We celebrate Chrisgiving in the Jewell Family. Gaga and Papa Jewell now stay in Floriday through the holidays. Thanksgiving became a dual holiday for us. We love to laugh!

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Elbert Hubbard and The Philistine

In my search for other things, including googling my own last name, I came across Elbert Hubbard and the Roycrofters. I think it's serendipitous that my passion for the Arts and Crafts era was actually lived by a member of the Hubbard clan. Elbert was most known for his writings including Message to Garcia. But it was his commune in East Aurora NY and the hand-hewn furniture made by the residents that have stood the test of time. The Roycroft Shops still sell China and misc items. His philosophy is immortalized in publications like The Philistine. I hope to visit the campus that still operates as an artist community.

So Silly

Silly is a supreme state of being. Silliness systematically triggers one of two responses: giggles or sarcasm. Both are highly regarded in the royal household. Book smart - phooey. Smart alec - bravo! Fart jokes - fits of giggles. Gastro anatomy - fits of yawning. Hence the love of the Sweet Potato Queens. And Saturday Night Live. Maybe there were a few years when it wasn't cool to laugh with the Not Ready for Prime Time Players. But they are funny again. Their website is funny too. You can watch skits! Be sure to watch the emmy-winning ** in a box music video with Justin Timberlake.

Silly is a requirement on NPR's Quiz Show "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me." There are sample questions. Take the quiz and see how well you're tuned in to the world of the absurd!

Mark Your Calendars

Mr. Earl Tackett and Mrs. Sheila Hoover announce the engagement of their daughter Laura Anne Tackett to Daniel Hubbard, both of Shelby Township. Mr. Hubbard is the son of Mrs. Janet Hubbard and the late Malcolm Hubbard. Ms. Tackett and Mr. Hubbard are 2002 graduates of Eisenhower High School and Ms. Tackett is a recent graduate of Central Michigan University. The couple will be continuing their education in Connecticut. Their wedding date is set for August 23, 2008.

The Kids Are Alright!

This is Lauren Conn, she's the girlfriend of our family friend Brian Sims and she's breaking into television with this cable show! You go girl! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2023712687006860109&pr=goog-sl

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

Click on this link

This is the Bill Cowher appearance improvement page. Drag your pointer anywhere on his face. OMG it's hysterical. http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/a/d/ads102/warp.html

Cowher Cowtowed

I've had the hots for former Steelers Coach Bill Cowher since I ran past him at the Thanksgiving Day game in 1998. He was a sexy, gritty football guy. A bunch of us were in the United Way half-time show at the Silverdome and when I caught sight of Cowher, I might have growled. During the next 8 or so seasons, catching a glimpse of him was a Sunday hightlight! I was thrilled when he took his team to the Super Bowl and won, right here in Detroit. I wished I had been there.

That was then, this is now...

What the hell happened to him? Was it the hat? The anger on the field? Did he lighten his hair? NO - he got his teeth hollywooded. Hope you like em billy-boy, changed your image totally! You even talk funny now, like your lips don't fit over the teeth. I won't want to hear your color commentary, it might sound pretty instead of gritty.

Now who will I watch on Sundays, the Lions?

My Sofa on a Saturday Night

ROYAL sofas require regal behavior. Not true in this castle. My sofa has been slept on, wept on, jumped on, **ed on, and last and least of all, sat on. It is 11 feet long and can hold two tall people laying end to end and five very large people playing Wii.

At the far end is prince Dan, next to him is princess-to-be Laura, friend Christina, future groomsman Mike and poopy prince Mike - also best man. At their feet is King Vince, ruling the royal roost. When they left at 11 pm to hit the bar, their litter included beer bottles, controllers, sticky glasses half filled with blue gatorade and rum (blech!), chip crumbs and bottle caps. Think I'm mad? I'm sad. Prince Dan and Laura moved 800 miles away yesterday. This is different than going away to college. They will be back for Christmas (I hope) and next summer for their wedding. But, I think the sofa full of kids days are largely over. I haven't sat in there since Saturday.

UP NORTH

The Queen spent the weekend in Harrison. Some would call it God's country, I say, thank you God for electricity and indoor plumbing. Royal friend Sharon has a cabin down a secluded dirt road. Two nearby houses are inhabited by year-round residents. Most are vacation and hunting cabins that families bought decades ago before air-conditioning. Some still have feeders to lure the white tails and turkeys.

