THE INTERMISSION!

Well the Show has ended! We struck the set last night and will unload the truck this evening. It is so SAD to see something that you have lived with for 3 months get torn down to the bare walls. Our set was SO PRETTY! now it is just bare black walls! SIGH!

The cast was amazing, and there was a reason that they got cast as they did, THEY JUST FIT! they still do, and they are so sad to see it end. It is for the good though, because now they can get back to their lives and move on to bigger and better things. I have a Drama that I want to Direct, but that may not happen for awhile, and unless there is something I am really passionate about, I will not direct again. I am TIRED! I am putting over 40 hours a week into volunteering, and not getting paid a cent. But that is what volunteering is all about. Giving back to the communitee. Thanking them with your talents for the things they gave to you. I get a lot of satisfaction out of it, but I am tired, so I am pulling back just a bit.

Our next big production is ANNIE, which I am producing, and MURDER IN THE MAGNOLIAS which I am doing nothing but the photography for. AHHHH!

I am producing (kinda) our Season Preview in March, but all of that is things I can do from home. With Gas expected to hit 5.00 a gallon by summer, I NEED to stay home! I cant afford that! JEEZ!!

My Kitten Gracie, is growing like a weed, but still a little sweetheart, and WIlls my 10 month old kitten thinks I brounght her in just for him. HE ADORES her! They play so cute together. Sadie just sighed and said oh crap another baby to raise. She is really good with them all. After all she was raised by cats, she does not know she is a dog!

The Philadelphia Story!

If you are close to Oak Harbor, You really need to come see this show. It is one of the best yet! A great Romantic Comedy written for Kathryn Hepburn in the late 1930's, and co-starring Cary Grant as Dexter and Jimmy Stewart as Mike. Stewart won his only academy award for this role. (That is hard to believe isn't it!)

The acting is fantastic and the set is the prettiest I have ever had! Thank you Dave and Sheila for that!

The show runs through February 13, 2011, thurs, fri and Sat nights at 7:30 and Sunday at 2:30! TICKETS are only 16.00.

It is well worth the drive from Mt. Vernon! ;)

re-run!

THIS POST IS ONE FROM MY ARCHIVES, I found it and thought it warranted a re-post!
Enjoy!

Driving home...observing...
As I drive, I let my mind wander. Sometimes I talk to myself, asking why or why not A specific incident. Usually it is reliving a situation, and how I SHOULD have reacted, instead of HOW I DID!

Sometimes I sing along to the radio, depending on the mood I am in.

sometimes I just look.

Last night I was just looking...I was heading south out of Oak Harbor, having just come from Albert and noticed just how dark it had gotten while I was in the store. From the parking lot the sky was all dark and cloudy, even though it was only 445! I thought at the time it was unusually dark. AS I topped the hill, I was heading west, and noticed immediately that there was a break in the clouds. Usually when a front moves through, the west clears last, and that is where I was looking. But what I saw was TWO fronts. The first was passing through, and was on it's way out. The 2nd front was just coming in off the Pacific, and was hanging low on the horizon. Right in between, in the light lavender and mauve colored stripe of clear sky was the planet Venus was shining brightly. It was gorgeous, a ray of peaceful hope in a very troubled sky.

The clouds on the receding front had the cottage cheese look, and were back lit ever so slightly by the fading light. Just enough to give them definition, and let you know that it was about to get very windy.

My Father was an outdoors person, with no formal training, just a love for the nature around him. He Read voraciously about it, and LOVED the Weather, the geophysical sciences, and the forests. So naturally as we grew up, and had no Television...(horrors!!), we went out into this vast encyclopedia of living things every weekend, and we observed. Weather was a big interest, as it would adversely affect out lives if we did not watch it carefully. Dad would tell us what the weather was going to do just by looking. We had no weatherman on the 6 o'clock news. He would point out the subtle differences between the clouds, and even though he didn't know the scientific terms for them, he could tell us what they each meant. The Horsetail clouds way up high meant that warmer moist weather was coming in a few days, and it usually did. He could point out where the rain was falling and tell us how much longer we had to walk the beach before we would get wet, SO we always headed back to the car JUST IN TIME!

