staying local for Christmas

The Chief and I just decided that, given the schedule for all his medical stuff, we won't be traveling this Christmas.  I'm disappointed - I haven't been home since my aunt's funeral in February - but as I told the Chief, I want to celebrate Christmas with him.

Hellish tech week

Here I am, doing hair & makeup on another community theater play; just 7 performers in this one.  It's been a tough tech week, though; here it is Wednesday, just one rehearsal left, and the cue-to-cue (usually the Sunday before opening) was tonight!  Worse, this was also the first night w/ costumes and only some hair & makeup for the cast.  Kinda hard to see what your makeup looks like under the lights if you aren't wearing any!  This ain't Broadway; you bring your own supplies, and if you forget 'em, well, that's on you.  The backstage masking is terrible, too; too many places where the audience can see backstage, leaving nowhere for cast or crew to hide.

Tomorrow night is our final rehearsal before they do this for an audience.  Here's hoping we can fix all the glitches...

Yamachiche and Village des Caron

Yep, Village des Caron, no S on the end.  Nine sons of Michel Caron, son of pioneer Robert Caron, settled here, hence the name.  The Chemin des Caron, which runs right past where the Village des Caron used to be, is still there.  Now, though, it just runs past a string of small farms and ends in a cul de sac in the middle of a field (or maybe the line between 2 fields; hard to tell, and we didn't want to risk getting mired in mud to find out).

The (ghost) village is just north of Yamachiche, itself a very small town - one church, one school, no grocery store, and the only gas station is where the main street intersects the nearest highway, on the extreme western end of town.  The one sit-down restaurant is attached to a motel by that lone gas station, is open 24 hours, and is along the lines of Big Boy or Denny's. 

Low-end restaurants, in our limited experience, all seem to run to burgers, pizza, at least one or two pasta dishes, and poutine.  They all have poutine, often in different variations.  Even the Greek restaurant where we had dinner tonight had poutine on the menu.

Another thing we've noticed is that only about half the restaurants seem to be licensed to sell alcohol.  The rest all tell you to bring your own wine, which seems to mean there's at least one liquor store nearby where you can buy a bottle to take to dinner.   We haven't noticed anyone bringing beer; don't know whether that's a social custom, preference, or something else.  Makes me wonder how the liquor laws are written here, and whether we'll see many BYOB restaurants when we get to Quebec.

We attended the vigil mass at Notre-Dame-du-Cap, about 2 blocks from our hotel.  It's a basilica, so it's big, though not as big as other basilicas we've seen.  Which is fine; it means the back rows can still see the altar.  The order of service was a little different; for one thing, they only did two readings, not three.  The second half of the eucharistic prayer didn't match the first half in the missalette, many of the prayers weren't even printed in it, and the hymnals only had the lyrics, no musical notation.  They also recited the Apostle's rather than the Nicene creed, but that's a minor matter.  The Chief said he felt like he hadn't really been to mass because he couldn't follow things but also because it seemed like they skipped things.

The Greek restaurant where we ate tonight was not like the ones we're used to in the States.  Spanakopita was only available as an appetizer, the only lamb was chops, and they didn't offer many of the mains that are standard on Greek menus in the US (no pastitsio, moussaka, fish offerings, or roast lamb).  Our dinners were so filling - served on a bed of Greek salad and fries, with a side of garlic bread - we didn't even consider dessert.  This particular place was also very noisy - the Chief and I didn't bother trying to hold a conversation.  To their credit, though, they squeezed us in even though we didn't have a reservation.

More time in the Archives

We got to the Archives about 10:45 this morning and started right in on researching the Chief's family.  They kicked us out for an hour at noon because they close for lunch, so we ate in a nearby cafe.  Ciabatta sandwiches with ham, brie & apple were very good; only change I'd make would be the bread.  We also split a piece of carrot cake, which was nice and carrot-y and not overly sweet.  A man obviously down on his luck came in while we were eating and the Chief acted in typical fashion.  He went up to a cashier, gave her a $20 and told her to use it for whatever the man wanted to eat, then to give the man the change.

We went back to the Archives for another 2 1/2 hours before packing it in for the day.  We thanked the staff for their help, and Eric reminded us that we'll still have account access when we get to the Archives in Quebec.

