Ode to Barbra

On Sunday morning, I awoke to the sun shining bright (unfortunately, it was -24 degrees Celsius outside!) so I drew open all of the blinds in the house, made myself a cup of tea, put “The Essential Barbra Streisand” cd on my stereo, and sat at the window to soak up the sun rays while I bathed in the sounds of Barbra (she doesn't even need a last name!).  Oh Barbra, how I love you so!  How is it that a brilliant, creative, talented, beautiful stranger woman can bring so much happiness into my life (besides the brilliant, creative, talented, beautiful  women who are actually a part of my life...you all know who you are!)?  Ever since I can remember, I have been in awe of Barbra.  She has been an icon in my life!  An absolute shining star!  As a young girl, I remember my Dad mentioning that one of the most beautiful women in the world (besides my Mom, of course!) was Barbra Streisand.  That had a huge impact on me!  Especially since both Barbra and I have, hmmm, how can I put this gently, huge awkward unusually large big noses!  As a young girl trying to grow into her olfactory organ gracefully, it was comforting to know that I wasn't alone; that I wasn't the only person who was schnozzle-challenged (it might sound cazy to you but your nose is probably in perfect harmony with the rest of your facial features!).  Okay, so I've since grown into my nose but I still love that Barbra has embraced her nose all of these years and has never compromised who she is by getting a nose job (at least, I don’t think she did!).  Barbra, you are beautiful ~ just as you are ~  :P

I'm a huge fan of her music, her movies, her television performances, her charitable contributions (including her own Streisand Foundation!), and her continued dedication to being an advocate for civic engagement, but mostly, I admire her authenticity!  She’s not afraid to discuss her physical appearance, her anxiety, her perfectionist tendencies, or her controlling nature (all of which are sometimes looked upon as negative traits!).  I’m not one to gush over celebrities (please note that I obsess over my Future Husband John Cusack, not gush!) but today is a perfect day to gush over Barbra! 

After sitting for a bit, just listening to Barbra while I enjoyed the sun and my tea, I started my Sunday morning chores (just because I live in a rural community doesn't mean that my chores include milking cows!  I meant water the plants, change the cat litter, do the laundry, dust, vacuum, etc) then I made a pot of homemade vegetable soup, all while Barbra sang to me (yes, to me!).  BFF and NVD (BFF's daughter) stopped by for a visit and a cup of tea then I went over to their house for dinner.  Upon my return home, I watched Funny Girl (what better way to end a day that started with Barbra singing to me than to watch one of her movies!).  Of course, I was too tired to post on my blog after the movie so here I am, on Monday night (Happy Family Day to my fellow Ontarians!), after spending the day shopping for prom dresses with my daughter (she bought one…yay!), I’m blooging blogging about Barbra!  I thought it would be a nice way to relax…watching You Tube videos of Barbra :)

By the way, if you want to know what’s happening with Barbra, you can check out her website  or stalk follow her, as I do, on Twitter (@barbrastreisand). 

Before I start, I’d love for you to share your favourite Barbra song or movie or television performance or moment or memory with me/us (pretty please?).

So having spent the day with Sarah (my pride and joy!), the song “Children Will Listen” is on my mind especially since I love....wait for it...my daughter and the song (not equally, of course!).  The song truly provides great parenting advice (Barbra's not just an icon; she’s a teacher too!).  Doesn’t she look beautiful in this video? 

As you've probably guessed, BFF and I have LOTS in common (check out my blog post "Moobs in Memphis" for a reminder!).  One of those commonalities is our love for each other of Barbra! BFF sings this next song beautifully (having a great singing voice is definitely not one of our common denominators!) so I dedicate it to her. 

It’s staggering how many Barbra songs trigger a memory or define a moment in my life.  For example, the next song was a song that an ex-boyfriend (long, long ago!) played for me on one of our first dates then he asked me to dance with him (oh how quickly relationships start to unravel after these romantic moments!).  Nevertheless, it remains one of my favourite songs.  There's definitely something special between her and Barry Gibb (I don't get it but each to their own!).  I enjoy their pairing so much that I've also included a live performance of "What kind of fool" (oh, you're welcome!).  The first time they sang together in front of an audience was in 1986!

And I just had to share this video of Barbra and Judy Garland...AMAZING!

I don’t think there’s a Barbra song that I don’t love!  Some of my favourites include “All I Ask of You” from Phantom of the Opera and her duet with Josh Groban “All I Know of Love” and her duet with Neil Diamond “You don’t bring me flowers” and her duet with Celine Dion “Tell Him” and…okay, so I better stop because I’ll end up naming each of her songs :P 

She’s not just an amazing singer, she’s also an incredible actress…and she’s pretty funny too!

Don’t you just love the chemistry between her and Robert Redford in The Way We Were?  I love how she touches his hair throughout the movie. 

Or what about the somewhat awkward and endearing chemistry between her and Jeff Bridges (the mathematician!) in The Mirror Has Two Faces?  Did you know that the last scene where the two of them are dancing in the street was unscripted and completely improvised? 

Of course, I can't have a blog post dedicated to Barbra without mentioning "Papa, can you hear me?" from Yentl!  The movie not only starred Barbra but she also directed, co-wrote and co-produced Yentl.  Oh what talent!

My favourite is the song “People” in one of my favourite movies, Funny Girl.  Barbra absolutely shines in this movie!  I believe she won an Academy Award for her performance in this movie! 

Well, it turns out that it's not just “people who need people”.  Here’s a photo of my cat wanting some attention from me while I watched Funny Girl :)

As I’ve mentioned before, my cats demand equal opportunities so here’s a photo of my other cat (P.S. having two cats does not make me a cat lady…not yet, anyways!)

“A human being is only interesting if he’s in contact with himself. I learned you have to trust yourself, be what you are, and do what you ought to do the way you should do it.” ~ Barbra Streisand