Jessica Savitch was a popular news anchor in the late 70s-early 80s until her untimely death from being trapped in an over turned station wagon that had ended up in a canal in New Hope, PA. Personally, I can’t go in that area without thinking about Philly’s very own ‘Golden Girl’.

“A native of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Jessica Savitch began her broadcasting career at age 14, working on a radio rock show for teenagers. While earning her degree in the television-radio department at Ithaca College, she was an announcer for the College’s television station, WICB, and worked in radio at Rochester’s WBBF. After graduating in 1968, she joined WCBS radio in New York City. She moved to television at KHOU in Houston and in 1972 became the news anchor at KYW-TV in Philadelphia.”

The tv movie about Ms. Savitch (1995) starring Sela Ward was on Lifetime this morning. She really was a wonderful news anchor and I remember admiring her when she anchored in Philly and was not surprised when she went on to national fame.
I know of the house in Kennett Square where Ms. Savitch lived with her family before her father died and her mom moved the family to Margate, NJ. For some reason I thought she went to Kennett High School, so I guess I just forgot that she moved away from here when she was about 12. I am sure she used the same building as Sean if she didn’t go to Catholic school. I’ll have to look in her bio sometime. She’s like one of this area’s most famous residences, right up there with the Wyeths. I am sure she traveled down our road many a time.

Jessica Savitch-gone 22 yrs. It’s hard to believe.

Not a happy scene from Ladder 49. 

I got my hair ‘touched up’ and the stylist thought it would be interesting to see how my hair looked ironed since she does that to her own hair! Man, is it straight! BTW, this is what happens when you take your own photo. I would say to hold your chin up, unlike me.

It was Bri and my follow-up visit today to check out our bloodwork from last week. I was pretty good all day until an hour before our appointment. The weigh in is the worse to me. I was feeling bloated all week and nothing fit right. Bri and I went in together to see the PA (physician’s assistant) and held our breath. I guess you generally know how you feel most of the time. Well my cholesterol was about 146 but my triglyerides were again borderline high. The good news is that my liver function tests were normal. Thank goodness! The PA didn’t think I needed to get the AMAs (anti-mitrochrondrial antibodies) checked if the LFTs were in the normal range. She will send them along to the GI doc for evaluation.
What’s really excellent is that Brian’s cholesterol and triglyerides came down quite a bit from last year but are still higher than they should be. It’s the fish oil people! He’s been taking fish oil capsules for about 6 months. I should take it. I just don’t want to take 1,000 mgs of it. He says it gaves him tummy trouble sometimes. That I don’t need.
If we can work on the above and throw some exercise in there, we are doing pretty good for middle-agers. I have a few more doctors to see this summer-gyn, dentist, eye doctor, but I have to keep optimist about those upcoming visits and just get through them.

Not exactly the best documentary to watch after you’ve eaten the food scorned by the producer of Super Size Me. Morgan decided to eat at McDonald’s for 3 meals each day for an entire month. He wanted to see if a court case against McDonald’s (by two teenage girls) was worth sueing this world force fast food restaurant for. Morgan threw up after he finished his first ‘Super sized’ meal. Morgan kept eating and eating. He went from being a healthy 30 something man who weighed 185 to a sickly guy who weighed 209 pounds. His liver was ailing badly. His cholesterol was through the roof. As a footnote at the end it said it took him only one month to put on 24 pounds and 15 months to get it off.
Is this more than a wake up call for so many of us? This guy was consuming tons of sugar along with the massive doses of fat.
I have to admit I like a fast food burger maybe once or twice a month. I could go for pizza over burgers anytime. I prefer the broiled Burger King Jr. Whoppers. I like McDs fries better. My favorite is Wendy’s Crispy chicken sandwich. I am overweight, but I have been around the same weight for years. My blood pressure is good (usually) and my cholesterol was borderline high last year. Brian’s was high. We are going to the doctor tomorrow to see what our bloodwork shows. Always scary to me.
One of the doctors said it’s okay to eat at these kind of restaurants once in a while. Sometimes it’s just too easy to drive on through and get a sack of fat. But I have to say this was an eye opener. I didn’t look when the man who drank 4 gallons of soda a day was getting a gastro bypass operation.
I say eat sensibly and move your butt by gardening, walking and doing exercises. That’s the only way to be fit. I should live by my own words.

Cotton candy pink petunias. 

My ‘crop circle’ of baby flowers. The wildflowers are closest to the middle. The next row is a strong showing of zinnias. This is partially shaded by our old chestnut tree. Incidently, we use to have a satellite dish here and had a hunk of cement in the middle of the yard there, hence the garden. I have a dish of colored stones and plastic do-dads in the middle that I try to pass off as a bird bath.

Glorious lilies-they remind me of a sunset. 

I am really pleased with the way the flowers and shrubs are taking off this year. It’s bloom city here! From the viburnum to the magnolia and dogwood-they are loaded with flowers. Though the peonies and azaleas must need food because they are straggly and didn’t bloom much. I just happened upon a box of Miracle Gro for azaleas and rhododendrons (they bloomed fine).
The petunias are making a nice show and are so bushy rather than leggy. I have them in beautiful shades of pale yellow, lavender, pinks, purples and red and white striped.
I planted two ‘crop circles’ as everyone is calling my seeded gardens. Both are doing excellent! Nothing is eating anything-yet that is. My flower seed garden is loaded with zinnias, cosmos, marigolds and other wildflower seeds. It really needs thinning in the wildflower part of the circle, but I can’t seem to get myself to pull them out.
Portulacas came up by themselves in many places. I salvaged some from off the top of my plastic strawberry jars (planted with lime green and purple sweet potato vines on the tops and portulacas in the holes). The sweet potato vines are doing great also-I have never seen them any so bushy before.
I am disappointed in the moon flower seeds I planted. I soaked them as instructed on the package and only three of the 8 seeds emerged. I am hoping a good rain will make them pop.
Did I say how pretty the snapdragons and dianthus are too? Gorgeous rainbow shades. And my roses that didn’t die bloomed like champs.
The lilies are taking their bow next. I love them too.