We stopped at 2 different grocery stores to pick up things for dinner, then took our haul back to the hotel.  We started with happy hour:  wine (for me) and beer (for the Chief) and cheese & crackers on the balcony.  Beautiful day for it - nice and sunny, with a mild breeze.  Dinner was chicken legs and broccoli salad, followed by an oatmeal raisin cookie (with no detectable cinnamon).

Tomorrow we're off to Yamachiche to see if there's anything worth seeing there and to see a few places named for the Chief's ancestors.  Sure hope the weather holds...

Trois-Rivieres, Quebec

The Chief and I took two days to drive up here.  Ten hours on the road the first day, driving in rain pretty much the whole way.  We pushed all the way to Albany before stopping for lunch, by which time we were SO ready to get outta the car!  That was the worst of it, though; we got into Bennington, VT, around 4 for an overnight stop.  The Autumn Inn is an older, mom-and-pop motel.  Not very fancy, but clean and convenient, and they were very anxious to be sure they complied with our "no down bedding request."

Wednesday we left before breakfast at the motel, but we had some pretzel rolls to eat in the car.  We took our time, stopping briefly in Wilmington, VT (very pretty little town) to get some Dunkin coffee for the Chief and to stop into Our Lady of Fatima church because the architecture caught my eye.

More importantly, we stopped at King Arthur Flour in Norwich!  We got a nosh in the cafe, then went into the store.  The Chief opted for a mini-scone pan and scone mix, while I got a few ingredients and a flour-sack dishtowel.  We went into Norwich proper to top up the gas tank and drop a clothing return at the post office.  What a postcard-perfect little town - very New England.

Crossing the border into Canada was almost a non-event.  We gave the guard our passports & second ID, he asked us where we were going and how long we expected to be in Canada, asked if we had any weapons, and that was it. 

We stopped in Sherbrooke looking for the tourist info office.  It was further into town than we could have wished, and there seemed to be roadwork every other block, but we made it.  It's a tiny little building on the Magog River - lovely view.  We picked up a few brochures, then headed on to Trois-Rivieres.  Waze wasn't working - we learned the next day our phones didn't have connectivity in Canada. (My phone now does.) but Gladys got us to our hotel.

L'Auberge Familiale La Veranda is another older place, not a chain, but the woman who checked us in was very nice, gave us a bigger room than we'd booked, at the same price.  The sprinklers are apparently a retrofit - they only run around the perimeter of the room, so there's one in the shower and one above the upper kitchen cabinet in the kitchenette.  The room is a bit on the warm side, so we've been using the ceiling fans to make it more comfortable.  However, the mattress is nice and firm, and we have not just one, but two small fridges and ample storage.

Yesterday we ventured into downtown Trois-Rivieres.  We started at the tourist info office, got a nice lunch, then went to the Archives, the reason we added Trois-Rivieres to our itinerary.  Archivist Eric Lamothe-Cyrenne was very helpful - showed us how to use their database, got us guest accounts for it that are good until we leave Quebec, pulled out some old maps for us to examine, even helped me with a few French terms.  We finished up around 4, then walked around downtown for an hour or so.

We started at the quay, walking along the water and the waterfront park, then venturing into the neighborhoods, admiring the range of architecture and plantings.  Had the prettiest little orange-and-white cat come up to us while we were exploring the Anglican cemetery. For some reason, he decided *I* needed to give him scritches, not the Chief, the one who's not allergic to cats. I gave in - first time in ages I've dared to pet a cat. (Thanks to liberal application of hand sanitizer, I didn't have a reaction.)  Dinner at Moose Grill & Pub, then back to our hotel for the night.  (Where the Chief binge-watched news about the Kavanaugh hearing and I tried to ignore it.)

Just got my first paid wedding gig!

I had auditioned for a temporary church job, didn't get it because the Chief & I will be on vacation for almost half the time they wanted to cover.  However, the email telling me that also asked if I'd be interested in cantoring a wedding next Saturday afternoon.  Sure thing!  Only cantoring, not soloing, but it pays.  Woo-hoo!  I'm gonna be a wedding singer! 😊

Another Sing-Out!

It's that time again!  Every 5 years, the theater company I keep coming back to hosts a marathon Gilbert & Sullivan sing-along over Labor Day weekend.  You sing through all the music (but none of the dialogue) of all 13 surviving G&S shows.  (Their first collaboration, Thespis, or the Gods Grown Old, survives only in fragments.) 

