My excuse for being so neglectful of my blog can only be described as "The Skin Saga."
For some unknown reason, shortly after Thanksgiving, my chronic eczema went into high gear. My arms and legs were covered in painful, itchy, red blotches. My face, neck and hairline were extremely dry. All of this was inexplicable, as my habits and diet hadn't changed. After a couple of weeks with no improvement I desperately went to the dermatologist and left with no answers and little compassion. That night I sobbed. My sweet hubby made an appointment for me with a doctor in Portland he'd heard good things about, but that was still weeks away.
I decided to try a new tactic and go to the local health food store. The manager pointed me in the direction of some herbal supplements which I've been taking faithfully, twice a day, since then. My skin has improved greatly since then. I'm still dealing with dryness and some flareups on my arms, but my legs, which were painful, discolored, and sensitive to warm water, are back to normal. Thank goodness. I was suffering.
Days before my appointment in Portland I printed up the (gulp) seventeen pages of forms I was required to fill out ahead of time. There were pages of personal and psychological questions, a week's food diary, and multiple wavers. I try to give all physicians the benefit of the doubt, but the wavers raised some red flags. As a person who believes you should "go with your gut," I cancelled the appointment. One week later I have no regrets.
When the time comes to see a dermatologist again, I will go to someone else. In the meantime, I'm careful about what I eat, I take my herbal supplements and continue to try to stay one step ahead of the problems. Sometimes I'm more successful that others, but the saga did make a hermit out of me for the last 2 months. Quite a change after months of travels and adventures.
BRANSON
Speaking of adventures, let's back up a bit to early November. After giving Eric "carte blanc" on the Branson decision, he went ahead with the plans. After four trips in the year, what's one more, right?
I won't say the trip was without its bumps. We endured some delayed flights, severe air turbulence, and had to change hotel rooms because of some game room noise down the hall, but the vacation itself was wonderful.
We are lucky to have generous friends who recommended shows they thought we would enjoy and accompanied us to many of them. That was invaluable, because there are so many choices!
Friday afternoon we went to our first Branson show and saw The Duttons, a family of fiddlers, singers, dancers, and jokesters. They have their own theater on the city's main street (think of a smaller version of the Vegas Strip) and their own hotel behind it. Here's a quick promo video I found on YouTube:
They were a lot of fun and extremely talented.
That night we saw Jim Stafford. I must admit, I had never heard of Jim Stafford, but Eric had and he was pretty excited to be able to see him in person. Jim Stafford also has his own theater. It was a silly show with silly songs and Eric was thrilled he got to meet Jim and take a picture with him:
(REMEMBER: You can click on any photo and see it full-sized. Click the "X" in the top right corner to return to the post."
The next morning, Saturday, we finally got to see the famous Andy Williams Moon River Theater! There is much significance to this theater and it was the one we were excited to see the most. Andy Williams owned it and performed there for many years until the end of his life. Jimmy Osmond runs it now and has maintained it beautifully.
Eric and I spent the morning and evening there. In the morning there was a "Breakfast At Tiffany's" event, with breakfast in the gift shop and a fun meet-and-greet with the Osmond Brothers. We also went to a show of Jimmy Osmond's, with much music dedicated to Andy Williams. A very talented young man from the UK named Charlie Green also performed as well as a silly comedian/magician named Chipper Lowell. As usual, Eric was the lucky volunteer who was called up on stage!
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| Jimmy Osmond, me, Merrill, Eric, and Jay |
That evening we saw the Osmond Brothers perform their Christmas show, along with the lovely Lennon Sisters, Janet Lennon's granddaughters, and magician Rick Thomas. It was fabulous!
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| Selfie of me and my adorable hubby that evening. |
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| The Lennon Sisters are darling! L-R Mimi, Janet, and Kathy with me in the back. And in the wayyyy back is Merrill Osmond, filling up his Diet Dr. Pepper. LOL |
Sunday was church and that evening we saw Clay Cooper's country show. It was fun and rowdy!
Monday morning we were back at the Duttons' theater, this time to see a morning show with singer, George Dyer. He was very good and sang a lot of showtunes from Broadway and films. Love me some showtunes!
Monday we saw The Hughes Brothers' Christmas show. We had been hearing incredible things about this show and when we saw it, we knew why. It was SO good! The five Hughes brothers, their wives and children comprise the largest performing family in the entire world!
But it wasn't just about quantity, but quality. Words do not do this show justice, but if you're ever in Branson during the holidays, don't miss it! Below is a 6-minute look at the Hughes Family.
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| Monday night selfie at The Hughes Brothers Theater |
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| A collage of some of my photos during this incredible show. |
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| My photo of the finale. What an amazing, talented, admirable family! |
So are you noticing a trend? All of these performers are up there on stage with their families. Many of them run theaters together as families, even bringing their kids into show business at a young age. The kids are often home-schooled and learn an amazing work ethic, cooperation, and other life skills, all in a family setting.
Guess what we got to do on Tuesday morning? We got to sleep in! The one and only show we attended that day was at 2pm, when we saw the group SIX. Six (out of ten) performing brothers. They were great! We bought their CD of spiritual songs and it is beautiful. Here's their promo video:
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| Eric and me at the post-show meet-and-greet with SIX, including their proud papa, 2nd from right. A funny tidbit, Curtis, the youngest brother, at far left, was sitting in front of Eric at church the previous Sunday and they were chatting before the service. We had no idea we would be seeing him perform in two days. LOL |
We had Tuesday night open and we kept it open. It was time to rest and recharge a bit. I think I was in bed by 7pm!
Wednesday was our last full day in Branson. We went to a morning show of the Bretts, another wonderfully talented performing family.
Eric and I were so impressed with the continuing themes of "God and Country" that permeated throughout every show. Veterans were recognized at each performance, too, and thanked for their service. Everything we saw was very family oriented and wholesome--all good things that are lacking so much in today's entertainment.
On Wednesday night we saw the Osmond Brothers' Christmas show one last time, said farewell to our friends, and stayed up late packing and winding down from an unforgettable week. Thankfully, our return trip home was much smoother than the one a week before.
HOLIDAYS
Thanksgiving and Christmas were quiet. My skin problems kept me from decorating much this year and presents were kept to a minimum, most of which we bought during our travels.
Eric worked on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. We spent Christmas Eve with his family, eating a yummy dinner at a local hotel and had a quick gift exchange at his parents' house.
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We have so much to be grateful for in our lives. Our "wall of fame" in the family room is a fun reminder of 2015's adventures (plus a few adventures from previous years.)
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| Recognize some of these? In addition, there's my autographed Gene Kelly pic, a signed photo of me and lovely Linda Eder, more Osmond photos, including Donny & Marie. |
We wish a Happy New Year to our family, friends, and anyone stopping by here to visit.