Several species of wildlife were spotted during our three day weekend, including mosquitos. One must have been caught in the queen's shorts because there were four clustered bites at the top of her thigh! After that, not much time was spent outside at night. Also because the royal friend told a story the first night about a bear that had recently visited a neighbor's porch tearing up plants and a hummingbird feeder.

Sharon and I have been friends since 1972, as college freshman roommates. After 35 years we can still talk for hours and have found new things to share. A couple of years ago she got me hooked on scrapbooking! At least one day of our time together is spent shopping at Arnie's, a huge craft store at Houghten Lake. Then we sit and drink and talk and scrap. I completed 8 pages to her 32. She's on a deadline, I'm only doing it for fun.

This year Sharon added a new highlight to the UP NORTH experience. She transformed the little shed behind the cabin into a TIKI HUT! It's the cutest thing! This is her daughter Jenah and boyfriend Scott inside, and Sharon and I outside. We played island music, mostly Jimmy Buffet and drank margaritas and our take on the bay breeze with blueberry vodka! She serves only imported Hawaiian coffee, and always has Bailey's and Kaluha on hand to make the mornings extra special!

7-7-7

July 7, 2007 was the biggest wedding day of the year! Las Vegas chapels expected to marry a couple every few minutes. I was invited to Tricia and Matt's wedding that day. They are a cute couple: Shrek and Pooh. Tricia is my best friend Sandy's niece and I've known her since she was born. I first met Matt through the newspaper when he was a senior in high school. He's a year older than Prince Danny and played O-line in Brandon. The article said his dad made him push a truck uphill for strength training. He's 6-6 and about 300 lbs, played for Michigan and was drafted by the Giants last year. The ceremony was lovely. Dancing at the reception included the Greek circles and the hustle -- and everyone participated -- giant football players and Sandy's 75 year old mom dancing right next to each other! That's why I love weddings.

Adios to the Autos

Adios Autos

We came to Michigan from points east and west
From poverty and oppression
And brought pierogi and pasties and parkas
We came to Michigan where we worshipped without fear.
As perdition became independence.

We came to Michigan from Mississippi
From Memphis and Montgomery
And brought macaroni and Methodists and mittens
We came to Michigan where we were needed for work
As agrarian became industrialization.

When we came to Michigan we lived well
We met and married and bought housesAnd worked and worried and had benefits and babies
We spanked them and spoiled them and spent money on college
As our boomers beget generation next.

When we came to Michigan we were well
And found that contented comes with compensated
Because we were well fed and well clothed and well sheltered
And that was why we came to Michigan in the first place
As pay and perks become pensions.

We are not needed in Michigan now
We have overstayed our welcome
Because we eat sushi with chili dogs
And celebrate Christmas and Kwanza and Chanukah with equal glee
As suburbans and silverados become sonatas and passats

We will move away from Michigan now
And wonder where our children’s children will work
Because they live in blended, bi-hyphened, step-cycled families
And text and type and take-out and multi-task
As we lived in Michigan we were well.

Dog Days of Summer?

Her Royal Highness, The Queen of Royal Cove, had an HHH day. Hazy, Hot, and Humid. Low visibility with temperature and humidity above 85. Cleverly called the "humiture." In the queen's pursuit to practice positive thinking she will extol the virtues of an HHH day:

1. Everyone's hair looks equally bad -- straight or curly -- nothing holds.

2. It's a good day to get dog hair off the car seats -- no static to keep it stuck there.

3. Indoors is better than outdoors -- because air conditioning is lovely.
Adding to the sensual pleasures of the day is the steamy aroma of tar as the queen's royal road was resurfaced yesterday. If this were a scratch and sniff blog the smell would send you to another site. As the day wore on, the temp dropped, the barometer rose, as did the clouds and now the windows are open.

As soon as it gets dark (about 10 pm in this far western region of the eastern daylight savings time zone) the fireworks will begin. The royal province of Ontario is just across the river and international independence day lasts two weeks long. The Royal Hound hates the sound of the fourth of July! He quivers -- all 99 pounds of him -- and hovers and won't go outside. Prince pup Vince will pant and pin his hairy self to her highness for the next three hours.

