Important Addendum to my earlier post of Sept. 11...

At this moment, I am watching the History Channel and re-living the horror of September 11.

And I am ashamed that I neglected to think of sharing this on today's post:
One of my best friends (from high school), Kathy -- her husband, Vinny, was a NYC firefighter at the time of 9/11 -- and I remember, afterwards, Vinny telling me that he was AT THE SCENE of 9/11, when the buildings FELL... He said that he and his fellow firefighters arrived (from another NYC borough) just as the BLAST OF DEBRIS AND BLINDING SMOKE came upon everyone from the fallen tower, and he said that as the civilians were RUNNING from the scene, it was their JOB that he and his fellow firefighters were running TOWARDS the Towers. He shared with me his grief and "GUILT" that he couldn't save his comrades, who were already in the Tower(s) nor save the WTC employees/workers; all who had been trapped and couldn't get out, and soon to be known as "fallen..."

After watching the tapes tonight, right NOW, on the History Channel, I regret NOT making this the major part of my blog earlier today... To have known someone who was THERE with his NY Fire Department -- even though there was NOTHING that he, or his fellow fireman could do -- I am honored to have heard his first-hand experiences to me all those years ago...

My hat is off to Vinny and his fellow firefighters in his Company (I'm sorry--sadly, I don't remember his company's number). And I know that all of our respect is for Vinny and ALL of the FDNY men and women who were there that day -- those who survived, those who sadly did NOT -- and I am also sure everyone reading this feels the same way today, as we did years ago, still feeling sincere gratitude.

We thank you, Vinny, and your fellow NYC firefighters. And I also thank anyone who is reading this and sharing this with me.

Gloria

9/11 Anniversary --- Remembering the Twin Towers

This post is dedicated today in memory of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Being a born and bred Brooklyn, New Yorker, this broke my heart. I was already living in Connecticut in 2001, but it was as if I were right there when it happened. It was horrific. I remember being in work when I heard a co-worker say in the hallway that a plane flew into the World Trade Center. I didn't believe her and went on with my work. Then all hell broke loose. It was true. We all gathered in a conference room to watch what was happening on TV as it unfolded. What a terrible day... My heart goes out to all of the families of the people who died that day who worked in the buildings, and to the firefighters and other workers who gave their lives that day. The History Channel is having memorial shows this weekend so, if you are interested, please remember to watch.

I was NOT going to include pictures such as the ones below -- it breaks my heart to see them. But they must go with this memoriam. It is the tragic reality, after all...

The picture of the three NYC Fireman, raising the flag, seen around the world:

NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani on the scene that day:

The sad cleanup of the fallen Twin Towers begins:

President George Bush and NYC Firefighter Bob Beckwith:

And now, I would like to leave you with some beautiful and memorable pictures of the World Trade Center...

Top of 1 World Trade Center, October 2000:

Lobby picture inside one of the towers:

Beautiful shot with the Statue of Liberty:

Please let's all remember the people who were lost on 9/11 and pray for their families...

Thank you for sharing this memorial post with me.

Best regards,

Gloria

Note: thanks go to the internet/google search for the photos.

My "Polls"

Hi there! Those of you who look at this blog might have seen on my right side-bar that I have started "Polls" -- my first was asking if you all were looking forward to the Fall, or if you will miss the Summer. For the few who took the poll, most answered that they were looking forward to Fall and the cool weather; I think one wanted to keep the Summer/hot weather. (Merri??) This week's poll was COLOR PREFERENCES. I received six votes, but 8 opinions (due to the fact that one may choose multiple answers). The stats were: 50% (3 people) liked PASTEL colors; 33% (2 people) liked BRIGHT colors; 33% (2 people) liked DARK, and 16% (1 person) preferred WHITE/BEIGE (my blog-friend Merri again?? LOL!).

So I just wanted to say thanks for voting in the poll. I find it so interesting to know what others like out there!! I will be putting up another one for this week -- I have to decide exacting what I want to ask. :)

P.S. EVEN IF YOU DON'T LEAVE A COMMENT, PLEASE PARTICIPATE WITH YOUR VOTE IN THE POLL!!!!

Thanks, all.

Best,

Gloria

My Flower Girl Tassel

Greetings! I wanted to show you the BEAUTIFUL tassel that I purchased recently from Angela at The Tassel House on Etsy. Here are some pictures. As you can see, it is an adorable little flower girl. The colors are gorgeous and I love it so much! She is residing in my kitchen as we speak. If you'd like to see all of the other tassels available from The Tassel House, just click HERE to enjoy all of Angela's creations!


More photos:


Take care, have a good rest of the long weekend and,
Happy Labor Day!

Hooray! I am getting new dishes!

All of you lovely people, please go and visit Bill at Affordable Accoutrements. I am going to be his heir! (I think) He's serious! (I think) Bill has such beautiful tablescapes, and I am always complimenting him, plus bugging him to adopt me so that I can get all his stuff! So he may do it (I think) because he even mentioned me on his blog. I'd better make some place in my house for my new stuff!

Again, click here to go visit Bill and pick out your own stuff. He's very generous. (And handsome too!)

Best,
Gloria

I won!!!

Hooray!! I won, I won, I won! This is my first blog give-away win! Thanks go to Pixie at Penny Pinching Pixie Reviews and Giveways! Considering WHAT I won, I think the "powers that be" are trying to tell me to eat more yogurt and cut out the Five Guys!! :)

Here's my Prize:Prize package includes an insulated carry tote and a roll-up fleece picnic blanket and a coupon to try Yoplait Splitz free.

Thank you again to Pixie! She has a lot more giveaways planned, so don't forget to visit her blog when you get a chance.

Best regards,

Gloria

Five Guys!

