Osmond has dealt with a number of other trials in recent years — her mother died in 2004 after a 2 1/2-year illness; her Provo house caught fire in 2005; she was hospitalized for a reaction to medication in 2006.

In recent years, Blosil has battled a brain tumor. Osmond says her husband is in good health and doing well — "We got some good news last week," she says — but she won't say any more than that — "He doesn't want me to talk about it," she says. "He's been very sick."

She is philosophical about the many trials she has faced.

"That's life. That's what everybody goes through. We've been through a lot of stuff. You can feel sorry for yourself or you can say, thank you, it was a wonderful learning experience that gave me compassion for people."

Osmond is weighing several offers for her next career move, depending on her health, but she turns reflective when she considers where she's been.

"It's been an amazing run, especially for a female," she says. "Women don't have long careers in this business."

Her Dec. 22 concert date will be a homecoming for her, a rare appearance on stage in her home state. As the conversation wound to a close, she wanted to talk again of her show in Salt Lake City.

"I'm looking forward to it," she says. "I hope people will come. Tell the people in Salt Lake that if they want to do something other than the mall, if they want to get away and have some fun, to come to the concert. I put my reputation on the line. You will walk away with the holiday spirit."

She also noted, "It will probably be a long time before I come back to Salt Lake City. We're going to pull the bus up to my house and get off."

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E-mail: drob@desnews.com