard. The last three years hubby drives up later and we spend Thanksgiving there. But this year I decided to do Thanksgiving at home...first time in 4 years. We'll be doing Christmas in Caseville this year anyway.

So I'll be returning home by Tuesday of next week, get my shopping done, get the turkey thawed and have a nice relaxing Thanksgiving lounging around....just the two of us. My youngest son and his girlfriend, oops, fiance invited us to her mother's house for Thanksgiving but I think we'll pass. I don't feel like spending the day with a bunch of strangers and besides I want LEFTOVERS.

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GO KELLY GO!! Kelly Osbourne made it to the finals on Dancing With The Stars! Kelly, Donny and Mya are my favorites and they are all going to the finals....! I really wanted that Joanna bimbo gone, but I did think she was a good dancer so I was afraid that it might be time for Donny to leave.....but the people voted and she's out and he's in. Let's face it, it's more of a popularity contest than a dance contest. Donny can screw up all he wants and he still gets votes..haha...but when he's good, he's GOOD!!

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Sometimes I'm not too bright....

I decided to go to the show today and see that movie "2012". The show started at 4:50 and that's about the time I got to the theater and there was a line for tickets. Then I stopped at the concession stand to grab a bottled water, so I knew I had missed at least 5-10 minutes but figured that they show previews of other movies first and I shouldn't miss anything. I followed a couple people down the hall where I saw the sign "2012" and that's where they were going so I followed them inside. It was dark and crowded but I found a seat okay.

The movie was already on and there was all this action going on and I figured that the movie must have started on time and I missed the beginning. There was so much going on that it felt like I had walked into the middle of it. I was a little confused as to what all was happening. Anyway it was exciting to watch but after only about an hour, I could tell that the movie was ENDING...and people were getting up out of their seats to leave. I'm thinking..."damn, it's already over...that was a short movie...I must have missed something".

Sure enough....I had missed over an hour and a half of the movie cause I was in the WRONG SHOWROOM! Apparently, the movie was playing on TWO screens at the same time. The one I walked into had started sometime after 3:00. As I was walking down the hallway confused I saw that it was also playing in another room at the opposite end. That's the room I was suppose to go to. I thought about going in and continue to watch it, but I had already missed the first hour and already knew how it ended so what was the point!!

So I came home....and I guess I'll have to pay another admission and go see it again in the right room...from start to finish!
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Today is Mini Sue's birthday!....My girl is 10 years old. I bought ice cream and cake and a little monkey toy present for her.

A Day in Detroit...

Yesterday I went to the Detroit Science Center to see the "Accidental Mummies of Guanajuato" exhibition that is running there now until April. Hubby didn't want to go. I admit that it was a bit ghoulish, but I found it interesting and different to say the least.

Back in the 1800's there was a cemetery in Mexico with wall crypts that were rented out. If the family didn't pay the rent for 5 years, then the body was exhumed to be reburied elsewhere and the crypt given to someone else. In 1865 when they exhumed the remains of Dr. Remigio Leroy they found that his body had mummified. All the bodies that they exhumed after that were found to be in this mummified state. Something to do with the climate, and the cement walls of the crypts that drew the water from the bodies dehydrating them instead of decomposing them. Over 100 of these mummys are on display in Mexico. 36 of them are on loan to the DSC and this is the first time that they have been displayed anywhere in the United States. These were real people who lived and breathed a life and now they are mummies on display. The sad ones are the infants....about 5 of them. You can see their little fingers and one is clutching a little doll.

Like I said, it was a bit ghoulish cause basically you're looking at dead corpses but it was interesting. And no, I'm not having nightmares. It was done in a respectful way. There was a sign on the wall that said something about "the body being a cocoon cause the butterfly has flown away".
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Today I went to the Detroit Historical Museum. All of these museums are in walking distance from each other....Det Sci Ctr, Det Inst of Arts, and the Det Hist Museum. I had read in the paper that one of their displays was on Soupy Sales who passed away recently and I wanted to see it. I was one of the little kiddies who use to watch Soupy on TV way back when. It was a small display, but they had White Fang, Black Tooth and Pooky! Then I toured the rest of the museum and it was very interesting....basically the history of Detroit from the frontier days. The lower level was fun because it was set up like the old streets of Detroit in the 1800's with streetlights and storefronts and trading posts, etc.

