The Countess

Ode to Mai-Ling

2011-12-19T17:14:00.000-05:00

One day my husband said to me,
“I want a dog. Never had one, you see.”
I thought he was nuts; we were finally free,
There were no children at home to drive us crazy.

He asked me to meet him at the mall
And there was this cute little dog in a stall.
I looked at her and she looked at me,
I knew the rest was just history.

I’d had a dream the night before
about a white fluffy dog that I would adore
Her name was Mai-Ling, so strange to think
I would meet her so soon and we’d be so in sync.

Every month at the beauty parlor they would trim her hair
And she would prance home with her head in the air..
“Look at me”, she would say, “don’t I look swell?”
My sister was jealous cuz Mai-Ling was wearing Chanel.

The bay window overlooking the corner was her seat
And she made sure that everyone was safe on our street.
But if I left the gate open when she was out in the yard,
She’d look at me as if to say, “I’m not going out there without you on guard.”

Her favorite treat was a nice fresh juicy bone, although
She’d try to sneak it upstairs and put it under my pillow.
I knew it was her way of saying “I love you.”
So I accepted her offering cuz I loved her too.

She’s been gone a long time…over 10 years
But she’s still in my heart and I still shed a few tears.
Time marches on but I remember everything
About my precious, beautiful, loving Mai-Ling.

2011-12-12T19:14:00.000-05:00

The Countess is a Bad Blogger and has not posted for awhile but sometimes circumstances happen that deserve to be recognized. Many of you know that Bridget Everett is my roommate here in New York City.

She has once again been recognized as one of the Top Ten cabaret performers of the year by TimeOut New York. Not only has she been personally singled out for her solo shows but the monthly variety show, Our Hit Parade, that she cohosts with Neal Medlyn and Kenny Mellman has also made the list.

So this post is just to send a big CONGRATULATIONS, Bridget !!!

And I hope the fact that The Countess is once again on stage in your show this month will not hurt your chances for being recognized in 2012 :))

The power of theater.....

2011-09-12T19:37:00.000-04:00

Since I was very young, oh so many years ago, I have been fascinated by live theater. I was exposed to live performance in school, probably like most people who don't have adults to take them to the theater. Back in the dark ages we listened to the radio....our imagination fleshed out the voices we heard and created the fantastic worlds they sent us over the radio waves. TV came into our lives like a little miracle. Black and white, Milton Berle, Ed Sullivan, oh my! History in the making.

I did not see a live theater performance until my high school put on "Good News". Well, kill me now....I wanted to be part of that world. But life intervened and it was several years before I could realize my theater love. And many years after that I came to the Berkshires and found the Berkshire Theatre Festival.

Which brings me to my story today. Back in the summer of 2008 I received an email from a woman named Janine. She said that she had been reading my blog and that she had been going to the Berkshire Theatre Festival and that she would like to meet me sometime. I replied to her that I hoped we would meet and please introduce herself to me if she ever saw me in person. Soon after I attended a party hosted by the BTF Director Kate Maguire and this lovely woman did introduce herself. We have been friends ever since.

This year Janine auditioned for our community production of "The Wizard of Oz". Everyone in the audition room was so impressed with her talent on the guitar and her lovely voice. She was offered a role in the production as a 'citizen of Oz'. Since Janine has a full time job several miles away, it has been a hardship for her to attend all the rehearsals which take several weeks. After working all day, she would drive an hour to be at rehearsal and then drive back and go to work the next day. Why would anyone do that? The power of theater!

Here she is in her costume as an 'Ozian"....

Although I have been privileged to meet many famous theater performers and have a few autographs to show for it, I don't think any of them will ever mean as much to me as the autograph she gave my daughter, "Thank you for your support, Love, Janine".

And I thank you, Janine, for your support for our theater. We love you.

Another remembrance of 9/11...

2011-09-11T02:14:00.000-04:00

Every year since I started this blog I have posted a remembrance on 9/11 of my friend, Janis Lasden, who was a passenger on Flight 11 out of Boston.

She was going on vacation to Palm Springs with her boyfriend on that fateful day. I will never forget how I heard the news.....2 days after the tragedy. I had just arrived home and was walking out of my garage when a friend pulled up. "I was hoping to catch you." she said, "Have you heard the news?" "What news?" I replied. "Janis and Dom were on Flight 11. They are gone."

Ten years later there are so many stories. So many people who were affected by those tragic events.
Here is a story and video about the American Airlines employees working at Logan Airport on 9/11. Because both flights that crashed into the World Trade Center towers originated in Boston, most people knew someone who was connected in one way or another. Karen Martin, the lead flight attendant on Flight 11, was from my hometown of Danvers. New England is still mourning that day on a very personal level.

It was an event that defined a generation and yet, when I brought my 10 year old granddaughter to New York City for a visit two years ago, she asked me to explain the messages on the wall of the fire department that listed the firemen from that firehouse who had died in the towers. No one had ever taught her anything about that day. I couldn't believe that this history wasn't taught in public school, even in fifth grade. Hopefully that has changed by now.

So once again I will remember my friends on this day. I still like to think that they are dancing the two-step in some country western dance palace in the sky.

Gayby, the feature film

2011-09-03T01:45:00.001-04:00

Some friends of mine made a short film called "Gayby" about a straight woman (played by Jenn Harris) who wants to have a baby with her gay best friend (played by her real life gay best friend Matthew Wilkas) and she wants to procreate it the 'old fashioned' way. It was so successful that the writer, director, and producer, Jonathan Lisecki, decided to make it into a full length feature.

I could go on and on about how funny this film is...will be...if it gets the funding it needs to be finished. But I'll let Jonathan's own words speak for the film and then, maybe, you will click on the Kickstarter page and contribute a dollar or two or more so that we can get to see this wonderful production on the big screen.

Jonathan's Blog on the Kickstarter page:

We filmed Gayby in 16 1/2 crazy, amazing days in the heat of August (2011)in NYC. The cast and crew consisted of the nicest, most talented bunch of people ever. Someone who worked on the last full day of shooting said that she could not believe we were still having so much fun that far into a shoot, but we were.

Our immensely talented cast was led by the superb combination of Jenn Harris and Matthew Wilkas. These two are just perfection together and were also surrounded by actors of the highest caliber. Our glorious supporting cast deserves serious alphabetical accolades. So a big thank you and congrats to: Charlie Barnett, Louis Cancelmi, Sarita Choudhury, Christian Coulson, Alycia Delmore, Mike Doyle, Adam Driver, Bridget Everett, Jack Ferver, Randy Harrison, Tommy Heleringer, Dulé Hill, Anna Margaret Hollyman, Alex Karpovsky, Ryan McGinnis, Kenny Mellman, Zach Shaffer, Joanne Tucker, and even little old JL.
We were very lucky to have great actors and friends pop in for cameo roles, and we must give a shout out to all of them because they were awesome. So thank you to: Samantha Buck, Victoire Charles, Corinne Colon, Jeff Hiller, Lawrence Michael Levine, Maria McConville, Sherwin Parikh, Sophia Takal, Emily Wachtel, and an extra special thank you to eight-year-old Satchel Shure and six-month-old Zoe Leathers for choosing our film for their debut.

Now we wish we could explain some of the out-of-this-world amazing things that happened, but you might not believe us. Did we film a musical sequence where Kenny Mellman performed a fantastic original song he wrote for the film on piano while Bridget Everett scatted about Babydaddies? Did Matt Wilkas and Louis Cancelmi go-go dance behind her shirtless while Randy Harrison twirled in an exact replica of a mid-90s rave moment? On a different day did Jack Ferver and Jenn Harris work stripper poles in perfect unison and create a movement piece for the ages? Did Dulé Hill take us all to school with a little slice of his Broadway tap-dancing perfection? I don’t know. I thought I wrote a straight up (well gay up) narrative feature. But if all these little touches really happened then this film is going to be the most fun thing to come out in 2012 before the world ends.

We really do have so much good stuff to share. But we want you to be surprised. None of it would have been possible without a seriously dedicated crew of talented perfectionists. These people need a shout out right now. Thank you to: Producers Amy Hobby and Anne Hubbell, Executive Producers Zeke Farrow and Laura Heberton, DP Clay Liford, Production Designer Cat Navarro, Costume Designer David Tabbert, Hair and Make Up Artist Liz Coakley, Editor Ann Husaini, AC Marie Travis, Gaffer Lauren Wolkstein, Script Supervisor Christopher Radcliff, Sound Mixer Micah Bloomberg, 2nd AD Laura Terruso, Coordinator Alex Curran, the hardest working PA’s ever Mandy Lawrence and Chernoh Sesay, Wardrobe Dept Doug Hiller, Art Dept Sage Bartow, Asst. Editor Dave Miller, everyone else who came and helped on the days we needed it, and my personal best boy and husband Alex Ross.

We can’t wait to share with you all what we have come up with. To those of you who have donated thank you so much. To those of you who are considering it, thank you for pulling the trigger as soon as you read this, cause you know want to. We need these funds to complete this film. And trust us you want to see Gayby finished.

Sincerely

Jonathan Lisecki and the whole Gayby Crew.

9/2/11

We need just a little over $4,000 to raise the funds needed to finish this film. No amount is too small (nor too big!). Just click on the Kickstarter Page and kick in a few bucks. You will be rewarded with a KickAss Film that will make you feel good and laugh at the same time....BONUS!

R.I.P. Helen.....the best mother-in-law a girl could ever wish for

2011-08-17T19:10:00.000-04:00

70 Kirtland Street....where it all began....

In 1957, when I was 15 years old, my boyfriend invited me to Sunday dinner at his house. We used to go to mass together every Sunday at Sacred Heart Church and when I would invite him to my house for Sunday dinner, he always said, "I have to go home. Ma's making macaroni." So I would go home and tell my mother how poor they must be because Sunday dinner meant roast beef and all the trimmings...macaroni was for Wednesday night, the 'poor' meal of the week. What did I know?

That Sunday I went to dinner with my heart hammering in my chest. Meeting Mickey's parents plus about 1,000 of his relatives (or so it seemed) was a daunting experience for a 15 year old girl. We sat down to eat around 1 p.m. and didn't leave the table until about 5! There was macaroni and meatballs, lasagna, salad, brazziole....there were breaks between serving the courses where the entire family all talked at the same time and most of them commented on how skinny I was and how I needed to 'mangia, mangia'. Just when I was filled to bursting with all this wonderful food, out came roasted chickens, vegetables, potatos, and more. And then there was dessert....the most tantalizing Italian pastries known to man.

I fell in love that day with Helen....with her warm personality, her vivaciousness, her innate ability to love people. She was a mother to me when I needed one, a friend to me when I wanted one, and an inspiration to me always. Even though her son and I eventually divorced, she still kept me on as her 'daughter'. When I married my husband, Bob, she flew up from Florida to come to our wedding and Bob became another son to her.

Helen passed away today after a blessedly short battle with cancer. She was alert and witty to the end. I like to think she is now at that great bingo game in the sky. In fact, I think I will play bingo tonight in her honor.

I love you, Helen. Thanks for all the memories.

"The Who's Tommy" triumphs in the Berkshires!

2011-07-11T16:31:00.001-04:00

This year has been such an important one for the Berkshire Theatre Festival as we organized our merger with the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, MA and evolved into the Berkshire Theatre Group. Our first production on the beautiful Colonial stage is "The Who's Tommy", the legendary rock opera starring Randy Harrison as Tommy.

With a talented and exciting cast headlined by Randy, James Barry, Jenny Powers, Christopher Gurr, and Angela Robinson, the show is spectacular and a definitive version of the iconic rock opera. The critics agree...

Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2011/07/11/this_tommy_lives_up_to_the_whos_pioneering_legend/

THIS ‘TOMMY’ LIVES UP TO THE WHO’S PIONEERING LEGEND

“While it is (a charismatic) Harrison who gives “The Who’s Tommy’’ its center and its soul, he is ably supported by the rest of the cast. As Captain Walker, James Barry (“Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson’’) maintains a trace of ambiguity amid flashes of malevolence. Jenny Powers subtly conveys the complicated essence of Mrs. Walker, an alternately loving, selfish, and guilt-stricken figure.”

Berkshire on Stage: http://berkshireonstage.com/2011/07/10/randy-harrison-rocks-the-berks-in-the-whos-tommy-at-colonial/

RANDY HARRISON ROCKS THE BERKS IN THE WHO’S “TOMMY” AT COLONIAL

“(Harrison) was a brilliant male ingenue in QAF, but his work as a mature actor on stage is actually more riveting. He has earned his bona fides as a master of drama, comedy and musicals, and with this role, he can add rock star to his resume. "

Berkshire Fine Arts: http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/07-10-2011_randy-harrison-sizzles-as-tommy.htm

RANDY HARRISON SIZZLES AS TOMMY

“Randy Harrison, for the past several years the ace of the Berkshire Theatre Festival, left it all on the floor, in a production that was built around him musical brick by brick.”

The Countess is so proud to be a part of this historic production. It was a great moment to stand up in the audience on opening night as a member of the Board of Trustees who engineered this merger. As The Boston Globe says, "Thanks to merger, more shows will go on in Berkshires."

Before the opening night performance, I was honored to be the chairperson for the Benefit Dinner. The Principessa and I got all dolled up for the occasion...

There was a fun after party under a tent in the adjacent parking lot where our favorite New York City DJ, Brian Belukha, had the crowd up dancing...

Then the theme for the after-after party in the Paint Shop Barn was 'Tommy', of course, so The Countess went as the ACID QUEEN ON ACID. The traditional Knighting Ceremony was held...

And I might have cut a rug or two....

Finally ended the night at 4 am. A night I will never forget!!

"The Who's Tommy" is only running until this Saturday, July 16th. Don't miss it !!!!

R.I.P. Elizabeth Taylor

2011-03-23T20:23:00.000-04:00

All day I have felt out of sorts...that is such an old fashioned way of saying that you are upset about something, but that is exactly how I have felt all day .... just not quite right. When I clicked on the news this morning and heard that Elizabeth Taylor had passed away, it kind of hit me in the gut. Like a family member had died. So strange.

I never met Elizabeth, didn't know her other than her publicity and movies. Yet I identified with her all my life. She was 10 years older than me so perhaps her life experiences seemed to lead mine...I don't know. I didn't have all the husbands that she did, although I might have if I remember a quote from her..."I've only slept with men I've been married to. How many women can make that claim?"

When I was 10, she was 20...my heroine in National Velvet and now married AND divorced from Nicky Hilton. She was the most beautiful woman in the world.

When I was in my 30's, my friends would call me 'their own Elizabeth Taylor'. How I loved that comparison. I was looking for some pictures from that time earlier today but they are not on my laptop or my Photobucket account. I wish that my friends today who have only known me as an older woman with silver hair could have seen me back then with my black curls and dramatic ways. Oh wait, maybe they can see it :))) The dramatic ways haven't changed at all.

But Elizabeth Taylor wasn't only a pretty face; she made a difference. After finding out that her good friend, Rock Hudson, was dying of Aids.....then a relatively unknown disease, she embraced the cause. Her activism is legendary and her compassion has left a legacy that will live on long after her movies and personal fame have faded. She has been an inspiration to me all my life.

So today I shed a few tears for Elizabeth. R.I.P.

The Countess Custom Jewelry

2011-03-05T14:33:00.001-05:00

I guess this makes it official..."The Countess" is now cast in silver! A very unique jewelry house, Caja Jewelry, specializes in beautiful handcut designs. They recently designed custom name necklaces in gold for the 2011 Sports Illustrated swimsuit models which were prominently featured in that edition.... And they designed one for me in silver....

And then they took on the challenge of a cuff bracelet....

You can read about the process in their blog here.

I am now even more sparkly than ever. Thank you, Andrea and Juan.

