Life in a Nutshell

Warning: Nerdity Ahead

2012-02-01T11:29:00.000-05:00

I was listening to NPR on my way to work this morning, catching the tail end of Culturtopia just as I was pulling out of the driveway. They were talking about the things that made them happy this week. Someone said something that made them happy was the poet James Tate.

He read a poem.

It made me happy.

I hope it makes you happy.

Teaching the Ape to Write Poems

by James Tate

They didn't have much trouble

teaching the ape to write poems:

first they strapped him into the chair,

then tied the pencil around his hand

(the paper had already been nailed down).

Then Dr. Bluespire leaned over his shoulder

and whispered into his ear:

'You look like a god sitting there.

Why don't you try writing something?'

Moonbase

2012-01-28T08:45:00.000-05:00

I'm all for space travel and exploration. I'd love for future generations to colonize the moon and other planets. I'm an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy and things about outer space.

But Newt Gingrich is an idiot.

I submit to you first Neil Degrasse Tyson, everyones favorite astrophysicist:

Linky

I submit to you second the argument that an American Moonbase is against the law. Not just any law, mind you. It's against SPACE LAW!

I submit to you third that even Warren Ellis thinks he's full of bullshit.

I don't normally get into politics on this blog. However, I hold firmly the opinion that Newt Gingrich is an idiot. It's nice to know that smart people like Neil Degrasse Tyson and Warren Ellis agree with me.

Grumpy Post

2012-01-19T15:44:00.000-05:00

[Beware: snark ahead]

I hate it when people say "When I was a kid we didn't have [enter name of modern concept or technological device here]"

Edison's kids said the same thing about electricity.

It's called progress folks. Move with the times.

[end rant]

Stop SOPA

2012-01-18T10:37:00.000-05:00

Confused by what's happening today or what all the fuss is about?

Reddit, Wil Wheaton, and Warren Ellis (for those of you outside the US) - among many others - have pretty good explanations.

Go. Read and inform yourself.

Then hie thee to Wikipedia, type in your zip code, and tell your local representative not to support S.968.

Thoughts in January

2012-01-17T09:54:00.000-05:00

It is approximately the middle of January. While we have only recently gotten our first snowfall of the season (thank you, global warming,) typically by this point in the winter we've been covered in snow for about two months.

I hate it.

I know, living in New England as I do, I should be used to the snow and the cold and everything New England winters bring. I'm not. People tell me I ought to take up skiing or snow boarding or some other winter sport. I don't.

I try to be more optimistic about it. Winter helps us enjoy summer more by comparison, right? And it's pretty, in a way. For a little while. Until it gets dirty and slushy and disgusting. And we get to have nostalgic, Norman Rockwell Christmases.

Norman Rockwell Christmases are over-rated.

I try to keep my head down and trudge along in January. Try not to think too much about it. In February, I'm grateful for the short month; March I spend trying to catch whiffs of Spring in the air; April, I scan the forecast every day for warmer temperatures.

There is very little to keep my hopes up in January. Just the idea that I have two and a half more long months (at least) to get through until Spring.

December

2011-12-29T09:05:00.000-05:00

Wow. So I guess I fell off the radar there entirely. No post for over a month. Sorry 'bout that. Things have been crazy here. Shows closing. Preproduction for new shows. New day job. Holidays. Traveling.

So, recap:

1. New job.
Nothing too exciting. Receptionist for a real estate office. The major thing I have learned is that I find real estate to be incredibly boring. I see how it can be exciting for someone else (particularly the person doing the selling,) but not for me. But it's a day job. I go in, do my time, then go home and forget about it. Not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but a decent way to pick up a paycheck while having plenty of time and brain power for other things.

2. Holidays.
Christmas was nice. We went to The Boy™'s parents' house for the weekend. I was sick, but it didn't prevent me from relaxing and having a good time.
We're spending New Year's Eve with friends. I'm looking forward to that, too.

3. Traveling.
First, there was the aforementioned trip to Downeast Maine. After New Year's, we're going to NY to my sister's. It's Dad's 60th next week, and the whole fam damily is coming to celebrate. I'm also looking forward to that. Haven't seen Parents, Sister or Nephews since June. And haven't seen my brothers or their families in two years. It'll be a good time.

4. Shows.
A tiny bit of a break right now. Detritus starts rehearsal at the end of the month, then I'm pretty much booked through August. This is not a complaint.

