PHONE MANNERS!

And other things that aggravate!

DON'T CALL ME SWEETIE!!!

The other day I answer the phone and I hear this woman's voice saying, "Hello is this Alexandra?" Well, to begin with that always aggravates me! And I didn't recognize her voice.

I was taught from a very young age telephone manners. When you call someone unless it is a very close personal friend of yours or family that would recognize your voice, this is how you start the conversation.

Hello, this is _______________( use your name here). May I speak with ______________ and then use the party's name.

If the person who answers the phone is not the individual that the caller is asking for they should reply, "No this is not _____________, may I ask what this is in regards too."

Why are you doing this? First of all, maybe the person they are calling doesn't want to speak with this person or doesn't have the time and secondly, do you really want to tell someone who doesn't even give you their name that you might be alone in the home?

After they tell you their name and why they are calling, simple say, "I'll see if they are available." Put them on hold and ask the person they are trying to speak with if they want to speak with this person. Then get back on the phone if this person doesn't want to speak to them and tell them the person they are asking for is not able to come to the phone now or is not available and you would be happy to take a message. SIMPLE!

Sound to business like to you? Well, trust me this is called good telephone manners!!

But going back to the other day and this woman, this is something that really drives me crazy. As I said, she didn't identify herself to begin with so I had to ask her, "Who is calling please?"

So she said who she was and I did know her but not well. Wanting to sound pleasant I said, "Yes this is Alexandra, how are you?"

Remember I do not know this person well! I now hear her saying, "Oh sweetie I'm so glad you are home." SWEETIE! I'm not your sweetie. I'm not under 5 years in age. I'm not an infant who is adorable and you are holding and calling sweetie.

And going one step further, if you think it is permissible to call someone in their later years, Sweetie, just because they are elderly that is rude and condescending! If they are a very close family member and you have been using that name for them so be it.

But it didn't stop with only one Sweetie, she called me Sweetie three times in a five minute conversation. If she felt that she was ingratiating herself to me by trying to be familiar it certainly did not!

I'm sure after the third Sweetie I resembled a cat with my back up in the air and hair standing straight up! She is lucky that I didn't start hissing at her! I wanted to scream, "Stop calling me Sweetie!" But correcting someone's manners is just as rude as the poor manners they are displaying. So stop short of doing that students!

Please Students of Flaunt, SWEET, FRESH, AND TASTY ARE BORDERLINE PHRASES THAT SHOULD APPLY TO FOOD GROUPS NOT PEOPLE OR EXPERIENCES. AND NEVER USE THE WORD SWEETIE WHEN YOU ARE ADDRESSING SOMEONE. Enough said.

Alexandra

P.S. And Yes I did tell her I would help her. But the next Sweetie that comes out of her mouth I going to say with a smile probably while gritting my teeth, "Oh please call me Alexandra that is what all my friends call me." HINT!!

Mummy Dances With The Stars!

Where to begin? As I told you prior to our Easter Ham fiasco, my parents had been visiting Len Goodman and treated to VIP status at Dancing With The Stars. Accompanying them were my mother's BFF, Evelyn and her new husband and my former live-in painter, Miguel.

Here is the back story:

According to my mother, Lenny, as she calls him, is an Old British Pal from "back in the day". Typically, for Mummy, once an acquaintance has "made it", she immediately contacts them, reminding said star what "old dear friends they are". I could make a list but this is about "Lenny".

It would seem that Lenny invited the "rents" and co. to visit the set of DWTS in Burbank.

The happy travelers were ensconced at the Beverly Hills Hotel Bungalows and hired a driver to attend the taping of the show.

They raved about how graciously Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli treated them.

After the show taping, Mummy danced with Len, Daddy with Carrie, and Miguel and Evelyn were given a "lesson" in the quick step by none other than Bruno!

Oh the fun, the costumes! Daddy loved the "Show Girls", as he calls them.

What happened next will go down in the history books. I swear my mother could be accused of assault.

