The House on Christmas Street

Sunday Dec. 11th Continued....

2011-12-11T11:04:00.000-08:00

Enjoying a lovely day in Mayberry (Mt. Airy) before heading up to NC. I'm sitting in the same booth in McDs that I sat in last year when I was here. In a while I'm heading up to Pilot Mountain to the home of Larry and Rachel Charpiat, who have the most extensive display I've seen....it's a walk-through that might as well be an amusement park! They are wonderful people who hosted me last year and I just adore them. In fact, I'm staying with them tonight since I now know that they are not ax murderers. HA HA! (at least I don't think so....you never know what might be buried on those five acres!)
Anyhow, they have entered their display in a contest and it would be really cool if you would vote for them. Here's the link:
apps.sms.contextoptional.com

So...I intend to get caught up on the blog right now with my update on the concert in Ennice last night. I started my day in Gloucester and drove down to Ennice, NC ...it took about six hours....including the stop for a little van-nap in the parking lot of a shopping center.
Sydney (my Garmin) tried to take me up the Blue Ridge Parkway again but it was CLOSED so I kept on going and he had to recalculate. He did NOT like that!
When I got to Ennice I drove right past the fire department because I was looking at the school across the street where I am scheduled to do an assembly on Monday. So I went about two miles down the road before I realized I must have passed it. But it was BEAUTIFUL scenery up in the high country....nothing but rolling fields and trees and hilltops as far as the eye could see, and every once in a while a little white farmhouse. The only reason I missed the display was because it wasn't dark yet, because if I'd gotten there when the lights were on I would never have missed it!

William has added a lot more to his display this year, including "Santa's Castle" which he trucked up from the home of Robin Stublen in Punta Gorda, FL. and a life sized sleigh.

It was pretty chilly out and they were serving a hot supper which I enjoyed (chicken stew and cornbread). The biggest radio station around was doing a radio remote inside, and the deejay (who is also the Program Director) interviewed me on the air and asked for a copy of the song so he could see if he wanted to add it to the station. That's pretty cool because they reach three or four states...100,000 watts!

Anyway, there were a lot of cars parked in the fire station lot, in the school lot across the street and along the street, but there were only maybe 25 people outside in front of the stage. It didn't match the number of cars so I just figured everyone else was inside eating and enjoying the warmth. I was a little disappointed but I didn't want to tell William that. I went in to the station after and signed pictures and there were a lot more people in line for autographs than there had been standing in the audience. It was about this time that William told me that all of the cars I saw parked out there actually had PEOPLE in them during the concert (it was dark and I couldn't see inside them)...and that he had hooked up a transmitter to my sound system so that they could hear the concert in their cars! So I actually had a WAY bigger audience than I thought I did!
After the show and packing up, I went up and parked across the street at the school and watched William's animated light show for about 40 minutes. Amazing! He is a talented programmer and his lights really dance with the music PERFECTLY. "Christmas Vacation" was my favorite until I saw what he had done with "The House on Christmas Street." Not because of the song, but because of how his sequence fit the song perfectly. I especially loved how his Santa on the roof lit up during that lyric, and how he had each element of the display light up one by one during the lyric "The family puts up its display"....it was like seeing my song brought to life. I was smiling really big the whole time!

So that brings us up to date. If I think of anything I've missed along the way I'll fill you in. Like this, for example, from the open air market in Wells, UK:

That's just the mega trees!

The Most Funnest Christmas Concert E-V-E-R!

2011-12-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

I was awakened in my hotel room Friday morning by a phone call from Neal Steele...the morning deejay on XTRA 99.1. That's the station that sponsored the concert.
A little background.....back in 2008 I got an email from a woman named Mona Smith, who said she loved "The House on Christmas Street" and had taken the CD to her favorite deejay, Neal Steele. She said he liked the song and was going to play it on the station. One thing led to another and I ended up doing a phone interview with Neal. It was very nice and proper and all went well, and that was that.
The station played the song again during the 2009 Christmas season, and in 2010 I offered to come down to VA to do a concert for their Christmas in July event. That was a really fun time, and when I first got to know Neal a little bit and also his co-host Karl and some of the other folks he regularly has on the air, including a fun and talented guy named Nate Sparks. Since that concert I have had many on-air phone interviews with Neal and they have become progressively more insane. It brings back my time in radio, especially the jobs where I was with a co-host. We have a lot of fun on the air and I really enjoy it!
The station does an annual Driveway Party at the home of an extreme decorator named Danny Joyce, and last year on my tour I did a concert at that event. It was during Grammy season and everybody was really excited and I had a wonderful time.
So this year, when William Bottomley insisted that I return to NC, I told Neal I was coming down this way and we planned another concert. Only this time the station secured a large church, several other acts and billed it as "The Most Funnest Christmas Concert E-V-E-R!"

And it was! I got to meet Neal's new co-host, a lovely young lady named Reese, and both of them were dressed like elves and it was quite hilarious!
The show was opened by a young man named Kyle, who came from the Children's Hospital in Richmond. Nate Sparks is the Director of Education at the hospital, and he arranged for Kyle to come and sing the National Anthem for us. He did a beautiful job, and later he also sang "Frosty the Snowman" with me. It was a true honor to meet this lively boy and his brave parents.

The first act was Timothy Seaman, a wonderful hammered dulcimer player who was very impressive and played interesting and beautiful arrangements of his original songs and well-known Christmas music. I love the sound of the hammered dulcimer. Timothy has several CDs available which you can find on his website. He was followed by Juniper Green, two young and talented singer-songwriters who have developed quite a following here in VA. Plus they are really nice kids! Check them out! http://www.facebook.com/juniper.green1
The third act was Ralph Motley and his bluegrass band. They were just terrific and reminded me of the cowboy songs my father used to sing with me back when I was very young. In fact, I went searching for "Mother, the Queen of My Heart" on the internet and actually found it!! YAY!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX345yrHIhQ

Then, there was an intermission before Nate Sparks, his band and his lovely daughter Damara took the stage. I have to say that my favorite song in their set was "I'm Gettin' Nothin' for Christmas". I love that song and Demi did a great job!

Then it was my turn. I had a blast...the audience was great....there were three couples who came onstage with me and danced to "Santa Whatcha Got"...and it was great fun to perform in such a beautiful venue.

But my portion of the concert was not really the big thing that happened to me that night. Before my portion of the show I was sitting in the audience listening to the other performers , and my heart was filled with anxiety. It seems that lately I am so obsessed and consumed with making "The House on Christmas Street" a hit that I have begun to lose my ability to have fun. Several things have happened in the past couple of weeks that were not fun.....the haters on the internet having a party smashing my CDs....the towing of my van.....the fact that the video views have slowed down....that's all started to overshadow all the good things in my mind. I was sitting there in a church, and so I tried to shut everything else out and just connect with God. I asked Him to take this worry out of my heart, and to help me get back to the true meaning of the season. Now, I am not the type of person to say "God spoke to me" or "The Lord told me" because that's not literally what happens. When I "hear" the voice of God it is usually just a thought that comes into my head, to be honest. Some people might say that's just me brainwashing myself, but I can tell the difference between a thought that comes from me and an idea or thought that comes from somewhere else, because when I try to calm myself down without reaching out to God I am usually not very successful. I know when He is "speaking" to me.
Anyway, almost immediately a feeling of calm and peacefulness came over me, and I was reminded of another time, not too long ago, when I visited my church at home in the middle of the day to connect with God when no one else was there. Something happened to me that day that I can't write out loud or you would think I was insane, but it was something that really changed my whole vision of the future. So I was reminded of that day, and I knew that everything would be okay. It's all gonna be okay. God is gonna take my life where He wants it to go, and I just have to trust that, whether it's my vision or not.
I feel much better now, having been reminded of that.
So thank you to everyone who participated in the concert, and especially to Neal Steele and everyone at XTRA 99.1 for putting it all together...thanks to Linda Grow for the beautiful bag of goodies, and Katherine who supplies me with Goo Goos, and Pastor Mike who inspired me, and Danny, and (Oh Lord his name escapes me) the hunter guy....and the chocolate cake lady, and "hot" Linda (that's not my name for her...that's Neal's name) who bid $100 for my Big Red Coat, which went to the local Humane Society. And here's a picture of her modeling it!

Sunday Morning, December 11

2011-12-11T06:04:00.000-08:00

I actually got eight hours of sleep last night! I don't have to travel far today, so I can take things kind of easy. I fell asleep watching "No Country for Old Men" on TV; I love that movie....it's a great adaptation of the terrific book by Cormac McCarthy. Anyway, I dreamed I was having dinner with Josh Brolin at Barbra Streisand's house, and we were talking about his Dad and how on "Marcus Welby, MD" he was so cool because he was a doctor who rode a motorcycle. HA!

Before I go on, I thought I'd post some pictures .....these are from my time in the UK...

Paul Toole's house....

my favorite part of Paul's display....the stream and pond!

This is Gemma.......


Chris, me., Laura and Paul at Karaoke Night

Friday December 9, Gloucester, VA

2011-12-10T06:11:00.000-08:00

What a GREAT night here in Gloucester, VA! We had over a thousand people in the Lighthouse Worship Center and I got to share the stage with some great artists. Lots of kids and people of all ages having a great time. It was wonderful!
I just realized that's the second time this Christmas season that I've sung for an audience of a thousand or so. Cool beans!
(continued on Saturday morning....)

But, once again, I am getting ahead of myself.

I was home for two days after the England trip. I was so happy I got to be there when Louisa found out she'd been accepted at Tulane, one of her top choices for college. But on Wednesday I had to leave again....
I drove from home to NYC to visit with Emma that afternoon....it was great to see her, but ...long story short...my van got towed while we were having lunch and I had to walk about three miles in the soaking rain to get it, and then they charged me a whopping $485 to get it back!!!!! That was a horrible way to start the tour.
I arrived about an hour late to the first concert, in Cranbury, NJ at the home of the Shaw Family. They had set up a tent for the audience and a canopy for me. Keith Shaw could not have been nicer or more understanding. They helped me get the gear up and I did a show for the hardy souls who were there, and a good time was had by all. Afterwards I was interviewed by the local Patch.com in front of a blazing fire in the house, and I'm sure I looked like a drowned rat! But the kindness and generosity of the Shaws and their friends cannot be understated. They were wonderful wonderful wonderful through it all and made me feel like family. I have promised them that I would return on the way back and do a proper show, starting ON TIME, next Wednesday evening. I will have to leave SC around 3am to get there on time, but I will be there and nothing is going to stop me!!
We had breakfast the next morning and they took me on a tour of their beautiful little historic town, and then I was off again, down to Virginia, which ended up taking me much longer than it should have because I made several stops along the way....and had a lovely dinner at a Shoney's where the waitress was just a sweetheart and the fried chicken was to die for.
I saw the sun set as I was crossing the Potomac and posted a picture of that on my FB page.
The next morning (yesterday) I was up bright and early and on the air with Neal Steele, who is the morning deejay at XTRA 99.1, which sponsored the concert. I called him and he put me on the air before I actually went over to the station....and then when I walked out of the hotel there was a NOTE on my van from some stranger who had written directions to the station from the hotel and told me he (or she) loved listening to me when I was on with Neal! It was one of those little things that really makes life interesting. I still don't know who left it, but if you are reading this ...thank you!
But I'm getting ahead of myself.....
When I arrived in my room....on the desk there was a HUGE festive tote bag just filled to the brim with goodies that had been put together by two of Neal's listeners. I mean, if I was planning on losing weight during this season that plan is in the potty now! One of the ladies has a secret source of Goo Goo Clusters, which is this really yummy candy that is manufactured in Nashville. I ate them often when we lived in TN, but you can't get them in NH and I have spoken about them with Neal on the air. She put two boxes of them in the bag and then brought me another one at the concert! The other lady actually MADE THE BAG and filled it with snickers bars (fun size!), cocoa mix, cheese and crackers, and all kinds of other fun stuff, plus a Christmas mug!
The generosity of people towards me is almost embarrassing sometimes. What did I do to deserve this? As I said in an earlier post, everywhere I go on these tours people go out of their way to make me feel special. It is constantly amazing and I hope everyone knows that I sincerely appreciate it all. These memories will uplift me during the cold days in January when I'm snowed in my home in NH and working on getting the next gig.
Well, I'm looking at the time and realize I have to hit the road if I'm going to get to Ennice on time. I'll have to stop here and continue on with the story of the rest of yesterday tonight. Does that make sense? That sentence looks weird.
Anyhow, thanks again for reading this, and for being with me on this endless quest....hope you are having a merry Christmas season!

2011-12-08T17:58:00.001-08:00

As I sit here in my lovely room at the Hampton Inn in Gloucester, VA, about to bite into a delicious Goo Goo Cluster SUPREME which was left here for me by a wonderful person (along with a ton of other delicious goodies!) the main thought on my mind is gratitude that so many people have been so kind to me along the way. Not just this year, but last year and all the year through. I was just re-reading the last post I wrote and I hope it doesn't come across like I'm bragging. I'm just continually amazed that people are being so nice to me, someone they hardly know, and so I write about it a lot because I want them to know how much I appreciate it. Since this craziness all started I have met so many really good-hearted people who just like to make people happy, and it can't help but renew my faith in God every single time. I mean, last night I showed up an hour LATE while people were waiting for me in the rain, and still they stayed and listened to the concert and told me how much they enjoyed it, and my hosts were just the nicest people you can imagine.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. This is the 2011 tour blog, and I haven't even told you about England yet.
First of all, there was some pre-trip drama that I didn't want to tell anybody about, so only a handful of people knew that the British Consulate DENIED my visa when I applied in October.
Imagine my horror when I got the email that said the visa had been denied, but gave me no reason why! Then I had to wait for them to return the application to find out why, and in the end it was because I was a dummy and just sent in the application without supplying any additional documentation about myself or the purpose of the trip. I just assumed that because they gave me a visa last year, and because everything was covered in the application, that this year would be a breeze...WRONG!
Then I couldn't find any information anywhere about how to appeal the decision, and I was FREAKING OUT because there was NO WAY I could miss the opportunity to be on television all over the United Kingdom! I called Senator Shaheen's office and the people there were extremely helpful, and told me I should re-apply with the proper documentation. So I did, and believe me, I sent them about a half-inch thick pile of paper with my second application. Everything from a copy of our mortgage statement and our 2010 income tax return to a letter from Make-a-Wish UK saying how much money we raised last year. I not only had to pony up for another application fee, but by that time I had to pay an extra $150 to expedite the application process. Imagine my relief when I got the email that said it had been approved. This was 11th hour stuff, folks!
Anyway, when I finally arrived a Heathrow around 7am UK time on Monday, Paul and Chris were nowhere to be seen. After awhile the assistant producer of the documentary showed up toting a camera and explained that they were running late. When they arrived I was so happy to see them again,we had a lovely reunion and she filmed the whole thing. Then she filmed us walking out the door of the airport, and it was supposed to be natural (reality TV!) but it was really awkward. There is no way you can be natural when someone has a camera aimed at you!
Driving away from the airport she put the camera on the dashboard and did a lot of filming of us just talking. Then she parted ways with us and we went on to Stonehenge, which was amazing...but I have to admit, it was a lot smaller than I'd thought it would be. You hear so much about it that I expected the stones to be these huge monoliths, but in reality I'd say they aren't really any taller than 15 or 18 feet. Pretty big, but not what I'd envisioned. Still, it was eerie to be there and to learn about how long it's been there, and how many zillions of people have lived and died who have walked by or around that thing. And it was really cool to actually be there after all of these years of hearing about it.

