Today Darly & I went to an Art & Craft "festival"
We headed over pretty late so I parked a bit further from the "festival" than we had to so I could get us a spot in the shade. It was kinda hot out but not too unbearable...there were lots of bunnies to see on the way.
We get to the "festival" and start looking around. First off, well the "festival" is all contained in part of just one parking lot. Hummm not much of a festival in my book. We had a lot more art to look at when they did Parker Days two weeks ago. The first booth we come to is a food booth...no surprise there. There were 3 in a row and it is clear the organizers expected crowds to be a lot larger than there were. There was also a tented "stage" area for live music. (music should probably also be in quotes, but that's kinda mean. ;) )
There were several booths that contained items that were clearly NOT arts or crafts. I had to fight the urge to ask "did you make these?"... of course I know that they didn't make the books or toys as I have been to these distributor parties before. :p
We didn't see any art or craft that we needed or like very much. We probably walked a bit too fast but the walk to and from the "festival" took us longer. But it had bunnies, so that was cool!
We then headed to Walmart to get more yarn for me to make some crafts with.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
We're still alive!
Sorry for the dramatic title and I'm also sorry that there are no pictures. :( Once you hear the story you'll understand why.
Tuesday I went to the basement to search for some yarn so I had something to work on during Darly's activities...she had voice lessons AND rehearsal that day.
When I go to reach for my yarn what should I see?
In my basement?
A SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay breathe... it was just a small garden snake. about a food long and no bigger around than your thumb.
First question: HOW DID IT GET IN HERE???? no idea (still!)
Second question: HOW IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO GET IT OUT OF HERE????? especially since we had to leave for Darly's voice lesson.
Darly came down and we tried to get the snake, but it crawled under a cabinet before we could catch him and we had to leave...so we just had to hope that we could find him when we got back.
I grabbed some yarn and we left.
When we returned the snake was in a sunny spot near the window. GOOD! easy to find.
But it was in the set of wire cube shelves. BAD! easy for him to get away again. SIGH!
So I went to the garage and got some snake catching tools... leather work gloves (in case he bites!), a plastic child snow shovel (why do we still have this???) and a bucket to put him in.
I used several items from the basement to block the snake from escaping again...we also tried to get the snake to come out into the open...but the snake wasn't that dumb.
The snake went behind the wire shelves. sigh
So I moved the shelves and a bunch of other stuff. Luckily the floor where the snake ended up was very cold, so he wasn't in the mood to move very fast.
Eventually I was able to use... none of the snake catching equipment I had brought... I took a plastic shoe box and put it over the snake. Then I took a part from some scrapbooking storage thingy a friend gave us to scoop up the snake alike you do with a bug, glass & cardboard.
The snake...now dubbed Melvin was witness relocated (after many yells at Lilly to get out of my way) to the strawberry patch of my garden. He didn't seem all that upset by his move once he got there. But I haven't seen him since.
In other news it has been storming like crazy here (perhaps the reason Melvin sought shelter in our house?), lots of warnings of bad things, but so far just rain.
Tuesday I went to the basement to search for some yarn so I had something to work on during Darly's activities...she had voice lessons AND rehearsal that day.
When I go to reach for my yarn what should I see?
In my basement?
A SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay breathe... it was just a small garden snake. about a food long and no bigger around than your thumb.
First question: HOW DID IT GET IN HERE???? no idea (still!)
Second question: HOW IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO GET IT OUT OF HERE????? especially since we had to leave for Darly's voice lesson.
Darly came down and we tried to get the snake, but it crawled under a cabinet before we could catch him and we had to leave...so we just had to hope that we could find him when we got back.
I grabbed some yarn and we left.
When we returned the snake was in a sunny spot near the window. GOOD! easy to find.
But it was in the set of wire cube shelves. BAD! easy for him to get away again. SIGH!
So I went to the garage and got some snake catching tools... leather work gloves (in case he bites!), a plastic child snow shovel (why do we still have this???) and a bucket to put him in.
I used several items from the basement to block the snake from escaping again...we also tried to get the snake to come out into the open...but the snake wasn't that dumb.
The snake went behind the wire shelves. sigh
So I moved the shelves and a bunch of other stuff. Luckily the floor where the snake ended up was very cold, so he wasn't in the mood to move very fast.
Eventually I was able to use... none of the snake catching equipment I had brought... I took a plastic shoe box and put it over the snake. Then I took a part from some scrapbooking storage thingy a friend gave us to scoop up the snake alike you do with a bug, glass & cardboard.
The snake...now dubbed Melvin was witness relocated (after many yells at Lilly to get out of my way) to the strawberry patch of my garden. He didn't seem all that upset by his move once he got there. But I haven't seen him since.
In other news it has been storming like crazy here (perhaps the reason Melvin sought shelter in our house?), lots of warnings of bad things, but so far just rain.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Who can it be now?
Yesterday at Church I overheard one of the other women mentioning that she didn't finish a project because she was interrupted by a phone call. This got me thinking about our culture...
I remember as a kid that every time the phone would ring it would 99% of the time be for you and only some times be the wrong number. It would also be a call that was important to you and NOT someone on the other end trying to sell you anything or take your money.
My how things have changed.
I remember as a teenager that the calls became more frequent because sales calls started up. My mom hated these calls so much that she made me become her answering service. I would have to answer the call and let her know who and why the caller was on the line...of course if it was a sales call I would simply tell them that my mother wasn't available and hang up.
Sales calls started getting pushier back then as businesses hired folks to do nothing but call and sell their products and the lively hood of these poor folks depended on them selling. So sales folk started asking when my mother would be available to take the call. Back then saying the truth (NEVER!) was considered rude so I had to invent some lie to get them off the phone.
