Oops!

Friday was a first - I missed my stop because I was too engrossed in my book. All of a sudden I heard the conductor announcing an unfamiliar stop and looked up to see a name I didn't recognize, so I checked the map - yep, 2 stops past where I shoulda gotten off. And of course I realized this as we were leaving that station, so I had to ride to the next one to turn around and head back. Just as insurance, I gave up my seat a stop early so I had nothing better to do than people-watch and keep an eagle eye out for my stop.

The book? Aunt Dimity and the Duke, by Nancy Atherton.

The fantasy was nice while it lasted

Which was about 24 hours. Got the call this afternoon, offering me a place in the ensemble. The director was so apologetic, complimenting my singing and such, that I kinda felt sorry for him. Ah well, that's community theater demographics at work - as the director put it, there are only so many roles to go around. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing that yesterday he would have given me a lead quite happily.

The gentleman who played Samuel when I was in Pirates last year has been cast as the evil king. He's got a nice, rumbly bass voice, so I'm sure he'll sound OH, so scary & evil! He got some practice playing a bear in a Fringe show this summer; a foretaste of thing to come.

The ASM was in Merry Widow with me earlier this year and told me yesterday that the company "took me in and were very welcoming", which is why he's done so many shows with them. That certainly matches up with my experience yesterday. I'm looking forward to working with this group, and to doing my first British panto - it promises to be a lot of fun.

Another audition, at last

Had my first audition since, oh, April this afternoon, for a traditional British pantomime, or panto. The turnout seemed to be an exaggerated model of the community theater demographic; I thought I heard someone say they'd had only one man audition (auditions continue tomorrow)! However, I think I stand a good chance of getting something more than chorus. My song felt good, and the room's acoustics made my voice feel oh, so big - always a good feeling. The director had 2 of us read together and complimented both of us on our acting. He had us read a scene between the members of a comic duo, and had each of us read another role. I got to read the evil queen. I'd love to play a villain; I think that would be fun.

I expect to hear by tomorrow night, given that the tentative rehearsal schedule they gave us shows the first rehearsal scheduled for Monday night!

Great place for history geeks

The Chief & I just got back from a long weekend in Williamsburg. We got a B&B a block from the historical area, so we were able to spend a LOT of time wandering among the 18-century buildings, both original and reconstructed. We got tours of at least 6 different buildings. Each "interpreter" has his or her own style and emphasizes different aspects of a building's history, but there's enough about how the building was used and what the layout, decoration and furnishings say about the occupants to make me very happy.

I loved talking to the weaver who explained why fabric was rarely more than about 45" wide, and the woman who explained that in the 18th century the colonists were very definitely not self-sufficient. The sheep they took with them were great for eating, but their wool was too short to be very good for weaving. The Egyptian variety of cotton didn't grow in Virginia and the kind that did, had way too many seeds per boll, all of which had to be picked out by hand. (No cotton gin yet, after all.) I think even the Chief found it interesting.

We walked our feet to nubs every day, so we had no trouble falling asleep each night, but I think we managed to see nearly everything we wanted to. The weather was absolutely perfect - a little cool for September, no humidity worth mentioning, clouds but no rain on Saturday, and sunshine and lovely breezes on Sunday. It was all so lovely that the Chief is now talking seriously about looking into moving down there once I retire (whenever that may be). I don't know if I want to pick up stakes & move after nearly 30 years in the same area, but I'm willing to at least consider the possibility.

On the other hand, "move" and "pack" are 4-letter words...

Adventures in voice

My voice teacher told me at my lesson yesterday that she's given up on having a studio recital this year. It got to be entirely too difficult simply to find a date that everyone could make, including the all-important accompanist. Now her plan is to get past the turn of the year and try to lock in a date. Then, if people can't make it, "That's too bad; perhaps you'll be able to join us next year."