She spotted the guest star! Yes, Josh Groban. The poor guy never saw it coming!!

I can only imagine how it went down.

Mummy: Mr. Groban, what an honor to meet you! Lenny, darling you didn't tell me THE Josh Groban would be here!!

Josh: How do you do? So happy to meet you Mrs, uh.

Mummy: Cadbury darling. Like the chocolate, Clarissa to you, my dear!

And then she was off to the hunt! She had long ago told my daughter, Fiona, that she should find a nice young man like that singer, Josh Groban. Apparently, she meant it!

Josh and Mummy had their heads together deep in "matchmaking status." Poor Josh, is all I can say.

So my mother laid it on thick and invited Josh to her home in England for a lovely "Country Weekend". She even promised to produce Prince Harry for the bait! Of course, she won't tell Fiona until she has arrived. Mummy has such plans for the only Granddaughter!

Should I warn Fiona? No, I think not, This might be fun!

To Be Continued.

Cate

FLAUNT FABULOUS WEEKEND WITH SOME OF THE FLAUNT FORTY!

NAMASTE & CHARDONNAY

A few weeks ago I got an invitation from one of the Flaunt Forty (my posse that I hang with) to come to a party. Well, one would think cocktails with husbands in tow but NO this was different! Oh do I highly recommend this party as a flaunt must do! It was a girl's weekend for 14 of us! But not just any weekend!

Let's start with the invitation. On the front was a picture of a woman doing Yoga? "What?" you say. I open it up and of course there was the usual date, time, and place, but it had a list of all the things the hostess had prepared for us. Are you curious now?

First of all we were all to arrive at 6PM the first day to have cocktails and chit chat! As usual this member of our Flaunt Forty posse does not do anything on the cheap! Not only did she have containers of Sangria and lemon water but there was a full bar replete with Mojitos and a gorgeous bartender. A bartender was not needed for only 14 women but this hunk arrived with one of our instructors and volunteered. So the fun began!!

The group mingled and caught up and met our Yoga instructor and our Pilates instructor. Now I can hear your minds clicking away. YOGA and PILATES! Yes! But I will get to that later.

Following cocktails we had a buffet dinner that had been prepared by a chef for us! Yes, a beautiful salad, salmon, wild rice, sautéed mushrooms, and grilled asparagus. We also had delicious dinner rolls that had lavender in them from her garden! For dessert she served fresh strawberries, chocolate cake and whipped cream! (Not from the can!!) Probably everyone's attire at this point was getting a little tight!

You would think that would be the end to the evening but NO, we then had a discussion about Meditation and Yoga from our Yoga instructor. I must admit here I have never done Yoga before. Pilates yes, Yoga no, so I was very interested to see what this was all about. When the Yoga instructor asked if everyone had done Yoga before and I raised my hand and said, "No", she commented, "My you are brave." The thought did go through my mind, "What have I gotten myself into?"

Now I have to add here that everyone came in their yoga outfits. Of course my BFF, LB had her yoga outfit with this little filmy top over it, a jacket in case she got cold, and a large sun hat. Don't ask but the woman always has to have a hat on her head or at least enter the room with one! Hmmm, wonder if she carrying her Block? Have gun will travel!

But getting back to the party. Before you know it we were all on the floor doing stretches and contorting ourselves into pretzels. I learned a Side Plank Pose, Revolved Side Angle, Balasana child pose and a Corpse Pose that I will say was a great way to end our half hour session. All of this was done to very soft music in the background and total silence on our parts, except for our instructor explaining each move. As a small aside our hostess has a party room that is approximately 50 feet wide by 125 feet long. So there was lots of room!

Now some of the Ladies actually spent the night at her home. I frankly have gotten over slumber parties years ago and went home to be in my own bed. A very good plan since I was asleep at 10PM as a result of my detox with the Yoga! And from what I found out they were all up until midnight!

That was day one!