Eventually we got an answering machine and screened our calls. They still called, but we didn't have to answer.
When it was just mom & me living together I put the outgoing message on our machine the chorus to a BeeGee's song "I've just gotta get a message to you... hold on...hold on..." Unfortunately that lasted all of a week because my mom's friends complained that they didn't know who they were calling. I thought it was quite clever and her friends should have been smart enough to know that only one person that they are calling would have such a message...the HUGE BeeGee's fan. oh well
Years later we got caller ID and this was wonderful because our friends no longer had to wait through the answering machine to get though.
But those pushy businesses and scammers started getting sneaky and changing their caller ID... and then everyone and their brother got a cell phone and caller ID went out the window. So back to letting the answering machine do the screening.
My husband got upset with me for "being rude" and not answering calls from numbers I didn't know. But when he would answer and try to get rid of the caller he quickly picked up on how difficult it was getting to get them to understand the word NO. He doesn't answer as much anymore. The last call he picked up they asked for me and it turned out to be a political survey. I hung up and rolled my eyes at him.
It is clear to me that for now, the callers are relying on folks still considering the phone call to be important to them.
However, that isn't happening at my house. If you are lucky enough to have my phone number, expect that I won't answer it.
Sorry, not sorry.
I remember as a kid that every time the phone would ring it would 99% of the time be for you and only some times be the wrong number. It would also be a call that was important to you and NOT someone on the other end trying to sell you anything or take your money.
My how things have changed.
I remember as a teenager that the calls became more frequent because sales calls started up. My mom hated these calls so much that she made me become her answering service. I would have to answer the call and let her know who and why the caller was on the line...of course if it was a sales call I would simply tell them that my mother wasn't available and hang up.
Sales calls started getting pushier back then as businesses hired folks to do nothing but call and sell their products and the lively hood of these poor folks depended on them selling. So sales folk started asking when my mother would be available to take the call. Back then saying the truth (NEVER!) was considered rude so I had to invent some lie to get them off the phone.
Eventually we got an answering machine and screened our calls. They still called, but we didn't have to answer.
When it was just mom & me living together I put the outgoing message on our machine the chorus to a BeeGee's song "I've just gotta get a message to you... hold on...hold on..." Unfortunately that lasted all of a week because my mom's friends complained that they didn't know who they were calling. I thought it was quite clever and her friends should have been smart enough to know that only one person that they are calling would have such a message...the HUGE BeeGee's fan. oh well
Years later we got caller ID and this was wonderful because our friends no longer had to wait through the answering machine to get though.
But those pushy businesses and scammers started getting sneaky and changing their caller ID... and then everyone and their brother got a cell phone and caller ID went out the window. So back to letting the answering machine do the screening.
My husband got upset with me for "being rude" and not answering calls from numbers I didn't know. But when he would answer and try to get rid of the caller he quickly picked up on how difficult it was getting to get them to understand the word NO. He doesn't answer as much anymore. The last call he picked up they asked for me and it turned out to be a political survey. I hung up and rolled my eyes at him.
It is clear to me that for now, the callers are relying on folks still considering the phone call to be important to them.
However, that isn't happening at my house. If you are lucky enough to have my phone number, expect that I won't answer it.
Sorry, not sorry.
BUSTED!!! ???
Friday I received a call from School Public (this is what my caller ID said). I didn't answer this call because:
1) I don't answer the phone for any number that I don't recognize...so for my friends using cell phones, start to leave a message and I'll pick up, because YES, I'm LURKING! The phone is right in front of me!
2) I don't have any child in public schools so there shouldn't be any reason for them to be calling me!
3) In the past when I HAVE been called by the public schools it has been the elementary school that's just across the way and not related to me at all (I didn't answer that one either!)
Back to this call...it goes to the answering machine and roughly it says this is Mrs Blahblah calling because my child "Jason" (I don't remember the exact name, but it was a boy's name) was absent from school and I needed to call them back about it.
Okay, you may have picked up on this... I don't have a boy child! and again, I don't have any child in the public school system. It is summer, so the missing child must be part of the summer school program. So I didn't call back.
But I did do some googling and found that the number was from a elementary school in the northern part of the next city over from me.
I figured that when they school didn't receive the call back that they were looking for that they would do some research on their own to find out why...like 1) checking that they dialed the correct number. 2) googling the number to see if it goes with the child.
apparently they didn't do any of that because today I got another call!
So I let it go to the machine to verify that it was the same school (stranger things have happened!) and picked up... I immediately said "You have the wrong number."
The gal on the phone said "what?"
I repeated that "you have the wrong number. I don't live in "your town", I live in "my town."
I could hear the dawning in her voice (that she had been duped) ... she thanked me for letting her know and we ended the call.
I imagine the scenario at the school... if the child is there today he is called in to explain himself...and if the child is not home some internet searching to find out all they can about him.
I'm guessing that this child gave the school the wrong number and ditched school. It is possible that the child had tried to give the school the number that is close to mine that now belongs to a local Subway shop, but either way, the number isn't the one attached to his parent.
I would "love" to know the rest of this story...sort of. Actually, no, don't bother me.
1) I don't answer the phone for any number that I don't recognize...so for my friends using cell phones, start to leave a message and I'll pick up, because YES, I'm LURKING! The phone is right in front of me!
2) I don't have any child in public schools so there shouldn't be any reason for them to be calling me!
3) In the past when I HAVE been called by the public schools it has been the elementary school that's just across the way and not related to me at all (I didn't answer that one either!)