Last night I saw that one system was moving through and that the end of the system was usually followed by winds, and that the second one was moving in with rain and winds. By the time I had made it to Coupeville, the winds had started, and lasted about an hour, and then it was calm until after midnight.

I know by listening to the sound outside just when it will start to snow, (I have a young lady thoroughly in awe of me!) and I can smell it coming. I really can. I can tell by the way the wind is blowing what might be heading our way. From the south and strong, usually means the storm is going to be warm and wet...A Pineapple express, coming in from Hawaii. From the North usually means that the jet stream has dropped and the lows coming in off the pacific have been diverted to the North, and then whipped down this way, bring cold rain and wind.

I can tell by the moss growing on the North side of everything in my back yard, that we have not had very much exposure to the sun this fall and winter. It will take a lot of scrubbing this spring to get it all clean again.

This is usual weather for the Pacific Northwest. All wet and gray, hardly ever any snow in the lowlands. Dad brought us here in 1954, from sunnier climes, and Both Phyllis and I fell totally in love with the place. It was like living in the middle of a national forest. We learned about nature by observing Dad, and we learned that not all of God's knowledge can be gained by formal schooling. Sometimes the best lessons are ones we observe first hand from someone we trust.

I know I did.

rehearsals continued,

This was the first rehearsal where almost everyone had a costume. They should all be there by tomnorrow night, but most of the women had them tonight. THe timing is a little off tonight, but for the most part it is just tweaking the lights and adding a few paint drops to a flat. Tomorrow we get to start cleaning the place up and getting it ready for an audience. Everyone was there tonight, and it works so well when they are all on. A little frivolity but that is good. It means the cast is relaxed and ready. Tomorrow I buckle down and will not interupt them at all to see how long the show will run.

This has been such a wonderful ride. This cast is AMAZING! Dick, you and Pat are gonna have to forgo a Sunday afternoon and drive over and see it. It will be worth your time. But get your tickets early as we are expecting these to go fast!

The Philadelphia Story

These Pictures are of Tara Hizon as Tracy Lord, Jim Reynolds as Mike Connors, Dustin Amunson as C.K.Dexter Haven and Bob Foster as Sandy Lord, During the rehearsal of The Philadelphis Story.

This is a Movie with Kathryn Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant, that I was in love with as a child, and may have watched it 50 times. I also like the Musical version of it made in the late 50's with Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby. When we had the play selected as a possible addition to our season, I jumped on the chance to direct it. I have LOVED working with this cast, and they are GREAT!

This is the cast that makes a directors job EASY! I just point at where I want them and they do the rest. THe set is GORGEOUS and the costumes are period. What a show. If you are in the neighborhood please come see it. You will not be disappointed.

Tickets are 16.00 and they are reserved seating. THe Play opens January 28, and runs until Feb 13. Hope to see you there.

I will post more as I get them.

Hey Matt! You Dat!

Rarely do I watch a football game, but I did on Saturday. And what a game it was,Our team went into it with a losing reci=ored, and tghe worst record in the NFC.And they POUNDED the Super Bowl Winners New Orleans Saints! Whoot, All thanks to Matt Hasselback, Lucas and about 9 others but the one that really one for us wasw our "twelfth Man. Our FANS are the noisiest fans in the NFL AND IT EVEN REGISTERED AS AN earthquake under Quest field when Lucas ran his 60 yd TD. THe seismometers under seqattle showed a minor earthquake, Nah just the fans making a lot of noise and jumping up and down. It was an awesome game. Now on to Chi-town and the Bears. I do bot have much hope that they can pull it off again, but if they do!! WHOOOOOOO That 12th man will earn his colors!!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Seahawks!!!!!!!!!

Meet Gracie!

As you can see, she RULES the house! Notice there are no ornaments on the bottom of the tree? Wills and Gracie knocked them all off and broke them. They chase each other around like mad cats. I was afraid Gracie would get hurt, but she holds her own!

A New year!

As a New Year Dawns over Mt Rainier and the Seattle skyline, we are still in the throes if a bitter cold weather system. It has not gotten above the freezing mark,and to make matters worse, we have a stagnant air advisory which means that all that wood Bob chooped, split and stcked for me can not be burned! I have to use my electric heat! GRRRRRRR!



