Just bought my first leek

I seem to be developing a King Arthur Flour (KAF) company addiction.  Ever since I liked them on Facebook, I keep seeing all these great recipes I want to try.  The latest is for turkey and dumplings, to use up post-Thanksgiving turkey.  Sounded delicious, so that's what's on tonight's dinner menu.

The recipes calls for frozen mixed vegetables, but suggests using "leftover odds and ends" if you like.  One of the veggies they suggest throwing in is leeks.  When I went to the grocery early this morning to pick up a few things, I added a leek to my purchases.  Only problem is, I've seen 'em but never cooked with them.  Thank goodness for the Internet, where I can learn which part to use (the pale part), how to cut them up, and so on.

Between KAF and the Internet, I find I've become a somewhat more adventurous cook.  Doesn't matter if I don't know the first thing about making this recipe or using that ingredient - between the Internet and KAF's wonderful baking hotline, expert instruction is readily available.

Now to clean and prep that leek...

Santa, if you're listening...

I've become a wee bit addicted to King Arthur Flour's sites.  Lotsa recipes to try, but also learning of new kitchen toys, er, tools that I need.  The latest - a bench knife, and a couple of donut pans so I can make their pumpkin doughnuts.  In the meantime, maybe I'll use my mini-bundt pan or a muffin tin until I can get donut pans.

No more squash

I checked my little squash when I got home from work on Friday and was disappointed to see it on the ground; it had fallen or gotten knocked off the vine. :(  I brought it inside, but threw it out yesterday afternoon when I saw it was starting to turn brown.  So much for any hope of getting anything from that attempt at growing my own squash.  It remains to be seen whether I try again next year.

Branching out on the tech side

I've auditioned for lotsa shows since "Daddy's Dyin'" closed in January.  Got a few callbacks, which is always gratifying even though I wasn't cast.  I volunteered to do hair & make-up for one of those shows; set in 1943, I had visions of victory rolls.  That didn't pan out, but I'm still getting a few of the women in period hair, which is fine.  

Today was the first dress rehearsal.  As I told the women I was helping with their hair, today was a "first draft," to learn the specifics of achieving their look, testing it with costume changes and seeing how the colors read under the lights.  There's still some tweaking to do, but the director was happy with how everyone looks, so I'm claiming "victory" in this, my first attempt to do hair or make-up for someone besides myself.

Comments heard upon wearing a dirndl to work on Halloween

I used Halloween as an excuse to wear my dirndl to work today, complete with "ethnographically correct" shoes & socks (which you can't see in the photo).  It was interesting to hear some of the comments:

• "Are you Anne of Green Gables?"  (My hair is neither red nor long.)
• "I'm getting a Little House on the Prairie" vibe".  (Dress isn't ankle length.)
• Coworker 1: "You look like Alice in Wonderland."  Coworker 2:  "No, that's a blue dress." Me: "Only in the Disney version." And coworker 1: "No, it was black-and-white."  (Obviously someone familiar with the wonderful Tenniel illustrations.)
• "You look absolutely precious!"
• "You look like Little Bo Peep."

Judge for yourself:

I called that wrong!

Had my audition Friday night, thought it went pretty well - if nothing else, I managed to make the director laugh a coupla times.  I had fun with the little piece I read (they had a selection of readings for us to choose from) and really enjoyed the dance combo.  That was set to the end of the Pirates of Penzance overture, so the choreographer had us finish with "random swordfighting".  There were 4 of us in my dance group, so we paired ourselves off.  My partner "killed" me, so I had fun dying big; ended up on my back on the floor, legs in the air, which came crashing down on the last chord of the music - hit the "button", so to speak.  Yep, great fun. :D

I was delighted to get an email the next morning inviting me to callbacks for Dame Carruthers Sunday night!  The email directed us to follow the link to the sides & music for the role, and I have a copy of Yeomen, so I loaded Carruthers' music onto my iPod and wore it out.  There were 3 of us being called back for Dame Carruthers, one of whom was a lot younger than I would have expected them to consider.  We all read the side a little differently, and I thought any of the readings could be valid; no clues there.  When we got to the music, I ended up singing first, followed by the other two, both of whom sang quite well.  The director then asked me to start the audition chunk again (though she ended up letting me sing the whole bit), which had me wondering how I'd screwed up the first time. :p

Monday was a long day, trying not to think about the waiting to hear.  Checked my email as soon as I got home - nothing.  The afternoon wore on, still nothing, so I started wondering which of the other two "contestants" had gotten the role.  After all, they always contact the "yes"es first.  I finally got an email shortly before 6 that began like every other "Thanks but no thanks" email I've ever gotten:  "Thank you for auditioning for..."  I skimmed over it - general rehearsal schedule, uh huh; dues, OK; first read-thru Sunday, got it.  Then I looked again - they were offering me the role!