This will be the 3rd sing-out for which the host company will present one of those shows in a semi-staged, concert version, with a full orchestra on stage w/ the singers, and the principals in costume.  The company chose Utopia, Limited and The Grand Duke for these concerts because those two are rarely done.  When we presented Grand Duke for the first concert production 10 years ago, the response was so positive that we ended up staging it in 2010.  The response to Utopia 5 years ago was similarly positive and apparently the company did consider staging it, but Utopia is harder to cast because it requires so many strong male voices - eleven!

The standard format is to break the shows into blocks for which people can register as participants, or buy tickets as audience members.  Friday night opens with the singing of "Hail Poetry" from The Pirates of Penzance - sort of an unofficial G&S "national anthem," if you will.  Three shows follow.  Saturday is the one full day - a 3-show block in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and the concert production and one other show after dinner.  Sunday wraps up with the remaining 3 shows, traditionally closing with The Gondoliers because the finale lyrics "leave you with feelings of pleasure."

Attendees come from up and down the eastern United States, the Midwest, the South, and sometimes even from Canada and the UK.  You get hardcore G&S scholars and fans, people who are completely new to G&S and the way the "veterans" quote from the shows, and everyone in between.  We have second-generation attendees, couples who met doing one G&S show or another, and people who've built long-distance friendships over Savoynet, the Gilbert & Sullivan Archive, or the International G&S Festival in England (first in Buxton, now in Harrogate).  Knowing a little G&S can serve as a connection when visiting or moving to new places (that's certainly been my experience), even if you've never had an opportunity to perform.  These sing-alongs are a sort of "family reunion" of G&S fans, of course, but also of opera and music lovers, fans of choral music (Sullivan wrote some rich, rewarding ensemble music for his performers), and those who enjoy wordplay of the sort Gilbert did so well.

I've already loaded my scores (including a few duplicates, just in case) into the cart I'll use for Saturday's marathon, got a hotel room booked near the theater, and am looking forward to singing my brains out this weekend! 😁💓🎵🎶🎵

Instagram 001, anyone?

I created an Instagram account a few weeks ago so I could see the makeup creations of someone George Takei posted about, but didn't touch the account again until this morning.  To my surprise, I've got 15 followers!  They must be disappointed in me; I have no clue how to use Instagram and haven't posted a thing.  Guess I'll hafta do an online search to find an Instagram how-to, or reach out to one of those followers for some instruction. 😊

My Facebook friends are all over the map

While the bulk of my FB friends tend left and are anti-Trump, I also have some Trump supporters in the mix.  Many of my more liberal FB friends have been relishing the recent legal problems of so many of Trump's people (Manafort and Cohen being only the most recent), but one of my pro-Trump friends obviously sees it all as a witch hunt, because that person just shared this:

When I started reading, I thought it was going to be a joke; not so.  It'll be interesting to see how things play out as the Mueller probe continues.  What will we all be thinking a year from now - will we still see things so differently, or will conversations finally become more nuanced?

A first - NOT cooking for a dinner party!

We had our annual July birthday party last month; we're now up to three honorees (the Chief and two clergy friends).  The Chief decided he wanted a larger group, of a dozen or so, and didn't want me killing myself in the kitchen.  As a result, we had an Italian restaurant cater the food.  We ordered 2 packages for 8, so we ended up with 2 kinds of salad, 2 pastas, 2 entrees, ciabatta bread, and a tray of single-serving desserts.

It felt so weird to do NO cooking AT ALL for a party.  We did still have dishes to do afterwards,  because sterling, crystal and good china DO NOT go in the dishwasher, but no dishes to do before guests arrived.  That meant we spent more time decluttering the house and generally getting it ready for company.

The woman who brought the food was very efficient in setting up, and easy to work with.  We're glad we have such a big kitchen island - plenty of room for 3 warming-pan racks, both salad varieties, and the tray of mini-desserts.  (The bread went on the table.)  Everyone loved the food, and the company was convivial as always, so the experiment was mostly a success.