Red Carpet musings on a rainy day at home....

2011-02-28T19:43:00.000-05:00

Today is a rest day for The Countess. After being on the go every day for over a week, traveling to Boston, the Berkshires, and back to Manhattan...AND partying every night, I need a day off :)

While lounging around this afternoon, I picked up the current copy of ELLE, the fashion magazine that my roommate Bridget subscribes to. I'm not sure why Bridget wants this magazine as all the models are a size 0 and all the clothes are made for women with no boobs....something that Bridget and I have in abundance!! It started me thinking about self image and how we are perceived by others.

When I was younger I had quite the nice figure, one that made men's heads turn. I was the classic thin girl with the big boobs. Why that is appealing to men has always been a mystery to me but there is no denying it....most men like the boobs! Even gay men! I have been felt up more in gay bars than I ever was in straight bars. Maybe it's because gay men are more fun.....big smiley face here :))

Anyway, after I married my late husband Bob, we both gained weight. We used to laugh at how contented we were. Bob liked to cook and we both liked to entertain, and that combination led to us packing on a few pounds. But my self image was always high as Bob complimented me no matter what I weighed. Because of him I learned to love my body and myself as I am, not as society deems I should be.

I have women friends who have actually put off doing things until they lose weight. That means that they have wasted precious time because they have let society dictate their own self image. As RuPaul says "If you don't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an AMEN on that?"

Bridget is also a great role model for women to embrace themselves no matter what size they are. She was recently named the #1 cabaret performer of the year in NYC for 2010 by New York Times magazine. Isn't she fabulous!?!

One of the things that I love about my life in the Berkshires and in New York City is that I get to dress up every night. Recently I went to an aerobics dance party where I was invited to assist at the Transformation Station. How neat is that? You go out and there are costumes, wigs, make up, feathers, jewels to pick from and dress up in. I think it is fabulous!!! So I put together a Countess aerobic outfit.....

And I felt beautiful and vivacious! Isn't that what it is all about?

Last night I went to Murray Hill's Oscar party at Joe's Pub. So much fun! From the moment I walked in I was treated like the Countess I think I am.....OK, really big smiley face here :) But the most memorable moment occurred, not when I was interviewed by roving reporter Jenn Harris, or even when the Pub staff made people change their table so that I could be seated (OK, that was fun...hehe), but when I walked past the bar on my way to the ladies room. A young man stopped me and said that he just had to tell me how he loved my outfit, my jewels, my spirit. Wow! What a tremendous compliment.

Sooo, NO, I am not a size 0. NO, I am not young anymore. BUT I feel like I am. When I walk out my door I am, in my mind, walking down the red carpet waving to the crowd.

Me and my Baby

2011-02-20T20:14:00.000-05:00

As much as I enjoy my New York City lifestyle, I always get excited when I return to Massachusetts and am reunited with my little red BMW, or "Baby Beamer" as I affectionately call her. There is something about getting behind the wheel and being in control of where you are going that is a little intoxicating.

In NYC you spend a lot of time getting from one place to another and most of the time you have little or no control over your journey. The subway can be late or delayed, taxis are not responding to your frantic arm waving, and even the limo driver can't find the address you want to go to.

But when I click the garage opener and the door rises up and reveals my little baby, I get a little giddy !! So, even though at 7 pm on Sunday night the stores are closed up tight in suburbia and I was lucky to find a corner store open....unlike my treks home at 3am in NYC where the corner deli will make you a sandwich AND deliver it at that time....I still took the Baby out for a spin when I got home from the train station.

She gave a little purr of happiness and leaped out into the road with just a touch on the gas pedal. Reunited and it feels so good :))

Happy New Year !!

2010-12-29T22:18:00.000-05:00

It's been quite awhile since I updated The Countess Blog and I was surprised to find that anyone was still reading it. Except for an occasional holiday post, I don't think I will be writing here anymore. For all of you who inquired, I am living the good life between my New York City apartment and my home in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. Lots of theater, parties, friends, and good times.

Always keep some fairy dust to sprinkle from your magic wand.......It makes every day a magical one !!

George Carlin Talks About "Stuff"

2010-10-18T15:57:00.002-04:00

Packing, Sorting, Trashing, and Thinking about My STUFF.....George knows what he is talking about !!

Here at the Castle Bedelia there is STUFF all over the place. How did I get all this STUFF? There must be 30 t-shirts from all over the world. Why do you buy t-shirts every time you go on vacation? You wear them once and put them away. And hotel shampoos, lotions, and soaps!! When you travel as much as I do, you accumulate a lot of hotel complimentary items. I haven't bought shampoo or soap for years.....BUT I have a definite overflow of goodies here in the Castle :))

I think I will change my phone answering message to: "You have reached The Countess Storage Facility where I store my STUFF. If you want to speak to The Countess, send a carrier pigeon."

New York City Living.....

2010-10-08T02:50:00.001-04:00

Oh my, New York City living doesn't leave a lot of time for blogging. I have moved into the Winter Castle way up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It's a wonderful 'hood only two blocks from Central Park...and the limo service is on speed dial!

Looking over my calendar for the past three weeks:

VIP Party with two handsome celebrity men as my escorts, Brunch with two other stars of the theater scene and a baby scene stealer, Azzurra, to brighten the day, First night preview on Broadway for my two friends in Bloody, Bloody, Andrew Jackson, a night at Our Hit Parade at Joe's Pub where The Countess hostessed the Royal Table, several nights at the theater to see friends in their plays....I Love New York !!!

I always said that when I retired I would give myself some time in New York City, so here I am! I might be living life backwards but now I can indulge in the life that I might have lived in my 20s if things had been different.

Wish me well on my crazy journey. I'm about to begin my 9th life !!!!

Movin' on up...to the West Side

2010-09-16T09:20:00.000-04:00

Today The Countess arrives in New York City to check out what may possibly be her new apartment in the Upper West Side of Manhattan....WooHoo!!

Lots of fun things to do on this trip. A big dance party tomorrow night in Manhattan. The Countess will be making a 'Grand Entrance' on the arm of a handsome celebrity! Also, my friends are in the cast of Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson which has its first preview on Broadway Monday night. Can't miss that. Maybe I'll get another lap dance from the show's star, Ben Walker !!

Lots of excitement.....It keeps me young at heart :)

Remembering my friends on 9-11

2010-09-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Photo taken in Jersey City, overlooking the Hudson River, 11:30 pm September 11, 2009 by the very talented photo/videographer, Russ Turk.

Since I started this blog I have posted a remembrance of Janis Lasden and Dom Ditullio on this day. The statistics say that 2,823 were killed in the Twin Towers and in the aircrafts on 9/11/01 but 2 of that number have names and faces that meant something to me. They were on their way to a vacation in Palm Springs that beautiful September day.....perfect flying weather. They were passengers on Flight 11, the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center.

I met them both at the Village Inn back in the day when country line dancing was so popular. We were part of a group that showed up faithfully several nights a week to dance and socialize. That was long before I took pictures everywhere I go and I often wish I had a picture of Jan and Dom dancing. They would twirl around the floor looking like the country version of Fred and Ginger.

I hope they are dancing still......

"The sun will come out tomorrow...."

2010-09-08T11:52:00.000-04:00

Annie is opening this weekend at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. The Advocate has an interesting article about the production and what it is like working with 120 children from the community here.

BTF!Plays is the year round education program that serves the children of Berkshire County. In these tough economic times, many children would never be exposed to theater without programs like this. "A life without art is a life not worth living", so sayeth The Countess. Many schools can no longer afford to have programs like this any more. So if you are able to donate, no matter the sum, please consider clicking on this link and giving our children a chance to experience live theater.

The Countess and the Royal Granddaughter, "Baby Countess", will be in the audience enjoying this delightful show. Hope to see you there too!

Labor Day Weekend is upon us...

2010-09-01T20:27:00.000-04:00

Everyone is probably looking forward to Labor Day weekend. An extra day off from work and maybe a little vacation to look forward to.

The Countess is off on a jet plane tomorrow to Washington, DC. A very special friend is starring in "Twelfth Night" at the Shakespeare Theater and he invited me to attend a performance. Never one to turn down an adventure, I am jetting in for the day to have dinner and see the play and then flying out on Friday. Pick my car up at the airport and drive to the Berkshires.

Saturday night will bring dinner with a friend and then Opening Night performance of "No Wake" at the Berkshire Theatre Festival Unicorn Theater.

Sunday might find me on the lawn at Tanglewood for the Jazz Festival. We had a great time there last Sunday for the last Boston Symphony Orchestra performance of the summer. Under the spreading maple tree we laid our blankets, chairs, and goodies, and listened to some wonderful music on a beautiful, perfect Berkshire summer day. I can't take any credit for this....Bill and Don did most of the heavy lifting!

Looks like an another adventure for The Countess. Hope you all have an exciting weekend too !!!

CELEBRATION !

2010-08-30T21:20:00.000-04:00

It's been such a fabulous summer for The Countess. So many parties and opening nights. So many new friends and old pals. I always get a little teary-eyed when summer ends.

But today I am so excited because I will at last be retired in another couple of weeks. I have been working for over 40 years now...never without a job...never collected unemployment...never missed a day of work because I was sick...never asked someone to do anything that I wouldn't or couldn't do myself. I am still friends with everyone who ever worked for me and everyone who I ever worked for. It is a legacy I would be happy to pass on to anyone.

And that is just my formal work life. Before that I had four children to take care of. If anyone tells you that isn't work, they are without babies in their lives :) I had four kids in six years starting at age 19 and changed diapers for 8 yrs as well as comforted sick angels, played lots of games with happy kids, fed and watered dogs, kittens, and horses, and cooked so many meals and baked so many treats that those years just blur in my memory.

I've been blessed with two good husbands...one the teenage love that every girl dreams of ...and the other the mature love that every woman should have. It's been a hell of a ride!

Who knows what the next years will hold. I don't have a lot of them left but I'm going to make them all count as if I was still that 18 year old girl that I used to be who didn't know what or where life was taking her. When life stops being an adventure, that's when it will be over.

Toooooooooo much fun!

2010-08-26T00:04:00.000-04:00

Where has the month of August gone? It sped by at the speed of light. Earlier in the month The Countess was the first "Celebrity Guest" at the Berkshire Theatre Festival Late Night Cabaret. I dressed up in "Countess Casual" for the big occasion...

My son, The Prince, and my daughter, The Principessa, came to see what all the fuss was about. I was interviewed about my involvement with Berkshire Theatre Festival and also about the knighting ceremony that has become a ritual here by our acting company....

At each Main Stage opening night we select a few worthy individuals to become Knights in our Court. The music stops, the crowd parts, and the chosen are called...Here are Equiano, Harrison, and Michael waiting to be Knighted....

There were some wild times at the Paint Shop parties when The Countess might have been gogo dancing in the cage with some hotties...oh wait! Those are the stars of our MacBeth production !!

There was also a special dinner cooked in my honor by Sir Kyle, First Knight of GaGaLand. Sir Kyle cooked up a feast that included fried ice cream for dessert! So Special....

And of course there was a lot of theater this month....MacBeth, Babes in Arms, A Delicate Balance, Summer....the list goes on and on. It is why I am in the Berkshires in the summer and why you should be here too. Such an abundance of cultural riches. I can't believe this summer is almost over. It's been so fun !!!

I'll close this post with a photo of my beautiful daughter taken this past weekend when we visited The Mount, Edith Wharton's beautiful home. We had such a fun time although she did have to take Monday off from work to rest. I think I wore her out !!

The Gala

2010-08-06T11:48:00.001-04:00

Each summer the Berkshire Theatre Festival has a Gala to celebrate the season, raise some funds for their educational programs, and get lots of fun people together to have a good time. The Mount, Edith Wharton's home in Lenox, was the setting for this year's party....

The flower gardens, where the welcome cocktail party was held, were all abloom.....

The very talented brothers and sister combo, Jonna, Cooper, and Ryder, played chamber music for us...

Travis was pouring the champagne.....

And The Countess was having fun....

We adjourned to the terrace for a lovely dinner with entertainment from the cast of "Annie", the BTF play that will be performed in September. A beautiful day in the beautiful Berkshires.

Proposition H8te overturned in California - August 4th, 2010

2010-08-05T08:09:00.000-04:00

The Atlantic has an informative article written by Marc Ambinder about the Prop. 8 case:

Prop. 8 Overturned: The Facts, Not the Law, Matter

"Here's what you need to know about Judge Vaughn Walker's decision invalidating California's Proposition 8, a referendum passed by voters that banned same-sex marriage. The decision itself will be appealed, and Walker's reasoning could serve as the basis for argument at the appellate level -- or, the appeals court could decide to argue the case a completely different way.

What matters are the facts that Walker finds. Why? As Chris Geidner notes, "[the] judge or jury who makes the findings of fact, however, is given deference because factual determinations are aided by the direct benefit of the judge or jury at trial. On appeal, Judge Walker's findings of fact will only be disturbed if the appellate court finds any to be clearly erroneous."

Walker, in his decision, writes that "Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gays and lesbians for denial of a marriage license." He evaluates as credible witnesses the panel of experts who testified against Proposition 8, and finds fault with the credentials of several witnesses who testified against same-sex marriage, including David Blankenhorn, President of the Institute for American Values:

Blankenhorn's testimony constitutes inadmissible opinion testimony that should be given essentially no weight," Walker writes. "Blankenhorn gave absolutely no explanation why manifestations of the deinstitutionalization of marriage would be exacerbated (and not, for example, ameliorated) by the presence of marriage for same-sex couples. His opinion lacks reliability, as there is simply too great an analytical gap between the data and the opinion Blankenhorn proffered.

Here are the relevant facts Walker finds:

1. Marriage is and has been a civil matter, subject to religious intervention only when requested by the intervenors.

2. California, like every other state, doesn't require that couples wanting to marry be able to procreate.

3. Marriage as an institution has changed overtime; women were given equal status; interracial marriage was formally legalized; no-fault divorce made it easier to dissolve marriages.

4. California has eliminated marital obligations based on gender.

5. Same-sex love and intimacy "are well-documented in human history."

6. Sexual orientation is a fundamental characteristic of a human being.

7. Prop 8 proponents' "assertion that sexual orientation cannot be defined is contrary to the weight of the evidence."

8. There is no evidence that sexual orientation is chosen, nor than it can be changed.

9. California has no interest in reducing the number of gays and lesbians in its population.

10. "Same-sex couples are identical to opposite-sex couples in the characteristics relevant to the ability to form successful marital union."

11. "Marrying a person of the opposite sex is an unrealistic option for gay and lesbian individuals."

12. "Domestic partnerships lack the social meaning associated with marriage, and marriage is widely regarded as the definitive expression of love and commitment in the United States. The availability of domestic partnership does not provide gays and lesbians with a status equivalent to marriage because the cultural meaning of marriage and its associated benefits are intentionally withheld from same-sex couples in domestic partnerships."

13. "Permitting same-sex couples to marry will not affect the number of opposite-sex couples who marry, divorce, cohabit, have children outside of marriage or otherwise affect the stability of opposite-sex marriages."

Remember, these are the FACTS that Walker has determined from the testimony and evidence. These facts will serve as the grounding for the legal arguments yet to come."

In Massachusetts we have had legal gay marriage since 2004. SIX YEARS ! It doesn't seem to have caused family values to plummet and straight marriages still are going strong as well as both gay and straight divorces. Life as usual :)

Karaoke and Babes in Arms opening night...

2010-08-01T11:38:00.000-04:00

Since I finally figured out how to painlessly download the pictures from my new camera, I am going to try to keep up to date with this blog. Friday night was Liz's birthday party at Michaels of Stockbridge karaoke. Here are Liz and Frank waiting for the party to begin...

