good-bye, Sophia

Estelle Getty, best known for her role as the sarcastic and witty "Sophia Petrillo" on The Golden Girls, passed away earlier this week. I am a big fan of the show, it brought me a lot of joy and laughter during my college and graduate school days (and I needed it!). I think I know every episode by heart.

To honor Estelle, the Lifetime channel will air a Golden Girls mini-marathon (10 episodes) on Friday, July 25 from 12 noon til 5:00 pm EST (7/25 just happens to be Estelle's birthday, too). It will include an on-air tribute to her, and all of the episodes will showcase her character. Fans can vote for the final episode on this webpage.

A little trivia.....did you know that Sophia (Estelle) was actually younger than her on-air daughter, Dorothy (Bea Arthur)? Before each episode taping, she had to spend 45 minutes with a make-up artist to make her look her role's age in the show. (By the way, I read that Bea Arthur hates cheesecake, go figure!)

Off-air, Bea, Betty and Rue are active animal rights advocates. Thanks, girls! You are golden.

the Olympic host country

The Summer Olympics begin on 08.08.08 in Beijing. The event represents that countries can put politics aside to come together in peace so that their athletes can compete. How wonderful that is!
But protests about China, the host country, have been numerous in the weeks leading up to the Opening Ceremonies, particularly for their notorious human rights abuses. No doubt, these issues demand attention. But in my constant quest to bring attention to the plight of suffering animals, who have no voice to protest their abuses, I'm joining with PETA to raise awareness of China's barbaric dog and cat fur industry. I'll leave the horrific details of it to your imagination.....but please take a moment to SIGN A PLEDGE to never buy or wear fur, as several of the Olympic athletes already have. This simple act is changing minds, consumer habits, and ultimately the welfare of animals worldwide. Evidence includes the promise by leading fashion designers -- including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren & Ann Taylor -- to adopt permanent fur-free policies.

Thank you!

Mamma Mia, Meryl !

Hi everyone, how was your weekend?

Sal and I enjoyed going to the movies; he saw The Dark Knight and I went to Mamma Mia!. Both were great flicks, Sal seemed to enjoy all of the action in TDK, but the plot was indeed dark, and intense. Mamma Mia! was fun! Meryl Streep did a great job of singing, dancing and acting, although she was just a little off-tune in 1 or 2 songs. And, despite the unrealistic and simple plot, the film has a lot of energy and is entertaining. A couple of the scenes had me grinning, they were so much fun to watch.

Have a great week.....

it's Leah's special day!

Happy Birthday to my niece, Leah! She lives in Gulfport, Florida.

She turns 8 today...

Have a fun day, Leah!

Love,

Aunt Susan, Uncle Sal, Buddy & Aruba

UPDATE & what we can do

("please protect me!")

As an update to my post earlier this afternoon:

The People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights organization, has issued an urgent action alert.....it enables you to send an online, pre-written letter (that you may revise, if you wish) to an Army Chief of Staff (a Colonel) and the Army's Public Affairs Officer (a Major).

Thank you!

military intelligence?

I'm absolutely sick over this.....

With all of our so-called human/advanced intelligence, the US Army can't come up with a humane alternative to this cruelty that they call training???

Army to Shoot Live Pigs for Medical Drill

Consider how humans value one living thing over another. There's no doubt in my mind that if the Army were using dogs or cats in this despicable "exercise" that the public would be outraged, yet other animals --- pigs in this case --- are somehow fair game. I suppose in the minds of most, it's a simple equation: pigs = bacon + sausage. My math is different: animals = a right to a cruelty-free life + sentient beings who comprehend their suffering.

holy musicals Batman, it's movie night!

Hey everyone & happy Friday!

I've been waiting all week for the movie Momma Mia! to open, and today's the day! Sal has absolutely no interest in seeing it (he's not a fan of musicals), so instead he'll be in the theater next door watching the new Batman flick, The Dark Knight. These movies are so popular (TDK has opened to rave reviews!), and since it's opening night, we already bought our tickets online for tonight's shows.

I'll meet you back here over the weekend to let you know what we thought of them.

Enjoy the weekend! :-)

weekend fun

Hi everyone, hope you enjoyed the weekend. Sal and I had a fun day at the beach on Saturday, the weather was great and the water was warm & clear. We went out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Buca di Beppo. It's also near a scrapbook store, so I stopped in and fell in love with K & Company's new Sea Glass collection. So pretty!

On Sunday, we joined some friends for brunch in downtown Delray Beach, then went with them for a stroll through Wakodahatchee Wetlands. Love it there! It has become one of my favorite local places.

This week I'm really looking forward to the release of Mamma Mia!, the movie adaptation of the wildly popular broadway musical. Looks like fun! Anyone else plan to see it?

Have a great week.....I'll catch you back here again soon!

it's Gina's special day!

Happy Birthday to my niece, Gina, in Philadelphia!

She turns 9 today...

Have a fun day, Gina!



Love,
Aunt Susan, Uncle Sal, Buddy & Aruba

.....gal pals.....

Today I met Barbara for lunch.....she and I are practically neighbors (she lives in Boca Raton, just a few miles south of me), but we "met" online through the message board for Creative Escape, a scrapbooking retreat in Arizona that we're both attending in September! How cool is that???

Thanks, Barbara.....it was so great to meet you and get acquainted! :-) See you again soon for lunch in Delray Beach!

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July! It's that special summer day.....

have a picnic
play at the beach
eat some watermelon
go see fireworks
celebrate freedom and remember our troops


.....enjoy the holiday everyone!

this commercial "ROCKS" !

Sal and I absolutely love this TV commercial.....it's so poetic, profound.....and the music is haunting.....



It originally aired back around 2002, but they've brought it back. I did a little research.....the music is an adaptation of a song called Yumeji's Theme from the soundtrack of a 2000 movie called In The Mood For Love.

P.S. ~ Happy July everyone! Can you believe that 2008 is half over already???