Awesome CHristmas!

I had a totally AWESOME Christmas! Not a lot of money spent, Except for the Car repairs that Bob gave me. We all made homemade goodies to give to each other. Freezer Jelly, Zuchhini bread, smoked salmon, cookies, fudge, rouquefort dressing, (my sister's recipe) hand crocheted doilies etc. It was as Christmas should be! No mass amount of monetary crap and greed, just lots of love and good stuff.

My daughter, in her eclectic way again, gave me some totally AWESOME pillow cases! She, as I have told you before, shops at good will, and found hand embroidered pillow cases, that people have decided are not in favor anymore. (May even have been in some one's estate sale) And She knows how I like them So I got 8 sets of pillowcases. She also made candied nuts! OH MY!! My Blood sugar is up today! ;)

Have you ever taken a real hard look at embroidered pillowcases and wondered who did them, or when? I did last night. THere is one set that is almost identical, but one of the cases was not quite finished the same as the other one. I sat and looked at it, and wondered if it was perhaps a Mother/daughter how-to lesson, or maybe it was an elderly woman who just could not see well enough to thread the needle, so set it aside. Or maybe the original owner died mid stream? The stories to tell are in there, I will just have to look harder to see what they are.

Some of the pillow cases are very well done, and others are wrinkled and rough. I know how that can happen. I gave up embroidery when my Mom would look at the back of everything I did, and if it did not look as good as the front, or if the linen was taut under the thread, then I had to rip it all out and start over unti it was done right. Needless to say, I don't embroider anymore. Maybe I will pick it up again, and try and see if I have improved any.

One of the odd pillow cases was embroidered with a very fancy edging and scroll work, and had HIS written in the middle, there is no HERS. Did he maybe die? or did they divorce and she got rid of the HIS and kept the HERS, or was it maybe for a trousseau, and the marriage never happened? Lots to tell in those pillowcases.

Lots of wondering whose heads rested on them. SOme of them look like they were barely used. Maybe it was just busy work. Only they know, and they are not telling. It made a great Christmas Present for ME!!!!

Tim and Mistie came with Molly their St Bernard, and DOnna brought Tilly her AUssie, and Sadie was a yappy little Bitch and did not want to share, so she got locked in my bedroom with the cats, because she would not behave, The others did though.

I cooked Prime rib and it was PERFECT! I even made green bean casserole for Tim, and it al got eaten. Everyone was happy, healthy, and sated when they left, no Alcohol, so they all were safe driving. It was the first CHRISTMAS in over 15 years that both of my kids were home at the same time. It is so nice to have them both happy again. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

I told him I needed a new car!

When Bob asked what I wanted for Christmas I immediately told him a new VW passat Stationwagon.





He laughed. I was serious. He instead said how about a tune up, brake job and new tires? That'll work! So I make all the appointments. (DId you know that in order to have work done on your car anymore, you have to make an appointment to have it looked at so they can order the parts and make an appointment to work on it?) I called Les Schwab and told them I wanted 4 nes tires and new brakes. So I make an appointment for the appointment, and was told that my brakes are FINE. So during my APPOINTMENT, I had four new tires put on. THen I called Mazda and told them I needed a tune-up and a detailing job. SO I make an appointment to see when I can have an appointment. THen I took the car in for my APPOINTMENT and got a loaner car, because you can not get a detail and a tuneup on the same day.

So after 2 days have gone by, I called Mazda to see when the car will be ready, and was told today sometime. SO here I sit waiting for the appointment to be over. MEANWHILE, he calls and says, you need new brakes, and oh by the way your valve seal is leaking around your valves, and to fix all that it will cost you 875.00 for the seal and labor and then 495 for the Front and Rear rotors and pads for the brakes. Now Bob has already spent 700 for the tires, and the brake inspection (which they said was good) at Les Schwab, and the detail and tuneup is another 900.oo. and then all of this on top of it will be around 1400.00! (which will have to wait for Income tax refund) I TOLD HIM I NEEDED A NEW CAR!!! HEll, by the time all this is done, I just might have one.

So last night I took a load of clothes out of the washer threw them into the dryer and stuck another load in the washer and went to bed. This morning, the clothes in the dryer are still wet. So I trurned the dryer back on, and it sounded like a car trying to run our of gas. (electric dryer) Then NOTHING!!! so now when Mazda calls, I will load the loaner up with wet clothes and take them in to pick up my car, transfer the wet clothes into MY car and go sit in the laundromat for an hour drying all my clothes. What does it cost anymore? last time I was in a laundromat it was .50 to wash and .10 to dry. Must be close to .75 cents to wash and .25 to dry?

To top off everything, This morning I headed into the back yard to pick what little mint I thought I had growing back there (for the Prime rib seasoning) and Jupiter the neighbors cat jumped out and scared me just as I opened the gate, and SWOOSH!!! there went SADIE! Out the gate and down the street with her nose to the ground looking for deer, or raccoons or cats, or bigfoot...who knows, but she will NOT come when called. SO my neighbor and I were running around the neighborhood sreaming for Sadie in barefeet, on frozen ground, and in our nightclothes. Sara finally caught her just as she was about to cross the highway. (Little Bitch!) I HATE kids that won't mind!

So how has YOUR day been?

Winter Solstice

Today is the shortest day of the year. Or the longest night...It has always been a comforting day for me. Don't know why, but I always want to just stay home and zone all day. It is 3:20 PM and already is getting dark. Then of course it is raining like hell too. Might have snow tonight, mixed with the rain of course.

I have not seen the squirrels in several weeks, they must hibernate, although they were out two years ago playing in all the snow! I wish the sky was clear, so I could look at the moon. I Love a crystal clear, cold still winter's solstice, with all the stars sparkling and the moon a waxing crescent! Been so long since I saw it, I THINK it is that phase now! But then a really full moon on winter's Solstice is pretty too, shing and lighting the woods like a spotlight! So we will be still for a day or so, and then start our tilt to the South, and the days will get longer and longer. Of course those of you in the Southern Hemisphere may be sad, because your days will get shorter and colder! THat must be strange.

