Mary-Lou Kirshon
     
Home Page

About Me

My Paintings

What's New Page

More Paintings

Favorite Links Page

Some Photos From me and Dad

Contact Page

More Cool Stuff

Catalog Page

In The Studio

Flying Flying

Realblog

  

Welcome To My Home Page

Hi! My name is Mary-Lou Kirshon.I am an Artist, Musician, Entertainer and Music Teacher in  South Florida. I perform regularly in the area as a One-Woman Show.

Enjoy browsing my site to learn of upcoming events, look at my paintings, and find out what products I have available!

I am currently hard at work on a new cd with some wonderful South Florida musicians! I will keep you posted.

Also, my musical style is EVOLVING!

And here is the story I promised a few days ago to my loyal readers!

I was hanging out in my bass teacher's music store when a customer came in to purchase some drum hardware. My Bass Teacher introduced him to me as "Jason" and we immediately began to hang out and shoot the breeze, talking drum talk and and other stuff for nearly an hour. During the course of conversation, My bass teacher Lou asked Jason about his friend "Robert", and if his voice was holding up. Jason replied that as Robert was getting older, he was losing some of his high notes, etc, but still had the pipes, etc , etc. Well, I am a voice teacher, so I had plenty to say about this! So I rattled on about breathing and muscles and all sorts of things, and Jason listened with great attention. Then he said that he had no idea so much was involved with SINGING! Well we talked some more and hung out some more and as time wore on I realized that I was talking to NONE OTHER than JASON BONHAM, the son of JOHN BONHAM, the late great drummer of LED ZEPPELIN, and his friend "Robert" was none other than ROBERT PLANT! (I'm not worthy!). But you know what? I had already made friends with this gentleman and earned his respect, so I was NOT going to start acting like a stupid GROUPIE, so I just shook his hand and smiled. :)

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

A Birthday Story HOW I SPENT MY BIRTHDAY!!! Two Words: Hurricane Wilma! Since I got out of the "habit" of using electricity, I am having a hard time getting my patootie back in gear with posting. So I am going to try and plunge right in with the first installment of my Hurricane Wilma saga, and I hope I don't run on too long! Since I spent over $3000 on Hurricane Shutters six years ago, I felt it necessary to actually HANG them on my windows. It is an exhausting task, but well worth it! I hung the last of my second floor shutters on Sunday while everyone else golfed and fiddled. I related how tired I was, and some elderly woman in Walgreens actually mocked and scoffed at me for hanging my shutters, saying it was just going to "blow over like they all do". Only my dear friends on the Internet seemed to understand me! At 7:00AM Monday the power went off and the wind began to howl. My neighbor Tracy (from New Orleans) called me and asked if I would like some coffee which she made on a propane grill. She put some in a Thermos and brought it over and when I opened the door, I saw the street was starting to fill up with water, about knee deep. At this point, all the neighbor ladies, in flip flops and nighties, waded out into the water with rakes and shovels to clear the storm drains so that the water wouldn't flood into the houses. Soon the kids came out (it was the eye of the storm) and they started helping to gather the downed branches away from the storm drains. As soon as the drains were cleared and the floodwaters began to subside, the eyewall hit with 135mph winds in the opposite direction, sending debris flying everywhere, and scattering everyone back to their houses. I was hit on the lip by a little leaf, but it felt like a bullet and my lip swelled up. I sat on a ladder in the garage, looking out into the storm when I saw a giant oak branch teetering over Mike's beloved camero in the driveway. Mike ran out to move the car into a neighbor's yard, and then sat in the car with the wind rocking it back and forth, unable to get out of the car as the tree branch came crashing down harmlessly into our driveway. Finally, he scooted out of the camero and went into Tracy's house. Meanwhile, Torey the Dog and I went upstairs to the master bedroom because we heard some noise upstairs in the attic. I opened the closet door, and the trap door to the attic burst open, blowing insulation and dirt into the bedroom. Then the roof (made of tons of concrete tiles) began to BOUNCE UP AND DOWN, pumping insulation and sheet rock and dust all over me like a giant bellows. I later found out that this happened to nearly every house in the neighborhood. A $2.00 thingy called a "hurricane strap" kept the roof from flying away like a giant sail. Slamming the closet door shut, I ran back downstairs, and peeked out the front door, just in time to see a twenty foot banyan tree uproot itself across my front door, effectively blocking my way. Out back, my screen porch with the ugly tin roof that I really really wanted to replace, of course, remained serenely attached to the house. (RATS!) As soon as the wind stopped, I opened the front door just in time to see a group of about 15 young men of varying hues, stripped to the waist and sporting tattoos, all carrying machetes and heading right for me. As I stood there , they said, "Where do you want us to put this tree, Ma'am?" and proceeded to chop up the banyan tree, freeing my front door. Then they continued around the neighborhood, chopping trees as they went. And thus will begin the second installment of the saga.


