…………..”Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?…….Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?………..We’ll tak a cup o kindness yet, for auld lang syne”.
How many years have we sung this song on New Years? I’ve always found it to be a some what melancholy song. “Should auld acquaintance be forgot?”….”Auld lang syne” [time goes by]….. and “we’ll tak a cup o kindness yet”, saluting friends, and remembering the good times of the past, and the friendships we have made that have come and gone….and most of all to be kind………2020 holds the promise of the future, and the good things that may come, but we also have to brace ourselves to face and deal with the times that are challenging……and pray that we can meet those challenges with grace and courage……..I guess I am feeling nostalgic for places and friends from the past who have come into my life and have given me so much joy, only to have had to go, and leave me with my memories…. wonderful memories………..The older I get I can’t help but have a heavy heart when thinking of all the beautiful people who have meant so much to me, and are no longer with me……………….I also wonder about the many Linea Ladies who have been such shining lights, and strong voices over the last twenty years, and are not heard from anymore. They are in my thoughts, and I thank them for their friendship……I hope they are all well!………..I drink a cup of kindness to all of you, and pray 2020 will bring you all joy, and the courage to face whatever may come your way………………much Love………………..Louis
Happy New Year sweet Louis!
My wish for you and for all who read this is a year filled with good health and happiness!
I have been watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for the first time, I’m late to this tv show! I think of you, Louis, with all of the fabulous clothing and jewelry that the women wear. I can’t get enough of it! I hope you have seen this show, Louis, because I feel that the New York setting in the late 50’s, the fabrics, the jewelry, the hats, the matching shoes….it will all ring true to you.
This will be my first year with no treatment for my cancer, I am in Survivorship/Surveillance now after 3 years of infusions. What a blessed and lucky lady I am! Cancer treatments are advancing so quickly and I pray that this horrible diagnosis will be curable for everyone!
Best wishes to adorable Jennifer, thank you for modeling Louis’ clothing so well and for being such an enthusiastic spokesperson!
Love, Diana
Dear Diana, Firstly I am so happy to hear you have finished your treatments. I remember after Jac finished her radiation treatments at Mass. General the patients rang a bell. It was so hopeful and everyone cheered!!!! So I hope you don’t mind if I ring a bell for you!…………..I am a Mrs. Maisel addict!! The only problem is I binge watch them and finish them in two days!!!! I will re-watch them all over again!!!!The clothes and sets are so authentic. The scenes at the Jewish resort in the Catskills was hysterical……I think it deserved all of the awards it has received.
My husband passed on to a better world 30 years ago. We were one as you & Jac. I have always been more comfortable at home where he still is as he sends me signs and on Christmas Day I had a wonderful physical sign from him. I know he watches over me!! Take care & have a peaceful 2020 & watch for those signs from Jac. Much love, Judy
Dearest Louis,
Wishing you peace, love and joy for 2020. It is both heartbreaking and heartwarming to visit such memories of those who are no longer with us, and the list grows every year that we grow older. I’m so glad to be one of the Linea Ladies, and both Walter and I treasure your friendship. My grandson reminds me there are reasons to leave the house, even if those reasons are to sit on a cold ice hockey bench and watch his teammates remind him he’s on offense rather than defense LOL. Or to sit with him and snuggle early in the morning, and eat a piece of Jac’s bread with stories of her, so his parents can catch a rare extra hour of sleep. Hope comes from such. You bring us love, beauty and more joy. A toast to you, the Linea Ladies, and exciting year with lots of love and peace.
In Gratitude, Cathy & Walter in PA
Happy New Year, Louis!
My 18 & 23 y/o girls are part of the next generation of Linea ladies to enjoy your beautiful clothing. The younger daughter embraced the blazer look, and owns four! The older favors the comfort and ease of whisper knits. We watched you and Jaq together for years. The love you showed each other was inspiring. Jaq is dearly missed.
Wishing you all the best in 2020!
Dear Louis, I can understand how looking at it now you find private fire fighters disturbing. However our wonderful fire departments were overwhelmed by this fire and it’s wide spread area along with
the strong winds (over one thousand six hundred homes were lost). Can you imagine ALL of Calabasas, Malibu, and parts of Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo and others all evacuated? This is about
three hundred thousand people. That has never happened before, we were just happy to get any and all help possible, especially when the wind started blowing it toward us. I pray this never happens to anyone
again. I have lived in Calabasas over 40 years and have packed to go a few times but this was the first mandatory evacuation. Malibu was hit the hardest, you are right it will takes years to rebuild.
