KENNEDY CENTER HONORS

The Kennedy Center has finally caught up with us Baby Boomers! Many years ago I remember watching the Kennedy Center Honors and thinking this is kind of boring and stuffy and old. I probably grabbed the clicker and changed channels before too long. I didn’t relate to any of the honorees.

Well, tonight was finally my night to watch – of course, I still switched channels during some of the middle but the beginning and ending was definitely my cup of tea! They honored Oprah Winfrey and my favorite Beatle, Paul McCartney.



Oprah and Paul at the gala

I absolutely love Oprah and have watched her show for much of its 25 years. I know the stories of why Julia Roberts, John Travolta and Sidney Poitier all spoke on her behalf at the gala. This is truly a woman who should be honored – she makes all of us feel like we have a friend to chat with each day.

They closed the show by honoring Paul McCartney. A myriad of singers did renditions of Beatles and Wings songs – but the highlight was Steven Tyler taking the stage in his flamboyant Steven Tyler style. In no time, he had the entire audience on their feet, swaying and rocking out to a medley of Paul’s songs.

Everyone – Oprah, Stedman, Paul, Julia, John, Sidney, President Obama and Michelle, Steven, the other performers, the audience – stood and sang the familiar refrain we all know, “Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey, Jude” over and over while waving their arms back and forth above their heads. Now that’s what I call a Kennedy Center Honors show!

CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS

After days of heavy rain, strong wind and cold temperatures, today dawned clear, sunny and bright blue. It was far too nice of a day to stay inside so Lou and I headed to Old Sacramento for a walk along the river. Old Sacramento is several square blocks of old restored buildings housing tons of shops and restaurants on the Sacramento River.

Even though it was still chilly out, it was really nice to have to wear our sunglasses for a change! This was a great day to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. I was having fun just snapping pictures of anything and everything.



Some interesting angles and blue sky - the first in several days!




A tree with some unusual bark patterns and the last remnants of fall.



The paddle wheel of the Delta King - now a hotel and restaurant.



The historic Tower Bridge across the Sacramento River.



At the end of the river walk there is a street light museum of sorts. They have preserved street lamps from every era of Sacramento history and put them all in one area of the walkway. Here are a few of the early city lights.

Along the way we saw several turtles – we watched one for several minutes as he struggled to climb up on a log and relax in the sun. An informational sign said they were Northern Pacific Pond Turtles. I had to repeat it to myself several times to remember the name. Things just don’t stick in my head like they used to.

This is the guy who finally made his way onto the log.

These three were totally enjoying the morning sun - just like us.

I absolutely loved that the designers of the new river walk thought of our four-legged friends in their plans. There were several water fountains which had an adult size fountain, a child fountain and a dog fountain at the bottom. What a great idea!

One of the doggy-friendly drinking fountains.

The trees along the river which usually grow out of the riverbanks are now partially submerged since the water level is really high. We are supposed to have a break from the torrential rains that have been pounding California until Christmas night but there is more on the way.

The water level is closing in on the Tower Bridge.

You can see the trees "growing" out of the river.

Following our stroll we had lunch at a small café before heading back home. Sometimes it is the simplest things that can lift your spirits and give you a real feel for what Christmas is all about. I know many people think that you must have a white Christmas, but being a California girl through and through there is nothing like a bright, beautiful, sunny day to get me in the mood for the holidays.

MY ROCK 'N ROLL MOMENT

Most women of “my age” have a favorite Beatle.  Ask any woman in her 50s, 60s or 70s and I’ll bet she’ll answer without hesitation – mine was Paul. All of us have our favorite rock stars who we swooned over growing up. I was madly in love with Mark Lindsay, lead singer of Paul Revere and the Raiders, in my teens. All four walls of my room were covered with magazine photos of him – and I was starting on the ceiling (literally) when I moved on.



Mark Lindsay - Then



Mark Lindsay - Now

I have to confess that as a 60 year old, I’m still a hopeless rocker. Sure I like Katy Perry, the Black-Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga but to quote Bob Seger, “Give me that old time rock ‘n roll. That kind of music just soothes my soul.” Cranking up the car radio and singing along (badly) with all the old rocker bands is on my list of life’s little pleasures.

During the early 80s I went through a “country phase” in my music preferences – hey, didn’t most of us?  One of the 80s rocker bands who I discovered  later in life was Aerosmith.  Now their front man, Steven Tyler, is a new judge of American Idol. Most people have someone famous who just floats their boat – often times for no logical reason – mine is Steven Tyler.

Steven Tyler in one of his better pictures!

He is certainly not classically handsome, nor is he particularly attractive. In fact he is a bit strange and quite bizarre, but there is something about that man that just seems undeniably sexy to me. It makes no sense and if I share that with someone the usual response is to twist up their face, raise an eyebrow and say, “Really?”

Anyway, several years ago, Lou and I saw Aerosmith in concert. I bought the tickets and sprung for pretty good seats on an aisle about 10-15 rows from the stage. The venue has a grass area up in the back and they had set up a stage for the band to do a few numbers up in the “cheap seats”.

It became apparent that Aerosmith, and STEVEN TYLER, were going to walk up the aisle right next to where we were seated to reach that stage. I immediately pushed Lou to the side and made him switch seats with me since he was on the aisle. The mob of security guards slowly and dramatically inched their way up the aisle engulfing the band members.

Steven Tyler was surrounded by people with his head down. I thrust my hand out as he came by and somehow touched his hand. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it! I could feel his ring as his cold, somewhat boney hand grasped mine. I screamed and jumped up and down like a 16 year old, “STEVEN TYLER SQUEEZED MY HAND!  STEVEN TYLER SQUEEZED MY HAND!”

