The Oscars.

I think the first year I watched The Academy Awards was either 1961 or 1962, and I've been watching them ever since. When I was a kid, I couldn't manage to stay awake till the very end of the show, but I usually made it at least half-way. I loved seeing all the gowns and the jewelry, and when I was able to watch the show at my grandmother's house, my Aunt Dolly made the night like a party. We had a special dessert while watching, plus Aunt Dolly knew the names of every single star, plus the names of the movies they had made during their Hollywood careers. She kept a tally of the awards and the winners, comparing one year's list to the previous year's winners. Aunt Dolly was, and still is, a lover of movies-- "but only good movies."

Last night's Oscars show was better than most-- the staging was beautiful, nothing seemed to drag out, and it was classier than a lot of other years. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to see Johnny Carson walking out of the wings to host the show... but of course those days are gone.

We have yet to see "Slumdog Millionaire," but it should be coming back to our theatre now, especially with all the Oscars it won last night. Our corner-neighbor S has been raving about that movie for weeks and weeks now-- she's seen it twice, and would gladly see it again.

The gowns were beautiful last night.... I wish that someone had told Sophia Loren to choose a different dress, though. Her gown was very pretty, but way too busy for someone of her age. She's still such a beautiful woman-- she didn't need all those ruffles and flounces. Instead of her wearing the gown, the gown was wearing her. Never a good thing.

On my way to Kroger this morning, one of the houses a few streets down from us had white wooden letters propped up on stakes in their front yard. The letters spelled out HOLLYWOOD. I told my husband that they probably had an Oscar party last night during the awards ceremony. Well, I wish I'd thought of that.... and my husband said we'd have to "borrow" their idea for our own Oscar party next year. I'm sure my husband could download a photo of the gold Oscar statue from the Internet, and that would be the invitations for everyone. And if one of the hobby stores had gold Oscar-like statues, they would make perfect party favors. (And this is how a party starts.... from one little idea.)

Gorgeous day today...... and getting warmer and back up into the 80s. Which is right where the temperature should be, instead of the mid-60s of last week. I saw part of Galveston's Mardi Gras parade on television yesterday--- even with the colder weather, the streets of The Strand were crowded with people waiting to catch Mardi Gras beads. A spokesman for the Mardi Gras committee said that even after Hurricane Ike, the Island just needed to celebrate Mardi Gras in its usual way. "It's time for the Island to have some fun," he said. Well, after all they've been through, there's no arguing with that.