Back to this call...it goes to the answering machine and roughly it says this is Mrs Blahblah calling because my child "Jason" (I don't remember the exact name, but it was a boy's name) was absent from school and I needed to call them back about it.
Okay, you may have picked up on this... I don't have a boy child! and again, I don't have any child in the public school system. It is summer, so the missing child must be part of the summer school program. So I didn't call back.
But I did do some googling and found that the number was from a elementary school in the northern part of the next city over from me.
I figured that when they school didn't receive the call back that they were looking for that they would do some research on their own to find out why...like 1) checking that they dialed the correct number. 2) googling the number to see if it goes with the child.
apparently they didn't do any of that because today I got another call!
So I let it go to the machine to verify that it was the same school (stranger things have happened!) and picked up... I immediately said "You have the wrong number."
The gal on the phone said "what?"
I repeated that "you have the wrong number. I don't live in "your town", I live in "my town."
I could hear the dawning in her voice (that she had been duped) ... she thanked me for letting her know and we ended the call.
I imagine the scenario at the school... if the child is there today he is called in to explain himself...and if the child is not home some internet searching to find out all they can about him.
I'm guessing that this child gave the school the wrong number and ditched school. It is possible that the child had tried to give the school the number that is close to mine that now belongs to a local Subway shop, but either way, the number isn't the one attached to his parent.
I would "love" to know the rest of this story...sort of. Actually, no, don't bother me.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
A Wicked Good Time
We learned that the musical Wicked would be coming back to Denver last summer I think, and tickets went on sale sometime during the fall. Since it is such a popular show, I went ahead and bought tickets for Darly & I to see it. I gave the tickets to Darly as a Christmas present even though the show didn't actually get here until June 3rd. She was very thrilled and excited to finally see it.
Darly had started following the Wicked Facebook page and learned that there would be an event at a local mall with a costume display (that will still be there for most of this month until it moves onto the next tour stop) and some of the actors from the show would sing a few songs and sign autographs. We of course had no idea what actors would be there, but hey, it was free so we went.
That turned out to be a very good trip. The mall was running a promotion where several of the stores were offering discounts or free goodies and if we collected 5 stamps from participating stores we could enter a drawing for some Wicked merchandise and mall gift cards. sweet! Darly got a Wicked mini-make over at Sephoria.
The actors who showed up for the event turned out to be the understudy for Galinda and the stand-by for Elphaba. (we later learned what a stand-by is... it is an actor who is paid to be dressed and ready to go on stage during the show. So if the regular actor gets hurt or something she was ready to take her place... kind of a bummer most of the time, but the regular actors do take days off so she would get to perform then.) Galinda being a regular understudy could perform as an ensemble character(s) during the show. The girls offered us a really good show and were very sweet signing autographs and taking pictures...although we had brought a black framing mat and the one used a black sharpie to sign it...oops!
Since the mall is really close to a museum that had a Mythical Creatures exhibit going on, we went over there and saw that. Pretty cool, but we would have liked for there to be fewer people, better behaved children and more creatures. lol
Then last night we went to see Wicked! The show was very good. I think the only bummers about it were that our seats were too far off to the side so we couldn't see all of the back part of the stage, but could see backstage when they opened the side curtains! Kinda distracting to see the actors goofing off over there. Also the couple that had the seats in front of us really don't get the "be considerate of those around you" concept... the guy kept putting his arm around the girl and taking it down when his arm would tire...obstructing our view of the show. I really wanted to pop him in the head with my program.
After the show there was a Q & A with some actors...again, no idea what actors we were getting...and of course we got some very minor actors...well the one was pretty major. We got an ensemble/understudy for Elphaba - she was the one who explained what a stand by is to us. She differs from the stand by in that when she isn't Elphaba she CAN be in the ensemble. She told us that since the beginning of the tour she has actually only gotten to play Elphaba once.
There was a Swing - who is an actor who has rehearsed and is able to stand in for all the minor parts. This particular night she stood in for the mid-wife. She's also the understudy for Nessa Rose, but didn't play that part that evening.
We got to hear from Chistery - the lead flying monkey who can speak but is losing that ability thanks to the Wizard.
And finally and a little later one of the male ensemble came out. He didn't have a named part but we were told that he was the one who was lifting all the ensemble girls. LOL!
During the Q&A we were invited to a charity event next Monday where the actors will all be singing any of their favorite songs while auctioning off some cool stuff like a walk on part in the show. While we would have loved a shot at the walk-on, Darly has her first rehearsal for her show that night and I'm sure the director (her friend) would probably hurt her if she didn't show up for rehearsal. bummer
After the show and Q&A we ran into some of our friends. One Darly has been in a few shows with and the other we just met but she is in Fiddler also. Funny, R (in Fiddler) had told C (in other shows) that she was going to be acting with Darly, but since R didn't know Darly all that well C didn't realize she meant my daughter until we saw her. C exclaimed that she would definitely come see Fiddler now and we laughed that she didn't want to see it when it was just R. Ah well, good laughs. C was very sweet and even greeted me which I totally didn't expect as I'm just another mom, but then I also helped dress C in Peter Pan...I guess she remembered that.
Now Darly is still fast asleep, recovering from her adventure. I wish I could sleep. sigh
Darly had started following the Wicked Facebook page and learned that there would be an event at a local mall with a costume display (that will still be there for most of this month until it moves onto the next tour stop) and some of the actors from the show would sing a few songs and sign autographs. We of course had no idea what actors would be there, but hey, it was free so we went.
That turned out to be a very good trip. The mall was running a promotion where several of the stores were offering discounts or free goodies and if we collected 5 stamps from participating stores we could enter a drawing for some Wicked merchandise and mall gift cards. sweet! Darly got a Wicked mini-make over at Sephoria.
The actors who showed up for the event turned out to be the understudy for Galinda and the stand-by for Elphaba. (we later learned what a stand-by is... it is an actor who is paid to be dressed and ready to go on stage during the show. So if the regular actor gets hurt or something she was ready to take her place... kind of a bummer most of the time, but the regular actors do take days off so she would get to perform then.) Galinda being a regular understudy could perform as an ensemble character(s) during the show. The girls offered us a really good show and were very sweet signing autographs and taking pictures...although we had brought a black framing mat and the one used a black sharpie to sign it...oops!
Since the mall is really close to a museum that had a Mythical Creatures exhibit going on, we went over there and saw that. Pretty cool, but we would have liked for there to be fewer people, better behaved children and more creatures. lol
Then last night we went to see Wicked! The show was very good. I think the only bummers about it were that our seats were too far off to the side so we couldn't see all of the back part of the stage, but could see backstage when they opened the side curtains! Kinda distracting to see the actors goofing off over there. Also the couple that had the seats in front of us really don't get the "be considerate of those around you" concept... the guy kept putting his arm around the girl and taking it down when his arm would tire...obstructing our view of the show. I really wanted to pop him in the head with my program.
After the show there was a Q & A with some actors...again, no idea what actors we were getting...and of course we got some very minor actors...well the one was pretty major. We got an ensemble/understudy for Elphaba - she was the one who explained what a stand by is to us. She differs from the stand by in that when she isn't Elphaba she CAN be in the ensemble. She told us that since the beginning of the tour she has actually only gotten to play Elphaba once.
There was a Swing - who is an actor who has rehearsed and is able to stand in for all the minor parts. This particular night she stood in for the mid-wife. She's also the understudy for Nessa Rose, but didn't play that part that evening.
We got to hear from Chistery - the lead flying monkey who can speak but is losing that ability thanks to the Wizard.
And finally and a little later one of the male ensemble came out. He didn't have a named part but we were told that he was the one who was lifting all the ensemble girls. LOL!
During the Q&A we were invited to a charity event next Monday where the actors will all be singing any of their favorite songs while auctioning off some cool stuff like a walk on part in the show. While we would have loved a shot at the walk-on, Darly has her first rehearsal for her show that night and I'm sure the director (her friend) would probably hurt her if she didn't show up for rehearsal. bummer
After the show and Q&A we ran into some of our friends. One Darly has been in a few shows with and the other we just met but she is in Fiddler also. Funny, R (in Fiddler) had told C (in other shows) that she was going to be acting with Darly, but since R didn't know Darly all that well C didn't realize she meant my daughter until we saw her. C exclaimed that she would definitely come see Fiddler now and we laughed that she didn't want to see it when it was just R. Ah well, good laughs. C was very sweet and even greeted me which I totally didn't expect as I'm just another mom, but then I also helped dress C in Peter Pan...I guess she remembered that.
Now Darly is still fast asleep, recovering from her adventure. I wish I could sleep. sigh
Friday, June 05, 2015
Congratulations to my girl!
Last Friday (May 29th) Darly auditioned for Fiddler on the Roof... I should go back
So remember when we had that dilemma of auditioning for show A would mean we couldn't do shows B & C?
Well we ended up not auditioning for show A at all because in the end she didn't really want to do it because it would mess up her chances for B & C which she wanted to do more. There were also a lot of unknowns with show A as it was a new to the area theater group and they seemed to be promising a lot of things that just didn't seem possible. As it stands now show A is in rehearsals (to the best of my knowledge) and seems to be actually happening... but we're glad for them and us to not be a part of it.
Darly DID audition for show B but unfortunately she didn't not earn a part. That company seemed to cast the show with mostly adults except for a few friends who did get in. Darly is actually happy with that as while she wanted to break into another group she wasn't so thrilled with the particular show.
And show C has not had auditions yet.
In the mean time there was an audition announcement for a show that is on Darly's "bucket list." I signed her up to audition for it and she got all prepared to do that. But right before auditions she got sick...really sick. So we gave up her time slot. But that seemed to be divine intervention as she got a text from a friend...
the gist of the text... "You ARE auditioning for Fiddler aren't you?" Whoa! An offer she couldn't refuse! So Darly used her audition song that she was planning to use just two weeks before for the other show and recycled a monologue that she had used before.
And now Darly has been cast as Chava in the show! Even better is the guy cast as Fyedka (Chava's "love interest") is a really nice guy and Darly is thrilled to be working with him. It probably helps that he's also pretty easy on the eyes. ;) Don't worry, I don't foresee any off stage romance going on here.
And show C? That's by this same theater group. So now Darly's chances of getting into that show are even better.
btw: In case you're wondering why I'm being so "stealth" about the names of the shows and the theater companies is 1) If I list the shows, someone searching for that particular show might end up here needlessly and be annoyed with me. 2) If she isn't in the show, it doesn't matter that much.
So remember when we had that dilemma of auditioning for show A would mean we couldn't do shows B & C?
Well we ended up not auditioning for show A at all because in the end she didn't really want to do it because it would mess up her chances for B & C which she wanted to do more. There were also a lot of unknowns with show A as it was a new to the area theater group and they seemed to be promising a lot of things that just didn't seem possible. As it stands now show A is in rehearsals (to the best of my knowledge) and seems to be actually happening... but we're glad for them and us to not be a part of it.
Darly DID audition for show B but unfortunately she didn't not earn a part. That company seemed to cast the show with mostly adults except for a few friends who did get in. Darly is actually happy with that as while she wanted to break into another group she wasn't so thrilled with the particular show.
