Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Waiting for the limo to the airport....

So here we are again...Have you seen this picture before? No sense in taking a new one because it looks like this today, will look like this tomorrow, and on into infiniti...



Yes....we are having another snow storm here in the Northeast.

So the Countess duBarry and I are biding our time until the limo picks us up tomorrow and takes us to the airport and we are off to sunny Florida!


How does the Countess duBarry kill time? By cooking, of course!



Cognac Spinach with apple, raisins, and walnuts...



Our fabulous dinner...filet mignon with bearnaise sauce, the above mentioned spinach, and brussel sprouts in vidalia onion relish.



We like to keep the Countess duBarry busy!


By this time tomorrow we will be among the palm trees on Ocean Drive. Are we excited? Hell, YES!



See you on the flip side!
Countess Bedelia 2/26/2008 06:45:00 PM | 4 comments |

Friday, February 22, 2008

Going to the Funny Farm....

Hooray! It's snowing! Have you seen this picture before on this blog?




No sense taking a new picture because it looks the same today, looked like this yesterday, and will look like this tomorrow. Just another snow day in New England.

At least there was a little excitement this morning when the carrier pigeon arrived on the rooftop of Castle Bedelia with a frantic message from the Countess duBarry:

The Funny Farm...


******hand waving.... feet stomping... head spinning....very Bad language......IT'S TIME !!!!!! I CAN NOT TAKE THIS ANYMORE................CRAZY IN VT. du Barry





The poor dear has gone round the bend! I hate to say "I told you so."....NO, I love to say that..hehe! But Vermont in the winter is not the same bucolic paradise that it is in the summer unless you like snowboarding, skiing, skating, and other wintry pastimes. Since the Countess duBarry is more into barstooling I had my doubts as to how long she would last.


At least we have this to look forward to.....





Where we can engage in our favorite sport of barstooling at The Palace....





And see some of our favorite bartenders....




Tina and RayRay



Jean Jacques





The incomparable DITMAR!!!!

Rumor has it that our First Knight Sir Brian will be gracing us with his presence....

And of course we will see....


ALL OUR FRIENDS ON SOUTH BEACH!


See you next week. Save some sunshine for The Northern Court.


Countess Bedelia 2/22/2008 03:05:00 PM | 2 comments |

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Greenpeace Ad - "Sun shine out your arse"

Unless you have this special talent, buy an energy efficient light bulb!

This message is a public service announcement to keep The Countess from going completely mad during yet another snow storm!

Countess Bedelia 2/21/2008 10:33:00 PM | 0 comments |

The love story of Ralph and Edna....


Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end.

He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there. Edna promptly jumped in to save him.

She swam to the bottom and pulled him out. When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable.

When she went to tell Edna the news she said, "Edna, I have good news and bad news".

"The good news is you're being discharged, since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of the person you love".

"I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness".

"The bad news is, Ralph, hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him.... I am so sorry, but he's dead."

Edna replied, "He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry... how soon can I go home?"
Countess Bedelia 2/21/2008 07:51:00 PM | 0 comments |

Monday, February 18, 2008

News Flash! Why did the chicken cross the road?

Famous pundits weigh in on this topic.



DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road before it goes after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his 'CURRENT' problems before adding 'NEW' problems.



OPRAH : Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.



GEORGE W. BUSH : We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.



COLIN POWELL : Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road...



ANDERSON COOPER - CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.


JOHN KERRY : Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.



NANCY GRACE : That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.



PAT BUCHANAN : To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART : No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.


DR SEUSS : Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.


ERNEST HEMINGWAY : To die in the rain. Alone.


JERRY FALWELL : Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth?' That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side'. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.



GRANDPA : In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.


BARBARA WALTERS : Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.


JOHN LENNON : Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.


ARISTOTLE : It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.


BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C% ........ reboot. &n bsp;


ALBERT EINSTEIN : Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?


BILL CLINTON : I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?


AL GORE: I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

DICK CHENEY : Where's my gun?


AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I give total credit for this post to my dear friend, The Mrs. Astor. She sent this to me in a telegram marked "Top Secret" ; but EVERYONE knows that I can't keep a secret!)
Countess Bedelia 2/18/2008 10:31:00 AM | 0 comments |

Saturday, February 16, 2008

The Rain in Spain....or I Feel a Poem coming on....


Ode to a friend in a bar…..

To my dear friend from Michael's
Who likes his dark glass of beer
His name is Tim or Tom…
It was never quite clear.

He's told me the story about how the bees
have the miraculous power to cure allergies.
He likes karaoke and sings a nice tune
I hope that I will see him again soon.

When he meets up with The Countess
He always gives a big hug
We catch up on our lives
And enjoy Michael's pub.