We got to Wells in late afternoon and I checked into the hotel. It was about this time that I was alerted online here to some major nasty stuff that was being said about me by some people who just have a problem with me in general and who were complaining about a statement that I made online regarding copyrights and licensing. I don't want to go into details, but it was ugly, and hurtful, and I know this sort of thing goes with being in the public eye but I was suffering from jet-lag anyway and this just threw me into a tailspin. I was so upset, I was crying and all, and Paul came back over to the hotel and sat and talked with me for awhile until I got sleepy, and then I slept until 4pm the next day. I felt a whole lot better when I woke up. The only reason I'm mentioning it at all is because I want to give whoever reads this the total picture...that being me isn't all wonderfulness 24 hours a day. For some strange reason there are people who actually don't like me! Can you imagine that? Hahahahah! But seriously, I'll address this supposed need I have for "Fame and Fortune" in another post. Let's just say for now that I need to develop a thicker skin, and not just a lot of fat with thin skin over it!

For the sake of time, and cause I don't wanna bore you, I'll fast forward to the day of the switch-on, which was Wednesday. I was nervous all day. I NEVER get nervous before concerts, but this was a huge event for Paul and Chris, and a HUGE event for the whole community, and I just really didn't want to screw it up for them. Paul and Chris were so busy that they never got over to pick me up until around 3pm, but it was cool because there was a market going on in the town and I had a chance to browse around and pick up some Christmas gifts and stuff. It was fun!

When I got to Paul's house it was just madness. Everyone was getting ready and people were starting to arrive, so I just got out of the way and took a walk around the neighborhood, singing to myself. I was planning to sing some of the new stuff, so I was going over the lyrics and I'm walking down the street about a block from Paul's house, it's pretty dark out, but suddenly I see this light and it's two people running across the street toward me with the television camera, and they get on the sidewalk just in front of me and walk backwards in front of me and it was all sort of alarming. I kept singing but now I was really self-conscious so I probable blew it all by looking up and saying "I'm just practicing!" and then I put my head down and kept walking.

The actual event was pretty amazing. First of all, I want to say that Paul's display may not be as big as some of the ones I've seen in America, but it is really really beautiful! The feature I like the best is that he's used a child's slide to create a sort of "waterfall" with lights that goes down into a little pond and he's got penguins and polar bears frolicking around and it's lots of fun. He covers the whole lawn with this white stuff that looks like snow. It's really tasteful and just lovely. Plus he's decorated the lawns of several of the other houses in the "close" as well (with their permission, of course).

A little while before we started Mr. John Challis, who plays one of the most famous characters of all time on British television (http://www.thegreengreengrass.co.uk/default.asp?chr_=boycie), "Boycie", arrived to much hoopla. What a nice guy, too! I'm told it was the UK equivalent of having someone like William Shatner or Henry Winkler come to your house to switch on your lights!

Eventually it was time to get started and Paul introduced me, I sang for about half an hour, and then it was time to switch on the lights. Mr. Challis took the stage and did a little monologue for a while which everyone there just ate right up, and then they did the countdown and switched on the lights and I sang The House on Christmas Street. It was wonderful. There were literally ONE THOUSAND people in this little cul-de-sac just cheering and having a wonderful time. It was really something amazing to be a part of that.

There were booths where people could get mince pies (I tried one...yum!), mulled wine and Starbucks coffee, and John Challis arrived in a vintage Rolls Royce. The whole thing was orchestrated by Paul Toole and his partner Chris Elliott and I bow down to their genius. Someone in the street told me that the guys had created a NATIONAL EVENT right there in the smallest city in all of England.

In the following days Paul and his display were featured on all the morning news television programs (one guy did the weather from Paul's house!) and were in every major newspaper in the country. Paul's now a real celebrity who will be recognized wherever he goes, and he deserved it, because he took this dark little corner of the world and lit is up for everyone to see. I'm proud to be his friend.

The latest word on the documentary is that it's called "The King of Christmas Lights," it features three separate households, the editing is done but they won't tell us what they have included, and it will be shown all over the UK on December 19th. It's mind boggling when you think about it. I have no idea whether I will actually be included in it or not, but whatever happens, it was a totally amazing experience and one I will never, ever forget. I owe a great debt of gratitude to Paul and Christopher for making it happen and I wish the best of all things for them. I'll keep you posted on what happens with the doc and if there's a chance we can see it here in the states as I get the news.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/king-of-christmas-lights

As always, thanks for reading my drivel and
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Reflections on the first-ever 2010 House on Christmas Street tour, one year later.

2011-11-30T06:40:00.000-08:00

It was just about a year ago that I set off on a remarkable journey to promote “The House on Christmas Street.” I’d gotten the bright idea in May that it would be really cool to travel around the country and perform at the homes of Christmas decorators who use the song in their displays. I hoped it would be a fun treat for them and it would be beneficial to publicizing the song as well. I did not want to charge them my regular performance fee, but I did ask that they provide me with lodging at some sort of motel, hotel or the like for the night that I would be there. I also asked that they work to get as much publicity as possible, and that they collect for a charity. I posted on a couple of the Christmas Decorator networking sites and soon had several emails from folks who invited me to come to their houses. I began to plan the route.

When I first began planning, my husband was very concerned. He couldn’t imagine how I could cover the cost of such trip, even if the lodging were free. We are not well-to-do people, partly because I have spent so much of our married life working as a musician, which is an up and down life.

But almost as soon as I began planning, amazing things happened. First, I got a message from Paul Toole in the UK, asking if I would come to England on the tour. I laughed and said I didn’t think I could drive across the ocean, and maybe another year I could afford it, but he replied and said he would cover the cost of the entire trip. I was floored. My trip to England was so much fun and it bowled me over that it was all because of a song. Paul and his friend Chris and I became fast friends, and now, here I am a year later, back in England courtesy of Paul. This is the first WONDERFUL thing that happened because of the decision to do the tour.

The second thing that happened is that some of the decorators I’d corresponded with came forward and said that, although they could not host on the tour, they would like to donate money to cover the gas expenses. Again I was bowled over. One guy, named Roger, asked me to set up a PayPal button on my website so people could make donations, and I set up a reward system for different contributions. In the end I raised almost exactly the amount I needed to cover the gas. Another miracle.

The first stop on the tour was England, and I flew out of New York. My daughter lives there, so she dropped me off at the airport and kept my van for the time that I was gone. The very last day I was there (here) I found out that I’d gotten nominated for a Grammy Award for my latest children’s CD. Another miracle.

My flight back to the States was delayed because of snow, and this would really put a jam on my tour plan, but when I got back to the USA my daughter volunteered to drive me to Tennessee, so I could sleep in the car and still perform the next day. She was wonderful. We had a great time and it was really good for me to spend that time with her, as I miss her so much now that she is grown and on her own. She came to the performance and had lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Smith and me, and a good time was had by all. I got her on a plane back home and the rest was up to me.

I know I don’t need to go into detail here about every aspect of the tour, because, if you read the blog I kept while touring you know most of what went on. But some people have asked me about my reflections, and so I’m going to do my best now to tell you what is in my mind and heart about the whole experience.

First of all, it ended up to be more fun, more uplifting, more amazing and more exciting than I ever could have imagined. I would do it again in a heartbeat. And, in fact, I am planning on doing again in 2012. And this year I am doing one concert here in England, and a little mini tour down south by "popular demand."

I have to backtrack a little to give you some history in order for you to really understand how much this whole experience meant to me.

I have been a working musician all my life, but didn’t go into it full-time until 1997. I have built up a good reputation as a childrens musician and love what I do, but everything came to a crashing halt in 2004 when I was diagnosed with Temporal Arteritis.

Don’t know what that is? Neither did I. But my doctors were astounded because this is a disease that is usually found in the elderly, and I was 45 when diagnosed. This disease causes swelling of the arteries in your head and can make you go blind, and after that it can spread to your heart and kill you. It presented with a giant lump on the side of my head, and when the surgeon cut me open to biopsy it, he actually said, 'Oh my God!" That was reassuring.

The only treatment is long-term high doses of, Prednisone, which is a steroid. This is the stuff that Jerry Lewis was on for some time, and why he looked all puffy and strange one year on the telethon.

I don’t want to go into too many gory details, but I was on that stuff for over three years and had just about every side effect that goes with it, especially during the first 14 months or so when the dose was at its highest. I got high blood pressure, mood swings, “moon face”, gained weight and got cataracts in both eyes. The stuff affected me so badly that I couldn’t do a concert without breaking into a sweat, and if I did do one I could do nothing the rest of the day but lie in bed. Plus I looked so weird that it was disconcerting to some. So I stopped doing concerts for much of the first year, until they started to taper off the Prednisone. I have no disability insurance, and we used up most of our savings during that time.

I lost bone density, and in January of 2006 I slipped in my driveway and broke my ankle. I was pretty much housebound for six weeks. I got the cast off early in March, and one week later I was back in the hospital with a blood clot in that leg. I had to stab myself with needles in the stomach for two weeks until the oral blood thinners kicked in.

This was the lowest point of my life. It seemed that just as I'd made it to the light at the end of the tunnel, the light went out again.

I’ve been a Christian all my life, but I have to admit that at that time, in my bed with all of those medications on my nightstand, I began to question my beliefs. Why was this happening? My family was suffering from my illness, our finances were getting desperate, and my career was at a standstill. I kept asking God what the point of all this was.

My Pastor came to visit me at home during this time and prayed with me, and one of my friends gave me a mustard seed in a little case on a chain that I could wear as a necklace. She said all I needed was faith as big as a mustard seed, and that’s about all I had at that point. It was really rough. Everyone close to me said that God was preparing me for something, but I couldn’t see that at all.

I finally got off the medication at Christmas time 2007, and have been able to resume a normal life, but it took a long time to get back on our feet financially and to revive my career.

However, I do believe that going through that gave me the ability to appreciate the good things in life so much more. I thought of that time a lot while I was on the tour; how, when I was sick, I could never have imagined that one day I would be doing such a crazy and wonderful thing. People were right…I think God was preparing me for something, because you know what? It made me braver, and more aware that every single day needs to be lived to the fullest. I believe the experience made me more able and willing to embrace what's out there in life. So when I got the idea to do the tour, I wasn't afraid at all. I didn't even think about being afraid....and it surprised me when people asked me how I could go traipsing around the country by myself, because I hadn't even considered that it might not be safe.

In the end, the number one thing that I took away from the tour was an uplift in spirituality. Everywhere I went people welcomed me with open arms and said they had been praying for me. And when I left they said they would continue to pray for my safety and success on the tour. I got a great send-off at my church, and encouraging notes from church family and friends throughout the trip. Just about every time I heard from somebody they said they were praying for me, and I felt it.

Even at the times when I was driving in the dark on slippery roads through mountain passes I could feel the power of the prayer that people were putting out there for me. I felt uplifted into the Lord’s hands. I from the tour returned stronger in my faith and more trusting that God knows what He is doing.

Another thing for which I am grateful is the friendly way I was received into each family who hosted the tour. People went out of their way to make sure I was comfortable and well fed. Here were strangers who knew me not one bit, really, who were so happy to see me that they hugged me the minute we met. People cooked wonderful meals for me, took me out to eat, and constantly expressed their happiness that I was there and that I’d had a safe trip. I remember each and every family fondly and with great gratitude that you would take a stranger into your hearts and homes and treat her with such kindness. I was brought to tears receiving an official “town brick” in Texas and a key to the city in North Carolina. I was delighted to share my music with folks in a nursing home at one stop and to sing with a back-up chorus of children at another. The Charpiats of Pilot Mountain made sure I got a tour of “Mayberry” and even got to visit the jail and see the sheriff conduct a wedding. Z-Man in Woodinville, WA surprised me with a special duet partner…the one and only BOB RIVERS! Everywhere I went I met people full of love for each other, for Christmas, for music, for God. I was constantly infused with happiness and joy and I pretty much flew through the miles.

So many memorable things happened it would be difficult to list them all, but I hope everyone knows how very much I appreciated your hospitality and kindness, your prayers and your laughter and your generosity. I also owe a great debt of gratitude to all the people who came out to see the shows. In some places it was so cold we hardly had an audience, but in warmer climes there were people jamming in the streets. I think it is safe to say that at each concert a good time was had by all.

I am grateful for the friends I made along the way and I hope you know I will never ever forget you.

Several people have asked me if I was scared at all on the trip. Not really. Even when I ran out of gas one early morning (I think I wrote about that here?) and was stuck on the side of a major highway I was not scared. I felt the power of God taking care of me and I was actually pretty calm. The time the Garmin took me off the highway and across two hundred miles of desolate Indian reservation land in the middle of the night was very eerie, but I was never really concerned for my safety.

I saw the whole thing as a big adventure, and it was fun to share my thoughts and photos of the trip with folks through the blog and Facebook. The feedback that I got from friends all over was so encouraging. I felt that you were all with me; and so I was never really alone.

I did miss my family a lot while I was gone and wished they were there to share the adventure. I missed my daughter dancing in The Nutcracker, but I am thrilled that I will be home this year to see her dance the part of the Snow Queen in this year’s production. Everybody in my family was very supportive of the trip, so that made things much easier. I am blessed to have a husband who believes in the dream, who understands me and how much I love to perform, and who has faith in me.

I didn’t miss my house, however. I’m not a homebody. Home for me is wherever my family is. I would much rather be out on the road, like a traveling minstrel, than be at home. I know some people will think that’s weird and I can’t really explain it, it’s just the way I am. Taking off in my van gives me a feeling of excitement and boldness and a thrill that is beyond explanation.

Some interesting observations from the tour:

To a family, every single host had a bigger and nicer house than I do!

It’s not always warm in Florida.

Most decorators have some sort of a pet, mostly dogs.

Women can do great displays too….and even get Santa up on the roof!

It’s good to have Triple A

Christmas decorators have big hearts

There are lots of supportive spouses out there who put up with a lot of nuttiness during the season.

Christmas decorators are really proud of their displays!