5. Derby.
Still going great! We've added Tuesday practices and are now practicing three times a week. I went up north a few weeks ago and had a great scrimmage with a couple of other teams. We're planning another bout this winter, hopefully at home. I'm looking forward to the Great Derby Social at the end of the month and the Triple D weekend in June.

That's my life n a nutshell right now. I'm home recovering from strep throat (aka Pixie Plague, as the entire derby team has had it.) I'm hoping it's gone before we leave for Sister's.

If I'm not back before the weekend, Happy New Year to you, Dear Readers. May your 2012 be fantastic.

Laundry Soap

2011-11-06T14:05:00.049-05:00

A few months ago, I experimented in making my own laundry soap. I've been using it for a couple of months and decided I really like it. I finally ran out of the batch I made, so while making a new batch, I documented the process for you.

You will need:

* 1/2 cup Washing soda (not the same thing as baking soda)

* 1/2 cup Borax

* 1 bar of Ivory soap (or 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha)

* essential oil (optional)

* container that can hold at least 1.5 gallons (I use one with a spout for easy pouring)

* grater, pot, spoon and stove (not pictured)

Step one: Grate the soap

Step two: put soap flakes in pot with 6 cups of water and heat until soap dissolves

(Before the soap dissolves, it kind of looks like thick potato flakes.)

Step three: add 1/2 cup washing soda

and 1/2 cup Borax

and stir until it's dissolved and remove from heat.

Step 4: pour 4 cups of hot water into your container

Step 5: Add soap mixture and stir.

Step 6: Add one gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir (note: one gallon is 16 cups.) If you choose to add essential oil, now is the time to do it.

Step 7: Let soap sit for 24 hours to gel up. Use 1/2 cup per load.

A couple of things to know:

* The soap sort of a watery gel. I keep it in the basement (where my laundry facilities are) and found that it had a tendency to harden. A good shake of the container before trying to pour the soap loosened things up a bit.

* This soap doesn't suds up, so don't get worried when it doesn't. You can still use your usual pretreater or bleach if you feel like you need to.

Fake Steak

2011-11-03T14:02:00.000-04:00

For the last show, we needed three steak dinners every show. There's now way our poor little theatre company could afford three steaks for eight performances, so I made fake steaks to go along with the real food. Here's a little step-by-step explination of my process in case you ever need to make fake steak (or for the next time I need to make it, so I remember how I did it.)

Ingredients: floral foam, white glue (of the Elmer's variety), paint

Step one: cut the foam to the desired shape and coat with glue; let dry

Step two: base coat with red paint; let dry

Step three: dry brush with brown paint; let dry

Step four: add grill lines with dark brown and highlight with cream; let dry

I didn't get a good picture of it onstage, but believe me when I tell you that on a plate with potatoes and green beans under stage lights, it looks close enough to real steak that the audience will believe it.

Snowtober

2011-10-31T13:50:00.000-04:00

Freak October Nor'easter dumped about 4 inches of snow on us Saturday night. We lost power for fifteen hours. We're luckier than some other people in the area. There are still many people in New Hampshire without power.

This early in the year, there are still leaves out. A lot of trees lost limbs. One of the trees in the side yard dropped a limb right on my poor little truck. It tore a big hole through the cover.

I'm hoping this isn't a preview of the winter to come.

Off the Needles

2011-10-21T12:44:00.000-04:00

Now that Orson's Shadow has closed, I have a tiny bit of extra free time to get some more knitting done. Here's what's recently come off the needles:

The pattern is the Ruby Tuesday Cardigan found here (warning: the site is not in English.) I like the way it turned out, though the buttons pull a little weird when they're all buttoned. I don't know what that's all about. If I do this again, I'll make the sleeves a little longer. They seemed long enough when I tried it on while I was knitting it, but after I blocked it and put it on finished, they end about two inches above my wrists. They're both the same, thankfully, so it looks like I did it that way on purpose.

I got some nice, handspun yarn from the local farmer's market with the intention of making a scarf out of it. However, when I got it home and started knitting with it, I found the weight was too inconsistant for me. So I just made a simple shawl out of it for my Mother-in-Law for her birthday.

I used a shawl I had knit a few years ago in a show recently. My bestest, Wina, loved it so much I decided to make her a shawl for Christmas. I'm rather pleased with the way it turned out.