Linda
Sierra…..Yes, Paradise Cove is a gorgeous area. We used to go there quite often. The Trailer Park and the Cafe have changed for sure. Those who live in Malibu must be prepared ,all fires that start in the valley seem to blow
that way when the winds come. So beautiful there though.
Dear Louis, Thank you for your kind wishes. What a tragedy for your neighbor,unimaginable. I was one of the lucky ones, my home was saved, however we have a friend who lost everything, a sister who had
major smoke damage, and my cousin lost her guest house but her main house was the only one standing on her whole block.It was a lot of tension, anxiety and smoke but the doctors say that did not cause my
I agree with Sheila, get fire extinguishers for the whole house and check your alarms,also make sure you have long hoses at each hose bib around the outside of your home. I will end with a funny story, I
never thought that I would have a reason to thank the Kardashians but during the fires they hired private fire fighters to protect their homes (I never even knew there was such a thing) which stopped the
fire from spreading through their community. The way the wind was blowing our community would have been next. We are very grateful to them but we joke that the Kardashians saved our home.
Dear Linda….I can understand why you would thank the Kardashians. I never knew you could hire private fire fighters, and I’ve never heard of it in CT……but I must say I find it disturbing…..What if your house was in the path of the fire before their house and these men were not avail. There just seems to me that there is something very wrong about that. However, I’m happy your house was saved. I can’t imagine being the only house in an entire community that is still standing. It’s a blessing and a curse. They are going to have to endure years of construction all around them.
Louis and Linda – Are you familiar with Paradise Cove on PCH? My grandma lived there for a number of years, when it was still a modest trailer park. Since the owner of the park controls the land (you only own the trailer), my family wasn’t able to keep the trailer as costs skyrocketed.
It was truly paradise for us – with access to a private beach, my brother and I spent blissful summers kayaking, snorkeling, and surfing.
Only accessible now in my dreams, Gram waiting patiently for the next dream-visit.
She was always prepared to evacuate quickly in the event of a mudslide, fire, or earthquake. We would get reports that her car was packed and ready to go.
Yes Sierra, I know of it and have been there! There’s a terrific restaurant right there on the beach. When Jac and I used to stay in Malibu we used to go there for lunch.
Louis, get a fire extinguisher for every room–and a big one for the kitchen! Know where you put them! In a big house like yours, you can’t be running around trying to find one in case of a fire. That should be a New Year’s resolution for all of us—including me! I’m going online now to figure out what to buy and where. Money well spent. Also, check your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
Sheila
Sheila
Dear Louis, Wishing you a Happy,Healthy,Peaceful New Year with much joy and many blessings. I have been silent since the end of 2018 when being evacuated for 10 days because of the Woolsey Fire that devastated
Calabasas and Malibu. Shortly after that I became ill, I’m much better now and when I can I have enjoyed checking your blog. Thank you for all you do and for sharing your heart. Although our challenges are different,
your being brave has helped me tremendously. Happy 2020, Love and hugs,Linda
Dear Linda….what a tragedy the fires have been. I have many friends living in Ca…mostly in the LA and Malibu area. Jac and I loved spending Thanksgiving at the Malibu Beach Inn. We took many drives through the canyons and to Calabasas. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to loose everything in a fire. That would be beyond devastating for me. It’s only 4 years ago that my neighbor lost her house, her three young daughters and her parents in a fire on Christmas Eve! It was all over the news. I remember the fireman asking ME IF I KNEW WHERE THERE WAS ANOTHER FIRE HYDRANT!. Ever since then I worry about my house catching on fire with no hydrants near by. You didn’t say if your house was saved?! I hope so. That tension and anxiety is enough for anyone to get sick. I’m happy to hear you are better…….These experiences only prove how very much alike we all are. Take good care of yourself!
Dear Louis.
You and Sheesh are correct, it was Pork (Oscar Polk) who said that line. Somehow I heard Mammy, with her red petticoats rustling muttering those words. This December was the 80th anniversary of the movie.
1939 most wonderful year of the Golden Age of Hollywood!