I have to go swim, then run to rehearsal and read several parts, as two people will not be there tonight. (GRR) Then Tomorrow I take the car in for a tune up and a detail. (The other 1/2 of my CHristmas Present. Poor Bob had no idea how much this was all going to cost when he mentioned it, but when I said hey, you dont have to do this and I mean it, he said he rides in that car too, and he wants to make sure everything works right. Bless his sweet heart! He is A keeper.

I just about have all my shopping done. I need to find something for TIm, and I have no CLUE what to get him. He could probably use money, so I might just do that. He is now living with Mistie, and she has all of her stuff up here, so I dont think they need any household stuff. SHe seems to be helping him stay clean and sober, and he seems happy! So go for it! She is divorced, and has children, although not with her, and is a devote Mormon, so does not drink or drug! If he is happy and safe, that is all I want!

O Christmas Tree....

I finally got my lights up outside and finished decorating the tree inside. I told edt I would post a picture of "my wee tree" when it was finished. I always start out wanting a small tree, and by the time I get the thing home, it has grown two feet, and by the time I have it in the stand and the lights on it, it has grown another 2 feet.
You think I would learn, but I never do. Got all the ornaments on it this time too, and fixed the broken ones, and rigged fishing line in the ones with no hooks. (cant find any anywhere to buy!) So now all the ornaments I have are on the tree. All new lights, and all I have left is to put out my Christmas village. Then stand back with a fly swatter and kill schroeder as he tries to play with everything.

Nutcracker

Meiko Parton as THE NUTCRAKER in Thw Whidbey Playhouse's Production of Nutcracker



Meiko, and Jacey Geragotelis As the Sugar Plum Fairy



I really did not have anything to do with this play other than be the Photographer and do the Bios and the Lobby Wall and the Poster, And the Program...Ok, maybe I DID do something. Meiko was in my show ZOMBIES< and we encouraged him to go try out for Ballet, and Voila. He stuns the audience with his leaps and turns. and only 6 months of formal training too!

This weekend was the reception for the Donors, and I had right at a month notice to plan and pull it off. But I did! WHEW! I am tired. I took today off of rehearsal for Cover of Life to get my house cleaned and rest! I can actually see my dining room now. Now tomorrow I have to go find a tree!

30 Years of WHIDBEY PLAYHOUSE On MIDWAY

Here is what was presented to the Oak HArbor Chamber of Commerce today. It is 5 minutes but shows a number of productions that I have been involved with!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvjG5DuQPTA

I dont know how to make this an active link, but if you copy and paste it should work it is a you-tube link.

Busy, Busy busy!

Where has this year GONE? I cant believe that Nov is already 1/2 over and I have not even racked my lawn from August. As usual it has been raining here, and windy, and BLEAK! Typical Fall weather. But it has not been really cold yet. no frost that I can tell.

I had my first Board Meeting with the Whidbey Playhouse Sunday night, and I did a show and tell on the poster restoration that I have been doing, They were amazed!!!
one of my readers here, Karen Twitty-Hartlieb whom I have never met, has offered to start a donation to the playhouse strictly for the restoration and framing of theses posters. THe Board was in awe that someone that DOes not know us would be willing to do that. THey said they would earmark all funds that came in labeled for poster restoration for just that purpose. WHAT A NEAT THING! I was just doing it because I wanted to, and doing them a few each month. This now makes it official! THANK YOU KAREN FOR BEING SUCH A WONDERFUL PERSON!



GODSPELL 1980 Before and after





Camelot 1979 Before and after





The big gray squirrels have found the feeders again, so Schroeder has something to chatter at our my window. I do not let him nor Loki outside at all. THey are inside wussie babies. Big bad nasty things out in the woods, eat cats! So mine each have a window they lay in and watch the wildlife.

Last weekend Bob and I went down Island to W.I>C.A. to see ROcky Horror Picture Show. it was done live and it was a hoot! We dressed casually but everyone else was dressed like the show...transvestites, monsters, weird people. It was more fun watching the audience than the show. We sat in the front row, so needless to say, we were drenched, and covered with confetti! It was fun though. Everyone needs to see it twice in their lives. Once to go see how it is done and the second time to participate! I did the time warp in my seat because my back was hurting so bad.

I have been doing a major spreadsheet for the Coupeville Festival, as we are getting ready to give away the money we made this summer. Our Grant allocation meeting is this Sunday. Man time is flying! I also have a Patron Gala to plan for December 12. and then the WPH Christmas party, then on with COver of Life. Which I am producing. I have some exciting news about next season, but we cant tell anyone yet! HEHEHEHEHEHEHE

My 3 Angels

THe latest Play on the boards is the Christmas show, My THree Angels. I went last night to get pictures for the scrapbook. It was very funny, and well done.







Fil Baca, Fred Conley, and Jim Ortuba played the convicts, and they were all great!
The story takes place in the early 20th century in French Guianna, in a prison town. The convicts all run free, and do handiman chores for the shopkeepers and the townspeople. Needless to say they mettle where they should not and trouble ensues. It all works out great, and everyone leaves happy.

I have three more posters done. I am surprised that there were not many pictures taken for these productions. Even the scrapbooks have none. But we had a fire about 40 years ago, so maybe they all got ruined then.



As you can tell, refurbishing them adds a little more life to the already worn pictures. The originals were not behind glass, so they are badly spotted with fly spatter, and water drops. I try to save as much of the originals as I can. I scan them and use the copies on the new poster, and put the originals on the back for posterity!



Now on to round one of Camelot! (we did it more than once!)

Rain!

After a summer of nearly no rain at all, and a fall of nearly no rain at all, we are getting all of it at once. We have a front moving in from the Ocean, that is bring tons of rain! We are in flood watch! ON an ISLAND!! weird huh? right now it is ouring rain, and the fog is really getting thick. I know that most of you do not equate fog and rain but here in the pacific Northwest, it is very common! I just ran out during a 10 minute pause in the rain, and filled up the feeders, and suet blocks! Those birds sure get greedy when the weather turns bad! Maybe they know something we don't! I can hear a squirrel in the alders, but so far, it has not come back into the yard! I have not seen the little red squirrels (lola) in almost 6 months. DOnt know if it is kids, dogs, cats, or owls keeping them away, but I miss them. Maybe when all the leaves fall off the trees, they will be able to see the feeders again and come back. Right now I have a flock of doves pigging out! must be 25-30 of them! and the woodpeckers have returned! both the Northern Flickers and the Downey woodpeckers. I have heard the Piliated one fly over, but so far he has not partaken of my hospitality. The Hairy woodpecker should be here soon too.

BAck to my bedroom window to watch the power of nature. AHHHHHHH relaxing!

Restoration in Progress...

One of the jobs I volunteer to do for the Playhouse is Historian. I keep a photo album of all the shows, and make sure that the lobby posters are stored safely. During my last show, I spent some time up in the balcony and noticed that the Belfry was wet. There is a leak somewhere, that can not be located. So I got all the lobby posters out of there, and brought them and the albums home with me for safekeeping until I can convince someone to build me a cabinet to put them in.

I was looking thought them and noticed that a lot of the older ones are falling apart. Te pictures have paint splattered on them, and they are all of various sizes. All of our posters are 2X3 so they can all be interchanged in frames.



This was the oldest one we have. BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE from 1973. I decided that I would reconstruct it, and the really bad ones, and put them all on standard size cardboard. The picture below is the next oldest one we have. ANASTASIA from 1978.




It too was falling apart. THe pictures were torn, and falling off. I scanned the pictures into my computer, and then used photoshop to retouch them somewhat. NOT like new, but better. Then I used my wonderful new machine THE CRICKET and cut out details to glue on the new poster.



Quite a change huh? I even made the pictures bigger so they can be seen better. So now I need to try and talk the board out of enough money to frame 8 of them, so we can put them in the main staircase going up to the auditorium. This will be an all winter project I am sure, but not all of them need to be rebuilt, just repaired.

Autumnal Equinox

Well Fall has fell. At least that is what Jeff on Channel 5 said. You would not know it by the weather though! We are having unusually hot and dry weather. The trees are starting to lose their leaves, and the evenings are getting cooler, but today was a gorgeous summer day. I was almost late for my Yoga class this morning. I no longer have an alarm clock. Threw it out when I retired! what wakes me up is the birds at the feeder, and the sun hitting my face, or Loki licking my cheek for breakfast. TOday, they pussy willow tree was still in full leaf, and the birds were not making noise, Loki had decided to sleep on the sofa, and the sun had not hit my face yet. Fall. THe sun moves from way over here, to way over there and back again. My house faces the West, and my bedroom faces East, so my bedroom gets the morning light.

I always note the time and the date that I first notice Orion pop up over the alders each Fall. This year it was way into September, around 4:00AM. The alders are getting taller, so Orion has farther to go to be seen. He is my favorite constellation. I know that once orion is fully risen that the cold and the winter will not be far behind.

This year Fall snuck up on me. I have been so busy with the show that I just did not have time to do all the late summer things I usually do. No apples, No Pears, no peaches no tomatoes canned. just lots of zuchinni bread. THe autumn light is there though. The sun just went down behind the house across the street, and as it went, the sky turned bright gold! I have a feeling that we are going to be paying for all this great weather all winter long! any body wanna take a guess on the first frost?

Well we are half way through the run of this show and so far we have only hit about 45% of our house. NOT GOOD!! We are getting great publicity, we are getting great comments by those that have seen it, but we just are not getting the people in that usually do not come. I guess it is lack of a NAME BRAND, Iw ould have thought with ZOMBIES in the title we would bring in the young crowd, but so far NOT! Maybe we ought to have a YOUNG PERSON night! Charge 1/2 price for anyone under 19. Might work, Might not, but the seats are empty anyway. BIG SIGH!

I had a picnic last night after the show...TIm and his "family" came down for the show, and to celebrate his birthday. We went down to CIty Beach and roasted hotdogs and cut Chocolate decadance cake! OH YUMMY!!!! I came home knowing that I had NOTHING TO DO for three days! YES!!! I could sleep all day if I wanted!! WHOOT!

I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 630! CRAP! SO I got up ate my yogurt, made a pot of coffee and watched the TOday SHow. Now I am washing clothes, cleaning the kitchen cleaning my bedroom and then vaccuuming the livingroom! SO much for NOTHING TO DO huh?

THere is always tomorrow!!!

Zombies From THe Beyond

By LIZ BURLINGAME
Whidbey News Times Reporter
Today, 3:15 PM • UPDATED
The town invasion has begun at the Whidbey Playhouse, which carries a collection of buxom aliens, I-like-Ike Americans and a spy from across the Iron Curtain.
They’re part of the production “Zombies from the Beyond,” the low-budget musical, comedy that opens this Friday.
‘Zombies’ satirizes the sci-fi films of the fifties and pop culture in general, in a time when America’s greatest enemies were imaginary aliens.
Playwright James Valcq created the music and dialogue and used his hometown of Milwaukee for the play’s backdrop.
“(Valcq) thought people could relate to a small town being attacked by aliens,” director Mary Lou Chandler said.
‘Zombies’ is set in the Eisenhower era and the Cold War and space race were the big headlines of the day. The staff at the Milwaukee Space Center is anxious about the arrival of rocket scientist Trenton Corbett. Nathan McCartney plays the stiff, no-nonsence military man named Major Malone, who heads the fictitious center. His overly serious assistant, Rick Jones, is actually a red agent (played by Meiko Parton) and his daughter Mary soon becomes Corbett’s love interest. However, their budding romance is jeopardized when a flying saucer lands in Milwaukee. The craft is piloted by Zombina (Amanda McCartney), a buxom alien bent on gaining he-specimens to repopulate her planet.
Her secret weapon is her high-powered singing, which “zombifies” the unknowing males.
Chandler’s cast is relatively young compared to recent playhouse productions, with most actors in their mid-to-late 20s. The actors’ silly, cartoonish demeanor tenderly mocks the bad acting of space paranoia flicks.
The film nostalgia includes sharp 50s clothing, indoor smoking (it’s fake) and scientific jargon: The reflexive lens must be responding recalcitrantly to post-lunar pressurization, says Corbett (Wes Ralston).
“I just remember those old, horrible sci-fi shows on television back when it was free. I love sci-fi. I’ve been a Trekkie from the get-go,” said Mary K. Hallen, who plays a man-hungry secretary.
The cast used a lot of movie comparisons to describe the play, and ‘Zombies’ truly has the look of a grade-B film. There are scenes where the actors mug at the audience, as if they were staring into a camera lens. It has the feel of “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” “Mars Attacks” and “Flash Gordon,” to name a few.
The trick was to make it look imperfect, Chandler said.
“Everything is tacky and corny. The cues are off in some spots but it’s intentional.”
The play’s score is an homage to ‘50s pop, such as Perry Como and Doris Day. Each of the actor’s vocals are ear-pleasing and McCartney gives a standout performance as the operatic Zombina. It’s paired with over-the-top jazz, swing and Russian dance moves. A lanky Parton manages a one-handed side flip in the dance number “Big Wig” and a Michael Jordon-sized leap across the stage. Young also brings a charming tap number in “Atomic Feet,” as his character flirts with Charlene.
Finally, the set design team did an incredible job of staying true to the cheesy sci-fi style. The Space Center looks like an airport control tower, with geometrical flashing control boards and a giant projector screen. Later, there’s a styrofoam skyline of Milwaukee and a space ship moves across the stage on a visible wire.
This play doesn’t need to be analyzed too deeply; it’s simply fun, clever and hilarious.
“In short, it’s a beautiful disaster. You gotta see it to believe it,” Parton said.
Tickets for “Zombies from the Beyond” are now available. The show runs Sept. 11 to Oct. 3, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. All seats are $16. Contact the Whidbey Playhouse at 679-2237 for more information. The Whidbey Playhouse is located at 730 SE Midway Blvd. in Oak Harbor.

A Corner turned...

Last week was hot and dry, this week was cooler and moist, and today it is COLD and WET! I think we have taken a turn around that weather corner, and have gone from summer into Fall. The leaves on my Maple tree have started to turn yellow on the west facing side. Soon they will all be on the ground, and have to be raked into piles and loaded into the back of Bob's pick-up, to be carted off to his mulch pile.

I woke up late this morning and it felt so good to be snuggled down under the blankets witha cold wind blowing in the window. Sometime during the night of restless sleep, I must have turned on the blanket, because I was toastey and sure did not want to move. Loki however had other ideas, and kept licking my face and purring into my mouth. MOM wake up!!! WE ARE HUNGRY. I expect that if I had not gotten up that they would have had ME for breakfast! Sadie maybe not, but I have no doubts that my cats would have eaten me starting with my nose!

I got up, fixed a pot of coffee, fixed another batch of zucchini bread, popped that into the oven, and went back to my bed to watch AFFAIR TO REMEMBER for the 35th time! I know that movie by heart.

THe show was WONDERFUL on Family and Press night, so they all got the holiday weekend off. All of the tech is done, the set is finished, the costumes are done and I only have three more portraits to take and then I AM DONE!!!! I almost cried because it was so good! I have put so many many many hours into this show, spending upwards of 8-10 hours a day trying to get all the tech just right, finding people to work backstage, setting the lights, sound, and tweeking everything. It is up to the cast now. My job is done. I have also turned a corner. I actually relaxed for the first time in MONTHS.

THe pool opens again on Tuesday, and Yoga starts up again on Tuesday morning, so I can get back to being healthy instead of stressed out.

My toe is sitting at a cock-eyed angle to the rest of my foot, and it hurts like hell, but it is not black anymore. Just bright CHerry red!

It is pouring rain and dark out and I heard a far off rumble in the distance, so I guess we may get some thunder and lightning. Very unusual for us. LOVE IT!!!

AHHHHHH!!!!!

tonight's Dress Rehearsal!

As you can see by these photos, it is an hilariously funny, kitschy, tacky,campy show. It was written that way, and it is so corny that you laugh all the time!
I wish you all could come see it. I will get it on you-tube sometime in October!

Rehearsal

Things are coming together great! After Saturday afternoon, I should have lights done, sound ready, and music all recorded. The set is ALMOSt ready, and the costumes are done. This is a picture of the ZOMBETTE costumes. WHAT A HOOT! I will post more Pictures after Press Night. Then we will have everything done. SO stand by....Sept 3 is Press Night and Family Night. Wanna come?

Flying saucer lands in Oak Harbor!