Have you heard of Five Guys? If you have, do you LOVE Five Guys?? Oh my goodness, my son went out and got this for us for dinner last night. We have had Five Guys burgers and fries many, many times since we discovered it. Mine from our dinner yesterday is below. It is a cheeseburger (double!) with bacon and grilled onions. That's my favorite. And their fries? Delicious!

Let me explain though: if you order a "hamburger" then you will immediately get a double burger. If you just want a single hamburger on a bun, then you have to ask for a "Little Hamburger." When they first came to our area, we didn't know what the heck it was. My son said to me, "Oh, I wonder what that is over there - Five Guys?" I said, "Oh, it's probably some garage/car repair place." This is because it was on top of a hill, and we couldn't see the outside directly, just saw the sign. THEN, we had to go to another state to find out what it was! We were visiting my cousin and, as we were driving home, through Queens, NY, he yelled: "Hey! There's a Five Guys! It's a burger and fries place!!" I was like: "What???!! Oh man, we gotta try it out when we get back home." When we did, I just fell in love. (Yes, I know it is quite pathetic for a grown woman to be in love with a fast food item.) But, trust me, if you have one of these, I think you will be in love with Five Guys too. :)

Best,

Gloria P.S. They also have grilled hot dogs!!!

GORGEOUS QUILT GIVE-AWAY!

I just became a new Follower of Cecily at Craftopotamus. The wonderful thing is that she is having a Giveaway of a brand new quilt that she just hand-crafted! Cecily has named the quilt: Over the Garden Gate. It is gorgeous!

Look at it from this angle!

Even FOLDED it is pretty!
Isn't it spectacular?? So if you would like a chance at winning this stunning quilt, head on over to Cecily's blog, and enter, as she calls it, her "Quiltaway!!" http://www.craftopotamus.blogspot.com/

Best regards and good luck!
Gloria

One More Walk Down Memory Lane

Please allow me one more walk down Memory Lane... OK, so how many of you were also in love with this boy below when you were a young girl?

Oh my goodness... David Cassidy. I cannot tell you how in love I was with David Cassidy. I went to his concert at Madison Square Garden (remember, I lived in Brooklyn at the time). I was about 13 at the time. I remember as he was getting ready to come out on the stage, the lights were going crazy, the girls were SCREAMING, and my friend/cousin, Laurie, and I were just sitting there, speechless, on the edge of our seats, waiting for "HIM" to come out on stage. And when he did? I remember that I got all choked-up and I just wanted to burst out crying. The girls were screaming so loud, he couldn't even be heard singing...

I used to buy Tiger Beat (a teen magazine) and would collect all the ones with David and just pour over them every day. I just knew that someday he would meet me and he would see me and fall in love with me.
~~~~~~

I watched every single episode of The Partridge Family and bought every one of his albums. Well gee, I had to, since I was going to marry him one day!!

Then I grew up a little and discovered "real" boys when I was 15, and my first boyfriend, Robby, made me forget David. :)

Then, when I was in my 20's, he came on Broadway in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." One of my best friends in the world, Tricia, called to tell me and she wanted to go. So I said, "Yeah, OK." (Since I was out of love with David by that time - thank goodness, otherwise people would REALLY have had to worry about me.) Anyway, Tricia got us front row seats. I don't know how she did it. And at one point in the show, he actually came down, singing, and walked in front of the first row, him singing with women shaking his hand or him grabbing you by the shoulders. Which is what he did to me. And I must say, I did get a thrill. Yes, I admit it. Here was my David, grabbing me! He was actually pretty good in the play.

Well, thank you for letting me indulge in this early teenage memory. It was fun reminiscing!

Have a great weekend!

Gloria (a.k.a. Mrs. David Cassidy)

THE RAT PACK - from the 60's/early 70's...

I just had a conversation last night with my 19 year old and, I honestly don't even remember what we were talking about (neither did he, when I went back to question him, so it's not my age, OR... maybe he just wasn't paying much attention to his mother??), but whatever we WERE talking about, I then started imitating Sammy Davis, Jr. singing (like he did, out of the corner of his mouth): "Candyman" and he got a little ALARMED saying, "What the heck is that???!!" So I was like: "Oh my God! You never heard of Sammy Davis, Jr., I never told you about THE RAT PACK???!!!!" (Even though the "Candyman song was after the Rat Pack time.) And I then named the Rat Pack: Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. So he said, "Oh, yeah! I saw the commercials for the Dean Martin Show DVD's -- let's get them!" So I said that YES, we should.

I remember watching the Dean Martin show when I was little. Do you?? Or are you too young?? If you do, remember the "Golddigger Girls" ?? -- they were TAME compared to the girls on TV shows out there now. But Dean was just the epitome of "the cool cat" - wasn't he?? He was just so handsome and cool. I remember him smoking on air, and drinking his "drink" -- something on the rocks, maybe bourbon or scotch. I was telling this to my son and he said, "Wow, we wouldn't see that now-a-days! Now it's all a PG world." And I said: "You're right! But you know what? That was entertainment, the "movie stars" and NOW, there might be PG stuff, but then you also have the commercials for "Girls Gone Wild." (Which totally disgusts me, FYI. These are someone's daughters!) As I said to my son: There seems to be no in-between now. It's either wholesome or totally not acceptable -- it's an affront to the good values of well-rounded families.
Sooooooo, anyway, I just wanted to post this, to see if anyone else remembers the "Cool Cats" -- Dean and Frank and Sammy... I know there were others involved in the Rat Pack: like Peter Lawford (who was handsome too!) and Joey Bishop (who was VERY funny!!) -- but I was concentrating on the Top 3: Again - Dean, Frank, and Sammy. Oh, weren't those the times???!!!!
Here's some pics from the internet to remind you:

(P.S. Look at them, with the cigs!!)

Best,
Gloria