The Main Event was INCREDIBLE! It took place at the Knights of Columbus in Levittown. Can you believe their street number is 1492? Do you think that was planned? My first best friend’s mother had her wedding reception to her second husband at this place so my mom knew exactly where it was located. The place was packed and a line had formed that led out to the parking lot. When they said doors open at 7:00 they meant it! We waited patiently and finally the doors swung open.

We found a table in the middle of the room. Rockin’ Ron Cade himself walked around the room making sure everyone was having a good time! He reminded me a little bit of Sam Phillips. He had that dark hirsute quality thanks to Just for Men. As soon as the buffet was announced, my mom, Lisa, and I ran up to beat the crowd. The food was turkey and roast beef sandwiches, baked beans, potato salad and horseradish for the sandwiches. Hey, the tickets were only 20.00! The one good thing I can say is that the horseradish was extremely strong and with one bite, totally cleared my sinuses.

Ed Marra as Buddy Holly went first. He played for about an hour. The first few songs he performed were just him and his guitar. The sound was raw and I quite liked it. He had Buddy’s sound. The last half of his set, he sang along Karaoke style to Buddy’s later songs. I felt he struggled keeping up with the Karaoke machine. I much preferred when he played the guitar.

Jeff Krick came out about 9:00. He wore the white jumpsuit. Now Jeff didn’t have the facial features of Elvis or a hot body. This did not stop him from pelvic thrusting or gyrating at, on, around all the women in the audience. I will state that Jeff did have an absolutely OUTSTANDING Elvis voice. I would even have to say that what Trent Carlini has in looks, Jeff Krick has in vocal prowess. Jeff performed two sets. He mixed in a ton of Christmas songs as well as some contemporary songs that had that Elvis feel with the usual Elvis standards.

What I think my mom enjoyed the most about the evening was watching the audience react to the performances. There was this one woman who apparently was the matriarch of this large family, all of whom were in attendance. She got up from her seat and started to do a semi-burlesque number for Elvis, or maybe it was for her family or the audience, I am not sure. Later she taught her little great-granddaughter some bump and grind dance moves and even later she tried to grab the scarf right off Jeff’s neck! WITH HER TEETH.

During the second set, Jeff Krick came to our table and sang to my mother! I could tell my mom was extremely uncomfortable but she smiled like a trooper. She even said to Jeff as he looked deeply into her eyes, “Why there is a God!” She is so funny.

Talking about funny– Lisa and I went to the memorabilia table and bought raffle tickets. The women selling the tickets (MRS. ROCKIN’ RON CADE & friend) said to Lisa, “Why, are you… no you aren’t but you look sooooo much like her!”
“Who?”
“Ricki Lake”
“RICKI LAKE!” Lisa was visibly upset.
“You know who Ricki Lake is, don’t you?”
“Yeah she was the fat ugly girl in those John Waters’ movies!”
“No, she hosts a talk show and you look like her twin!”
We went back to the table and told Mom and John the story. Just as it ended, two women came over to our table and said to Lisa, “Are you Ricki Lake?” I thought I was going to pee myself I laughed so hard. John told Lisa to say yes but Lisa said no and the women left dejected. Mom and I kept telling Lisa that being compared to Ricki Lake is a good thing and that even when she was at her largest she was a very pretty girl. One of my favorite movies is Babycakes.

Gosh this entry is long. I guess it shows that we all had a marvelous time. Now I must get back to work! I have people coming over tonight for a party and this house must be spic and span!

Holy Cow! You should see me! I have cleaned and dusted and wiped and scrubbed almost every inch of the donnavilla! It’s true! I am positively Hazel! I don’t have too much more time for all this cleaning. At 6:15 I must be at my parent’s house to pick up my mom. We’re going to see a Buddy Holly/Elvis Presley Stylist concert! I think I am going to wear my suede skirt and my dark red velvet shirt. That might be too much texture, I don’t know. I’ll play it by ear.

I’ve been watching West Side Story. What a movie! Although watching it this time I noticed a resemblance between Tony and Patrick, the kid from Auntie Mame (starring Rosemont alum, Roz Russell). They both have abnormally large teeth and kind of look like cartoon characters. George Chakiris was sooooooooooo beautiful! Did you know that he is actually GREEK? A few years ago I was watching Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and dancing around in one scene was a very young George C! I think my favorite movie of his has to be Diamond Head with Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, and James Darren. George and Moon Doggie play Hawaiian brothers! (That casting wasn’t too bad, in college I was in a play with a dwarf, she played my twin brother). Of course, there was also that movie with Yul Brynner— Kings of the Sun. George plays a Mayan King and Yul is an Indian Chief from a neighboring tribe. I don’t remember much except lots of loin clothes and feathers. It was a GREAT movie!