In related news, I had a good lesson yesterday. Last week's was pretty rocky - only to be expected after a month off. Yesterday was another story, however; I was remembering all the technical things I'm supposed to do, the voice was remembering that yes, it can hit those Fs and Gs and such, my teacher was very pleased with my phrasing and delivery and even told me that "that was beautiful!" The chest voice is still much too new to be anything approaching easy, but I'm starting to figure out where the "sweet spot" is between too far down in my chest and too far forward (which gets nasal).

Not having the recital looming large (latest date was gonna be Oct. 4th) changed how my lesson went. Not quite so much push to polish my technique on my 2 would-be recital pieces, and now we can spend next week's lesson picking audition material (I'm looking at one audition coming up a week from Saturday and another sometime in October).

A fern fanatic in the making?

I may have to watch myself, that I don't become a fern addict. Having seen that they're pretty forgiving plants, easy to grow, shade-loving and largely deer-resistant, I've been planting quite a lot of them this year. The nurseryman out at the cabin is broadening his selection; when Mom & I went by there yesterday, he had more varieties than he did just last week. I love the novelty of the Frizelliae - the fronds look like they're strung with innumerable tiny fans (although most of the sites I checked describe them more as "green pearls"). The E. Indian holly fern is a rich, dark green with yellow along the main rib, the autumn ferns are just starting to turn colors, and I got a tassel fern hoping it'll be a nice contrast to the others.

I've also bought lady ferns and royal ferns this year, and Branford ramblers and a few others last year, though some of those didn't come back. (The deer mostly leave ferns alone, but apparently they find the new, tightly curled fronds quite tasty.)

The Chief wants to build a few more raised beds out at the cabin. One actually will get more sun than shade, so he'll probably put in a summer ice plant or two. The other will run across the base of the deck; perfect place for more ferns & hellebores.

I'm considering dropping some daffodil bulbs into the new beds if we get out to the cabin again before it gets too cold. I put 2 cardinal flowers in the sloped bed along the long side of the foundation of the addition for a shot of red amid all that green, but the daffodils will bloom earlier in the season. As long as they can cohabit peacefully with the hellebores & ferns, those beds should look very nice indeed next year.

The ferns I bought yesterday got planted here at the house. The 2 Frizelliae went in behind the hellebores in the bed next to the a/c compressor, while the 2 autumns, 2 E. Indian hollies and the token tassel went into a bed between the driveway and the house that already has one fern (no idea what variety that one is; might be a Branford rambler).

That stretch is one of the beds the Chief bordered this spring and now is quite the mixed bed - working from left to right, or from the front of the house to the rear, we have: a bright fuchsia impatiens; the toad lily the nurseryman gave me as a bonus after I loaded up on hellebores & ferns; a chunk of lilies-of-the-valley that I transplanted from an even shadier spot in hopes that they'll actually bloom; and an assortment of daylilies, vinca, some purple flower whose name I don't know, and the ferns I planted there this year.

I was quite busy in the garden - in addition to planting all those ferns, I moved one hellebore from the Chief's calladium bed to the hellebore bed, where it replaced one that had died. One of the 3 I bought yesterday ended up in the only empty spot in the bed under the mailbox. With luck, that will fill in the last possible spot in that bed that the local kitties could use as a litter box. (The other 2 hellebores I bought yesterday went into the stepped bed at the cabin, filling a couple of empty spots.) I even planted the huge potted mum we got from one of the guests at last weekend's party out at the cabin. Now we've got a nice, big splash of yellow on that side of the house.

Funny, I don't usually get the urge to plant in the fall, but I did have fun getting good and dirty setting all those plants. The house next door just went on the market Friday and a realtor was showing the place this afternoon as I was out there weeding, digging holes and generally making a mess. Hope I didn't scare 'em off!

I know my "gardening muscles" will hurt tomorrow, and I fed a surprising number of biting insects despite the bug spray, but it was worth it.

And if the Chief does indeed get those additional beds built next spring, then I guess I'll be forced to go back to "our" nurseryman and get more ferns. Wonder what new varieties he'll have in stock by then?

Good & bad together

The weekend at the cabin was a little rocky, as my dad's personality can be off-putting, but we had good weather and a very nice dinner last night.