Gee, I'm getting so much culture in my life....LOL

This Is It.....

I've seen Michael Jackson's "This Is It" twice already! I went Saturday night and saw it for the first time. I was in Caseville when it premiered in 'most' theatres but that didn't include the Caseville Theatre so I had to wait until I got home to see it. Everything about it was awesome....It would have been a helluva spectacular concert! "This Is It" shows a gifted, passionate artist preparing for the show of his lifetime. "Thriller" rocked you right out of your seat. "Smooth Criminal" was done with a touch of an old black and white Bogie and Rita Hayworth film. I am so glad that they had enough filmed footage to put it all together.

I didn't see this film as an attempt to cash in on Jackson. His dancers and his amazing guitarists and band worked their asses off for this concert. They are incredibly good. They looked so forward to this tour.....a tour that never happened. This film gives them their due. This film gives them recognition and let's them shine in the capacity that they worked so hard for. This film gives the public the opportunity to see genius at work and see "what could have been". A review I read said...."This Is It" isn't Michael Jackson at his greatest; it's him preparing to be at his greatest. But just watching that preparation is gift enough." I give it five stars *****!!!

Adventures AFTER the concert....

After the concert last night, hubby and I were walking back to the parking place and we came upon this guy with a large styrofoam cup apparently panhandling for money. Maybe to buy his babies food, or pay the rent, or buy booze. He had a small group of people who were walking from the concert chattin' with him and asking him if he performs for money and he laughingly obliged and started singing some songs. After talking with that lady about helping homeless people, I now feel compelled to help them when possible......so I reached in my purse and took out some money and put it in his cup and he gave me a big smile and thanked me!

Hubby was appalled, I think...

We found our car and had to sit and sit and sit while the cars from the decks above us drove past us. That's when I suggested to hubby that we should have brought a cooler of beers to bide our time...haha. Finally we were able to back out and get in line behind this car with a Ohio license plate. We were behind him creeping along for awhile and then he jerked his car into a parking space a couple floors down....WTH??? Why on earth would he get out of line and park again????....Hubby said he probably had to pee. Sure enough....as we came around the next level, we could see him standing by his car peeing....LOLOLOL....

So we proceed slowly til we can finally exit the parking structure and this security/cop/whatever lady signals us to turn LEFT...I wanted to turn RIGHT...but I had no choice....so left I turned. Then I turned and turned until I got to Woodward Ave. where I wanted to go in the first f'g place. Down Woodward and turned left to get to the freeway....

....and lo and behold, there is a car in front of me with an Ohio license plate that looked all too familiar.....the PEE GUY!! He was right in front of me. Guess he was heading for I-75 to take him back to Ohio. Hell, I guess I don't blame the poor guy for peeing in the parking structure since he had to drive all the way to Ohio.

So's anyway...as we are approaching the freeway I see a homeless guy in a wheelchair sitting there to my left up ahead. I say to hubby..."There's a guy up there, I need to get my purse."....and he starts panicking and starts pushing buttons trying to lock the doors. I get up closer and pull over with cars behind me all waiting to merge onto the freeway....and I rolled down my window and handed the guy the money I took out of my purse. He reached out and took it and he thanked me....

....hubby looked at me with a "whatthefuckareyoudoing" expression on his face...

Told him that I have this need to help homeless people now. I always send money in the mail but after talking to that lady I sat next to at the Play in Plymouth, I feel I want to have more human contact with my money. So I gave some guys in Detroit a few bucks....so what??? I can afford it...

A Night at the Fox.....

Tonight was a magical night for me. I was living a dream...a fantasy....I watched Bob Dylan, at age 68, be Dylan and give an amazingly strong heartfelt performance. It was a great concert! The Fox Theater was filled with Dylan fans cheering, applauding, screaming and shouting his name. We couldn't get enough.

We got to the theater on time and found our seats. The show was to start at 7:30. But I figured it would probably start closer to 8:00 and with some kind of opening act before Dylan would come on. About 7:35 we decided to take a quick potty break and found our way to the bathrooms. I could hear the crowd cheering and heard a band starting up. No problem....only the opening act. When I emerged from the bathroom and proceeded up the stairs I could clearly hear Dylan's voice!!....OMG...there is no opening act!!....He's on NOW!!! Yep, as I was peeing, I totally missed him coming on stage.

