Tuesday, July 28, 2009

RESEARCH PROJECT PLEASE HELP

I've decided to do some research to help me make decisions about my future career, and I hope you will help. Thanks to the support of many Christmas decorating enthusiasts, "The House on Christmas Street" has become somewhat popular in a sort of "underground" way, playing at houses all over the world. I've received a lot of email from folks who love the song and some who have said that it really tells their story (thank you!!) but I really don't have any kind of numbers about who has used it, who is planning to use it, or who has even heard it, so I'm going to post this survey here and also on Planet Christmas and some other websites. The results of this research will help me decide whether or not to venture into producing a House on Christmas Street children's book, t-shirts and sweatshirts, bumper stickers, etc.
Please take a few minutes to help me out by answering these questions:
1. Have you heard the song "The House on Christmas Street?"
2. If you answered "yes" to #1, where did you hear it?
3. Have you used the song, or are you planning on using the song, in your own home lighting project?
4. Would you personally be interested in purchasing t-shirts, sweatshirts, or any other kind of licensed item connected with the song?
5. If the answer to #4 is "yes", then what kind of items would you be interested in?
6. Would you be interested in promotional items such as bumper stickers or buttons to hand out to your visitors that say something like "I've Been to The House on Christmas Street?"
The next question is for those of you who raise money for charity through your home lighting display:
7. Would you be interested in offering "House on Christmas Street" items to your visitors in return for a contribution to the charity of your choice?
8. any comments about the song or these potential plans?
You may send your answers to this survey to me personally at judy@judypancoast.com or you may post them here as a comment. As a small token of my appreciation, I will send an mp3 of the song to everyone who sends a request to me judy@judypancoast.com
.Thank you VERY VERY MUCH for helping me with this project.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Weeeeeeiiiiiirrrrrrddd

Just wanted to pop in quickly here and say that I am alone at the radio station here in the middle of the night, and a mouse just ran through the studio.
Somehow I don't think Karen Blake is going to like this when she gets here!!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Travel Tips

Today I am in Solon, Ohio and this morning I will perform my last show of this tour. I have had a wonderful time and enjoyed meeting so many new people. I want to thank those of you who have taken the time to visit my website and also who have downloaded my music. I really and truly appreciate your support.
After the show today I will make the 11-hour drive home, but before I head out, here are some travel tips I have learned on the road:

-PRICELINE.com! Naming my own price got me Motel 6 rates at three star hotels on this trip. I HIGHLY recommend it.
-AUDIOBOOKS from the library: I got several before I left and they have kept me entranced during my many hours of driving.
-ROADSIDEAMERICA.com: Hands down my favorite website for planning a trip. If you and your family like to see the oddball things that are out there on the American Road, by all means visit that website. Seeing a lot of this stuff is a great testament to the ingenuity and wackiness of the American Spirit, and it's just plain fun!
-McDONALDS! One measly dollar for a 32-ounce drink all summer, and 99% of the time the soda is mixed correctly (unlike at convenience stores, which are often cheaper but you never know what you're going to get).
-COOLER: I always take a cooler with me and fill it up with ice at the hotels. I keep it stocked with milk, water, fruit and soda
-CEREAL: I had a box of munchable cereal in the car at all times. It's a healthy driving snack...and way better for you than chips, crackers or pringles!
-STARBUCKS! Hooray for free wi-fi on the road. A lot of places advertise that they have wi-fi but then they charge you for it once you get in there. Beware! Starbucks wi-fi is free as long as you have a registered Starbucks card.
-DUNKIN DONUTS: never eat at a Dunkin's outside of New England. I've never had a drink mixed correctly at any DD outside of my home area.
-GOLDEN CORRAL: Usually a great place to pig out if you are only going to have time for one meal that day. I've never found one in New England but they're all over the place in the west.
-TAKE THE SURVEYS- If you are selected on a restaurant receipt to take a survey, then take the 15 minutes and do it. I got several codes for $$$$ off restaraunt meals just by doing this.
-SEND POSTCARDS TO KIDS: Kids LOVE to get postcards. Before you leave, stock up on postcard stamps and ask the families of children you love to give you some of their return address labels. Keep them with you, and when you are traveling, find the most fun postcards from the places you visit. Write a few lines to the child or children, slap on a stamp and address label, and you've given that child a special treat that they may keep for a lifetime (I still have a stack of postcards that my big sister sent me when she traveled across the country when she was 19 and I was 7!)

