Glamour Halloween Witch

Actress/Dancer Peggy Ryan is the beautiful witch in this photograph. I thought it fitting to post her on the Halloween's Eve.

She was an American dancer who starred in a series of movie musicals at Universal Studios, tapping and clowning with Donald O'Connor.

Her parents were vaudevilleians, "The Merry Dancing Ryans", and Peggy joined them onstage before she was two years old. Her singing, acting, and dancing skills were noticed by George Murphy, who helped her get a role in 1937's Top of the Town. Her first pairing with Donald O'Connor was 1942's What's Cookin'?, and they appeared in films together throughout World War II. (Perhaps his most famous performance was as Gene Kelly's friend and colleague in Singin’ in the Rain (1952)).

She was brought back to the small screen to play a recurring role as secretary Jenny Sherman, in Hawaii Five-O from 1969 to 1976.

In later years she trained Las Vegas showgirls in tap dancing. Her last public performance, at her 80th birthday party, was a hilarious song-and-dance routine for her former Universal studio colleagues.

Peggy Ryan continued to teach tap until two days before her death at the age of 80 from the effects of two strokes.

Information from Wikipedia, a list of her film credits can be found there also)

One Flaw in Women

One Flaw In Women

Women have strengths that amaze men...

They bear hardships and they carry burdens,

but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy

and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.

They stand up to injustice.

They don't take "no" for an answer

when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel

and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about

a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member,

yet they are strong when they

think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss

can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you

to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what

makes the world keep turning.

They bring joy, hope and love.

They have compassion and ideas.

They give moral support to their

family and friends.

Women have vital things to say

and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,

IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Please pass this along to all your women friends and relatives to remind them just how amazing they are.

H1N1 Proliferation

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc.. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know.

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*


5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Victorian Oomph!

A friend of mine in Kalispell, MT recently gave me this beautiful victorian pincushion. I don't know if I will be able to keep pins sticking in her or not. She is just so darling to look at.



Another victorian find at Salvation Army recently was a DVD of a movie I had never heard of called: The Lady and the Highwayman with Hugh Grant starring. This was one of his first acting performances for the screen. It is now added to my collection of Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, Cranston, and so many others I keep close at hand for repeat viewing.



I just simply love the hairstyles and costuming used in these pieces. Yet, I am so glad not be wearing them personally!

What is your style? Have you received or found something recently to bring that "IT" back to you? I just won an auction on shopgoodwill.com of a beautiful framed piece I can't wait to receive in the mail. Bet you can guess what flair it is from this blog.

Rainy Dreary Days - Time To Sew

Saturday was perfect! I even got out and played ball with my son a couple of times. The weather was right for cooking chicken on the grill.

Sunday rolled around and the wind got to kicking up. We were still able to get outside and play ball and have some laughs at our lack of graceful dance in trying to hit it.

Now Monday rolls around and it is cold, damp, and just plain blah . . . I understand some friends of mine in Tennessee have been experiencing this for quite some time now. I hope it is sunny and pleasant your way today.

I am in the mood for a big pot of soup. I think it is going to be a combination of creamy potato and cheesy broccoli with some corn and crumbled bacon thrown in. My family really enjoys soup on cooler days.



On my sewing side -- last week I completed another embroidery & applique' quilt block called Blue Nile. I decided to try using some batik fat quarters I picked up recently. I think it turned out splendid, except I did decide to give another sewing foot to my machine a try after completing this block. Also, I am going to start playing around with using different color threads in the future.




One good thing women are good at is changing their minds . . . I seem to be doing a lot of that lately.