Best Movies Ever

LAST NIGHT, the American Film Institute released the survey results of the top 100 movies from the last 100 years. Here's the top ten:
10 Wizard of Oz 1939
9 Vertigo 1958
8 Schindler’s List 1993
7 Lawrence of Arabia 1962
6 Gone with the Wind 1939
5 Singing in the Rain 1952
4 Raging Bull 1980
3 Casablanca 1942
2 The Godfather 1972
1 Citizen Kane 1941

The only movie above I haven't seen is Raging Bull. I barely remember Vertigo and Lawrence of Arabia. The other seven are classics that I've seen more than once. Citizen Kane is the only one I studied in college. It was probably ranked the best movie ever made in 1975 too.

The Queen's top ten lists of movie classics include comedies and dramas, and love stories and Wows.

Comedies

1 Ferris Bueller's Day Off
2 Animal House

3 Stripes

4 Blazing Saddles

5 A Christmas Story

6 Ghostbusters

7 Groundhog Day

8 Some Like It Hot

9 Fargo

10 Bull Durham

Dramas

1 The Godfather

2 The Godfather Part II

3 The Player

4 Diner

5 To Kill a Mockingbird

6 Short Cuts

7 Grand Canyon

8 Nashville

9 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

10 The Great Santini

Love Stories

1 Terms of Endearment

2 Officer and a Gentleman

3 Big Chill

4 Steel Magnolias

5 Sleepless in Seattle

6 Hope Floats

7 Serendipity

8 White Christmas

9 The Big Easy

10 Phenomenon

WOWS

1 2001 Space Odyssey

2 Apocalypse Now

3 Pulp Fiction

4 The Women

5 The Grifters
6 Michael
7 Annie Hall

8 Wizard of Oz

9 It's A Wonderful Life

10 Citizen Kane

Sister's Wish Sister

The Queen's sister gifted her with a "Wish Sister" for her birthday. Isn't she cute? The Queen will now need a room for all her Queenly gifts! Wouldn't that be a wonderful wish? Maybe new carpeting, and a paint job for the whole castle could come along with the new queen room? In the new room I will also put some of the art work of Louise Hopson. I found a great piece in downtown Ada, when visiting Mary. I will need to wish for it because it's very expensive. The piece said "In This House We Dance." This one is similar. We dance in this castle!

TWO ON THE SAME DAY?

COINCIDENCE? I don't think so. I had dinner at Andiamo tonight for the Athena Awards. The macomb chamber prez hooked me up. Last time I was there I saw Steve, brother of my next door neighbor in DC. Tonight I was seated at the overflow table. A woman sat down and introduced herself as Dawn. I looked closer at her, asked her leading questions, and finally figured out is was the Dawn whose parents ran the funeral home and were friends with my parents who owned the parts store a block away. She was in a play with me in high school! It was great catching up.

And best of all.... I bought a crown necklace.

Serendipity or Coincidence? You decide.

Coincidences are funny, aren't they? Today in my email was a note from my BF Sandy that she forwarded from her college roommate, Laura, recommending the Sweet Potato Queens Big Ass Novel. I read this just after opening the mail to find a package from MY college roommate, Mary who sent..... you guessed it .... the Sweet Potato Queens Big Ass Novel.

In case you weren't aware, SPQ were the motivation to my becoming a queen. A few years ago I used a picture of an SPQ in one of those online dating sites, in place of my own picture. I had over 1,000 hits to my profile. Once I switched it to a picture of me, I had no hits. Which proves that it pays to be the queen.

Antique Cursive

The queen has decided that cursive is forbidden! Please print or type.

When the queen was in high school, the queen mum made her take "typing." NO said the queen, "I'll never have to type, I'm the queen, I'll have someone do it for me." Well, of course the joke's on the queen! Everyone in the kingdom must now type! From this day forward it shall be called KEYBOARDING. Teaching cursive is a waste of teaching time!

I wonder if teenagers in the Victorian era complained about learning calligraphy? Can you hear them smart-mouthing their mothers: "I'll never use calligraphy, it's so yesterday. All my friends are only taking cursive." Now it's time for cursive to go the way of calligraphy. Weeks are spent teaching cursive instead of keyboarding in elementary schools. Years ago I heard someone on television say "have you ever filled out a job application where it said please use cursive?"