Day two arrives with a nature walk for one hour. I begged off of that one - puhleese, walking with Mother Nature at 7 AM for an hour was not happening. Remember I have been killing myself doing work on my fifteen acres and battle with the Rattlesnakes!

Upon my arrival I hear that the girls dined on Green Smoothies after their hike. I don't have a problem with green smoothies, with the girls, but I really didn't want to start my morning with them. A little to many female hormones! So my plan to join them at 9AM for our 30 minute Pilates class was working out well.

So Pilates we did with our instructor and all of our cores had to have been strengthened! God knows after all of the food we consumed the night before they needed it!

But what next?

Bobbi Brown reps came! How much fun was this? LOTS! They gave everyone who wanted a makeover one!! Now I enjoyed watching but I have tried Bobbi Brown products and unfortunately their eye makeup does not agree with me. I'm allergic to it! But as I said, it was fun just watching them do makeup. And of course we all got a laugh out of the before and after pictures!

Now what? LUNCH! Many salads and white wine for all! It was now time to go home and take a nap! 

That was a flaunt fabulous (FF) party for your girl friends!!!

Alexandra

Mummy and the #@%$ Ham!

Don't get me wrong, I love my mother - but our Easter was nearly ruined by her display at the Honey Baked Ham Store.

My parents along with their BFFs Evelyn and Miguel are joining us for Easter weekend. They are returning from LA where they met up with their old pal Len Goodman on Dancing With the Stars!

(More about that at a later date!)

Anyway, I had prepared the menu for Easter Dinner. All we had to do was "pick it up".

Moi: "I have to go out and about now to pick up our Easter meal."

Mummy: "Oh Cate darling, your father will pick up the food. He loves to drive on the wrong side of the road! He thinks it's a challenge!"

Mr. Clarke immediately jumps into the conversation. "If you don't mind Clarissa, I will drive you both around to see a bit of the sights and then we can stop at the Honey Baked Ham store."

So off the merry little threesome went with not a care in the world. That is not how they returned, however! Yes it was three hours later when the car came back into the driveway. I should have known something was wrong by the look on my husband's face!

Moi: "Welcome back! Was it fun? Where is the Ham?"

Mummy: Scowling now! "I should say NOT. That "so called Caterer" was a disaster. We had to wait in LINE for almost an hour and then they hand over the Ham and submitted a disastrous bill to your father for $95.00!!! For a HAM! You can't be serious?"

Mr. Clarke is ducking out the back door now to escape her wrath.

Moi: "But Mummy, this is a Honey Baked Ham, not Costco. It should be a delicious meal. This company is known for their wonderful hams! It was a bit of a splurge, but its Easter."

Mummy: "Easter in the colonies! This is ridiculous! I just told the man to "shove off"! I wouldn't pay that atrocious price for a ham and I also told him in England, we would only serve Lamb on Easter. To this he threw me out of his store and told me to enjoy my Lamb!! Well we haven't been able to get any Lamb. We went everywhere and no Lamb could be found." At this point as only my Mother can do she tosses her hat and handbag into the nearest chair and says, "Your husband is very upset. I see he is drinking on the veranda already. I will join him. Can someone make me a martini?"

Daddy meanwhile is looking outside and talking to himself since I left for the bar and Mummy is waiting on the veranda for her martini.

Daddy: "Now, Clarissa, Cate, we can have something else. We don't need Ham or Lamb. Perhaps Miguel can barbeque for us? I do so love his grilling!"

As I'm making Mummy's martini I'm fuming! Puhleese, Lamb, grilling I don't think so! I had my heart set on a Honey Baked Ham and we will have it! With this I threw on my jacket and backed out of the driveway. ALONE.

What transpired at the Honey Baked Ham shop was my groveling to get a much smaller ham and fly out of there. I only hope I can rebuild my Honey Baked Bridges.

So we are having as Mummy so graciously put it: "The God Damned Ham for Easter."

I am throwing Holy Water all over the house and said a rosary to counter her curses.

Happy Easter Everyone from my Crazy Family to yours!