Okay...that's all I can think of and I gotta go. Take care and wave to me if you see me on the highway today. I'll be the one with the license plate that says KQQ-KQQ!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Texas Hospitality

I had a wonderful day in Texas today!!
I spent the night just outside of Amarillo and drove into Dallas this morning. This is my second time coming to Dallas, and I still won't make it to Southfork Ranch. One of these days!
I was invited by the Christmas Lights Community folks to perform at the Park Forest Community Pool where they were having their meeting this evening. I had a nice little crowd of (mostly) girls who were reluctant at first (most were over the age of nine, and you know how that is!) but by the end they were going just as koo-koo as I was! It was really a lot of fun. The folks have invited me back to perform there again next year, and along with my invitation to go back to Roswell for the UFO festival next summer, looks like I have the beginnings of a 2010 tour already.
As a matter of fact, I've noticed that, outside of my home neighborhood of New England, most of my website "hits" come from Texas. It seems there are a lot of Christmas decorating enthusiasts out here who really like "The House on Christmas Street." So next summer I'm going to plan to have more performances here in the Lone Star State, and hopefully get to meet some of these nice people in person.
So, maybe next summer I'll get to see JR at Southfork after all this time!
By the way,....here's a big shout out to all my Drive-In fans...I'll be back NEXT weekend!!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Still on the Road!

Wow...it's been so busy since we got to New Mexico that there hasn't been any time to write here. We had the most amazing time at the Amazing Roswell UFO Festival! The best part was the parade on Friday night....we were on the Literacy Council float with two boys (brothers) who were being the MEN IN BLACK. They were so sweet and cute! Google was there with us and I sang Take Me to Your Reader about ten times, with the theme from Men in Black in there a few times as well. Google really was the hit of the festival. Everywhere we went people wanted their picture taken with him. He was really glad to be back in Roswell....we looked around and actually found some of his long lost cousins. It was a great time!
If you have never been to New Mexico I really encourage you to visit here some time. They don't call it the "Land of Enchantment" for nothing. The land is mostly flat desert, but then these incredibly beautiful mountains and mesas seem to rise up out of nowhere. The sky is so big you can see the sun come up right at the horizon and go down the same way. And the days are mostly sunny and hot. If you don't like the heat, this is not the place for you...but as for me..I love it!
Louisa and I went hiking in the Sandia Mts. on the edge of Albuquerque one evening. We only went about two miles because we weren't really well prepared (it was king of spontaneous) but it was so beautiful. The ground is really colorful, as if God painted it. And there were lots of huge rock formations with cave like areas that I just had to explore. Next week, after she has flown back home, I'll probably go out there again. So if I don't write again, you know where to look for me!
Today we did two performances. The first was in Truth or Consequences, a funky little town with a cool name. It's right near Elephant Butte state park, which we visited for a couple of hours between shows. It's a man-made lake that's very beautiful, surrounded by mts. and mesas and buttes...very magical!! Also a good place to get a sunburn, which we did, a little bit.
The evening show was in Deming at the Marshall Memorial Library. A lot of people who've seen me there before came back, and that's always a great feeling. A sweet little girl named Cassandra was our ladybug. She didn't want to sing but she made a beautiful ladybug!
We are staying in Deming tonight and tomorrow it's on to Las Cruces. Louisa is leaving me on Saturday (MY BIRTHDAY!!!!) and going back home, then I'll be here by myself, with my last show in NM next Thursday in Tucumcari. Then I'm going on to Dallas for a show, and one last show in Ohio before I go home and do the rest of my shows around New England this summer.
I really appreciate all of the friends who have come out to see me here in New Mexico, and I can't wait to see the rest of you back home!!
And make sure you plan a trip to beautiful New Mexico some time soon!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

On the Road Again

Hello from TULSA!
We are on day four of the tour, which began in lovely Manchester By the Sea in Massachusetts on Monday, with a very well-attended and fun show at the library.
We have been traveling hundreds of miles a day these past few days to make it to Roswell in time for tomorrow's shows...and we are going to do it. Today is actually a light day..only 7 and a half hours in the car! That's a breeze compared to yesterday's THIRTEEN.
Here's some of the cool stuff we've seen on the road so far:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/pet/stiffy.html

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/18225

More soon!
Judy