If there’s a display on the outside, chances are the inside is also decorated…many with little villages and train sets…

It’s not a good idea to take the keyboard outside in December in Indianapolis

Christmas decorators support each other…at many of the stops our audience included decorators from other towns who had made the trip to see the display and concert

In closing, I want to once again say a GREAT BIG thanks to Richard Holdman, who called me at the last minute before I left on the tour, and very humbly asked if I might stop in Utah so he could do a video for the song. I had no idea who he was or his reputation for amazing displays and videos. I found out that not only is he the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet, he is generous to a fault. If you’ve seen the video he did, then you can obviously tell it is a high quality production. It looks like it cost a million bucks, but Richard and his partners did the whole thing for free for me. It’s been vastly exciting to watch it grow in views last year and now this year, and I owe all of that to Richard Holdman. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the best. I hope someday that I can do something for him to repay his kindness and generosity.

In the end, I’m not sure the tour really accomplished what I’d set out to do. I’m pretty sure I didn’t get any more radio airplay for it, but that’s okay. I gained much more personally than I ever expected I would. My life was enriched beyond measure by meeting and interacting with so many wonderful people, and that’s why I agreed to a couple of "mini" tours this year and am planning a large tour next year.

When I lived in Nashville in the 80's I belonged to the Nashville Songwriters Organization, whose motto was "It all begins with a song." Boy! Is that true! I was blessed with the idea for that song and continued to be blessed by the wonderful response I've gotten about it. “The House on Christmas Street” continues to grow in popularity, and for that I am grateful. But I am more grateful for having been taken into the hearts and lives of so many people who have added their spirit to my life experience. I hope you all know that you’ve changed my life in so many great ways, and I have a special place in my heart for you.

Maybe I’ll see you next year?

Before I go, I do want to invite you to post your thoughts and memories of the tour if you were one of the hosts or came to any of the concerts. I know people would be interested in your perspective as well.

Merry Christmas!

Judy

Here We Go Again!!

2011-11-25T21:41:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving with people you love and that your plans for the Christmas season are going smoothly so far. It's exactly one month until Christmas, so I thought it was time to come back to The House on Christmas Street blog and begin documenting once more my quest for a Christmas hit.
Last year's tour memories have stayed with me in my heart and mind throughout the year. I just had so much fun being on that adventure, that I've decided to do it all over again next year! So many people have contacted me and asked me to come to their homes for concerts that I've started an "exploratory" list of people who are interested and I'll begin planning in earnest in January. So, if you think you'd like to host me for a concert at your place during the Christmas season of 2012, shoot me an email on my website and I'll put you on the list.
During the past 11 months or so I've brainstormed and explored ideas for promoting the song, and I started thinking about maybe hiring a record promoter. In case you don't know, a record promoter usually works for a record label, and is responsible for contacting radio stations to try to get them to play the records released by that company. In the past several years I've heard of independent record promoters who work with people like me who are not signed to major labels, so back in May I started looking around for someone who worked with music like mine.
I did a lot of inquiring and vetting potential people, because, as you can imagine, it's not cheap to do this. I finally settled on one outfit that came highly recommended, and who made me a very reasonable offer to promote the song during October, November and December. So far progress is slow...they send me weekly reports of the stations they are talking to....and in the next post I'll list the stations that are considering adding the song to their playlists.
Right now I want to get back to talking about touring....because, although I had decided I would stay put this year, some things came up that managed to lure me away! So this Sunday I am getting on a plane and flying back to the home of decorator Paul Toole in the UK to once again sing at his annual light switch on. After we'd made the plans, Paul was approached by Channel 4 http://www.channel4.com/programmes/tags/documentaries/4od to be a subject of a documentary on Extreme Decorating. He was so excited he called me and told me they want my performance to be part of the program, which will be shown in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in mid-December!! Then I got a call from an assistant to the producer to get all the clearances and to inquire about getting some clips from Richard Holdman's wonderful video that they could use to promote my appearance. It's all unbelievable! I'm so excited...but, I'll admit, a little nervous. This could be a huge break for "The House on Christmas Street," so I don't want to blow it by looking stupid or forgetting the words or something!
When I come back from England I'll be home for a couple of days and then I'm hitting the road in my Sienna and heading for Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina for some concerts with the the folks who hosted me last year and one new host. I'll try to write more about those plans within the next couple of days.
Right now I'm kinda tired....droopy-eyed. We traipsed all over NYC yesterday watching the parade and hanging out with our beautiful daughter Emma. I gotta get some rest!
Thanks for reading this! And PLEASE keep watching the Holdman video and sharing it with your friends!!
I'm convinced that if it goes viral that will be THE key to it's success...and I need all the help I can get!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7uRl07K4H8

December 24th, the End

2011-02-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

The day in Florida started out sunny and warm...a beautiful day. I'd made plans to meet my childhood friend Lori and her husband at the Orlando Doubletree Hotel, where I would be performing that night. It was great to see Lori again. She'd reached out to me a while back on facebook and though I'd accepted her friend request, I thought she was someone I'd gone to high school with~ But when I began planning the tour and she told me she worked in the hotel industry in Orlando, we spoke on the phone and I put it all together. This was the little girl I used to play Barbies with on my front porch! Amazing! Anyhow, she'd been reading about the tour and had arranged for me to perform on Christmas Eve at the Christmas event at the hotel in return for a couple of nights' stay and a discounted room for the third night. It was perfect because my sister-in-law was flying my daughters and my husband down on Christmas Day so we could drive back together, and we needed a place to stay. Our Christmas gift to the girls was to be a one day visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I met Lori and her husband Paul at the hotel, got checked in and then we went off to lunch. Or, actually, maybe it was the other way around? Maybe we went to lunch first and then to the hotel? I honestly am not sure! By that time I was running on pure adrenalin. Maybe if Lori reads this she can set me straight! I do know that we had a fun lunch together at THE GOLDEN CORRAL and did a lot of catching up.
When I went to my room I was totally surprised to find a lovely Christmas flower arrangement that featured a ceramic sculpture of a Norman Rockwell painting, waiting for me on the dresser. It was a gift from several of the people from Planet Christmas to congratulate me on the Grammy nom and the tour. It meant the world to me and was so pretty. I've kept the figurine and will keep it in my indoor Christmas display for all the years to come.
I hung out in my room and tried to catch up on emails and so forth until it was time to go down and do the last show of the tour. I set up in the lobby and started singing, and I was somewhat discombobulated that for quite a while my only audience was grownups, no kids. But they were in a partying mood, and we ended up having a wicked good time. Mrs. Claus showed up and read the kids a story and they decorated cookies and then I sang some more got one of the guys to come up and do Candy with me, and all the way around it was a fantastic way to end the tour. I went back up to my room filled with all kinds of emotions....happiness, sadness, nostalgia, gratefulness, but most of all excitement because the next day I would see my FAMILY finally!!!!!!!!!!

Before I wrap up the tour blog I do want to say that all during the last few weeks of the tour I was having a blast keeping up with the success of the Holdman video on YouTube. It was so much fun to check every day to see how many views it had gotten and what kind of comments were left. It was my goal to see it hit 100-thousand views by Christmas and by the end of Christmas Day it had gone over, and that was very gratifying. THANKS AGAIN to Richard and to everyone who watched it, and thanks to everyone who hosted and came out to the shows. What a great experience!

And that's it for my tour blog, except for one last entry which I will write later, in which I will reflect upon the tour as a whole, the adventure and what it did for me emotionally and spiritually, and whether or not I'm up for doing it again. I'll be sure to do that within the next couple of days.

But now I have to get off the computer and do something I haven't done in a while. READ A BOOK!!!

December 23rd

2011-02-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

As I write this it is February 6, and it's probably about time that I get caught up on the tour blog and write about what happened over a month ago. A month ago already! Seems like a lifetime since then!
So much has happened since I've been home, but I will never forget the evening I spent at the home of Bob Walker and his sons.
I was expecting it to be warm in Florida, but, alas, it was not exactly tropical! However, it was a darned site warmer than it had been at many of the other shows, and that was very good. I loved Bob's display...especially the backdrop that he painted over his garage door. It made a beautiful backdrop for the concert. Hey Bob...why don't you have any pictures of that backdrop on your website?
While I was setting up I had the pleasure of meeting Bob's two sons and his mother, as well as many other people who were around and getting ready for the show.
There were three guys from Planet Christmas who came to the concert and one lady who was a tour sponsor who brought me a beautiful Christmas Cactus (which made it safely home....a miracle!) plus my dear childhood friend Lori and her husband, who were to be my hosts for the concert the next night at the Orlando Doubletree. It was a friendly atmosphere and a fun concert, but I have to admit, I actually teared up while I was singing The House on Christmas Street with Bob's sequence. I wasn't expecting it, but by that time it felt like the millionth time I had sung it, and all the memories of everyone and everyplace and all the people and displays and miles and miles came flooding back while I was singing, and I almost couldn't get through it. I'm sure part of the reason why I was so emotional was that I was beyond exhausted by that time. I mean it...I've never felt so fatigued in my life as I did by the end of the tour.
After the concert a bunch of us sat around in the driveway and talked about the tour and everything, and then it was time for everyone to leave and I packed all my stuff up. I went into the house to say "goodbye" to Bob and his boys, Terrance and David. Well, I ended up staying there and eating cookies and talking for a good couple of hours. I am so impressed with Bob, who is a single father with two adopted sons, who does volunteer work for "Give Kids the World," an organization that brings ill children to Disney World. I just enjoyed being there and talking with him and his boys and getting to know them a little bit. I'm pretty sure Terrance said he was 17 although I could be wrong about that and he could be 16. He's a young man with a lot on his mind and, like so many teens, is trying to figure things out. He's got some interesting plans for his future.....but I don't really think I should blog about them because they may have been told to me in confidence. But in case he is reading this, Terrance I want you to know that I am thinking of you and praying that you figure it all out and have a safe and happy future, and please remember that life has both shadows AND light and you never know what could be right around the corner for you. Your Dad is really amazing and you are very lucky to have such a supportive father. I enjoyed getting to know you and David and your Dad and hope I can visit you again, maybe even Christmas time this year. Thank you Bob for inviting me into your home and sharing so much with me. You are all in my prayers and I hope you haven't forgotten me!
Going back to my hotel that night was very sad. I know they don't know this, but I really didn't want to leave Bob's house. That might sound kind of nuts but I just enjoyed meeting all the people on the tour and doing the house concerts in the neighborhoods and getting so much love and good will from so many people all over the US. I didn't want it to end.
And you know what...it didn't end....because the next day I met up with Lori Warwicke and her husband for my show at the Doubletree Hotel, and that was a fun end to the tour that I had no idea would end up being so amazing.

December 22

2011-01-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

Still catching up on the tour blog.....but at this point the end was in sight....

It was an eight hour drive to Georgia and my next stop at Larry Drum's neighborhood in Cumming, right outside of Atlanta. I loved driving through Georgia...I'd been there before and so many of the exit signs brought back happy memories. If you are ever there you should definitely put it on your list to visit the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon. I brought the family there a few years back and we bought the CD that featured music from Georgia musicians. We played that CD to death on that trip. My daughter Emma, for some reason, fell in love with the song "Georgia" by Boz Scaggs. I'm really not sure why that song is on there...I mean, I think it's about a girl named Georgia and not about the state and Boz Scaggs was not born in Georgia, so that's a mystery. But I mean we listened to that song over and over and over and the kids and Philip would sing it at the top of their lungs.
So of course I had to dig out that CD and play it as I drove through the state.
When I got to the exit for Plains I took it, hoping to go find my old friend, the Jimmy Carter peanut, which I first found several years ago and made friends with. You can find out what I'm talking about here: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10409
I added to the mythology of the Peanut in my song "Weird Things are Everywhere!".....
"I have seen a Georgia peanut with a presidential smile....."

BUT I digress......
It was warm and beautiful when I pulled into the driveway of the Drum household and met my #1 Panhead, Larry Drum. He's the one who coined that term..."Panhead." I like it! Larry and his neighbors Brian Todd, Chris Hoard and Jim Sutton collaborate to decorate four houses in their neighborhood and they actually synchronize the lights of four houses at the same time. More about that later...

I hope Larry doesn't mind my saying this, but of all the hosts on the tour he was the one who was the most concerned about everything being just right. That's a nice way to say he was nervous as the Dickens! I reassured him as best I could, because by that time I'd been all over the flipping country and done so many concerts I was ready for anything. Larry had written me many encouraging emails along the way and so I was very happy to meet him and say "thank you" in person.

Larry had cooked a delicious stir-fry dinner but he was running around so much he didn't even take time to eat it, so I had a quick dinner with Lorraine and she gave me one of her handmade ornaments (made by her!) off one of her trees which shall be treasured in the Pancoast household for years and years to come.

It was a beautiful night and I think just about the whole neighborhood came out for the concert and once again there was dancing in the street. Too much fun! But the highlight of that concert for me was singing "The House on Christmas Street" with their sequence. I was stationed at a wonderful vantage point at the end of Larry's driveway so that I could see all the houses from where I stood and it was mind-blowing to be right in the middle of it all. The lights on their mega trees were strung in such a way....I can't really describe it but it was sort of criss crossy and like nothing I had ever seen before. Maybe if Larry reads this he can write a comment explaining it. I almost stopped singing I was so enthralled. Just amazing and I can't imagine the brains that has to go into programming that whole thing.

I signed a lot of pictures after the show and received a lovely gift from one of the families which was delivered by the cutest little boy. It was a bag of Georgia goodies including peanuts, candy and such. They even included a bottle of Coke (because, in case you didn't know, you can visit the WORLD OF COCA-COLA in Atlanta!) Thank you!

There was still a ton of traffic after the concert as people drove through the cul-de-sac to see the show, and Larry and friends were out there directing it, so I had a chance to sit and chat with Lorraine for a bit in the cozy house and enjoy her little mini dachs (three of them....so cute!). These kinds of times on the tour really helped me connect with people and not feel so alone out there; I mean the times when I could really converse with folks. It was a lot of "rush here, rush there" along the way but the moments I spent having conversations with the hosts and their families were the times that made it in to something really special. I think I got to do that a little bit every where I went, and I'm grateful.

The next day it was on to Florida and the final house concert of the tour!

