(If you haven’t already, read my weekend posts. Then all will be clear!)
As promised… Here it is… My first Lovely Thing… Make A Grand Entrance!
I have to admit that the actual act of Lexi entering lacked the joyful exuberance I was hoping for, especially considering the big ol’ ham bone we’d put on the floor in the dining room. (Full of herself as Director, J swears never to work with animals again!) But I did make her doggy door grander than it has ever been, complete with a red yarn curtain (which is as close as I could come on short notice to a red carpet).
And now… behind the scenes of my first Lovely Thing…
First, it was done on a night when Jay, one of my favorite people in the world, was already scheduled to come over. We were tasting white wines and creating masterpieces in the kitchen and out back on the grill. (Jay made an amazing tropical bean salsa… Jay’s Lovely Thing). I sprung the movie on him when he arrived, unsure if he’d think it was stupid or wonderful. Maybe I charmed him with my enthusiasm. Maybe he liked that I had such a great use for the bone he brought over for Lexi. Maybe he loves me. Whatever, he jumped right in and can be heard at the end applauding with me and The Boy. (Chad was out back, holding onto the beast.)
Secondly, I colored with crayons! I can’t remember the last time I did that. The Boy is fourteen. When he colors now, it’s usually for a homework assignment, and he is decidedly un-cute about it. I have to tell him not to use that kind of language while he’s coloring. (Okay, he’s a little cute.) Anyway, I colored with crayons, blew up balloons (then gave up and let Chad blow them up with his super compressor). I used pretty pipe cleaners and yarn and tape. I sipped wine. I laughed. I made a movie.
It was an unusual and kind of perfect Saturday evening.
Third, it was a collaborative effort. The creative idea to make an entryway grand came from Chad. That it should be Lexi’s door was mine. That Lexi should actually enter, The Boy’s. Jay brought the ham bone. I had help with everything, from the first idea to the YouTube upload.
The point of The Beckoning of Lovely, I think, is not only to tap into our most creative self, but also to share the experience. That was my favorite part of making “Make A Grand Entrance,” and it’s why I decided to do all this here, on Zebra Sounds, with you guys. I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to do any of the stuff on the list, but knowing I’ll be sharing it with you is a powerful motivator. Thanks, guys! And thanks to everyone who has already shared back! Keep ‘em coming!
Next Monday: J “makes a friend.”
Wild
Judy this delighted the hell out of me.
The whole thing!!!!
And surprisingly enough, you don’t sound like a chipmunk in a recording!
[put that on your bio]
on a personal note… good job not putting one of those sparkly woobly balled headband antenna things on Lexi’s head….that would have just been overkill….
So much fun and so inspiring Judy! Thanks for sharing, Mairi
Karen, Yay! You are quite fun to delight! And yes, I was able to hide my chipmunk-like tendencies. (Oh wait, that’s you.)
Mairi, Thank you! I think this will be fun. Challenging, but fun!
Lovely indeed! very good ideas you had (all of you), it’s a very nice video ;)
An entrance worthy of the red carpet at the Academy Awards.
brilliant! creative! collaborative! inspiring! fun! i’m sure lexi will remember to thank all her “little people that made this all possible” when she receives her award.
until then – i’ll say “thank you” for her. :-)
Judy, I absolutely loved this!! I also agree wholeheartedly about the fact that sharing the experience is half the fun. Sharing, collaborating, what an amazing experience :)
I take my hat off to you jcw, as I bow with a smile!! :^)
Estrella, Thank you, thank you! From all of us!
Karen, Shhhh. Lexi is so prone to a big head! (Thank you, though.)
jb, Garsh, thanks! Lexi was pretty hilarious during the process. When we first showed her the bone, we couldn’t get her to leave. Then the first time we shot, we couldn’t really get her to come in – she was all hesitant and not at all grand. I was seriously considering trying to talk one of the other participants into coming through the door! (More wine would have been required.)
Christie, Thank you so much! I love your smile!
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could Make a $Grand$ every time we made an Entrance?
kid
I enjoyed seeing the 17 and 18 things Amy created, and this one was very cool, too. Thanks for creating and sharing these, Judy. :-)
I like the $Grand$ Entrance idea. Let me know if you find a way to do that before I do!
Very creative, keep it up!
Not since the story of Go Dog Go has there been such a triumph of dog over adversity! Although I thought the nude scene was a bit gratuitous, I would watch the film again and happily await it’s DVD debut!
Kid, You crack me up. I like that about you.
SM, I know, Amy’s inspiring and Kid’s got a great imagination!
Laura, Thank you!
John, Please yelp me! ;-)
I got the verbal version before I saw it. I laughed when John told me because I had been wondering how you were going to make a grand entrance without being on film. I figured you were too shy to actually be on film yourself, so that you had Lexi do it was so perfect, so “Judy”.
And I truly was moved by the fact that while the video “lacked the joyful exuberance” you were “hoping for” it almost sounded like the entire “collaborative effort” is what really turned out to be the “Lovely Thing”. And that was unexpected and unplanned. How lovely.
Thank you.
Judy, you go, woman!
I was having a frustrating Tuesday morning when I opened the email from your blog. I read the narrative first and then came over to watch the video. It’s gorgeous! For me, Lexi’s entrance *was* grand and I loved all the cheering. Loved the bright colors on the grand entrance as well.
Watching your video and reading your thoughts about how it all came about, I realized that my project for the grand entrance might be too ambitious. So I might have to rethink that one.
Also, my first lovely from the list (I think it’s #7) is getting bogged down in technicalities. I’m about to import my Fear of Writing blog (where I’ll be making my Beckoning Lovely posts) into WordPress. But we have to wait for our host to upgrade the php first. I want to make my posts on the new, much lovelier edition of the blog so my first one will have to wait.
Congrats on making an excellent start on the list! I look forward to next Monday to see what adventures you come up with next.
12-string songs… well the first two guitars you hear at this link are 12-twelve strings guitars (long intro, sorry):
http://www.last.fm/music/Pink+Floyd/_/Wish+You+Were+Here+(live)
Almost anything by Leo Kotke. Supertramp used a 12-string on “Give a Little Bit”. John Denver. He used a twelve string on “Annie’s Song” and “Sunshine on my Shoulders” among others.
And this one:
From Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the museum scene – which is ironic I end with this one because it’s by a group called Dream Academy (produced by David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd, my first link). Take care, Judy…
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