Every New Year's Eve we sit in the living room and watch the events on TV. And every year we wonder if this is the year that the Space needle will finally lift off and head for orbit! Alas, it stayed on the ground, and it was an incredible sight to see it all lit up again.

THis year I will have two new additions to my fur babies. and a few losses too. I lost Lint, and Loki to Either old age or anaphalactic Shock. Sadie is still here and getting older and more crippled. She is going on 8 years old, and her hips are starting to really get to her. She can no longer jump on my bed, and can barely make it on the couch. Schroeder is 3 and still the biggest one, and the biggest WUSS!! He still hides under the bed when anyone besides me is in the house. Will's is 9 months old now and a real love of a ginger tabby. He runs the house. Or he DID until last week when I brought GRACIE home. Gracie is my final cat. unless I live a lot longer than she does! She is 8 weeks old, a long haired Black Calico kitten with a really pretty face. I have wanted one like her for several years, and finally she came into my life! She was an orphan at 7 days old, and one of my cast members was fostering her and her siblings. Bottle feeding them every two hours. So she brought her into rehearsal, and I fell in LOVE! Gracie now runs the house! Schroeder stays under the bed and growls at her, Sadie is not too sure about her and Will's just wants to play like a teenaged cat would, but I wont let him. She is waaay too little still. She sleeps right beside me every night, and purrs me to sleep. Such a love!

I hope all of you and yours have a very happy and healthy New Year too! Herman, Welcome back! (((Hugs)) and et nz enjoy your nice summer weather...

BRRRRRRRRR!

And you thought it was cold where you live. This was on the TODAY show this morning,. a lighthouse in Cleveland Ohio was sprayed with lake waves and then frozen in ice. WHooo I sure would hate to have to deice that porch!

Coupeville Christmas Parade

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I sat for an hour in 28F weather waiting for the parade. It was small and full of those things that you would expect to see in a small town, the dog club, the sherriffs possee, the tracktor pulling a flat bed full of boys and girls, the middle school band, and the firetrucks with santa. After the parade every one gathered on the corner of the old highway and main st and sang carols while they lit the city park. It was very nice, and got me right into the spirit, so I stopped ion the local red apple store and got some cookie stuff and listened to some old fart tell how hokey and stupid it was. We dont have a Macy's parade for sure, but for our little historical town, I thought we did guite well. I sent him on his way OUT of down to someplace he might like better. We dont need any more grumps in this town! Especially this time of the year.

BRRRRRRRRR..........

We now have about an inch of white stuff on the ground. Now mind you, we were expected to get really cold this week, but only locations from Tacoma SOUTH were expecting snow! HRMMMMM They missed again.

I LOVE snow. I love to lay on my stomach and peer out the bedroom window and watch it snow, and watch the birds scratch through it to get to the seeds on the platform feeder. I Love to watch the snow stack up on the backs of the squirrels that are sitting on the feeeder. Nothing keeps the critters from having breakfast.

I am supposed to have taken the TURKEY up to Lynden to my son's house so that they can start it thawing and have it in the oven when we get there on THURSDAY, however, the roads are not conducive to driving 75 miles up and back in a few hours. I thought now how can I get them a turkey? SAFEWAY!!! I bought a gift card, stuck it in the mail, and it should get there tomorrow so they can go 5 miles into Lynden and buy what they need. AND, if the roads are still un drivable, I dont have to worry. They can go ahead and have their own dinner, and Bob and I can go down to the community potluck, and not sweat the drive!

The weather is predicted to warm up by Thursday, but it is cold enough right now, to keep the ground pretty cold for a week or so. Is this La Nina really going to be the worst in 75 years? KEWL!!! I am ready. Plenty of wood, plenty of books, plenty of food, plenty of pet food, and I suppose I should fill the water jugs in case the power goes out and the pump generator (community well) quits working. I am ready! Actually I am looking forward to it.

Yeah, I know! I AM Nuts!!! Must be the Girl Scout in me. BE PREPARED!!

Chilly November.