And show C has not had auditions yet.
In the mean time there was an audition announcement for a show that is on Darly's "bucket list." I signed her up to audition for it and she got all prepared to do that. But right before auditions she got sick...really sick. So we gave up her time slot. But that seemed to be divine intervention as she got a text from a friend...
the gist of the text... "You ARE auditioning for Fiddler aren't you?" Whoa! An offer she couldn't refuse! So Darly used her audition song that she was planning to use just two weeks before for the other show and recycled a monologue that she had used before.
And now Darly has been cast as Chava in the show! Even better is the guy cast as Fyedka (Chava's "love interest") is a really nice guy and Darly is thrilled to be working with him. It probably helps that he's also pretty easy on the eyes. ;) Don't worry, I don't foresee any off stage romance going on here.
And show C? That's by this same theater group. So now Darly's chances of getting into that show are even better.
btw: In case you're wondering why I'm being so "stealth" about the names of the shows and the theater companies is 1) If I list the shows, someone searching for that particular show might end up here needlessly and be annoyed with me. 2) If she isn't in the show, it doesn't matter that much.
Friday, May 29, 2015
organized blather
For Today... May 29th
Outside my window... It is actually sunny! Okay it has been this way for a few days now, but after having nothing but rain for most of the month seeing the sun is sure refreshing!
I am thinking...about everything I need to get done today. Darly has an audition, so I have to print out her resume and get a new headshot ready. Wishing her all kinds of luck to get into this show.
I am thankful... that we are so very blessed. Even with all the storms we've had we have not had any damage. My car was pelted by hail on Monday night, but it was all very small hail and the worst my car got was covered with leaves and small branches.
I am wearing...does anyone really care? I guess it is good that I'm actually dressed today. I'm in my "mom uniform." I might go change and exercise later.
I am creating... OOOH! I found some really pretty yarn. Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable. I love the variegation of the colors...and this one of course has my favorites. I found a cute pattern for a shawl that will be good for church as it is still freezing there.
I'm also about to start making a dress for Darly to wear for her dance next week. It is a "Decades Dance" (meaning the kids should pick a decade and dress like that) she chose a 50's style dress. We found some very pretty material for a big floofy dress.
oh and I am also looking into making my next purse. I've searched everywhere for a replacement for the bag I'm currently using that is falling apart, and of course no one makes what I want. Why is it that when a good idea for something comes out they stop making it??? Well keep it up advertising geniuses...soon I'll just make my own of everything. :p
I am wondering...is everyone as busy as I am? It seems that everyone and their brother wants to schedule something for this time of year. We were invited to 4 graduation parties, I just got invited to a fundraiser concert that I had to decline, I was asked to participate in a blood drive that I am doing tomorrow as they fit it into my schedule, the audition, and I still have to sew the dress and plant my garden.
I am reading... Harry Potter -Goblet of Fire. Again! I know that I've read the series over and over, but I like to be reading, especially when I'm working out and since I own the books it is convenient. I'm just worried that I'm noticing the bindings are cracking...probably our dry climate.
I am hoping... that Darly gets into this show. all signs point to her getting in, but there are some unknowns about it. Oh and we still don't know where the rehearsals are going to be. A friend has warned me that the guy who runs this theater company can be frustrating.
In my garden...all I've done so far is pull out weeds and unwanted volunteers, load up the planting boxes with new dirt. I considered buying my plants Tuesday, but I didn't because of all the thunderstorms we've had. I'm worried that it is still too cold for the plants.
In my kitchen...I haven't done anything all that adventurous lately. Oh wait, last night since we had strawberries I wanted to make shortcake with the baking mix that I have. But looking at the recipe and NOT wanting an entire batch of shortcake, and no way to divide out 1 egg, I went with just the biscuit recipe adding sugar. It turned out really well although it did taste like pancakes. LOL! I've also been making pizza dough in the bread maker. I've been using garlic salt instead or regular to give the crust more flavor. I've learned that allowing the dough to rise longer gives us the thickness we like, and getting the pizza stone up to 500 makes it crispy.
I feel that I should conclude this with some sort of wrapped up paragraph. But honestly, I got nuttin. ;)
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
How to make everyone hate you - at the movies
arrive AFTER the movie has already started.
use your cell phone's flashlight to find your seats while carrying a ton of stuff so your light is shining all over the place
instead of choosing seats in the almost empty theater away from everyone so as to not disturb them with your flashlight, ton of stuff and two children...NOPE go for the row that is right next to everyone else who happened to get to the theater early to choose good seats!
bring your two children who didn't want to see the movie...you were just there to see the movie yourself.
bring tons of stuff to keep said children occupied so while they weren't bugging you at all because you've been ignoring them since birth, their noise was only annoying to the people you chose to sit next to.
make sure the stuff you brought to keep your kids occupied is extra noisy...like potato chips in a crinkly bag and nice crackly water bottles.
ignore the fact that your child keeps hopping up during the movie using the seat in front of him as a brace...and pulling the hair of the person who was sitting there.
also ignore the fact that your child is sick and spewing germs all over the people that you chose to sit near because well you're an idiot who thinks that staying home when sick is for the weak.
use your cell phone's flashlight to find your seats while carrying a ton of stuff so your light is shining all over the place
instead of choosing seats in the almost empty theater away from everyone so as to not disturb them with your flashlight, ton of stuff and two children...NOPE go for the row that is right next to everyone else who happened to get to the theater early to choose good seats!
bring your two children who didn't want to see the movie...you were just there to see the movie yourself.
bring tons of stuff to keep said children occupied so while they weren't bugging you at all because you've been ignoring them since birth, their noise was only annoying to the people you chose to sit next to.
make sure the stuff you brought to keep your kids occupied is extra noisy...like potato chips in a crinkly bag and nice crackly water bottles.
ignore the fact that your child keeps hopping up during the movie using the seat in front of him as a brace...and pulling the hair of the person who was sitting there.
also ignore the fact that your child is sick and spewing germs all over the people that you chose to sit near because well you're an idiot who thinks that staying home when sick is for the weak.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Day Book
I'm going to try this in a feeble attempt to get this blog going again. LOL
For Today... 11 May 2015
Outside my window... stupie neighbor is power washing his extra driveway that is right up against the retaining wall for my yard...so practically right outside my window. ugh!