 

A Birthday Story

HOW I SPENT MY BIRTHDAY!!! Two Words: Hurricane Wilma!

 Since I got out of the "habit" of using electricity, I am having a hard time getting my patootie back in gear with posting. So I am going to try and plunge right in with the first installment of my Hurricane Wilma saga, and I hope I don't run on too long!

Since I spent over $3000 on Hurricane Shutters six years ago, I felt it necessary to actually HANG them on my windows. It is an exhausting task, but well worth it!  I hung the last of my second floor shutters on Sunday while everyone else golfed and fiddled. I related how tired I was, and some elderly woman in Walgreens actually mocked and scoffed at me for hanging my shutters, saying it was just going to "blow over like they all do". Only my dear friends on the Internet seemed to understand me!  At 7:00AM Monday the power went off and the wind began to howl. My neighbor Tracy (from New Orleans) called me and asked if I would like some coffee which she made on a propane grill. She put some in a Thermos and brought it over and when I opened the door, I saw the street was starting to fill up with water, about knee deep. At this point, all the neighbor ladies, in flip flops and nighties, waded out into the water with rakes and shovels to clear the storm drains so that the water wouldn't flood into the houses. Soon the kids came out (it was the eye of the storm) and they started helping to gather the downed branches away from the storm drains. As soon as the drains were cleared and the floodwaters began to subside, the eyewall hit with 135mph winds in the opposite direction, sending debris flying everywhere, and scattering everyone back to their houses. I was hit on the lip by a little leaf, but it felt like a bullet and my lip swelled up. I sat on a ladder in the garage, looking out into the storm when I saw a giant oak branch teetering over Mike's beloved camero in the driveway. Mike ran out to move the car into a neighbor's yard, and then sat in the car with the wind rocking it back and forth, unable to get out of the car as the tree branch came crashing down harmlessly into our driveway. Finally, he scooted out of the camero and went into Tracy's house. Meanwhile, Torey the Dog and I went upstairs to the master bedroom because we heard some noise upstairs in the attic. I opened the closet door, and the trap door to the attic burst open, blowing insulation and dirt into the bedroom. Then the roof (made of tons of concrete tiles) began to BOUNCE UP AND DOWN, pumping insulation and sheet rock and dust all over me like a giant bellows. I later found out that this happened to nearly every house in the neighborhood. A $2.00 thingy called a "hurricane strap" kept the roof from flying away like a giant sail.

Slamming the closet door shut, I ran back downstairs, and peeked out the front door, just in time to see a twenty foot banyan tree uproot itself across my front door, effectively blocking my way. Out back, my screen porch with the ugly tin roof that I really really wanted to replace, of course, remained serenely attached to the house. (RATS!)

As soon as the wind stopped, I opened the front door just in time to see a group of about 15 young men of varying hues, stripped to the waist and sporting tattoos, all carrying machetes and heading right for me. As I stood there , they said, "Where do you want us to put this tree, Ma'am?" and proceeded to chop up the banyan tree, freeing my front door. Then they continued around the neighborhood, chopping trees as they went. And thus will begin the second installment of the saga.

Listing Site Updates


8/5/04 Started site. Welcome!

8/7/04 Updated Events Calendar,

added links, updated the "About Me" Page, Added more products to the "What's New" page. Added infor re: One Woman Shows.

8/7/04 Added Photo Page!

8/23/04 Added LINK to Sheet Music Plus!

9/5/04 Survived Hurricane Frances Go To Photo Page 4 for a song parody!

9/25/04 Waiting out hurricane Jeanne

10/15/04 Flew !

10/20/04 Added Photo6 Page.

3/6/05 Book Review for "Nuthin' But The Blues"

8/13/05 Review from Joy V. on "Good Clean Fun, Vol. 2"

8/3/07 Site under Construction

8/8/07 More Stuff Added

12/07 Continuing Mom's Blog, Added FEAST to site.

Feast at The SIDE POCKET in Pompano Beach, 12/28/07   LINK: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=110923321
My friend's Band was FABULOUS last night. It was eclectic mix of Funk, Blues, Jazz, Reggae, and Rock. Extremely COOL.
__________________
Left to Right: FEAST: Brandon, Mike, & and Lou. Next week is the Battle of the Bands. This is BIG, folks!

ANNOUNCEMENT!