Elaine
Elaine….when Mammy was rustling her red petticoats she said, “Mr. Rhett you is bad”….LOL
Dear Louis,
May 2020 be a year of of good health and joy for you! Like you, I am overcome by a sense of melancholy when I listen to “Auld Lang Syne.” We mourn what was left behind or those whom we lost in the year that closed.
On an upbeat note, you might find my little story amusing. When I was 16 years old, I wrote for my high school newspaper. One Christmas season Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians were to perform at our small town’s swankiest and grandest hotel, The Francis Scott Key Hotel (which, sadly, is now a residence for the elderly). Guy’s version of “Auld Lang Syne” is the classic most often played. It was his signature song. For some reason, I took it upon myself to call the hotel and asked to be put through to Mr. Lombardo. When he came on the line, I asked if I might interview him for my school’s newspaper. He readily agreed, and a few days later I found myself seated on a settee in the hotels’s lobby, chatting it up with Mr. Lombardo. What a sweet and charming man! Of course, by the late 1950s he was no longer the blazing headliner he once was, but it still came as a surprise to me that he agreed to the interview. His orchestra was billed as having “the sweetest music this side of heaven.” Cornball that I am, I titled my feature story “The Sweetest Guy This Side of Heaven.” He was my first big “get,” as they say. I’ll never forget him.
Dear Louis,
Firstly,I want to wish you a happy, healthy & peaceful New Year.I also want to thank you for your beautiful clothes. They make me feel young & elegant!
As we age we gradually watch the world around us change.People who we’ve come to rely on transition over & leave us behind.I’ve lost too many friends & family members. I worry that I will soon lose the few that I have left. I try to stay positive but it’s difficult.
I understand your profound sense of loss with the passing of Jac.
You seem to be most comfortable at home.I think it’s because Jac is there. You get to create surrounded by your memories which inspire & comfort you.I hope you continue to create & comfort your Linea ladies. You mean the world to us. You don’t just make us pretty clothes.You share with us.You tell us how you feel & allow us to comfort you. By doing this you bring us comfort too.
I hope 2020 brings us all inner peace & happiness!
Dear Evelyn, you are very right when you say I am closest to Jac when I’m at home. Here, Jac is all around me. The further I venture from home the more difficult it is for me. When Jac passed, people with good intentions, through I should sell the house and move into the city. I couldn’t think of a more horrifying thing for me. Why would I ever want to move into a sterile apt that have no memories for me? No I am happiest right where I am.
Thank you for sharing your gifts and your heart with us, Louis — we’re all sending wishes for every new joy and blessing in the year ahead!
Yes, Louis, you were right. It was not Hattie McDaniels, it was the black male house servant, Pork, who said “Askin’ Ain’t Gettin'”. You can Google anything—the clip is all over the internet! Happy New Year!
Sheila
Pork…..I thought that was his name, but I was too lazy to look it up! LOL I just remember he was talk and skinny and his delivery of the line was perfect!
Best Wishes for 2020 to you, Louis, and all the Linea Ladies!!!
Happy New Year Louis! Your post hits home with me. A few days after Christmas, my cockers and I went to my dad’s and we went through a box of old pictures. So many wonderful people no longer with us. Thank goodness for those pictures and memories.
Christmas was crazy for me and I didn’t get to comment on your post, but I hope you had a nice day. And I hope you have a wonderful 2020!!
Good morning Louis and Happy New Year!
It’s a bittersweet time for so many but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the happiness and good cheer you always bring and for sharing your heart with us.
Looking ahead to what the New Year will bring and praying for you good health and happiness.
Fondest regards, Elaine
P.S. That line was said by the wonderful Hattie McDaniels and its so true!
Dear Elaine…..I always thought is was the black slave who said it to Scarlet. She had just given him her father’s pocket watch and he said she was going to need it to pay the taxes on Tara. She said she was going to ask Ashley about getting the money and he replied “askin’ ain’t gettin'”….am I not remembering correctly???????
Louis,
Many blessings to you and Happy New Year to all.
Dear Louis, Wishing you everything good in 2020. Many blessings to you! Jane
Dearest Louis,
I read your post this morning, along with the thoughts from the Linea Ladies. Clearly what you give to the world is so much more than fashion! I too have a spark in my step when I wear your designs! I read your blog faithfully and treasure your new video format. You are simply a gem in my life!