The place was packed with a very enthusiastic crowd ready to sing. Kyle and Tara got their GaGa on with "Bad Romance"....

Tommy was literally crawling on the table while singing his heart out....

Even Steve showed up....

The highlight of the evening was when the birthday girl and Frank sang "Love Shack"....

Saturday night was opening night for "Babes in Arms" at the Berkshire Theatre Festival Unicorn Theater.

We are halfway through the summer season and The Countess has finally put all the new faces together with their names and it was such a delight to see so many of our apprentices singing and dancing in this delightful show. I was laughing out loud through most of the performance and clapping and cheering for the wonderful singing and dance numbers. If you like tap dancing, come and see this show!

Here is The Countess with two of the shows stars, Samantha Richert and Barby Cardillo....

And here is Lady Boninski with the very tall C.J. Wilson who will be starring as Macbeth on the Main Stage next week...

Today is the Berkshire Theatre Festival Gala at The Mount in honor of our past Board president, Bobbie Hallig. The Countess is deciding on which gown to wear and getting the jewels out of the vault. It's going to be a gala affair!!

The Berkshires summer continues....

2010-07-30T17:34:00.001-04:00

One of the things I love about summer in the Berkshires is that there is a treasure trove of cultural riches to take advantage of. Each year I try to attend as many plays, concerts, symphonies, art exhibits, etc., etc., as I can and yet it is impossible to take it all in. The Berkshire Fringe Festival has started and I haven't seen any of their productions yet. My friend, Jim Beaudin, is appearing in "A Thousand Clowns" at the New Stage Theatre and I haven't been able to get to his play. Tanglewood is right down the road and I've been missing the Saturday morning open rehearsals which my friends, Hermine and Jan, faithfully attend.

Waging battle against a summer cold this week has kept me in more than I like but I still have managed a pretty full schedule starting with the "Babes in Arms" cast party which I hosted last week at Moe's Tavern. This fun musical opens this Saturday night, July 31st, in the Berkshire Theatre Festival Unicorn Theater. We had a great time at Moe's. They are big supporters of BTF so I like to be sure to throw a party or two each summer there. Here is The Countess with the 'Babes'.....

The next night I went over to Shakespeare & Co to see "A Winter's Tale". Jonathan Epstein and cast do a wonderful job as usual. I particularly liked the 2nd act and Wolf Coleman's interpretation of the 'young shepard'....Hilarious!!

Then it was karaoke night at Rumpy's Tavern. Arthur Oliver, the famous costume designer, and Catherine Williams, the founder of The Wharton Salon, sang a few tunes....

A private party for the cast of Endgame and some BTF friends was arranged for after the Friday performance. Then more karaoke at Michael's of Stockbridge....

Kyle sings Lady GaGa while The Countess prances around :)))

Saturday night was the final performance of Endgame which I attended with some New York City friends. So sad to see that acclaimed production end but it was almost worth it to see the 'Babes in Arms' kids tearing down the set so that they can stake claim to the stage. They were so anxious to get their dancing shoes on and entertain everyone!

Monday was the Battle of the Improv Troupes. Our very own Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe battled it out against MOPCO, an Albany, NY, troupe to support WAM Theatre and the New Stage Theater. RBIT won bragging rights by a narrow margin and a fun time was had by everyone in the sold out crowd.

MopCo & RBIT take their bows.

The next night I was invited to The Mount for the Meet & Greet for The Wharton Salon's production of "Summer". The Countess is a supporter of this wonderful new theater company which was started last year by Catherine Taylor-Williams. Last summer their production of Edith Wharton's "Xingu" was sold out. Hope to see you all there again this year. The Countess is bringing all of the Berkshire Theatre Festival's apprentice group to one of the performances on August 22nd. There will be a talk back for the kids and anyone else interested in learning about the company and the play.

Last night I was invited to the cast party for the BTF production of "Macbeth". This is another MUST SEE production this summer. Previews start next Tuesday and the play runs until August 14th. The cast is excited and ready to get on the Main Stage. It was a fun party with lots of old and new friends. It is always delightful to have a chance to chat with those talented Stanton boys, Cooper and Ryder, who are in the cast. Much thanks to our hostess, Kate Maguire, for a wonderful evening.

Another opening, another show...

2010-07-20T23:50:00.000-04:00

One of the things that I love about the Berkshire Theatre Festival is their children's programs. During the winter they have programs in 17 schools in Berkshire County and in the summer they run the BTF!Plays camps. Last Friday was the first performance of a Camp play, "The Misadventures of Dr. Bubble Brain", which was written by a 5th grade student during one of the school classes. Absolutely delightful and entertaining.

Natalia Bystrianyk, Katee Brown, and Harrison Gibbons in BTF PLAYS! 2009-2010 production of Hansel and Gretel's Grimm Tale. BTF photo

The Countess is proud to support these programs. Many of the children who attend the camps are assisted by the Richie DuPont Foundation. Please consider making a donation so that these important programs can continue.

Saturday night was the opening night of 'The Guardsman', a hilarious tale of treachery, deception, and assumed identities that has inspired three separate films. Hilariously played by the real life husband and wife team of Michel Gill and Jayne Atkinson, the play inspires a laugh a minute!

The party after the opening night show is a great time to catch up with friends like Catherine, who is the founder of The Wharton Salon....

And Lady Boninski, another great friend....

After the opening night party at the theater is the Paint Shop Party for all the kids...and The Countess! It has become a tradition to have a Knighting ceremony during the party. The buzz goes around all week before the party..."Who will be knighted? Will it be me? me? me?" Such silly fun !!

Sir Tyler, First Knight of the Countess Court receives his honor.

Sir Steve, First Knight of the LOST Island, is now in the service of The Countess!

So much fun!!!

Berkshire Theatre Festival: Theatre That Matters

2010-07-15T11:03:00.000-04:00

Summer theater season has begun in the Berkshires

2010-07-15T07:32:00.000-04:00

I just don't know where the last week went to! Since I returned to the Berkshires it has been theater, theater, every day.....which makes The Countess very happy.

It started last Monday with the Meet and Greet for cast of "Babes in Arms". This happy musical will be performed in the Berkshire Theatre Festival's Unicorn Theater from July 27 to August 28. Lots of great songs like "My Funny Valentine" and tap dancing!!!! I love tap dancing! Many of the cast are acting apprentices this summer at BTF. If you want to read a first person account of the life of a theater apprentice and what it's like to be in the cast of a musical, check out 'Hannah's Journey'.

Later in the week I also saw the BTF children's play at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield. "The Mummy's Tale". Performed by some of the very talented BTF acting apprentices, the production is funny and delightful. There was a young boy about 8 or 9 years old sitting near me and he was laughing out loud during most of the show.

BTF photo-cast of "The Mummy's Tale"

On Saturday night "Endgame", Samuel Beckett's acclaimed play, opened in the BTF Unicorn Theater. Even if you are not a fan of Beckett's work in the Theater of the Absurd, after reading the reviews which proclaim "this is about as good as Endgame ever gets", "Hill knows how to make art from the difficult classics".
"this was a flawless production of Endgame. It just doesn't get better", and "you're in for a treat", this production really is one of the shows that you HAVE to see this summer.

BTF photo - David Chandler & Mark Corkins in "Endgame"

In between BTF productions, I also went to see an incredible production of "Sweeney Todd" at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield. This was the first "Out" night held by BSC and a lovely party was held after the performance at Jae's Spice. Duke Davo and I had a great time meeting the cast and hanging with good friends. This was something that used to happen on the third Thursday of every month at the North Shore Music Theater before it went bust. A great idea for the community.

Last Friday night I attended opening night for "Richard III" at Shakespeare and Company, starring that magnificent actor, John Douglas Thompson. Another MUST see production. S&Co has quite a line up of shows this summer. Hopefully I will catch them all.

Shakespeare & Co photo - John Douglas Thompson as Richard III

There have also been some great parties, dinners, and nights out on the town. Here is The Countess making funny faces with friends during a night of karaoke at Michael's of Stockbridge...

I'll have to do a photo post when I download my pictures from my camera.

Flying to Martha's Vineyard....

2010-07-06T22:01:00.001-04:00

What a great way to travel to the Vineyard....no traffic, no waiting in the car for hours, no ferry. Just 30 minutes in the air and you are there. Leaving Boston...

The views are spectacular...

A few months ago Matt Wilkas invited me to come to the Vineyard and see the premiere reading of his new play "Big Babies". He had been invited to be a part of the Vineyard Arts Project and ArtFarm Enterprises collaboration called "New Writers, New Plays".

The Arts Project property in Edgartown was beautiful and Matt was fortunate to stay there for a couple of weeks along with two other playwrights and work on his play.

The cast included Lucas Papaelias, Jenn Harris, Daiva Deupree, Phillip Taratula, and Mike Doyle...

The production was directed by Martha Banta. Big Babies is a comedy about a surrogate mother who can't stop getting pregnant for people, a gay couple trying to have a baby, a plastic surgery addict, and the one thing they all have in common...

I loved the play. It is funny and tells a good story. But I never like to just take my word for it, here is a quote from the Vineyard Arts Facebook page from someone who saw a performance: "I SAW 'BIG BABIES" THIS AFTERNOON AT THE VINEYARD ARTS PROJECT,NEW WRITERS,NEW PLAYS. IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE EVENT. I WAS HARD PRESSED TO REMEMBER THAT IT WAS NOT A FULL PRODUCTION. THE WRITING, THE ACTING AND THE DIRECTING WAS WONDERFUL. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I'VE HEARD SUCH VOLUMES OF LAUGHTER."

Drama was represented by the play "Disgraced" by Ayad Akhtar and directed by Will Frears. When Amir Randawa—an affluent Muslim-American lawyer married to the gorgeous (and white) Nicole—finds out that he’s been passed up at his law firm for a partnership he’s long been expecting, the wheels come off.

I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire second act of this very intense drama. I was also astonished to learn that this was Ayad's first play! Extremely intense. It took me awhile to process all the feelings that the dialog aroused in me when it was over.

The Musical play was "Witness: Uganda". Book and lyrics by Matt Gould and directed by Griffin Mathews. In the summer of 2005, Griffin Matthews traveled to Uganda to volunteer at a village orphanage. During his six-week journey, he stumbled upon a group of orphaned teenagers living in squalor and decided to help find sponsors for their educations. The book is based on Griffin's true experience and the story by itself is inspiring. Add Matt's beautiful music and you have something truly magical.

The singing by Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson was pure joy to listen to. This play has already been commissioned to play in Los Angeles next year by Steven Schwartz of Wicked and Pippin fame.

On my last night there was a party at a beautiful ocean front home for everyone involved. Here is a picture of the whole crew...

I also did some touring around this beautiful island. It was my first trip so I wanted to just soak up some of the atmosphere. Matt took me to see the 'campground' in Oak Bluff which is full of colorful Victorian cottages. He had already picked out "The Countess Cottage"....

Who wouldn't have a good time with such handsome escorts as Matt and Travis...

Here is a view of Menemsha harbor where Captain Quint set out to do battle with Jaws...

I love the bike ferry....

And this was the view from my lunch table....

Thanks so much, Matt. I'll never forget this special time.

From Nursery School to Opening Night.....

2010-07-06T10:23:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago The Countess attended the graduation ceremony at Bright Start Nursery School. The four year old graduates marched down the aisle to "Pomp and Circumstance" and received their diplomas. My adorable Baby Countesses made me proud. They recited and made announcements and grinned from ear to ear. Here they are with big sister, Melanie.....

This leaves Kindergarten, grammar school, middle school, high school, and college ceremonies to look forward to :)

Then it was off to the Berkshires to attend the opening night at Berkshire Theatre Festival of "The Last Five Years" starring Julie Reiber and Paul Anthony Stewart. Both of these actors have impressive Broadway credits and incredible singing voices.

Read the Boston Globe review and then get your tickets because the play closes this Saturday.

Julie Reiber (Berkshire Theatre Festival photo)

Paul Anthony Stewart (Berkshire Theatre Festival photo)

This weekend also brought delightful house guests, Opening Night parties, and dinner parties.....fun! fun! fun!

K2 opens at BTF and Sara has a baby....in that order

2010-06-21T23:09:00.000-04:00

Saturday night was Opening Night for the Berkshire Theatre Festival production of "K2". There is a really good preview video up on YouTube for you to check out.

Tim McGeever and Greg Keller in Berkshire Theatre Festival's 2010 Unicorn production of "K2" by Patrick Meyers. Directed by Wes Grantom. Photo courtesy of BTF.

Seriously, where can you go to see mountain climbing on stage IN A THEATER? Excellent production. Don't take my word for it. Check the reviews.

Larry Murray at Berkshire On Stage writes: "The play is about men, not mountains."
Charles Guiliano at Berkshire Fine Arts.com writes: "This is an awesome and fascinating production, tightly directed by Wes Grantom...."
J. Peter Bergman at Berkshire Bright Focus writes: "Keller is excellent as Harold. He matches intelligence and drug culture insights brilliantly.......McGeever, as said, wears his role proudly. He scales mountains, literally..."

As always, there was a fun opening night party at the theater after the production so that the audience can meet the actors, director, and designers. Later many of us adjourned to another party to continue the celebration.

And while all this drama was happening on stage, a real life drama was taking place in New York City. Just a week ago The Countess went to Sara's baby shower as reported here and on Saturday she went into labor. She wasn't due for two more weeks but as luck would have it, her mother had flown in from Florida that day and the Godfather was also able to be there to coach the Faery Princess into this crazy world.

Baby Azzurra and Mommy Sara

Summer in the Berkshires has started off with a BANG! Looking forward to more good times next weekend when we have weekend guests, another BTF opening night, and maybe a Glenlivet or two :)

A visit to the Emerald City in the wonderful Land of Oz...

2010-06-14T19:03:00.001-04:00

WOW! It really doesn't get any better than this past weekend trip. In chronological order:

Thursday night: Meeting up with Halley to see Jack Ferver's original choreography "Death is Certain"...

Jack Ferver, Liz Santoro and Darrin Wright

Jack had told me that I needed to see him dance and so Halley and I went to the LaMama Annex for the Rosso Bastardo evening of dance pieces. Interesting performances and always a delight to see Jack. After the performance Halley and I went out for a bite to eat and a Glenlivet....

Jack took Halley's card so maybe she will get an audition out of this! I hope so...she is so talented.

Friday afternoon: When my 'adopted son' Matthew Wilkas is in a movie showing at The New York LGBT Film Festival NEWFEST, The Countess must go and see. "Curious Thing" won Best Narrative Short in the Jury Awards.

Matt Wilkas and Danny Bernardy in a scene from Curious Thing

Friday night: The invitation for Sara's baby shower/dance party read....Disco ball. Laser light, 25 yards of gold lame', AND Sara ! The fact that it was being held in Brooklyn was not going to stop The Countess! My car driver from Manhattan was in the Romanian Mafia, I think :) Anyway he proceeded to tell me that he had been held up at gunpoint in the area that I was going to about 20 years ago and was I sure that I still wanted to go there!?! I tried to tell him that things had changed but he still insisted on walking me to the door to be sure I was safe....how sweet is that?

The Golden Girl shined throughout the night.

She even had a Golden Throne to sit on....

Many gifts were bestowed upon her Golden Child, or The Faery Princess as I call her.....

Such a fun evening and so many wonderful friends to share it with.

The Countess danced up a storm....

And then was sent back to Manhattan in a limo.....a fairy tale ending to a fairy tale event. We cannot wait to meet the Golden Child when she makes her debut into this crazy world we live in.

Saturday afternoon: Back to the The New York LGBT Film Festival NEWFEST, this time to see "Gayby", starring Matt Wilkas and Jenn Harris. Here are Matt and Jenn just before Gayby played on the big screen...

