Mar 13 2023 - Counting the Many Thank You's

 

I wonder if there is a "thank you" count at the Oscars.  I expect that it went into the hundreds of times the phrase was said.  And where is the artificial intelligence with Bing questions?  It should be able to go through the transcript and count them in a few moments.  It turns out that we're not using   it yet - I have to get on a waitlist and get all the notifications from Microsoft about whatever offers they have in mind. I think estimating the thank you's in the hundreds is sufficient. At the same time, it seemed that hearing all those thank-you's started to get repetitive and then they seemed stale after a while.   The news media considered the clothes the highlight of the evening - "the best and boldest fashion of the night".  And the press pictures made it a visual delight.   I did ask the question: was the show boring? The answer was:  "stodgy, overlong, enjoyable, corny and a combination of both genuine pathos and real Hollywood self-satisfaction."  That came from the UK news. Here's another review:  "lukewarm, mostly unsurprising, almost comforting in its very blandness." Being older and having seen so many Oscar Award programs, I have started to wonder if I am just nostalgic for being younger.  I found an Oscar joke that gives a sense of how old I am: What do you call a dream about hosting an award ceremony? The Wizard of Ozcar.  I keep find pictures of the old RBG rock garden spring show.  This is from before the big renovation. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Jan 10 2021 - I look Artificial?

 

There's the same amount of fantasy in Zeon is in Dolly Parton.  There was tremendous coverage of her  with the release of the documentary about her.  One of her oft-repeated lines:  "It is true that I look artificial, but I believe that I'm totally real." I watched the documentary recently.  I only thought I was prepared:  I was stunned.  At 74, she looks  looks fit and trim, on the thin side and perhaps 50 years of age.  Some of my notes to self:  she would need to wear a body suit at her age to look like this, along with a lot of plastic surgery. The documentary emphasizes her appearance over and over again, along with the 1,000 songs she's written.   Typically anything I observe and wonder about has generally been printed in the press: This from USA Today in 2019: Parton is particular about her looks – she revealed a few months ago she sleeps with a full face of makeup in case of emergency – but she's also the first person to poke fun at herself. She told The Guardian in a 2011 interview that "if something is bagging, sagging or dragging, I'll tuck it, suck it or pluck it."  So how long does it take to create that big, bouffant hairdo?  "I wouldn't know, I'm never there," Parton joked. "Are they real?" Dokoupil asked.  They're real expensive," she said with a laugh. "They're real big."  From the Sun (in Britain): Has Dolly Parton had cosmetic surgery? Dolly has had a number of surgeries over the years to enhance her looks. She's had a breast augmentation, breast implants, a brow lift, surgery on her eyelids, a nose job and her chin operated on. Her surgeon Dr John Grossman told the Today show: “She has a generous bosom, which I augmented some years ago. “She’s had her face rejuvenated on a number of occasions, [but] not a full face-lift. The article in nowtolove.com.au rolls through her appearance over the years to reveal her plastic surgery transformations. It is HERE. This isn't a singular story, is it? There are quite a few American celebrities - particularly singers - who have had extensive plastic surgery - take Cher and  Michael Jackson.  There is even an entry in Wikipedia on the health and appearance of Michael Jackson.  There are lists and lists of who has had the most plastic surgery.  One is HERE.  This is the stuff of gossip and tabloids so the scrolling list is endless - like a game show in itself. Here's the start of greeting cards with Millie in them.  The title on this one?  Don't Bite the Hand that Feeds You.  Printable file available on request. Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Dec 7 2020 - Christmas Thank You Notes

 

Since Millie has been taking up my mornings, I am writing the photo of the day post closer to noon.  I might end up with a High Noon quote or I just might schedule it each day. Today's question:  Is it proper etiquette to send thank you cards for Christmas gifts?   Here's the answer from Maralee McKee who is dedicated to helping you become the person you most want to be, particularly when it comes to contemporary etiquette, manners, and so on: You could send a thank you note to everyone who gave you a Christmas gift, but it's not necessary if you thanked them in person. However, there are three persons you really should write an after-Christmas thank you note to. Not only does Maralee McKee, The Etiquette School of America say you could, she says you should, write thank you cards to: 1. Persons who've made a positive impact in your life 2. Persons you work with personally and professionally 3. For any gift you received or party you attended but haven't thanked the person yet. And she instructs us to do it in hand-writing.   That's the tough part: I will have to learn to write again.  It seems odd to have lost a skill within my own lifetime - not any skill, but a daily living skill considered critical. I have lots of Christmas images.  This one is peeling paint on the side of a transport truck at Vineland Research when they were building the big greenhouses.  They are seeking to hybridize tastier winter greenhouse tomatoes.  You can see them in the dumpster - perfect little red tomatoes - hundreds of them.  I've been told to leave them there by one of the researchers who works there.

Thank You Notes - 31 Benefits of Gratitude

It is easy to find templates for writing all sorts of things.  We wanted to write a thank you letter to the Plant Sale volunteers and there are many websites that provide examples and samples. There are many volunteer websites.  It turns out that the thank you letter is the key to success in retaining donors/volunteers and increasing donations.  There were some excellent saying for thank you so here are two thank you cards.  Thanks is a form of gratitude which is an active area of study.  Here's a website happier human  that lists the 31 benefits of gratitude.

Timeline on Gratitude

Do you know what the time limit is on a wedding gift thank you note?  Yes, there's a best before date on these things. The famous Emily Post, now 'The Emily Post Institute' says the following: When should notes be written? Contrary to popular myth, the happy couple does not have a year’s grace period in which to write their notes.  All thank-you notes should be written within three months of the receipt of the gift. Ideally, a response should be written on the day you receive a wedding gift. If that’s not possible, set a daily goal. It’s a lot easier to write three or four notes a day than to have to write a hundred notes in a month after the wedding! Did you ever think of all these questions about the Wedding Thank You Notes? 1. What should we write in our thank-you notes? 2. How much time do we have to send them out after the wedding? 3. Who writes the thank-yous — bride or groom? 4. Do we need to send a thank-you to a guest who didn’t bring a gift? 5. Is it appropriate to send a thank-you with a preprinted message? 6. Should we send thank-you notes to our vendors? The Hallmark Site has many ideas for thank you cards and messages.  I particularly enjoyed their "Warm Closings".  Here they are: A warm closing is like the bow on top of your thank-you message. Choose one of ours or create your own. Warmly, Love, With love, Lots of love, Love always, Much love to you, Love and thanks, Warmest thanks, Beyond grateful, Feeling spoiled, Gratefully, With gratitude, Blessings, God bless, God bless you, God bless you now and always, ThankyouThankyouThankyou,

Canada Blooms - Inspirations of Spring

Canada Blooms was so inspirational last week.  The perennial greenhouse was a delight of flowers, grasses, and fern leaves unfolding.  I took my favourite images and have made a set of greeting cards.  Here they are: