Halloween...

Happy Halloween

I am not kidding but it took me 30 freaking minutes of connecting re connecting getting disconnected etc just to get to this point in my post tonight. I HATE THIS CRAP DIAL-UP!!!! HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT! Everytime it rains it goes wonky. I have had the Telephone company come out and replace the line to the tune of 95.00 and it STILL does not work right. I HATE IT!

We have hit a major glitch in the PLANT tonight. The maker of the plants said he was done and left us with the pods, but the 4th pod HAS to have a base under it, for the people that are getting eaten to drop into and then crawl out the back. That was not done. So all night tonight while I was finalizing and rechecking cues, the cast was all on stage trying to finish the plant, and figure out how it will have to work. EEK!! All it needs is a light wood frame in the shape of a box, with material stapled around the sides then the pod could rest on the boxframe, the puppeteer could then back down, and move over while the POD "eats" the victim! The victim could then crawl out the back, and voila!! Hopefully Rusty can get ahold of the plant maker, and he can get it built tomorrow, we have an audience tomorrow night!

We have had a cold snap, and finally have termination dust on the tops of our mountains, for sure!! 6" of snow on Stevens Pass!! The ski resort operators are jumping for joy, as last year there was NO SNOW!!
I even turned on my heater here in the office, but I can not build a fire until tomorrow. Just my way of conservation. I put on socks and sweaters and extra blankets, and wait until November 1! SO tomorrow, I can build one, but probably will not. Almost all of the leaves are off of the Maple tree out front. THe Alders still have a ways to go, but with the storms that are marching across the pacific, it wont be long now.

I hope you all had a great Halloween and are now getting ready for Christmas. Us "mericans" are preparing for Our Thanksgiving, and then we will be full bore for Christmas. GOlly time sure goes by fast any more doesnt it. It seems like it was just yesterday I was trying to change my blog to spiff it up for Christmas last year!! 2 more months and I will be 60!!! AAAARRRRGHHHHH!!!! Scary thoughts!!!

YAWN!!!!!

I feel like this guy looks right now. AS you all know I have had a sleep problem brought on by my back and my legs hurting. I take Tylenol PM and that knocks me right out, but I will sleep until 12:00 noon if nothing wakes me up, so I don't take it all that often. Last night I did and today I slept in. I had to be at the Playhouse at 2PM so I rushed through my blogwalk. Finished setting all the lights, reaimed several more, and got all the light cues in just about 830. I got a pizza and went to Phyllis to share on the way home.

Phyllis fell again last night, as I am sure you all read, but I really worry about her and her job. If she cant walk, she cant do her job and she CANT retire until she is 65. She was doing so much better and then this happens. SHe says she is ok, but I still worry.

Came home, let the girls in, and they drank their water bucket dry! They had knocked their outside dish off the deck I guess, and they were out there for 8 hours with no water. Poor babies. But then they were covered with mud too, so I didnt feel too sorry for them. Especially Sadie, if there is a mud puddle around, she will find it JUST before she comes in for the night, then she makes a mad dash for the bedroom and up on my clean bed she will go. So we have to close the bedroom door FIRST, pisses her off it does!

I went to bed and read for about 2 hours, and felt sleepy so I turned out the light and fell right asleep, until Tilly crawled out from UNDER the bed and jumped ON the bed, and woke me up. it was 345, according to the clocks, but the DVD player says 245????? Wha......oh yeah, PST again this weekend. I wish the whole world would get together and pick one time and STAY WITH IT!! ANyway I am up again, and it is now 500AM or 600 REAL time, and I have slept about 3 hours, maybe.

I am getting sleepy, but the eyes just wont close. I really wish I had a bottle of Drambuie, a glass of that on the rocks with a cup of Hot tea would make the world right. or a bottle of Frangelico, or a Bottle of Baileys, anyone of the three would be fine!!

We have a Tech rehearsal tonight to iron out the kinks in the light cues, and the plant. So this is our final hour. We open this coming Friday, and Hopefully it will be a sell out. Ya'll come on up!!

Little Shop Of Horrors...

cast LSOH

Tonight was Press night/Family Night, and the show was wonderful. Seymour bloomed like we never knew he could, and sparkled like he was made for the part. He was actually. He auditioned for the part of seymour, and even before he knew what the part called for he WAS Seymour. He is geeky and he is sweet and he is soooo naive! And he really IS. when this show is over, he will continue on being just the same way.

Audrey is a lot more worldly, but she is a sweet young lady too. she has a very powerful voice and is a great actress, pulling off Audrey just like she was a natural blonde. I knew her before she auditioned, (Her Mom owns the scrapbook store that I am paying for...;) )

Orin the Sadistic Dentist has been seen in several of our shows and he is the President of the Board Of DIrectors. Unfortunately this is his swan song, as he is in the Navy and is being transferred in December. He will really be missed. His wife Dawn is our Musical Director, and we will have a really hard time replacing them.

Musnick is also in the Navy, and has a voice that sends shivers up your spine. He can do a Falsetto better than many can. Wonderful actor.

I can not believe how well cast this show is. Even our plant is great. Unfinished, but great. Audrey II will be ready by Tuesday I hope. We are building her, and she is being built out of fiberglass, and chicken wire. Fiberglass will not set if the weather is too cold or too wet and the weather has not cooperated at all.



dying audrey

Right after Audrey dies, Seymour picks her up off the floor and carries her to the plant, and feeds her to it. Seymour wrapped his arms under her tonight and went to pick her up and fell flat on his butt. He tried again, and fell again. THen they both started laughing, and then so did the audience. A very touching scene and they laughed. It was great.

Several of you have said that you have never heard of Little Shop of Horrors before. I would suggest to you that you go rent the movie, it is so funny. The show we do is based on the movie, and in this case, the Movie came first, and was so popular that they made a Broadway Show out of it. Rick Moranis plays Seymour, and Steve Martin plays Orin the sadistic Dentist. Do yourself and your family a favoer and WATCH it. It is blow milk out your nose funny!!! Dark, but funny. (David, live a little, rent it!)

Seymour...

seymour and audrey

Press night tonight, but so far only one paper has RSVP'd that they were coming. The Oak Harbor Paper has not replied yet and they are usually the only ones who do come. GRRRR. Ah well, It will give us a few more days to finalize our set. The cast is already raring to go. just need to tweak the lights and finish the plant. They changed the set on me AGAIN last night!!! This time none of my special lighting shows, so there goes the sunset, and the mood lighting!! ARRRRGGHHHHHHH. This is why you should NEVER plan lights until AFTER the set is finished, but I just could not wait any more. WIth the lack of time on stage between shows now, it is nigh on impossible to get everything done in time. 5 weeks is not enough time to get the set built, painted, lit and the props set and ready. ALL WITH VOLUNTEERS WHO WORK FULL TIME ON OTHER JOBS! SO basically this gets done on weekends, and it just makes it waaaaay too hard. We need to start thinking less complex sets and do more with special effects I guess. Almost done with this show, then a big long break, until Caine Mutiny Court Martial which opens in April. then who knows.

Somebody in the far northern part of this continent has been playing with my site I see....HMMMMM WOnder who it could be? Im surprised there isnt a black CAT up there too. Must be time for more catnip before the frost claims it all. ;)

first cast member

audrey

This is Audrey from Little Shop Of Horrors. I will post the rest of the cast when I get their head shots taken. This is going to be a fun show. I will be setting the light cues this weekend. THe Plant is HUGE and we are making it out of fiberglass, and there are 4 of them in various stages. We hope to rent it out to other theaters that may be wanting to do this show.

Sunny and cool today...

This is what they are calling the calm between the storms. Last night the wind was really really whipping it up out there. 45-50 MPH sustained winds in Oak Harbor. But what was really amazing is that the lights did not blink ONCE. Not in Oak Harbor, and not here at home either. The mainland got whomped though over 3ooo homes in the dark.

Wind itself is not the main cause of the lights and wires going down. We have a LOT of evergreen trees around here, and they have a very shallow root system. wide, but shallow. It rains and rains and rains, and then the ground gets saturated, and the clay layers get slippery, and then the wind blows and there is nothing for the trees to grab on to, so their roots just slip and over they go, taking the electric wires with them. A few trees in back did lose a top, but I cant see where a whole alder went down. Sure was noisy though.

Today it is calm and sunny and cold. no wind, no rain, just Sun and cold air. I almost gave in and built a fire in the woodstove, but I did not. I dont want to build one until November 1, and stop building them after April 1. I just put a sweater on and my spiffy slipper socks. stay nice and toasty.

I just heard on the weather report that there is more storm with heavy winds coming down the pike. Sposed to hit tomorrow. and be a series of them until Halloween when it will clear up. This system is coming down from the Gulf of Alaska, and has a lot of unstable air in it, which means stormy, blustery fall weather. I think I had better see where I stored the lanterns and the gas.

Tilly caught a rat today, at first I thought it was a squirrel, because it was a brownish color and it had long hair! I dont know whether it is a sign of a really cold winter coming, or that I just had never noticed long haired rats before. She was burying it under the fence, so I went out and took it away from her. I dont want them digging under the fence and discovering the rest of the world out there.

Donna is missing her Puppy big time. ANd I am missing Donna too. It is nice to be able to make noise in the living room again though. I can actually sit in my new chair and watch tv instead of going into my bedroom.
Her bedroom was right off the living area, and she likes total peace and quiet. No music, no TV. Well she is getting it right now. She is living in a house with only a bed and a dresser. She will be getting the rest of her furniture this weekend when Bill moves over to this side. Then They will come and get Tilly, and the rest of the stuff out of the bedroom, and then My house will be MINE!! YES!!

And now Wind!

LAst night coming home from oak Harbor, I was expecting really thick ground fog. I was actually surprised. It had lifted, but not very far. It was clear, down where the headlights shined, and thick like a blanket from windsheild height to about tree top level, and then clear again. The moon was shining on it and it looked very Hollywoodish. THe moonlight shining through the fog layer, and lighting the clear spaces in between. I wanted to stop and try and get a picture, but it would not have turned out. it was way too dark. AS I drove up to the top of the island, it was crystal clear, and the stars and moon were very bright, and when I dipped down onto the prairie, it too was almost clear, just a few whisps of fog. I came on home and as I got out of the car, I could hear the ships in the strait, so I knew it was foggy there too.

Tonight, the wind has kicked up and it is swirling leaves around like whirling dervishes in the road way. The rain yesterday has all dried up and the leaves are crackling and brown, and when they hit the window they snap. I was amazed at how many leaves there were on the highway, considering that it is mostly evergreens bthrough there. It is sposed to peak at about 30-45 MPH this evening. Seattle has a few power outages, and they are having major rain. We usually dont. SO we are entering our usual Fall weather patterns. Wind and Fog. I was sitting here typing the last paragraph and I heard a snap, CRACK! Thud, and then both Tilly and Sadie started barking. I went out and looked and could see no trees laying across the fence, so I assume it was in the woods. The alders have been sending off broken branches all afternoon.

I just let the girls in, and it is clear and nippy out there all ready. We have not had our first frost yet, but I would not be surprised to see this week or next. and I am predicting snow before Thanksgiving. It wont stick around, but it will count. I love Fall!

Foggy day...

I got a full 8 hours sleep again last night. Once I actually got to sleep that is. I took 2 PM's just as I went to bed, and read until I got sleepy and then turned out the light. Tilly is still here, and would NOT stay in her room for the night, so She was in my bed too. Now Sadie, was raised correctly. She was put in a small pen in my bathroom from the time she was 6 weeks old, so she knows that is her territory. She knows that when she is there she is to sleep, and no one will bother her. She will sleep and stay there until I get up or she lets me know it is time to go PEE NOW! Tilly on the otherhand sleeps where ever she wants to, and last night it was in bed with me, across the bed, pushing me off to the edge. I finally got up and turned her the long way down and told her to stay. I got back into bed and she rolled over, and got as close as she could to me and then pushed with her feet. Only 5 more days until her Mommie comes to get her. She is so big it is hard to remember that she is still a baby, only 6 months old. I'll bet her Mommie misses her something fierce.

I signed Phyllis guest map for Sadie, and forgot to change my name on the haloscan so everyone I commented on today will have Sadie on it instead of Mary Lou! I am sooooo sorry. Hopefully I didn't comment many places, I cant remember. I just noticed it on Becky's site.

I am sitting here watching the sun on the alders get lower and lower, and listening to the fog horns on the ships in the channel WHOOOPing along. The Seattle News just showed a thick layer of low laying fog on the Sound and the strait. We get really really thick fog on the water in the Fall. It will just hang there all day, and then move in when the Sun goes down. They just showed a picture from the Seattle Cam atop the Space Needle, and it shows the tops of the buildings, and just the roof of Quest field and Safeco field. They are very unique and open when the weather is good, so just seeing them above the fog looks really strange. I know that as I drive home tonight, I will hit the low ground fog. It gets so thick that there are times you can not see the road at night. I literally drove with my head hanging out the open car door looking down for the yellow line. It gets kinda scary. You can not see headlights or tail lights at all until you are RIGHT THERE on them. SO driving slow really is smarter.

Time to head to the Playhouse, and see how much they got done on the set. I can not program the lights until the set is finished. The colors may not work right. We shall see. I take head shots tonight anyway, and then get their Bios typed and ready for the Lobby wall, and then I am ready to take candid shots of the play, and then relax.

See Me!!

Moving Day!!! :)

Donna is MOVING OUT!!! :) Actually, I am really going to miss her. I am not a person that is really comfortable living alone. That could be because I have not been alone very much. I have had husbands and Children, or a roommate for almost all my life. I bought this house in 1992, after living alone on Adak, Island. And I moved in to it in Oct of 1992. In January of 1992, My Son's best friend moved in, and lived here for over two years, then my Dad moved in, then I was transferred to Nevada. When I got BACK, Donna moved in for a temporary visit, and that was 5 years ago.

Her and Bill have decided to try living on the same side of the mountains, instead of him living in western Washington, and her over here close to her job. (What a concept, eh) anyway, Bill is packing up HIS side of the mountains, and Donna is packing up HER side of the mountains, and together they shall move to Marysville, which is on the mainland about 25 minutes from her job in Mukilteo. Bill will then look for a towing job in Everett, and tada!! They will be a family. Tilly will stay here with me for a week, until Bill gets his stuff moved over here. I was afraid that Tilly would freak out if Donna moved her today, and then left her in a strange place with no furniture, all day long. That would not be a good thing for this puppy! She is after all still a baby, and needs her Grandmother. I will however be very glad to see her move out, and let Sadie once again rule this roost.

I spent all afternoon setting and moving lights for Little shop, only to be told at 900 last night that all the special lighting I had done would not be able to be seen because the set was not finished yet and the back flats still had to be put up. This is NOT what the director had just the night before told me was going to happen. ARRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Ya know I so HATE to have my time wasted. I am not feeling 100% right now, and then to be told that all our work was for naught, really really bothers me.

I should be helping Donna move, but I can not lift nor can I walk very far this week. My Back is so OUT. I can walk for about 100 yds and then I have to sit. I popped 2 excedrin PM last night and SLEPT A FULL 8 hours. AHHHHHHHH!!!! That felt so good! I do not take them every night though, don't want to get where I have to depend on drugs to get to sleep. I woke up with Ethel asleep on my chest with her ass-end right about 6 " from my mouth. GAK!!! So I moved her off and WHOMP! Up jumps the Till-ster right in the middle of my stomach. Must be time to get up!!

I go in to the Playhouse again today around 200 and finish setting the lights, and getting them gelled, and then next week I can get them programmed. I should get a good nights sleep tonight too. THANK YOU LORD.

My mind has all of this running around inside, and my creative juices have been stymied. Once LSOH is open, and on it's way, then I need to get the posters done for the Lobby, Donna will be gone, and my house will be back to a semi-semblance of order, and THEN I can once again get back to writing like I want to be.

Stand by!!

BASTARD CAT!!!!!!!! :(

I just woke up from a nice afternoon nap with 2 dogs cuddled around me and 3 cats at the foot of the bed. I knew the dogs had to go outside and pottie, so we headed for the back door. Now all of you know how I love to watch the critters, and you all know I LOVE my kitties. I have been coaxing the birds and the squirrels to the deck for over over two years, and this past month I have succeeded in getting the big grey squirrels and the Lola's to the deck feeder. I carefully watch out the back door to make sure there are none feeding when I let the girls out. If there is one, I will bang the door so that they will run before the girls get their scent. I certainly would not want the dogs to think that they are hors d'ourves trays there for their benefit.

This afternoon there was a little Douglas squirrel (Lola) feeding, so I banged the door, watched her run to the fence and then let the dogs out. They caught her scent right off the bat and took off after her. I watched to make sure that Lola got away and she was on the fence so I knew she was safe. I then heard her give her squeal, like she does when she is running, so I looked back just as the ugly orange cat from across the street chomped on her head and trotted off with her hanging from his mouth!!!

BASTARD!!! I Hope he chokes!! He was hiding in the grass at the base of the fence just waiting. I watched him as he ran out of Lea's yard and back across the street, I ran out the front door and yelled at him but he proudly went on his way into his own backyard. Poor Lola. SNIFF!!

As I am typing this, I watch out the office window and there is another Lola in the Feeder tray scarfing down the goodies in it. Sadie is going berserk trying to jump up high enough to get her, but Lola aint having any of that. She has watched as the other one disappeared, so she is getting her dinner eaten. Sadie will eventually give up and leave her alone. And Suzie is on the back fence waiting for the dog to leave, She is not as bold.

help!

Ok, I am pretty much done, but I still can not figure out how to make my banner fit the space it is sposed to fit. It should fit over the body of the blog (not the side bar) and go clear to the bottom of the frame it is in. Anybody got any ideas?
The banner is a jpeg and I used Picasa/Hello to post it. Maybe ther is no way I CAN fix it. I might as well leave it alone, by the time I get it fixed, it will be December and time to change it again!

Today I had a rare treat. I heard a putt-putt-putt and knew it was a quail, so I looked out the window, and saw not only George and Gracie back again, but their entire spring hatch too! All grown up and pairing off. There were 16 in all. They scratched under the feeder eating the tons of bugs that are living there, then Tilly and Sadie decided to sit in the window, and scare them all off. I also had Alvin the chipmunk from early summer, and 2 lolas and two Suzie's!! It has been a dreary wet dark foggy day, no sun, and I think the critters thought that winter was here and were stocking up!!

playing

Leslie and I are playing...bear with us please...

AAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHHHH

AAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

God I feel like I could rip open somebody’s throat and shit down their windpipe!!  I have no idea who, I just have this urge to YELLLLLLL!!!!  My daughter says it is because my Doctor took me off my hormones two months ago.  COLD TURKEY after being on them for 18 years.  I don’t think so, But what the hell do I know?

Last night Donna and I went to our rooms and I let Lint out for his nightly poop.  As I was all comfy and reading my book, and listening to variations on a theme by Beethoven, and out the window, in the rain, I hear MRRROWR MMMROWR!  Right under the window.  Lint wanted in.  Normally he goes up to the porch and scratches at the door and Donna lets him in.  But I knew how pissed she gets, so I got up and went to let him in.  He was still under the bird feeder so I called his name, he came running, stopped turned around ran back picked up something and ran back.  As He was running up the steps, I noticed that his mouth was full.  OF RAT!!!  So I slammed the door quickly and yelled at him to drop it.  NOPE! IT’S MINE! I CAUGHT IT, AND I’M BRINGING IT IN!  I finally convinced him that he could just stay outside in the cold nasty rain, or he could come snuggle up on the recliner and be nice and warm and dry.  He dropped it.  He came in, and then raised HOLY HELL because I would not get up and let him back out to get his prize!  He jumped up on the window sill above my head and scratched at the screen, just as a barred owl flew down to the deck, grabbed his dinner and flew off.  Lint turned and looked at me with the nastiest look and went and scratched at Donnas door.  She let him out, and that is where he stayed all night!!  

This morning I got up early and Went to Seattle with Phyllis to an Emergency Weather Seminar and tour of the NOAA facilities for the West Coast.  I would die for their computers!  They showed how they have been able to track the storms coming in off the pacific, to determine with 70% accuracy what the weeks weather will be.  Lots of data, and lots of different screens to look at, but what we all came to hear took about 30 minutes.  We on the West Coast will be having a Wetter and Colder Winter.  SO we could have low-land SNOW!!  WHOOT!!    Bottom line for the whole meeting is BE PREPARED.  Phyllis has been talking about that for several months, and they hammered at us again to tell our employees, neighbors family etc, to Get ready for any kind of emergency.  Earthquake, disaster, Hazard Spill, Tsunami, Floods, Blizzards we could have any and or all of them at any time.  SO if you have not already done so, GO to your local Fire Dept web site or the NOAA website look at the list for your area, and get your kit ready.

You Never know…and there is another Hurricane getting ready to dump on the SE.  And this one is named WILMA!!  We don’t name our storms, but we call them by the day. THE COLUMBUS DAY STORM, THE INNAUGURAL DAY STORM, THANKSGIVING DAY STORM. (Ever cooked a half done turkey on a BBQ?)

OH!  And DON’T FORGET PET FOOD!!!  And they all need a crate just in case.  It might be a good idea to get an extra bag of food for each pet and an extra collar and leash and have them in the carrier at the ready!!

Autumn...

geese

Donna pulled the lawnmower out of the garage and mowed the backyard yesterday evening. The Grass was growing as fast as she cut it down. Grass grows in two seasons here, Spring and Fall. This is a really great time to plant a new lawn. The days are cool and moist, and just right for sending down grass roots and sending up blades of grass to tickle Sadies rear end.

I went out on the deck to watch her, and as the mower stopped, I heard geese again, but could not see them. They were far away, so I assumed they were out of sight beyond the alder trees. Eventually I spotted them, waaaaaaaaay up where the airplanes fly, and the flocks just covered the sky! I have never seen so many, so high before. All flying south in a giant wide wedge. Honking, and talking to their leader, encouraging him to keep going, that they were right behind him as he led the way to their wintering over ground. It amazes me how they know when to go, and where to end up. Science even is not really 100% certain, they assume that it is a homing sensor in their brain that allows them to find their way across 10's of thousands of miles of earth to get right back where they came from. Some of these geese had never made the journey, as they were hatched up North in their breeding grounds. They will follow their leader with blind trust that he will get them safely back again. They will then be able to find their way should their leader die the next season. Amazing.

We have had weather system after weather system coming in off the Pacific, and bringing wind. I woke up today to wet weather blowing in on my face. The wind is fresh, and full of moisture, and going pretty fast too. I lay there wondering if I should haul my carcass out of bed, or just lay there and enjoy the weather. Guess which one I did? I am expecting a really good blow before long. We have not had a major wind storm in a year or two, and that is really odd for us. October usually brings the wildest weather of the year. But the month is only 1/2 over!

My sweet peas are still blooming my roses are still flowering, I have a dahlia that has just decided to pop up out of the ground, and the trees are still 1/2 green. I think that we will wake up one morning and find that Autumn has left and winter has hit!! I am looking forward to it...

(Now why is this not showing up?)

Flying Geese...