Mom & I went to the neighborhood nursery, where I picked up 3 more hellebores and several ferns (E. Indian holly, Frizeliae, Autumn and Tassel). Probably because the Chief & I have been such good customers this summer, the nurseryman didn't charge me for the 2 Cardinal flowers (lobelia cardinalis) I picked up, and even gave me a toad lily that's got about half a dozen open blooms, with several buds on it.

Bad news: Mom told Dad, the Chief & me Friday night that one of my brothers-in-law just learned he's got early-stage prostate cancer (and he's only in his 50s!). I talked to said BIL this afternoon and he sounds pretty positive, especially as the doc seems to think they found it early enough that the prognosis is excellent.

Sad news: a gentleman I knew through both social dancing and community theater just died Friday. He'd had a good, long run, but he'll be missed.

Good news: Learned that a friend will be directing a show for one of the companies I work with. Now to work up a really good audition for that show, so I can get into it.

Observing Labor Day weekend

The Chief & I had an open house at the cabin Saturday afternoon. We had perfect weather for it, so the 18 or 20 guests could enjoy the breezes and the view out on our deck. Yesterday we spent much of the afternoon on the "open house tour" the development runs on Memorial Day & Labor Day weekends. Again, good weather for it, and when we can do the tour, we like to see what other people have done with their places, get contractor recommendations, and generally take advantage of the opportunity to compare our place with the others there. (We usually end up deciding that our place is ever so much nicer than anything else in the same category and proceed to count our many blessings.)

I came back this afternoon and am avoiding getting ready for the work week, while the Chief remains out there getting the place ready for my parents, who will be arriving Wednesday. I'll only get to see them for the weekend, while the Chief will get to entertain them until they leave again Monday morning. Good thing he gets along with them, and they think he's great!

And as a fitting end to the weekend (this one's for you, Mom):

Frazz

"Little Nell"?

We recently hung up a hummingbird feeder out at the cabin and started getting visitors almost immediately. Unfortunately, they weren't all hummingbirds - we also get a lot of wasps or hornets or whatever they are. More often than not, any of these vespids will chase off any hummingbirds who dare to try to feed on what we put out for the birds, not the bees.

The Chief doesn't like these bullies, and will sometimes grab the flyswatter and go outside to do battle, nearly always coming back in with at least one or two more "kills" to his credit. (He has yet to be stung; I hope he can continue that record!) These sallies generally arise when he looks out the window to check the feeder and sees that "Little Nell is under attack!" For some reason, he decided to name the hummingbirds after a flying James Bond gadget of the same name, which the Internet tells me was featured in You Only Live Twice.

Anyone out there in the blogosphere who knows how to discourage bees, wasps, hornets and the like from freeloading at our hummingbird feeder?

Another skill gleaned from community theater

Last night the Chief & I reported to a local community theater to help with their set. Their The Foreigner opens a week from tomorrow. The play is set in a fishing lodge or something like that; the wide "planking" of the walls already looks quite impressive. While the Chief helped with the power-tool work (I think he deliberately didn't wear painting clothes so he could play w/ the power tools), I spread a bit of paint around.

Painting the front of the main platform was nothing special, but when it came to doing the door frames, I got to learn a new technique - creating wood grain! Seems there's this special tool that the internet tells me is called a "graining rocker". Drag it through the wet stain, rock it occasionally to make "knots", and there you go - even close up, it looks like real wood grain.

We also got to see the director during a rehearsal break. He's the same person who directed me in Birdie 2 years ago, and for whom the Chief & I both teched Godspell. As the set designer and another painter and I were saying, this is someone for whom you'd do a bit more, just because he makes absolutely sure you know he appreciates you.

The actor who played Albert Peterson to my Mae Peterson is in this show (at least the 4th time he's worked with this director; he loves him too) and we got to see him during the same rehearsal break, when someone brought him on stage to show him where some of his entrances will be. When he spotted me, he lit up and cried "Mama!" I wonder if he remembers my name? :D

Clever doc

Thursday I almost included a bit of fingertip among the dinner ingredients. The doc who steri-stripped it told me I'd have to keep it clean & dry for 5 days. In addition to more steri-strips, he gave me a few exam gloves, with instructions to cut off a finger and slide it over the "patient". So far it works just fine - I waited until after showering to change the "glove" and was surprised to see how well it worked. And it's so easy - no trying to juggle ointment & bandaids w/ one hand.