This is the first of a pair of socks for The Boy™ for Christmas. It isn't any particular pattern, just a basic toe-up construction with a floating rib pattern along the leg. The yarn is from Knit Picks; the colorway is called Pirate King. So I'm calling this pattern Floating Pirate.

There was some discussion on twitter regarding what differentiates floating pirates from witches. To which I responded: pirates weigh more than ducks.

And if that made you chuckle, you are my friend.

Helmet Head

2011-10-05T20:58:00.000-04:00

This post is soon to be featured over at the Poison Pixies Website. It's probably a little didactic and more information than the average readers of my blog care for, but I'm sharing it with you anyway.

Your helmet is a vital part of your derby ensemble. Sure, it’s handy for keeping your sweaty hair out of your face, and it’s a great canvas for decorating with your own personal flair, but it is also an important article for keeping you safe and healthy. Initially and most obviously, it protects you from the nasty: skull fractures. No one wants to fall and crack their head open on the rink. However, you can do serious injury without your head ever making contact with the ground.
Imagine your head is like a bowl of jello. The bowl is your skull; the jello is your brain. When you give the bowl a little shake, the jello inside moves. The harder you shake, the more the jello moves, rather independent of the bowl itself. The same thing happens in your head. When you move and then stop suddenly, your brain moves within your skull. The faster you move and the more sudden you stop, the more your brain moves. As you may imagine, your brain isn’t meant to move that much inside your skull. This movement can cause what is called acceleration-deceleration injury - pretty much how it sounds: your brain accelerations and then decelerates suddenly.
These traumatic brain injuries can bring with them a variety of outcomes. The worst case scenarios: cracking your head open and bleeding out, rupture a blood vessel within the brain, getting a hematoma, causing pressure in the brain, etc. All of these things will ultimately kill you.
There are also less serious outcomes from these injuries. Less serious in that you don’t die; they’re still pretty bad. These outcomes can range from deafness, blindess and aphasia (an impairment of language ability,) to cognitive, social, behavioral or emotional disabilities.
The more mild forms of brains injuries are known as concussions. Most concussions are fairly mild. You get into trouble if you don’t let yourself heal properly afterward, or if you get multiple concussions. Post concussion syndrome can include headaches, anxiety, memory loss, sleep problems and irritability. Symptoms of post concussion syndrome can take weeks, months or even years to resolve. Every time you have a brain injury, you’re more susceptible to having another brain injury. The more times you have a concussion, the easier it is for the brain to concuss. You can’t say x number of concussions are okay, but x plus 1 are bad. It depends on the frequency and severity of previous concussions. The effects of multiple concussions can include difficulty concentrating, headaches, aphasia, memory loss and personality changes.

So now that you know all the nasty things that can happen to you if you don’t wear a helmet, what do you do? Why, wear a helmet, of course! You want to choose one that fits correctly. The wonderful people at your local skate shop can help you with this. Something to keep in mind: not all helmets are created equal. You need to get a skate helmet, not a bike helmet. The foam inside a bike helmet is intended to gradually decelerate the head. It assumes you are going at high speeds and have had a major crash (with a car, for example.) While you may feel like you’ve been hit by a car when that other blocker slams into you, it is by no means a similar collision. Also, bike helmets are only meant to work once: after you’ve had an accident where you hit your head (and your helmet saved you from injury,) you need to get rid of the helmet and get a new one. Skate helmets, with the hard plastic shell, are designed to displace the force of impact, rather than decelerate. The skate helmet assumes slower speeds and less car crashes. Also a skate helmet can be worn again after a collision because, unlike a bike helmet, the foam doesn't collapse.
Long story short(er), wearing a helmet isn’t important just because WFTDA and your team captain tells you to. It can literally save your life so you can skate again another day. So go on out, find one you like, spruce it up with some stickers, paint and flair and wear your helmet with derby pride.

Unfounded Fears

2011-10-04T09:33:00.001-04:00

Things started slowing down once Orson's Shadow opened. The insane succession of shows I had at the end of the summer was over, and I was working on one show with nothing else on the horizon.

I'll be honest. I began to panic.

Logically, I knew it was a lot to expect that I would just fall into my old ways once we returned to NH. Life here had moved on in the five years we'd been away. I couldn't expect every director I ever worked with to be pining away for their favorite stage manager to return. A small part of me hoped they had, but the realist in me knew it wouldn't be so.

I was a little disappointed, irrationally, when I found that the show I most wanted to do out of this season already had a stage manager.

So I started to prepare myself that I would be theatre-less for the rest of the season and I would have to start looking for something else.

But that changed quite suddenly.

A friend of a friend, a woman I knew socially but have never worked with before, found herself without a stage manager three weeks into rehearsal for her show. She sent me an email asking if I could step in.

Of course!

We were discussing her final show of the season, and my desire to be a part of it. She already has a stage manager, but would love it if I could come in and be her run crew.

Of course!

Last night at rehearsal, she turned to me and asked "what are you doing in March?" Um. Nothing? She has another show opening at the end of March that she'd like me to stage manage.

Of course!

All that concern about not having any gigs for the rest of the year is gone. It really is almost like I never left. And I'm really happy that we're back.

** The shows, by the way, are Elephant Hunt, Detritus, and Wit. Go to the Players' Ring website for more information.

A Derby Post

2011-09-29T10:25:00.000-04:00

Though I've been missing a lot of practices lately, due to rehearsals, shows and Weather, I've been getting together with one of the girls on the team - Tootsie - to practice outside on our own. At first we were just sort of lapping around the parking lot, but lately we've been working on actual skills.

Yesterday, I felt like I was starting to make some progress.

Tootsie and I have been working on a couple of things: running on toe-stops, jumps, cross-overs in anti-derby direction (clockwise) and balance. I'm now able to take three good, long running strides before dropping to my wheels to skate, which is a huge improvement from a few weeks ago.

This week, we decided to do two person blocking drills. One of us would skate down the length of the parking lot and try to block the other from getting around, using the lines of the parking spaces to stand in as the track boundaries.

I'm focusing on two things. First is moving my whole body, utilizing the footwork we've been working on so much in practice, rather than sticking one foot out and pushing myself from side to side (which is what I usually do.) The one foot out method, while giving me the illusion of stability, puts me at risk for a penalty.

The other is a little more difficult to describe. When you're skating down in derby stance (sort of a squat,) looking over your shoulder at an opponent, and you see her move out of your line of sight to the other side, it wastes time for you to look over that shoulder and then move. There's no where else she could have gone, the track isn't that big. You want to move first and then look. I've working on this in drill after drill with both the Pixies and the SCARs, and still haven't been able to do it effectively. I saw it put into practice the weekend before last when I watched the WFTDA Eastern Regionals and suddenly it clicked. I managed to do it a couple of times yesterday, practicing with Tootsie.

Today I start rehearsal for another show. The rehearsal schedule is such that I'm going to miss Thursday practices until November. I'm going to look up some more two person drills that I can work on with Tootsie so I won't be so far behind the team when I get back to regular practices.

New Apartment

2011-08-26T14:24:00.000-04:00

We've been here for almost two months now and are still enjoying the new place. We're more or less moved in, aside from a few odds and ends that are mostly waiting for new bookshelves.

I'm in the midst of repainting the downstairs bathroom (yes, we have two!) and will be posting about that when it's done. I'm pleased with the way it's turning out so far.

First, the photos:

The living room, with a shot of the kitchen beyond. I like the wood floors and trim throughout the apartment. The living room conveniently matches our furniture and accessories, so we plan to leave that as it is. Not seen from this view is two windows facing the side yard. They're not particularly exciting.

Kitchen. I adore this kitchen. The cabinets are huge - tall and deep - and there's tons of counter space. I can actually cook a meal and not feel like I'm tripping over myself the whole time.

The walls are a light grey color. Again, I don't have a problem with this, and have no plans to repaint.

Upstairs bathroom. For the most part, I like this bathroom. The only drawback is there is no bathtub. Most of the time, I don't mind, but after derby practice, I like a good hot bath. I know I'm really going to miss it come winter, but I'm sure I'll get over it.

The study is the one room that still is in quite a disarray. Partly because we haven't quite found the best way to share the space and partly because we need at least one more bookshelf. Previously, all The Boy™'s work-related books and files were in his office at Penn State. He doesn't really have his own office at the new job, so they've all come back home again. Archiving is not one of The Boy™'s best skills, so those books and files are sitting in boxes until he figures out a way to store them. I'm trying to be patient about it.