BRRRRRRR!! As predicted, La Nina has made our November weather colder and wetter than normal. But it also was unpredictable, in that we just had a very windy few days with one storm system after another coming in off the Pacific and slamming into us.

We had two days of winds over 61 MPH, and trees down, power lines down, lights off, and WET! The rain hit first, pounding down like hail stones, but it was only rain. Then the winds hit. I was driving home in the worst of it, and just as I left Oak Harbor, the lights went out. It is odd driving in the dark, when you know there are homes and businesses out there in the void. As I left city limits, and headed on down the island, the wind buffeted the car around like a toy. It was blowing me into the oncoming lane. Thank Goodness I was driving slow enough to correct with out flipping the car. There was a car right behind me that was tailgating like he was getting ready to pass, when I whipped into the other lane, and the wind hit him too. He backed way off, slowed down and behaved himself the rest of the way.

As I got into Coupeville, all of the lights there were on. So I drove through the only stoplight in town, and headed on down island. I was approaching a very narrow part of the highway, and there were trees right up to the fog lines on both sides of the road, so I slowed way down, expecting a tree to be down across the road. I rounded a curve and right there was every emergency vehicle in the town of Coupeville, all cleaning up the mess of branches and trees right where I knew they would be. I was waved on through, over the branches, and around the trees, and then on down the road. I was all hunkered down, with my head down below the steering wheel, thinking that if a tree did hit me, maybe I could duck down and be safe.

It was pretty dicey driving the rest of the way home, and there were several more trees down and power lines hanging. I made it the 20 miles home, and pulled into my driveway just in time for the latest gust of wind to take out the power in my neighborhood. I grabbed the flashlight, left my headlights on, and went on in the house, put every thing down, then closed and locked the car, and the front door.

In Our part of the country, you learn to live with emergency supplies as part of the decorations in your livingroom. Hanging from the ceiling right over one of the end tables, was a Coleman Gas lantern, so I grabbed, it, the matches and the flashlight and headed for the bedroom. I lit the lamp, and crawled under the covers, and read a book.

The next morning, When I woke up, the lights were back on, so I put the lantern back on the hook, and brought in two loads of wood, and waited for the next round. It hit the next day, with winds just as bad, but no power outages, and I stayed home.

Tonight we are waiting for the temperature to fall below freezing and stay there for a few days. Snow is predicted in some places, but we hardly ever get it. My Son called last night, to tell me that in Lynden where he lives, about 5 miles from the Canadian border, that the wind was blowing really hard and the snow was blowing sideways. The news/weather man had just showed his town under blizzard conditions!

Novembers here are usually like most of you have Octobers. Chilly, but not extreme, and our cold weather waits until January or February. Tonight I am laying here under the blankets, looking out at the woods at an almost full bright moon showing through the branches of the alders. It is still, and crisp, and the temps are falling. right now the thermometer in my window is registering 35 degree F. so I know it must be about 30. The weather teasers on the TV just said that the temperatures are plummeting, and low land snow is expected tonight. We shall see.
I need to get a turkey up to Tim's house some time really soon, so that they can enjoy their first Thanksgiving as a family. They are safe, and for the moment, warm, and the baby is fine, and they will all remember this.

Phyllis and I grew up here and look forward to the excitement that stormy weather brings us. We have all the right emergency equipment on hand, and can survive for several weeks. It is just another thing to keep boredom at bay. WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!

A touch of the Season

little bit of natural history.......
Amazing.............


Penguins
Did you ever wonder why there are no dead penguins on the ice in Antarctica - where do they go ?

Wonder no more ! ! !


It is a known fact that the penguin is a very ritualistic bird which lives an extremely ordered and complex life.
The penguin is very committed to its family and will mate for life, as well as maintaining a form of compassionate contact with its offspring throughout its life.
If a penguin is found dead on the ice surface, other members of the family and social circle have been known to dig holes in the ice, using their vestigial wings and beaks, until the hole is deep enough for the dead bird to be rolled into and buried.
The male penguins then gather in a circle around the fresh grave and sing:

"Freeze a jolly good fellow"

"Freeze a jolly good fellow."


"Then they kick him in the ice hole." !!!


You really didn't believe that I know anything about penguins, did you!