I too have melancholy moments at the holidays, thinking of years past and the people missing. This year I lost it when I saw my mother’s hand writing on a Christmas cookie recipe card. Ah but again, as the other ladies have so eloquently said, these memories are such treasures. As I round into 2020 I am so grateful for you and all that you do. 2019 was a year of big changes; retirement and extraordinary weight loss. It was as if I just shed all the stress of my job. I delight in shopping my back closet now (smaller size, pre-bullying at work). Last night I combined one of your black turtlenecks, a very sparkly vintage cowl neck sequin top and your tuxedo jacket in my new size with jeans and boots for an event with my grandchildren, “Happy Zoo Year”. With over 3 million lights the zoo was a beacon of light. It was a magical night! And you participated in a very big way!! Here’s wishing you peace and love in 2020. I will be nudging you for revival of some past classic designs as I uncover delights in my back closet!
❤️ Susan
What an appropriate message. I remember all we shared with you on your loss just over two years ago. Now, I find I’m repeating with my husband’s death just before Christmas. It’s a bad time of the year to pass, as if there is ever a good time.! Best wishes on the new year.. I enjoy all the clothes , especially for the winter , I’ve accumulated in your line.
Connie
Dear Connie, I am so sorry to hear about your husband’s passing. Yes, Christmas is a very difficult time of year to lose someone you love. As you say, anytime is a terrible time, but when the world is celebrating at the same time, and it’s all about joy, love and having a good time with family and friends, it just will never ever be the same. It’s hard to get into the spirit of celebration when your thoughts are not feeling it…The Holidays for me are something I just have to grin and bare, and wait for them to be over…then you can breath again. Again, I am so so sorry for you and your dear husband…….much love and many prayers, Louis
Louis dear,
I know I’ve been very silent of late, I explained why several months ago.
This has been the most challenging year of my life, and it’s not likely to end well.
I take great comfort in your words and thoughts. You are a ray of light in my life. I hope I am as strong as you (even though you didn’t feel strong) as my husband continues in his battle of this evil disease.
My heartfelt wishes to you for a bright, healthy and happy New Year.
Hugs and love
Dear Judi, I know it takes a great deal of courage to face this ordeal. I also think a dose of denial got me through some tough times. Not that I’m saying that’s a good thing. It’s a coping mechanism…..I’m just being truthful. I always felt I wasn’t doing enough for Jac, and I felt very guilty about that. Jac must have sensed what I was feeling, because she told me she wanted me to know she knew I was there for her in every way possible, and I should never feel “guilty” that I didn’t do enough. She was reading my mind. I know she felt that she had never done enough for her mother which was crazy. No daughter could ever do more for their mother than Jac did. She said that I was her Angel. Those words mean so much to me, and I think of them every day.
Louis, On this poignant night, thanking you for bringing beauty into our lives every day, and sharing your great artistic gifts with the world. May 2020 bring happy times for you and the girls!
I’m with you Louis, I find new year’s Eve very melancholy. Give me Thanksgiving or July 4th any day. Well heck…if we are all talking about 2020…how about a 20 year Linea anniversary event/show at the Q. Other designers have done it, why not you Louis. Just tell us when and where. Can’t blame a girl for asking,right?
Well Jackie, it’s a nice idea…..but……there ‘s a line in “Gone With The Wind” that I have been know to use many many times….it goes like this…….”askin’ ain’t gettin”…….Do you remember that line and who said to to who?
Dear Louis, I wish you a lovely New Year’s Eve and much health, happiness and new memories to make in the new year! I am very reflective this evening and feel determined that I will make each day count this next year. The world just seems to be falling apart some days, but I try to help where I can and think of those who are in war or war-like situations. Goodness shall prevail and we must not become discouraged lest we become numb and do nothing. Every act of kindness, every donation to those in need, every good, lovely and uplifting thought we think or say has reverberations out into the world. Like a pebble thrown in a pond. We need to speak out and defend the weak and vulnerable. I have decided that I am just plain tired of feeling overwhelmed and shocked by the ugliness of the world and I shall get up everyday and do these things! And pray, goodness, lots of prayer is needed!
I guess I am a bit serious tonight and maybe my husband and sons should get back from dropping our oldest off at the airport so I will feel cheerful again! Hmmm, maybe one last piece of pumpkin pie before I embark on a diet detox program tomorrow. That should help!