I say "mostly" a success because the Chief & I decided that most of the food we ordered didn't keep too well in the warming pans; several things got dried out or rubbery (although the mushroom ravioli was very good).  We also weren't crazy about most of the desserts.  The chocolate things (chocolate-coated cake?) were popular, but I didn't love them; I liked the mini-cheesecakes and cremes brulees, but the Chief didn't; and the little apple pastries were better heated than room temperature.

The restaurant did a good job - had plenty of sturdy plasticware, deluxe paper napkins, at least 2 red-and-white-checked plastic tablecloths (which we declined), and the salads arrived in plastic bowls with fitted lids, not just plastic wrap.  However, because of the warming pan issue, we decided that next time we'd just make big pots of pasta and sauce and a big vat of salad; no need to have dozens of different offerings.

I love bulbs!

Back this spring I bought several pots of spring flowers - 2 pots of mini-daffodils, 1 of small pink tulips, and 2 of larger tulips, also pink.  This morning I planted the bulbs (didn't want to wait until fall).  To my delight, not only had the daffs multiplied, but the tulip bulbs had "sidecar" bulbs too.  I randomized daffs and tulips in the front of the square patch and planted the bulk of the tulips in the corner by the front door.

I also had some seed-looking things from the dried-up tulips, which I planted in front of the hellebore.  Now to wait until next April to see whether they actually produce anything.

I also did a little weeding.  My lone lavender is loving this crazy weather (record heat for 2 weeks, followed by a week of monsoons).  It produces more leaves than flowers, but the flowers have a lovely, if subtle, fragrance.  I may yet plant more next year.

So much for sleeping in...

The 6th Great Gilbert & Sullivan Sing-Out will be held Labor Day weekend.  Sunday morning is scheduled to start with Utopia, Limited, not one of my favorites, followed by Iolanthe and Gondoliers, which are two of my favorites.  I had planned to skip Utopia and sleep in a little; not going to happen.  The joke's on me.  It turns out I'll be singing the lead contralto in Utopia.  That means that not only do I not get to sleep in, but I'll want to get up a little earlier than I otherwise might, to make sure my voice is awake for Lady Sophy. 😵

Called that one wrong

It seems my Grand Duke audition didn't go nearly as well as I thought.  Not only did I not get the Baroness, but I wasn't even offered one of the comprimario roles.  Ah well, chorus will be easy, given that I've sung the show before.  Not getting a role in Grand Duke means I'm still in the running, at least theoretically, for a role in the Sing-Out.  That announcement will be published sometime Wednesday.

FINALLY starting to nail this singing thing

I've gotten a lot of very encouraging feedback on my singing lately.  First was this semester's jury - the panel's comments were generally very positive.

When I sang my jury pieces for a friend who's a professional singer and voice teacher, he was very complimentary about my musicality, breath, line, and more - all the things I've been working on so hard lately.  He capped it with "You were someone who likes to sing.  Now you're someone who sings."  Coming from him, a person who doesn't give compliments lightly, that means A LOT!  I still do a happy dance when I think of it. 😄

I had an audition the other night and used my Handel jury piece, even though I was auditioning for a G&S show, just to show them what I can do nowadays.  The MD got this look on his face that I chose to interpret as "Wouldya look at what she can do!"  The director hadn't heard me in 7 years and commented on how much "fuller" my voice is now.  I told her I'd been working on it and she said, "It shows."

This morning I led the responsorial psalm at mass and had at least 4 people tell me how beautiful it sounded.

I still have a lot of work to do, getting all my technical stuff to be more automatic and "hard-wired," but I'm finally at the point where the years of voice lessons are starting to pay off.

Recipe - modified rapture

While the Strawberry Cream on Shortbread didn't work out - I'll have to come up with something else to give the new neighbors - the berry trifle I took to this evening's party was a big success.  The cream filling was too thick to work down into the cake (layers were cake/filling/berries, repeat), so the cake was a bit dry.  However, it tasted good, and people were ridiculously impressed with how pretty it looked.  I actually had at least 2 people ask if I measured or used a ruler to place the strawberries!  No, I just placed 'em individually instead of throwing 'em in any old how, the way I did with the berries that don't show. 😄

KAF, you failed me!

Today I tried the King Arthur Flour recipe for Strawberry Cream on Shortbread.  The recipe reviews were quite favorable, with no warnings about the filling.

