Pic Of The Day - 11.11.15 - I Had Some Dreams There Were Clouds In My Coffee

Well, not really but I did have a dream that included this coffee mug and my friend Lauren. No big deal you say, well...

I was in Sydney around this time in 2002 and purchased this mug. Now THAT is a big deal.

Pic Of The Day - 08.12.15 - I Know Who You Are And I Saw What You Did

I was not allowed to post anything on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. I couldn't tell anybody what I was doing at la griglia. People saw me. People know what I did. However, they were sworn to the same secrecy. That's all I can say.

Some days I live an undercover life. I should be a spy. And nobody does it better.

Pic Of The Day - 01.01.15 - And We're Off!

So...if you read yesterday's post, you will recall that my inspiration for this Pic Of The Day project was inspired by Carly Simon. For 2014, I was about 98% successful in documenting the year. And, I'm going to it another shot.

So...this is the first Pic Of The Day for 2015.

This is a pot of jambalaya. It's a tradition that I started a few years ago on the first day of the year; make a pot of jambalaya. I tried making posole but I've never been able to nail the consistency of the broth and the spices like my dad and paternal grandmother could make. I've nailed the jambalaya so in the spirit of stick with what you know, I'm sticking with the jambalaya.

I didn't spend all day in the apartment. I did get out and go to Starbucks, Walmart, HEB and to an afternoon party. I still have plenty of unpacking to do and a bunch of laundry, so guess what I'll be doing this weekend!

How I Spent My Day

I needed someone to get back with me today and I had hoped for sooner than later. It happened later...and I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining because it was that they got back with me. However, it meant not getting some stuff done because I didn't want to be in the middle of something when the phone rang. I kept thinking that with my luck I'd be peeing and the call would come.

Anywho...at one point I found myself singing this song:

Sentimental Sunday

Former Houstonian & Now Bostonian Greg has been in town with Sean. The Fabulous Miss Jolie Shay (TFMJS) had a small dinner party on Friday night so that some of us could spend some time with the boys.

I took them to IAH this morning for their return flight to BOS. It was a beautiful day to be outside so I loaded up The Cal Mobile with The Calvinator and off we went. I changed out the cds in The Cal Mobile and put in some compilations that I made. They are a part of The Contessa Collection.

• Contessa Without A Country
• Cocktails For Two: The Contessa Has A Guest
• The Contessa Needs Another Cocktail

This whole collection was inspired after spending a few days with Calgary Ken in Calgary. You see...

Several years ago when I went to visit Calgary Ken, Calgary Ken made a wonderful dinner for a few of us. The plan was to go out after dinner and visit a few clubs. Well...one bottle of wine lead to another and then we each started going through his cd collection and playing one song that we liked and one song lead to another and well...

I remember waking up under the dining room table and Ken was next to me. Brian and Joe had gone to bed at some point. Ken was out of wine; his cd collection was a mess.

So I listened to these songs today while driving around and taking The Calvinator to Memorial Park. There are a few songs that I just really *heart* that are a part of The Contessa Collection.

The first one is You're So Vain by Carly Simon. I did change the words one night for AttyHou. Instead of You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavot... I changed it to You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself go by... because he did. He actually had two eyes in the mirror as he flexed in the mirror of a hotel foyer.


Then there is The Way Of Love. Kaye Sedilla keeps saying that if she ever does a cabaret show full of torch songs this will definitely be on the bill. In this video, Cher looks flawless and she really shows her range.

There are too many songs to list but others include: Being Boring; Something Stupid; When October Goes; Kissing A Fool; Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters. Quite an eclectic collection of music.

While I'm on the subject of music...

Did you see Tina Turner with Beyonce on The Grammy Awards? Of course they were introduced by Cher! Does it get any better than that? Beyonce and Tina performed Proud Mary. Tina wasn't moving as fast as she normally does but that's ok. She was still in her stiletto heels!

The last time I saw Tina perform live was in October of 2000. She performed at the place that is now Lakewood Church formerly known as Compaq Center. She did an outstanding performance. That night Joe Cocker was her opening act. No one around me knew anything about Joe Cocker so I finally said, "Do you remember the opening song from Wonder Years? That was him!" Young ones I tell ya!

OK. Back to Sentimental Sunday. I reconnected with a couple of West Coast friends this past week. We had lost touch for awhile. If the writer's strike ever ends, one of them will be back on the telly.

Also ran into Midtown/Montrose David at Memorial Park on Saturday. So it was a good week to catch up with friends.