December 21st

2011-01-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

The first day of winter was jam-packed day. First of all, I started the day driving just a couple of hours to do a concert at Olds Elementary School in Raleigh, NC where my dear ol' friend Barb Packales is the new music teacher. Barbara moved there from Maine this summer so it was just good fortune that I was going to be "in the neighborhood" and she was able to book an assembly for me at her new school. It was just WONDERFUL to see her and of course she had already taught her kids some of my songs so the whole assembly was just a blast from start to finish. Afterwards I was treated to a surprise luncheon to celebrate the Grammy nomination and given a giant red poinsettia to take with me. Well, it took up the whole front seat and was lovely to have it ride with me on the four hour drive to Conway, SC ( just up the road from Myrtle Beach.) It was in that vicinity that I found the Elvis Car Dealership (The "king" of cars!) which was just another weird thing along the road!
I had been corresponding with my SC host, Kenny Greer, for at least a couple of years through Planet Christmas and I'd learned that he was a contradance caller and a newlywed. I was eager to meet him in person. The Garmin got me to his parents' house, where he put up his display this year, safe and sound and I was greeted warmly by Kenny, his lovely wife, his family and friends. It was cold but not as cold as it had been, and we did get a little bit of snow while I was singing. I was able to sing HOCS with Kenny's lightshow and of course that was a treat. It didn't always work out that way along the trip because of technical difficulties or whatever, but every time I was able to do it I felt like I was in the middle of a Disney movie or something.
After the show I was signing pictures and a beautiful young lady named Kenya came up with her mother. I recall her name because I've been to Kenya a couple of times and we chatted a little bit about that. Her Mom introduced herself as Jen, a woman I knew from Planet Christmas, and I was very surprised because I didn't know she lived around there or that she was coming to the concert. So that was already a neat thing and then she handed me a bag which held a box of ribbon candy....much to my surprise and delight. You see, she had read something (I think it was on FB) where I said that Dec. 21st was Ribbon Candy Day because it was my father's birthday and because it was so close to Christmas all he ever wanted was a box of ribbon candy. Ever since he passed away in 1998 I have commemorated his birthday by giving away boxes of ribbon candy, and she'd gone searching through several stores to find one to give to me that day. I'd been thinking about my Daddy off and on all day so getting that gift was just enough to bring on the tears. She was so thoughtful and caring to do that and it really meant the world to me.
After everyone had left and all was packed up I spent a long time in the Greer's kitchen, telling stories and hearing about Kenny and Jamie's love story. I stayed quite a bit later than I had planned because it was so much fun.

If you've been reading this blog regularly, then you are probably getting sick of hearing me say I had a hard time leaving everywhere I went...but it's true! Everywhere I went I was welcomed into homes and families with open arms. Even the pets were friendly! I feel now like I have extended family all over the US and in England too. It might be hard to imagine how you could become so close to someone in such a short period of time, but remember that I was corresponding with these folks for months before the tour, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect before I got there although I was always surprised by great new things once I got to meet them in person. And you have to understand that all of these people are "Christmas people." I don't think I need to explain to you what that means!

Anyhow, it was really hard to leave the Greer's house and I hope I get to see them again sometime in the future. I also want Mrs. Greer, Kenny's Mom, to know that she is in my prayers for good health and a wonderful new year!! What a strong, vibrant lady!

The next day it was an eight hour drive on to Georgia.........

December 20th

2011-01-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

I got up, packed up and headed back up to the Mt. Airy area....Pilot Mountain, to be exact. You might remember it as "Mt. Pilot" from the Andy Griffith Show. As I drove through town I knew immediately when I was getting to the home of Larry and Rachel Charpiat because all you could see were Christmas decorations. Larry and Rachel ...by far...have the biggest property and the most decorations of any of the places I visited. FIVE ACRES of lights, wire frames, little houses with animated figures in the windows, blow molds...everything! I hung around with them all afternoon and they showed me a grand time. We went down to "Mayberry" and ate at Snappy Lunch, which is the first ever real Mt. Airy business that was mentioned on the TV show. I had to have their world famous pork chop sandwich...holy moley...it was DEEELISH and I'm sure responsible for packing on at least five pounds right there on the spot. We then went over to Floyd's Barber Shop, in which the barber, whose actual name was Russell, was holding court. The guy must be about 97 years old but he was sharp as a tack and took a lot of time to talk with me about when he cut Andy's hair and then he had me sit in one of his old fashioned chairs and had a picture done with me. I loved every minute of it. The next stop was the little complex that held the "Mayberry" courthouse and featured a real squad car from the show parked out front. I went into the courthouse and met an Andy look-alike who was playing the Sheriff and who posed with his old fashioned phone for me. There was a couple there waiting for him to marry them! And he says this happens all the time! Of course I had to have my photo take in one of the jail cells!
Larry and Rachel wanted to take me on a Squad Car Tour but the same guy who was playing the Sheriff was the one who does the tours and there wasn't time to wait for him to finish the wedding!

In all it was a blast of a tour through Mayberry, a town I never in a million years imagined I'd visit. And I do want Larry and Rachel to know that I was wearing my Mayberry sweatshirt at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and someone actually stopped me to ask where I'd gotten it. The guy was stunned to learn that there is a real "Mayberry." I am certain he is going to visit there one of these days!

We took the last bit of time we had before we had to get ready for the evening and Larry and Rachel drove me up to the top of Pilot Mountain. It's the funniest looking mountain you ever saw, as you can see in the picture above. What a beautiful view from the top. It was just so peaceful and quiet. I'd like to go back up there someday and have a picnic.

But the real fun was yet to come. I went to the hotel just to spruce up for a bit and by the time I returned to the Charpiat's house it was dark and all lit up. Traffic was already lining up to park in their parking lot...yes, they have a parking lot on their property! They have way too many lights to synchronize, so they just synchronize in a few select spots. I honestly cannot describe how amazing the whole thing is. They made paths through the wooded area and people get out of their cars and walk through the five acres of "Santa's Enchanted Forest" of lights(over 200 thousand!), animated figures and things. There's something everywhere you look Larry has been decorating since the 1960's and has many pieces, like the animated figures in the houses, that he has kept since then. I should explain that Larry and Rachel are retirees and this is their hobby...they do it together and look for pieces to add and plan it all year round. I thought that was really cool that they have a hobby they can enjoy together and that makes other people so happy. I'm serious when I say that this place is practically an amusement park. If they wanted to charge five bucks a head I'm sure people would pay it, but when I mentioned that Larry said that would mean a lot of families wouldn't be able to afford to come, so they only accept donations from people who want to help cover the cost of their electric bill.
If you want to see pictures and watch the local news bit about the concert that night then go to the website here: http://www.pilotmountainchristmas.com/index.html
And congrats Larry and Rachel for doing so much for the Pilot Mountain Outreach Center. I was proud to be a part of it.
As it has been EVERYWHERE I have gone on this tour, it was really hard to leave Larry and Rachel behind. What a couple of dear, dear people. I know we will meet again and in the meantime you will be in a special place in my heart. God bless you!!
PS...William Bottomley from Ennice came up to the concert with the van from the TV station where he works and he filmed some of the Pilot Mountain concert for their news broadcast. If you'd like to see it, check it out here: http://www.christmascarolina.com/hocs.wmv Thank you so much William!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

It has been several days since I've blogged and I will come back and write lengthier posts about each of my last few visits, but right now I want to copy a post I also just wrote on PlanetChristmas.com.
I want to thank EVERY host family I've met on this tour. I have SO ENJOYED spending every minute with you, your families and your pets even if it was only for a short time. You were all wonderful to me and there was something new and exciting at every turn. Here are just a few of my memories and comments about my visits. The rest will come to the families in personal notes.

Mitchell Family of NH: You are always so nice to me and I love coming to your house. Brian, you are a man of few words but a good and kind and supportive friend. Thank you for the delicious American Chop Suey and brownies. I wish I hadn't brought the snow with me but at least the power didn't go out this time! Good luck Teagan on your college adventures in the coming year and good luck with your book Joyce. Let's do it again next year and pray for a sunny day with temps in the 70's and equipment that works right and doesn't get lost!!

Paul Toole of Wells, UK: Paul, I can't say enough about the days I spent with you and Chris. Everything was perfect and I had such a good time and so many laughs I could never count them all. Thank you for the beautiful accommodations with the giant bathtub that was the place for my naps, for the spectacular job you did with your lighting ceremony, for your wonderful display (especially the penguins!) and the tours of historic places and fairy shops. I really feel like I have two new British brothers and look forward to you visiting our home soon.

Chuck Smith: You are always a true gentleman and I thank you for the opportunity to perform in Franklin and for the delicious lunch and companionable time spent with you and your beautiful wife. Oh, and for the place to shower and get ready after my harrowing trip back from the UK and the overnight ride to TN. You have done so much for me I could never ever thank you enough. I hope everyone here appreciates what you've done by making this website available to help those who sincerely want to make memories that will last a life time.

The Dennis Family of TX: WHAT A DAY! It was beautiful and warm, you guys were awesome hosts (barbecued sausage, yum yum) and I could have sat there and talked with you guys forever. The few minutes I spent relaxing in your home library surrounded by beautiful decorations and children's literature will always be remembered. Thank you also for arranging the visit from the Mayor of Elgin and for the engraved brick, which will have a special place in my home. What a great way to remember a great day that went by way way too fast, just like the train that barreled through during my concert!

The Brown Family of TX: The visit began with a concert at a nursing home which was very special to me, and continued with my first awestruck view of Linda's house with SANTA AND THE REINDEER on the roof!!! Linda, your display had every element of the song and the video you made was wonderful. Your husband's cooking was deeee-lish and your family, including your two terrific sisters- my roadie and merch person, couldn't have been kinder or more fun. You, my dear, have a heart of gold and a wonderful spirit and I hope this is only the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

The Holdman Family of Utah: What can I say? Richard, you not only live up to your reputation as THE world-class decorator, but you gave me the gift of that video which has made this whole tour so much more exciting. My time with your family was really short due to the production of the video but they were just beautiful and so nice to me, a perfect stranger in their home. You extended an opportunity to me and went out of your way to do this fabulous thing for my career, and we had never met nor corresponded prior to that. You just came out of the blue like an angel and since then have become a dear and trusted friend. THANK YOU for EVERYTHING!!!

The Hurrle Family of Idaho: Oh Terry... you, my friend, are unforgettable. From start to finish you did everything possible to make me feel at home. Didn't we have a nice time at our pizza dinner? You talked my ears off but I so enjoyed hearing your stories...your friendliness and your enthusiasm and the joy and pride you have in your display...especially your dancing Elvis. You remain the only person I have ever met who talks more than me!! Your family was so nice and easy to talk with and even your doggies made me feel at home. I wish you all the best and tons of fun with your bowling teams and may you always bowl a perfect strike!

The Zembruski's of Washington: If there was anyone on this tour who was a cool dude it was YOU, Z-Man. What a class act! I was amazed by your home and enchanted by your bright and beautiful and courageous wife. Oh yes, and your display knocked me out too, especially poor baby Jesus out there lying on the grass. You gave me the biggest surprise of the tour by bringing THE Bob Rivers up to sing with me!! The accommodations were five-star, the much needed gift of a massage (Mark didn't give me the massage, he arranged for me to have one at the spa! HA HA!) and the thoughtfulness and generosity you showed in arranging my stays for the two nights of travel without shows were above and beyond the call. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

The Bicknase Family of MN: My biggest regret of the tour is that I didn't get to go to your house because of the storm. I would have found a way in if there was one, but the roads were all closed. Even though I didn't do the concert, you still provided me with a place to stay in South Dakota that was comfortable and warm and out of the chilly prairie wind. SOMEDAY I will get to your house and do that concert. Maybe a Christmas in July? LOL...but seriously I will be there one of these days, I promise, and thank you for helping me out that night.

The Jeffries Family of MO: It was so flipping cold that night but you found a solution and gave me the most unique staging arrangement of the tour, inside your garage and singing through a window. It was very very considerate! And I loved the red cloths you set up around me to give the appearance that I was singing in a festive red room. The pictures look great! All along in the planning of this tour I received the most emails and encouraging phone calls from you, Larry, and they really helped me keep up the energy and enthusiasm it took to get this project off the ground and keep it going. That meant to world to me. Please give your beautiful wife Kellie and your darling little girl Elizabeth a big hug for me!

The Jones Family of IN: Greg, you had things all arranged to deal with the weather and a great crew of strong guys to help me set everything up. I couldn't believe it started to snow just as I started singing, but in some ways that made it all the more beautiful! You and your family and friends were very hardy to stay out there in the freezing cold and snow and I loved meeting the doggies from the animal shelter. You are a kindhearted man who would go out of his way to help the poor animals who are homeless through no fault of their own. I enjoyed hanging out with you and your family after the show and I thank you for your support and encouragement along this adventure. I hope the fog machine works!!

Jason Reph and Darrel Moyer of PA: Two young guys in PA who live in different towns but were both wonderful guys with stellar displays and so much alike it was eerie. Jason, I so enjoyed hanging out with you and I commend you on your magnificent display which even included a model train set! It seemed as though every inch of your house was decorated and I really loved playing with the train set indoors. Your parents were gracious hosts and those chocolate chip cookies kept me going for miles and miles on my journey! The next night I met Darrel and his parents and you reminded me so much of Jason I would have thought you were brothers! Darrel I was amazed at your vast knowledge of blow molds (my favorite Christmas decorations) and the extent of your collection, and I thank you and your father for taking me to see the other display that had even MORE blow molds! I love the spirit and warmth of both of you guys and your families and would love to visit with you again. In fact, I'm hoping next summer to return to PA and maybe meet both of you someplace for lunch. I hope you would be up for that! And one more thing: ladies, if you think all the good ones are taken, you should know that there are two good looking, kind, smart and generous young men in Pennsylvania who are BOTH SINGLE. There....just call me Ms. Matchmaker!

The Shanks and all the folks at Paul's Bakery and gift shop in VA: Howard , although our concert was canceled due to the storm, you showed me gracious hospitality in your beautiful home and it was such a pleasure to meet you and Paula and your daughter. I'm sorry that we didn't get more time together, but I really enjoyed watching your show and especially those cool light tower things and I'm so glad we got to spend more time together at dinner that night. Paul and Sandy and everybody at Paul's bakery: thank you for a fun-filled afternoon and all of your kindness. Getting to visit Paul's display, which is almost entirely made by him and features a whimsical and charming community of gingerbread boys and girls having a grand time, was an extra added bonus that filled me with delight. All of you in Fredericksburg made it a totally terrific day for me in spite of the bad weather.

William Bottomley of NC: A show at the fire station with an actual stage and a live broadcast! A Santa Claus with hairy arms but a great sense of humor and a killer smile! People flashing their lights and honking their horns and kids dancing in the driveway! And Austin Caviness! And a handsome and brilliant host (yes, that's you William) who didn't look like the Mayor of Weeble-ville!! A delicious chicken tender dinner! Tons of kids with cool southern accents asking for my autograph! And then to top it all off with a relaxing night in a beautiful B&B in MAYBERRY, of all places! What can I say? It was totally fun and amazing....all of it. THANK YOU!!

The Browns of NC: You get the award for the only display on the tour with an actual flying angel! What a magnificent and spiritually uplifting display that really celebrates Jesus as the reason for the season. I was proud and honored to be a part of it. And you really went all out by getting the church children's choir to perform with me, which made it all the more special and fun for me and, I hope, for them. All the photographers and video cameras there made me feel like a star, and then the icing on the cake was actually having the KEY TO THE CITY presented to me by the Mayor!!! How cool is THAT?!?!? David and Linda, thank you so much for your encouragement and enthusiasm every step of the way on this project. I know you have been praying for me, and that God has kept me in His hands through the whole thing because of it.