Tonight I went to bed at 1130 and turned out the light just before midnite. I took 2 tylenol PM's to sleep. at 115 I woke up! the cats Loki and Chitters were sitting in the window growling deep rumbling growls. They would jump off the bed, run down the hall growling the whole way, then repeat the procedure. I heard the new dog 3 houses down baying at something. THey did not like his bark, and they were growling to tell me that something was not right. I got up turned on the light to read, and I heard them. Far off in the distance honk, honk, honking their way SOuth. They flew over the house at varying altitudes and different voices honking to encourage their leader the whole way. I love listening to the sounds of the geese and ducks finding their way South for another winter where it isnt freezing.

The Skagit Valley, here just East of us on the mainland, is home to a whole group of snow geese and Tundra Swans that make their way from the Arctic to spend the winter. THey are quite the tourist attraction, and are really beautiful to see, all standing wing to wing in the empty fields.

I am laying there contemplating whether to get up and post, since I did not get to it yesterday, or to read until I got sleepy again. And the phone rings. Scarded the bejeebus out of me. A phone ringing at 130 AM is usually not good news. It was Phyllis giggling and asking me to go read her blog, because she posted a funny picture and was afraid it would offend someone.

Guess she made my mind up for me. I am now up, posting and will soon be back in bed trying to get to sleep again. I think I will wait about an hour then call her and wake her up again too. LOLOLOLOLOL We are so mean to each other. LOLOLOLO

Over the River...

Yesterday Phyllis and Mike and I went up the Skagit River. We had planned to go over to Eastern Washington and get some apples, but all three of us were sore and we got a late start. SO we drove up to Diablo Lake overpass, and turned around, as the light was going fast.


Skagit River Boulders

If you went to Phyllis' place first, you saw this scene already, but it is worth repeating. The picture the River justice at all!! The Boulders in the River Bottom are HUGE!!! If we could stand next to them, we would be like ants crawling over them. The River at this point is diverted through the mountain, and comes out below Gorge Dam. It was the first Dam built on the River. There are three, and each one gets bigger and taller. All to fuel Seattle. The Mountains here are solid rock and to get the dams and the roads through here, they had to blast the rocks away. If you look closely you can see what the water has done to the solid granite. Smoothed it out and made it awesome.



Phyllis

AT this point, There was a major rock slide several years ago, and as you can see, it cut a pretty big swath out of the mountain. Phyllis is the teeny green spot at the foot.


mike

Mike was daring, and went down a trail to the river right in front of a sign that said DANGER, Do NOT go into the River bed, as the water can be released from the dam and flood the riverbed at any time. MEN!! I can just the amount of Gold and silver that is under all the rocks in that river bed.



cabin

This is the type of Cabin us 'Mericans have in our woods. None of those fancy schmancy cabins with heaters and hot tubs. :)

AS we got up to the overlook, we stopped and got out and took pictures down the lake, but mine look just like Phyllis' so go there to see the first lake. There are two huge lakes covering many thousands of square miles of virgin country. Gorge dam is a power house. It diverts the water from the skagit just at DIablo dam, and runs it through the mountain to the Dam at Newhalem. Then Seattle needed more power so they built Diablo Dam, which is higher, and floods the valley, it created a beautiful setting for recreation, and created even more flooded area. Next is Ross Dam, which is even higher, and creates even MORE power for SEATTLE, and this dam flooded clear up into Canada. Ross Lake is beautiful, and the most of it is in the National Park, so whatever Lumber is left, is protected. Seattle is wanting even MORE Power and the Seattle city Light CEO wants to raise Ross Dam another 650 feet. This would flood WAY into Canada, and it would destroy the oldest stand of red cedar left on the planet. It would flood Beaver valley and
take away many of the wilderness protected places. SO far we have been able to fight this monster off, but the power of the people is heavy, and they do want their pools heated, and their mansions lit.



Early Winter Spires

This is what we would have seen had we gone on another 40 miles. This is at Washington Pass, where the snow fall is so heavy that the Hiway closes sometime in November of each year. The highway almost did not get built because of this part. It is steep, high, and very rugged. The snow slides right down the rock face and lands on the switchbacks and blocks them. So every winter the cross state drivers have to drive another 300 miles around, via Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle, or Stevens Pass to Everett.

I will give you more history tomorrow on the highway. There is a book written about the building of this road called GOD'S HIGH TABLE that is well worth the read if you can find it at a library. Great book.

Another almost sleepless night...

Another almost sleepless night.  I am getting really tired of all this.  I go to bed at a reasonable hour, and read until I am sleepy, turn out the light and hunker down under the covers with the pillows and the cat.  30 min to an hour later I wake up and can not get back to sleep. I have five crossword puzzle books by the bed, all the maps I have gotten from blogger friends,  (You KNOW I love them!) and a stack of magazines along with my book.  I start with one and go to others until I get sleepy again.  Last night, I woke up at 330, 430, 545 and 700. That is when I decided it was time to haul my fat ass out of the bed, and get busy.  Maybe if I work my self into tiredness that will help.  My back has been right on the verge of going into spasms for almost a week, so I have not been doing much at all.  

One of the really wonderful things about being awake so early is getting to see the colors that the sunrise paints on the high clouds.  My house faces South west so I can not see the actual sunrise.  There are too many alders in the way.  I am also on the west side of the island and if the trees were all gone, there would still be a ridge that would block the sunrise.  Today  the clouds were blowing in from the pacific dark and foreboding, and the wind was picking up as the dark turned to light.  The high clouds to the East were tinted a gorgeous pink and purple, and the space through the trees was a vivid color also.  Two doves flew down to the feeder to join the flock of chickadees that were hopping in and out of the sunflower seeds. Doves, when they are fluttering down, make a whistle with their wings, which alerts the dogs that they are there.  So off Tilly and Sadie went, charging at the feeder and chasing all the birds away.  

