Author: Louis Dell'Olio

………………..One of my neighbors is into the more MACABRE, SPOOKY style of decorating……The other day, on my walk, I spoke to the woman who owns the house. She was walking her baby in a stroller on this beautiful, crisp, sunny day. I told her I loved the way she decorated her house!……She replied….”oh no, this isn’t me….it’s ALL MY HUSBAND!….He does it all!!”….I said “your husband must have some sense of humor….right up my alley”…..she yes “yes he does,”, with a big smile on her face. My photos don’t even show all of it. There’s a giant white spider on top of the mail box, and other skeletons crawling all over the house….on the roof and crawling up the sides, plus other creepy things crawling about…..For Christmas he leaves up all of the skeletons……and puts SANTA HATS on all of them!………My kinda guy!

…………………It’s that time of year!……HALLOWEEN will soon be here, and the Halloween decorations are going up all over the neighborhood!……This lovely cottage type home is one of my favorites!!…..Some do very elaborate decorations, and some keep it simple focusing on one thing…..This is definitely my FAVORITE….It’s simple but very chic and sophisticated…….As you can see only the one tree in the front yard is decorated……but……it’s decorated with REAL, hand carved pumpkins which are suspended from the tree’s branches!……I’ll have to drive past it at night to see if the pumpkins light up!…..Now that would be FANTASTIC!

…………………Last night I watched one of my favorite….DIANE KEATON…..movies……”BABY BOOM”, made in 1987!….The first thing that struck me was how YOUNG everyone was!….Sam Shepard…Sam Wanamaker…Pat Hingle…James Spader….Chris North “Mr. Big”….Victoria Jackson….Harold Ramis etc. etc…….so many of them gone!…..Now….sadly Diane’s name has been added to that list……They were ALL BRILLIANT….especially Diane!…..The movie just doesn’t get old….Only Diane’s suits. with those 80s BIG shoulders dates the film!…..There is one great scene after the other….and so many are HILARIOUS!!!!…..I’m sure TMC will soon have a Keaton retrospective, but I couldn’t wait……Next up…..”SOMETHIN’G GOTTA GIVE”, which was Diane’s favorite movie and one that Jac and I both loved….These are movies you can watch over and over again!….It’s hard to believe Diane Keaton is gone…….but her movies will always be here for all of us to enjoy! She is already missed! Gone too soon!!!……….Rest in HEAVENLY PEACE.

……………..This past Saturday night I had……….”DINNER WITH FRIENDS”……….If I were to give this dinner a title….it would be…..”THREE DEGREES OF SEPARATION”…….some people I knew, and some I just met…..The common thread was GEORGE, who organized the dinner at his friend’s restaurant…..”LOMBARDI’S”….in New Canaan, Ct…..Dinner was delicious….We started with all kinds of antipasto then….three different pastas,….then steak and fries, and finally a variety of deserts….Plenty of Barolo wine was consumed by all!…..Sitting at the table, photo at left, starting at the left was Alicia, her husband Mike….George and me….Camilla, George’s girlfriend….Sujata, who’s a gynecologist/obstetrician, and has worked with Alicia for years at the same hospital…….We had to separate them so there would be NO SHOP TALK!…..Walter and Luke, who are married…they are both in finances….I just met Walter, a terrific man!…..Alicia, Sujata, Luke and I are all clients of George, who is our trainer. Alicia and I have been with George for 21 YEARS!….I’m not sure how long Sujata has been with George, but for quite some time….Luke has been with George for 3 years….however, Luke has know George’s X wife for over 10 years!…They work together……3 degrees of separation…..and Sujata has known Walter, Luke’s husband, for over 20 years!….3 degrees of separation. I used to see Sujata at the gym in passing. She or I would be just finishing up a session with George, but other than a brief hello, we really didn’t know each other….I just met Luke last week at George’s body building competition. Luke showed me pictures of the BOATS he has BUILT….as a HOBBY!!! They are Chris-Craft style and were INCREDIBLE. To say I was impressed would be an understatement!….This was a table of many talented and successful people!…….Sujata lives not even 5 minutes away from me!…She told me she passes my house on her run!……..We played “round robin” with the seating so everyone got a chance to sit with everyone and talk! It was a great way to meet everyone!!….I know we will all become good friends…..The circle is expanding, and closing at the same time!…..I found out that Walter loves Coconut cream layer cake so I promised when I get home from my trip I would invite them over for my Coconut cake, which Alicia, an incredible baker, taught me how to make!…I will soon be leaving on my European trip with Alicia and Mike!…….Alicia has organized EVERYTHING for our trip…..BLESS HER HEART!!!

………………….SO SAD….to read this shocking news!…..I had, like so many others, hadn’t any idea there was something wrong. As I write this the cause of her death is not known, but I’m sure it will all come out…..I have enjoyed DIANE KEATON in SO MANY MOVIES!……from her first to her last…..I loved her quirky way…her style, and what she stood for……She was one of a kind and will be missed terribly…….Rest in Beautiful Peace Diane