The Charpiats of NC: Oh my gosh! Words CANNOT describe the amazingness of your display. FIVE ACRES of FUN with THOUSANDS of people going through. It's a regular theme park and you don't charge people a cent to go through it...it's a true labor of love. Everywhere I turned something new to squeal over and as long as I live I will never forget the sight of those five little kids with their noses pressed against that window, laughing and pointing at the animated figures inside the little house. As you said, that's what it's all about. And I haven't even begun to talk about our wonderful afternoon of sightseeing on Pilot Mountain and around Mayberry! These are memories that will last for my whole life. God bless you and THANK YOU for making me feel so special.

The Greers of SC: The time we spent together after the concert was even more fun than the concert itself, and the concert was pretty darned fun! The display was wonderful and clearly gave joy to everyone around. Kenny, you are the sweetest and warmest guy, and you've got a beautiful, smart and funny bride to boot and parents and friends who are the tops. You clearly deserve it all. I so enjoyed hearing your love story and the friendship and fellowship we all shared that night. I hope one day to see you in a play for I'm sure you are a very talented and vibrant actor. Please keep in touch and let's do it again!

The Drums of GA: Oh Larry, you wanted so badly for everything to go right, and it did! I was touched that you were so concerned about every detail but I hope you finally relaxed after all was said and done. Singing out there among the several houses that were part of the display was incredible....especially your sequence to "The House on Christmas Street." It blew me away. We had a wonderful crowd and once again dancing in the street. Thank you for it all, and also for the delicious dinner and please thank your wonderful neighbors for their gifts and that delicious chocolate cake. I had a wonderful chat with the Mrs. and I sincerely wished I'd had more time to spend just talking with you guys and enjoying the hospitality of your home. And those doggies!!

And last but not least: Mr. Walker of FL: A beautiful display with your handpainted scene on the garage (you are very artistically talented)...a WARM evening, a great crowd, and, most of all, you and your boys. I couldn't imagine a more wonderful way to wrap up the house concert portion of the tour than having a fun event followed by the great talk we had in the house afterward. You are doing an amazing thing with those boys and I pray that God will bless you a thousandfold for it and give you everything you need as your journey progresses. Thank you for sharing your home and hospitality with me.

I haven't even mentioned the MANY PC people who came to the concerts along the way and really made me feel special. It was a true pleasure to meet each and every one of you...the guests and the hosts...and I hope you know that all of you helped create a truly once-in-a-lifetime journey for me, with little miracles all along the way. I consider all of you friends now, and I hope and pray that God will bring us together again in the future. The words do not come which express how I feel about this whole thing, and about you who made it all happen.

On my 50th birthday on July 11th 2009 I cried all day, thinking that the best part of my life was over and that I was a failure career-wise. Little did I know that the very best was yet to come. God bless you all. You have all shown me in so many ways that it really is a WONDERFUL life.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!!
With love,
Judy

North Carolina I Will Never Forget You Part One

2010-12-20T19:59:00.000-08:00

Well, I actually cried leaving Larry & Rachel Charpiat's home tonight. But more about that later....

On Sunday morning I awoke at the lovely B&B and decided that, since I only had a two hour drive to my next stop, I would take a look around Mt. Airy, which is the town where Andy Griffith grew up and upon which his fictional "Mayberry" is based. These folks really know how to do it up right for the tourists. There's the Andy Griffith Museum, the Andy Griffith Playhouse, and then of course downtown there's Floyd's Barber Shop, the town Jail and Courthouse and Snappy's Restaurant among other things. I enjoyed my time there even though most of the stuff was not open. It was cool to see the TV Land statue of Andy and Opie set in front of the Andy Griffith Museum and the Surry Arts Council building, which actually has a sign out front that says "Siamese Twins Exhibit." It made me wonder what other TV Land statues were out there. I only know about two others...Mary Tyler Moore and Ralph Kramden. Do you know of any others?
I wanted to use the internet so I went and hung out a McDonald's for a little while and while I was there I sat across from an older gentleman who looked a lot like Deputy Barney Fife. He seemed kind of lonely so I just talked to him for a little while, and later, as I was leaving town, I saw him outside just walking around alone. That made me feel kind of sad.

It was a nice day and a relatively short drive to Indian Trail, where I arrived at the home of Lisa and David Brown in plenty of time to get set up and then go spend a little time at the hotel. I arrived back in time for a delicious supper of chili and then chat up the little church choir, The Soaring Eagles, that David had invited to sing with me. They were all real sweeties and I could see that they were excited to be there, so that made me excited too.

The show was especially fun because of the kids in the choir. They did a couple of fantastic numbers before I started and joined me for Schoolyard Rudolph and Pickles. Once they got over being nervous they seemed to have a fun time. There were a ton of people out on the street for this show and to see the beautifully decorated houses. It really is quite spectacular..especially the huge angels that are on the little porch...one of them actually flies up into the air during "The House on Christmas Street." Lisa and David won the Planet Christmas decorating contest last year for their synchronization to "The House on Christmas Street" so it was really special for me to sing it at their house.

David Brown had somehow arranged for a stage and really good lighting which made it easier to see the people in the street and to get them out there dancing. The street , which is a cul de sac, was blocked off during the concert and people were, literally, dancing in the street. It wasn't too cold that night so that made it all the better! Their light show for "The House on Christmas Street" features Charlie Brown and Linus as "the carolers" and one of the most amazing things I saw on the tour: a "flying" angel who rises up during the "bridge" of the song. If you want to see what I'm talking about , watch their video here: http://www.vimeo.com/17716233 I also really like their "Christ is Born" sign on the roof. Very very beautiful!
I was touched by the speech that was made after the concert by the lady from the Union County Christmas Bureau, the charity that the Browns help support with their display. I just learned that this season they raised $4200 so that area families could have nice Christmases. Congratulations David and Lisa! Well done!
But the thing that actually brought tears to my eyes was when the Indian Trail Mayor came up to the stage and presented me with an actual key to the city. I was really surprised and at a loss for words. I felt so honored and just speechless to be honored in that way. It is beautiful and if you'd like to see it just look in my Facebook pictures. It will be displayed on the mantel in our living room along with the engraved brick I got in Elgin, TX and the little "Danny Award" for Biggest Red Coat I was given by the XTRA 99.1 guys in Gloucester, VA.
Speaking of Neal, he and his cohorts love to call me up and, if I don't answer, leave the phone on to record about half an hour of their show on my messages. It's always fun to listen to, but this morning I heard a bunch of chickens singing "Carol of the Bells" which was weird, even for them.

After the show and autographs were done the street was opened up and David and Lisa had to be out there directing traffic as car after car came up the street to watch their show. I really enjoyed their program as well. They really make quite a show out of it with not just songs but interesting effects and even Linus and Charlie Brown discussing the meaning of Christmas. There were people parked along the side of the road who didn't want to leave because they'd missed the beginning of the show...it really kept people entertained!

Back on track now, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to David and Lisa, a wonderful couple who really went out of their way to make sure a lot of publicity was done for the event and who, like everyone else on the tour, made me feel like a very special guest. I don't know what I'm going to feel like when I have to go home and just be plain old Judy again. All of this pampering has really spoiled me!

Well, I thought I'd have enough energy to go ahead and write about tonight's show here too, but I'm fading fast so that will have to wait and you'll have to find out why I was a blubbering mess when I left there when I next write again.....

Good night! It's on to the Fred Olds Elementary School in Raleigh tomorrow and then on to South Carolina!

Last Monday of the Tour

2010-12-20T07:38:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning with my eyes practically swollen shut. I don't know why but it was a horrible sight to see in the mirror, let me tell you. Also, I really should have had that carpal tunnel surgery before I made the tour cause the pain in my right hand has been waking me up in the middle of the night just about every night, even though I sleep with the splint on.
I know, complain, complain. But at least this morning I'm not talking about food! I just read through all of the posts I've made on the tour and I talk about food in every one of them! Sheesh! Okay, I'll get through this one with no further mention of food.....

Where did I leave off? Oh yes, the trip from Gloucester, VA to Ennice, NC on Saturday. I was slightly trepidacioius about that trip because I'd heard that the weather was iffy, but it was actually pretty uneventful, until I got within a half hour or so of my destination. The Garmin took me up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Now I'm sure this is a lovely, scenic drive in the spring, summer and fall, but apparently no one plows or sands it in the winter. Hey Garmin....George Sayward (that's an inside joke for my family, I haven't suddenly gone off my rocker.)
The drive up was horrendous. I went about 15 miles an hour and the van was slip sliding all over the place. At one point I came around a turn and saw the valley below, and realized I was just one slip away from crashing over that teeny tiny guardrail and meeting my Maker. I was very relieved when I reached the top.
It was dusk at this time and very pretty up there in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but let me tell you it was kind of eerie. I felt like I was on Walton's Mountain or something. There was NO ONE around.
I finally got to a more populated area and saw a great big sign on a building that said BOTTOMLEY (this is so horrible...I can't remember what else it said...I think it was Evergreens & Farm maybe? It was a huge building). This was my host's last name, so I knew I had to be in the right place. I was so fixated on that sign that I didn't notice the Fire Station, where I was supposed to do the show, and went sailing right past it. When I began to reach the outlands again I managed to find a driveway to turn around in and headed back, finding the Fire Station right there where I'd left it.
I was very surprised to see what William Bottomley looked like in person. He's a young, trim, handsome guy. All this time we had been corresponding I had been picturing someone who looked like the Mayor of Weeble-ville, and, of course, in my usual habit of spilling out everything that pops into my brain, I told William this. He was cool about it, and actually laughed.
This show was unique because William had decorated the Fire Station and its grounds and the show was to benefit the Glade Creek Volunteer Fire Department. William is a cameraman for a local TV station,WXII and he had his truck there and a live stream video camera going to his site. He also invited the station's meteorologist, Austin Caviness, to host the show and, of course, I invited him up to do" Candy" with me. He was pretty good with it, too! I did two performances with a half hour dinner break in between (does that count as mentioning food?). Santa Claus was there and he was a lot of fun. I did notice he had awfully hairy arms poking out between his suit sleeves and glove...didn't know Santa was such a mountain man!
I enjoyed the second show the best because there were more kids there and everybody was dancing. William had rigged things up so people could hear me on their car radios and every once in a while I'd ask them to toot their horns and blink their lights and it was so COOL. I loved it! There was a white SUV parked up on the hill to my right and the crowd in that vehicle was just INSANE! And of course, as I'm sure it is with every performer, the more responsive the crowd is the more fun the show. It was definitely rockin' during "Run Run Rudolph!" especially.

William was the consummate host, making sure my every need was met. He had arranged for me to stay at a B&B in Mt. Airy which was lovely and all decorated for Christmas. I fell asleep to the warm glow of a lighted Christmas tree in my room. I was DOG TIRED from the drive and even though I attempted to watch SNL I conked out within a minute of putting my head on that very comfortable pillow.

I do want to say that ALL of my hosts on this trip have gone out of their way to make sure I was well fed (here we go again) and had nice accommodations. That has been VERY MUCH appreciated as most nights I've fallen asleep like a rock as soon as I got in bed. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

I have to head out now; Larry & Rachel Charpiat in Pilot Mountain have promised me a trip up the mountain if I get there early enough. By the way, I am doing regular quickie posts along the way on my Facebook pages. If you haven't reached this blog through Facebook, please go over there and "Like" my fan page or send me a friend request. I update both pages and post pictures from my cell phone every day.
http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=70289139838&notes_tab=app_2347471856#!/JudyPancoastMusic

Ok, now I'm only one show behind on the updates. Will try to catch up this afternoon/evening. Oh..here's a special shout out to the kids at Fred Olds Elementary School in Raleigh....I'm coming to see you tomorrow and I can't wait!!!

Friday the 17th in Gloucester, VA

2010-12-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

I drove to Gloucester on Thursday night after having dinner with the four hosts at the Golden Corral. Yum. If I were rich I'd open one in Goffstown. I LOVE their fried chicken!
Anyhow, I was pretty tired driving to Gloucester so I sang "Georgy Girl" as loud as I could and made it there in one piece. I had to get up early the next day to go to the radio station. The station, XTRA 99.1, is home to Neal Steele and his co-host Karl Brubaker in the morning. They have been playing my music for three years and have been very supportive of my career but Neal does like to razz me. So I didn't even bother to comb my hair let alone put on makeup..I just showed up in my red coat and let him insult me for 45 minutes and tried my best to zing it back at him in spite of the fatigue!! I was presented with several boxes of Goo Goo Clusters, which are a candy sensation that is made in Tennessee and cannot usually be found in NH. One of Neal's listeners heard me talking about them and sent some in to the station. There's another ten pounds on my butt in those boxes! But I really appreciate the thoughtfulness of the lady who sent them in!
I have seriously eaten more chocolate in the past three weeks than I've eaten in the past year. I forgot to mention that Sandy from Paul's Bakery handed me a box of gourmet truffles as I was leaving....they are sooo good so I'm limiting myself to one a day.

In addition to the Goo Goos I also was given a "Danny Award," which is basically a recycled soccer trophy, for "Biggest Red Coat." Ha Ha.

Later I had lunch with Neal and some of the folks who are regularly featured on his show. They were all a hoot. I'm having a hard time remembering the name of the guy with the beard, but he told me that whenever they go out to eat at that particular restaurant they all get up and sing the national anthem and he handed me a little flag, so I got up and started singing America the Beautiful and many of them joined me. I thought Linda, the lady sitting next to me, was going to die from embarrassment. As it turns out, it was all a joke on me cause they never do that at all...I didn't mind, though.

The driveway party that night at Danny Joyce's house was some spectacular event. Danny's decorations are amazing...I think there were something like 500thousand lights out there. Nate Sparks, who is a talented musician and great writer of Christmas parodies, opened the show and his daughter Demi joined him and his band on several songs. They are a hard act to follow, but I had to go on next. It was a VERY exciting and fun performance because there were lots and lots of people there and Neal had really built up the Grammy nomination on the air in the days leading up to the event, so they were all excited too. It was somewhat cold but not nearly as bad as it had been in Indiana and Pennsylvania.Karl's version of "Candy" with me was a rare thing unlike any other that has been on the tour. That's the only way I can describe it!
My show was followed by a set from Juniper Green, two young guys who are very talented and harmonize beautifully. I made sure to get a copy of their demo before leaving.

The whole event was a benefit for the local food bank and animal shelter, and I was very happy to learn the next day that they had raised over three tons of people and pet stuff! It feels really good to be part of the events everywhere that have benefited so many different charities.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to all the people who put that event together....and I met so many nice people that day and night....and they all made me feel very welcome. I was dead meat on a hook by the time I got back to the hotel, though. I actually fell asleep at the computer back at the hotel.
So now I'm two days behind cause I still have to tell you about Saturday night and tonight...but I'm once again dog tired so I'll have to sign off now and then maybe write more in the morning!!
Hasta manana!!

Many Thanks to So Many People

2010-12-19T19:43:00.000-08:00

The tour has officially been on for three weeks, and yet it seems like a lifetime to me. I've met so many wonderful people and had so many unique experiences and I thank each and every one of you for the graciousness, hospitality, caring and affection that you have shown to me along the way.
So where did I leave off? Oh yes....Cleona, PA on Wednesday night. I finally got to meet Darrel Moyer, a young college student I have been corresponding with for a long time through planetchristmas.com and Facebook. I was wondering what Darrel would be like in person because his emails are always so detailed and enthusiastic and he seemed like such a wonderful guy, and I was not disappointed. He is so full of good spirit that he practically shines. He took me on a tour of his display which is practically all blow molds (plastic figures) and I felt like a little kid. Darrel is quite a collector and he knew the company that made each one and sometimes even the year that it was made. He even took me to another neighborhood to see a display where there were so many blow molds that it was impossible to count. I had a terrific evening with Darrel and his family, just as I had the night before with Jason and his family. These two guys live only about 90 minutes from each other and they should definitely be friends. They are both in their early 20's, have a passion for Christmas decorating and trains and are nice Christian men. If there are any nice single young women out there who would like to make contact, let me know!

I left Darrel's and drove down to Fredericksburg the same night. It was only two hours but felt like longer because the tiredness hit about halfway there. I had cookies that Jason's mom had baked and I ate about 20 of them to help me stay awake. I definitely have not lost any weight on this tour because I do eat a lot to stay awake. Oh well, I have the big red coat to cover all the flaws!

Friday in Fredericksburg was jam packed full of activity. First of all, it was snowing. Of course! The snow has followed me wherever I've gone! I started the day with my hosts, the Shanks, picking me up and bringing me to WGRQ radio where I did a fun segment with morning host Dave Adler. We had goodies from Paul's Bakery and we did "Candy" live and he did a great job on the "oh yeahs". School was canceled everywhere so that was a bad sign of things to come, but I still had a great time.

After the interview I went back to the hotel and tried to catch up on the 100+ emails in my mailbox, then it was on to Paul's Bakery and the Young at Heart Gift Shop for a three hour appearance. I met a gaggle of super people at Paul's, including owners Paul and Sandy and their family and friends. Even Santa was there for the afternoon! I felt bad because the weather was keeping people indoors, but I was mystified too......I mean, there was less than an inch of snow on the ground! In New Hampshire there has to be at least a foot before they cancel school! But businesses were closing and as the afternoon went on more and more people were staying in, so there weren't a lot of people who came to the shop. Still, I very much enjoyed looking at all the nice things that Sandy sells in the shop, especially in the Christmas room, and of course the delicious treats from the Bakery and the candy counter. I've just given up on the figure til after Christmas.

Unfortunately the Shanks had to cancel the performance due to the weather, so that made two shows so far that had to be put on ice, so to speak, because of Mother Nature. I did enjoy watching thei rfantastic light show and the "photo ops" outside of the house,and then I went back to the bakery and Paul took me over to his house to see his display. It was unique in that Paul made nearly every single lighted wire frame figure in his yard, and they all had gingerbread children doing things like jumping rope, playing on a teeter-totter, bowling and even taking off in a rocket ship. He animated the lights to make it appear that his figures were doing all these things. Paul even created a little train to take children around the display on. He uses gingerbread people to carry on the theme of his bakery. It was so charming and fun, and just amazing that one man had created all of this stuff. I especially enjoyed the bowling gingerbread man, whose bowling ball went all down the lawn and then knocked over a pile of snowmen. I wish I had a video to show you!
All of us ended up meeting at the Golden Corral, one of my favorite restaurants and we had a wonderful dinner.. It was very hard to leave them all after such a nice day.
Everywhere I've gone I've made new friends and then had to leave them. But I will never, ever forget them or this amazing experience.
Okay, Friday deserves an update all it's own...so that's coming next.

Nazareth for Christmas

2010-12-15T05:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I made the 11 hour drive to Nazareth PA, and as I was driving I though, "Wait a minute, shouldn't I be LEAVING Nazareth and trekking to Bethlehem?"

I was delighted to get here and meet my host, Jason. It was really hard to picture Jason from his emails...but when I met him I instantly took a shine to him. He's just a young guy, still lives at home, and what a wonderful spirit. His display is HUGE...can't be captured in one picture, like the Zembruskis in Washington. I can't believe he puts it all up by himself. He's even got a train set going around in one part of the yard!

Unfortunately, like the last two nights before, it was FREEZING cold and despite a lot of coverage in the newspapers we didn't get a very large audience. But the ones who were there were enthusiastic, and Mrs. Reph was serving up hot chocolate to try to keep everybody warm. Still, my fingers and toes were pretty much frozen solid by the end of the last song! It was hard to hold the pen while signing autographs.

I am EXTREMELY grateful to the hosts and the people who have come out to see the concert on these last three nights in such cold weather. You are hardy souls!

I keep hearing reports that there is cold weather and storms expected over the next several days which are staying with me all through the route. But nothing will stop me!! I was SO encouraged to wake up this morning and see that the video of "The House on Christmas Street" has over 28 thousand views already!! With ten days left until Christmas I hope the media will sit up and take notice. If Ellen or Good Morning America or any of them call that will be the thing that will push the song over into the mainstream. But once Christmas comes, it's all over for another year and I'll have to start planning some new strategy for next Christmas. Maybe climb up on a billboard and refuse to come down until every Christmas radio station in the US adds the song?

By the way, several people along the route have asked me about my husband. One old friend even asked me if I was still married! Well, I am happy to report that Philip and I will celebrate 25 years of marriage on May 2. And when people say, "How come your husband lets you do this?" I say, that's the thing! We don't "let" each other do anything in our relationship! The word "let" implies that someone else has control over you, and that's just not how we do it. When I first got this idea we talked it over, and talked it over with Louisa (my 16 year old) too, and we all agreed that it was worth the risk of missing one Christmas season together if my efforts were to result in this song crossing over into mainstream Christmas hit-dom. We send each other a lot of cell phone pics and talk on the phone every day. Plus we are in a continuing battle to crush each other playing Word Twist on Facebook, so that keeps us connected too. The last thing I want to say is that Philip is the perfect husband for me. He has understood my hopes and dreams and goals from Day One and has always been supportive of those efforts.

However, if someone wanted to bring him and Louisa a casserole I'm sure he wouldn't turn it down! I know it must be hard to keep all the balls in the air back there, especially with a demanding dog, two mischievous cats and a teenage girl. I just hope my plants aren't dying!!

On to Cleona PA tonight and Virgina tomorrow. Thanks for reading this. It helps to know you are out there and supporting the cause!! Watch the video today! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7uRl07K4H8&feature=related

I Wasn't Thinking about the Fact that it Would be Winter When I Planned This....

2010-12-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

HA HA! I know that sounds ridiculous but it was spring time when I began planning the tour and I really didn't give a lot of thought to the fact that I would be outside singing in freezing cold temps in some places. But that fact really hit home the last couple of nights.
Last night in Missouri it was "wicked" cold as we say where I come from, but my host Larry, in an effort to keep me from freezing, had me inside the garage and singing in front of a great big picture window, like I was in a zoo or a store window or something. It was too cold for many people to get out of their cars so there wasn't a lot of audience interaction but every once in a while I'd ask the audience something and they'd flash their lights or beep their horns so that was cool! I want to give a huge shout out to Tyson who drove 50 miles to come and see me and who got roped into doing "Candy." He was a great sport about it, too!
I enjoyed meeting the Jeffries' and their little three year old, Elizabeth. She was quite the little Dickens and being around her did make me nostalgic for the days when my girls were little like that. And then I got really homesick when I was back at the hotel and had a hard time falling asleep.
But today it was back on the road for an eight hour drive from Blue Springs, Missouri to Indianapolis, IN. The ride actually went by unbelievably fast. I was listening to a riveting novella from the new Stephen King book and it made the time fly by. I also got four calls from various reporters and did interviews with them...that was pretty exciting. I got here in plenty of time to come over the the hotel and take a 20 minute power nap before going over to the Jones' house. It was another freezing cold night...about 15 degrees....and it started to snow while I was setting up the equipment. We had to keep the piano under a tarp until it was time to use it, and then once I did turn it on I was able to play it for about 30 seconds before it completely stopped playing. I think it was just frozen! So I had to scrap that song, but singing along with Greg's sequence to The House on Christmas Street was a great experience with the snow coming down.
All day I've been wondering how the video is doing out there in cyberspace and I was just delighted to sign on tonight and see that it's up to 18, 301 views!! In just four days!! That's pretty astounding! Of course I would guess that 30% of those views are from this one friend of mine, Joe, down in Massachusetts!! He's an old friend and has been a great supporter of my music through the years.
So tonight I've got to get to bed early because tomorrow it's an 11-hour drive to Nazareth, PA and the Reph household tomorrow night. Today it hit me that Christmas is in only 12 days....and I really can't tell if this tour has resulted in any more airplay on radio or not. I know that my hosts have gone really all out to try to get publicity for their concerts, and there has been a lot of coverage, but it's hard to tell what kind of effect that's having. To be completely honest, my hope right now is that the video will explode and someone in the national media will take notice. It would be so great to get the chance to sing it on a national TV show. But with all the good things that have been happening lately, maybe that's a little too much to ask. I don't know. I do know that I'm meeting a lot of really super people and having a wild journey, but every night when I go to bed in a different hotel room I'm missing my husband and my girls and my dog and my cats and my hamsters so much. I knew this would be a sacrifice but it's something we all agreed was worth the try; I just didn't realize how it would feel. I've never been away from them this long. The good news is that they are all coming down to meet me in Florida on Christmas and we will all drive back together, so that's something to look forward to.
Bear with me...I'll be back to my jovial self tomorrow. I just need to get some sleep, so good night!!

Alas, No Golden Corral In Missoula

2010-12-13T05:38:00.000-08:00

The saga continues....
When last I wrote I was planning on heading to the Missoula Golden Corral. After winding my way through Missoula I finally got to the address that was listed online and there it was....a Ford dealership. AGGH! I called the number of the restaurant to get one of those tri-tone beeps and hear "the number you dialed has been disconnected." So it was a quick trip through the Wendy's drive-through and then I hit the road again. By the way, I liked the old, sea-saltless fries better.
Friday's driving went along just fine until just about sunset, when my Garmin dumped me off the highway and put me on a road that was about 100 miles of nothing combined with dangerous curves and scary downhills. It seemed like I just kept going downhill and never going up again...and with it being dark and the scenery literally invisible it sort of felt like I was driving down into the bowels of the earth. I was running out of gas again.....shouldn't there be a law that there's a gas station at every exit? And the Garmin showed the closest gas station to be 50 miles away so I was praying to God that it was wrong and I wouldn't get stranded out here in the barrens, when I came to an intersection in the town of Lame Deer and saw a brightly lit oasis up the road to my right. I shouted out a "thank you" that no one but God could hear and made my way up there. When I got out of the van to pump the gas I was immediately surrounded by four or five DOGS. They all seemed pretty friendly so I asked the guy pumping gas across from me if they were his dogs. He said, "No...those are strays. You're on an Indian Reservation now!" I'm not sure why stray dogs and Indian reservations go together..that might be just my ignorance...but somewhere in the back of my mind Paul Revere and the Raiders started singing. It just seemed kind of weird that the guy said it like that...like somehow I had wandered into a strange and dangerous land.
I went into the store and there were three people in there,two women behind the counter and a big guy wearing the strangest women's makeup I had ever seen...eyeshadow, eyeliner, the works. They were all very friendly. They let me use the rest room even though it was marked as "NOT A PUBLIC RESTROOM" and when I came out they were all laughing at some good joke. I don't know why, but I had the sneaking suspicion they were laughing at me. That might just be me being paranoid because by this time I was getting that Twilight Zoney feeling, you know?
The rest of the ride through Hell's detour was treacherous and scary, but at least I had a full tank of gas. I made it to my destination, Deadwood, SD, around 1am and everyone there was talking about the snow. I seem to have brought winter with me nearly every place I've been!
I barely remember the Deadwood hotel room. I jumped up early Saturday morning to hit the road for Minnesota, eager to meet the Bicknase family and perform again. Things were going along swimmingly along I-90. I took an exit to get gas and that's when I saw the message from Dan Bicknase: "I-90 into Minnesota is closed because of the snow. We have to cancel." I called him and learned that there was just no way to get to their house. I would have tried in spite of the weather, but with roads closed it was impossible. I was SO DISAPPOINTED. I've been planning this tour for months and assuring everyone on it that I would get to there houses no matter what. I really feel I've let the Bicknase's down.
I stopped at Wall Drug in Wall, SD to pick up some postcards and get some of the donuts I'd seen advertised on their roadside signs for the last 30 miles or so. The last time I was there it was summer and the place was wall to wall (no pun intended) people. This time it was like a ghost town. Everyone there was telling me that the roads a little farther east were treacherous and I ought to just give it up and stay in Wall, but I kept going nonetheless. At some point I took a detour into Badlands National Park, but I can't remember if that was before or after I went to Wall. The weather was nice and even sort of sunny so I took the extra time to motor around the park loop since I had no where I had to be that night. I paid for this later when I was driving across the prairie down to Yankton (a last minute decision because by this time the roads WERE bad). It was dark out even though it was only about 5pm and the wind was blowing unimpeded across that flat land, stirring up snow squalls that blinded me completely. At times I had to nearly stop the van and pray no one would come along behind me. So happy when I got to Yankton, although I was bored out of my mind that night and started to feel VERY homesick. "It's a Wonderful Life" was on TV and that always makes me cry. I caught up on email and stuff and hit the hay.
And speaking of hitting stuff I've gotta hit the road for Indianapolis (Fishers, to be exact) so I'll have to continue this later.
Thanks for coming along with me! Watch for my mini updates and road pictures on Facebook!

Neither Rain nor Sleet nor Lookout Pass....

2010-12-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

THURSDAY.... DEC. 9

After enjoying a wonderful lunch with my Washington host, Mark Zembruski, I made a really stupid tactical error. I needed to gas up, and there was a McDonald's with free WiFi next to the gas station, so I decided to hang out and take care of some business. About 90 minutes later, I hit the road. By this time I think it was around 3:30 pm....and the skies were foreboding.
I'd decided to drive all the way to Missoula, MT last night and Mark graciously offered to book my hotel room there, so I was all set. It was supposed to be about a 7-8 hour drive. No problem, says I. HA HA.

First on the driving hit parade I had to go back through Snoqualmie pass, which had been a breeze when I was coming in but which was now snow covered and blowing snow as well. It was a relief when I finally made it through that. I stopped in Ritzville, WA for about a half hour and had a peppermint mocha and used the internet to see how the new video is doing, then I hit the road again. BTW the new video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7uRl07K4H8&feature=player_embedded

I passed through Spokane and at some point I decided to get off the road again and get a soda. That's when I got lost in a giant truck facility. I felt like I was in a nightmare, but I finally got back on the road, only to hit the mother of all dangerous driving conditions...a blizzard in a mountain pass. This was the thing I'd been fearing the whole time I was planning the trip. Cars and trucks sliding all over the place. I can't even remember what time it was when traffic finally came to a dead halt in the middle of I-90 at Lookout Pass in Idaho. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lookout_Pass

Snoqualmie Pass had been a cakewalk compared to this. I can't even remember what time it was but I know we were stopped for at least an hour, probably more as they cleared accidents and sanded a lane. I actually fell asleep while waiting.
Going again gave me a second wind and I was doing pretty well until it got to be around 3:30am and I could feel the eyelids drooping. I was not far from my exit so I sang loud and tapped my leg to stay awake...and then....and then.......ten miles from my exit........I RAN OUT OF GAS!!!!!! (Ah yes, I can hear all the men out there groaning. ) I really thought I had enough to make it, but I was going up a hill and apparently the little bit that was left sloshed the wrong way and everything started to die. I pulled over and there I was TEN MILES from my exit in darkest night. I called AAA and by the way, you should know that if you are a member of a local AAA club your number does not work all over the US...but they got me connected to the right club and one hour later the tow truck arrived. I was terrified of being stuck out there so I got out of the van and stood in the snow off the road for a good portion of that time. In that whole time only one Good Samaritan stopped and it was a WOMAN. I told her I had AAA coming with gas and she went on but God bless you lady wherever you are.
The tow truck driver, Jake, got a little confused about where I was (even though I gave specific location apparently it got lost in the translation between me and the dispatcher and Jake) but he was a sweetie. He put the gas in and charged the battery, which had died by then from the flashers, and I was on my way. I made it to the hotel at 5:15am and another Good Samaritan at the front desk gave me a late checkout so I was able to drop into the sack. Unfortunately, I awoke at 10:30 am with a horrendous cramp in my right leg and couldn't get back to sleep so decided to do laundry and catch up on email and stuff.

I'm hitting the road again and going to try to make it to Rapid City tonight. But first I'm going to do the one thing that I have been dreaming of during this whole trip and have not had time to do and that is hit the GOLDEN CORRAL!!!!!!!

More later, if I survive!!

From the Farthest Western US Stop on the Tour....

2010-12-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

Here I am in Woodinville, Washington,in the Pacific Time Zone, and what a night. Woodinville is a suburb of Seattle.
When I finally got to the Zembruski home after an eight hour drive north through mountain passes and the like I was in shock and awe at the brilliance and size of their Christmas display. It's got a combination of lights, blow molds (those plastic figures) wire frames and inflatables plus things that Mark has made (like the beautiful Peanuts Nativity) and it lights up the night like nobody's business. I knew right away that I was in the right place!
This lovely family treated me to a dinner of Chinese (hadn't had that at all since starting the tour! YUM YUM!)and then we set everything up.We tried to get the streaming broadcast going, but the internet was somehow not cooperating. We did, however, get the whole thing recorded and that should be up on the site soon.
The Zembruskis are raising money for the Woodinville Wranglers Special Olympics team and many of them were there last night which made it extra special. The concert went off without a hitch....and then it came time to do "Candy," which is a song where a look for a volunteer from the audience who has a "great big deep manly man voice." Mark led a man, I presumed a friend of his, up to do the "audition". This man introduced himself as "Bob" and was wearing a Maine sweatshirt...so since I was born and raised in Maine, we chatted a little about that. Then I went through the "audition" process. Part one, the guy has to say "OH YEAH" into the mic in his deepest, most manly-man voice. Well, this guy made my bones rattle, his "OH YEAH" was so deep and resonant. Long story shorter, he passed the audition. Then I had to teach him the chorus, in which all he has to do is say "OH YEAH" at the end of every line. Along about the second "OH YEAH" I was about to say, "You know, you've got a great voice...have you thought about doing radio?" when my brilliant mind put this together like a jigsaw puzzle: "Bob" + "radio voice" + some time ago Mark told me that the world- famous- Christmas- novelty- song- legend- Bob Rivers ("12 Pains of Christmas" among many others) lived up here= what I blurted out, which was "WAIT!! Are you.....BOB RIVERS?" to which he responded "yes" and I proceeded to do a Wayne's World "I'm not worthy" bow and make a complete giggling fool out of myself. It was a moment that totally, as John Mayer once said, kicked me in the b--t (well, that's not exactly what John Mayer said, but this is a family friendly blog...)
The whole thing was a massively mind-blowing experience. To understand this, you have to know that Bob Rivers "Chimney Song"and his whole TWISTED CHRISTMAS CD (well, we have it on a cassette) have been among our family's favorite Christmas music FOREVER.
Unfortunately, Bob had to bolt right after the song and I never did get to chat with him, but I suspect somebody out there will post a video of it soon.
The rest of the concert went swimmingly as the kids warmed up and danced and a wonderful time was had by all, especially me!
THANK YOU to the Zembruski Family, to Sarah my handmaiden for the evening, to Bruce "Indiana Jones" the camera man who tried valiantly to get the concert to stream live, and to everyone involved. It was a evening that made memories that will last me for the rest of my life!!

Last night in Idaho...

2010-12-08T06:45:00.000-08:00

It was a wild night in Idaho where I met Terry Hurrle and his family. Terry is quite an interesting man with lots of stories to tell. He asked me if I like pizza and I said, 'Pizza!! I haven't had any at all on this tour! Let's have pizza!" so off we went to Idaho pizza...and it was deee-lish, especially those Idaho twists which are like cheesy breadsticks only twisted up with the cheese. MMMmmmmmm!

With all this talk of food I guess you know why I have this girlish figure, huh?

This show was unique in that Mrs. Hurrle has a private daycare and many of her charges were there. In fact, a whole bunch of them got up and did "Schoolyard Rudolph" with me and this little kid, Cameron, conducted them. What a hoot! I loved it. And they all went crazy dancing too. It was so much fun for me!

People came from as far away as Boise, about an hour away, to see Terry's display, enjoy the goodies (I never did get one sip of my hot chocolate!) and donate to CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) plus offer up non-perishables for the local senior centers.

I really enjoyed hanging around in the house with the menagerie of three little doggies (I think they were Shih tzus) and a cat. What a riot! They were all so cute and the dogs are about the same size as the cat.

I got a pretty good night's sleep over the border in Oregon, but I have to head back to Terry's because he wanted me to sign his banner but forgot to ask last night. So it's off to do that and then head into Pacific Coast Time and the Zembruski house up in Woodinville, Washington.

Watch out, cause here I come!!

PS....here's the first video I've seen posted of one of the customized versions of THOCS. The display and choreographed lights will knock you out!

Catching Up!

2010-12-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

hi Everybody....
Just a little update as I have some time before I have to leave for ID this morning. First of all, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to all of the hosts and fans I've met so far. It's been an AMAZING adventure so far with more to come! I will carry happy memories of each and every one of you for the rest of my life. Thank you for welcoming me into your lives. And now, a little word about every stop:
CLAREMONT, NH:
Brian got a ton of publicity and had the local cable access station out to film the concert. As usual, Brian and his family were warm and welcoming in spite of the technical difficulties! In case I don't get a chance to do it, I want to say a special "hi" to daughter Teagan ...it was her last year helping her Dad decorate before she goes off to college. :( But I'm sure she'll be a great success there! Also want to congratulate Joyce on the publication of her children's book!
WELLS, UK:
I want to give a special shout out to Paul in the UK with his partner Chris who had the unusual circumstance of having to hang around me for three days, and listen to me scream my head off for 20 minutes or so when I found out about the Grammy nomination. If you haven't seen the piece from the BBC on FB you should check it out. I think Paul posted it on YouTube as well. Please watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arh2jk7qZas
THANKS!

In FRANKLIN, TN:
I was fortunate to have my amazing daughter Emma drive with me from the airport in Newark to Franklin. I was tired after an eight hour delay in England so Emma rose to the challenge and offered to help. What a great bonus to me to have my girl with me! We had a wonderful time with Chuck Smith, the founder of www.planetchristmas.com, and his beautiful wife. There was the sweetest little girl who came out on the landing of the staircase behind the stage, and she was the highlight of the show for me. I can't wait to see pictures of her all dressed up in her jolly Christmas outfit! Mr. and Mrs. Smith treated us to a fine lunch after the show...I had catfish and hush puppies...real southern fare. YUM!!!

ELGIN, TX:
In Elgin I performed at the Holiday by the Tracks celebration during the day and enjoyed the warm sunny day (it was in the 70's!!) During the first set I was reminded why it's called Holiday by the Tracks as a train came barreling through town, blowing its whistle for all to hear. We paused the show to pay homage. I was blown away when the Mayor came out a presented me with a brick fashioned from local clay and engraved. It is very special and will take a spot up there on the mantel...perhaps soon to be accompanied by a little gramophone? Probably not, but so what? The brick is more special to me than the Grammy because it came from the heart of the town, where I had a wonderful time. Thank you Forest and Cheryll for your hospitality and a chance to try barbecued sausage wraps...yum! They are super nice people and have Christmas tree in every room of their house! I enjoyed talking with Dr. Dennis (aka Cheryll) about children's literacy and seeing her vast collection of children's books, as well as relaxing for a little while in that comfy chair!

LUBBOCK, TX:
The barbecue was also delicious at Linda Brown's house in Lubbock, where her handsome hubby cooked up enough food for an army, including his specialty, bacon-wrapped peppers with cream cheese. Linda invited me to do an afternoon concert at the nursing home where she works and that was a very special experience. I cheered when I saw her display...which had Santa Claus up on the roof....along with all the reindeer! in fact, Linda had every element of the song in her beautiful display, plus a great video she made to go with the song. She and her whole family were a hoot and I felt right at home there, as I did with the Dennis family in Elgin. I want to especially thank Linda's sons and her sister Trecia, who is my new expert roadie, and her sister Sue who handled my merch table like a pro. Come on the road with me!
For those who were wondering how I made it from the Browns in Lubbock to the Holdmans in Pleasant Grove, I drove about five hours after the show in Lubbock and spent the night right outside of Albuquerque. By the way, I did see EVERYBODY's lights from there! HA HA! Then I drove the rest of the way yesterday.

PLEASANT GROVE, UT:
The Holdmans were wonderful also and their whole community turned out. There were about 200-300 people on the hill in front of the house and it was like a stadium out there! Richard's daughter Sierra came down and danced on the lawn with me in front of Richard's magnificent display. After the concert I signed a ton of pictures in the drizzle and then we worked until late last night on an OFFICIAL HOCS video with a professional crew. I can't wait to see it. The last thing they had me do was spin around and I got so dizzy I pretty much landed flat on the ground by the end of it. But it was FUN!!! Richard says he'll try to edit it and post it ASAP. Thanks so much for that extra piece Richard. It was a real honor to have you go that extra mile for me and my little song.
SO FAR SO GOOD!!!! I'm enjoying my travels and have listened to tons of music in the car and so far an entire Jonathan Kellerman Alex Delaware novel. I've been working my way through them chronologically since the beginning of summer and have two more to go, so I'll be starting the next one this morning on my way to Fruitland, ID.
Please keep me in your prayers and look for me out on the road. I have internet on my Blackberry so if you want to email at judy@judypancoast.com I would love to hear from YOU YOU and most of all YOU!!!
Now today it is on to Fruitland, ID.

I'VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY!!!!

2010-12-01T23:49:00.000-08:00

I just got the news!! I'm here in England getting ready to come back to the US and I just found out before coming into the airport! You can't imagine how excited and happy I am. This is a dream come true and I really don't even care if I win (although of course I would love to win) but it's really true that just to be nominated feels GREAT after all the hard work I did on this CD. This is a goal I've been striving for since I was 12 years old and saw Karen and Richard Carpenter get their Grammys. I'm so happy!!!
Here's the OFFICIAL site!

Thank you to everyone who has supported my music throughout the years!!

YIKES

2010-12-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

The concert and the whole evening were fantastic! I'll write more about that later...just got a call from Paul at 2am asking if I was awake (couldn't sleep anyway). There's more snow and we have to leave for the airport in Birmingham (2 hours away) NOW!

This Just In..

2010-12-01T02:31:00.000-08:00

Last concert of the tour on Christmas Eve at the Doubletree Resort in Orlando

Concert in England Tonight!

2010-12-01T02:19:00.000-08:00

I woke up to a beautiful, sunny day in merry old England. Hard to believe all of this is happening because of one little song, but I'm so happy and excited. I want the concert to go well tonight. We are using all Paul's equipment so I can't help anything that might go wrong there!
It's funny, I never ever get nervous before a show, but I guess the shows on this tour are a whole 'nother level. I know the press will be there and there will be lots of videos and so forth, and I guess that must be what's making me just a teensy bit queasy.
Providing there are no technical difficulties, the concert will be streamed live at 6:30 pm England time, which is 1:30pm EST in the US. The web address is www.pegondemand.tv and I hope you can watch, and please let me know what you think of it!

Second Evening in England

2010-11-30T15:29:00.000-08:00

It was a day filled with laughter, although it got off to a rough start. The snow here caused many roads to be slippery and there were many accidents so we decided not to go to Stonehenge. Instead we went over to Glastonbury, which Paul and Chris said was a sort of magical, mystical area and they were right. There were lots of shops selling crystals and the like, and I absolutely fell in love with something I found in a shop window. It's a little door that you attach to the wall baseboard and it lets the fairies in and out of your house. I had to go in and look at them, and while we were in there we struck up a conversation with the proprietress, who was actually wearing pointy elf ears. I'm a woman who looks for the magic in the world...how could I not LOVE that?
Anyway, she was a lovely woman and easy to talk with, and she spoke of her son's girlfriend who was the model for her drawing of a faerie in a book that she has helped to write. She said the young woman was an actress and I might have seen her because she plays one of Bella's friends in the Twilight movies. It turns out the woman she was talking about is Anna Kendrick, the Oscar nominated actress from "Up in the Air!" and it turns out that her son is Edgar Wright, the director of "Shaun of the Dead," "Hot Fuzz" and " Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World!" Amazing. She told us about the British premieres of those movies and how she'd gotten to meet such stars and Brandon Routh (Superman!), Bill Nighy (Davey Jones from Pirates of the Carribean) and Michael Cera. She also has met Peter Jackson, the director of the "Lord of the Rings" movies. It was just a total hoot talking with her and listening to her stories. It was just a complete twist of fate that I should go into that shop and meet her. Oh yes, and she said her other son's name is Oscar, and I told her that Edgar and Oscar are the names of my hamsters and that they were named for Edgar Allan Poe and Oscar Wilde, and she said that's who her sons were named after. That was just too funny!
After that Paul and Chris took me for real English Fish and Chips and we ate so much I thought I would roll out of the restaurant. We are all so excited about the concert tomorrow. So far 243 people are confirmed to come and it's just going to be terrific! It's so nice to feel so welcome, and to have them be so excited to have me here. I intend to do a wonderful job for them tomorrow night....and no, "All I Want for Christmas is You" will NOT be on the program!
Good night!