Time for coffee and the laundry.  And then get the press releases written for the next show.  I am going over the Mountains with My Brother and Sister tomorrow.  My yearly Fall trip over to get apples for sauce.  The Apples are just a great excuse to go over, and the scenery and the color is the best part.  Our North Cascades highway has got to be one of the most gorgeous highways in the country.  We will be heading East over SR-20 and back over US-2, making the loop in about 12 hours.  Makes for a really long day, but then you have all those pictures to look at all year long.  Blog fodder ya know.

I have started again on my mothers quilt.  I almost have the top complete and then on to the actual quilting.  I am not sure just how extensive I want to get with the stitching.  I would have to do it all by hand, and I do not have a quilt rack.  I may just tie it, or stitch around the squares, and tie the middles.  I want to get this done, as It was started over 71 years ago.  My Mom made all the squares when she was 9, and they have just been hiding in a trunk all these years.  It is time to get it used.  Then on to my own quilt.  I cut out a sunbonnet Sue pattern, and have it all ready to be appliquéd onto the squares, but the problem is, (I don’t know how to appliqué!)  I thought it would be easy and it is not, so I have to figure this out.  I love bright colorful quilts and this one will be, if I ever finish it.
(Tricia, any advise on appliqué?)

IT seems the dogs are ready to go back outside after their breakfast, so time to get off this keyboard and get busy.  See ya Wednesday.

2 gallons of gas....

When I first started to learn how to drive, in my parents 1962 Rambler station wagon, My Dad told me that I would have to pay the extra on the State Farm Insurance, and I would have to put gas in the tank. No problem. I babysat a LOT and made a LOT of money. I was getting 35 cents an hour until I turned 14 then I raised my fees to 50cents. I did not date in High School (slow learner) and I had nothing else to spend my money on. The cost of car insurance for 6 months was 30.00. The price of gas? .25 a Gallon!!! I could fill up the 20 gallon tank for 5.00!!

Now it seems so cheap, but back then it was really pricey! We would search through our purses and drawers for enough money to put a few gallons in the tank. I was one of the fortunate ones that was allowed to have the car to take to movies, or games. So we would all pool our money to get those precious few gallons. Digging for a dime or a quarter in the bottom of a teenagers purse in the early 60’s was not easy. We carried everything we might need for an evening of “rodding around”. Never knew when you might need a camera or film or a flash bulb. Hair spray, makeup, brush, rollers, extra nylons, and maybe even a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

We would drive back and forth through the town, checking out the guys, and then run onto the base to see who might be hanging out there too. 1963 in Oak Harbor, was boring! There were 2 drive ins. Kow Korner, home of the 19 cent hamburger, and Dairy Queen, which was NOTHING like it is now. Even a different entity entirely. There was the main street downtown, and the side blvd and there was only one stop light in town. And stop signs only at the ends of the roads where they met the highway. So we would drive through town to Kow Korner, and turn around and go back to the other end of town, and turn around in front of the Harbor Light Tavern. Everybody who was any body was doing the same thing. Back and forth, back and forth, until we would catch the attention of a car full of guys, and then we would stop and chat. If we were lucky, we ended up with dates for the drive-in movie that weekend. If we weren’t, we would dig for money and take ourselves.

Nothing like drugs EVER entered our head. Only the really bad kids drank, and only really Bad girls had sex. We were of course Not that type!! We were innocent, and we had fun. We did not need computer games, nor did we even think of going to the drive in alone with a guy on the first date. NO WAY! Usually we would all pile into one car and go.

I hear the kids now days talking about their allowances, and they get in one week what I would MAKE in a whole Summer! We did not have malls to go to, we did not go shopping, we talked. And talked. And learned about each other, had our hearts broken, and learned.

My own very first car was a 1956 Chevy Belair and I LOVED that car. It was 2 toned green and had dark green leather upholstery. I drove it until my wedding night when We loaned it to the best man and he blew the engine out of it. Should have told me where my marriage was heading. Times were simpler then. Scrounging for a quarter to buy a gallon of gas to get home on, was brought home to me just the other day, when I was heading into Oak Harbor, but had to scrounge through my ashtray and under the seats to find 24 quarters to buy 2 gallons of gas to get home on. Man have times changed. There are now 17 stop lights in town, and the highway is all developed too. Midway Blvd is still there, and is the same length but Kow Korner is gone. Pity that. There was a lot of history associated with that drive in. Oak Harbor had a population of 4000 now it has 45000!

It no longer is a nice safe place to raise kids, and there are far more dangers out there than some sailor trying to unbutton your blouse on the 4th date! I wish we could go back to those quieter safer times. I wish that this generation of young children could see just how we were brought up. We feared authority, and would not DARE to do anything wrong for fear of punishment. We respected our elders, we respected our neighbors and our parents. We moved in to our first house with bricks and milk cases as furniture, we did not go bankrupt trying to have everything our parents had. We EARNED everything and respected it much more. Money MEANT something back then. 2 quarters would get you 40 miles if you drove carefully! Imagine gas that cheap today? WOW!!!

Busy day...

Sadie had a Beauty Shop appt at 900 yesterday morning, so I was up early and out the door. It was a wonderful weather day. Typical Fall morning. COLD and wet, and cloudy and windy. I drove along West Beach heading out to Sunset Kennels to drop Sadie off. The water was choppy but not really rough, but the wind was really brisk. I love days like that. I stopped by the Cemetery to see Bob, (no folks, he WORKS there, isn't BURIED there) and spent a few minutes talking about stuff.

Stopped by Prairie Center and got groceries, and drain-cleaner. My tub is running really slow, and puddles up around my ankles when I shower. I have a really funky stopper, that will not come out, so I have to really dump the crap down there to unstop it. I poured the whole bottle down, waited for 3 hours and went in and ran hot water down it until it too puddled up. Did not work. SHIT! Now I have to find a wire and snake it down the drain and pull up the hair that is clogging the drain. I HATE that. Why don't things work like they are advertised to? It said Will unplug any clog!! WRONG!!!

got the call that Sadie was ready, so I gathered up my stuff for the evening and headed out the door. Sadie looked soooo cute when I picked her up. She had on orange pumpkin ribbons and bows in her ears, and a Halloween scarf around her neck. All decked out in her Halloween costume. I was going to take a picture of her, but she had them out of her ears in 15 minutes!! Little shit.