Cate

Mummy and the Branson Wedding!

I was just perusing the Daily Mail when my cell phone started ringing in that old familiar tune of Mummy! (I have given her a special ring tone, The Theme from Jaws).

Staring at the phone I ponder, what is she up to today? Well, let's find out!

Cate: "Hellloooo? Mummy?"

Mummy: "How do you do that Cate? I have blocked my number and how did you know it was me?" Humph..."these new I phones are driving me to drink! Yes, please, I will have another...."

Cate: "Mummy where are you and did you just order a drink?"

Mummy: "Yes, dear. Didn't I tell you? Miguel, Evelyn, Daddy and I are in Africa for the Branson wedding. Quite the fun, dear. You should have come too!! Hello your royal Highnesses! That was Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. They have such nice manners," she explains.

Mummy: "Now Cate, where was I? Oh yes, Africa. We are having a wonderful time. You know the bride, Isabella Calthorpe. She is Lady Curzon's daughter. Cannot remember which one, they are all so pretty and blonde. Oh! Here comes Prince Harry and his girlfriend, Cressida." Whispering: "She is the youngest of Lady Curzon's girls. Dating Harry now. My, my." Hmmm, "Verrry interesting."

Cate: "Well how lovely for you." I chose not to pursue Mummy's fascination with the Curzon family. Poor Miguel, he is probably rolling his eyes at all of Mummy's antics. But wait, maybe he is enjoying himself?

(Small aside, you remember Miguel was my house painter. My mother and her BFF, Evelyn came in for a brief visit and the next thing I knew, Miguel, his happy fiancé, Evelyn and all were jetting to Las Vegas for a wedding. My husband still misses Miguel's cooking. He had so many talents. On a good note, we have lost weight since his departure.)

Cate: "Mummy I didn't know you ran with the Bransons? When do we go to Necker?"

Mummy: "Oh, I will arrange that soon. Sir Richard and Joan are so lovely. Did you know that their daughter, Holly is a Doctor, and the groom, Sam, was that blonde boy Fiona played with on the beach at Bitter End Yacht Club? Too bad Fiona wasn't older at the time," sigh.

(For those of you who don't know, Fiona is my daughter.)

Cate: "Oh yes, I do remember little Sammy. Well he's all grown up and I am sure the bride is lovely." I'm now remembering something I read about a blooming romance with Harry and the bride's sister. All so much to keep up with.

Mummy: "We are at Sir Branson's private Safari Retreat, Ulusaba. Lovely, if you like animals. I personally am getting quite fond of the Elephant herd that comes every evening. I think they like me too!!"

Why am I picturing Babar and the Old Lady in Paris? Never could get over those royal elephants wearing clothing! Just loved those books as a child!! But I digress.

Cate: "Well what's on the agenda this evening?" Knowing full well that they must have fantastic events planned for every hour.

Mummy: "As a matter of fact, tonight is a Fancy Dress Ball. Not the usual affair! We are all to come as animals. Evelyn, Miguel, your father and I are going as a pride of Lions!! I had the costumes done up at Harrods. They did an AMAZING job, I might add."

Cate: "Well do send some photos! I must share these with our friends; I mean it's not every day that we have a Pride in the family!!"

Mummy: "Well must rush, off. Here comes Harry again! Helloooo your Highness!"

Sweetness is dripping off the phone receiver. As I hear Harry say, "Hello Clarissa, fancy seeing you here. Oh, is this Miguel? We have heard so much about him!"

I drop the phone and nearly fall down. Miguel and Prince Harry? In Africa, dressing as lions?? So much for another boring day at Home Depot buying paint!!

Caddy Shack!

Or

"St. Valentine's Day Massacre"

The phone rings about 10AM on Valentine's Day and it was LB. She was sounding very perky having just received her five pound box of chocolates for Valentine's Day and knew more things would be coming throughout the day too. She is high upkeep!