A Flying saucer has been seen flying over the Whidbey Playhouse as of late! Word has it that it is inhabited by an alien buxom aviatrix named ZOMBINA played by Amanda McCartney. Terrorizing earth and looking for he-specimens to re-populate her planet X she has ZOMBIFIED Major Malone (Nathan McCartney) and his right-hand man and Russian spy Rick Jones (Meiko Parton). Trenton Corbet (Wes Ralston) is the Young Astronaut trying to save the Probe Seven experiment from total destruction. Alas, he too is ZOMBIFIED . Major Malone’s daughter Mary (Caitlen Lewis), and his man-hungry secretary Charlene Osmanski (Mary K Hallen) along with the lovable Billy, the Tap dancing delivery boy,(Allen Young) create a cacophonous noise on the roof of the Probe Seven Control Room confronting Zombina and her Zombettes. They try to destroy the secret weapon that she keeps in her throat. Her extremely high and obnoxious voice. This Musical Comedy spoof on the 1950’s space movies is a wacky, zany production! The soundtrack may sometimes be off a bit, and the dialogue is really corny, but this is after all a spoof. A hilariously funny and toe-tapping take on the beginning of the Atomic space age. Tickets are 16.00 for all seats and reservations can be made by calling 360-679-2237. Directed by Mary Lou Chandler, Assisted by Kent Peckenpaugh, Produced by Rusty Hendrix, The Vocals Directed by Nathan McCartney and the dance routines by Daunne Zinger and K. Sandra O’Brien, This is one not to be missed!!! Show opens September 11 and runs weekends through October 3, 2009

I have been up to my ZOMBIE eyeballs trying to get this show on the stage. I think we finally are on the road. No Pianist, no orchestra, can't get the vocals off the CD but we are going to sing over the CD! camp it up and make it really Kitschy and corney! gotta work. My head is starting to ease up a bit. I really need to get back to yoga and swimming. no time!

Get your tickets!!!

Testing new toy

I just got a new Dell Laptop DUDE!!! Sat on my table and plugged it in said I wanted to do wireless and poof!!! there it is. Now I have NO idea why I am on the internet, but I appear to be. MAGIC!!!

More to come!

Desparate

My Pianist quit AGAIN!!! THis music is way too hard for the average joe. We tried Jim and he quit too. Right now we are singing and dancing to the CD, but that will not work for the show. I have no idea what we are going to do. Slit my wrists I think. (joke people) This was NOT a show I wanted to do, but I got offered it and took it. I am doing fine with everything else, just not the Piano player. Hard to put on a musical using only a CD!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

Back again!

No I did not do it. I sure do want to though, and the one really steep field still has the bales on it. They are cutting for the second time in the lower fields! I still have a chance. COward that I am, I probably will let this chance go right by me.

The Coupeville Festival is through for the year. We had GREAT weather, and lots of people! the vendors were happy about the way they were treated by our volunteers, and the customers were happy with the selection, and the volunteers were happy with the way it all went together. YAY!!! I have no clue how much we brought in, and probably will not until the Board Meeting. But It should be close to last year, if the vendors are correct! They all said they did better than last year, I know I spent about 200.00 and Sherry spent 100.00 also.

I have Suessical THe Musical in the can, and now I am searching high and low for a piano player. Our piano player for ZOMBIES, quit on the second day. SWELL!!!So once again I am beating the bushes looking for an accompanist. It should not be this hard! THe cast is great, and their dancing is ready, and they are almost throguh with their music, so all we have to do now is block and practice!

I am STILL waiting for Broadstripe to get here and fix my internet. GRRRRRRRRRR. I HATE waiting.

HOT< HOT< HOT!!!!

And HOT again!! It is already 85 out there on the back deck, And the sun just hit it! Whew! Now the weather man is saying that we are going to break historical records for alltime number of days over 90 degrees F. For Western Washington, that is SOMETHING!!! and the hot time has not even hit yet! We usually have a brief hot spell in May, then it rains all of June and then gets nice and dry in July and heats up in August and Sept. But NEVER like this! We have no AC in our houses, because we don't need it! Needless to say we all zone out someplace cool and try to ride this out as comfortably as you can.

We went out to dinner in a restaurant that was in an old victorian home in Coupeville. It was a Thai restaurant. all the windows were painted shut, and the doors were wide open but let me tell you folks, it was HOT in there!! The food was really great, and we will go back, but not until it cools down! It is hard to tell the flavor of your food when you are sweating so much it dilutes your fork before it hits your mouth!

I just came in from finishing painting the back deck. Had to wait for the sun to hit it so it would dry faster, then I painted it, then rushed into the house to wait for it to dry. Sitting here under a fan, drinking an Orange diet soda. As soon as it is dry enough to walk on, I will let the dogs back out for their pottie time, then back in to the house. It is too hot for them out there.

Yesterday I had the BBQ blocking the deck stairs, so Sadie could not get onto it, and she went BALLISTIC!! YAP YAP YAP YAP YAP like there was a threat in the yard. I ran out, and she was barking at the BBQ. I yelled at her to shut up. It is the BBQ!! I MOVED IT! LIVE WITH IT! nope, not having it, so I had to bring her in. It took her two weeks of yapping to get used to the doghouse being in the yard. She is soooo STUPID!

I made sure the bird baths were all full of clean fresh cool water, and now I am going to finish doing some work on the Computer. Then get the Minutes ready for my Board meeting tonight.

WHEW!!!! HOT!!!!!

oh I shouldn't oughta....

Back when I was a kid, the boys in town were always running around looking for mischief to get into during the summer. Nothing really bad, just tipping a few cows, moving a few out houses, and putting an old VW Bug on top of the high school. You know, fun stuff!

The other day Bob and I were coming home from dinner. We rounded the curve at San de Fuca and noticed that the farmers were cutting and baling the hay. The fields are right up against the water at Penn Cove, separated only by the two lane highway. At the corner where the Highway turns and goes through the trees is a piece of land called Grasser's Hill. The Grasser's used to live there. Their house is long gone now, but the huge apple tree is still there, and the steep hay fields are still un blemished by development. The Ebby Prairie Reserve has designated that area a no-build zone. the hay bales that the farmers are putting out now are big and round like giant lozenges sitting on the fields. They were all over the fields, sitting there drying so they can be covered with white plastic and then look like giant marshmallows.



Bob mentioned that the kids now a days just do not have any imagination. They sit in front of the tv playing their video games or texting on their cell phones, or working on their computers. for three weeks now, those giant hay bales have sat on the steep field with their flat sides facing uphill, just begging for two senior citizens to run up in the dark of night to the very top of the hill, turn them around and roll them down down down the field across the highway and into the water.