After the movie we had a photo op....

Jenn Harris, Jonathan Lisecki, & Matt Wilkas walk the Red Carpet

Saturday night: "Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson" again! This time my friend Joe Jung was performing. As the production kept getting extended some cast members had to drop out and so Joe was cast in the play for the final month. Joe's beautiful wife, Jessi Blue, and I met up to see him strut his stuff on the big stage as well as to see James Barry in his new role as President Monroe. Little did I know that Joe and James had a little surprise for me!

Gorgeous Benjamin Walker plays Andrew Jackson and always comes out into the audience each night to give some lucky lady a lap dance...

Imagine my surprise when he headed right for me and proceeded to sit on my lap and sing to me! Joe and James were laughing their asses off while the whole thing was going on.

A most delightful ending to a perfect time in the Emerald City. See you again in September.....The Berkshires own me for the summer.

The Countess Tutorial....

2010-06-08T23:04:00.001-04:00

I often tell people who ask how I became a Countess that The Countess was born in a Palace on Ocean Drive way back in 2005.....

The Palace Bar at 1200 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, was managed at that time by my dear friend, The Mrs. Astor. Of course it only made sense that we should all be Royal....and so, The Countess Bedelia was born. And yet, Bedelia had always existed inside me....often poking her nose out at the most inopportune times. As The Countess Bedelia I started to write this blog about my adventures. Like Alice down the rabbit hole, I have ventured into places that I sometimes wasn't sure of but, also like Alice, I met some wonderful people along the way.

The Castle Bedelia is my main home. The many servants who run this place keep me organized. We have the scullery maids, the laundresses, the chef, the butler, and my personal maid, Marie, who organizes my jewels and wardrobe for my many official state visits.

The Summer Palace is located in the Berkshires. This is the scene of many parties and theatrical events. The Countess' heart lives here in rustic splendor surrounded by theater, art, and interesting folk from all walks of life, and most especially, The Berkshire Theatre Festival...

When The Countess ventures out in the Berkshires without an entourage, you can probably find her at Rumpy's Tavern with Prince Troy...

Recently The Countess' official portrait was stolen from the Ladies Room at Rumpy's Tavern.

The whole countryside has been turn upside down during the investigation into this dastardly crime. If you have any information, please turn it over to the local gendarmes.

The Countess lives a charmed life in a fairy tale completely removed from the everyday cares and concerns of that dreaded world called Real Life. When she meets a courtier worthy of being in her court, she bestows a title upon them. The only duty they have is to adore The Countess forever.

You will probably never read anything in The Countess' Blog other than chronicles of her journeys and life among the rich and famous. I leave Real Life to others. The world of Bedelia is so much more fun !

Family weekend

2010-06-06T11:50:00.000-04:00

June 5th was highlighted in red on my calendar months ago when I was informed that on this date the Baby Countesses would be in their first dance recital. It is so rare that I spend a weekend at the Castle Bedelia that everyone wanted to be sure that I had lots of advance notice. Happily this weekend also coincided with the Stoneham Theater's production of "Gaslight" starring Robert Serrell.

The Principessa and I had a mother/daughter night with dinner and a play. Bobby gave a fantastic performance as the villainous husband; equal parts charm and menace....or as one reviewer said, "Robert Serrell as her handsome, woman-chasing, narcissistic husband is evil incarnate."

Marianna Bassham and Robert Serrell in "Gaslight"

After the play we made a plan to meet up in Salem for drinks with Bobby and his wife, Catherine (my dear friend who started The Wharton Salon at The Mount). This resulted in the Principessa and The Countess on a comedy tour of the bars in Salem trying to find a place to sit and get a drink. Apparently even sidewalk tables are outlawed after midnight in Salem. We did manage to get one drink at Rockafellas before being told that we must go inside or leave. Still it was nice to sit and chat with Bobby and Catherine, even for a short time. We will reunite soon in our beloved Berkshires when Bobby takes a role in Catherine's production of "Summer".

Saturday night arrived and the theatrical debut of the Baby Countesses went off without a hitch. The two grandmothers clapped and cheered as our little "Pretty Ponies" pranced around the stage and performed their dance routine.....

We met them at the Stage Door where they were presented with bouquets....

Two happy little girls. Today a dance recital, tomorrow the Broadway stage !!

Family weekend continues today with big sister Melanie's softball game. I hope the rain holds off !!

The Countess Ball....after all these years

2010-06-03T02:03:00.000-04:00

Several years ago Sir Stew, First Knight of the Berkshires, envisioned The Countess Ball. We talked about where we would have it, who would attend, and what we would wear. Each year The Ball seemed more illusional as people moved away and priorities changed. But finally, this year, our vision happened. If only Sir Stew had been in attendance, all would have been perfect. As it happens, it really was a magical night.

"Welcome to BTF" to the new interns and returning staff was the theme. A little karaoke, some food, and a lot of fun. Kyle, our Company Manager, took over Sir Stew's role and helped with all the details. (Remind me to Knight him soon.) As the guests arrived they were greeted by none other than the one person who drives the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Kate Maguire, our CEO and Artistic Director....

Soon Kate was belting out "I Will Survive" with The Countess and several courtiers doing backup honors....

The new "Lavanigans" made their debut....

And Jason sang HIS song "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with photos of The Countess from prior years showing on the screen behind him (LOL)....

Liz got her inner Diva going on....

Steve took lots of pictures....

and we got to meet our wonderful, talented interns who will be working with us at the Berkshire Theatre Festival all summer....

Welcome everyone! Here's to a great season......CHEERS !!

"The Whipping Man" at Barrington Stage Company

2010-06-02T10:34:00.000-04:00

The Countess has been a very bad blogger lately and some of my readers have taken me to task!!! I wanted to be sure to give a shout out to the Barrington Stage Company production of "The Whipping Man" which is currently running on their Stage 2 until June 13th.

You don't have to take my word that this play and the wonderful cast....LeRoy McClain, Clarke Peters, and Nick Westrake...are fantastic. Just read this review "witness how great actors thrive off each other’s energy and skill", and this one "all three actors, deftly directed by Innvar, seem perfectly in sync and perfectly themselves" !!!

Duke Davo and I went to see this fantastic production last Friday. What an incredible experience! Just as the reviewers noted, these three actors completely inhabit their characters and transport the audience back to a dark time in the South after the Civil War. Don't miss this one !

And then there is always the fun to be had after the show......I met LeRoy McClain several years ago at a party and he told me he was going to be "the next big Broadway star". I always tease him about that but the truth is that he DID get in a Broadway show the very next year! LeRoy introduced me to Clarke and Nick after the show and we all went out for drinks and lots of laughs.

The Countess had a little fangurl moment when I met Clarke because I am a big fan of the new HBO show "Treme" that Clarke stars in. He is also a star of "The Wire", the HBO show that many people consider to be the best series ever shown on TV.

And who knew that meeting Nick Westrake would be like meeting an old friend? We know all the same people and just had the best time together gossiping and dishing the dirt....my new BFF !!

LeRoy, The Countess, and Nick...with Clarke making funny faces behind us :)

It wouldn't be Friday night in the Berkshires if we didn't end up at Rumpy's Tavern. Prince Troy welcomed us with open arms and we just caught last call.

So much blogging to catch up on! Next up, The Countess Ball !!

Why do I not have my own place in New York City?

2010-05-20T01:18:00.003-04:00

Saturday I was on the train from Boston to New York City.....Again! Is this a pattern or what ??

Having dinner with Sara, Travis, and Matt at the fabulous China Brasserie on Lafayette Street. The weather was perfect for sitting at a sidewalk table….

Sara told us funny stories about working in Guest Services at a big hotel and Travis was excited about his Brooklyn garden and Matt told about his play that will be read on Martha's Vineyard this summer. It was a perfect dinner with the most perfect company. I always feel how lucky I am to have so many young people as friends. At my age, most of my contemporaries are playing bingo and going to the Senior Center in their community. I am so blessed to be able to be in tune with these wonderful and exciting men and women at the time of life when all opportunities are possible. They keep me young.

After dinner we went down the street to the Public Theater to see “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson”. This play has been extended 3 times, it is so popular. James Barry has one of the lead roles and sings a rocking Rock Star song. Now another friend, Joe Jung, is joining the cast as of June 1st. So much excitement!!! James and Joe joined us after the show for drinks…..

Also with our party was James’ high school teacher and her husband and friends. They had come into town from Connecticut to see James perform. What a tribute to James…and to his teacher…that they kept this contact and that she had such a positive influence on his life. We all had the best time. Actually Matt had a good time wearing my shawl and pretending to be The Countess…..

On the way home in the subway I ran into some lovely people on their way to an after hours party. Of course we made eye contact and became fast friends in the five minutes before the train. I told them all about the JUDY DARLING parties and gave them my card. I hope to see them again one day. They were so delightful....and aren't they beautiful....

Sunday I met up with Joe Jung's beautiful wife Jessi Blue for brunch. This lady is so talented in her own right, recently performing a one woman play that she wrote and starred in about women she knew in West Virginia, "Mark My Words". I always have such a good time with Jessi and love listening to her stories.

At 6 pm I met Matt and Kristin at the Abingdon Theatre to support Gayfest and see my wonderfully talented friend, Phillip Taratula, perform in Romeo and Hamlet. So we supported a good cause, laughed our asses off, and got to kiss Phillip after the show. How do you say Win! Win! Win! Then we were off to Splash to see the Broadway Bares Kids strut their stuff for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. There was lots of beefcake to enjoy while we supported another good cause....

Not to mention my darling Travis working behind the bar in his cute undies....which I did not get a good picture of :(

Monday afternoon I was at the Alvin Ailey theater to see the Regent University actors showcase. Last year I met Anna, an acting apprentice at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. She has such talent and charisma that she made an immediate impression on me. And so I was very honored to be invited by her to attend her showcase. She performed two pieces but the first one, as Sylvia, was unforgettable. You see, Sylvia is a dog....so picture dog with loving master, then a walk in the park and a meeting with a cat.....oh my, Sylvia has forever changed my perception of this probable meeting. And here is the beautiful Anna at her birthday party last year in the Berkshires....

Later that night I finally caught a performance of The Temperamentals. This is such an important play dealing with gay history. I was fortunate enough to catch the final Talk Out which featured the entire cast. How thrilling to hear their stories about the play's evolution and their parts in it and how it has affected them. Gay or straight, this is a history lesson that all should learn.

And so I bid adieu once more to New York City. I'll be back on June 11th to attend a private party and see some shows and meet some friends. Again.....Why do I not have my own place in New York City?

A...mah...zing !!!!!!

2010-05-13T18:49:00.002-04:00

Accent on the second syllable. Tuesday night I was invited by 'BarryFromBoston' to see the a...mah...zing Seth Rudetsky doing his one man show "Deconstructing Broadway" in Boston. He must say 'a...mah...zing' at least 1,000 times during the show. It might seem excessive but it was totally adorable. Seth certainly knows his music. Look at these video clips and you can appreciate the ear that he has for the most minute little trills, chest voices, head voices, etc.

Of course, he picked The Countess to answer the only audience question he asked. Why do they always find me? I was in the dark in the second row....he looks around and zeros in on me! And by the time he asked the actual question, I had completely forgotten whatever I was supposed to have learned and answered the question WRONG! The audience gave a collective GASP! Seth said that had NEVER happened before! But it gave him food for the rest of his performance as he pointed to me every time he needed to make the point about a wrong answer :)

I did turn to Barry (a professional musician, mind you!) and told him that he did not have to know me for the rest of the performance :))))))))))

After the show we went to Stella's in the South End for a most delicious mushroom and oyster flat bread pizza.....and maybe a Glenlivet or two. Barry is playing at the Beachfire Grille in Ogunquit, Maine, on Sunday evenings during the month of May, so go see his show and say 'Hi' from The Countess.

And to go back to Mother's Day for just one more time....Does my daughter know me or what? This is the card she gave me....

A...MAH...ZING !!!!!

Two mothers out to celebrate....

2010-05-10T19:00:00.002-04:00

The Countess and my daughter, The Principessa, journeyed north from Boston late in the afternoon on Mother's Day to the seaside community of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Our destination was the Coat of Arms, a British style pub where Chef Chadli Sassi presides over the kitchen.

On the way my phone beeped and I had a text message from the Grand Duke Ryan wishing me a Happy Mothers Day. The Principessa couldn't receive a message like this because she doesn't text! What is a Countess to do when she can't get her sons and daughter into the modern age of iphones and Facebook? Thank goodness for grandchildren...they can keep up with The Countess !! I conveyed a message from his mother and Ryan and I chuckled a bit over his 'old-fashioned' mother :)

Chef Sassi and The Principessa

Chadli greeted us at the door and gave us a warm welcome. It was delightful to chat with him about his journey as a chef from France to St. John in the Virgin Islands to Portsmouth and to find out what his recommendations for our dinner would be. He is a wonderful host and a fantastic chef. A visit to the Coat of Arms is recommended to all my friends as you travel up and down the New England coast. You won't regret it.

We started our meal with a cup of Baked French Onion Soup and ....

Spinach, Artichoke & Crab Dip

Made fresh and served warm with pita points.

I ordered Smoked Haddock & Leek Pie
Delicately smoked Maine haddock with leeks in a garlic cream sauce, topped with puff pastry

and The Principessa ordered Guinness Marinated Tenderloin Tips
Hand cut tenderloin tips marinated in their own recipe and grilled to your liking

When Chadli came back to our table to make sure we were happy with our dinners, he told us to make sure to save room for dessert as he had a special surprise for us!!

Golden Syrup Pudding and Bakewell Tart with a side of Guinness and Glenlivet! Oh yes, a fine dessert it was!!!

The decor of the Coat of Arms is old English Pub style and no pub would be complete without a telephone booth....

Such a lovely day with my daughter. We both lead very busy lives and don't have these opportunities often enough, so it was a day to be appreciated.

We bid a fond adieu to the Coat of Arms and went back to the Castle Bedelia with full tummies and take home bags for the next day. A win, win situation all around.

Since we never did get a picture of the two of us together yesterday, I will put up one from a trip to London that we took a few years ago.....

We had hopped a plane to see Idina Menzel reprise her role as Elphaba in Wicked in London. Yes, they had Guinness and Glenlivet there too :)

Not your average Grandma....

2010-05-09T12:50:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I spent the day with the Baby Countesses. We danced the Limbo, wearing pink flamingos in our hair, heart shaped sun glasses, and leis around our necks. I'll be sorry when they get too old to play with.

My oldest grandson Ryan used to be my playmate but now he is a successful businessman, a manager of a branch office in Illinois for the large corporation he works for. I am so proud of his success but I miss the days when we would hang out and I could introduce him to some Patriot's cheerleaders...

Ryan's mother, the Principessa, sent me a telegram a week ago, "Could The Countess turn back into my mother for Mother's Day?" She is taking me out to dinner later today to a seaside restaurant where the chef, a friend of hers, is preparing a special feast for us.

I really missed my lost camera yesterday while playing with the Babies so I treated myself to a Mother's Day present....a beautiful Sony Cyber-shot TX7 camera.

I can't wait for the mailman to deliver it! In the meantime...

The High Holy Holiday of Motherhood is upon us...

2010-05-08T13:16:00.000-04:00

As a single parent with four teenagers under my roof, I used to think that on this one day of the year a halo should sprout from my head and heavenly choruses sing to me....I must be a saint! How else could anyone survive this stage of childhood development...four times over!! And then it was suddenly over, the chickens flew the nest one by one, and for the first time in my whole life I was living alone. And a very strange thing happened.....they all came back asking for my advice and counsel. I was now a very wise woman with something to say that was worth listening to :) Where was that woman when they were teenagers? It seemed like no one listened to anything I said then. Ahhh, life....isn't it wonderful !?!