To my disappointment, the berry puree never set up, so when I folded in the whipped cream, the filling thickened but never solidified, even after 3 or 4 hours in the fridge.  I had made it in a springform pan, but didn't dare release it or I'd've had strawberry glop all over the place.  At the Chief's suggestion, I put it in the freezer before we left for a Fourth party at friends'.  When we came back, nearly 4 hours later, the filling was still a bit soupy in the middle!  I have no idea how long the gelatin had been sitting in the pantry; can gelatin lose its effectiveness?

It also didn't have as strong a strawberry taste as we'd expected.  Maybe it needed a bit more sugar; the recipe gave a range on the sugar amount and I went with the lower amount.

I've tried dozens of KAF recipes over the years and have usually been very happy with them.  Unless I can figure out why the filling never set, though, this one falls into the "don't make again" category. 😕

Design calendar filling up

Just in the past month or so, I've added a few shows to my designer's calendar.  The company for which I'm a board member has me doing their July production.  That one should be easy, as the director & costumer are going for a basic, contemporary look - no special effects of any sort.

A local company I've been trying to get in with has asked me to design their January show.  That one should be easy too - only 4 actors, who will be doing their own hair & makeup.  The only thing special I might need to do will be to show 2 of them how to do age makeup.  Like next month's show, once the actors know what to do, I can step back & enjoy the process.  (Not like Patience, which required special attention every night for a few of the cast members.)

In February I'll be doing The Gondoliers for the one company that actually pays me a design fee.  The only possible problem with that one is that I want to audition for it and I learned from The Merry Widow that designing for a show I'm also in can be something of a juggling act.  Ah well, first I'll audition and see whether I'm cast; then I'll worry about the juggling.

The show I'm most looking forward to working on, though, is for a community theater company with a reputation for high standards.  The play includes a couple of special effects that involve blood.  This will be the first time I've worked with stage blood since my stage makeup class 3 years ago.  More, I'll have to come up with a way for someone to bleed onstage that a) won't make a mess and b) won't stain costumes.  This is gonna be a fun challenge!

Census of this year's garden

We went a little crazy with the plants this year.  The Chief decided to turn our rusted-out grill into a planter, so we filled it with dirt and:
- 3 angelwing begonias
- 3 double impatiens in different colors
- 2 browallias (new to me but suggested by someone on the nursery's staff)
- a variegated ivy
- 2 colors of torenia

I put "medium dark red" geraniums (this color's a keeper!) and a fuchsia Rising Star superbell in the railing planter w/ the annuals.  It's only just getting hot enough for the geraniums so it's too soon to tell whether I'll want to use the same combination next year.

The Chief also repurposed one of the clothesline poles into a trellis.  I just planted a Westerplatte clematis (burgundy) on the east side of it and a Ramona clematis (dark lavender) on the west side.

 

He also spent way too much time assembling our new grill (Kingsford, you need to fire or at least retrain the person writing the assembly manual!) and we got the umbrella "planted" in our patio table, so we're all ready for our first cookout of the season.

Out of the 21 ice plants (delosperma) I put in the front yard, only about 14 or 15 are growing or at least hanging in there.  Fortunately, the nursery will let me return the dead ones!  I do have to dig 'em up and take them back w/ the receipt, but they'll refund the purchase price.  My first choice would be to buy more ice plants; here's hoping they still have some.

What is it with January?!?

The Chief's BIL died of his cancer in mid-January and his widow, the Chief's sister, was put on hospice for hers at about the same time. This is 3 years running that we've had loved ones die, nearly all of them from cancer, in January.  And the Chief's mother got her terminal diagnosis in January.  T.S. Eliot was wrong: April isn't the cruelest month; January is, at least for us.

This year's garden

Our neighbor to the south had to take down a big maple that was between our driveways.  We were hoping that would mean more sun on the tomato bed, but it doesn't look like that'll be the case.  Oh well, I put in 5 tomato plants anyway:  2 Sweet 100s, 1 golden (something), a Steakhouse, and another larger variety.  I also planted an onion that had sprouted; we'll see if it actually grows.