At long last I've ended this year's string of auditions with callbacks but no roles!  What's even better is that it's the biggest company I've worked with to date in terms of the size of the stage.  Not as big a role as Sara Lee, but I'll get a solo (with chorus back-up), a yummy quartet and a duet to sing.  The solo goes pretty low - a G below middle C, I think - so I'll definitely need to work to learn to project those low notes over the orchestra.  Can't wait to start! :)

Yes,definitely squash!

Checked my tiny little incipient butternut squash again this afternoon.  It hasn't gotten appreciably bigger, but it's now yellow.  I wonder if I'm gonna end up with the world's tiniest ripe squash...

Another audition

Got another audition tomorrow night, for some G&S for a welcome change.  I haven't been working on my audition piece as I should so I'll probably end up in the ensemble, but that's OK.  I haven't been on stage since January and I'm going through withdrawal! :D

Squash?

I checked my squash plants again the other day and was surprised and delighted to see that my latest blossom has a little green nubbin at its base which, while barely an inch long and quite green, is exactly the shape of a butternut squash!  I've got my fingers crossed that I may actually get at least one squash from this plant after all.

"Actual size"

Passed a Mini Cooper in the parking lot at work yesterday.  I noticed it had one of those clings in a rear window which read "actual size".  It would have been even funnier on a Smart car...

Another callback

Monday's audition obviously went well, since I was called back for tonight.  I'll be interested to see how many of us are in the running for the 2 grandmothers.  

If I'm not cast, I'll probably offer to help with some aspect of tech, just because the director is such a great guy.

This feels weird

Being furloughed is a very strange feeling.  I have a job and yet:

- I'm not allowed to report for work. At least my inbox won't explode while I'm gone, because almost everyone who'd send me email is in the same boat.

- I don't know when I'll get my next paycheck, or how much it will be.  Thank God I did get one last week, so the mortgage is paid for October.

- I'm eligible for unemployment benefits!  That's the weirdest thing of all.

Goldilocks weather

In other words, just right!  One advantage to being furloughed is that I've been able to take advantage of the gorgeous weather 2 days running so far and take a nice, long walk through the neighborhood.  Yesterday it was at home, today at the cabin.  Saw a lot of deer, or at least a lot of tails as they took off upon hearing us approach.  We did see one 4-point buck with a small entourage of 5 or 6, but they headed into the trees as we got closer.

Observations on my very first 5K

Walked in my first 5K today.  It was a beautiful day for it - a bit chilly when I checked in shortly after 8, but quite comfortable by the end, and sunny with just the tiniest breeze.

• I was surprised by how many people showed up with their dogs - big dogs, little ones, puppies and adults. The organizers were ready, though - they had bandannas for them in the same day-glow green as the race T-shirts.
• This was a fundraiser for cancer research and prevention, so there were several teams with matching shirts.
• Part of the route ran along a river, where I spotted a few common loons.  I didn't realize we had them around here!  I also saw some egrets or herons; they were too far away for me to tell for sure.  (can you tell I'm no birder?)
• Lots of people participated with their children; the youngest one I spotted was only 8 or 10 months old.  Several of the kids were having a great time racing with their parents, playing with the dogs or each other, throwing sticks into the water - the usual kid stuff.
• Starting at a ballpark meant real restrooms, not the portapotties I'd expected.  That's a good thing!
• I was disappointed that one hip decided to start bothering me as soon as we left the starting point.  Fortunately, it didn't hurt constantly, so while I did limp rather a lot, I still managed to finish in under an hour.
• I was surprised by how hungry I've been since I got home!  Yes, that was a lot more walking than I usually do, but I was walking, not running, and I didn't feel I was pushing myself all that hard.
• Being new to this 5K business, I had no idea what to do with my stuff (keys, wallet, etc.) during the race so I wore cargo pants and loaded up the pockets.  I had wanted to take a book to read on the subway but it would have been too uncomfortable so I left it at home.  Instead, I snoozed on the train and people-watched once I got checked in.  That was certainly entertaining.
• They played an instrumental recording of the national anthem shortly before the starting horn.  Yes, of course I sang along. :)  I don't know what key it was in, but it was a little higher than I would have picked, especially at 8:45 a.m.  I still managed to sing it all, and the highest note actually felt pretty good, so that was a nice little surprise.