Now these wild, rebellious, wonderful teenagers have grown into very responsible adults with children of their own. And when my grandchildren became teenagers and I listened to their parents anguish over them, I smiled.

A Tree grows in Brooklyn and other fundamentals....

2010-05-06T20:07:00.000-04:00

Today Travis sent out this picture of his beautiful back yard in Brooklyn.....

Makes you kind of want to move there, doesn't it? But all this beauty is the result of a lot of hard work on his part....cleaning out the debris, turning the soil, sowing the seed, lugging the shrubs from wherever in Brooklyn you buy shrubs, digging holes, fertilizing, and just plain old sweat and elbow grease. I admire that kind of perseverance and dedication to a goal. It's been the basis of my life as I know it.....think of what I want to accomplish, visualize the results, and Go.For.It.

Last weekend I was privileged to be invited to tea by The Wharton Salon. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon in the Berkshires. The event took place at a beautiful home in Stockbridge. It was all to celebrate last year's successful production of 'Xingu' and to promote this year's production of 'Summer'. Both plays are adaptations of Edith Wharton's stories and are performed at The Mount, Edith Wharton's beautiful home in Lenox, Massachusetts. Last year I brought several of the acting apprentices from the Berkshire Theatre Festival to one of the performances and they are still talking about it. To experience the reenactment of an Edith Wharton story in the setting that it was conceived in, is a privilege and a delight. This is all possible because of the vision of a young woman, Catherine Taylor-Williams. She had been involved many years ago with the Wharton stories and decided that they needed to be presented once again. A very determined young lady, she gathered supporters, found a cast, and made her dream come true. A woman after my own heart. I hope to see all of you at a performance of "Summer" by The Wharton Salon this summer.

This morning I was part of a conference call with the Richie duPont Award Committee to discuss our benefit which will be held on Saturday, May 22nd, at Firefly in Lenox, MA. This is the 5th annual benefit for the fund which helps children who want to attend acting camp at the Berkshire Theatre Festival and need assistance to afford the tuition. This fund was started by some of the young staff at BTF who contributed some of their salaries to fund the initial endowment. They are to be commended for having the vision and the desire to share the love of the arts with young students. I was fortunate to become involved with the fund 3 years ago and have made it a priority in my life ever since. We recently formed a formal committee to ensure that this award will be funded for many years to come and will benefit the children in the Berkshires that have a desire to pursue an interest in theater.

Think, Visualize, Go.For.It......Fundamentals to live by :)

Our Hit Parade, Notes, and more in New York City....

2010-05-01T09:13:00.001-04:00

It was bound to happen sooner or later.....I lost my camera in New York City. I hope it found a home along with the two cell phones I've lost here. I am only sad because there was a great picture taken of Daiva, Matt, Travis, and myself at 'our' Chinese place before we went down the street to Joe's Pub for the Our Hit Parade show.

Bridget Everett, Kenny Mellman, and Neal Medlyn put on a fantastic show with so many wonderful, talented guest artists. And when Neal came on stage wearing a black, jewel trimmed top, Bridget announced that he had stolen it from The Countess' closet! I'll put up a couple of links to videos of my friends performances.

First, my favorite comedy duo, those Heartbreakers, Randy and Sara.....BREAK YOUR HEART

Next, Jenn Harris and Tim Girrbach, who had done a Wendy's commercial together, do a very funny take off of ....CARRY OUT.

And The Countess dances her way into Our Hit Parade history during Bridget's version of ....NOT MYSELF TONIGHT.

Later a few of us walked over to a nearby restaurant for a bite to eat and a chance to just sit in a quiet place and talk. If you watch the video, you know that Sara is quite pregnant and she needed a little rest after that workout on stage! From there I went to another club where Bridget was having a fundraiser for a friend and partied til about 4 am. I love New York!

Thursday night was a play reading organized and directed by Jack Ferver. Jack is so talented himself and he gathered a cast of friends to perform an hysterically funny drag parody of "Notes on a Scandal". I couldn't miss this reading because everyone in the cast except one person is a friend of mine! I hadn't met Christian Coulson who played young Lord Voldermort in the second Harry Potter movie "Chamber of Secrets". The wonder of NYC...you never know who you will meet!

After the reading Matt took me to SPLASH, where his boyfriend, Travis, was bartending. I danced and danced with all the boys. Fun! Fun! Fun!

The Countess is a big fan of John Douglas Thompson and never miss a chance to see him on stage, so Friday night I went over to Classic Stage Company to see "The Forest", also starring that incredible actress Dianne Wiest.

A very funny play and John is wonderful, as always.

Today we travel back to the Berkshires. My friend, Brianne, is having a fundraiser tonight to raise money for the "Home Base Program." This program, run by the Red Sox Foundation and Mass General Hospital works to provide help for soldiers returning from overseas with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as Traumatic Brain Injury. Her brother is stationed in Afghanistan now but will be home for this fundraiser. Brianne is running a 9K road race for this foundation and the finish line is Home Plate at Fenway Park!!

The party is at The Brick House Pub in Housatonic. If you are in the Berkshires, come, have a good time, and support a good cause.

The Marie Antoinette portrait...

2010-04-27T01:40:00.000-04:00

A friend recently sent me a copy of Courtney Love's new album release, "Nobody's Daughter" with a print of Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun's portrait of Marie Antoinette on the cover, playfully suggesting this was an 'homage to The Countess'. That little compliment made me smile :)

Everyone who follows The Countess Bedelia sees that portrait on my Facebook page, my Twitter page, and most anywhere else I post.

I alternate it with my 'official' Countess portrait....

As a modern woman who has attained a measure of success in today's business world, I have always had an interest in women who managed to succeed in olden times that were not as conducive to a woman's success at anything other than a wife, mother, and literally someone's property. And as a woman who has since reinvented herself in her old age as The Countess, I am fascinated at the history of other woman who have overcome odds to do the same.

Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun was such a woman. "Now, generally regarded as the most famous woman painter of the eighteenth century, she was unappreciated for many years, not only because of her association with the unpopular ancien regime, but also due to the fact that she competed in a field largely dominated by male artists and their patrons."

"After the royal family was arrested in 1789, she was forced to flee France. Settling in Italy she became an intrepid traveler and raised her daughter on her own." A woman after The Countess own heart. My grandmother was born in a chateau near Bordeaux, France, and family history states that we can trace our ancestry back to the court of Marie Antoinette.

Now this portrait of Marie Antoinette that started back in the eighteenth century has become a part of modern American culture. I wonder how many people who purchase Courtney Love's new album will ever know the history of the portrait on the cover. I wonder if Courtney Love even knows.

Opening night at Yale Repertory in New Haven, CT...

2010-04-25T02:05:00.000-04:00

No rest for the weary Countess as she travels on planes, trains, and automobiles...and the occasional royal carriage...from one social occasion to the next. Tommy Schrider and his beautiful wife, Nurit Monacelli, invited The Countess for the opening night of "Battle of Black and Dogs"....

Tommy is such a fine actor and so were the other members of the ensemble, Andrew Robinson, Albert Jones, and Tracy Middendorf. I was so excited, repulsed, and enthralled by their intense performance that I almost chewed off one of The Countess' famous red nails! Don't take my word for it. Read one of the reviews and then go see it for yourself. It is an incredible theater experience!

After the performance, there was the opening night party. Tommy and Nurit are such a beautiful couple...

Albert is not only a fine actor but also a fellow connoiseur of fine scotch. Here he is posing with Nurit...

Tracy and Danny Binstock, a Yale MFA candidate who recently appeared in POP!, were part of our fun group...

After the party we went for a nightcap at Sullivans and then pizza at Albert's apartment. Such a wonderful night of exciting theater and fun with friends. Thank you, Tommy and Nurit, for inviting me to share opening night with you.

In a couple of days, The Countess will return to New York City for more adventures. "If it's Tuesday? This must be Belgium!"

Last day in Miami Beach...

2010-04-24T10:03:00.000-04:00

The final day of my whirlwind weekend dawned dark and cloudy. The pool where we had frolicked in the sunshine the day before was drenched with torrential rains.....

But a lovely brunch was planned at the Van Dyke and nothing was keeping us away, not even the weather. Mark and I took a cab from the Victor and met up with Chris, Susie, and Alexis....

We also got to see Scotty who was starting a new job the next day. Go Scotty!!!

And a fitting finale to the weekend was hanging out with RayRay for awhile.....

Ray and Gary keep the inside bar at The Palace hopping...

The next morning Susie picked me up in her bright yellow VW bug with the white daisies painted on the sides for the ride to the airport. Quite a contrast to the limo that brought me back to the Castle Bedelia.

All in all, a fairytale weekend for The Countess!!!

Miami Beach Pride Parade & Pool Party...

2010-04-22T10:46:00.000-04:00

What a great day! The weather was perfect...slightly cloudy so that the hot sun was not beating down on you, high 70's, with a nice breeze off the ocean. We were perched above Ocean Drive at the Hotel Victor pool looking down on the parade route.

The parade was spectacular. Sharon Gless and Dan Choi served as Grand Marshalls....

And when the rainbow flag marched by, I cried with happiness...

At the pool my cabana mates were having a grand time....

Leo, Stephen, Maria, Countess, Mark, Mrs. Astor

Then Mark decided to jump in the pool with his pink tube....

Adrian from England, who was stranded by the volcanic ash disaster, joined our party....

It's not a party on SoBe without Gary (The South Beach Bum) and his partner Eddie. They have been together 17 years!!! Go to Gary's blog to see some wonderful pictures of the parade. He is one of the best photographers on the beach.

So many friends, all having a great time....

A big thanks to Thomas Barker for organizing the pool party and offering one of the two cabanas to The Countess. Go to his Wire Magazine site for more great pictures taken that fabulous day.

The Start of the Miami Beach Gay Pride Weekend...

2010-04-21T21:11:00.005-04:00

I flew into Miami on Thursday night and my beautiful friend, Mark, picked me up at the airport.

After checking into my suite at the Hotel Victor, we went off to the Hosteria Romana for dinner....one of my traditions here in Miami. We fielded phone calls from friends who wanted to make sure I had arrived safely and, after a quick nightcap at The Palace and a chance to catch up with my darling RayRay who was bartending that night (and the whole weekend!), it was an early night for both of us.

The next day I met up with Chris and Mrs. Astor at the 11th Street Diner for lunch and then we were off to Twist for Happy Hour. Larry and David were there with their little angel, Spike...

Spike found a home in my arms for a nice long cuddle while we all chatted. Larry and David are renovating a fabulous home here in Miami Beach and were very proud to share pictures of all the improvements that they have made since I was here a few weeks ago.

That infamous socialite Mamie Stuyvesant-Fish came in to check out "that Yankee woman who steals all the boys" but we soon formed a firm alliance, much to the chagrin of Mrs. Astor!! No more court intrigue from Mamie.....she is firmly in The Countess Court now !!

While we were sitting at the bar, Mrs. Astor noticed Alexis Arquette. Mrs. Astor and Alexis are old friends from New York City and a happy reunion commenced. Alexis Arquette was in town to be in the Pride Parade on Saturday. We all had a great time with this lovely woman who was so gracious to everyone.

It is always so nice to see my friend Chris. I missed him the last time I was in town. He is the most generous and kind person....and a bit of a financial genious too....a good person to know in these economic times :)

And just because we always find the cute boys, here is a little eye candy for you...

Later we met up with Henrietta, the Queen of South Beach, to share a little girl talk....

And got a goodnight kiss from Mrs. Astor....

We needed a good night's rest before the Gay Pride festivities the next day. Here is a little preview of The Countess in all her Pride....

The beginning of a fabulous, whirlwind weekend !!!!!!!!!!!!

Baubles, Bangles, and......Bedelia

2010-04-13T11:06:00.000-04:00

In anticipation of my visit to the Southern Court later this week, I went jewelry shopping while I was in New York City. There is always a lot of pressure to wear just the right bauble with just the right outfit. With many parties to attend, especially the Second Annual Gay Pride Pool Party and Parade Viewing at the Hotel Victor, the pressure is intense.

These ruby earrings will be perfect for the Pool Party festivities....

And this necklace will complement my rainbow striped gown....

For my formal reception at the Southern Court, this pearl and diamond tiara with diamond necklace and earrings will fill the bill....

Lest you think that this is all about frivolity, remember that we "party with a purpose". PRIDE IS IMPORTANT. "Lesbian. Gay. Bi. Trans. Straight. Proud. It takes all kinds of people to make up our beautiful, strong and diverse LBGT community. And it takes all kinds to make our 2nd Annual LGBT Pride celebration as great a success as last year's inaugural event."

The Mrs. Astor sent me the kindest welcoming message by carrier pigeon...

"The peasants have been sweeping the streets in anticipation of your arrival. School chidren will sing your graces as your carriage goes over the bridge. Just watch out for Mrs. Stuyvesant-Fish's snipers; she is jealous as all Hell that you are usurping her power."

Thanks for the sniper warning, Mrs. Astor. The Palace Guards are on alert!

What a whirlwind.....

2010-04-12T10:20:00.001-04:00

On the train to New York City on Thursday afternoon, arriving just in time to meet the boys, Matt and Travis, for dinner at Cafe Orlin in the East Village.

The occasion was Opening Night of "Poppycock" featuring our girl, Daiva Deupree.

Daiva literally lights up the stage when she walks on and proceeds to steal the show....and she looks smoking hot in a gorgeous dress and spike heels!!

The next night I went to see "My Custom Van" at The Drilling Company Theatre on West 78th Street. This hilarious production by my friends at Project: Theater is a must see for everyone if you want to laugh and have a great time. It has been recced by Village Voice, Time Out New York, and several other publications. The success of this wonderful theater company makes The Countess so very happy. They even had a little sign in the lobby to welcome me...

Spending two nights in New York City seeing friends demonstrate their incredible talents on stage is the best kind of fun.

Saturday was a long travel day....train to Boston, pick up my car, and drive to the Berkshires. But it was well worth it in order to go to the Aglet Theater play reading of "Fifty Words" featuring Jim Beaudin. Jim and Melissa Wolff gave such a passionate performance in reading this play that most of the time you forgot they had scripts in their hands.

Sir David, Duke of the Davoshire, came to the reading with me....

Jim and his wife, Paula, met me at Rumpy's Tavern for cocktails after the show and we proceeded to dissect the whole play, scene by scene.

As I was driving to the Berkshires on Saturday, The Mrs. Astor called to discuss plans for this coming weekend when the Northern Court once again visits the Southern Court to celebrate the Miami Beach Gay Pride festivities. Lots of parties are planned for my visit so I need to get some rest in over the next couple of days. In this photo, Mrs. Astor gives her royal wave to the adoring crowd...

I am certainly living up to my motto..."I'm running as fast as I can, while I can!" But I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my life!!!

Looking at the calendar....

2010-04-06T20:34:00.001-04:00

Hey peeps.....Lots of fun things coming up. In 2 days I'll be in New York City to see some theater. I have two top recs this week...

"My Custom Van" by Michael Ian Black is being produced by Project:Theater and runs for the next 3 weeks. The Countess is a little angel for this production and wants everyone to see it. You are in for a treat!!

"Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson" is playing at the Public Theater. Last spring this production had sold out runs at one of the Public's smaller theaters. Now it has been moved to a larger theater and is giving all those people who couldn't get tickets last time another chance to see it. It also has the talents of my dear friend, James Barry, who really gets his rock god on....so go, rock out, and tell your friends!

James Barry rockin' it in Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson

From New York City I'll be traveling back to the Berkshires to attend the Aglet Theater reading of "Fifty Words" at the Unicorn Theatre at the Berkshire Theater Festival on Saturday night. Not only can you see Karen Allen, of Raiders of the Lost Ark fame, but you can also see another pal of the Countess, Jim Beaudin. Jim is a fantastic actor and any theater experience that includes him is one worth being involved in.