Freedom!

I just love this picture of Owen. We put this hat on his head and it looks like he is saying''WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING!



My wonderful daughter,OBE, came home this weekend, and among otherthings, managed to finish hooking up my home internet,and got my laptop,working on line, while I lay on mu tummy all snug in my bed! I have been wanting to get this done for years, and now I am aable to. WHOO-HOO! Donna, you rock!

I went up to see Owen and of course his wonderful family too, this weekend. Donna went up with me, and we spoiled Owen rotten. He is the happiest baby I have seen in ages. He has gained 6 0z in three weeks, and already smiles at his Mimi! hard to tell he smiles though from these pictures!

I Took him up his first pumpkin, and it was three times as big as he was. Unfortunately I did not get pictures of him with it. I held him on my lap and tickled his tummy and he grinned! I think I am going to enjoy this granda bit!

My Boys

edt/nz said that he liked to read about my cats. Alright then. The Big monster is Schroeder, he is two and a half, and still growing. He must weigh close to 20 lbs! He is also the Biggest sissy-boy you can imagine. When anyone or anything makes a noise that he does not recognize he growls and runs under my bed. He has completely torn the gauze off of the bottom of the box springs, and used to crawl up there and hide. I turned the be3d over a few months ago, and finished cutting the gauze off, and then vaccuumed all the cat hair up. What a mess. He is a Lover though. He will get right in my face when I am laying on my stomach in bed reading a book. He curls up right on the book and then purrs and head butts me. Such a love, such a WUSS!!

The little Yellow cat is Wills, officially named Wilson, because there is a pattern on the top of his head that looks like the volleyball on CASTAWAY! He talks. He talks, and purrs at the same time, he follows me everywhere, and meows constantly. He is also the biggest brute you have ever met! He beats up Schroeder, he terrorizes Sadie, he climbs my leg. He is getting calmer now, but when he was a baby he ruled the roost. He came from my son's home where he was used to three full grown St Bernards. He looks at Sadie and I know he is thinking. PHHHH...You have no idea what a dog is! He hides around corner and jumps and tackles Sadie as she comes around the door. He tackles Schroeder, and Rocky my Brother's dog that I take care of during the day. Nothing phases him. He is fearless. He is also taking the place of Loki. HE sleeps right beside me and purrs all night long. All I have to do is reach out in the night and there is a little yellow head under my hand, just waiting to comfort me.

I am looking for a female, but I will take my time, and when it is right, she will appear, and then I will have another fur baby to love!

Owen Wesley Pierce

I do not have any grandchildren...or I didnt until Tim married Mistie in July, and she came with her 17 year old daughter. AND a Great-Grandson-to-be!



My Son is over the moon with this little doll! As I am! As we ALL are!



Proud Momma and Daddy with little Owen. DId I say Little? oops! 9lbs.3 Oz! and 21" long.



So this little fellow is the first baby in our family, and Tim is the proudest grand father I have ever seen. You would think it was HIS baby! He is already planning fishing trips, and spoiling him rotten. Nana is so excited also, and I am ecstatic! I have not been around a baby in 39 years! so Even though I am kinda down the totem pole in ranking, I am a very proud Mimi! I held him for over 30 minutes, and then he pooped, so back to Dad he went! Hey this is fun!

CHICAGO!

The Show that opens our 48th season is CHICAGO! The Bob Fosse, Ebb,musical that takes place in Chi-town during the 1920's! The dancing in this show is fantastic, the harmony great, and the story very dark. Foxy ROxie Hart is accused of murdering her lover, and sleazy Billy Flynn the money-mad lawyer concocts a story to get her off. DOes He do It? Does Velma Kelly get off for murdering her husband and sister for doing the Banana Split? Does Amos Hart take pity on his Pregnant wife?

Tickets are on sale now at The Whidbey Playhouse 360-679-2237 Reserved seating only.









All Photos by ME!!!

EARTHQUAKE!

THIS IS TO ASK ABOUT MY FRIENDS IN NEW ZEALAND.... edt are you and yours OK? I dont know how to get ahold of you other than this. Keewee, is your daughter safe? Please let me know. I am thinking of you all.