I am thinking...how to KILL neighbor and hide the body. Why won't these people MOVE?!?! They have the original family...parents & 3 adult boys + at least one gf/wife/babymommah and child. I don't understand why NONE of the boys has ever moved out. Unfortunately, father is a contractor so I'm sure he has finished the basement to make plenty of living bunkers for the entire clan with room for gf/wife/babymommahs for the other two boys also! apparently multiple complaints to the HOA are worthless and make him less likely to sell & move as then all the leans would be finally collected.
I am thankful... that my cold is almost over...I think. I'm coughing a lot this morning, which I hope means that my body is trying to expel the last of this.
I am wearing... PJ's of course...I'm still sick!
I am creating... phlem! sorry.
I am going... to Orange Leaf this afternoon for a fundraiser. I'll drug up if necessary, but I sure hope that I don't have to.
I am wondering... If I should move my blood donation appointment to next week instead. I should go check the guidelines.
I am reading... Harry Potter again. I picked it up to give me something to read while I'm on the elliptical, but I haven't done that since I got sick on Thursday.
I am hoping... that I can feel well enough to exercise soon.
I am learning... how to get Sullivan Promotions to stop calling me! bwahaha! Jerks woke me up with a call at 9am today. Sick people don't want to be called at such an early hour! Or any hour for that matter!
In my garden... pretty sure that anything I had going is hurting pretty badly now...we lost a huge chunk of the apple tree yesterday. I hope my one lone garlic survived.
In my kitchen... should be quiet for the next two days. But then will be filled with foods hubby hates!
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Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Sewing season
Sunday at Church one of my daughter's friends asked if I might be able to hem up a dress she had bought for her to wear this Thursday! Lucky for her I wasn't committed to sewing costumes for a show and had plenty of time. Of course I had no idea what I was getting into until I saw the dress.
She came over Sunday afternoon and I saw that the dress would have to be taken up in the waist as the bottom was too intricate (there were a lot of layers of very sheer material). But taking it up in the waist means adjusting the zipper.
So I pinned up the length, removed half the zipper, sewed the hem up, and then reattached the zipper. As alterations go, this was not all that difficult.
Then yesterday I learned that the show that my daughter's theater group is currently doing (Darly didn't audition for it as the songs drive her buggy) will be getting the costumes that they are renting this week and have to scramble to get them all fitted to the kids as they open next week! So I contacted the gal in charge of costumes. and Darly & I will be helping to fit the costumes this weekend. There are also several dresses that will need hemming. FUN!
If you don't see me for a while, I'll be sewing.
She came over Sunday afternoon and I saw that the dress would have to be taken up in the waist as the bottom was too intricate (there were a lot of layers of very sheer material). But taking it up in the waist means adjusting the zipper.
So I pinned up the length, removed half the zipper, sewed the hem up, and then reattached the zipper. As alterations go, this was not all that difficult.
Then yesterday I learned that the show that my daughter's theater group is currently doing (Darly didn't audition for it as the songs drive her buggy) will be getting the costumes that they are renting this week and have to scramble to get them all fitted to the kids as they open next week! So I contacted the gal in charge of costumes. and Darly & I will be helping to fit the costumes this weekend. There are also several dresses that will need hemming. FUN!
If you don't see me for a while, I'll be sewing.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Mixed emotions
Today I posted craigslist ads for all of my camping gear.
It is well past time to get rid of it all as we haven't even bothered to try camping for over 2 years and really we haven't had a good time camping in a very long time.
And yet I still think that if I just found the perfect camping spot I might have a good time. sigh!
We haven't camped in the tent for a very long time, the last two times renting a cabin instead. Even with the cabin I didn't get any sleep at all.
So yes it is time to let it all go. Now hopefully someone out there is looking to create great memories with their family with all my gear.
It is well past time to get rid of it all as we haven't even bothered to try camping for over 2 years and really we haven't had a good time camping in a very long time.
And yet I still think that if I just found the perfect camping spot I might have a good time. sigh!
We haven't camped in the tent for a very long time, the last two times renting a cabin instead. Even with the cabin I didn't get any sleep at all.
So yes it is time to let it all go. Now hopefully someone out there is looking to create great memories with their family with all my gear.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Driving! ACK!!!
Darly has actually been old enough to start driving for a while. A good year and a half. But she hasn't wanted to do it. Honestly she is still very nervous about it.
However, I am getting very tired of being the mom taxi for a kid who could be schlepping herself all over town. Just last Saturday she "needed" to go to the park to meet up with her friends...I sat in the car during this as it was too far to drive home...and I didn't want to go shopping.
She HAS finally read the driver's handbook. She HAS finally took the online test and passed it.
She STILL isn't all that interested in driving though. But she'll need to hold her permit for a year before she's allowed to get her license...so I would like to get her started before it's time for her to go off to college as I don't want her to be like a friend of ours who has her mom drive up to college (an hour + away) every weekend to bring her home and then back again. bah!