Yes, it's too early to think of Christmas but...

The leader of my church choir has been soliciting music suggestions for the Advent & Christmas seasons. One of our members, after protesting that it's still August, still summer - too soon! went on to suggest a parish Christmas carol party. Any interested parties could just show up in the church social hall, free to bring instruments, voices and perhaps snacks, and we could sing ourselves hoarse. I think that sounds like a WONDERFUL idea! I sure hope it happens.

I don't know if the Chief would come - he's not much for singing. However, if I can assure him that some of the parishioners will be bringing their babies and toddlers, I'm sure I'd have NO trouble persuading him to attend with me.

Is Facebook "ruining" blogs?

Have you noticed that some of your favorite blogs aren't being maintained as they once were? Ever wonder if perhaps the writer is posting status updates to Facebook instead?

When I go days (or a week or more) without a blog post, it's usually due to one of these reasons: 1) nothing new to write about ("geez, again with the plants!"); 2) too busy, or busy recovering from being busy, to write. I don't have internet access at work (Uncle Sam doesn't want us checking Facebook or shopping on line on the taxpayer's time), but obviously lots and lots of my FB friends do, or are still on summer break or otherwise have more time for FB than I do. Seeing how often some of them update their status makes me wonder if that's taking the time they used to spend blogging...

Another FB phenomenon I'm sure you've noticed along with me is the number of FB "friends" who are people you don't know all that well, if at all. Sure, we all have someone we can call in the wee hours in a crisis, but how many of your hundreds of FB friends fall into that category? Some of my FB friends are people I did a single show with, X years ago. That's OK, as long as they don't mind that I've blocked all the quizzes and nearly all the apps. But I do wonder sometimes why someone I haven't heard from or laid eyes on in a number of years wants to "friend" me - (brings back of hand to forehead with a melodramatic flourish) am I nothing more than a notch on their FB belt? :-)

Rearranging the furnit-, um, flora

Chief mowed the front lawn today, decided it was too humid to do the back. Instead, he decided this would be a good day to plant the hellebores we bought a coupla weeks ago. (North side of the house, so at least we were working in shade.) He dumped in a big bucket of compost and 2 bags of real topsoil (the stuff we'd bought at the exchange was mostly clay!), mixed it all up, then dug holes so I could install the hellebores. I also moved another one over from another bed. One of the new hellebores was looking awfully sickly; we're hoping it'll revive now that it's properly planted.

The Chief had dug up what's probably lilies of the valley and moved them to build the bed we just populated. I took the displaced plants and put them in the hole left by the hellebore I moved, then dug up a fern that was hanging in from last year and put it in the bed along the driveway. Assuming it continues to hang in there, it'll be the first of a variety of ferns I want to plant in that bed. Ferns will certainly be an improvement over the weeds that occupy most of that bed, along with some vinca and a few daylilies.

Where did the evening go?!?

Came home from work and started right into food prep: Brownies for work, salsa for the weekend, veggie lasagne ditto, involving lots of chopping, shredding, grating and other mutilation of vegetables. More friends at the cabin this weekend, need to make sure we can feed the vegetarian as well as the carnivores. But why did I think it would be no big deal doing all this in one night?

Doing our part for the local economy

The Chief and I are planning to put some new windows in the kitchen and went out Friday after I got home from work to see the finalists. We're getting casements! Only "lunch money" more than double-hungs, which surprised me. From there, we went for dinner at my favorite Italian place, where I had the fettucine verde. Spinach noodles, big chunks of eggplant, plenty of ricotta - I love it so much, I almost always order it when we go there. Last stop Ikea, where we got a heapie-cheapie bookcase to use as shelving in our bathroom at the cabin, some $10 folding chairs that we'll use for the open house in a few weeks, and a throw rug to put by the back door to catch the worst of the dirt we track in.

