Happy 3rd Birthday to Pink Saturday! I haven’t participated in a long while… my work schedule is pretty erratic and I ran out of pink. In fact, the last time I participated was last year on the 2nd Birthday of PS. I was out of town working on that day. Guess what? Same thing this year. However, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish Beverly all the best. She has given a great deal of her time and love to this weekly meme.

I thought I’d share some of my favorite pinks from past posts:

The very pale pink robe I wore as a toddler.

My sweet doll, Tessa. She has (literally) two left feet. And an adorably beautiful face.

And a vintage program from the 1940’s play Claudia, given to me by a friend.

Thank you, Beverly, for all you do to make Pink Saturday such a success! Have to close with another photo of the baby robins right outside my door.

 

I used to watch a fair amount of programs on HGTV. I was one of those early viewers who was thrilled that there was a channel about decorating, houses and gardens. There were certain programs I tuned into fairly regularly: hosted by Lynette Jennings, Joan Steffend, Joe Ruggiero, Mary Emmerling, Carol Duvall, Kitty Bartholomew.

Would any of these talented people get the opportunity to host a show on HGTV nowadays? Doubtful. Why not? They’re not young and beautiful. Every time I tune in, and I tune in a bit more often here because I’m searching for something to watch on TV, all I see are a series of impossibly beautiful young hosts. What happened to experience gained from a career of some length? What happened to wisdom? Oh it’s out there, but not apparently as a marketable commodity for HGTV.

When did America get so obsessed with youth? You see it everywhere. News anchors for major news networks are often a series of young, perfectly coifed, almost Stepford-like women. Do I want to hear the news from someone that young, someone who has no frame of reference with which to see a larger picture? Do I want to watch yet another television series that has 4 young beautiful actors pretending to be seasoned FBI agents – or doctors – or CSI technicians – or FBI Profilers – or lawyers? Come on. The minute I tune into one of those series, I groan and switch channels. How can I even pretend to lose myself in one of those stories? How can I suspend disbelief? Answer: I can’t. So I don’t watch.

Don and I were watching All in the Family (one of the greatest television series of all time) on TV Land recently and were struck by the level of excellence, the nuanced acting and the fact that both lead actors (Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton) in the series were middle aged at the time. Neither of them had Botox, cheek implants, a face lift, bleached and straightened teeth or fake tans. What they did have was talent – something sadly lacking on television these days. They also had faces that were interesting – that showed that they had lived. Would this series have been given the green light today? Not a chance. It would have been reworked around a young, cute couple who moved into Queens to rehab a house and maybe had some wacky older neighbors (but never with more than one or two lines in an episode because they’re just not that interesting.)

What about talented singers and musicians who might not pass the ‘attractive enough for a video’ test? Just think about all the voices we never would have heard. This obsession with perfection, with pretty, has created a monster. It’s the stuff of science fiction. Anyone who is older and not blessed with perfect features and eternal youth is ignored. Those who are young and not perfectly perfect must invest in plastic surgery, botox, implants, breast enhancement, hair plugs, whatever is ‘required’ to be a little Stepford-perfect-person. All others are deemed not worthy of serious consideration for work in the media. Yes, there are exceptions, thank goodness, but not enough.

Whenever I see a somewhat older someone in the public eye succumb to the pressure of facial implants, etc, I feel such disappointment. “Oh no, (fill in the blank) got work done, too?!?” Another disappointed sigh. I certainly understand the pressures those people must feel to keep their jobs, to please the powers-that-be. As someone who knows many actors who work in film, I know all too well how hard it is for women above the age of 50 to get work.

But it’s not right. It’s not reality. Teeth aren’t meant to be blindingly white. Faces are not meant to have implants or be injected with something that contains botulism. Faces are meant to be quirky, interesting, filled with character and to reflect a life lived. Cheeks are meant to move when one smiles. They aren’t meant to be suspiciously smooth and to stay in one place no matter what the rest of the face does. Wrinkles are earned. Smile lines are wonderful.