She is nervous that she'll forget everything and/or the actual test will be poorly worded like the online test and trick her into choosing the wrong answer. I'm sure she'll do fine. She's been correcting my driving. ;)
However, I am getting very tired of being the mom taxi for a kid who could be schlepping herself all over town. Just last Saturday she "needed" to go to the park to meet up with her friends...I sat in the car during this as it was too far to drive home...and I didn't want to go shopping.
She HAS finally read the driver's handbook. She HAS finally took the online test and passed it.
She STILL isn't all that interested in driving though. But she'll need to hold her permit for a year before she's allowed to get her license...so I would like to get her started before it's time for her to go off to college as I don't want her to be like a friend of ours who has her mom drive up to college (an hour + away) every weekend to bring her home and then back again. bah!
She is nervous that she'll forget everything and/or the actual test will be poorly worded like the online test and trick her into choosing the wrong answer. I'm sure she'll do fine. She's been correcting my driving. ;)
Update of sorts...
This is an update to the When it rains it pours post.
Yesterday was the audition for Show A. Darly decided to not do it. She gave a very good reason for not auditioning. Even though I wanted her to go and prove them wrong about their opinion of her acting training she was right. Her reason was that she did not want to take a part away from someone who actually wanted to be in the show. Knowing that if she did get cast, she was going to turn down the part. I felt this showed great maturity on her part...or at least a very good excuse making skill. ;)
This show had a new screenplay and new songs written by the director. A friend of ours warned that the director could be very picky about how he wants things to go and might cancel the show on a whim if he doesn't get his way.
This was the show where the artistic team had a very poor opinion of the theater company that Darly has been with for the past 4 years and had me change Darly's resume to omit all references to that company...including the part about her stage combat skills because they wouldn't be "up to snuff" because they were for the "inferior" theater company. :p
Other red flags...
They were planning to use the local theater here for the show, but had not booked it.
The run date for the show is in August with rehearsals starting in July but casting it now.
The actors are supposed to get paid (nicely) but I couldn't see where the money was coming from as it is an expensive theater to rent.
The good thing is now we don't have to worry about Show A anymore. Leaving shows B & C free and clear for being in...no more conflicting schedules.... although I did find another show to audition for. ;) I'm saving it as a back up for if she doesn't get into show B.
Yesterday was the audition for Show A. Darly decided to not do it. She gave a very good reason for not auditioning. Even though I wanted her to go and prove them wrong about their opinion of her acting training she was right. Her reason was that she did not want to take a part away from someone who actually wanted to be in the show. Knowing that if she did get cast, she was going to turn down the part. I felt this showed great maturity on her part...or at least a very good excuse making skill. ;)
This show had a new screenplay and new songs written by the director. A friend of ours warned that the director could be very picky about how he wants things to go and might cancel the show on a whim if he doesn't get his way.
This was the show where the artistic team had a very poor opinion of the theater company that Darly has been with for the past 4 years and had me change Darly's resume to omit all references to that company...including the part about her stage combat skills because they wouldn't be "up to snuff" because they were for the "inferior" theater company. :p
Other red flags...
They were planning to use the local theater here for the show, but had not booked it.
The run date for the show is in August with rehearsals starting in July but casting it now.
The actors are supposed to get paid (nicely) but I couldn't see where the money was coming from as it is an expensive theater to rent.
The good thing is now we don't have to worry about Show A anymore. Leaving shows B & C free and clear for being in...no more conflicting schedules.... although I did find another show to audition for. ;) I'm saving it as a back up for if she doesn't get into show B.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Lez do it!
sorry, channeling Tone Loc there.
For not being "in a show" Darly has had a very busy schedule of late.
Last weekend:
Saturday
Improv show at 11am
meeting at 3pm
Sunday
church at 9:30
dance at 11
voice lesson at 3
Oh and she had improv practice the Wednesday before
This weekend is a bit calmer
she has a "competition" today...it's a weird thing that her voice teacher wants her to do.
and just dance tomorrow
but on the horizon
voice lesson
possible improv practice
vet for Lilly
blood donation for me
then the two auditions!
She has FINALLY finished reading the driver's hand book. Now to get her to take the online test a few more times so that she is comfortable taking the test so we can get that over with. She is still petrified of taking the driver's test and driving too. sigh! But mom is sick of being her taxi.
For not being "in a show" Darly has had a very busy schedule of late.
Last weekend:
Saturday
Improv show at 11am
meeting at 3pm
Sunday
church at 9:30
dance at 11
voice lesson at 3
Oh and she had improv practice the Wednesday before
This weekend is a bit calmer
she has a "competition" today...it's a weird thing that her voice teacher wants her to do.
and just dance tomorrow
but on the horizon
voice lesson
possible improv practice
vet for Lilly
blood donation for me
then the two auditions!
She has FINALLY finished reading the driver's hand book. Now to get her to take the online test a few more times so that she is comfortable taking the test so we can get that over with. She is still petrified of taking the driver's test and driving too. sigh! But mom is sick of being her taxi.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Getting back into the game...
So right now our weekly schedule has changed. Not that it was all that set before, but before I knew that Friday evening and Saturday would be busy with rehearsals. We don't have that now.
