Monthly Archives: November 2023

…………………From the first note that came out of Cassie McIvor’s mouth you knew instantly this was someone extremely special……In a word….”POWERFUL”….. She was so good she could, and should be a major recording artist. When she started to sing the Celine Dion song “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now”….every judge sat straight up in their chairs, and it didn’t take long for Cassie to get a FOUR CHAIR TURN!……..You are in for a special treat when you listen to her on YouTube!

………………….Sometimes when watching singers on YouTube, it is always wonderful to see the judges surprising reaction when they turn their chains and see the person who’s voice they turned for!…….WOW WOW WOW was all they could say when they heard Rachel Modest sing….”For All We Know”…..on the 2022 UK’s got talent…It’s a beautiful old song with a melancholy verse….but……she was just spectacular…..It makes you wonder how voices like that get lost in the cracks of the music business. She obviously isn’t a young or beautiful woman, and maybe in this very shallow world people like Rachel aren’t given the chance they deserve…….but I can tell you she is a…..WOW ….WOW….WOW…..and deserves for you to take the time and be transported by her incredible voice! I would certainly buy her album of old standards!!

……………….I found out last Weds. that I needed a new BOILER….so I have been without heat for over a week, and there is only so much hot tea I can drink. I make it more to hold the hot cup rather than drink it!….As you can see from the photos they have to take it out piece by piece. There are five men and three trucks……..Hopefully by Tues. it will be up and running and I will have beautiful HEAT again! The house is large so in turn I need a large boiler….You’ll never guess how much this dam thing costs, and I’m not telling…..but my teeth almost fell out of my mouth when I got the estimate!!! It has to be done or I’ll really freeze! These are things my southern friends don’t have to worry about!…..I have a new appreciation for people who lived during the times when there was no central heat, and they had to depend on fireplaces in each room to keep warm. It also makes sense why rooms were so much smaller, and beds were designed with canopies and drapes hanging on all sides to keep out drafts. Bed warming pans with hot coats were used to get the chill out of the beds, and people slept fully clothed with sleep caps on their heads……I could use one of those now!……It’s a good thing, even though it is very cold, the temperatures haven’t dipped below freezing where I live…..Bring on the glorious heat!

…………………Watching the New York Veterans Day Parade LIVE on TV………..In a world that is getting more and more volatile every day….it’s more important than ever to value our veterans, and all those service in our armed services. I am forever grateful!

………………..As the weather in the north east gets colder and colder….I’m reminded of those warn sunny days Jac and I spent in Italy………It’s a short flight from Rome to Naples, but then it’s an hour plus drive, depending on traffic from Naples to Positano……and you can always count on traffic especially in the summer!…Since the road along the cliffs of the Amalfi coast is just two lanes….one coming and one going…..if you get behind a tourist bus or a slow driver it can take forever!!!..However, once you arrive in Praiano you were in Heaven…..There was always this skinny middle aged man waiting to take our luggage down the 250 steps to Andrea’s Villa, and back up the 250 steps when the trip was over…..Supposedly he had 8 children! I think his name was Gigi?……On this trip we stayed in the “Tower”, which was an ancient stone tower that Andrea converted in a beautiful bedroom on the top floor and a bathroom down a spiral staircase. It was very private and away from everyone….It was at the far end of the pool….We loved staying in the tower…..At the upper left Jac is standing in front of one of the two windows in the tower bedroom…..The sun drenched days were spent lounging by the pool drinking very cold white wine, and eating a marvelous lunch and dinner on the main terrace….always with the most breath taking VIEWS!!!! Jac is scene floating in the pool and standing by the railing with Positano in the background…..At the bottom right are the “Three Musketeers”….JP, Andy and myself….Andy and JP were very close friends with the owners of the Sirenuse Hotel and the San Pietro Hotel, both in Positano. We always had at least one dinner with each of the owners at their hotels every trip….Google the hotels for wonderful tours of each one…..There were quite a few movies filmed at the Sirenuse…..Other than an occasional shopping spree, or dinner out, there was no reason to leave the villa……..the most idyllic place in the world.