Hold on to your dear memories. They are gifts to treasure until new ones can be made with loved ones again.
I hope all the LInea Ladies have a lovely New Year. You are such dear women to know! Hugs and love to all!
Happy New Year to you and all of the Linea ladies. Auld lang syne induces melancholy for sure, but we move into the new year with hope, memories and determination. As all of the ladies have said you do bring light to our lives.
Hi Louis
t saw a list on QVCs website that you are celebrating 20 years on QVC in May. Congratulations!!
2000 was a momentous year for me. That was the year Jac and I got married, Feb 3rd, 2000, and yes it is the year I started at QVC…..It was a good year.
Cheers, Louis. You’ve brought light into so many lives. I hope 2020 is kind to you and all the Linea Ladies. A day does not go by that your work doesn’t make my world a little brighter. 💕💕
Louis, Yes, so many memories of loved ones that are gone….sometimes it is difficult, so I try to always make time for those that are still here.
With Linea, I always have the answer to the question ‘what will I wear’ – for every occasion.
Best Wishes for 2020.
Seka.
Happy New Year Louis!! Thanks for all your beautiful designs in clothing & jewelry!
And in saying farewell to 2019 I am so happy you got to say GOODBYE to the QVC studios & HELLO to Chez Louie! I just love your videos & am so grateful for Jennifer, Karen & Kathy…your team that helps it all come together. Cheers to staying home in 2020 & beyond!
Dear Louis, your beautiful words of memories touched my heart and are so true. After being in remission from breast cancer for eleven years, 2017 – 2019 has brought challenges that I have overcome. I look to 2020 as new life (divine health), new beginnings, new love, and new Linea. Louis you have been an inspiration to me and I know many others since I first met you on QVC in your first appearance. What a blessing you are. You are a bright light in my life. When I wear Linea, I feel so beautiful and I feel like I can conquer the world. Thank you for being that bright light in our lives. I lift my cup of tea to you and wish you happiness, joy, love, prosperity, and divine health for the New Year and the many years to come.
Happy New Year also to Jennifer, Cathy, and to all the Linea ladies!
Happy New Year! I wish you a great new year!
Your words touched me, they are so true. As I become older, and more life is behind me than ahead, I find the memories of people and friends flood in more often. But there are more wonderful memories to make–different, but just as wonderful. 2020 holds hope of those new, exciting memories in the making!
I share your feelings. Our memories and every day we live is a blessing. May God Bless You and looking forward to all things Linea! Happy New Year!
Louis, 2019 was a difficult year, so I am grateful to see it’s end. I know it comes with age as our private world gets smaller and smaller but our memories become more bountiful. A mix of joy, sadness, melancholy for what was. But within those memories are the laughs, the joy, the adventures of a treasured time and how life has changed because of the ones who entered it. So visit each one in memory and spend time in the joy of having them once again for a short time.
So 2020 starts anew, all bright, new adventures to be had, new memories to be made and one more year in life. So I wish you joy, love, kindness and the well spring of creativity. You brighten my life and lift it and add to it. Your designs make me feel young and put a bounce in my step and make me feel wonderful and attractive. Your stories bring me to a time when all was bright and life was a true adventure and New York was at it’s best. There is a book in your future if you chose to do so. You are a wonderful writer and story teller and your stories are worth telling………another talent and gift.
Happy New Year Louis!
Reading your blog every morning with my cup of coffee is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I wish you much peace and happiness as we enter into this new decade and I look forward to all the new and beautiful things you have in store for us.
Ginny
Good Morning Louis,
I too feel the same as you. Each year gets a bit harder and I miss those who are no longer here in the physical. I love when I can feel their spirit here with me or when out of the blue I think I can smell their perfume or cologne. But then there are times When I feel alone. But we must remember we are never truly alone. They are always watching over us. I only wish I could hear what they are saying and laugh along with them.
I for one am ready to put 2019 behind me because it was a less than stellar year personally and health wise. Maybe 2019 was like the turbulent teenage years and now we are moving into the 20’s of this century’s youth!!! It will be awesome for us all!!!
I think of you each and every day Louis and pray for you. I know Jac is with you each day guiding you!!!
I raise a cup to you and all of us to a wonderfully happy 2020!!!
Many hugs to you Louis,
Bernadette
BTW… I love the videos and love Karen and C/Kathy!