Yesterday we stopped by Borders on the way to E's birthday party because I had several gift cards burning a hole in my pocket. I ended up with 4 CD's (2 musicals, 2 Ella Fitzgeralds) and 6 or 7 books. It was FUN walking outta there with a big bag of goodies, nearly all of them for me! (I did get a few books for friends' new baby.) And I still have one more untouched gift card...

This afternoon, the Chief decided on the spur of the moment that it was time to restock our wine supply, so off we went to buy for ourselves and for the open house. We also stopped in at the Base Exchange to look for a few things. We ended up with a bright yellow metal colander (my grandmother's has long since earned its retirement), a few kitchen gadgets for the cabin, and 3 more CDs, including a 3-disc Dorsey Bros. set. The Chief then wanted to check out Barnes & Noble, where I bought yet another CD and a book for myself and one for a gift. We also stopped into Williams-Sonoma and found tattersall tablecloths on a HUGE sale - nearly 80% off! We took our half-price tablecloth to the register and learned that it was further reduced, so we went back & grabbed the other size and ended up getting both for less than the marked-down price on the larger one. (This is where the textile junkie does her "got a HUGE deal!" dance.)

The things for the cabin are in their "staging area", the books are shelved, the CDs have all been loaded on my iPod, and I can't wait to finish my library books so I can dig into these new ones.

Happy Birthday, both of you

The Chief & I went to a 50th-birthday party Saturday for a friend I've known since we were in our 20s, and I've known E's wife almost as long. Some of the other guests were people they've known even longer. They were smart and ordered in BBQ, then supplemented w/ add'l sides and a wonderful carrot cake from a bakery. (We contributed a home-made peach pie.)

Today I went to a 60th-birthday brunch a former colleague threw for herself. I was a little apprehensive about going when I realized I wouldn't know anyone but the birthday girl (the Chief didn't even know her, so he opted to stay home), but I needn't have worried. I ended up having a nice chat with one woman who promised to e-mail me her pie crust recipe (calls for vegetable oil for the shortening, and soy milk), and a friend or cousin of the birthday girl who teaches "everything!" music at the elementary school level but is also interested in language. Talking food, music, language - lovely! M decided to do this at her synagogue to accommodate the crowd of 40 or so, and they put on a nice little brunch spread - bagels, cream cheese, lox, hummus, some wonderful baba ghanouj, a mixed-greens salad w/ strawberries in it, then an excellent sheet cake & make-your-own sundaes. M's 2 sisters presented a slide show of old family photos starring M - I think we all loved seeing her in ringlets, Mary Janes, and party dresses.

It was fun seeing the similarities & contrasts in the 2 parties and their honorees, and I'm glad I was able to attend both. Happy birthday, both of you.

Touch of theatrical withdrawal

I gotta get to a show soon. I haven't seen anything since my Fringe show closed a couple of weeks ago, and because of planned travel there's no point in my auditioning for anything yet, which makes it a bit sad to have to delete all the audition notices that have started hitting my Inbox. :( A local company is doing Gypsy - maybe the Chief & I will go see it so I can get a theater fix.

Peachy

The Chief bought more peaches this week; a LOT more peaches (3 quarts). Not as ripe as the last batch, but now that I'm once more in possession of the "good" peach pie recipe, I'm sure they'll bake up just fine. Though I still can't find my pastry cloth and rolling pin sock...

Come by the house in a few hours - it'll smell wonderful!

Parties and perambulations

All of a sudden we're looking at a nice string of parties and travel. This past weekend was the block party with our cabin neighbors. This coming weekend brings a 50th and a 60th birthday party, we're planning an open house out at the cabin for Labor Day weekend, and hoping to host my parents there the following weekend.

Travel includes a long weekend trip to Williamsburg, another long weekend at the Outer Banks, and our week-and-a-bit vacation in England, which takes us within shouting distance of holiday trips to NYC and KC.

I don't see how I'll be able to do any shows that open before December at the earliest, which means the Chief won't become a Theater Widower again for a couple of months.