Jim and his beautiful wife, Paula, at Rumpy's Tavern last New Years Eve

Then next Thursday the Countess is flying into Miami to attend the festivities for Miami Beach Gay Pride. Thomas Barker, the editor of The Wire (the weekly South Beach newspaper) who is the chair for Gay Pride weekend, had sent me a message that for the 'fabulous Countess' there would be a reserved cabana at the Hotel Victor VIP Pool Party. How can a lady say no? AND my friends Bob and Terry will have the cabana next to me. Oh, yes! What a party we will have!!!

Thomas Barker with an actor who must not be named, The Countess, and Father Tony

Countess, Terry, and Leo at the Winter Party Pool Party last month

The calendar is filled now until the fall. Fun, fun, fun!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T09:41:00.000-04:00

This beautiful Ukrainian Easter Egg (pysanka) was handcrafted by Kristin. She gave me the egg as a gift on the occasion of my first visit to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. I'll always treasure both the egg and the memory of our time at the Met.

In the folk life of Ukrainian people, the pysanka possess talismanic powers. Receipt of a pysanka is not only a token of friendship or esteem but also brings with it protection from harm. Ukrainian ancestors believed that pysanky in the home would bring good fortune, wealth, health, and protection from lightning and fire.

I haven't disarmed the alarm system in the Castle Bedelia yet but I feel safer with my beautiful egg in a place of honor in the dining room hutch :)

Later today I will be playing luau with the Baby Countesses. We have a limbo pole, flowered leis, heart shaped sunglasses, and headbands with bobbing flamingos. How much fun can one Countess have?

Happy Easter to all my readers!

A night at the theater in Boston.....

2010-04-02T21:29:00.000-04:00

My friend, Davo, is the Box Office Manager for Boston Symphony Orchestra. So when he invited me to meet him at 'the office', I jumped at the chance. I got a back stage look at the BSO box office where Davo reigns supreme, sat in on a BSO rehearsal, and that was all before we went out to dinner and the theater!!

The occasion was to see "Becky Shaw" at the Huntington Theatre Company. I had met Keira Naughton a few years ago at the Berkshire Theatre Festival and we have shared many a karaoke night and after hours party together. There was no way she was performing in Boston without me going into town to see her. The fact that she is friends with Davo sealed the deal....small planet that this theater world is.

Gina Gionfriddo is a 2009 Pulitzer Prize finalist for 'Becky Shaw' which has been described as “a blind date gone bad in this tale of love, sex, and ethics about thirty somethings.”. Keira, Seth Fisher, Eli James, and Wendy Hoopes (as Becky Shaw) were so much fun to watch, laugh with, and cry with...and Maureen Anderman, as the mother, was magnificent. (Maureen being another BTF alumni, performing in Noel Coward's "Suite in Two Keys" a couple of years ago).

Davo and I met Keira backstage.....

And then we all went out to the Eastern Standard in Kenmore Square for some food, drink, and conversation.....

The House sent over shots of their signature cocktail, Casablanca, for us to enjoy at the end of the evening....

Keira will be starring as Lady MacBeth in "the Scottish play" at Berkshire Theatre Festival this summer. Can't wait!!!!

Back to my Beloved Berkshires....

2010-03-28T14:20:00.001-04:00

The text messages started last Thursday...."Countess countdown.....23 hours" and continued throughout the night. So even though I woke up on Friday morning and saw snow falling outside the Castle Bedelia, I knew that I had to order the Royal Coach to make the trip to the Berkshires.

Lady Boninsky met me for a delicious dinner at Firefly where Laura, the owner and chef extraordinaire, came to our table to say hello. Laura has once again graciously donated Firefly for our Richie duPont Fund Benefit on May 22nd. Lady Boninsky just got a new camera and so she is our Guest Photographer for this post....

After dinner we headed over to Rumpy's Tavern where the Court had assembled for a Royal Ball.

Prince Troy kept our glasses full of good cheer and Glenlivet....

And The Countess danced the night away....

The Summer Palace has been polished to a shine by my Merry Maids, new locks installed on the Palace gates, and everything made ready for my return. More photos and adventures up soon.

And a big Thank You to Lady Boninsky for her gracious company and her photos!

Ooooh La La, Introducing my new toy "Purple Passion Flower"...

2010-03-23T23:11:00.000-04:00

Ta Dah...........

Dell Inspiron in Purple Passion! Who knew that Dell laptops came in such delicious colors? "Promise Pink", "Cherry Red", "Ice Blue", "Jade Green", or.....my choice....."Purple Passion". Yummy!!

Now when I am on the road you will receive updates from my beautiful new laptop. It has a gazillion capacity and no weight! It's like a little miracle in the universe.

J'aime ma vie!

Lt. Dan Choi

2010-03-22T23:26:00.000-04:00

This man humbles me.

Read his inspiring interview in Newsweek which he gave after being released from jail after being arrested for chaining himself to the White House gates last week .

Rush Limbaugh to leave the country......

2010-03-22T19:46:00.000-04:00

If you are on Facebook, you can join the Fan Page for Rush Limbaugh leaving the U.S

Rush Limbaugh graciously promised to leave the USA if Healthcare passed. It is time for him to keep his promise!

Remind him:

EM: ElRushbo@eibnet.com

Fax: 212-445-3963

Write: The Rush Limbaugh Show, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

If you want to help him move faster, put a bid on his gaudy New York City apartment. It's up for sale.

A Night at the 'Oprah'...

2010-03-20T16:40:00.001-04:00

Some of my Boston friends had already seen "Phantom of the Oprah" and had told me that I just HAD to see it for myself. They were right! It is only playing for one more week so if you want to split your sides laughing and see great acting and singing, get over to Machine and see this show while you still have a chance.

There is nothing I can say to add to the accolades already bestowed upon Varla Jean Merman. She is an incredible talent with an incredible voice. All the cast is just wonderful! And kudos to Ryan Landry who wrote the book and lyrics and plays Madame Cunte (that is pronounced Koon-tay, please!).

Oprah had several celebrity guests in the show and The Countess was so thrilled to be introduced to Liza.....

My beautiful young friend, Johanne, came with me and we got t-shirts!!

Also in our party are Barry and Paul....

After the show we went to the Encore Lounge, a wonderful piano bar in the theater district. Barry is a world famous pianist and one of his friends was playing the piano at the lounge last night. With a little encouragement Barry took a turn at the piano and sang a couple of songs....

Barry is opening at the Beachfire Bar & Grille in Ogunquitt, Maine, next Saturday.

Thanks to Johanne, Barry, and Paul for a fun night out on the town in Boston!

Tonight....

2010-03-19T09:35:00.000-04:00

Tonight The Countess and friends will be attending.....

I just hope that I don't get to Machine by way of Newton ;) !!

The Palace memories...

2010-03-18T02:32:00.000-04:00

One of my great pals in South Beach is the beautiful drag queen, Tiffany Fantasia. When she applied for the RuPaul Drag Race Show, I was her biggest fan. I organized a cadre of voters on the LOGO website to vote for her and kept up the pressure all the way. The way it worked was that if you voted for my girl, I would vote for yours. It was Cut Throat, baby!! Tiffany didn't end up making the final cut for the Drag Race 1st season but we still have hopes!

When I showed up at The Palace on Sunday for her show, she immediately corraled me and asked where I was the day before !!!!! Ooops! I thought her show was Sunday. Anyway she said that she would do a special show just for me....Gawd, I love that girl....

All the Queens put on a fabulous show that day....and every other day too, I am sure!!

I also had a chance to see my darling RayRay. I first met Raymond several years ago when he was bussing tables. He was a little go-getter. He worked his way up and now he is one of the premiere bartenders on Ocean Drive. I adore this boy. He is one of my special friends in SoBe...

One of the things that I love when I go to SoBe is that people remember me from year to year. So many people come for vacation and you never expect that they will think of you when they leave, so it is always a pleasure to hear someone say, "Countess, I met you here last year.....how are you?" Such is the case with the men in this picture. I remember them from prior years but don't know their names. That's OK. We danced to "Forever Young" and for that time, I did feel forever young....

Then there was this handsome man who came up to me and said he was totally fascinated with me and wanted to buy me a drink. How could a lady refuse? He literally declared his love, paid for the drink, and disappeared almost before I could get his picture. And he IS very handsome, don't you think?

DJ Oliver was spinning at The Palace for the first time that day I was told but he had the crowd under his spell from the beginning.....Hey, anyone who spins "Forever Young" has me in his spell :)

I have so many fond memories of The Palace Bar on Ocean Drive. When people ask me how I became a Countess, I tell them...."The Countess was born in a Palace on Ocean Drive"...and that's the truth.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T09:32:00.002-04:00

St Patricks Day Glitter Graphics

More Winter Party 2010 Memories...

2010-03-16T20:02:00.000-04:00

My trip to Miami Beach was just too short but packed with so many adventures and catching up with old friends and making new ones.

One of my new friends is Jordan. Mrs. Astor was so excited to introduce me to this charming young man. At the Opening Night Cocktail Party he was working the table for the Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf , an organization which was set up to advance the interests of LGBT deaf citizens.

I would be remiss if I didn't share this picture of the "Henrietta Basket" that Mrs. Astor put together and donated as one of the raffle items. The basket included the book authored by Mrs. Astor commemorating Henrietta's fabulous life in Miami Beach over the past 6 plus years. She isn't known as the "Queen of South Beach" for nothing. A wonderful tribute to a fabulous person...

I also had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Barry Rocklin, a noted pianist who plays gigs all over the place. He was just at The Piano Bar in the DeLido building on Lincoln Road but if you missed him, you will have to come to Boston. He is back in Beantown today and I look forward to seeing him play soon.
Here is Barry with Mrs. Astor and Leo waving the Countess sign at The Palace! They carried that sign up and down Ocean Drive all day and night :)

Over at Twist one afternoon, The Countess got behind the bar and we all know that means nothing but trouble! Good thing that the adorable Tommy was working that bar. They only had one bottle of Glenlivet and when I moved on to another bar inside Twist, Tommy gave me the bottle to carry with me. Carl Zablotny, that veteran news reporter, said he wished he had a picture of that!!

When I was over at the Surfcomber talking with the staff about the food for my Cabana at the Pool Party, I jokingly mentioned that last year the people at the Showtime cabana next to me had eaten most of the food before my guests could get to it. Imagine my surprise when I saw they had put up this sign at the Cabana....

Of course I ended up treating everyone up on the Balcony to the food. How could I not? They were all delightful partiers!

One of The Countess good friends who does so much volunteer work for just about every LGBT cause in Miami Beach is Luis or, as we know him, Le Compte Lamont. He is on the Winter Party Committee and was in charge of the Opening Night Cocktail Party...

Another person I was privileged to meet is Charles Robbins, the Executive Director of The Trevor Project, the national organization that focuses on crisis and suicide prevention of gay youth and maintains a national around-the-clock Hotline. When I was younger, I volunteered as a Hotline Counselor for HAWC (Help for Abused Women and Children) and I know first hand how important that phone call can be to someone who needs help. Charles and I had a wonderful talk and plan to meet in the future to discuss this very worthy organization.

And just because cute boys find me everywhere I go, here is some gratuitous eye candy. These young men came up to find me and they were completely adorable...

What a great time the whole time I was there! Sending kisses to everyone in South Beach!!

Pool Party 2010

2010-03-12T14:41:00.000-05:00

The Baroness Vickie, Princess Penny, and The Countess arrived at noon and were escorted up to our Royal Balcony Cabana. Paul, the Balcony Guard at the bottom of the stairs, greeted us with a bow. He has been guarding The Countess for 3 years now and takes his duties very seriously. We were then introduced to our very own Cabana Boys who told us they were there to wait on us hand and foot. A Countess' Dream come true!

Chaz, Stephen, Countess, Penny, Tommy, Vickie

Aren't they handsome? And just the sweetest, nicest boys, too. They all go to U.Miami and were wonderful to talk to and party with.

The first guests to arrive were Mr. and Mrs. Astor, the most handsome couple on South Beach....

Then Steve came in and took a liking to Tommy....

This is the second year that Steve has come down from Massachusetts to join the party. He was able to catch us up on all the gossip from Rumpy's Tavern back home. Mrs. Astor loves to hear all the stories. I have a feeling she thinks I exaggerate sometimes but Steve backed me up on all the outrageousness that happens in our little Tavern under the Inn.

Another guest from far away was David who came down from Pennsylvania. He really enjoyed himself....

My pal Susie didn't like any of her pictures but I think this one with Penny and Vickie looks kind of cute.....

Carl Zablotny has returned to the Beach from the wilds of Mexico where he fought off bandoleros and barely escaped with his life....

Bob and Terry and their houseguests Dave and Lois Lane came in and proceeded to liven things up.....

Terry immediately donned a feather boa bikini and gave the Countess some love....

Here is a group shot of some of the Royal guests....

Then it was time for the food to be served. Jeff and Edelaine set up a lovely buffet for us and made sure that everything was perfect......

The afternoon flew by as we danced and partied. The Showtime people share the Balcony with us and they always bring a few stars around to introduce to everyone. Here is the Countess with Pam Grier from The L Word....

My dear Father Tony was on hand to record the event and take pictures. He was reporting for the Bilerico Project....

And it wouldn't be Pool Party without a visit from Eddie and Gary (who blogs as The South Beach Bum)....

I took over 100 pictures so I'm sure some more will crop up from time to time. I want to thank the Task Force, especially Dave and Parzham, for making my party so special and taking such good care of me.

The party ended around six o'clock but we weren't done quite yet as we had to go to Twist for a birthday party. That's life in SoBe....the party never ends!!

Party with a Purpose

2010-03-11T12:33:00.000-05:00

Before I post about all our shenanigans at the Pool Party, I'd like to tell you about the reason that I pay for a Cabana and return year after year to Winter Party.

It's to help support the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Two-thirds of the proceeds from Winter Party are returned to the South Florida LGBT community. Over 30 organizations including the South Beach Aids Project, the Miami Gay Men's Chorus, Equality Florida, and Pridelines Youth Services....to name just a few....are helped by the funds raised during the five day Party.

As Rea Carey, the Executive Director of the Task Force, says, "We party with a purpose."

And don't forget to thank the national sponsors of the Task Force: American Airlines, Grey Goose, and Showtime. I believe in spending my money on LGBT friendly companies. Never underestimate the power of your dollar!

The Countess and Jose Lugaro, Director of Annual Gifts for the Task Force, as we party with a purpose...

Of course, when TPTB assign 3 gorgeous cabana boys to attend to your comfort, that's a good reason to return every year ;)

Next post...."We really tore it up!" to quote Terry!!!

Winter Party on South Beach...The Countess Version, Part One

2010-03-10T15:39:00.001-05:00

The Mrs. Astor has been blogging away for the past two days telling all about our adventures in Wonderland. Check out her blog to see fabulous stories and beautiful pictures....especially of moi !!

The Countess arrived in SoBe last Wednesday with just enough time to hang up my outfits before my darling Mark was at the door to escort me to the Opening Night Cocktail Party at the Surfcomber.

Once there we met up with Mrs. Astor who was volunteering at the Welcome table.

Unfortunately for The Countess the event was sponsored by Grey Goose vodka and, although there were free vodka drinks aplenty, there was no Glenlivet. So we retired to the hotel bar for awhile to have a glass of scotch. At the bar we made some new friends. Here are The Countess and Mark at the bar with Chip, Mike, and Theresa....

