Design wish list

(Random thought prompted by my current reading, set in 1829). I would like someone to tap me to design a production set in about 1830, the Romantic era.  The women’s hairstyles were something else and would be so much fun to build!

Audition?

The Chief and I went to the vigil mass this weekend and I went ahead and sang the responses.  I was relieved to find that my voice didn’t feel too bad.  I’m not ready for the Met or Broadway, but I don’t think  I’m going to set any dogs to howling or cats to yowling.

Now I’m reconsidering my decision not to audition in a couple of weeks for Merry Widow, which runs at the end of February.  I’ll test things out by going back to choir practice this week.  If that goes well, I’ll fish out some music to audition with.

Livestock

We knew we had mice - had been seeing the evidence (droppings, nibbled bread) and the occasional brown blur - but the rodents are getting bolder.  The other night I spotted one zipping from the kitchen into the dining room (how do they get up so much speed on those tiny legs?) and tonight we saw one in the living room.  The Chief is now setting out more traps.

To quote Mr. Jinks, “I hates meeses to pieces!”

Shiny new fridge!

After the debacle with the freezer, the Chief and I decided it was probably time to replace the 27-year-old fringed.  It was still working but had been leaking water for quite some time.  Rather than wait for it to die on us, we decided to replace it.  We now have a shiny new French-door fridge. We’ll probably be grabbing for a non-existent left-side handle for a while. 😁

Goodbye, Blithe Spirit

Tonight is the final performance of Blithe Spirit.  The Chief is watching the show tonight, after which we’ll collect my things and the wigs and head home.  Striking hair and makeup tonight means I can stay home tomorrow while everyone else strikes the set, costumes, etc.  While I’ll be glad of the break, I’ll be a little sad that I don’t have any further theater adventures on the calendar for the rest of the year.

This is the first time I’ve done different productions of the same show so close together.  I was able to apply what I learned last year, as far as a good gray foundation, while having fun designing slightly different hairstyles for the women.  Among other things, I got to use a couple of styles I didn’t use last year.  I really like how my version of this Bette Davis style turned out.  Better, I was able to find a good gray wig so I didn't need to dye one for Elvira.

As usual, I enjoyed the camaraderie in the dressing room.  This company does 4-week runs, so there was plenty of time for the ladies to cement their rapport.  This was obviously a cast who got along well and supported each other - no divas here.  One of the 2 gentlemen in the cast commented tonight that “this is obviously where the party is.”  Well, with only 2 in the men’s dressing room, it’s bound to be much quieter.

evanescent urticaria

My dermatologist got back to me with a plan for getting rid of these temporary rashes (evanescent urticaria - not nearly as pretty as any of these orchids) that have been plaguing me for weeks, consisting of 2 different OTC antihistamines.  He warned me this could take months (!) but it should work.  With any luck, things will be much better by the time I see him at the end of October.

My endocrinologist assured me this won't interfere with my thyroid med as long as I wait at least an hour after taking the thyroid med to take the antihistamine.

You’d think I’d have the hang of this by now.

So here I am, 5+ weeks post-op, and swallowing is still a problem at times.  It’s only with liquids and smoothies, but I still have to remember to take smaller sips than I used to, and to tuck my chin and turn my head before swallowing.  I don’t know why that tuck-and-turn trick works, but it does.

In other news, these temporary rashes, or “evanescent urticaria”, continue to plague me.  My dermatology appointment isn’t until the end of October but I’m on the waitlist in the event of a cancellation.  I plan to message my dermatologist, of course, but I’m really hoping and praying I can get in soon.

One med gone

Based on yesterday’s bloodwork, my endo tells me I can stop taking the medicine that filled in for my parathyroid while it was recovering from surgery.  Being able to retire one med is a good thing!  She wants me to go back for more bloodwork next week as we continue to monitor my progress.

5 weeks post-op

Because we’re still tweaking my synthroid, my day started with another visit to the lab for blood work.  I’m sure my endocrinologist will let me know if we’ll make any changes this week or “let it ride”.

The Chief and I followed that up with a trip to the toy store, aka Sur La Table, to look for a coffee maker to replace the one that died.  We’ve been making do with a little 4-cup pot, which has been sufficient (I haven’t been drinking coffee now that I have to wait 4 hours post-synthroid to have any calcium) but it doesn’t have an automatic shut-off.  He ended up treating himself to one that has a built-in bean grinder.  That’ll make the house smell wonderful every morning!

As luck would have it, there was a coffee shop across the street, where I had my first latte in ages, along with a very nice chocolate croissant (aka chocolatine, aka pain au chocolat).  And yes, we each got an extra pastry for tomorrow.  It was a beautiful day for it, too - cool enough that we actually needed jackets when we first left the house, and a near-cloudless sky.

I’m starting to regain some semblance of stamina at long last.  Yesterday I managed 15 minutes on the treadmill (variable incline) and today I opted for the stairs going back to the car after our retail adventures and wasn’t the least bit winded, though my thighs did notice the incline when we got into the parking garage.  Not that I haven’t been taking stairs, but this was the first time I didn’t notice them.