Last night we watched MONK and were SO surprised and happy to see our friend, Greg Jbara in a featured role! He’s the guy whose house we went to in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve! We first met Greg when we went to see DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS on Broadway. He played the French “bodyguard/ assistant” Andre, the third male lead. I knew of him, because in 1986 he starred in a campy musical our late friend, Dick Gallagher, wrote called “Have I Got A Girl For You! The Frankenstein Musical.”
Yes, there were several Frankenstein musicals before YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. It was really funny, too! Greg played Frankenstein’s monster and he has always said it was the first big break he got and he was eternally grateful to Dick.
If you’d like to read more about how Mary Shelley’s character has inspired stage and musical versions, click here: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/111747.html
Anyway, Greg was great in MONK! He’s also starring in a long commercial for some medication where he’s wearing a blue shirt and he dances with a woman. I’m sure you’ve seen it – it’s for cholesterol medication, I think.
After MONK, we watched the rest of LAST COMIC STANDING to see which 5 would be at the finale next week. I’ve been voting for ILIZA SCHLESINGER, because I thought she was really great, but all five of the comics really have something special. MARCUS is great, because he does a lot of impressions, which really adds to his humor. I also like his delivery. Anyway, we’re looking forward to another big Reality TV Show Finale next week!
We started watching LENO, but we were both tired, so we shut off the TV. I was really looking forward to sleeping in this morning, so you can imagine my disappointment when I woke up and it was only 6:00am. I went to the bathroom and tried to fall back to sleep, but it was just impossible (as usual), so I got up and started reading my book, and then working on the computer.
I’m also working on another “arts and crafts” project for my ex-boss at the firm. He likes the way I make labels for file folders and pendaflex for him and has asked me several times to do folders for his personal folders at home. Now, he told me his partner likes them so much he’d like me to do them for him, too. I really don’t mind. He was very good to me at the end of my run there, because he spoke to HR to make sure they would keep me busy at the firm and I appreciated that. It’s always nice to have a “big wig” in your corner!
At 8:00am I went back to bed. Eric was not really sleeping, but was dozing on and off. We both fell asleep for a while and then we woke up, had breakfast and watched a little TV until I jumped in the shower.
I left the house around noon and ran a few errands before hitting STARBUCKS and then HAPPY NAILS for my pedicure by Tina. She’s adorable and does a great job. After my pedicure I ran a few more errands and then drove to HILLCREST to get my cut and color by John. I was out of there in an hour. It’s a Hillcrest Miracle! I think he had a long day and was exhausted so, for once, he did more coloring and cutting and less talking!
When I got home, Eric was out riding his bicycle, so I took a shower and read some of my book. Then, I made a big salad and was just finishing when Eric got home. We had a late lunch of salad and American cheese on Triscuit crackers! Then, I took a nap while Eric watched TV in the living room.
When I got up he helped me set up the dining area for decoupage, which means putting drop cloths everywhere. He had cut up a delicious ripe cantelope and that’s what I had for dinner – a bowl of cantelope. I was pretty full from our salad anyway. He told me he had a NUTRISYSTEM entrée while I was sleeping, so he had already eaten.
I finally worked on Laura’s vase. She had asked for a theme of flowers and I brought in my folder filled with cuttings and let her pick out her favorites. I used about half of what she choose (I always use much less than I think I’ll need) and it came out great.
While I was working, Eric brought in Conrad in his cage on the snack try and put it in the kitchen, so he could keep me company while I worked. He seemed to be intrigued by what I was doing and was staring at me with his little beady eye. Do you know when birds are really looking at you they look at you with one eye, rather than straight on?
Anyway, I wanted to talk more about Conrad, because I’ve had him almost two months now, and he’s the strangest bird I’ve ever seen. He sleeps in a really strange position, which I’ve talked about before, and he never sings. I mean I heard him sing ONCE – when a bird outside was chirping, he chirped a few times, too. That’s it. He doesn’t play. In fact, he seems deathly afraid of the toy I bought him, which was a favorite of every other bird I ever had. It’s different colored small plastic rings that hang from the top of the cage and have a bell at the bottom.
He will let me pet him. He will come on my finger or on a perch I hold out. He will come out of the cage and fly around if I let him, and fly back to his cage. Other than that, he just kind of sits there, or moves from one perch to another, or eats. That’s it. No playing. No singing. Nothing.
I know he’s healthy, because he’s always preening and keeping his feathers looking beautiful, and he eats well (although all he’ll eat is seed – nothing else), but he seems depressed. I told Eric maybe he’s unhappy because he hasn’t been in the most joyful environment in the world, but I always have a happy voice when I talk to him, which I do a lot, and it’s peaceful all day long with the windows open and the sun shining. I just don’t get it!
Anyway, the vase is pretty much finished, but I always have to let it dry overnight and then look at it again with a different eye. I think it looks great. Eric and I will go buy a can of spray varnish tomorrow at MICHAEL’S and then he’ll do it for me during the week.
Eric’s better at varnishing than I am, because I tend to have a heavy hand. He’s very patient and will do 10 light coats, whereas I tend to do 5 or 6 heavier coats, which really isn’t as good. I’m just always impatient and want to get things done fast. Sometimes, that’s not the best way!
The whole time I was working, Eric was watching TV in his chair. He watched hours of SHARK ATTACKS, because it’s SHARK WEEK on the Discovery Channel. I don’t know why he likes that stuff – he won’t go in the water at ALL – but he likes to watch stories of other people getting attacked by sharks. Go figure.
When I was finished, he took a shower and then watched TV in the bedroom while I blogged. I was tempted to leave it for tomorrow, but we already have a lot to do tomorrow. I want to clean Conrad’s cage completely. I clean the bottom, because there’s a tray that pulls out. I also clean his food and water dish daily, but I like to clean the whole cage and the only way to do that is to let him fly around a little while I do it. He doesn’t seem to like the process, but I guess he just has to get used to it. It’s not something I need to do every week, which is a good thing, because it seems to make him nervous.
We are also going food shopping tomorrow. I like to wait until Sunday, if I have enough food for the weekend, because that way everything is fresher for the week.
Eric and I had a really nice weekend so far. We had a great dinner at STUDIO DINER on Friday night with our new friends, Marianne and Allan, and a nice day today – with me running errands and getting things done, and Eric riding his bicycle down by the beach. Then, we spent an enjoyable evening together and I got my decoupage project pretty much completed. I hope tomorrow is as productive and pleasant!