By the time we left that bar and returned to the Cocktail Party, everyone at the hotel had become a friend of The Countess. Maybe I should start my own self-help group :)

My regular readers know that I am a big fan of Joe.My.God. and Joe's friend, Father Tony, interviewed me to get a message out to Joe that we missed him at the party. You can see that video here. You can laugh at the Countess as much as I do when I watch this. OMG, can one old lady have any more fun? Yes, she can! Read Tony's account of the Opening Night Cocktail party on the Bilerico Blog.

The Countess and Father Tony

The fabulous drag queen, Tiffany Fantasia, always finds The Countess and we got interviewed by the Miami Herald and got our picture in the Herald the next day......How fabulous is that?

After schmoozing with so many old friends and having so many laughs, we decamped to Twist to see Susie who was bartending at the Bungalow Bar. She made sure there was Glenlivet at her bar....

The next night Mark and I drove up to Ft. Lauderdale to have dinner at The Manor with the Baroness Vickie, Penny, and Steve, who was visiting from the Berkshires.....

On Friday I went over to the Surfcomber Hotel to talk to the catering staff about the food for my party. This is what the pool looked like before it was decorated....

The next day it was very festive.....

Next blog is about the Pool Party with my personal Cabana Boys, wonderful friends, and more Fabulous Fun!!

Another opening, another show......

2010-03-02T01:07:00.000-05:00

Once again Our Hit Parade at Joe's Pub delivered an evening of fabulous entertainment. I don't know how they fit so much fun into one night. The Countess even managed to get on stage for an impromptu emcee session :) Several friends joined me for the night and even though I forgot to take the group picture, I did snap Halley and John up on stage playing "What's in your diaper?". I'm sure it was an evening they won't forget!!!

Thank you Bryce, Catherine, Bobby, Halley, John, Matt, Travis, and Phillip for coming to the party. And always, Thanks to my dear friend Jenn Harris for performing so brilliantly as Pink and then coming to hang out with us.

Later that night on my way back to the hotel I got in my very first New York City Taxi Cab accident! Just a fender bender with another cab....and The Countess is fine....but listening to 2 cabbies swear at each other in 2 different languages was an experience!! Lesson learned. Wear your seatbelt in a cab.

I woke up on Thursday to a raging snow storm outside my window. It stormed all day and night but that didn't stop The Countess from heading downtown to the Mercury Lounge to meet up with Joe and Jessi Blue....

We were there to listen to some great music from the Holy Ghost Tent Revival. This fabulous band was rockin' and rollin' and jumpin' all over the stage. I danced up a storm. Too much fun!

And BONUS! The first band to come on was Megan McCormick. This little gal is a powerhouse! I am her newest fan. Check out her music. She can play a guitar with the best of them. Five Stars from The Countess for Megan.

Friday was shopping at Macy's where I found a killer outfit for South Beach. You have to be stylin' when you are strolling down Ocean Drive....or at least when Mrs. Astor is in the room! Then off to the theater to see "Next Fall", a very poignant story of a gay couple told in flashbacks after a horrific accident. Get your kleenex out; you will need it with this one.

Finally the big night arrived. My best pals Daiva, Matt, and Travis met up with me for a little pre-theater dinner....

And then it was Opening Night for the Red Bull Theater production of "Duchess of Malfi". I am a big fan of this theater company and have so many friends who either work on the productions or act in them. Erin Lunsford did the wigs and hair designs, Scott Killian (who works on so many Berkshire productions) did the music, Nathan Leigh did the sound, and the special guests that night included John Douglas Thompson who recently awed New York with his portrayal of "Emperor Jones". Many other celebrities were in the audience and at the after party. It really was like an old home week for The Countess and I enjoyed seeing so many friends that night.

Travis took a picture of the cake...

Later Matt, Travis, and I went over to the Ritz Bar to see Giovanni at the bar and JonJon Battles DJing up a storm on the dance floor.

Just a few memories and the reason that I.Love.New York City!!

Snow storm in The City....

2010-03-01T12:32:00.000-05:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and no words can really describe the blizzard in New York City last week. I wondered if the city had any snow plows or did they just wait for the traffic to grind the snow into oblivion?

View out of the Taxi window going downtown to the Mercury Lounge on Thursday night....

Views from my hotel window on Friday morning....

Trying to cross the street with a foot of snow and slush on every curb to wade through.....

Broadway at 50th Street....

That's when I went into my favorite pub for a Glenlivet to warm me up!!

Have you done your taxes yet?

2010-02-22T21:35:00.000-05:00

When The Countess is not being a Countess, she is an accountant...or maybe an 'a'ccountess!

The IRS keeps accountants in business and, in spite or many years protesting against the government, I never protest against taxes. It is guaranteed employment, people! No matter what you do, what you make, what your service is.....you have to report it to the Federal government and most states. Oh yes, it is money in the bank for all of us who make a living helping you report it. Not only do we prepare your tax forms but we advise you during the year about what decisions you should make to save you money when you report your earnings.

For instance, a simple little transaction involving a donation to the Arts, can save you money on your taxes. Did you know that, depending on your income, a donation to the theater company of your choice can reduce your tax liablity up to 35% for the equivalent amount of income, depending on your tax bracket.

So please click on to the Berkshire Theatre Festival and give a donation to not only help them to continue to give you quality entertainment, but to help you reduce your tax liability for the year ending 2010.

Take it from a tax professional....and a lady who loves to find a loophole in the law so that we all can have a good time!!!! Give to the theater company of your choice.

Preparing for South Beach...

2010-02-21T09:26:00.001-05:00

My dear friend, The Mrs. Astor, has been busy arranging receptions for my pending arrival on South Beach. She has regular meetings with her court to be sure they have their weapons polished.

Unfortunately this year Officer Brian, my Chief of Security, has been called away on important state business and will not be able to offer his protection as he has in years past....

We shall have to call in the reserves, Baron Bob and Count Terry....

There will be parties every day and night. Needless to say, The Countess does not stand on ceremony.....

There will be dancing in the streets with drag queens....

And there will always be the hottest bartenders to serve my Glenlivet....

The jewels have come out of the vault and the designer gowns have been delivered. Just another week and The Countess will make her Royal appearance!!

But first, a State Visit to New York City is pending. Oh my, it's hard work being a Countess :)

There's a new Mii in town...

2010-02-18T09:43:00.000-05:00

The Countess has been adbucted by aliens and taken aboard the Wii Console. Strange beings are poking and prodding her and speaking in annoyingly cheerful voices.

But after I gave them a glass of Glenlivet, they took 4 years off my age and overlooked the sad state of my old body....

But then DungeonMaster Don took over the torture and told me right away to put down the scotch glass and Get.To.Work...

He has no sense of humor obviously and somehow he can see me from inside that little console box. How does he do that????

A girl just needs to powder her nose now and then, Don. Don't be such a hardass....

I do like the pretty purple dress they gave me to wear though. I wonder if I can take it to South Beach?

A Varla Valentine !!

2010-02-16T15:50:00.000-05:00

The Countess had a fun time with Duke Davo, Big Daddy, and Chip at the Varla Valentine show. Miss Varla Jean Merman is a class act and if you have never seen her act, make sure you get a ticket for her new show, "Phantom of the Oprah", at Machine from Feb. 26 to March 28. Varla gave us a sneak peek at a number from the show and it is to die for!! Varla has an amazing voice.

Varla is a tall gal.....I was standing on a step to take this picture.....

Duke Davo was a very handsome date.....

After the show, we went to Jae's in the South End for a delicious dinner. A very sweet Valentine's Day for The Countess.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-13T12:39:00.000-05:00

Roses are red,

Diamonds debauch,

Gift me with neither,

I'd rather have scotch!

A handsome admirer sent The Countess a Valentine's bouquet....so sweet!

And, WATCH OUT WORLD, The Countess has also received Wii Fit Plus.....

The Grand Duke will be over this afternoon to hook it up for me and then I will be in great shape. Can't wait!! Oooooooh.....do I actually have to excercise with it? Isn't just having it in the house going to work? Darn, I KNEW there was a catch!

Tomorrow I have a Valentine's date with Sir David, Duke of the Davoshire, to see Varla Jean Merman's show at Machine in Boston. Varla's fictitious pedigree boasts that Ernest Borgnine is her father and Ethel Merman is her mother. You might have seen her recently in an episode of Ugly Betty.

Is there a better way to spend Valentine's Day than at a drag show in a gay club? It's my idea of heaven!!!!

In Honor of National Freedom to Marry Day....

2010-02-12T10:49:00.007-05:00

Thanks to Uncle Matt for the following item:

Kitty Lambert and her longtime partner Cheryl attempted to apply for a marriage license yesterday in Buffalo, New York. When she was denied, she turned to the crowd:

"With news cameras rolling, Kitty then turned to the crowd and asked for any male who would be willing to get married to her. A gay man named Ed stepped forward and volunteered. They briefly exchanged information and presented the appropriate documents along with $40. City staff verified the information, and proceeded to give them a marriage license. Kitty’s point in approaching the City Clerk for a marriage license is that there is no religious basis for marriage, and it serves only as a legally binding contract in our society. Instead of being offered the ability to receive a license with her long-term partner, she was able to secure a license with a virtual stranger, strictly based on their gender."

You can also read the story in Buffalo, New York, news.

The Countess commands you to click on the Buffalo link and watch the video that accompanies that article. How can anyone deny people the right to marry the person they love?

Also check Father Tony's Blog. He was there on the scene recording the historical confrontation at the New York City Marriage Bureau today. Stonewall is reverberating in our minds. It is time to rise up and today is just the tip of the iceberg. Look around people.....the man at the desk next to you is queer, the woman who is waiting on you at Starbucks is queer, and the family in the house next to you has two moms or two dads.....The Times They are a'Changin!!!!!

South Beach dreaming on a winter's day....

2010-02-10T15:26:00.000-05:00

As the snow swirls around outside the windows of the Castle Bedelia, I dream of South Beach, palm trees, warm breezes, and drag queens at The Palace Bar. In 3 short weeks The Countess will be back in Paradise to once again hostess her legendary party at the Winter Party POOL PARTY!

The invitations have gone out, the food has been ordered, and the bottle of Glenlivet is waiting!

Last year we were visited by the legendary Ditmar.....

The Baroness Vickie and the lovely Penny came down from Ft. Lauderdale....

And my dear friends, Alexis and Leo, the King and Queen of South Beach Society graced the VIP Cabana....

Once again The Countess will wave to the boys from her Royal Balcony....

This year looks like it will be another fabulous time. I can't wait !!!!

Corey Tut...making it on TV!!

2010-02-08T21:10:00.001-05:00

Hey blogoshere....Tune in tonight and watch the CW at 9 pm to hear Corey Tut sing "So What?" on Life Unexpected tonight on the CW!

Support our boy!!!

ETA: Corey made a booboo :) His song is on next week's show! So tune in next Monday night to hear it.

"Happy Now?" NYC, Chapter 3.....

2010-02-08T15:56:00.001-05:00

The Carrier Pigeon delivered the message to the Castle Bedelia on a sunny winter day....

Hello dear Countess,

I know this isn't your beloved FaceBook, but I thought I would give you your own personal e-mail with a shameless plug from yours truly. This is my next show. I hope you can come and we can grab a drink after the show. Happy New Year! Let me know when you're coming.

Cheers,
C. J.

When C.J. Wilson asks you to his next play and puts you on the 'Family Discount' list, you don't say no! And when Tommy Schrider says he will be your date, the evening is twice the fun! Actually Tommy's beautiful and talented wife, Nurit Monacelli, was supposed to join us but she had a play reading to perform in that night ...Next time, Nurit! Then Kyle Fabel (who just finished directing 'Fabuloso' at Merrimack Rep)decided to come and bring two friends who were visiting from England. In the theater lobby I heard "Countess??" and Emmy Frank and Kerry Stinson gave me big hugs. A BTF reunion!! New York City can be such a small town some days.

"Happy Now?" is playing at the 59E59 Theater until March 6th. It is a fun play about a woman's struggles to balance personal freedom with family life, fidelity and a demanding job. The Off-Broadway cast of the New York premiere of Lucinda Coxon's Happy Now? met the press at Primary Stages rehearsal studios Jan. 14.

Joan MacIntosh, Brian Keane, Kelly AuCoin, Mary Bacon, CJ Wilson, Quentin Mare and Kate Arrington....Photo by Aubrey Reuben

It is worth the price of admission just to see C.J. stripped to his undershorts and rotating his pecs like a stripper as he admires himself in an imaginary mirror :) LMAO!!!!

After the play, C.J., Tommy, and The Countess went to a nearby pub to enjoy a glass of scotch or two. C.J. regaled us with a story of a shoot he did for Comedy Central which had us laughing almost too much to give our review of the plot....

C.J. was a little sad about that.

Another delightful night of theater with friends in that wonderful city that never sleeps....just my kind of town!

NYC - Chapter Two

2010-02-05T20:48:00.000-05:00

I started coming to Our Hit Parade at Joe's Pub early last year because my friend, Jenn Harris, was performing in the show for the first time. Little did I know then that this show would become not only a favorite cabaret to see but a monthly party hostessed by The Countess. Not only do I get to see some of the best cabaret acts in the city like Lady Rizo, Molly Pope, Trapper Felides, Billy Eichner, and oh so many others, but I get to gather together whoever on my friend's list is free that night and we have a PARTY!

The Countess with Matt, Travis, Phillip, Ryan, & Arne

You can watch one of the best acts of the night HERE, courtesy of Brendan Kennedy. Bridget Everett and two adorable little rappers belting out Rihanna's HARD like you've never seen it before.

And don't just take The Countess' word for how fabulous this show is....read the write up in New York Time Out that voted Our Hit Parade.....BEST CABARET IN 2009!!! And, if you are really, really good, you might get The Countess to buy you a drink at the bar after the show :)

Another lost week in New York City --- Chapter One...

2010-02-04T22:49:00.001-05:00

Last week I had the best time in New York City with some of my wonderful talented friends. I am blessed to have met so many young people who don't seem to mind hanging out with the Countess :)

Joe Jung: I met Joe one night a couple of years ago when he emceed the Berkshire Theatre Festival DuPont benefit. We really cut a rug on the dance floor that night and, like most everyone I know these days, became internet friends...first on MySpace and then on Facebook. Joe is the Director of Project:Theater which is doing lots of cool things in NYC and he usually plays guitar and sings his songs on Sunday nights at the Failte Irish Whiskey Bar on 2nd Ave.

I took the train into the city on Sunday afternoon and that night I headed over to the Failte to see Joe. There was a football game on the TV in the bar which delayed Joe's act a bit but it gave us a chance to have a drink and catch up on news and gossip before he got up to sing. Joe recently won The Ultimate Singer Songwriter contest at the Waltz Astoria and will be appearing in their show tomorrow night.

I wish I was back in the city to go to that show!

Daiva Deupree: The Countess and Daiva met in a karaoke bar and bonded in a fierce way. She was appearing in a play at BTF 2 summers ago and when her run was over we made plans to meet up in NYC in the fall. Lots of times these kinds of plans never happen but we did stay in touch and we've been friends ever since. There are very few times that I am in the city that I don't see Daiva. She is one of the stars in a new indie movie, "The Bits in Between".

On Monday night we went to the Red Bull Theater reading of Camus' "Caligula". These readings are just so entertaining and this one had Michael Urie in the role of Caligula....who was magnificent! After the reading we headed down the street to the Ritz Bar where we proceeded to get a little tipsy while we talked and talked and talked. I love you, Daiva <3

John Douglas Thompson: Obie winner, actor, gentleman.....John and I met one night at a Shakespeare & Co. gala. He was appearing as Othello that summer and I think I saw the play 5 times. Every time someone came to visit, we went to see John perform. He ended up winning the Obie last year for that role. Now he was appearing in "Emperor Jones" and the run was almost over. I had tried to see it last fall but it was sold out. Luckily I scored a ticket and got to see it on Tuesday night. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't win another Obie for this role.

John, the Countess, and LeRoy McClain

Then the night that I had really come into town for....Wednesday night means "Our Hit Parade" at Joe's Pub. I think that needs it's own post.....tomorrow.....

The new year begins...

2010-01-19T08:16:00.000-05:00

This is the time of year that the Countess puts her nose to the grindstone....Tax Time! All the year end accounting and tax preparation take up the first few weeks of the year with NO TIME FOR FUN :( This makes the Countess a pretty dull girl and she gets a bit cranky.

We have planned a little jaunt to New York City next week to get back in the party mood. Our Hit Parade, the show voted Best Cabaret in NYC for 2009, has a big show planned. My friend C.J. Wilson is in a new play called "Happy Now?" and John Douglas Thompson is a must see in "Emperor Jones". Hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures this time.

And there is a little thing called a Senate Election here in Massachusetts which is happening today. It seems our Senate seat holds national importance and there is a lot riding on the outcome. I'll be voting for Martha Coakley because I still have hope for the Obama agenda and I still feel most Republicans are trying to turn the country into a church that we will all be forced to go to whether we believe or not.

You all have a good week now and if you live in Massachusetts, please VOTE! This is one election that you can be sure your vote will make a difference.

The earthquake disaster in Haiti

2010-01-13T15:33:00.000-05:00

All day I have been monitoring the news and reading reports about the disaster in Haiti. I can't imagine the devastation and suffering that the Haitian people are enduring as I type this blog....and how can you not be moved by a picture like this...

Thanks to Joe.My.God for the pictures of the Haitian Presidential Palace after and before the quake...

One organization that we can always count on to deliver help in a disaster is the Red Cross. A donation to them goes directly to the relief efforts. Click here to make a donation. Even a donation of $10 goes a long way in a disaster like this.

WINTER

2010-01-12T20:50:00.000-05:00

A friend sent me this poem yesterday and I thought I would share with you...

I found this beautiful winter poem and thought it might be a comfort to you.
It was to me, as it's very well written and I hope that you enjoy it too .

' WINTER '

by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

Shit It's Cold

The End

This certainly seems to sum up the year so far. Everyone is frozen from Florida to Maine. The poor iguanas are falling off the trees. The lizards go into a type of hibernation when the temperature drops below around 9 degrees C, all body functions but the heart switching off and blood flow cut to a minimum.

But don't throw them in the back of your warmed up station wagon, as was reported here: "a gentleman who was collecting them off the street and throwing them in the back of his station wagon, and all of a sudden these things are coming alive, crawling on his back and almost causing a wreck."

I did get a Facebook message that Puerto Rico is the place to be...the next five days should be around 80 degrees....sounds good to me. How does that song go from West Side Story?

Puerto Rico,
You lovely island . . .
Island of tropical breezes.
Always the pineapples growing,
Always the coffee blossoms blowing . . .

My friends are returning from Miami like frozen popsicles.....Puerto Rico sounds pretty good just about now!

Happy New Year, Everyone....So sayeth Tiny Tim!!

2010-01-10T20:57:00.000-05:00

There are many lessons to be learned from Tiny Tim, the poor little cripple in Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol". But most of all we should learn to be greatful for what we have and then to use that knowledge for what we need to attain our goals in life.

After my visit with the Baby Countess' on Christmas, I got out of Dodge.......out to the beautiful Berkshires to see the Berkshire Theatre Festival production of "A Christmas Carol". The Countess had been invited to play a part in this production and I was still melancholy because I was not able to commit to being in this wonderful play. If you have seen this production at BTF before and thus have no desire to see it again, think twice....as Scrooge must do before the night ends. Eric Hill has performed this role for several years now but each year brings a new edge to his performance.

Has Tiny Tim imparted some new insights into his interpretation of this iconic role?

The next night was New Year's Eve at Rumpy's Tavern......and Yes, The Countess was melancholy because her Knight in Shining Armor, Sir Stew, First Knight of the Berkshires, was not only not going to be in attendance but would not be the New Year's Baby. But Fred stepped in and filled Stew's diaper.

Ashton baked the most incredible cake for the New Year Birthday Baby....

Sammy Brown kept the music flowing....

And Troy kept the drinks going...

My dear friends Jim and Paula came in to toast the New Year ....

Maybe it was just another New Year's Eve to many of you, but if you were fortunate to spend the night with special friends.....celebrating the success of last year and the promise of next year....then maybe the 'new' Tiny Tim's words still resonate..... "Tiptoe through the tulips with me"

Because Tiny Tim started as a novelty act but became a voice for the disenfranchised of a generation; a time when not conforming was ridiculed. A man ahead of his time. Can Dicken's Tiny Tim teach us the same lessons of love and tolerance that the modern day Tiny Tim teaches us? Do these lessons ever stop being relevent?

What a difference a decade makes....

2010-01-02T00:09:00.000-05:00

On February 1, 1999, my beloved husband Bob passed away after a two year battle with leukemia. Here he is playing cards just a year before he died....so handsome, so full of life.

When we found out that he had leukemia, we could not believe it. He wasn't sick, he didn't feel bad. What was this thing that was supposed to kill him and yet would not give a sign? It was a year of discovery about cancer and how your life can change so completely that hospital visits become the norm.

During that year I also learned that my beloved cousin, Carolyn, had bone cancer. Carolyn was born 3 months after me and, because World War II was raging and all the men were gone, we all lived in my grandmother's house. Carolyn and I shared the same crib and then the same room. We were sisters before we knew we were cousins. And even though life took us on different journeys, we were always connected emotionally.

And into this mix came my beautiful dog, Mai-Ling. I posted about her recently so I won't repeat the history....just that she was with me at the beginning of this decade.

In 1999 I sat with Bob and held his hand as he died; then in May, 2000, I sat with Carolyn and held her hand as she died; then one month later in June, I sat with Mai-Ling and held her paw as she died. So began this decade for me.

I remember one of my friends asked me at the time, "What are you going to do now?" And I honestly did not know. How much can you fight? How many times can you replenish your spirit? Life seemed pretty hopeless. But Bob had told me before he died, "This life is short. Have as much fun as you can." After awhile I started thinking about his words and wondered what I could do about bringing joy to my life once again.

The rest is history! The Countess was born in a Palace on South Beach and hasn't looked back. She is fortunate to have friends from Miami to Maine. My life today is a miracle of evolution, most of which you can read about in this blog. Sometimes I go back in the archives and read about my adventures over the past years and I am amazed that I have fashioned a fantastic life....like a phoenix rising from the ashes...I soar....

La Di Da...

2009-12-28T16:12:00.001-05:00

I could say 'Happy Birthday' to The Countess but The Countess wasn't born until September of 2005. She emerged from the ashes of widowhood and became an entity all by herself. But she actually started way back on 12/28/1942....born in a snowstorm, delivered from a firestorm....let's start with that story! The Cocoanut Grove in Boston.....one month before she was born.....11/28/1942...

My mother went into Boston that fateful night to have some fun before she became a mother. She had gotten pregnant with a boyfriend from high school who had abandoned her. Back in those days I might have become just another abortion statistic but my grandmother would not have any of that. When my father's mother and family came to her house to say that my mother was a whore and that they wanted nothing to do with her, my grandmother got the gun from under the bed (a holdover from when they made gin during prohibition...another story!) and shot over their heads....."I will take care of my daughter and her child...you are not welcome here!"...so says the family legend.

And so my mother decided to have one great night out with her friends before she became a mother. The Cocoanut Grove was the hottest nightclub in Boston at the time. What better place to get that final rush of fun. Of course this was long before our health system decreed that drinking and smoking and sex were all bad if you were pregnant!!! Anyway, my grandmother was listening to the radio when the news broke in and declared: "Fire in the Cocoanut Grove nightclub!" From that moment on she was glued to the coverage and praying for her daughter.....and of course, for me too. The stuff that family legends are built on. You can google the Cocoanut Grove Fire today and read about the tragedy.

My mother finally made her way home the next day with a fantastic story of being pulled through the kitchen and saved from a fiery death. One month later, on a snowy New England night, I was born.

Family legend has it that it was a major snowstorm that night. The doctor was on his rounds at the New England Sanitarium and, after many telephone calls, my mother was brought to the Sanitarium. I was told that they had to park the car at the bottom of a hill and climb the driveway through the snow. And so I was born....in a snowstorm after surviving a firestorm....such a beginning to life! Is it any wonder that I am a fantastical creature?

Happy Holidays to all my Blogger & Facebook Friends...

2009-12-24T13:56:00.000-05:00

I am off to play Countess with my girls. You all have a Merry! Merry!

Mele Kalikimaka

2009-12-22T22:54:00.000-05:00

Why does Christmas make you feel so nostalgic when you get older? Maybe because you remember those Christmas mornings when you were a little kid and woke up to find that special thing you had been wishing for under the tree. Or maybe because you remember being a parent and making sure that those special things were under the tree for your kids. Or maybe you remember being in love and having the one person who could make your Christmas special surprise you with that perfect token of love. Yes, many decades of life gives you lots of perspectives.

So it was kind of funny that I was listening to the radio tonight and the Hawaiian Christmas song came on and made me tear up a bit. Because many years ago at a company party, I sang this song with my girlfriends as my backup chorus....swinging and swaying in a sequin dress....everyone at the company cheering and clapping. That was the party that a handsome young man drank champagne out of my high-heeled slipper. When the most handsome man in the company danced with me and told me that if he wasn't married, he would be trying so hard to win my affection. When I felt beautiful and desirable and just wonderful!

If I could go back to that night, I would transport myself immediately. Not only did I have a fantastic time but waiting at home was my wonderful husband Bob, waiting with all the joy of Christmas radiating from his being. Bob loved Christmas and planned for it all year. He made each Christmas with him a special event, an event that no one in my family will ever forget.

So I wish you all a Mele Kalikimaka and a 'Bob' that you can celebrate with....that one person who makes you feel special, and by doing that, gives you the wonderful Christmas that you all deserve. xoxo

The Castle Bedelia in Winter...

2009-12-20T16:41:00.002-05:00

The big storm of 2009 put a crimp in my weekend plans. As you can see, I won't be leaving the Palace until the wonderful people who man the plows and shovels have done their job. The servants haven't been able to make it up the mountain so I am forced to fend for myself.....Yes, you guessed it! The Countess is Cooking! I'm surprised that I still remember how.

But yesterday afternoon I ventured forth to the local market and procured the makings for one of my favorite cold weather dishes....American Chop Suey!! The blend of peppers, mushrooms, and onions with seasoned ground beef, simmered in tomato sauce, and poured over macaroni, letting it sit awhile to absorb the sauce, sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese.......decant a bottle of Rosemount Cabernet Merlot....heat up a loaf of French bread sprinkled with butter and herbs! Just describing it is intoxicating!

It's days like this that I do miss the pitter patter of little feet, the sounds of my young children filling the house with noise and mess. But then I slap myself upside the head and say, "Countess, get a grip!" So I'll content myself with enjoying a quiet day at the Castle Bedelia with a delicious meal that I have prepared myself.....in just a few days I'll be with the granddaughters....those delightful Baby Countesses....and just a few hours of noise and mess will make me once again happy to return to the peace and quiet of my beautiful Castle Bedelia.

Mark's Tribute to his Glee Family

2009-12-16T22:47:00.001-05:00

Were you having Glee withdrawal tonight like I was? Here is the beautiful and HOT Mark Salling singing a tribute to his Glee castmates.

Blogger Blues...

2009-12-15T11:50:00.003-05:00

The Countess has been a little lazy about blogging lately. Blogging is kind of like exercising in a way. You have to really motivate yourself to do it but when it is over, you feel really good.

And my kids don't know where I am if I don't blog :)

The 12 Gays of Christmas

2009-12-09T18:11:00.001-05:00

This has been around for a couple of years now but definitely is worth a second look. Thanks to The Mrs. Astor and Terry Z for bringing it to my attention once again.

Hey VIDS! This might be a routine to add to your list....you wonderful dancers can certainly pull off something like this.

Mai-Ling Remembered...

2009-12-02T20:29:00.005-05:00

Every so often I do a little post about my departed angel, Mai-Ling. She has been gone for almost 10 years now but I still miss her sweet face.

Recently a Facebook friend's dog had to have an operation and I waited with trepidation to hear that the dog...and his parent, were OK. Mai-Ling had 3 operations and each time I was a wreck; so I could just imagine the stress that this adorable young person was going through. And it served to remind me once again of the special bond between parent and pet that develops.

Mai-Ling was the child of my heart and the one that fate brought into my life.When The Count and I were about to enter into cohabitation, he mentioned that he would like to have a dog. "A DOG ! ", I HYSTERICALLY SHRIEKED. After all, here we were.....kids grown up, financially secure, travel on the horizon, in love, and ready for a new adventure. A dog would keep us tethered to our house and I was ready to fly. "NO DOG," says The Countess.

Soooo, he called one day and asked me to meet him at the mall. He took me over to the pet store and introduced me to this shaggy haired little ball of white fluff who promptly took the biggest shit that a little dog could possibly take. The smell was so bad that I had to leave the area.

But the damage was done. I had looked into her eyes and a connection was made. Brain paths were remapped and she was mine and more importantly, I was hers. The strange thing was that the night before I met her, I had a dream about a white, fluffy, dog named Mai-Ling and suddenly....there she was. Karma, Fate...give it any name you want....Mai-Ling was meant to come and live with me.

She lived with me for 14 years and a lot of things went down over those years but her beautiful eyes and her steadfast devotion never wavered. We shared a connection in a mystical way that I could never explain or comprehend.

My husband passed away one year before Mai-Ling. She used to sniff the bed skirt to try to bring him back. In that last year she had so many illnesses and problems but she kept me going and gave me so much love. When she finally left me, my heart was broken all over again. But then I was given this poem and I had hope. So I do believe that some day Mai-Ling and I will be reunited over The Rainbow Bridge.

New York State of Mind....

2009-11-30T19:49:00.008-05:00

Almost two weeks ago The Countess was in New York City to attend Our Hit Parade at Joe's Pub. We had made a reservation for 16 for the party. Matt and Travis met me at the chinese place down the street and then we walked up to the Pub to get our table.

Ryan, Stephanie, and Joe were already there....

Arne and Sarah joined us.....

Daiva flew in from Florida and took a taxi right from the airport to Joes! Several others came in and sat at the Royal table in the corner. We were there to see Bridget Everett and gang do their crazy stuff and be royally entertained. You can be assured that you will have plenty of laughs at the Our Hit Parade show!

Bridget started out with clothes on...

But that changed quickly!!! She can belt out a song with or without her dress!!

Jenn Harris brought a blow up man to assist her in her act. I can't remember what song she sang, I only know that I was laughing so hard, I couldn't hear her anyway!

After her act, she came and sat at our table......

And here is Trapper Felides with the Countess. Yes, he is wearing a turkey on his head!

Corey Tut sang his fantastic rendition of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and so many others gave great performances. Our Hit Parade....don't miss it!!

The next night was SHOWGASM at Ars Nova where Jenn performed her 'Shots' number....

Then it was the Varsity Interpretive Dance Squad (VIDS) performing their hit show. They won "Audience Favorite" for the AntFest so you can see them performing their act again on December 9th at Ars Nova.

The very handsome and sweet Tommy Schrider was The Countess' date for the evening.

Matt and Travis came with me too....

I also got to have lunch with Jessi Blue, see C.J. Wilson perform his role in the invited understudy rehearsal of 'A Steady Rain', attend Stephanie's housewarming party in Queens, and catch Carrie Fisher's show, Wishful Drinking. The Countess loves all her friends and.....

I love New York!