Look, I’m in my fifties. I’m not thrilled with my sagging jowls. Or the big frown line between my eyebrows. Or my body that changed with menopause. Or my gray hair. But let’s face it, they are me. I have lived. I have experience. I’ve gained wisdom because of what I’ve been through, what I’ve seen, what I’ve done. The same holds true for everyone of a certain age. I’d rather hear Brian Williams give me the news than a pretty young thing on another channel. I want some weight, some gravitas. I want to see a series with lead characters who are middle aged or older. I’m sick of young, perfect and insipid. And I’m real tired of seeing middle aged actors who are only taken seriously and given work when they have erased any signs of aging.

I’m not the target audience, clearly. But I’ve decided to stop watching these programs or anything that perpetuates this false idea of perfection. If everyone got together and said, “No more. I am what I am and I’m proud of it. No more botox, plastic surgery, face lifts, teeth whitening” maybe the paradigm would change. When everyone buys into a false paradigm, then it becomes reality.

And that ‘reality’ is a scary one.

On a cold, cold December day, I made my way into Manhattan to have some fun at the party celebrating the first issue of Where Women Cook.

It was held at Chelsea Market – oh my gosh, what a fabulous place! It is full of wonderful restaurants and food emporiums and is in the old Nabisco Building. Oh, there’s also an Anthropologie there. You can bet I will be visiting it again, especially when I’m working on a coaching job in NYC this February and March. Many of the restaurants and businesses are owned by women. In fact, several of them will be featured in upcoming issues of Where Women Cook.

Interestingly enough, I ate very little while I was there. I was too busy gabbing. I did manage a cup of soup with my friend, Elizabeth Maxon. Elizabeth and I are blogging friends and we were so excited to finally get the chance to meet. She is featured in this issue – and she also contributed some of her photographs.

Elizabeth is wonderful. We talked and talked and if she hadn’t had to attend to other things (like signing copies of the magazine) we would have kept right on talking. We have theater in common – both of us were actresses for a time. Elizabeth is generous, funny and oh, so talented. I am in awe of her design style and her way with a camera. Speaking of cameras, I was lucky enough to be asked to take some photos with her camera, as well as Tiffany Kirchner-Dixon’s camera. Oh. my. goodness. I love my Canon but it is a very high end point-and-shoot. And I now realize there is a major difference between that level of camera and the next level of camera. I want one. I will have to start saving my pennies. It’s time to move on to the next level. Perhaps I should start a “Help Claudia buy a new camera” fund. Just kidding. Sort of.

What was so inspiring about this get-together was that it was about women celebrating women. So many talented women were there and each one was warm, friendly and charming. Usually, these events don’t seem to take place on the East Coast, so I’m really happy I had the chance to attend. I was lucky enough to be introduced around by Elizabeth and meet some wonderful women who are entrepeneurs and bloggers. The idea was to have the featured women sit at tables and sign copies of the magazine, as well as their books. There was a long line outside the door leading up to the 2 pm start time.

Here are some photos from the event:

Mamma Agata, Elizabeth and Suzy Eaton.

 

My blurry photo of Ree Drummond.

Wendy Addison was also there – for some reason I didn’t get a photo of her – darn! I’m sure I’ve missed a few others. If so, I apologize.

When I first arrived, I saw a woman who looked familiar. Turns out it was fellow blogger, Jane of A Pixie and a Gypsy.

 

It was a fun afternoon! But soon I headed out into the very, very cold weather and boarded the bus for home. When I arrived at the bus station, it was snowing! Our first, very light, snowfall of the season.

Hope you enjoyed this peek into the launch party. Today we bought our Christmas tree and I’ve made a little start on the decorations. We keep it pretty simple here at MHC.

It has been hard for me to visit everyone lately. I apologize. I will try to get around to you all this week. I also see some new commenters – thank you so much for leaving a comment. I promise to visit you soon!