Hello from England

2010-11-28T21:55:00.000-08:00

Hello,
I decided on the plane that the posts I would make during this trip would be more than just informational. I think I owe it to the people who have made this journey possible (that's YOU!) to dig a little deeper and let you know what I'm feeling and thinking. So here we go....

The past couple of days have been a blur as I rushed to make final preparations for the journey. Such a combination of emotions: excitement, worry, and sadness as I knew it would be nearly a month before I saw my whole family again. I cried a lot more than I thought I would over this mix of feelings swirling around. I've never been away from my family during the Christmas season, but we all discussed this some months ago and agreed that it was worth the risk if the goal, to make The House on Christmas Street a mainstream hit, was achieved.

The first concert of the tour got off to a rough start on Saturday night as we discovered a piece of equipment missing. The radio receiver which would have allowed my sound system to broadcast the music from the decorators' computer systems was missing. It's still missing. We've looked EVERYWHERE but it seems to have vaporized. This was especially awkward and upsetting as it had been a gift from my first host, Brian Mitchell. Brian is a very nice man and sort of a man of few words, so he didn't say much but I'm sure he was upset, and of course the whole situation was not the best way to begin a performance. Then, just as I was about to begin with the first song, the music wouldn't start. I'd been looking for two weeks to replace the piece of equipment that caused THIS problem but had been unable to find anything suitable. Finally it started and the show was off and running and I felt good and smiley. There were, I thought, a good number of people there but I found out later that the snow squall that had happened while I was driving to Claremont had iced over the roads and because Brian lives at the top of the hill there were many who had to turn around because they couldn't get up that hill.
The next disaster happened when I made the poor decision to sing a song I'd only learned over the past two days. It was "All I Want for Christmas is You," and though I thought I knew it, all of the lyrics just FLEW out of my head nearly immediately. I couldn't see the faces of the audience in the dark and so I don't know if they were laughing or disgusted. I was quite angry with myself. The last time I saw a performer botch a song that badly I talked about it for weeks, and now here I was guilty of it myself. Anyhow, things got back on track after that and the lovely little girl who came up to sing "Frosty" with me was a delight!
This was my third annual concert at the Mitchell home and they are the nicest people in the world. If you folks are reading this I want you to know I am very grateful for the opportunity and thankful for your friendship.
NEWS FLASH: just read a great write-up in the e-ticker news of Claremont. You can read it here (you have to scroll down to p. 8) and they have a video on their facebook page here
Sunday I had a fun ride to NYC with my daughter and two of her friends, and I got to the airport in plenty of time. The flight left at 5:40pm and it was a seven hour flight, then I had an hour layover in Dublin and another flight of a little over an hour to get to Birmingham, England, where I was greeted by Paul and his partner Chris. They were just delightful and we hit it off immediately during our two hour drive to Wells (which I learned is called Wells because of the wells! Makes sense, huh?). I visited Paul's home and met his lovely mother and got to see his display and have a photo op there. I also had a telephone interview with someone from the local paper. Then they brought me over to the beautiful b&b where I am staying. I'm in the master bedroom with an amazing canopy bed that looks like something fit for a Queen. There's even a cradle in here in case I decide to have a baby while I'm here! HA HA! The bathtub is huge...it must be six feet long...and nice and deep so I decided to have a bath and I fell asleep in the tub. Here we are five hours ahead of the eastern US so it is about 10am as I write this but 5:00 EST. OH yes, and there's a bidet in the bathroom but I have no idea how to use it and I'm afraid to turn it on lest it spray all over the bathroom. Perhaps, if I am feeling adventurous, I'll try to turn it on later just to see how it works.
Paul and Chris are very gracious and even provided me with a cell phone to call home because mine does not work internationally, so I got to speak to Philip but was unable to reach Emma or Louisa.
In the late afternoon we visited the Wells Cathedral which I'm sure is the oldest building I've ever been in. Walking through it felt like walking back in time. Plus there was the added bonus of meeting the Cathedral cat, Louis, who was curled up by a radiator and was very happy to be petted. The Cathedral is built by the well of St. Andrew, and I found it an amazing coincidence that Google just informed me when I signed on that today is St. Andrew's Feast Day.
Paul and Chris are quite knowledgeable about the history here and they've just filled me up with facts. Today I am waiting for them to arrive for our trip to Stonehenge and Glastonbury. It's snowing lightly outside which they say is very unusual. It snowed when I was in Claremont too. Do you think it will snow in Texas when I am there??????

The House on Christmas Street Tour in the News Update

2010-11-26T06:40:00.000-08:00

My hosts on the tour have been doing a bang-up job getting publicity! Check out this radio interview on WIXE 'the mighty 1190' out of Monroe, NC. with the Browns of Indian Trail, NC. I will be at their home on Dec. 19th.

http://www.lakeparklights.com/images/wixe.mp3

Also check out this beautiful ad in one of the local papers in Lubbock, TX. I will be at the home of the Lubbock Browns on Dec. 5th! It's in the top left hand corner of page 21.

http://tnol.com/pageflipper/index.cfm?paperid=61&edition=3247

Tour begins TOMORROW NIGHT in Claremont, NH at Mitchell's Magic Christmas! Check them out here:

www.claremontchristmaslights.com.

New Stop Added to the Tour

2010-11-19T20:24:00.001-08:00

I'm very excited to announce that I will be performing at the home of Richard Holdman in Utah on December 6th. Richard is very highly regarded in the Christmas decorating community and his videos have been featured on Ellen, Comedy Central and more. You can visit his display at http://http://www.holdman.com/christmas/

I can't wait to see what he does with "The House on Christmas Street!"

The House on Christmas Street Tour in the News!

2010-11-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

The buzz is growing on two continents!

http://www.upincumming.com/index.php

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/somerset/hi/things_to_do/newsid_9176000/9176313.stm

The House on Christmas Street International Tour 2010

2010-11-08T09:11:00.000-08:00

Make plans now to attend one of these fun and festive concert events during Judy's tour!

Saturday, Nov. 27 6pm
The Mitchell Home
16 Francis Street
Claremont, NH
http://claremontchristmaslights.com/

Wednesday, Dec. 1 6:30pm
The Toole Residence
16 Manning Close,
Wells, England UK

Friday, Dec. 3 12 noon
The Factory at Franklin Mall
230 Franklin Road
Franklin, TN
http://www.factoryatfranklin.com/

Saturday, Dec. 4th
10:30am, 2:20pm, 4:40pm
Holiday by the Tracks,
Elgin, TX
http://www.elgintx.com/xmas.asp

with evening concert at the home of
Forest Dennis
806 North Main St.
Elgin, TX
http://www.mainchristmasinelgin.com

Sunday, Dec. 5th 6:30pm
The Brown Residence
6607 Avenue S
Lubbock, TX
http://twiceshy.webs.com/

Monday, Dec. 6th 7pm
The Holdman Residence
3183 Millcreek Road
Pleasant Grove, Utah
www.holdman.com/christmas

Tuesday, Dec. 7th 7pm
The Hurrle Residence,
1003 NW 24th St.
Fruitland, ID
http://www.brightsideoftown.com/

Wednesday, Dec. 8th 7pm
The Zembruski Residence
23620 NE 183rd St.
Woodinville, WA
http://www.woodinvillewonderland.com/

Saturday, Dec. 11th 7pm
The Bicknase Residence
1027 North Hampton St.
Fairmont, MN
http://www.fairmontlights.com/

Sunday, Dec. 12th 7pm
The Jeffries Residence
2112 NE Waterfield Drive
Blue Springs, MO

Monday, Dec. 13th 6:30 PM
The Jones Residence
11720 Gatwick View Drive
Fishers, IN
http://www.joneslights.com/

Tuesday, Dec. 14th 7pm
The Reph Residence
198 Firehouse Lane
Nazareth, PA
http://www.rephswinterwonderland.webs.com/

Wednesday, Dec. 15th 7pm
The Moyer Residence
117 West Penn Avenue
Cleona, PA
http://www.moyerchristmasdisplay.weebly.com/

Thursday, Dec. 16th 12pm
Special Appearance at Paul's "Young at Heart" gift shop
2006 Lafayette Blvd,
Fredericksburg, VA
http://www.paulsbakery.net/

5pm
The Shank Residence
9410 Deep Creek Lane
Frederiksburg, VA
http://www.fredericksburglights.com/

Friday, Dec. 17th 7pm
Driveway Party to Benefit the Peninsula Food Bank
Sponsored by XTRA 99.1
The Joyce Residence
5628 Crany Creek Drive
Gloucester, VA

Saturday, Dec. 18th 6-9pm
The Ennice Fire Department
Sponsored by the Bottomleys
6374 Glade Valley Road
Ennice, NC
http://www.highcountrylights.com/

Sunday, Dec. 19th 7pm
The Brown Residence
4019 Lake Charles Way
Indian Trail, NC
http://www.lakeparklights.com/

Monday, Dec. 20th 7pm
The Charpiat Residence
Highway 268 East
Pilot Mountain, NC
http://www.pilotmountainchristmas.com/

Tuesday, Dec. 21st 10am
School Assembly Concert at
Fred A. Olds Elementary School
Raleigh, NC

7pm
The Greer Residence
114 University Drive
Conway, SC

Wednesday, Dec. 22nd 6pm
The Drum Residence
4730 Bryn Ridge Court
Cumming, GA
http://larrydrum.home.comcast.net/~larrydrum/christmashome.html

Thursday, Dec. 23rd 6pm
The Walker Residence
1013 Mare Bello Drive
Winter Park, FL

The House on Christmas Street in the News!

2009-12-24T16:50:00.001-08:00

http://pix.10tv.com/MediaItemView.aspx?id=376177

Christmas Time's a Comin'

2009-10-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, Halloween is nearly three weeks away but decorating enthusiasts all over the country and the world are already thinking about Christmas....getting out their blow molds and blow-ups, untangling lights and checking wires and bulbs and more.

One of those folks, a guy named Joe, sent me an email to let me know that he's going to be synchronizing his display to "The House on Christmas Street" this year, and he personally made a REALLY cool sign to go with it. He sent me a picture of it and I just had to share it with you.

So if you are roaming through Columbus, Ohio during December be sure to look for The House on Christmas Street and say "hi" to Joe!

Planet Christmas

2009-06-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

The wonderful decorating enthusiasts who have made The House on Christmas Street so popular all over the world "meet" and discuss ideas in several places on the internet. The one I found first is www.planetchristmas.com. Since I joined the site I have made so many new friends who are very enthusiastic about decorating. This is a wonderful site for anyone interested in decorating with lots of "how-to" information and terrific people willing to answer your questions.
Check it out!

Where to Hear The House on Christmas Street Online

2009-05-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

(This post was originally published on my blog "Judy's Notes, Musical and Otherwise" in November, 2008)

Some say that Internet Radio Stations are the wave of the future, and someday we'll get all of our music through the computer. That's okay with me! There are several Internet radio stations currently playing The House on Christmas Street, and you can listen to them ANYWHERE all over the world!! So my fans in Australia and Croatia and the UK and Italy as well as anywhere in the US can hear my music on their computers!Here's a list of the Internet radio stations that I know are playing my song:
http://www.merrychristmsradio.com/
http://www.soundsofchristmas.com/
http://www.live365.com/stations/rog1barb2 (Music of a Lifetime)

http://www.northpoleradio.com/
http://www.christmasmusic247.com/
If you have an internet radio station that plays Christmas music, or know of one that isn't listed here, please contact me so I can send you the song!

Lyrics

2009-04-26T05:54:00.001-07:00

The House on Christmas Street
Music and Lyrics by Judy Pancoast copyright 1998

Let me tell you 'bout this house, there's one in every town;
It's the one, at Christmas-time, where folks all gather 'round.
Most times of the year you'd pass by and not look back;
Oh, but in December, it'll stop you in your tracks

CHORUS:
Cause it's got 47-thousand twinkling lights
And Santa Claus up on the roof;
Dasher and Dancer and all the other reindeer-
Rudolph's up there, too!
With a band of merry snowmen dancing on the porch
And a couple of carollers singing by the lamppost over near the front door;
Jesus and His Family in a stable on the lawn
And a choir of heavenly angels singing "Silent Night" 'til dawn.
It's where everybody meets-
It's the House on Christmas Street!

Every year, Thanksgiving Day, while we digest our turkey
The family puts up its display- you can see it from Albuquerque.
Papa says their electric bill must reach up to the sky
But Mama says the joy it brings is more than money can buy (repeat Chorus)

Every tree is all aglow
With a "Season's Greetings" banner hanging high.
It's so pretty in the snow, it's got to put a sparkle in your eye, in your eye! (repeat Chorus)

The Inspiration for "The House on Christmas Street"

2009-04-26T05:07:00.001-07:00

When composer Judy Pancoast was a young child, a favorite holiday activity of her family was to jump in the car and tour the outdoor decorations at the houses in her hometown of Waterville, Maine. One day when Judy was a young teen, her father came home from work and announced that he had heard about a home that had outdone them all in terms of decorating. The family bundled up in the car and drove up to see the house.
As the car came closer to its destination, a glow could be seen in the sky. And as they turned the corner, Judy saw that the street was filled with other families "oohing" and "aahing" over the sight.
From roof to road the house and its grounds were festooned in colorful lights, animated decorations and more. Judy stood on the sidewalk in awe, watching the lights twinkle and the animated characters move. It made her feel happy inside, although she wasn't sure why. She returned to gaze at the house in wonder for years following that first night, even after she grew up and moved away from home. Sadly, one December the house was dark at Christmas time, and has been ever since. Judy never learned whether the original owner/decorator had moved away or passed away. She just knew it was a real loss to the community for that display to cease.
Time passed and life went on. Judy grew up, went to college, began a career working as a musician and radio announcer and got married. When that early marriage broke up, she found herself living alone in a small apartment in a new town far away from family and friends. She worked the 6-11pm shift at a radio station, then drove back to her lonely apartment. It was a night in early December when she was feeling especially sad that she drove around a corner and was stopped in her tracks by a house that was lit up so brightly she couldn't help but pull over and gaze at it. Once again, the twinkling lights mesmerized her, and lifted her spirits in a way that could not be explained. She was very grateful to the homeowners who had gone out of their way to cheer the strangers who happened to pass by. She went home feeling happier, and the next day went out and got a little tree and some lights and decorated her own little place, making it warmer and happier and a nicer place to come home to.
Even more time went by, and Judy's career took her to several different cities and towns. It seemed that, in every town, there was one house that everyone knew about, the one that had the most spectacular decorations. Eventually Judy remarried and she and her husband had two daughters. A favorite Christmas time activity was jumping in the car and touring the streets of their little home town in New Hampshire looking for the brightest and most colorful lighting displays.
In 1998 Judy was inspired by these events to write a song about that house in every town that always had the most outrageous, magical display. She called the song "The House on Christmas Street" and recorded it on her 1998 Christmas CD of the same name.