The queen has written!

The Queen is One Year Older

It's the Queen's special day on June 2. All will be hailing the queen at her Royal Cove castle. We're going to have a multi-celebratory day. Prince Dan is engaged; princess in waiting Laura has graduated from CMU; the queen's niece Emily will turn 17 and the Queen's mum and da are married 54 years! Last weekend the Queen and her sisters were in TX to celebrate the 18th birthday and high school graduation of nephew Kevin. Karen's castle is opulent, fit for a king! The queen tried to water ski; but her royal booty stayed in the water so she went tubing instead. The brother-in-law tried to tip the queen to no avail, she hung on tight. Her arms wept the next day.

The Queen Meets Chuck

Me and Chuck Woolery hung out last week. We played a little lingo, love connection, extreme small business makeover. Nice guy! He's now on my top 10 list of celebrities I'd be stranded in the castle with. Today's list includes:

1. John Cusack
2. Richard Gere
3. Tom Selleck
4. Richie Sambora
5. John Travolta
6. George Clooney
7. Scott Foley
8. Bruce Willis
9. Dennis Haysbert
10. Matthew Fox

OOps, forgot Chuck. Oh well, I'll deal with that when the moat rises.

KINDNESS

TheQUEEN is declaring the next decade - for constant acts of kindness. Too many horrible things have been happening in the queen's country. A very young college student had so much hate in him that he murdered more than 30 people at a glance. It's time for us to be kinder. Not saying the queen doesn't occassionally get a bee in her bonnet, but no more taking it out on other people. The queen has said "off with her head" for the last time. Now kiss and make up everybody and spend more time laughing!

Gorgeous Hollywood Men

Men
Sometimes when I'm watching a movie I'll google it to find an actor's name. Yesterday I ran across Tom Selleck and I've decided that he's got my vote for most gorgeous celebrity male over 50. I sent the link to my friends and asked for their votes. We all had different opinions. One picked Richard Gere. He's still as handsome as he was younger, but I just like Tom better. My sister says only Russell Crowe gets her heart racing. But he's too young - only 42. Another friend said, "Don't make me choose - and who cares about age!" and found this:http://www.rollingstone.com/photos/gallery/10225154/hollywood_men/1/ . She added: "I obviously am in need of looking at good looking men!" and found this site:http://movies.toptenreviews.com/actors/list_1955_actor.htmwhere you can get a list of actors born the same year as you. So based on her year, Bruce & Kevin are on her list of men she would go out with if she had to. On that site I found that Dennis Haysbert was born on the exact same day and year that I was. I think he and his co-stars on The Unit are all verrry sexy virile men; but the most gorgeous man on that show is Scott Foley. He was born the year I graduated from high school. Oh man my life is pitiful!

Michigan Weather

Today's temperature reached 76 degrees. We turned off the furnace, threw off our coats and opened all the windows; for a couple of hours. There are no buds on the trees or crocus shoots poking up yet. Neighbors were out - it was good to see them after all these months. Crazy thing is, it will probably snow again this weekend.

Winter started before Thanksgiving last year, it's been mild for most of it. Except February. February was really cold - single digits. You haven't truly experienced a full life until you've experienced a 4 degree day with a clear blue sky as bright as in the tropics, and you can't see your breath because it's crackly dry. Your hair stands up straight when you pull off your knit cap and you have to be careful how you touch things for fear of static electric shock. Pant legs stick to socks like velcro.

Today we had summer weather, with snowdrifts still frozen in the shade. Dogs don't get it. It's hard for them to get a consistent sniff going when there's mud then dry grass then snow.

Queen Me

There's a line in The Sweet Potato Queens that says all women should get a crown and name themselves the queen of something. So I did.

I've always felt regal, probably because I'm the oldest of three sisters. On Saturday mornings I would don my royal apparel, (bedspread cape) and make my little sisters serve me Cocopuffs on a tv tray while we watched cartoons.

Now my friends give me queen stuff like crown ornaments. I even have a "Kiss my Tiara" t-shirt. But I'm not sure over what I reign. Not root vegetables; or any festival. Parades are good though. Marching bands are good too. A parade for the queen of Royal Cove Drive. That works.