Hello Mary Lu

Thanksgiving Day was relatively peaceful. We spent the early part of the day relaxing and watching the National Dog Show on TV. Andy and Teddy enjoyed seeing the dogs strut their stuff and watching John O'Hurley of Dancing with the Stars fame, dance with an Afghan. Years ago Teddy taught Andy how to watch TV, and now I have two confirmed couch potatoes when the dog shows air. Grrr... Don't even think about turning the channel to another station.

Later in the afternoon, we took Dr. Doug's mother to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Jägerhaus German Restaurant in Anaheim. The folks who run Jägerhaus serve an excellent family style meal complete with homemade pumpkin and mincemeat pie. Sitting at the corner of Ball and Hwy 57, they are really in a great spot if you're ever in the neighborhood and need a bite to eat. They're open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just come hungry.

After returning home, I was listening to KABC-AM when the news reported that some stores were going to open at MIDNIGHT! I could hardly believe it, but for kicks we began sorting thru the mountain of ads. CompUSA and a discount mall near Ventura were opening at Midnight. I have always felt badly for the K-Mart employees who had to work Thanksgiving Day, but Jeeze, don't people ever take a day off to actually give thanks? Guess not. Gentlemen and Ladies, let the retail season begin, Walmart opens at 5 AM.

However you can count me out.

I did not see one thing in the ads I needed so badly I was willing to crawl but of bed in the middle of the night, and park my butt in a cold parking lot with several hundred insane LA residents in order to get my "deal." Not one thing. I will be shopping online in order to get what I want at a decent price, without the annual onslaught

I must confess that I did go shopping on Friday, but it was only to JoAnn's and only for 1 hour. I went to snag up a half doz needles for my sewing machine that were 50% off.

Other than that, I started reloading up the newly build (or half-built,) kitchen pantry cabinet in order to get the bins of food out of the living room. As I sit today, we're about 75% done.

Tonight-- we're going to coffee to resume the normal Saturday night tradition.

As I have seen a few more sunsets, it has become my personal tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving by attempting to list what I have to be thankful for in the past year. May be it’s an extension of a family tradition where when all of us were gathered around the family Thanksgiving dinner table, when after saying grace my Grandmother would ask “The Question,” “What is one thing you’re thankful for this year?” Every year as we would go around the table, attempting to pass her muster with an acceptable answer. If she didn’t like your answer, she was not shy about letting you know it, even if it sparked a small debate or two.

Now that I’m older and hopefully a little wiser, I understand that Grandmother’s purpose in asking “The Question” was her idea of a reality check. We lived a pretty good life by most standards, but she never let us ever feel entitled. If she were still alive, this year I’d answer her this way…

Grandma, I’ve learned to try to be thankful each and every day. Composing a list where I “try” to come up with each and everything I should be thankful for is an impossible task for this human being to accomplish. I have learned by trial and error, and more errors than I’d care to admit to you, that gratitude needs to be shown to each and every day. No matter how it is received. Being thankful and expressing it for things large and small, has become engrained in my behavior. And that was probably the point of the lesson you delivered to us every Thanksgiving.

If I were to take your gratitude quiz this year, I’d say I have a lot to be thankful. Not everything has gone my way, but then you taught me I should never expect to always get my way. I’ve tried hard to stay honest, ethical, focused and positive. I’ve even act like a lady, even when the odds have been stacked against me. I think I’ve succeed most of the time. I am very fortunate to have friends and family who truly care about me, through thick and thin, and have generously helped us without objection most of the time. I only hope we’ve been able to return their kindness and good will by being helpful.

This year events like Hurricane Katrina has reminded me that it’s not what things you have, because things don’t make you happy. It’s how you behave and treat others in our daily lives that is more important. I’ve learned to live each day, one at a time and do my best to take it as it comes. You never know when this day is your last. So I intend to try and live life with no regrets, and be grateful for living this way with those I love most.

Here’s wishing you a happy, safe and healthy Thanksgiving with those you love.

Move over Vegas; Palm Springs to premiere Cirque Dreams.

Okay, let's admit it: Vegas has gotten overpriced and over-hyped. Try getting a reasonably priced ticket to a show? Fat chance, because the wanna-be high rollers will make it so tough you'll have to sell your soul to a pitboss, or pawn your first born to see a decent show. What once was a great place to go play and see a show isn't reasonable any more.

Enter Palm Springs.

You would think I lived in Palm Springs, or was one of the towns paid PR people-- I'm not. However I have always loved the PS area, since I was lured to spend several Thankgivings, Christmas and New Years holidays at "The Ranch." I try to go out to the desert at least a couple times a year, to visit the Spa, see friends or a show. And of course I go to shop and have dinner at Tony's. It's a ritual I honestly look forward to reviving.

Beginning next month, Cirque Dreams will debut at the newly constructed Palm Springs Pavilion Theatre sometime after Christmas. Ticket prices will be a reasonable $45 to $59. I can dig that.

The 90-minute family geared performance will be filled with color, dance, acrobatic spectacles spun of silk, loose contortionists, music and light. And the reviews of previous productions have been stellar.

Cirque Dreams will be located in the new 1000-seat tent-like theater where the Desert Fashion Plaza used to be located. The City of Palm Spring has bet $300,000 on loaning Neil Goldberg and Cirque Productions, and Dick Taylor Productions, that the 3 year contracted run of Cirque' will be a winner too. The loan is being paid back by returning $1 of every ticket to the City of Palm Springs.

For more info: sign up at http://www.pspavilion.com/.

MW & Andy 

The LA Times reported yesterday that we have made it to the top of the heap as the Smog Capital of the USA, again. It appears the air quality in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties,including there we live Diamond Bar, has exceeded the federal health standard for more than 2 1/2 months this year.

However in the happiest place on earth has other areas we've hit the number one status:

LA is:
#1. City with the largest under educated population in the USA
#1 in Non-English speaking student population in USA
#1 in Child lead poisoning
#1 with the largest homeless population in the USA
#1 Murders per years
#1 in child poverty
#1 Illegal Alien population
#1 Traffic congestion
#1 Population density
#1 in the fewest freeways per person in the USA

And everyone wonders why we really want to leave LA and California? Sure...