Here is our conversation:

LB: How are you this morning? I'm outside enjoying the morning sun with a cup of coffee and my chocolates. What are you doing today?

Moi: Well, we aren't going out for Valentine's dinner just too many people out, plus we are meeting the Duchess and John for dinner on Sunday evening. So, I have to go get some good Filets for dinner tonight. May be asparagus and I'll make some au gratin potatoes too. Mr. S loves all three.

He just left and I told him what the menu was and he said he'd pick up a good bottle of wine. I looked at him like he was crazy. I said, what is wrong with the 100 plus bottles that you have in the wine cooler. You know what he said? I don't have 100 bottles of red wine in the wine cooler. Can you believe that man?

LB: So what did you say to him?

Moi: I said, Oh excuse me, only 200 bottles. And he laughed!

LB: And that is only the red, he doesn't count in the white and the champagne! Men!

Moi: Do you want me to pick up anything for you while I'm out and about?

AND THEN I HEAR A GASP!!

LB: He's back!

Moi: WHO'S BACK?

LB: That gopher!! Oh this is it! That little varmint keeps throwing soil out on my lawn and poking his head up to see if anyone is looking. This isn't Caddy Shack you little monster!!

Then I hear her calling The Donald. (For those of you who do not know that is her husband.)

LB: Donald you have to do something about that Gopher! NOW! It is ruining my lawn.

Donald: O.K. LB I'll get my gun and kill him. (And yes it was that matter of fact, I could hear him.)

LB: Alexandra, we have to be quiet now. I want to watch this! Oh damn, where is my new cell phone that does panoramic shots?! I want to get this all down so I can post it on my Facebook page.

Meanwhile I'm laughing on the phone! And she is telling me to SSSSH!

Then in a low whisper she says, Donald is sneaking up on him. Oh damn the little varmint must have heard him. He just pulled his head back into the hole.

Moi: Now what is going on?

LB: Where is it written that you and I have to do everything for everyone? We can't be everywhere! Donald just said, Honey I have to go check the stock market now. I can't waste anymore time here.

Well, that is all there is to it. I'm getting my Glock and I'll just sit here with Johnnie and we'll wait for him to stick his head out! Then I'll exterminate him!

Now for those of you who don't know Johnnie, he is a 15 year old lap dog who is deaf! He won't even flinch when the gun goes off!

Moi: Well sweetie, I don't know how long this is going to take so I'll talk with you later today. Happy hunting!

As I drove down the street I thought about LB .I had this picture in my mind of a woman, wearing fine jewelry, with a 15 year old Maltese in her lap, holding her pistol, just waiting for the gopher to appear. I have to admit I started to laugh!

Certainly a Town and Country moment! Probably not but I should send that photo to them. I can see the look on the editor's face now!! It would be too funny. Photo title could be " St.Valentine's Day Massacre by Socialite!"

Anyway, I know she won't give up until she takes down the Gopher! And yes, this will probably end up on her FaceBook page. This from the woman who saved us from a large Rattlesnake last summer! Same gun. The NRA would be so happy!

Alexandra

Postscript: LB gave up! The gopher lives!! But maybe not for long? The Donald is talking about putting a flare down the gopher hole. Stay tuned!

Oscars 2013!

Musings from Alexandra and Cate

Alexandra Smythe:

I sat down with my champagne, smoked salmon, selection of cheeses and toasted pecans for the four hours of Oscars! Surprisingly my husband joined me for the entire show. Probably the champagne was really why he was there.

So as we settled in what was the first thing we were greeted with but Brandi Granville. Who is she? One of the housewives from the reality TV show Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I almost fell off the chair. Miss Granville's dress needed about two more inches of material, no not in length but to cover her breasts. Let's put it this way if she made a sudden move they surely would have popped out! Those poor things looked so crushed and uncomfortable! I bet when Brandi finally released them from that dress last night there was a sigh of relief on their part. Sorry that was not sexy or pretty! Flaunt FLOP!!