The Bedroom I like. We just got the new platform bed (having given away the boxspring before we moved. It's a long story.) There's not quite enough closet space (not shown) but we have a new dresser coming in a few weeks.

My conundrum for the bedroom: the walls (in case you can't tell from the photo) have already been painted a plum color by the previous tenants. I don't have a problem with the color, but I'm nto sure it matches the quilt (which my grandmother and cousin Suzie made for me; it's not really an option - we will be having the quilt on the bed.) Here's a close-up of the quilt:

The plum sort of matches, but I'm not sure it matches enough. Not shown is a sort of forest green trim on the bottom. The wood of all the furniture is cherry - brown with a hint of red.

What do you think, Dear Readers? Leave it plum, or repaint?

Relearning Things

2011-08-17T09:23:00.000-04:00

    Today is final dress rehearsal for Spirits Willing. I am assistant director/stage manager on this show. Thus far, the rehearsal process has been wonderful. Working with a great group of people, including two of my best friends. The script is funny (though could have used a few more edits.) The process very relaxed.
    Now that we're in to tech week, though, things are starting to get a little hairy. Not bad, by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just re-learning some lessons that I learned a long time ago. I thought people had changed in the five years I'd been away. Turns out they really haven't.
   I'm not going to get into details. One of my new goals for myself is to stop gossiping and saying bad things about people. I'm just going to say here that I have learned sometimes people don't change. Not really. By all means, give them the change to; give them the benefit of the doubt.

   But don't be surprised when they show you they're the same person deep down inside.

New-New Apartment

2011-08-01T10:16:00.000-04:00

     Finally, all our belongings are in the same place! (Well, aside from a few heirlooms and childhood things still with The Boy™'s parents' house. And poor Louie the Turtle at my parents' house. We'll be getting those sometime this year.) A huge shout-out to Nic and Ron who helped us lug the heaviest of our furniture (couch and my desk) out of storage and into the new apartment.

     The New-New Apartment is wonderful. I'll be getting pictures up as soon as we've finished unpacking and get things settled. Right now, I'm enjoying that there is space to move around, places for both of us to sit and QUIET at night. No white trash neighbors arguing on the front lawn until the wee hours of the morning. For those of you who are wondering, Jersey is much happier here than he was at the Old-New Apartment. The fish, of course, could care less.

   So: pictures as soon as I can. I know I'm not the most regular blogger in the world. Less so in the future as Spirits Willing goes into tech and performance and Orson's Shadow begins rehearsals. But I'll try to update as often as I can.

Think Cool Thoughts

2011-07-22T09:28:00.000-04:00

Most of the country is in the midst of a heatwave right now. Here in New England, the temperature has been hovering close to 100° (with the heat index over 100°.) It was 88° when I woke up at 2:00 this morning.

So, I'm doing everything I can think of to keep cool: cold showers, damp compresses, fans, time at the beach. I plan to spend today at the library, coffee shop and possibly the mall just to stay in buildings with air conditioning. Unfortunately, our apartment doesn't have AC.

The poor kitty looks like he's going to melt.

I'm leaving this picture here, to remind us of the dark days of winter, when it's cold and icy and miserable. I took this from our balcony at our apartment in PA. I half expect Mr. Tumnus to come walking out of the trees at any moment.

Moments

2011-07-15T02:01:00.000-04:00

I hit the wall. It knocks me down. I curse, get to my feet, and skate to the wall again. Again I find myself on the floor. And again. And again.

Finally, I make it through. Past the wall. Through the pack.

And then I hear those words:

"Lead Jammer!"

Holy shit. That's me?!

Random

2011-07-12T08:42:00.000-04:00

"You know something?"

"I know a lot of things. I'm in advertising."

"You know it's hot?"

"I wouldn't have known that if he hadn't told me."

(12 Angry Men)

Settling In

2011-06-24T10:16:00.000-04:00

We're finally here, in the new apartment. Attempting to settle in.

For now.

I had to admit this, because I was so excited about this place on the way here, but the new apartment kind of sucks. The rooms are small, the stairwells are narrow, we can't get all our furniture INTO the apartment and the neighborhood is sketchy.

The guy across the street regularly screams at his wife in the front yard into the wee hours of the morning. Someone keeps leaving bags of garbage on the curb in front of our apartment (which the City does not pick up because they are not in the City garbage bags.) I suspect the woman downstairs, who has been served her eviction papers and no longer gives a shit.