Here I was in my mid fifties bouncing off the walls because Steven Tyler, lead singer of Aerosmith, squeezed my hand. Lou kept telling me to calm down and I kept saying, "NO!" Hey, how many of you have had your hand squeezed by a celebrity who you thought was unbelievably hot????  I hope he doesn’t disappoint as an American Idol judge…..and those of you who aren’t sure who he is will be able to see him on Idol this season. After reading this, you will no doubt scrunch up your face and think, “Really?”

Yeah, REALLY.

THOUGHTS OF COSMO

When I met Lou 9-1/2 years ago I became “stepmom” to Lou’s two 5 year old cats, Cosmo & Nova, who were sisters. Of course, I soon came to love them as if I’d adopted them as kittens myself. Nova is still with us but Cosmo died a year and 7 months ago from complications of her diabetes.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about her a lot and decided to write down some of my thoughts of Cosmo. As anyone with a pet knows, they each have their own distinct personality and immediately work their way into your heart.

Lou took this picture of Cosmo - he calls it "Kitty Head Rest"

Cosmo was the epitome of the curious cat. She loved everything that I did, especially if it was in the kitchen! Within seconds of walking in the kitchen to start dinner or get a glass of water, I’d turn around and there was Cosmo – sitting in the middle of the floor watching my every move. I told her she should be able to do it all by herself since she watched so much.

Cosmo lived to eat! She loved her Fancy Feast “supplement” (certain ones were better for her diabetes) and would meow like crazy when it was time to eat. If I opened a can of tuna for myself, Cosmo could smell it across the room. She would go nuts until I gave her a small bite. She would eat anything, literally – plants, curling ribbon, ice cream, flowers – we had to be really careful to keep things out of her reach. She was a chubby cat but could get up on tables and counters with ease if there was something she thought she wanted to sample.

One time years ago, I was watching football and eating some Cheez-Its from the box. Cosmo really wanted one so I gave her just a corner of one and she loved it! From that day on, if I brought out the box of Cheez-Its, Cosmo was all over me wanting a bite.

Treats were one of Cosmo’s greatest pleasures in life. She learned the words “treat time” and would run to the cabinet and meow as soon as I said them. Actually the treats gave us some control over her since we could get her out from under any bed or behind any furniture by rattling the package and calling out, “Treat time!” I’m so glad that I gave her treats (more than I should have sometimes) because she enjoyed them so much.

She was such a good kitty about her shots and blood tests. About two years before she died, she was diagnosed as diabetic. With diet and a certain type of insulin she went into remission a few weeks later. I found a wonderful Feline Diabetes website that offered education and support from members.

We needed to monitor her blood sugar and did frequent blood tests by pricking her ear to get the drop of blood. I would sit at the table and she would sit on my lap with her front paws on the table while I did the blood test. The diabetes returned about a year later and sometimes we would have to do blood tests every hour all day to get a “curve”. She was so tolerant and never fought it once she learned the routine – and of course, the instant it was done she was meowing at the cabinet for a treat!

Nova was always the dominant one early on. Nova would smack Cosmo or jump on her for no reason at all. Cosmo would just passively walk away. But a few years before she died something changed and Cosmo suddenly started fighting back. I always said that she went through menopause and just like every other post menopausal woman she wasn’t going to put up with the bullshit anymore! Occasionally she even instigated the conflicts. At times they would be hissing and rolling around on the floor until we broke them up and sent them to opposite corners – then two minutes later they were snuggling together on the chair!

Cosmo & Nova curled up on the couch

I swear that Cosmo would set me up to step on her so I’d feel sorry for her and give her an extra treat. She would come right up behind me while I was cooking so that when I turned or backed up, I’d bump her or step on her. Of course, I would almost fall down trying to avoid hurting her! She would meow really loudly when I barely even touched her – then run to the cabinet. I know it was all to get that extra treat.

We’d walk in the kitchen at night and turn on the light – there was Cosmo laying on her back in the dark on the floor with all four feet up toward the ceiling. She loved to have her belly rubbed. Sometimes I wondered how long she was laying there patiently waiting for one of us. Cosmo loved to be held like a baby, in your arms on her back. She would stare up at the lights for the longest time with a childlike fascination. And if you rubbed her belly at the same time, she was in heaven.

If I sat a glass of water on the coffee table, Cosmo would often take a drink of it. She would check out the glass of soda or cup of tea and, of course, milk. We had to be careful or she’d drink it all. One day, I had a glass of wine on the coffee table – Cosmo walked over to it and I thought “let’s see if she tries this”. She sniffed, looked at it, then took her head and just knocked it over – fortunately it was white wine and not red!

These are just a few of my recollections of Cosmo Renee. I gave them both middle names (Nova’s is Marie) when I “adopted” them so that when I came downstairs and someone was on the table I could yell, “Cosmo Renee Padgug, get down!” or “Nova Marie Padgug, off the table!” Nova knew when she was doing something wrong. Cosmo either didn’t know or just didn’t care.

One of my favorite photos of Cosmo with all the presents!

I have such wonderful memories of “my kitty girl” and still miss her. Her ashes have a place of honor in our living room. Years ago I bought little Christmas stockings for Cosmo and Nova to hang over the fireplace with mine and Lou’s. I still put Cosmo’s up this time of year since I feel that she is with us in spirit. A little corny, I know, but she is my sweet stepcat and I love her.