I'm already signed up for another 5K.  This one's at work, the day after Halloween, so they call it a "monster dash", complete with costume contest.  Now to decide how to dress up for the occasion.  It needs to be comfortable for walking and not too bulky, since I'll be bringing it to work in a gym bag along with towel and toiletries so I can shower afterwards.  Any ideas? :)

They'll have to reunite without the Chief

The Chief and a buddy from his old Reserve unit have been organizing a reunion, to take place in Manhattan the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend.  Nothing very fancy, just 3 hours' worth of drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and getting caught up.  The other night the Chief spent a few hours on line researching hotels and fares.  Short of staying in a VERY spartan room and taking one of those cheap buses, he didn't see any way to do even 2 nights, let alone 3, for less than $2000 for both of us.  Especially given the way we've been spending money to fly out to see Dad while he's still alive, he just couldn't justify the expense.  Maybe we should buy a lottery ticket...

Another day spent playing in the kitchen

Big kitchen plans for the weekend:

• I got 2 nice spaghetti squash this week, which are now in the oven.  They should fill at least 5 or 6 2-cup containers.
• I also have a pair of butternut squash to cook; need to replenish my supply, as last week's soup finished off what I had left in the freezer.
• A batch of rather old apples are currently on a back burner, cooking down to applesauce.  They needed a little moisture, so I poured in a slosh of boiled cider; can't wait to see how that works out.
• I want to make a batch or two of lemon loaf (if I can find the recipe again), to take to work on Tuesday, assuming we aren't furloughed.  My excuse?  Tuesday is the first day of the new fiscal year.
• And then there are those mushrooms to be sautéed and added to a jar of spaghetti sauce, which is great served over spaghetti squash.

Still auditioning

I auditioned for one production, got called back, had fun with the improv exercise, but wasn't cast.  I replied to the email that I'd be interested in helping on the tech side but haven't heard back.

Then last Saturday I auditioned for another show.  The director asked me on my way out if I could make callbacks; yes, of course!  Sunday was the 2nd day of auditions, with callbacks scheduled for Monday.  I was therefore a bit confused to get a "sorry, you weren't cast" call Sunday night!  Turns out I had too many conflicts (the show has a rather compressed rehearsal schedule), and the director was able to cast from auditions.  Once I got past my confusion, I consoled myself with having been called back, even if I didn't actually get to callbacks. :D  I also offered to help with hair; 1940s hairstyles should be fun.  I won't be able to do it alone, though - 6 women to coif?  I'd need to start around 4 p.m. to have them all ready for curtain!

Monday I have yet another audition.  I'm not too optimistic about that one, mostly because the women's roles consist of 2 grandmothers and one 20-something.  If the demographics hold true, there'll be plenty of us trying out for those 2 grannies - tough odds.  Later this month I can then, finally, audition for a coupla musical things - 2 G&S shows.  I'd love to get either Dame Carruthers (Yeomen of the Guard) or Ruth (Pirates of Penzance).  For someone my age, the only other option is ensemble, and I've already done ensemble in both shows (twice in Pirates).  I might do it for Yeomen, but not for Pirates - that'll be a summer show, and I try to keep the summer a "theater-free zone" so the Chief doesn't spend too much time as a theater widower.

I've been auditioning for things but not performing (unless you count the sing-out) since Daddy's Dyin' closed in January. This is the longest I've ever spent auditioning without being cast in anything.  I might have made Guys & Dolls had I been willing to take ensemble, but that group rehearses just far enough away that I wasn't eager to make the drive to repeat a "role" I just did last summer.  The artistic director of last summer's group asked me to replace someone in their production of Quartet, but I just couldn't make the schedule work.  I'm glad I got to work my "pipes" a little at the Sing-out; it was the first onstage singing I've done since last summer's Guys & Dolls, which is way too long to go without!

Time to take another look at what's being done this season to see what else I might want to audition for.

"Meals on wheels"

I spent last Sunday making soup for people - veggie beef for the neighbors with the new baby, and squash soup, which is nice and smooth, for the friend w/ cancer who has trouble swallowing.  The kitchen smelled wonderful, of course, and 3 guesses what was for lunch that day.

Fall weather always makes me want to cook up vats of soup; so nice to have a good excuse to do it, and someone to give it to so the Chief and I aren't swimming in the stuff.

No squash this year, I guess :(

I keep checking my squash plants for fruit and finding nothing.  Not sure if they didn't get enough water, or the soil isn't what they need or what, but I keep getting blossoms and nothing else. What's worse, one of the 2 coworkers who got my culls came up to me a few weeks ago now, delighted to be able to tell me that she'd just harvested her first squash!  I'm jealous - everyone else who's got squash plants has squash by now.  Maybe another coworker was right - "You gave away the good ones." ;)

Held together with, well, not tinfoil & baling wire...

Dad gave us a bit of a scare the other day - fell and hit his head, needed to be patched up.  They closed the scalp gash with staples and the cut behind his ear with glue.  We had to tease him about his hardheadedness and being held together with staples and glue. :)