On to the dry cleaners, the feed store, the drug store, the scrapbook store and on to the Playhouse for rehearsal of LSOH (Little Shop Of Horrors). This one I am only the producer, not the director, so it is way easier.

When I got home last night Donna asked if I had fixed the dryer. OOPS! Knew I had forgotten something. SO much for going to bed early. I was washing rugs the other day, and one of them was shedding really bad, and clogged up the lint screen, and As I was pulling it out a big was of lint fell back in. I have been meaning to clean out the hose for a long time, and told Donna not to use it until I did because I have lived through two dryer-fires in my life and do not want to do it ever again.

So down on my knees and crunched around the dryer I am with the screw gun, and took off the back to get to the lint. There I found MORE metal to remove. SO I have a pile of screws around my knees, a ton of lint on the floor, and I still cant get to the lint filter. I finally got my hand up there and felt sunflower seeds, and stuff, and thought SHIT!!!! IT IS A RAT!!!!!!!!! I shuddered and screamed and Donna was on top of the dryer screaming GET IT GET IT. I pulled it out and it was an unrecognizable mass of something. I just threw it away, did not want to know.

I got the back all put back together, plugged it in and could not move to get my Ass up so we could push it back. Finally got my creaky crunchy knees up and my back straight and got it all pushed back into place and Donna was able to get her washing done at 100 this morning.

When You are a Military wife, you have to learn to do things on your own. You don't have the money to hire it done, and your husband is never home when something breaks, and couldn't fix it even if he was home. I learned when I was little how the simple things worked, and what to do to fix them. I have changed the belt on the dryer drum (got it all put back together and it worked, but it was crooked and squeaked, so I just left it that way. I have fixed the linkage on my car, with a hair pin, I have patched the hole in my muffler with an industrial size pickle can and baling wire, I have fixed a broken windshield wiper with a regular size kotex. (Hey guys, It WORKS) and I have removed a pair of babies rubber pants from the water pump of my washer. It makes me so very angry because I can not figure out this Computer on my own. I can if I can have someone look over my shoulder, But I have not ever had the opportunity to have a geek at my elbow all the time.

What I was trying to say before I was distracted, was that We are female, but there is no way we are the WEAKER sex. We can do anything we put our minds to. We may not have the upper body strength that a male has, but we can definitely multitask better than any man can.

Whew! I'll shut up now.

places to see...

Several years ago, right after my daughter came to stay with me while job-hunting, I started peeking at a blog she read daily. It was called Textism. Now I have no clue what he actually wrote about because it was ll way over my head, I think he writting software or something, but it did not matter, I did not read him. I came to look at the Daily Oliver icon on his page. Oliver is his weimaraner. Oliver is world famous...came about because he won an award for a daily pet blog, and Oliver is way too cool!

Oliver has his picture taken every single day. And a new picture is posted. EVERY day. I clicked on it just for the damned dog. SUddenly there was nothing. a blank page. I would go back every so often and check again, but no more Oliver. As I was going through my folder labeled BLOGS I DONT READ ANYMORE, I saw Oliver listed and thought I would try again. VOILA!!! THere was Oliver again. Only this time it is JUST Oliver. (And Hugo more on Hugo later) His picture is big now no longer a teeny little icon, and under it there is room to comment. People do, but the way they comment is to devise captions for the daily picture. You all have GOT to go see Oliver. http://textism.com/oliver/daily/

Oliver lives with his Daddy and his Mommy (who also has a blog called Open Brackets) and a brother named Hugo who came into Olivers world about 2 years ago. They all live happily in a little old vineyard in France somewhere, don't know where. And now Hugo is getting into the act. You cant tell them apart now, except for the color of the collar if you can see it.

Go on hop over to France and have a peek. click on the arrows at the top of the page above the daily picture and you can go back and read some of the past pictures comments...THey are entertainment in themselves!!!

Closing night!!!! YES!!

You are the Fool card. The Fool fearlessly begins
the journey into the unknown. To do this, he
does not regard the world he knows as firm and
fixed. He has a seemingly reckless disregard
for obstacles. In the Ryder-Waite deck, he is
seen stepping off a cliff with his gaze on the
sky, and a rainbow is there to catch him. In
order to explore and expand, one must disregard
convention and conformity. Those in the throes
of convention look at the unconventional,
non-conformist personality and think What a
fool. They lack the point of view to understand
The Fool's actions. But The Fool has roots in
tradition as one who is closest to the spirit
world. In many tribal cultures, those born with
strange and unusual character traits were held
in awe. Shamans were people who could see
visions and go on journeys that we now label
hallucinations and schizophrenia. Those with
physical differences had experience and
knowledge that the average person could not
understand. The Fool is God. The number of the
card is zero, which when drawn is a perfect
circle. This circle represents both emptiness
and infinity. The Fool is not shackled by
mountains and valleys or by his physical body.
He does not accept the appearance of cliff and
air as being distinct or real. Image from: Mary
DeLave http://www.marydelave.com/


Which Tarot Card Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla



I found this quiz over on CINDRA’s site.  I thought I would take it as I just finished a play about ghosts, and spirits.  Tarot cards were one of the props, although they were never used nor referred to.  The cast got me a real crystal ball for a director’s gift.  Now I spose I am going to have to find out what you are sposed to do with one.  Rub it?  Look into it?  Make wishes on it?  See the future in it?  My daughter says put it on the bookshelf and let it collect dust.  Nope not this one.  It is a real honest to goodness crystal ball made our of pure lead crystal!  HEAVY little sucker.