GOD!!!! The tempation is sooooooo strong!!! Never let it be said that you lose your sense of fun as you age!

Lazy? Summer?

HA! I have been busier than a one-armed paper-hanger, and our summer went South, I guess, because I Am freezing! Had to turn on my blanket last night. I came home from rehearsal last night, cleaned the kitchen and made another batch of jam so the berries would not rot. One batch did not set correctly, so tonight when I get home I will re-do that batch, and I will be done until Blackberries are ready. Donna always likes blackberry cobbler on her Birthday, so they had better be ripe before then or it is back to angel food cake! Himalayan Blackberries are very invasive here, they are the KUDZU of the Pacific Northwest, they grow up anything they can find! but they put out TONS of berries. You have to wear body armor picking them though, because they are very thorny. And they grow THICK so when you go into the thickets you get wounded. The birds love them too, and when they poop, the berry seeds get scattered, thus the proliferation of the bushes. CatmomaJ has quite a few bushes taking over her yard, so I may have a source there. They grow along every fence line in the fields, but the farmers get nasty when you pick them. Every vacant lot has tons of them too until time to pick and then they are full of people you have never seen in your life! All after the free berries. They are so worth it though.

Still Here

Yes, I am still alive and kicking. I have been so busy I rarely have time to sit at the computer unless I am doing work for one non-profit or another!I am finishing up one show NUNSENSE and have just started rehearsal for the next one ZOMBIES FROM THE BEYOND. AND getting ready in 4 weeks for the Coupeville Festival. We hold an arts and crafts fair every year, and vendors from all over the country come to sell their own hand made wares. We have over 200 booths, and it fills up two streets in town! We end up with over 10,000 people in town for that weekend. Lots of planning and getting things going. More than I ever thought about until I got involved. WHEW!

I also started a class in Chair Yoga, which I think is helping me. Too soon to tell, as I have only been to two classes, and now she will be gone until the 14th of July! :( I am still swimming,and still in pain, but maybe JUST maybe, this Yogini can help me with that.

I have not been blogwalking but I do try to keep up with facebook, so people will know that I am still alive. I will not stop blogging, just not as much! You have all been there. You KNOW you have! Rain, I stopped by and left a HUGE comment on your post this morning, and blogger lost it. But I really was there!!!!

CatmomaJ's white deer

We live on an island, and it is very rare for new creatures to crawl across the bridge or swim the 5 miles from the mainland, so we have a population of deer that eventually interbreed. THey are small, but they breed like crazy. The only natural predators are the coyotes that were brought over to control the rabbit population, and of course the proverbial teenager with a 22 rifle or a shotgun. Needless to say, when theses deer are corraled by houses and fences and highways, they will interbreed, and we end up with some very strange looking holstein like deer. Very rare on THIS Island, but in the SAN JUANS (2 islands over) they are very prevalent.




CatMomaJ took these yesterday out her bedroom window. This one is not an albino deer, but a very pale color nonetheless. Judy has been watching her for about a year now and she is quite shy. I would expect her to breed this year and possibly have some little baby white deer!

Still Here

It is very difficult to write when everything you want to say is negative. Difficult when you find that writing may make you realize a few things you dont like. even more difficult when there is not a freaking thing you can do about them.

I am stressed....
I am in Pain.....
I am hurt........
I am in pain.....
I am pushed......
I am in pain.....
I am lonely......
I am in Pain.....

I so want a good night's sleep without having to get up and peee 50 times a night, I want a good night's sleep without drugs that may or may not cause me to sleepwalk, sleep eat, or sleep compute. (How would I know? I live alone!)

I went to the Neurological Surgeon and he said that there is nothing he can do to fix me. THat anything he does would only be temporary and could hurt me worse than the fix. That was not what i wanted to hear. I have been through therapy, did not help. I Have had the shots in my spine...did not help. I am on Drugs, but they dont work anymore, and only will lead to more and more drugs at a higher and higher dose. I dont want that. The Pain is causing stress because I can not do what I need to do in my everyday life. I can't paint sets, I can't mow the yard, I cant walk through the grocery store, I cant vaccuum, I cant walk on the beach that I love so much. I have to go up the stairs one step at a time and I hurt. People are pulling away from me because I am no fun to be around. That is just an impression, not a known fact.

Being in pain causes me to be less tolerant than I used to be. My daughter told me I was acting like Ouiser in STEEL MAGNOLIAS. Thank you SO much OBE! Appreciate the support! :(

The only time I am not hurting is when I am sitting, for a short time, or swimming. Now swimming is a blessing...but not the one I was looking for. I was hoping it would strengthen my back so I could walk. Instead it has built up muscles in my gluts and my legs, so that I can swim Longer. Unfortunately my back will never improve from swimming. It feels good in the water though. No gravity, and no pain...however the pain upon exiting the pool is horrendous! Even little kids look at my face and run!

I have a new play starting this next week, and I am stressed about that. Stressed because I have repeatedly asked for help in finding a musical director, and I am getting nowhere! I know I can pull this off and it will be funny, but I cant play music, and so need help.. The Board is not helping one iota in that regard.

I have a cat that is going to have to be put to sleep if he doesnt quit shitting in the garage! He is UBER old, and used to belong to Tim, and he is an independent cuss, but he refuses to use the cat boxes! If I put him out at night, he stands under the window and SCREAMS until I let him in. I spent last weekend cleaning the garage, and I am paying for it this week. And yesterday I went in to scoop, and there right against the garage door is TWo piles of poo! ARRRRGHH!! He is so old he forgets what he is doing. I keep hoping that an owl or a coyote will take him away, but that aint gonna happen...It will have to be MOM that does it.

I Wish I drank! THen I could self-medicate and not worry about it, but I don't. So I guess I better shut up before the few readers I have left leave me too.

On a good note: THe oldest Baby flew today, but came back into the nest when Mom came home with dinner. The others looked at him as if to say..."HEY, You don't live here anymore! Go Away, this is OUR Lunch!"

