Roman Holiday

My kids absolutely loved this movie. I told them that they are the only young people that know who Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck are. Even Johnny said, "Mom, I can't believe that the old movies are this good."

Miraculous Staircase

I have been to this chapel many times as I grew up 60 miles south of there in Albuquerque.

...Two mysteries surround the spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel: the identity of its builder and the physics of its construction.

When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1898, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.

Legend says that to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, who came in answer to the sisters' prayers.

The stairway's carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure. The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.

The staircase has two 360 degree turns and has no visible means of support. Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers compared to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway's construction.

Over the years many have flocked to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase. The staircase has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including "Unsolved Mysteries" and the television movie titled "The Staircase."

Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong - Now You Has Jazz

This is taken from the 1956 movie..."High Society"....I finished watching this movie today at lunch....great movie.

Speech blunder.......

This was so funny. She says, "wrong year"........

Kentucky Derby 2007

Johnny and I watched the Kentucky Derby yesterday. I loved the names of the horses...."Any Given Saturday" and "I'm A Wild and Crazy Guy" Ok, am I the only one that noticed that the winning jockey didn't have any teeth???!!!!???

I have been to Churchill Downs to take a tour and to go through the museum. It was really something to see! If you ever get a chance to go to Louisville, you must try to go. It is a beautiful, historic city.

What I did yesterday.....

Yesterday, Johnny's band from school got to play at the Moore's Opera House at the campus of University of Houston. What a beautiful auditorium! It was the first time that I have been on the U of H campus. It was a little emotional to be there to think that my Father went to college there. He graduated from U of H in 1960. After the concert, we had lunch in the courtyard and then took the kids to Dave and Busters to play games. It was really fun. When Johnny and I got home, we watched the Kentucky Derby, Nacho Libre......funny movie..........and watched the Rockets lose game 7 of the western conference play off games to The Utah Jazz.....sad face!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Cool Slideshows

Time-Lapse Albuquerque Intl. Balloon Fiesta

Since I grew up in Albuquerque, I got to see the balloons every year. It is an awesome sight to see!

Harry Connick, Jr.

I checked out one of his CD's this week from the library. I like it.........do you? I love this video, because it is filmed in New Orleans, obviously. My Dad was born there and lived right off of Bourbon street until he was 9. Gee, can you tell where I get my love of Jazz?

Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz Playoff Intro 2007

Go ROCKETS!!!!!

Game Day....

Saturday afternoon, we had a game day at church with our youth and the senior adults. It was so fun. At our table we played apples to apples and balderdash. Then we all played bingo. The kids loved it and I hope the senior adults enjoyed it.

The Movie......."The Queen"

Amy and I watched this last night. It was a fascinating movie. Don't know how true to life it was regarding her personality. I was hoping it was more about her entire life. It focused on how she handled the death of Princess Diana. Still a great movie.

Glenn Miller...."In The Mood"

This is the song that Johnny's band played at school. It is a great song!!! I walked into the band hall one day as the band director said....."Ok, now let's play...In The Mood"........and I thought she said....let's play "In the Nude"....hee hee

The Glen Miller Story

This film is a Hollywood "biopic" of Glenn Miller, a popular and influential big band leader of the 1930s and early 1940s. Glenn Miller died serving his country in World War II. Classics such as "In the Mood," "String of Pearls" and "Little Brown Jug" are featured in the film. The movie fills in details about life in the U.S. from 1929 to 1945. It has cameo roles by such stars as Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa, playing themselves.

All 4 of us watched this movie last night. It is wonderful! Jimmy Stewart has to be my favorite actor of all time. Johnny's band at school just played "In The Mood" recently and I knew he would appreciate it, but we all really enjoyed it!

Captivate Us - Watermark Live

Love this song and Love Watermark

My Dad's birthday

Today, April 27, 2007 is my Father's birthday. He would have been 75. He was born in 1932 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He moved to Houston when he was 9. He grew up around I-10 and Navigation area. His father died when he was about 12. He dropped out of high school his sophomore year to go to work to help out. He went into the Navy and served in the Korean War. He got his GED and then went on to graduate from the University of Houston in 1960 with an electrical engineering degree. He worked for the F.A.A. He ended up in Oklahoma City as an instructor at the F.A.A. academy. He taught classes on how to fix the computers that the air traffic controllers used. He was a major computer geek. Matter of fact, he was ahead of his time when it came to computers. Guess that is why my brother and I are such computer geeks, also. Every time we got together, we would get into deep theological discussions. He would say...."Lisa, what do you think about this in the bible?"....My father loved music and taught me to play the organ when I was around 7. I can remember sitting next to him at the organ and playing an organ duet to "Baby Elephant Walk" by Henry Mancini. That is also where I get my love for music. He was very affectionate and emotional and I am just like him in so many ways. He died suddenly in December of 2004 from clogged arteries. I miss him so very much and think of him every single day.

Cool Slideshows

Happy Feet

Gotta love dancing penguins!!!

There's a new cat in town..........

Here is another neighborhood cat. He or she is not as cute as Blackey and not as nice, but has a cuter meow. It has a high pitched meow and sounds girly. Hope it is a girl, because if it is a boy, I bet he gets teased for having such a girly meow. Like my hot pink shoes? In that picture, the cat was......."mid meow"....

Ok..........it is a girl and I have named her...."Mattie" because her hair is so matted. It looks like a dog's hair because it is so matted. She walks toward you and then falls to the ground on her side. She falls so hard that you can hear her fall.......weird cat! She bit me the other day because I tried to pet her...........what was I thinking? Silly me! Blackey let me pet him all of the time. Found out that the neighbor next door owned him and they never saw him again. He didn't have a collar, so we will probably never know what happened to him.

Cool Slideshows

My Grandmother

Today is my Grandmother's birthday. She would have been 105 years old. Her name was Myrtle Hennesy. She was my father's mother. She was an extraordinary woman. She was approx 5 ft 10 inches tall. She was a lovely woman and had a huge impact on my life. She passed away over 20 years ago, but I still think of her often and miss her. She was born on April 13, 1902 in rural Louisiana. Her maiden name was Roy and was shortened from Royale. Her parents moved here from France. She grew up speaking French before she learned English. She taught Jeff and I a little French saying that got us in trouble if we repeated it! She was so funny. They moved to New Orleans later. She often told of dancing all night on a party boat off the coast of New Orleans. She met my Grandfather, Levy around 1920 I beieve and was married on New Year's Eve. My Grandfather was a pharmaceautical (sp?) salesman and moved the family to Houston in approx 1941 I believe. My Grandfather passed away in his early 40's leaving my Grandmother to raise 2 boys by herself. The only thing she knew how to do was sew. She got a job as a seamstress at a department store at Gulfgate Mall here in Houston. She loved the Lord with all of her heart and her family. I remember spending the night at her apartment and we would have coffee, which was a huge treat for a child........coffee was such a "grown up" drink, you know. She would teach me to paint. She sat on the floor and played jax with me. She and I were best friends and I really miss her. She died way before I had my children and I really wish she could have seen them. I have some wonderful things of hers to remember her by. I have her rocking chair, her wedding rings and her sewing machine and her funny little saying in French that I cannot repeat. ...............Happy Birthday, Mamaw!

Easter

We had 3 services at church on Easter Sunday. I sang in all three services. What a blast! The music was awesome. I guess the kids never get too old for Easter baskets.

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at onetruemedia.com

UIL competition

Last Wednesday, the 4th........Jeff and I got to go to the High School and hear Johnny's Band perform in the UIL competition. They sounded AWESOME!!! They have the best band director!

Photo and video editing at onetruemedia.com