Ian and I went to my mom’s house in Oregon for Christmas and my whole family was there. Even my dad, who has been divorced from my mom for 20 years. Ian’s mother Terry was there also, with my brother Jonathan and his girlfriend Tami with her daughter Nicole (who has gotten me into knitting again), and my twin Caroline and her girlfriend Trish. A full house!!!! My mom is an excellent cook, so she had scrumptious (vegan and non vegan) meals for us everyday and we played a lot of games (Charades, 20 Questions, The Dictionary Game, Scrabble). In terms of gifts, we all had decided to not go overboard, so each of us just bought for one person. My sister got me a black turtleneck and a pair of very cool high heel non-leather black boots (“These boots are made for walking” boots!).

On Christmas day, we all went to my brother’s house (he lives in Oregon also) and Tami made the most delicious desserts: some vegan (she and Jonathan are both vegan – he is, in fact, my animal rights inspiration) chocolate pudding/cake thing that is just to die for (definitely my new favorite food) and a pumpkin cheesecake that was as good as any cream cheese-egg-cream-butter one. The cookbook they use is “How it all Vegan” (that is a pun- pronounced “vegan” like “began”…. I didnt get it at first because I pronounce vegan “veee, hard g, an”, in case any of you are interested in some really yummy cooking.

I hope you had as lovely a holiday as I did! Thank you for writing!

Alexandra

“Rough Air” is a TV movie (it will probably air on cable here in the US) about a pilot (Eric Roberts) who has to fill in to fly a plane across the Atlantic, even though he has been suspended from flying by the airline. I am the head flight attendant and his ex-girlfriend, and of course midflight we encounter a major problem (I cant tell you exactly what – it will give it away) and we have to try to land the plane even though we are over the middle of the ocean. Suffice to say that we have a convicted murderer on board and a bunch of unhappy passengers….

It was alot of fun to shoot, mostly because the cast and the director (Jon Cassar) were so wonderful. We filmed in Toronto, on the set that “Pushing Tin” used. We were indoors on that set the whole time except one day (which was actually nice since it can get very cold in Toronto in November). And it was the first time I have ever done a film in the same outfit the whole time, which wasnt too bad either (my flight attendants uniform was pretty nice, although I didnt wear the requisite heels that much – I am wearing pink cuddly comfy slippers in most scenes, because you cant see my feet on film!)

Behind the scenes tidbit: I had an awful coldsore above my upper lip when I started the show that, thanks to the makeup artist Marlene and good lighting by Derek, was pretty well covered. Hopefully you wont be able to spot it in the final product…..yikes. I did a film in 1990 (Prey of the Chameleon) in which I had four coldsores in the course of a month, so they had to keep darkening my lipstick to cover them. To match, the makeup artist put more on my eyes too, and the most frequent comment I get for that film is “you sure are wearing alot of makeup for a cop” (I tell them that I was a Texas cop, and they wear more makeup down there, but it usually doesnt wash!). Sigh.

I hope that wasnt more than you wanted to know, William! Thank you for writing and I hope you enjoy “Rough Air” when you see it.

Happy New Year! Alexandra

What a terrific question!

Bamboo is actually a grass, not a wood, and it grows much more quickly than trees do, so when you harvest it for human use it replaces itself very fast. I also think it is less destructive to cut bamboo than to cut down trees: with trees you have alot of soil erosion after you cut ( the trees’ root system holds the ground well and the trunks and branches dissipate the force of the rain) which means topsoil loss and silting in rivers. Also, it takes a long time for a tree to regrow, meanwhile alot of habitat has been lost for animals and birds, disrupting an entire ecosystem. Because bamboo grows so quickly, there is less shock to the ecosystem. And there is no “old-growth bamboo” to cut down, like there are old growth trees that are coveted (and chopped down) by the timber industry, but are so essential to our ecosystem.

I want to get a new floor in our guest bedroom and Ian and I are seriously thinking about cork flooring. No trees are killed in the harvesting of cork: a tree must be at least 25 years old and can only be “de-corked” once every ten years. This ensures that the cork industry is sustainable, unlike the lumber industry! We really love our bamboo floors, but cork is cozier somehow! It does, however, look like .. well, cork! Flattened cork, actually, and I dont want our guests to have flashbacks about their grade school bulletin boards while they stay with us! But it is a very environmental alternative to wood flooring or even carpet, and we like to support those products.

I hope I answered your very excellent question with a clear explanation.

Best wishes for a healthy, happy and loving 2001.

Alexandra