So I got to where I was suppose to meet up with Hubby and waited and waited as I am hearing Bob going on to another song. Finally he shows up....something about the men's bathrooms being on the roof of the building or something (upstairs somewhere)...and then we had to get in line behind all these people to show our tickets again so we could get to our seats. I think Bob was on his third song by the time we sat down!!

So we missed "Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat" and "The Man in Me"...and maybe caught part of "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'". Then he sang "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", which I love.

Most of the songs were new ones to us...probably on his new album that is going on my Xmas list this year. But what I totally loved about his songs is that most of them were very 'bluesy'...and let's face it, most of our generation now is more into Blues than that "...head-banging...whatthefuckaretheysaying..."crap anyway. We listen to more country and Blues now. And come to think of it....folk songs back in the '60's were a combination of country and blues, kindof...dontcha think? So Dylan's songs tonight rocked with alot of Blues and the whole house was rockin' with him. We were all on our feet...but at our age, we sometimes had to sit down to take our shoes off and rub our sore feet...but then we were right back up when the tempo of the song rose shouting our approval. God he was good!!

He did 17 songs which is what he's been doing on all his tours. He did "Desolation Row"..., "Twiddle Dee & Twiddle Dum"...."Highway 61 Revisited"..., and one of my favorites, "Thunder on the Mountain". You can see a great video of this song on YouTube. As the song is playing, they show a variation of Dylan clips from young to older....I love the video. When he did "Like a Rolling Stone", his fans were on their sore swollen feet wildly going nutso and singing along. He ended the concert with "All Along the Watchtower".

He did not disappoint his fans. His voice was strong...and although it isn't the young twangy voice of the 60's, he still has that unmistakeable Dylan-sound with more baratone.

These are songs I love but he didn't sing....alas...:

...."I offered up my innocense and got repaid with scorn".....From "Shelter from the Storm" which is probably high on my list of favorites.

My other favorites are "Things have Changed" which was used in the "Wonder Boys" movie. I have the movie on DVD and they show this great video of Dylan singing the song with Michael Douglas and Toby McGuire...awesome flick and video.

...and "Idiot Wind" that he basically wrote about his ex-wife...and I just totally love this song!

I also love "Just Like a Woman"....

and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"....

Hell, I could go on and on....I just LOVE LOVE LOVE too many of his songs!!

I shoulda worn the T-Shirt he airbrushed his name on...but I didn't. I feel that it's too sacred to wear.

It was a magical night

Witchy Boy and Fairy Girl

Here's Keno dressed as a little Witchy Boy sitting next to the jack-o-lantern and my Halloween tree....






Here's Mini Sue in her Tinker Bell Fairy Girl costume....




I was in Caseville for 10 days and spent Halloween there. I decorated the front of my cottage with lights, pumpkins and scarecrow. I thought I took a picture but guess I didn't since I can't find it on my camera. Oh Well....next year. I cut out a cute jack-o-lantern and took a picture of Keno by it. Mini Sue didn't like her Fairy Girl costume....but Keno wasn't too thrilled about his either..haha.

I went to the Eagles Halloween night. I wish they would have had music!!!!! Maybe next year, I'll win the lottery and I'll spring for the band...

I got my yard work done while I was there even though it was crummy weather as usual. But I got leaves bagged and mulched and I climbed up the ladder on the one side of my garage and got my neighbor's f*****g pine needles off the roof......and I finally got all my flowers out of the front flower garden even though it was drizzling rain on my head. But they were picking up the yard waste in the morning and I had to get it done. I'll take out the mums on the side next time I go up.

But it's mostly DONE....

OKay...so I got home yesterday, watched the Yankees beat the Phillies and win the World Series (GO YANKEES!), and left for the airport to pick up my youngest son and his girlfriend. Game got over around 11:50 and I had to leave by 11:55..close call! They went to Las Vegas for a few days. While they were in Vegas, he proposed to her on top of the Stratosphere in front of all the people who were there. And he had some guy he met take pictures of the event. She accepted....so it's official! It'll be a couple years before a wedding will take place, so I don't have to start shopping for a dress yet...but I better start my diet!

Tomorrow I'm going to the Bob Dylan concert!! OMGOMGOMG....I can't believe I am FINALLY GOING TO SEE DYLAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!