An Honour to be Nominated....

And even more fun to win, of course!

After the 3rd snow storm in three weeks, the Chap and I felt very brave venturing onto dangerous roadways to attend the Red Carpet Fundraiser and Academy Awards show viewing at the independent cinema in downtown Concord. (We are members and supporters...I was present at its grand opening 5 years ago.)

The theme of this year's event was "Classic Hollywood" and black and white attire was encouraged. We complied--easy for the Chap, as his tux meets the specifications! I found a gown with lots of top structure (boned bodice, white rosettes) and a full skirt with crinoline beneath to add body. Because the glamourous female stars of the 30's and 40's often wore plumes in their hair, I created a matching headdress.



Part of the tradition involves walking the Red Carpet, being interviewed by a reporter for community television, and a line of "paparrazzi" snapping photos. A buffet was served in the smallest screening room, dubbed "The Stork Club" for the evening, where a jazz combo was playing. We circulated, meeting friends and making new ones. My ensemble received lots of attention and compliments, which was gratifying.

The Oscar telecast was streamed live in one of the large screening rooms. During commercial breaks the hosts led a Oscar trivia game. As usual, I scored a prize, thanks to my knowledge about Daniel Day-Lewis. (Prophetic, perhaps, as later in the evening he won the award for Best Performance for male lead!)

Adding to the fun is the chance to have a photo taken holding an real Academy Award. I didn't do it last time, but this time we did photo op--together and separately. The award belongs to Ernest Thompson, author of On Golden Pond, who won for his screenplay. Things I love about this particular statue:

1. It was awarded for writing!
2. On Golden Pond was filmed in New Hampshire's Lakes Region (mostly on Squam Lake) and some of the boating scenes were shot on our Big Lake!
3. Our cottage looks almost exactly like the one in the film, except that one has two levels of living space and ours has only one (our lower level is a wood shop and crawl space.)

We didn't stay for the entire broadcast, as the Chap was starting his new job (!!) today. The DVR was running at the Lodge, but of course I followed the action via Facebook and Twitter on my cellphone during the homeward drive.

In contrast to the elegant evening, we had spent much of the day clearing snow--shovelling and raking and so on--and worrying that we'd lose electricity. We had about 14 inches total, which is twice what the weatherman predicted for our area. The clouds rolled in Friday night and it was still snowing on our white-knuckle drive home from the Oscar party, late Sunday.

This is the scene on our decks this morning. It was back to shovelling for me, because--did I mention the Chap has a new job?

Accumulated snow on the decks.



In the "honour to be nominated" section of this post...the cover art for The Love Spoon has been so designated for February releases. You can read about it here.

I'm thrilled that the novella is doing well. It cracked the Top 100 bestseller list for Amazon Kindle in Short Stories (not just romance, but all short stories) as well as romance. Thanks to everyone who purchased it! And thanks to my very talented cover artist!



I'm guest-blogging later this week and will return with a link when the post goes live.