So let's just get through some of the major flaunt flops before we get to the Flaunt Fabulous looks! And we might add there were only a few this year. No silly outfits or posturing with your leg stuck out of your dress and fortunately no one showed up in a meat dress either. Oh I forgot that was Lady Gaga at the Grammys which always is a night of awful taste! But I digress.

First we have Kristen Stewart, our Twilight girl, looking so bored! Sorry you were on crutches and forced to show up Kristen. But really young lady this translated into making your Reem Acra gown so-so. Add in your nothing hair-do with that sullen look on your face and it shrieked Flaunt Flop!

Moving on, Tabatha Coffey, from Bravo TV, evidently didn't get our e-mail that black leather Opera gloves do nothing for a black dress with feathers. Get the whips out boys! Sorry, another Flaunt Flop!

Then there was Zoe Saldana, who had this mishmash of a dress from Alexis Mabille. It was like the designer couldn't make up their mind. Let's put some flowers on the top of the bodice, hmm little belts are in; better add that, and a train. Train is rather boring so let's make it three colors! Zoe please get a new stylist! This year's didn't help you.

Lastly there was Daryl Hannah. Haven't seen much of her lately? Obviously she was not on the A-list for any designers wishing to have their work shown. The dress looked awful on her, her posture was even worse and then WHO did her hair! Daryl call either Cate or me next time!!

But enough of the Flaunt Flops, who was absolutely Flaunt Fabulous? There were many but I will just name my favorites not necessarily in order:

Charlize Theron!!! OMG, DIOR peplum gown. The whole look from hair, jewelry and gown was perfect Flaunt!!!!!

Jennifer Garner was Flaunt Fabulous in her plum GUCCI dress that was made just for her. I wanted to see more of the back of it!! This reminded me of something our good friend Joel Woodard would have designed.

Jennifer Lawrence in a pale pink DIOR strapless gown was just too wonderful. When I saw her on the red carpet in that gown I immediately said, "That is just the most beautiful dress I've seen tonight!" The diamond necklace falling from her throat over her back was just the right touch too!

Catherine Zeta-Jones was wearing a gold Zuhair Murad. The woman could wear a sack and make it look flaunt fabulous! Hair, jewelry, and the way she looks at the camera that is why the woman is a star!

Salma Hayek, all I can say is the woman is drop dead gorgeous! She was wearing an Alexander McQueen VELVET, yes midnight blue velvet gown with a bejeweled collar. Stunning! I hope velvet will be making a comeback!!!!

Sandra Bullock shown like a regal star last night. She was the epitome of understated elegance in Elie Saab!! Having her hair fairly straight worked perfectly with the dress! Flaunt with flair!

And last I could not leave off the list Jane Fonda. The woman was gorgeous in a vibrant yellow Atelier Versace gown that was not only flattering to her figure but age appropriate. I also loved the touch of shoulder pads. Shoulders pad can be good for your figure ladies. Thank you Jane for showing us that even when you are 75 years young you can look flaunt fabulous!

Cate Clarke:

We too settled in with Cocktails and Nibbles, catered from a local fave, (you know I am a challenged chef). Fiona joined us as she was in town! So there we were snug as bugs in rugs waiting and waiting and waiting. Seth MacFarlane was talking and talking and nothing. Now he is dancing with Harry Potter? Los Angeles Gay Chorus singing about Seeing Your Boobs? Please. Can we please start the award show??? We turn back to E where they are going over the Red Carpet details.

Our picks for Flaunt Fabulous: Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta. Jessica Chastain in Armani Prive'. Jennifer Lawrence in Dior Haute Couture. All these women were beautiful, well-coiffed, and carried themselves elegantly. Even a slip on the steps of accepting her Oscar for Best Actress, Jennifer Lawrence was gracious and glamorous.