No purslane or sunflowers this year; instead, I've got lantana in the pot I used for lantana last year, and 2 other colors of lantana in the majolica planters that had sunflowers last year.  I'm looking forward to LOTS of butterflies and hummingbirds this year! 😊

I'm putting just 4 pots on the front steps this year.  One pair has angelonia, a tall white flower; melampodium, a short yellow one, and a "quartz mix" verbena that I hope will sort of split the difference between the angelonia and melampodium.  The other pair of flower pots has marigolds from last year's seeds.  I was delighted (and relieved) to see that the seeds started sprouting just a few days after planting.  I'm looking forward to seeing how they do.  One thing's for sure; as long as I keep harvesting seeds and am happy with the varieties I've got, I'll never have to buy marigolds again.

The biggest project so far was digging up a considerable section of the front corner of the yard next to the driveway and a smaller corner by the front door and putting in 21 ice plants (3 or 4 different varieties).  Eventually I want to have the whole patch planted with ice plant so it doesn't need mowing, but that's going to take a few years.  Buying enough plants for the whole patch -  as many as 100 bedding plants! - is more than I want to tackle (or spend) in a single year!

I have two pots of citronella, sold as "mosquito plant".  Maybe it'll keep 'em away, maybe not, but if they don't, at least I'll have 2 pretty plants that smell nice.  I also have some herbs.  My established oregano came back even after it got deadheaded last fall, and I also got a tiny seedling of a syrian variety of it from the local listserv.  I'm trying rosemary yet again, in the same spot as last year.  (I'm ever the optimist.)  In addition, I've got 2 curly parsley plants, 2 basil plants, some thyme, and I want to get some mint to replace the spearmint, which didn't come back this year.

The newest garden project was the Chief's idea.  The grill was so badly rusted out that we had to buy a new one.  We hadn't gotten as far as figuring out what to do with the old one when the Chief saw the flat of bedding plants I had set on the shelf of the old grill and decided to turn the old grill into a planter.  He got some sheet metal to reinforce the bottom and cover the rusted-out places that would be below the dirt line, chose purple for the paint, and is leaving it to me to decide what to plant.  Because he wants to leave the grill in a spot n the backyard that gets shade most of the day, I'll probably go with some combination of begonias, impatiens, coleus, maybe some torenia or asparagus fern.

When you're retired...

Oh, the joys of retirement.  The Chief had his one-year post-op checkup today, after which we stopped for a nice, leisurely lunch.  SO nice to be able to do that sort of thing without having to take time off work. 😊

Kid with a new toy :)

The Chief asked me what I wanted for a graduation/Christmas present and I decided on a food processor.  I found that clean-up wasn't as bad as I'd feared, and we managed to find space to store the thing, but what really converted me was when I made salmon spread for our Christmas party.  (The Chief let me open my present early so I could use it for party prep.)  It takes a long time and a lot of elbow grease to mix the salmon & cream cheese thoroughly by hand.  My new Cuisinart did a more thorough job, and did it in 30 seconds, if that!  It also did a nice job on cookie dough.

Earlier this week I used it to shred cabbage for unstuffed cabbage rolls (I like to make batches of this to have in the freezer for lunches), and today I used it to shred carrots and sweet potatoes for orange soup and sweet potato-black bean chili (more "freezer food" - I'm restocking the freezer this week now that the semester has begun).  I know I've barely scratched the surface of what I can use my food processor for, but I'm beginning to realize why so many people swear by theirs.

Orange soup is something I made up, named for its color, not because there's any citrus in it.  I don't us a recipe so much as instructions:  Sautee onion and garlic in some evoo, add butternut or any other winter squash (I like to use the frozen pureed stuff because it's both easier & cheaper than the cut-up stuff in the store, which goes for $5.99/lb!), a can of pumpkin, a carrot or few, and a sweet potato or two.  I throw in 1/2 tsp of garam masala, let it simmer for a coupla hours, puree it, and freeze in single-serving containers.  When I want some protein, I throw in some thawed salad shrimp for the last minute or two of heating.  Yum, yum, yum!

Wig laundry

I'm designing hair & makeup for The Merry Widow, set in 1895.  Almost none of the women in the cast have hair long enough to approximate 1895 styles, which means wigs for the rest of us.  Fortunately, the company has dozens.  After spending a few hours going through them all, I found 7 that might work.  However, you can tell they've been stored in a non-climate-controlled space (musty at best), which means I wanted to wash them before making anyone wear them.  Here's a kitchen sink full of wigs:

And here are 6 of them, set out to dry: