JIM CUDDY

Oh it was a great night last night...and he sang for two hours. What an extraordinary voice Jim Cuddy has. His mellow sounds, the way he looked in his tight jeans, "Karen you picked a bad week to go to Las Vegas". But no worries, I took enough pictures of him so when you come back, you  will have something to look at.

I went with a friend of mine to the concert last night. During the day we are professional people who work hard and are well composed, but let me tell you, last night my friend was hootin' and hollerin', everyone would have heard her. To say she got a bit excited is an understatement. She was over the top with excitement. I think the song "Try" did it for her.  I too enjoyed Jim Cuddy (from Blue Rodeo). His voice does not crack or ever hit a wrong note. It didn't even sound strained or tired after two hours of singing. Now that secret I would like to know....

His whole band was great. The violin player was extraordinary. She played so hard during one song that her bow was fraying. You can tell that they enjoy playing together night after night. They seemed more like family having a great time jamming in their rec room (kind of what my family does) than a band who was out on stage to entertain us. He performed a lot of his new songs on his latest CD but not to leave us disappointed, he performed a few of his Blue Rodeo songs. Although I liked his new stuff, it's the old Blue Rodeo songs that I love the best.

RICHARD MARX AND MATT SCANNELL

Tonight I have the pleasure of going to see Jim Cuddy perform without his Blue Rodeo band. A true Canadian favourite, I am sure he will be everything I am expecting him to be and won't disappoint.

A little while ago I was able to see one of my favourite singers and guitar players, Richard Marx. Although still as cute as ever, he is a little older and has mellowed a bit. With his latest CD with Matt Scannell, called Duo, both he and Matt sang some of the songs we all remembered and some new ones. Matt hails from the band Vertical Horizon. Singing Everything You Want, Right Here Waiting, and Endless Summer Nights brought back a lot of memories for me (all good ones though). It amazes me that a song can induce so much memory and bring us back to a specific time in our lives and make us remember exactly how we felt then or who we were with. The whole night was full of a lot of good memories, good music, and good entertainment with two great guys.

ACADEMY AWARDS PARTY 2012

For the past, let's see ...let me count the years - maybe 10 or so, my friend has held an Academy awards party every year at her home when the the award presentation takes place. With a signature drink to start off the evening, plenty of food and appetizers,  the chocolate fountain flowing, wine and drinks, we show up to watch the awards show, gaze at the beautiful dresses the celebrities are wearing, and cheer on our favourite movie or celebrity. As well, throughout the night there is a lot of conversation as we mingle with some of the people we haven't seen in some time, all while we keep track of who is winning or who is up for an award. She graciously opens her home to her friends (we actually pretty well take over the place).

Since the two of us go to the Toronto Film Festival each year in September, we usually have a lot of pictures of some of the celebrities we have met and/or seen and display these as well as those from previous years. It brings back that same excitement we had during the whole celebration of the film festival as well as some of the parties we were fortunate to attend where we can rub elbows with some of those we can only dream of.




Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt


But this year....what happened? Somehow dates got crossed, schedules got shifted and during the Academy Awards presentation this year my friend will be out of town. (She will be on her winter ski trip). Not to miss out on having some kind of an awards party, my friend has decided to do a pre Academy Awards party on February 11th, 2012. Now what  can go wrong with this plan? Well, nothing actually other than I will be out of town this time on my Paris/Venice trip, so now I will be missing the pre party. Everything will go on as usual - the food, the drinks, the pictures of celebrities, and the conversation, but she will be screening a couple of movies that are up for awards instead of watching the red carpet and the awards presentation. In my own way, I will be present for her celebration. I will miss sitting on the couch talking to Lynn, telling our stories of the movies we saw, the celebrities we met, and the parties we were at.




George



They will hear about us being at the same party as Bono at La Terrassse and how we were having drinks at the back patio bar at the Ritz Calrton when George Clooney and Ryan Gosling arrived to have their Ides of March after party there as well, meeting Jimmy Kimmel in the streets, seeing Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt, or getting a surprise invite to the Hello Magazine Party (back at the Ritz again) from our TIFF friends in Toronto, Julie and Andrea. And to top off the evening after the Hello Magazine party, the four of us girls had a late night supper (we cannot live on chocolate and wine alone contrary to what you may think) at Toca's upstairs in the Ritz. And who sits right next to our table at 11:30 at night? Only the incredible Kiefer Sutherland (who I think was wondering why the four of us women were having so much fun). So the show must go on...with or without either one of us. My bet is on George Clooney to win...at least something...because I do believe it is his year...For best dressed, most handsome...



The two of us with Jimmy Kimmel





Ryan and his mom



Keira Knightley

PARIS AND VENICE...HERE I COME

So I am getting pretty excited for my next travel adventure to come around. In a few weeks I am heading for Paris where I will meet up with a cousin who will be travelling from New York. Together the two of us are going to enjoy Paris, do some sight seeing, shop, check out the Mona Lisa at the Louvre (can't wait for this one), see the Eiffel Tower, shop (did I already say that one?), and everything else we can do that won't get us into too much trouble. I am packing light - except for a cape and mask (I'll get to that part of the trip in a bit). I want to make sure I have a lot of room for my purchases because shopping is a must and we are going to be in Paris when the sales are on. We will actually be in Paris for Valentine's Day - how romantic - the two of us girls sipping wine (no make that Grand Marnier) while cruising down the Rhine River (not quite the picture I had in mind, but it will have to do for now). Maybe we might meet some local Parisians...make the evening a little more exciting. Anyway, back to my adventure.

Here we will stay before travelling from Paris to Venice by overnight train. Although my cousin has taken the overnight trains before, I haven't. So, this will be a first for me. I hear sometimes you're sleeping with others in your compartment (once again, this is going to be interesting).

When we get to Venice is where the big adventure starts. We have booked a package for the Venice Carnival with the whole experience of what goes on during the carnival with costumes, balls, parades, gondola rides in costumes, cape and mask parties, etc. This is what I am most excited about - not to say that Paris isn't exciting, but this is a chance in a lifetime. Very few people actually experience carnival or get to go to the balls in full costume, and this has been on my wish list for many years, as it has been on my cousin's.  In Venice we will meet up with three other girls (flying in from the U.S.) who are also doing the Venice carnival experience but then they will be heading to Rome for the rest of their trip while I fly back to go Canada and my cousin will fly back to New York.

This is the costume I have been fitted for and will be wearing



My cape to go with the masks I have purchased



I am looking forward to a lot of laughs and a lot of fun on this trip. If you have ever met my cousin Lucy from New York, you know that fun and laughs are going to be the mainstay of this trip.



Lucy and me in New York

So stay tuned to our adventures as we embark on planes, trains, and automobiles, with  gondolas, boats, and whatever else we will be riding in.

COLOSSEUM

My favourite structure of all times is the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. No matter how many times I end up in Rome, there isn't a day that I miss seeing this beautiful building. It's the first place I head to as soon as I get there. You can sit outside for hours on end. If you get too hot, that's okay, the outdoor vendor close by sells cold water, sodas, and beer. You can grab a drink (yes even a beer) and sit and drink it  while watching the tourists as they make their way in and out of the building or catching a couple taking their wedding pictures amongst this beautiful building. Who said people only get married on Saturday? No matter what day it is in the summer, you can usually catch a glimpse of at least two or three couples each day as they pose with the Colosseum in the background.

If you happen to go to the Colosseum at night time, it is lit up and there are just as many people then as during the daytime. This is a good rest stop during a busy night. Although you will find outdoor vendors trying to sell you scarves, sun umbrellas, or some type of toy you don't really need, if you say "no grazie",  they usually get the hint and go on to someone else.

If you plan to go into the Colosseum, try going in the afternoon - around 2 is good. The line to get in is shorter in the afternoon as compared to the morning so you won't have to wait as long.  It costs 12 Euros to get in and this ticket includes entrance into the Palatine and the Roman Forum as well.The ticket is good for two days to get into all three sites. It is well worth the money. You do a lot of walking and climbing in the Colosseum but the view inside is spectacular.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROL

Well I think it is going to be a pretty interesting year for me....It has started with just that. Last night I hosted the first cyber surprise 50th birthday party ever. Can you believe technology today?

We were all ready to surprise a friend and colleague when she came down with the stomach flu. With food made, the cake ordered, and guests arriving, there was no way to cancel, so we improvised a bit. We set up the laptop with a funny picture of our friend (It's a good thing she didn't see that - she would have been horrified). Amid the eating, drinking,  and chatting and before we lit the candles and sang "happy birthday", we put our friend on speaker phone in the middle of the table and felt like she was right there with us. We spoke to her for a bit. She made a wish, and we blew out the candles for her.

If ever the saying "what are friends for?" was true, then it was last night. Even without her presence with us, we all had a good time and she was always in our thoughts. To think - she brought us all together without even being here. What an unusual evening - but one I would never have missed. I am pretty sure we will remember this  (as will she) in years to come - say when she turns 60? maybe?

Happy birthday Carol.

HAPPY NEW YEAR....AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Today is the start of a new year....2012. Hopefully, for me, and for everyone else, this will be a good year with new adventures and good health. I don't make new year resolutions like exercise more, diet, spend more time with the family, etc., because these things should always be in our lives. Instead, my resolutions are to laugh more, love more, live more, travel more, take more time off, and live each day to make that day count. So again, these are my resolutions for 2012.

As well, today is Bill Simpson's birthday....and you say who is Bill Simpson? He is my brother's father-in-law ....my sister-in-law's dad. He would always come up from Toronto to celebrate Christmas here in North Bay and spend New Years here as well where we always had a birthday party to celebrate. Today he celebrates 90 years of age and will be celebrating in Toronto. So since I can't be there, I wish Bill a very Happy 90th Birthday and many, many more.

So I hope everyone isn't too hungover this morning and had a safe New Years. As per our tradition, we have a big family dinner once again this evening which will be at my parents' place. And if  the Juniors are playing, we will definitely be watching that today. As for football, well that comes after the hockey.

Happy New Year everyone! Best wishes for the coming new year.

My dad and Bill Simpson, "Happy 90th Birthday Bill"