WHOOPED!!

I am so tired! I had a board meeting tonight for the CFA, but I worked on the SHow this weekend, so now I have to rush to get caught up with my Producer duties....GOtta get to the scrapbook store tomorrow and get the paper for the Lobby Wall, then get that all done then Swim on Wednesday, then Buy-out on THursday and Open on Friday! THEN I have to get my shit together for MY show ZOMBIES which Auditions in three weeks!! ARRRGHHHH I am so glad I am retired and have nothing to do!!!! BAHHHH

Dress Rehearsal

Last night was a full dress rehearsal, complete with the band. I still do not have the lights set the way they need to be, but I will have before next week. It is getting to be so funny!! These ladies are veterans, and the more comfortable they get the funnier they get. You dont want to blink or you will miss something! here are a few more pictures to entice you to buy your tickets now!

more NUNSENSE.....

Nunsense!!

I am still chasing all of those wacky Nuns around town...Lord only knows what they will be up to NEXT!! The show is in production now, and will open on June 5! Get your tickets early, it is expected to be a sell-out!!

A Long Hard time is over!

In 2000, I was stationed in Fallon, Nevada, as GM of a retail store on base. It was a long way from home, but I drove it every 6 months just to see green again. In the Spring of 2000, I was heading home, to just spend time with my daughter, in Ellensburg. I called Tim on Orcas Island to tell him I would be there, to come over and meet us. WELL!!! I was informed that he was in jail...MY BABY!! I was shocked, but refused to put up any money for bail, as I knew he was financially unstable, and in fact had told both of my kids when they left the nest, that they knew right from wrong, and if they got in trouble it was on their own nickel. He knew that and knew not to call for bail money. Imagine his surprise when I went to visit him. oh YEAH! anyway, you all know the stress I was under and the problems I had getting stationed back here. DOwn Grade, lost money the whole works, but at least I could see him once in awhile. He was sent to Prison for 36 months with time off for good behavior. He waas transferred to a minimum security prison on the Olympic Peninnsula. He got the job of his dreams with the DEPT of NATURAL RESOURCES, fighting fires, and cleaning camp sites in the National FOrest. He did his time, jumped through all the hoops, got the rehab, and was released to work release, where he found a great job. He left that program after 6 months, and was on 1 year of probation. Yesterday we were all sitting around the table, eating Prime rib, and he announced that he is no longer on probation, that he has a letter from the DOC stating that he is fully rehabed and needs no further supervision!

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!! My baby boy finally has his head on straight! Only took him 37 years!

Photoshoot

I spent the afternoon running around town following a bunch of wacky Nuns. They are due to arrive at the Playhouse June 5th for a four week stay. You see These guys are hard to pin down. They are so full of energy, and so GLAD to be alive after escaping to a BINGO hall, while Sister Julia...(Child of God)poisoned the rest of the convent with her Vichyssoise soup that was tainted with botulism. 52 of their Oder died, and they only had enough money to bury 48 of the sisters, so the other four were stored in the convent freezer....until the Health Dept caught wind of it, and demanded that they too be buried. The Little Sisters of Hoboken are putting on a fund raiser at the Mt. St. Helen's school, and the fun begins! There is Reverend mother (Mary K Hallen), Sister Robert Anne (Sue Riney) Sister Hubert (Allenda Jenkins) Sister Leo (Elizabeth Booth) and of course Sister Amnesia (K. Sandra O'Brien). Rusty Hendrix Directs this zany Musical and naturally I am producing it.

SHHHHHH

I woke up this morning in horrible pain again, per the course, and just lay there on my back listening to the birds. There was something going on in the alders as there was a lot of cawing and loud chipping coming from beyond the fence. I just figured they were all glad to finally see a semi-dri day, so I went about my morning ablutions. Yogurt, coffee, crochet, the VIEW and the News. The dogs were going nuts barking too, so I finally got up to see what was what.

The dogs came in, Lint came in, and the birds were fluttering around the suet feeder, but there was still something in the woods. I stood in my nitegown at the edge of the back deck and looked as far as I could through the jungle that used to be my back yard, and right there on the edge of the Alders sitting on a branch was a Barred Owl. I talked Barred owl talk to him, and he just sat there with his eyes closed sleeping away. The Birds do NOT like him there, as he is as apt to eat them as mice or rats. He obviously isnt very hungary, as just now a chickadee flew right into his face, and he just sat there grooming himself. I sure wish he would scare away the starlings though...they are greedy little bastards, and devour a suet block in 15 minutes. The owl just sits there...keeping watch on the ground for the rats that Live under my house...yeah I know, dont feed the birds, but Hey...It is one of my only real pleasures. And if you think about it, I am feeding the owls too. :)

Dr. Report...

Last Friday I went to get an MRI on my Lumbar spine. I have been in pain for over 10 years, constantly getting worse. I have asked several times for something to relieve the pain, but get ignored. Last Thursday I went in a yelled at my Dr, and told him to either find out what is wrong with my back or give me enough drugs to tolerate it. I can no longer walk all the way around the grocery store with out pain radiating down my left side and my leg collapsing. I am ok sitting for awhile, and I am in no pain in the Pool. So I swim 2 hrs at a time three days a week. He realized that I have been trying, so he referred me to the MRI. I came home the next day with films in hand. So being the WONDERFUL Dr that I am....(NOT) I looked at them, and then compared them to normal MRIs on line. (did you know there are TONS of pictures of lumbar spines?) I thought they looked scary, so I called and asked when I should bring them in. I get a call left on my answering machine, from the Dr, that there is INDEED an abnormality in my Lumbar Spine, and he is referring me to a Neurologist for evaluation and possible surgery! HALLELUJAH! At least now he knows and I know that I am not making this pain up.