"Nuthin' But The Blues" is being published this month! I will post the link to the Publisher as soon as the book is on the Website. Here is an advance review from Cousin Mary Lou in Oklahoma, a professional musician and teacher:

I WILL START USING THE BOOK LIKE YOUR ARE TALKING ABOUT AND PRACTICING EACH DAY WITH IT. WHAT A GREAT IDEA. IT LOOKS SO NEAT AND EASIER TO UNDERSTAND THAN OTHER BOOKS THAT I’VE SEEN. THAT IS SO FABULOUS THAT YOU WILL BE SELLING IT. I WILL CERTAINLY TELL MANY PEOPLE ABOUT IT. IT ACTUALLY WOULD HELP PEOPLE WITH OTHER INSTRUMENTS BESIDES THE PIANO JUST AS MUCH. MANY PEOPLE ARE LEARNIG ACCORDIAN THESE DAYS, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, AND IT WOULD BE BENFICIAL FOR EVEN THEM. ANY C INSTRUMENT WOULD BENEFIT FROM IT DEFINITELY. I JUST CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SENT IT TO ME, I LOVE IT SO VERY MUCH, AND KNOW IT IS EXCATLY WHAT I’VE NEEDED TO BE MUCH BETTER ON MY PIANO. FUNNY ENOUGH, JUST YESTERDAY, ONE OF MY DRUM STUDENTS MOTHER ASKED IF I’D LIKE TO PLAY IN A NEW PAISE AND WORSHIP GROUP AT A NEW CHURCH, AND I TOLD HER TO HAVE THEM CALL ME. THIS BOOK WITH BE INVALUABLE TO ME FOR NEW MATERIAL. I AM AN EAR PLAYER TOTALLY, AND THIS IS THE RIGHT STUFF FOR ME TO GET MORE EXPERIENCE.

More reviews to be added as they come in!

Here's the LINK:

http://www.booksurge.com/author.php3?accountID=GPUB02621&affiliateID=A000959

Review of "Good Clean Fun, Vol. 2"

From Joy V.

Dear Mary Lou,
 
Received my CD today and have listened to every song. It was funny, my daughter called while I was listening to it and she heard it playing in the background. She asked me "what is that" so I told her, but I told her she wouldn't like it cuz she is a died in the wool (liberal). How that happened I will never know, except, she worked for NPR for years, and I believe thay are of that persuasion. Anyway, she thinks it is so cool that you have your own studio, and sing all the parts.
 
I think it is wonderful, and really enjoyed several of the parodies immensely. I liked Belly High, Moonbat Serenade, the French Soldiers March is great!,the Coyote Song from Carmen, and La Madame Hillary was wonderful.
 
Thanks for sending it so promptly.

Listen to Pirates!

Books and CD's by Mary-Lou Kirshon

Mary-Lou runs her own digital recording studio and has CD's of her own music available for sale.

She has also authored several music instruction books.

Check out the "What's New" page for more info!

Mary-Lou Flying The 1944Navy T-6 !

God Bless our great country.  May Freedom ever ring!

OK. Here's what happened on my adventure, uh, vacation:

Torey The Dog was safely ensconced at The Pet Resort and I was just a wee bit worried when I saw Ernesto approaching Florida. We were in the WONDERFUL Colonial Triangle (Much nicer than the Sunni Triangle) which is bordered by Jamestown, Yorktown, and Colonial Williamsburg. The last time we were in Jamestown was 1993 and the NEW excavations began there in 1994. So the archaeology has been hot and heavy in anticipation of May 13th 2007, the 400th anniversary of the first successful English-speaking colony on American soil. And what a celebration it will be! They have found millions of artifacts, hundreds of bodies, and the actual footprint of the original fort that was built by Captain John Smith. It was breathtaking! So many mysteries have been solved that the history of the area will have to be rewritten. And guess what, it DIDN'T happen like in the Disney movie, "Pocahontas"! The National Park Ranger was so emotional about the finds and the significance of them, that he was a little misty eyed, and there were more than a few tears in the crowd as well. It was swelteringly hot and humid, and I recognized it as the big pile of tropical air being pushed ahead of the hurricane that was chugging up the coast. We spent two days going to Jamestown , checking out the new museum which had just opened (in time for us!) and was air conditioned. Someone was setting up a tent for a wedding, right over what I knew to be a mass grave of the early settlers, and I remarked to hubby that it was probably NOT the best place to have a wedding.

The Hurricane hit the area the next day. It was still a category one when it hit, and the first thing to go out was the cable TV so we had no way of tracking the storm. Then the electricity went out. So Mike slept, and I read a wonderful trio of books "BLACK", "RED", and "WHITE", by Ted Dekker. My dear friend Lillian gave me the books on Sunday when we visited her in Virginia Beach. I kayaked on the Chesapeake and got some sun, but didn't burn because I wisely wore sunscreen. I highly recommend these books to Y'all! If you like fantasy, adventure, alternate reality, and a strong spiritual message, this is it.

Anyway, back to the hurricane. Piddly by Florida standards, but enough to make some bad damage and delay our return home by some six hours. I saw so many troops in the MANY airports I visited in all the stops and layovers in our twelve hour odyssey getting home. I went to each one and thanked them for their service. Every one smiled and said "Thank you, Ma'am!"

I also saw THREE (count 'em) WILD BALD EAGLES soaring above us next to the James River. It brought a lump to my throat and made my heart pound!
God Bless America!


Send an email