Look at my pomegranate tree!  It looks like the fruit is almost ready! And here’s the best part: they’re all still there!

No squirrels, skunks, deer, coyotes, rabbits, bobcats, snakes, lizards, or pomegranate-eating bugs got them! They’re still hard as a rock but it won’t be long. I have a special pomegranate eating throw that I use to cover myself and the surrounding furniture when I eat them because the seeds stain so badly.  You could probably use the juice for ink.

I know pomegranates go way back so I decided to look up their history online and look what I found:

 “The latest research shows that the pomegranate has been cultivated by mankind for more than 5,000 years. In former times the skin and juice were often used as ink as well as dye for oriental carpets.” Or to make scary blood stains for Halloween!!!

While in Vegas, Denis and I stayed at one of the nice hotels there and everything seemed normal. Normal usually means I can’t wait to leave. I want my own bed, my own sheets, my kitchen, my good bathroom lights, a better TV, and air that doesn’t smell like a hotel room. Sometimes, it’s the smallest thing that can ruin a hotel stay. Like a hair. One teensy-weensy hair (that’s not mine) in the bathtub and I want to call the health department. I think we know the smaller the hair, the more likely it came from somewhere you’d rather not think about, on someone you’d rather not know. So I showered instead and got a full body exfoliation afterwards… oh wait… that was the bath towel. It turns out that the people who make industrial grade sandpaper also make hotel sheets and towels!

Oh, I almost forgot: Damon posted a good video of American Idol’s David Archuleta performing on the JJ show when he was just eleven years old and I interviewed him briefly afterwards. We also just added a video from my show that featured some of the biggest hits of the 80s including… “That’s the way, uh-huh, uh-huh….” Remember?

We came back from Las Vegas last night after my stepmom’s husband was taken to a hospice. It’s a comfort to us all to have him there. My thanks to everyone for their kind words and prayers.

My stepmom’s husband has taken a turn for the worse so I am headed to Las Vegas where they live to help get things in order. I was going to go by myself but Denis insisted on driving me. He’s doesn’t want me driving alone on a desert highway with trucks the size of buildings passing me doing 90. Plus he wants to be there for us. He’s my hero.

Last night I went to the mall to get my mind off things. I just meandered around and wound up at Macy’s looking for Christmas gift ideas (yes, I said Christmas – it’s 9 weeks away!!) I was looking at women’s clothes and noticed that the music changes with every department. In the grown-up women’s department, the music is adult, just like the clothes. In the junior department, it’s pop music and it’s louder. But then so are the clothes. The best music was in the trendy designer department and I loved it. I even felt like dancing. If this was a night club, I might have busted a move or two. Then I saw it: the table, the equipment, the headphones… when did they start having DJs at Macy’s? I should have worn nicer clothes. Suddenly, I felt out of place so I went down to Bloomingdale’s and guess what? “Boom-laka-laka…” there too! This is not a nightclub. What’s next? Mojitos in men’s underwear?

My stepmom’s husband is not doing well. He had stomach cancer surgery last June and since then the cancer has spread to his bones. He is back in the hospital after suffering a small stroke. It’s been a tough time for them both and I hope he can recover. It’s hard to think about anything else.

It’s Damon’s birthday today so we had pizza delivered for lunch. I asked him what I could bake for his birthday and he said he likes lemon so I made my lemon-coconut cupcakes for dessert.  It’s hard to describe the vast array of skills Damon has but I’ll try.  He manages both my websites (this one and Jenny’s Heroes), where he edits and posts videos and photos, creates graphics when needed, and can always figure out when things go wrong with electronics. He does all the work with Jenny’s Heroes including all the shopping and extensive record-keeping for each hero, arranges each surprise phone call, coordinates the press, and so much more, besides a myriad of day-to-day responsibilities.  But best of all, he is a very nice person with a great attitude and a pleasure to have in my home every day. (and he’s a new father!) Happy birthday, Damon.

“I’ll have the bacon-dog, please and then just drop me off at the hospital.”  That’s the only way to order a bacon-wrapped hot dog! Denis and I went to our local street festival yesterday and when I saw this sign, I wondered what the thinking was behind this culinary catastrophe. Let’s see… we know hot dogs are unhealthy, but what can we do to make them do even more damage?  Put them in a white bread bun? Done.  Dip it in corn batter and fry it?  Been there, done that. Here’s an idea.  Let’s wrap it in bacon!  Genius!

There were a lot of food stands with things like cotton candy, funnel cakes, and even some food trucks. I have to admit the smells at any outdoor festival can be intoxicating.  The first thing that wafted my way was caramel corn and then it was barbeque.  I decided on barbeque but they ran out so I went with my second choice. Call me a hypocrite because I had a Polish kielbasa dog, and I only have one thing to say: Thie kiełbasy było pyszne! Hey, at least it wasn’t wrapped in bacon!

How amazing to see these 33 miners brought back to life.

 I cried every time one more came back. 

One survivor said there were actually 34 down there —

— God was with them, too.  

This is a day to remember.

Gary Coleman died earlier this year at the age of 42. I remembered that he had appeared on my show and and I’ve been looking for months for the video.  I finally found it and we posted it today on the site.  You’ll see that the interview was kind of strange – he seemed guarded and frankly, not very happy.  He was 30 years old at the time and seemed to want to separate from the role that made him a superstar in the 70s and 80s. He played Arnold on “Diff’rent Strokes” from the time he was 10 until the age of 18.   His life was plagued with health problems, primarily his kidneys.  How sad that he died so young but his work will bring laughter to generations to come.

http://www.jennyjones.com/bt_video_highlights.shtml