I sure hope Lisa remembers to buy booze in Jersey before she comes home from work today. There is so much to do around the house. I am glad I took tomorrow off. Luckily the house is in pretty good shape. Could you imagine how much I would have to do if the house looked like a bomb had hit it? Truth is, the party is a great excuse to light a fire under my butt. Ack! I need firewood! Just remembered. My plan is to have a fire going in the fireplace. How sweet is that? VERY SWEET INDEED, my friends.

Lisa and I went to Target. We had just a few things on our list to buy. One of the items was a bag of cinnamon sticks. We looked all over the food section but couldn’t find them. Lisa said I should ask a Target Team Member rather than giving up. I walked over to an older man who wore the red Target shirt; he was fiddling with a price scanner.
“Excuse me but could you help me find cinnamon sticks?”
“Sure, what do you want?”
“Cinnamon sticks.”
“Yeah, uh, we should have those…. here!” He picked up a box of graham crackers.
“Right, well, there is certainly a picture of a cinnamon stick on the box, but I actually wanted the real thing.”
“I see, I see.” He walked intently to the next aisle. “Here!”
“No, sir, that is a stick of beef jerky.”
“Oh, okay.” He turned to go to another aisle.
“Y’know, I think I am fine; I really don’t need cinnamon sticks…”
I ran away.

I have already changed the menu. No shrimp. No quiche. Instead I will make BAKED ZITI! How does that grab ya darlin’s? When I talked on the phone with my mother about the menu last night, I heard my father scream, “TELL HER TO SEND OUT FOR PIZZA!” We know what happened the last time I tried that. I purchased Mom’s Bake at Home Pizza, drank too much wine, left the plastic wrap on when I cooked the pizza and found my shoe the next day, 3 blocks away in the retainer basin. The pizza was still edible, it was just a chore separating the now shrink-wrapped plastic from the melted cheese. And I guess losing my shoe didn’t have much to do with the pizza, but it still makes me giggle.

I am considering returning a pair of black leather boots I bought a couple weeks ago. What was I thinking? The darn things are too loose around my calves and flap when I walk. I reasoned that I would wear them with long skirts and pants. Two days ago I tried pairing them with jeans and you could see the top of the boot poking out through the denim. Yeah, even though I love them and they look like something Emma Peel would have worn, they simply do not fit. Why does the truth hurt!?

Okay, I am really struggling here. I have no clue. None whatsoever.

Shrimp
Because how easy is that? I buy it at the store and mix up some cocktail sauce.

Cheese & Crackers
I buy a box of crackers and some soft cheese. Voila! All I need to do is make it look nice on a plate.

Quiche
It looks so easy! And I can prepare it the day before and when it comes time to serve it— I TAKE IT OUT OF THE REFRIDERATOR AND SLICE IT!

4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup minced onions
Salt and garlic powder
8 ounces shredded Swiss or sharp cheddar cheese
1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Hand whip eggs, half-and-half, mayonnaise, and flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into an unbaked 9-inch, deep pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the top is golden brown.

Here’s another one that looks even easier:
Spinach and Bacon Quiche
6 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Salt and pepper
2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach, packed
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust, fitted to a 9-inch glass pie plate

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Layer the spinach, bacon, and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture on top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set. Cut into 8 wedges.

I guess my only issue is how would these items taste with the drinks? Cider and Quiche? Hot Buttered Rum and shrimp? I don’t know. Must mull this over.

Bobo hid one of my black Isotoner slippers so I am wearing my navy pair instead. I actually prefer the navy pair because they are velour and keep my feetsies warmer than the regular black ones. This works out well since the black ones are the ones that call to Bo.

I am looking forward to Friday. No, not party preparation but I am going to The Main Event, hosted by Rockin’ Ron Cade! A night full of Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley stylist performances and some Christmas songs. I doubt Jeff Krick will be in the same ballpark of Elvisdom as Trent Carlini, but we shall see. You never know when or where the spirit of the King may strike. Once I was at Six Flags Great Adventure, just walking along when I was struck by the image of Elvis. There he was, coming off a Roller Coaster, his pompadour slightly askew. He wore a satin jacket that on the back in large, loopy letters read, Legends. I stopped dead in my tracks and just started mumbling. The King looked at me. He realized the effect he had on me and he shot me a smile and a sneer. That was one heck of a hunka hunka good day.