Tuesday, May 31, 2011
lovely lavender
Here in Los Angeles, for a few weeks every Spring---usually the end of April, all of May, and even into June....The Beautiful Jacaranda Tree is in bloom.....! And they are everywhere. Over the years they have become more and more popular because they are so gorgeous! (I so wish I had planted some in my garden back in 1986...but, I didn't.....)
Lavender is my very favorite color.....(I have probablyy painted over 300 different shades of lavender in as many paintings).......These Jacaranda Trees are truly special in every way. And no doubt, part of the reason for their "specialness"---besides the magnificnt color----is that these blooms don't last very long.....!
Ohhhhh. This takes my breath away!
The Beauty of these blooms, touches my heart so deeply......Once again, nature brings me home, home, home.
There are many many streets throughout Hollywood and West Hollywood and Beverly Hills (to name just a few areas) that have Jacaranda's that are in bloom right now.....Below, a street in Beverly Hills, in 'the flats'........Just one of many.........
I just love these trees....And this is just a small taste! Because there is, without a doubt.......More To Come........
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 4:08:00 PM
Sunday, May 29, 2011
memorial day
Remembering all those who gave their lives and their limbs to secure our Freedom.......Remember them and be grateful for their bravery.......
As a young person growing up in a small town, I always loved the Memorial Day Parade. It always made me proud and it always made me cry......Seeing all the Veterans from many wars walking on Middle Neck Road each year, was very moving to me. I think of it now, and it still brings tears......
Memorial Day is a solemn day of remembrance and a day to give thanks to all those who have fallen in our names......I hope you all have a thoughtful and special day........More To Come........
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 11:15:00 PM
Thursday, May 26, 2011
side by side
Oh, we ain't got a barrel of money,
Maybe we're ragged and funny....
But we'll travel along....
Singing a song.....
Side by side.
Don't know what's comin' tomorrow......
What if it's trouble and sorrow?
But we'll travel the road,
Sharing our load,
Side by side.......
Through all kinds of weather----
What if the sky should fall?
Just as long as we're together........
It doesn't matter at all.......
When they've all had their quarrels and parted.....
We'll be the same as we started.....
Just a-traveling along.....
Singing a song,
Side by side..........And now.....they have flown out of the nest and they are on their own, and the cycle of life goes on and on and on......!
More To Come........
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 12:08:00 AM
Friday, May 20, 2011
a birthday
On Monday, May 23rd, it would have been my dear sweet Betty's 92nd Birthday.....92. My Lord! It doesn't seem possible....but, indeed, that is the age she would have been......God, how I miss her. There are no words to describe the hole in my heart and in my life---now, that she is no longer here....I need to call her on the friggin' phone! And I cannot. I need to hear her voice---and I don't mean in my memory---I need to hear her voice on the other end of that phone, and as we hang up, I need to hear her saying---'I Love You'. What a great great friend she was. So understanding. So full of life! So caring and loving and encouraging.....! And so much fun!
Here she is with Lee M., playing......Betty never lost that wonderful child inside her, Thank God! Always game and up for just about anything....remember that one Halloween?
It was Betty's idea that we all "dress up" for our Halloween Lunch----starting over on the left, that is Seemah, then Bridget and me and Betty and then Dianne and then Lee, dressed as a Paint-By-Numbers person....Here below are some more pictures of dear Betty at some other Birthday Celebrations.....
Above.....Betty's Birthday Celebration at the then Argyle Hotel...I think this was 1992......And then below....Betty's 75th, in 1994, at her home---it was a big bash. That was the year Betty had been so sick we thought we were going to lose her.....
And then below, in 1999......her 80th Birthday held at The Pasadena Playhouse, with a big dinner before at The Green Hotel. This was a fund raiser for Theatre West......
And then, in 2001, when Betty was doing "Follies" on Broadway.....I went to New York so I could be there for her Birthday and to see the show. Her Birthday fell on a Wednesday that year, so she had two shows that day---the Matinee and the Evening---and I saw both of them! We went out for dinner, in between shows.
So coming back to this years Birthday......in honor of Betty's 92nd, this Monday, May 23rd, Turner Classic Movies is showing 6 of Betty's films, all in a row. Actually, there are seven---if you count the first one starting at 6:15am (EST), HOLLYWOOD: THE DREAM FACTORY, (1972), which is a wonderful documentary about MGM---it's rise and fall, narrated by Dick Cavett.....Betty is in that briefly. But the first real film showing at 7:15am (EST) is called "BIG CITY", (1948), and Betty's credit in that film is 'And Introducing Betty Garrett'. It's a sweet story.....
This has a very interesting cast---a young Margaret O'Brien, George Murphy, Robert Preston and Danny Thomas....Next, at 9:am (EST) is "WORDS & MUSIC", (1948). It is the fictionalized story of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart----lots of great songs and Betty plays Mickey Rooney's love interest. Betty gets to sing "There's A Small Hotel", a wonderful song by this legendary pair of brilliant songwriters......
That is Mickey Rooney above, as Hart, and Betty, and Janet Leigh as Mrs. Rodgers and at the piano, Tom Drake as Richard Rodgers.....Rooney is the only one still alive. Next....at 11:15am (EST) is "NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER"(1949), one of the two films Betty made with Esther Williams. In this film, Betty got to introduce the song, "Baby It's Cold Outside", with Red Skelton. It won the Best Song Academy Award that year.....
That is Keenan Wynn and Esther Williams and Betty......All of them were under contract to MGM at that time. All the films TCM is showing, except one, were made at MGM.....The next film is "ON THE TOWN", (1949) showing at 1pm, (EST).......This is one of two films that Betty played opposite Frank Sinatra, as his love interest....She plays a New York Cab Driver and pursues Sinatra, relentlessly----it is great fun!
That's Vera Ellen & Gene Kelly over on the left; Ann Miller and Jules Munshin in the middle, and Frank Sinatra and Betty over on the right....Betty loved working with Sinatra....And in fact she loved working with all these great people...! Again, lots of good music and great dancing......Next, at at 2:45pm (EST) is "TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME", (1949).....the second film she made with Easter Williams, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra......She is delightful in the picture! And she gets to pick Frank Sinatra up and swing him around---and she actually did it!
Look at how skinny Sinatra was back then....I'm not sure he weighed that much more that Betty in this film.....lol......And the last film of Betty's that TCM is showing on Monday, May 23rd at 4:30pm, (EST), is "MY SISTER EILEEN", (1955), with Jack Lemmon.
This story has quite a history....First it was a book, then, it became a film with Rosalind Russell and Janet Blair....not a musical. Then, it became a Broadway Musical called "Wonderful Town" with Rosalind Russel and Edie Adams....and then, in it's next incarnation, it became this film with Betty. It is a musical too, but with an entirely different score than "Wonderful Town" which was by Leonard Bernstein and Betty Comden & Adolph Green.....This score was written by Jule Styne and Leo Robin.....(Styne wrote a lot of Broadway Musicals---the greatest of these, in my opinion was "Gypsy", with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.......)
Above, with Jack Lemmon---her love interest in this film, it also starred, Janet Leigh and a very young Bob Fosse, who did the Choreography for the film, too.....If you get a chance to see any of these films, you won't be sorry. For those of you unfamiliar with Betty's earlier film career---these films are a real treat! So, my dear dear friend, I will be thinking of you on Monday and wishing we were all sitting around my Dining Room table for another "Ladies Who Lunch", to celebrate your 92nd.....Happy Happy Birthday, dear sweet friend......
More To Come...........
| posted by OldLady Of The Hills at 4:46:00 AM
Home | Newer› ‹Older
x4
