My Very Favorite Episode!

As promised, while the contest is still going on, I'm gonna tell you about some of my favorite episodes. My first and foremost, very favorite episode has not been mentioned by anyone in the contest, which kind of surprises me, but here goes.
It's not really shown very often and occurs in season 5. I think the title is RETURN HOME FROM EUROPE
The European tour has come to an end and the girls are packing up to go home. Lucy has bought souvenirs for everyone but her luggage is over the airlines weight limit so Ricky says she can't take stuff on the plane but would have to ship it by mail. Lucy just refuses to do this because she wants to present people with their gifts as soon as they return, especially her mother, to whom she has promised a 25# of special Italian cheese. She just has to get that cheese on the plane.
Well leave it to Ethel...for once, she has a bright idea. She tells Lucy that it's too bad it wasn't a baby, because babies fly for free, which gives Lucy the wonderful idea to put a bonnet on the cheese and to wrap it in a blanket.
She actually takes it on the plane and passes it off as a baby. Unluckily for her, a woman with a real baby sits next to her and the fun begins. The woman is very curious to see Lucy's baby. She shares her formula with her, which Lucy drinks and makes the same face and body shivers that she makes when tasting that awful vitametavegamin! There's just too many funny things too list but to make a long story short, she finds out you do have to pay for babies and afraid that Ricky will kill her, Lucy and Ethel try to eat the cheese. When they realize that they can't. they decide to stuff the cheese in the instruments of Ricky's band members. If you get a chance to watch it, please do. It's really funny!

Don't leave your little girl out of the fun!

I don't know about you, but all of my four children were raised on Lucy. Sometimes the boys wish they weren't. My oldest son is a dective and wishes he couldn't whip into "sweet sue" at a moment's notice infront of all of his cop friends when the name "Sue" happens to come up, or say "You've got some 'splainin' to do" when he arrests a drug pusher....but what can I say. The girls have more appreciation.

If you're like me, your girls will too, so here is a great costume for your little girl and a wig made espesciall to fit little heads. Check it out!

Thinking ahead for Halloween, Lucy Style

It's never to earlier to start thinking of Halloween. This year, there are bunch of new "Lucy" costumes around to delight us Lucy fans. The classic polka-dot dress has been around awhile, but I'm including the picture here anyway because I still like it, but here's some new costumes for your to check out, available all over the web for you to get early and probably at your local costume stores that should be opening soon.

ARROZ CON POLLO! Ricky's favorite dish!

Ricky's favorite dish and usually Lucy's favorite bribe!
When Ricky and Fred switch roles with Lucy and Ethel (called "Job Switching" which first aired on September 15, 1952), Ricky decides he wants to surprise the girls when they come home after a hard days work and make his native Cuban arroz con pollo for dinner. Obviously they have no idea how to cook. The Ricardo's kitchen is not big enough to hold one pound of rice per person! I don't know about you, but I don't like my chickens on the ceiling, on the floor or scrubbed with scouring powder, so here's a better recipe you could try.

For chicken
3 large garlic cloves, chopped coarsely
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (3 1/2- to 4-lb) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For rice
1 lb onions, chopped (2 1/2 cups)
2 bell peppers, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 bay leaf
1 (14- to 15-oz) can diced tomatoes, including juice
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (12 fl oz)
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups long-grain white rice (3/4 lb)
1 cup frozen baby peas (not thawed; 5 oz)
1/2 cup small or medium pimiento-stuffed green olives (2 oz), rinsed
1/4 cup drained chopped bottled pimientos (2 oz), rinsed

To Prepare chicken:
Purée garlic, orange and lime juice, salt and pepper in a blender. Put chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the purée over them while turning them to coat. Marinate the chicken, covered, turning occasionally. Put in the fridge 1 hour.

Transfer the chicken, letting the rest of the marinade go back into the bowl, to paper towels, then pat dry. Save the marinade.

Heat the oil and butter in 6- to 7-quart pot over medium high heat and then brown chicken in 2 or 3 batches, turning occasionally, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer chicken when its done to a plate.

Prepare rice and bake:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350°F.

Sauté onions, bell peppers, and garlic in fat in pot over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally and scraping up brown bits from chicken, until vegetables are softened, 6 to 8 minutes.

While vegetables cook, heat saffron in a dry small skillet over low heat, shaking skillet, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and bring to a simmer, then remove from heat.

Add cumin and salt to vegetables and cook over medium heat, stiring, 2 minutes. Stir in saffron mixture, bay leaf, tomatoes (with juice), broth, water, and reserved marinade and bring to a boil.

Add all chicken except breast pieces, skin sides up, and gently simmer, covered, over low heat 10 minutes. Stir in rice, then add breast pieces, skin sides up, and arrange chicken in 1 layer. Return to a simmer.

Cover pot tightly, then transfer to oven and bake until rice is tender and most of liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

Scatter peas, olives, and pimientos over rice and chicken (do not stir) and let stand, pot covered with a kitchen towel, until peas are Throw bay leaf away.

There you have it! Ricky's favorite dish! I don't know if my kitchen skills are up for this, but if you're brave enough, give it a try and pass the recipe along. I'd love to hear how this turns out so keep us posted.

*******DON'T FORGET, THERE'S STILL TIME TO ENTER THE CONTEST SO CHECK THE SIDEBAR TO THE RIGHT OR GO THROUGH THE OLDER POSTS TO FIND THE CONTEST. EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN I LOVE LUCY'S FIRST SEASON ON DVD!BE SURE TO TELL ANY OTHER LUCY LOVERS THAT YOU KNOW TO ENTER!
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More quotes from Lucy

"Heaven, no. I was shy for several years in my early days in Hollywood until I figured out that no one really gave a damn if I was shy or not, and I got over my shyness."

"I don't do T & A very well because I haven't got much of either"

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced"

I don't know about you, but these seem like things to live by!

Lucy's Jewels to be auctioned - Some proceeds to go to Museum at Jamestown!

Celebrity jewels are being auctioned this fall. This sale will be held in New York City on October 16 and will include more than $25 million worth of jewels including some of the property from the estate of our beloved Lucy. This awe inspiring collection features some signed jewelry by Van Cleef & Arpels including a yellow sapphire and diamond necklace, a pair of earrings and a ring. A portion of the proceeds from this collection go to the The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, New York.
Also being sold will be a variety of important diamonds including a diamond estimated to sell for $2,300,000-$2,500,000 and several other colored diamonds such as a pear-shaped fancy blue-gray diamond of almost 8 carats estimated to sell for $1,000,000. There is also a pear-shaped fancy orangy-yellow diamond of 12.55 carats with an estimate worth of $800,000-$1,200,000.
One of the favored piece of the 40-piece collection is a brooch by the Tiffany & Co. Shaped like a Maltese cross with a stained glass design of sapphires, gold and diamonds around a central square-cut aquamarine, this gorgeous piece weighs in a almost 20 carats and has an estimated value of $15,000 - $25,000. Here's a picture. It would have looked beautiful on Lucy!

Not Exactly I LOVE LUCY, but still our favorite redhead...

I know some readers of this blog are not only I Love Lucy fans but are just fans are anything that Lucy did in her long and wonderful career. In light of that, I thought I'd let you know about the release of the first season of the Here's Lucy show. This is the one Lucy did with her kids, Lucy and Desi Jr. The full first season on DVD goes on sale in a couple of days, August 25.
Look for the price to be somewhere around $29.99 or so.