Sipping our cocktails in our yoga pants, I hate to say there were failures, but we were disappointed in the following: Halle Berry, who never misses with her gowns, looked good, we just didn't love the Versace Art Deco look. Most loved Naomi Watt's sparkling dress, we did not love it. The Flaunt Flop of the evening went to another beauty that normally hits them out of the park, Anne Hathaway. Her pale pink Prada gown with Nipples even had its own Twitter address within minutes. Never have I seen Anne in such a miss. Clearly she didn't look in the mirror. It seems she was to wear Valentino, who was there, by the way, and pulled a switch when she heard that a similar look would be worn by her Les Mis buddy, Amanda Seyfried. Too bad. This pink Prada was a disaster. Even with a gorgeous Tiffany necklace.

Back to the slow show. The ladies' singing was great. Loved Adele, don't you wish you could watch her makeup artist do those heavy eyelashes? They should have names. They could be pets! Shirley Bassey brought the house down with "Gold Finger". Small aside, it seems the 007 Tribute was a Flaunt Flop due to most of the former Bonds are in a feud with the Broccoli family. Hmmmm disappointed not to see Sean Connery. He was the only 007 for me.

More songs from Les Miserables Cast and Barbara. Now it is time for bed, this 4 hour show is too long. Oops, here in Michelle Obama? What? Love your bangs! Say, could you go upstairs and ask your husband to fix this sequester thing?

Well, nice try Seth. Your father in a kilt was adorable, however, we vote for Jimmy Fallon or Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. Maybe next time?

Roasted Salmon with Carmelized Bananas

by Bruce Barone

I roasted the salmon in a 410 oven for about 20 minutes. You can grill. 

Ingredients:

About 1 1/2 pounds Shetland Salmon (Or Sockeye or King); use leftovers for Salmon Cakes

1 banana peeled and sliced

1 cup Mandarin oranges, drained

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/3 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

Directions:

Rinse off salmon filets under tap water set on plate and lightly salt and pepper. Squeeze 1/2 lemon juice over the salmon and bake or grill as stated above.

In a skillet, melt butter under medium high heat, when butter has melted add in brown sugar and Cayenne pepper. You need to watch this and stir it about every 15 seconds until it starts to bubble or caramelize. Add in banana slices and mandarin oranges. Cook until they have a nice glaze on them and pour over the salmon.

Thank you Bruce Barone, we are making this tonight!!

"Jerry Buss"

Reminiscing

When the Pan Am TV series was on I would reminisce about my years of being a flight attendant since that show gave me numerous flash backs to those days. But it doesn't take a TV show to do this. It was just announced that Jerry Buss, owner of the Lakers, has been hospitalized with cancer and I had a flash back to a particular flight.

Here is the story:

It was just another day in a flight attendant's life. We had a full load of passengers and knew we were going to be very busy. Of course this was in the days when flying was a little more glamorous and lots of real food was served. But then I digress.

We finished our first class service and the passengers were relaxing now watching a movie. My flying partner and I were relaxing too, if you want to call it that. We were both sitting on large metal boxes that held supplies such as soft drinks, wine etc. We would pull these out of the galley and put a pillow on top of them. Yes in those days we had pillows for our passengers! Ah so comfy but that is what we had to do if we wanted to sit!

Well, who appears in our luxury suite (Yes I'm being sarcastic) but one of our passengers with drink in hand. In those days (pre-911) passengers could get up and stroll around without the flight attendants telling them to sit down all of the time!

And yes in those days, the passengers loved talking with us and we even liked talking with them. Something that I noted has completely gone by the wayside in aviation now! But let me continue.

We had a passenger manifest and would also take names in first class. We had not noted anyone of movie star power etc. It just seemed to be your usual group of business men in first class.

So here we are the three of us chatting away when the Flight Engineer comes out of the cockpit to, yes use the lav. He looks over at the three of us and has a rather quizzical look on his face. Nothing was said and frankly it was a very quick glance.

My flying partner was a real kidder and loved bantering with the passengers and this man was now open prey so to speak since he was in our luxury suite. We were all laughing and teasing one another. In fact I remember her telling this man, "Hey don't bad mouth your first wife if you want to get another date. Women don't like it when you badmouth the first wife." And of course we all laughed!