We struck the set last night, and I got home at 2:00!  GOD that makes for a horribly long day!!  I am so tired!  My cast was WONDERFUL!!  Tradition says the incoming show should be there to help tear down, but no one from the other show showed up until almost midnight.  And then It was only Rusty and her hubby and Karol.  NO ONE else!  (

I was fuming.  GRRRRRRR!  Thank you LORD for wonderful cast, and their families;  Arnie and her kids, Billy and Natalie, who have worked tirelessly through it all.  Vivian and her boys, including her hubby; Mike and Traci and her hubby and Mary K.  They were there for me all the way!!  I would work with any of them any time.  

Closing night has it’s foibles.  During the first scene, Madame Arcati goes to the window and opens it, and during this a bird twitters.  On and on.  She makes comment about the way it is angry.  Last night as she opened the window and the bird twittered, off across the back Edith the maid, was seen slowly creeping across the stage with a rifle.  I sat up and wondered WTF?  Suddenly Madame Arcati stops and we hear a BANG and feathers fly in the open window.  I was stupefied!!!  M.A. turns to the audience and said  “Well that got the Pecker!”  I damn near peed my pants!!!!  That was just the beginning.  They were ad-libbing all during the first act. At the final scene of the Act, Elvira picks up a plastiop glass and throws it at Ruth.  Well for some reason, her prop was missing so she picks up a bud vase and hurls it across the stage, where it hit the corner of the wall shattered and sprayed the audience with broken glass!!  SHIT!!!!

During intermission I Had to go down and see if everyone was ok, and they all thought it was funny. THANK GOD!  SO I went into the greenroom and just stood there with my hands on my hips.  M.A. looks over and in her British voice says, OOOOO Mother is angry.  Well I had to tell them that they had to cool it with the pranks, because it was ruining the flow of the show, and even though they were funny and it was their show, the audience DESERVED their money’s worth to see a good show.  They understood and agreed that it was throwing their lines off. So the 2nd act was MUCH better.  Still had plenty of ad-libs though. I had to laugh.  Community Theater is sooooo unpredictable.

CJ I will try to get the DVD off to you this week, and then you can send it on to KIMMOTION and the others.  I will include the names on the cover of the DVD, so you will know who is next.  Any of you know to copy DVD’s?  I have never tried it.  Maybe I should investigate and then send you each one.

So Far this is who I have in order of request:
     CJ
     Kim
     Barbara (Purple Moose)
     Leslie
     Brenda
I have addresses for each of you, do you mind sharing with the others on this list?  If not let me know and when it is your turn to view it, I will have it sent back to me and I will send it on to you.  Now if you know how to burn a DVD let me know, And we can get this even faster.


Critter alert!!!

This morning I was watching the feeder and noticed Lola on the feeder, but something was different.  She was a different color!  Then I realized that who I was seeing was Suzie’s babies!  They are small like Lola, but colored like their Mom.  Suzie is a big gray squirrel about 5 times as big as Lola.  Now Lola’s babies are the same size as she is, so it is hard to tell them apart, other than they are really noisy and shy.  Suzies babies are too, but they will grow big.  I guess I had better stock up on peanuts and walnuts.  I wonder if they do Filburts?  There is a tree just down the street.  ;)

I am going to go put my aching back and knees into a nice hot bath and see if I can soak some of the pain out of them.    Old age is such a SHIT!!! (
     

GOD! What a night!!!

Tonight was the 2nd to the last show. Tomorrow night we close and strike the set. Tradition has it that anything can happen on closing night. BUT it happened TONIGHT instead. Billy our leading man, has never been on stage before, and all during rehearsals he would crack up if someone else laughed. Tonight he did it again, and cracked up one of his wives. The audience HOOTED!! It was a great audience to do it to. They stopped and applauded the crack up, and so the all recovered and went on with the show.


sleep


In the last scene, we open the scene with Madame Arcati asleep on the sofa, and the others tired and wanting to go to sleep too. Well during the dark stage, while everyone is taking their places and the stage crew is setting the props, Madame Arcarti mumbles, as if she is talking in her sleep. She is ad-libing, and it got laughs so we left it in. (We do not use a curtain, you just see the stage, and the full set.) Well tonight she was plainly heard by Billy saying "Dr Freud, you really need to get over this fixation with your mother!" I heard it up in the director's perch, and I snorted, ( Yes, people, I snort when I laugh, and milk has been known to leave my nose if I am drinking any. ) Billy also heard that, and he started laughing just as the lights came up. He was shaking and tears were coming down his cheeks. I was hooting in the balcony, and the Stage Manager was about to pee her pants. The Light Operator was laughing and Madame Arcati was just stoically laying there, mumbling as if nothing happened. During the tears, Billy tried to wipe them out of his eyes and continue on, but unfortunately he did not have on waterproof mascara on. He rubbed his eyes, got raccoon eyes, didn't know it and rubbed again. We howled, the audience howled, he rubbed some more, and then the rest of the cast saw it and started to. It was great!!!! I have not laughed that hard in a while. Thank god for great audiences.

I had told the cast that I was not a do it or else director. I believed in having FUN doing a show. That Laughing was allowed. And trust me, they took me at my word. I am known for my boisterous laugh!

Tomorrow night is strike, and that is after the show ends. SO we wont get out of there until after 3 AM! UGH This is the part I hate! I have no idea why the playhouse does not allow strike on SUNDAY, or else have closing the last SUNDAY, and it would be a matinee, then strike. That way we would not be up all night.
GOD I hope that the LSOH cast shows up like planned.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am listening to the musical called HONK! Right now and it is so funny!! It is the story of the Ugly Duckling. Costumes are yellow rain slickers and Orange rubber boots. These are the kind of shows I LOVE to work on. Ones that allow you to use your imagination. We are reviewing plays right now, getting ready to narrow our choices down to 10 shows for the membership to vote as a line up for next season.

If you could, which 5 musicals and 5 nonmusicals would you pick. Which ones would you pay 14.00 to go see? I am curious to see which ones all of you would choose. Which ones are the most popular?

Inquiring minds want to know...