Countess Bedelia 2/16/2008 07:38:00 PM | 0 comments |

Friday, February 15, 2008

"The Last Lecture" by Dr. Randy Pausch - from Oprah


Thanks to Rick at Bandit Talks for pointing me to this inspiring video. Everyone should watch this, take a lesson, and go out and have some fun while you live your life. Enjoy every day that you have.





I love this little bit of wisdom: "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."


I used to walk fast, talk fast, think fast....hurry, hurry, hurry....get ahead, get this, get that....and I forgot to just take time to smell the roses, laugh a lot, and appreciate each day.


So watch this video and then go out and do something fun today that will make you laugh and laugh and feel good!


Countess Bedelia 2/15/2008 12:55:00 PM | 2 comments |

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

A Good Day for Transgender residents in Broward County, Florida


Equality Florida today reports on a vote taken by the Broward County commissioners:


Victory! Broward County Bans Gender Identity Based Discrimination


"This afternoon, Broward County became the tenth municipality in Florida to ban discrimination based on gender identity and expression to the Human Rights Ordinance. This is a huge victory for everyone in Broward County who values diversity and who values Fairness. Today Broward has once again sent a strong message that discrimination will not be tolerated."

The Sun-Sentinel also has a good article on the hearing and subsequent vote.

"Commissioners unanimously approved the amendment. It defines gender identity as the appearance, expression or behavior of a person regardless of the individual's sex at birth."

My friend, Tosca15, was at the hearing and related the following story to me:
"One of the most gripping was from a young woman who looked to be in her early 30's. She said she had four children. Her last, a little boy, started showing feminine tendencies at about 3 years old. When she would say, "good boy" to him, he would say, "no mommie, good girl." He was extremely girlie, played with Barbies, enjoyed wearing pink dresses, etc. At five years old he was diagnosed with gender identity disorder. She said rather than fight it, they encouraged him to be exactly who he was, which was a she. Now she is a beautiful well adjusted little girl. This woman said she was there on behalf of her transgender daughter, for the future. There wasn't a dry eye in the place.

There were speakers from every walk of life and one a-ha moment came when one of them explained that this is not only the "transgender" amendment. It also protects feminine straight men, masculine straight women, and individuals who dress in an unconventional manner, etc. You could hear a gasp from the audience."

I think it is so important to keep reminding the dissenters that any law that discriminates against any individual just might be turned on them one day.

Congratulations to the citizens of Broward County!


Countess Bedelia 2/12/2008 11:01:00 PM | 4 comments |

Sunday, February 10, 2008

WTF is up with this weather ???????

Ten minutes ago it was pouring rain; then lightening and thunder; then this.....




A total white out blizzard WITH lightening and thunder! There is a road out there and you can't even see it!



This winter will NEVER END !!!!!!





*iz depressed*



ETA.....












It is one hour later and the sun is shining! Again....WTF is up with this weather?????
Countess Bedelia 2/10/2008 01:58:00 PM | 8 comments |

Saturday, February 09, 2008

A chance meeting.....





“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” so said Winnie-the-Pooh.



At the Berkshire Theatre Festival cocktail party I was introduced to Chuck Schwager, a very pleasant fellow who is on the board of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. Since that theater is also on my favorites list, I was very happy to meet him and anticipated a little conversation about their 2008 season. Instead I was in for a treat. Just as I have reinvented myself as The Countess Bedelia, Chuck Schwager took a look at life one day and decided to become an actor.


He is quoted in this 11/10/07 New York Times article, "Lessons in Shakespeare, From Stage to Boardroom", stating "There are sensitivities about power that Shakespeare knew better than I did, and I wanted to find out what those were.”



According to the Concord Players website, "Chuck comes to acting late in life as another way of connecting with his daughter who focused her high school and college life on acting. He is an ardent lover of Shakespeare and trained at Shakespeare and Company, Lenox, MA, and was elected to their Board of Trustees. In real life, he is President and CEO of Polaris Healthcare Services, a health care management firm specializing in improving care to the poor and chronically mentally ill."


Chuck has already accumulated an impressive resume of acting jobs in the Boston area. He appeared last year in The Boston Center for the Arts premiere production of Tom Stoppard's "Indian Ink" for which he got a rave review from EDGE Boston: "....Chuck Schwager, who invests an almost too-obvious character with degrees of subtlety) exert a gravitationally dramatic pull that seems to tip the stage in their direction."


Chuck was very excited about his next production, Sub-Zero, an original play written expressly for him. Sub-Zero is being performed from March 6 to 23 at The Factory Theatre, 791 Tremont Street, Boston. You can be sure that The Countess will be at one of the performances.


Chuck, it was such a delight to meet you.
As Winnie the Pooh would say, "It's so much more friendly with two."
Countess Bedelia 2/09/2008 11:39:00 AM | 0 comments |