I also used to have grocery shopping day tacked onto voice lesson day as we were already out of the house and I was showered and dressed. But Darly has asked that we stop doing that because by the time we get to the grocery store it is packed with moms herding their cats while talking on their phones...and is frankly a mad house. sigh
So here I sit on Thursday in my pj's dreading getting dressed so I can go to the store to buy all the stuff we are out of. sigh
Anyone got any motivation??? One would think that the lack of lunch items and coffee for tomorrow would be motivation...but really not so much. :-/
I also used to have grocery shopping day tacked onto voice lesson day as we were already out of the house and I was showered and dressed. But Darly has asked that we stop doing that because by the time we get to the grocery store it is packed with moms herding their cats while talking on their phones...and is frankly a mad house. sigh
So here I sit on Thursday in my pj's dreading getting dressed so I can go to the store to buy all the stuff we are out of. sigh
Anyone got any motivation??? One would think that the lack of lunch items and coffee for tomorrow would be motivation...but really not so much. :-/
Sunday, March 08, 2015
Well THAT didn't work!
I had been considering getting a cat for our family for a while. One main problem is Darly is allergic to cats. However, we learned that there are certain "Hypoallergenic" cats. And that explained why Darly did okay and well with some cats and not so much with others.
Problem number two is FINDING one of these cats...and I like to rescue my pets, not buy them. So I kept checking our local animal shelters for the breeds I knew, but I was also looking at the characteristics of the cats because sometimes the shelter has no idea what they have.
That was the case with Chai. I saw her photo on line and noticed that she met many of the characteristics of a cat that "could" have less of the protein that Darly is allergic to. So we went to visit with her and yes, we were correct in that Darly didn't react to her at all.
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| Darly & Chai |
As you can see in the photo, Chai is a shy girl, but who can blame her...she was at the shelter surrounded by all sorts of strange things and the visitor's rooms have glass walls so she could see everyone going down the hall...including all the dogs. Poor kitty.
Chai is actually a very sweet girl and of course my softy fell in love with her right away. But we still had another hurdle to jump here... DAD!!!!
I hadn't bothered to tell DH that we were even thinking of a cat because the chances of finding one that Darly could have were so small. Once I told him, he was not at all for getting another animal. Ya know, I probably shouldn't have told him. :-/ He was never for me getting any of our other pets ... well he was for getting Misty, but that was a long time ago.
So we called the shelter and told them that we had to give up our hold on Chai. I'm guessing that was for the best as that evening we saw that they took Chai's picture off of the shelter's website. So we assume that she was adopted. Hopefully she found a wonderful home with a dad who really wanted a cat too.
When it rains it pours!
After MONTHS of waiting ...
Let me back up. Darly decided that she wanted to try out some of the other theater groups in our area. There is one group that she is particularly interested in trying out for (Show B), but they had not announced when their next audition was going to be...or when the show was going to be either!
We knew that one show that Darly REALLY would like to be in will be in the fall...they announced that a long time ago. Darly knows most of the people in that group and likes them and is excited to try them. Show C
In the mean time I found another show that looked (to me) like a lot of fun. So after quite a bit of work tweeking Darly's resume (this group has a very low opinion of the theater group that Darly has been in for the past 4 years, so I had to take out all mention of them) she has an audition scheduled with them. However, after finding out that this is completely an Adult cast we know that Darly's chances of actually getting into this show are pretty slim and her chances of getting a part other than ensemble are nil. However, we're sticking with it for the experience. Show A
Well yesterday (very late in the evening) we found that the other show that Darly was interested in trying for has announced their auditions and when the show will run. I don't know when the rehearsals will be yet. However, the shows over lap. Show B
I fully expect that the formatting on this is going to be all wonky. As you can see below there is NO WAY to be able to do all 3 shows. It is either do show A only or do shows B & C. Thank goodness the chances of getting into Show A are not that good and while Darly would be great in show A she isn't all that interested in doing it. If she sees this, she'll freak out and not want to even audition for A. So I am going to wait to post this until AFTER show A auditions. LOL
Let me back up. Darly decided that she wanted to try out some of the other theater groups in our area. There is one group that she is particularly interested in trying out for (Show B), but they had not announced when their next audition was going to be...or when the show was going to be either!
We knew that one show that Darly REALLY would like to be in will be in the fall...they announced that a long time ago. Darly knows most of the people in that group and likes them and is excited to try them. Show C
In the mean time I found another show that looked (to me) like a lot of fun. So after quite a bit of work tweeking Darly's resume (this group has a very low opinion of the theater group that Darly has been in for the past 4 years, so I had to take out all mention of them) she has an audition scheduled with them. However, after finding out that this is completely an Adult cast we know that Darly's chances of actually getting into this show are pretty slim and her chances of getting a part other than ensemble are nil. However, we're sticking with it for the experience. Show A
Well yesterday (very late in the evening) we found that the other show that Darly was interested in trying for has announced their auditions and when the show will run. I don't know when the rehearsals will be yet. However, the shows over lap. Show B
I fully expect that the formatting on this is going to be all wonky. As you can see below there is NO WAY to be able to do all 3 shows. It is either do show A only or do shows B & C. Thank goodness the chances of getting into Show A are not that good and while Darly would be great in show A she isn't all that interested in doing it. If she sees this, she'll freak out and not want to even audition for A. So I am going to wait to post this until AFTER show A auditions. LOL
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| The really sad part is IF she does get into show A it won't be very professional of her to drop it because she would rather be in shows B & C. Especially given that the folks of Show A are really going out on a limb to even give her the audition spot. Oh well. I'm sure it will all work out for the best, we'll just have to see what that is. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UPDATE: I actually ended up posting this before the auditions because Darly figured out the messy schedule on her own. There's actually another snag in that a trip Darly wanted to go on is during rehearsals for show B. But since none of Darly's friends can go on the trip either, it is less of a big deal. We asked a friend about show A because we couldn't find any info about them. She warned us that show A might not even happen (check to see if the theater was booked, it wasn't) and a few other tips also. So it will be interesting to see how things go at the auditions. |
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