So approximately 15 minutes had passed and I excused myself and went up to the cockpit to see if they needed anything. The Flight engineer says to me, "Is that Jerry Buss who you are talking too?"

Moi: "Who is Jerry Buss?"

Flight engineer rolls his eyes and says, "never mind!"

Not being particularly interested in continuing the conversation I left the cockpit, got the passenger manifest and resumed sitting on my metal box with my new friend and my flying partner.

I look at the passenger manifest and there was no Jerry Buss on it. (Sneaky little devil was flying under an assumed name.)

So quite casually I say to this man, "Are you Jerry Buss? The flight engineer asked me. And if you are, are you a famous director or producer that we should know? " (We were flying from JFK to LAX so Hollywood would have been a good guess.)

He looks a little like a deer in headlights now and says nothing. But I'm not ready to let him off of the hook. "Oh come on, who are you? And are you famous?" Of course my flying partner now is chiming in and saying, "Yeah, who are you? And who is Jerry Buss?"

After a few minutes of continuing harassment on our parts about his identity he finally said, "Well, yes I'm Jerry Buss." You know where this is going. "So you are Jerry Buss. But who is Jerry Buss?"

He finally says and I might add sheepishly, "Well, I own the LA Lakers, The Forum and the LA Kings." At which point my flying partner says, "Jerry, I'll just repeat this one more time. Remember now just because you have money and hang out with rich athletes you still can't bad mouth the first wife."

I thought the guy was going to fall over laughing now!

Anyway, Jerry was a really nice man! I have just learned that Jerry passed away today, Rest In Peace.

Great memories, thanks Jerry!

Alexandra

A Valentine's Day Gift

Many of you are waiting until the last moment to walk into a card store, the local supermarket, or Costco and pick up something for your Sweetie. Picture us frowning now!

Well, a card is really a MUST so go get one before all of the good ones are gone!! Now what do you give with that card?

Something that will really surprise, hmmm what could that be?

We know men think of lingerie immediately, well fellows that will be good for you to look at later but what does she want? The operative term, "What does she want?" Well, this year why you don't you try something a little clever. Yes clever!

You could go to the local bakery and buy four cupcakes. Wow exciting! NO!! First of all they need to be in a box furnished by the bakery and what is in the middle of the four cupcakes in the box, another cupcake paper liner. Note: For those of you fellows who do not bake it is what you put the cake mix into to make a cupcake. But we digress.

Now here is what makes that bakery box special! JEWLERY!! Confused? It is really simple. You are going to purchase earrings or a ring etc. Then you are going to put the jewelry box that you have wrapped in some tissue paper with a beautiful little bow, into that cupcake liner. OOPPS, maybe not! Most of you fellows can't wrap anything! So have the jewelry company gift wrap it! Anyway, getting the idea now? You wrap up a wonderful pair of earrings or a ring and put it in that empty cupcake liner that is placed in the center of the four cupcakes! Viola you are a very special Cupid now!!

OR try this old but tried and true, freeze a ring in water in an ice cube tray. Then have a cocktail at home before leaving to dine at your favorite restaurant. She finds the ring in her drink via the ice cube, wears her new 4 carat ring ( or whatever you can afford) for dinner and trust me you will be a hit that night! Oh you say she doesn't like cocktails, so simple. Pour a glass of the bubbly and put the ring in the bottom of the champagne flute! Nicely done if we do say so ourselves.

All right, you are on a budget. Nothing wrong with that! Because the bottom line Ladies and Gentlemen is it is the thought that counts. Give your Valentine a card, a single rose or a dozen to your Lady preferable with some chocolates or a bottle of champagne, and Ladies what man doesn't love a dessert! What kind? Any kind you think he would like, preferable in your new Victoria Secret outfit.  You get the picture girls.

Have a delicious and happy Valentine's Day!! You Nailed It!

XOXO,

Alexandra and Cate