I have this wonderful new mower that I have been trying to use to get my grass down to a workable level, however I mow 50 feet and then sit and rest my back, then mow some more and rest, Today I actually got the front 1/3 of the back yard down to where it should be. So now Sadie has a place to pottie without getting lost in the foot high grass and dandelions which have taken over my back yard.

Now I am sitting here updating my blog, and hoping that the pain goes away long enough for me to get in the car and drive to the pool. I'm telling you...PAIN!!!!
When Did I get so OLD? I thought Sciatica was an OLD PERSON'S ailment. Didn't they have Carter's little pills for that? Humph!

Good pot o'beans!

I, Like the rest of the country had a baked Ham for Easter dinner. Actually it was Saturday, because that is when the family gathered. I cooked it, and there was not much to slice off after dinner, so I stuck it in the fridge and then later in the week I made a pot of pinto beans. I reached in the cupboard for the bag of beans that I ALWAYS have on hand, only to find that I had just half a bag. I shrugged, threw the bone, the beans an onion, garlic and a swig of Mrs. Wright's Liquid smoke, turned on the crock pot and walked away. THe next day I had a great pot of bean SOUP, but not many beans. I ate a few bowls, and stuck the rest into the fridge. Sunday I stopped by Prairie Center, got a few needs and several bags of beans to have on hand. I came home threw a bag of small white beans into the crock pot and set it for 10 hours. It turned into a good batch of beans, I ate some and then Yesterday I thought...HMMMMM it is so thick I wonder what would happen if I tried to make baked beans in a crock pot.

I threw in a cup of brown sugar, a big squirt of mustard, MORE Mrs. Wright's, and all the molasses I had left (1/4 cup), and about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar stirred it all in and heated it up. Last night I came home from swimming and OHMIGAWD!!!! It was wonderful!! B&M Boston Baked Beans has NOTHING on me!!! No oven, no long baking, just use the crock pot and there it is!!!

I have grown up eating beans and cornbread for dinner. Only Mom used salt pork, not Ham. and I LOVE the cornbread soaked with the bean juice, piled high with ham and beans. YUMMY!! and Baked Beans with Polish Sausage on the side!! damn, it is time for lunch.

A GREAT READ.

When I first started blogging over 6 years ago, I had a follower, "The Fairy" that sent me a book that she really wanted me to read. "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" By Alexander McCall Smith. I read it and fell in love with Mma. It takes place in Botswana, Africa and is very innocent and naive at first. Then you realize that she uses her innocence to her benefit, and solves cases.

I went on to read almost all of the series, (I have missed two books, I don't know how!) and thought it would make a good TV series. WELL! HBO did too, and they made a TV movie of the first book, and then they are presenting a series based on the books written. I watched episode #3 last night. (HBO Sunday Night) I Loved it just as much as the first one.

I encourage all of you to get the books and read them and then follow along on the series, and escape to an Africa that you probably have never known. I got a map of Africa, and keep it by my bed, so that when I am reading, I can follow along and know where she is. Great Geography lessons too.

DO it. you know you want to. ;)

back problems

after 7 long painful years of yelling at my dr, He FINALLY said ok, we will get an mri on your lumbaer spine region and see what is going on. I am pain free in the water, and stay in for more that two hours three time a week. I went down to Lynwood on the mainland, and had to look for it. Fouind it right away. went in crawled into the tube and layed there for 45 minutes while they took 4 sheets of pictures.

I went on line to see if any there look like mine, and there are some. So Now I am going to yell for surgery to get this crap fixed! I have sat on my ever widening ass for 7 years, and I am tired of this. THere is something pinching my sciatic neverv and now it runs clear down my leg into my ankle and big toes. ARRRRRGGGHHH Really hard to walk when your legs wont move! I NEED to get out and walk.. every day! 3 miles everyday, i Need to hike along a sandy beach. I need to hike trough the high mountain forest. I need to just get away for awhile. So next week I take the films back to him and then start the nexdt step. This pain is horrible. SHould have heard me yelling as I waas pushing the mower this afternoon! OOPS@

SPRING!! AT LAST!!

Not only has the weather been just lousy as hell, and my mental state has been busy with dying brother, but even the flowers are late this year. In The Skagit Valley they have a tulip festival every April, and the Tulips have not opened yet!! Tulips in my yard are just now starting to open. THe plum trees next door are loaded with blossoms finally, and the crab apple tree is getting a tinge of pink...By Now we would have had an explosion of color, But it looks like if the weather holds like it is today, we might have a spring after all.

Yesterday it snowed in some areas...REALLY!!

I have a horrible allergic reaction to the tree pollen, and with spring so late, they are all pollenating at once. NICE!! My grass has grown almost a foot, and my lawn mower just got here yesterday. Now I am waiting for the grass to dry out enough to cut it.

I bought an electric lawnmower. A Neuton! totally electric, with no cord! it is run by a replacable battery that you just pull out and plug into the wall and voila. No gas to buy, no pollutants to fill the air and very little noise! Now let's see if this puppy can cut! (and see if I can push it!)

Michael Murray Brett Sept 12 1955-April 8 2009

My baby brother finally left this world about an hour ago. He fought a long hard battle with Colo-rectal cancer. The past two months he has been in a hospice Enso House, and they are there strictly to take care of the dying, and to allow them to pass from this world in as peaceful a setting as possible.

The past week he has been semi-concious, but he had his eye-lids only half open. He was cold and gettign a blue tint to him, his eyes were sunk way back into his skull, and he could not speak. It was horrible watching him try to leave, and not being able to. This has been a very hard transition for him and for the whole family. I hope none of you ever have to go through that.

Do your families a favor and go out and get a colonoscopy. DO IT! NOW!!! catch it before it is too late! If you smoke, STOP!!! and next time the Combined Federal Campaign comes your way, donate to the American Cancer SOciety, and let's get a cure for all cancers!

I will write more in the morning,. RIght now by brain is very tired. I may just sleep all day! Thank you all for being here for me.