We are treated to the off-key songs and cat calls of the drunk college kids on the way home from the bars at night. I thought I left all that behind.

Needless to say, we're not that happy. However, our landlord is nicely letting us out of our rent starting in August, assuming they can find a new rentor. She seems pretty confidant that she can.

It's not a horrible apartment. It's just not for us. I would have loved it as a 20 year old undergrad. That seems like eons ago, though, and I no longer have the tolerance for this kind of crap.

So we're apartment hunting again. It'll be easier this time because we're actually here. We can go look at the place and the neighborhood and make sure we like it and we can fit our sofa into the living room and our bed into the bedroom. It's the little things, you know?

Otherwise, things are going well. The Boy™ starts work on the first. I'm busy visiting friends and getting to know the area again. I'll start rehearsals next week.

It's really, really good to be back.

Project Update

2011-06-01T22:13:00.000-04:00

Quick blog to share what's recently come off my needles.

I knit these legwarmers for Derby, although in this heat I won't be need them for a while.

The pattern is The Purl Bee's Tube Sock Legwarmers. They're knit with Knitpicks' Swish Worsted yarn in white and peapod green. I think they look pretty keen with my skates.

(Bruises on my knees to be ignored.)

On the needles now is yet another pair of socks. This time it's Riff Socks from Knitty Deep Fall 2010 with Knitpicks' Comfy Fingering in Semolina. (I'm on a Knitpicks kick right now, can you tell.) I'll put up pictures of those when I'm done.

In the meantime, life is hectic with packing and getting ready to move. I'll probably disappear for a bit again while this whole process continues. Once we're settled, I'll be back with pictures of the new place.

One Bite at a Time

2011-05-30T11:02:00.000-04:00

I realize it's been over a month since I posted last. It's been a busy month for me. Between the start of the season, the show, work, and getting ready to move, life has been pretty crazy around here.

It's still pretty crazy, but now that the show has ended, it's slightly LESS crazy. Thank goodness.

This week is my last week at work. I'm taking the following week off to prepare for the Big Move.

I'm happy and excited to be moving. Or rather to have moved. The actual act of moving is filling me with considerable amounts of stress. I hate moving, and moving across three states just makes the whole ordeal even worse.

I'm trying to just take it slow and not let it overwhelm me. Like that old joke: how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Busy Busy

2011-04-27T13:35:00.000-04:00

There's been a lag in updates again. Limer and I aren't doing a good job at this post a day thing.

My life has been taken over by Epic Proportions.

(That's not me being melodramatic, that's the name of my next show.)

It's fun, though. And funny. The cast is great; the director is entertaining. I'm having a good time. It's a bittersweet way to end my time here in Pennsyltucky.

I'll leave you with Epic inspiration.

A Lesson

2011-04-24T10:30:00.000-04:00

There is a woman I work with. We'll call her Tabatha; not because her name is Tabatha, but because I think she looks like a Tabatha. This woman, Tabatha, is the Treasurer of the Board of Directors. Now, to give her the benefit, next to the President, the Treasurer does more work than anyone else on the Board. So much so, that it ought to be a paid position rather than the volunteer position that it is.

Tabatha has been quoted as saying her job is to find the thing that is wrong and fix it. Regardless of whether or not there is something that is actually wrong or it is her job to fix it. This results in her minding a lot of other people's businesses and getting on a lot of people's nerves.

This morning in the shower, I found a way to sum up her problem exactly: she doesn't know the line between the squeaky wheel and the boy who cried wolf.

There is the old saying of how the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Tabatha sees herself as the squeaky wheel - always pointing out the things that are wrong (or the things she perceives as being wrong) and demanding a solution.

Unfortunately, the rest of us are so tired of her constantly harping on things, we just ignore everything she says, be they valid points or not. So no matter what imagined or actual problem arises that she feels the need to point out, we push it aside, assuming it's just another itch Tabatha has to scratch.

Let this be a lesson to you, Dear Readers. Yes, the squeaky wheel does get the grease. But the wheel that constantly squeaks eventually gets replaced.

Passing

2011-04-22T14:57:00.002-04:00

Rest in peace, Sarah Jane Smith.

To Gloria With Love

2011-04-11T17:07:00.000-04:00

I've blogged about this show a couple of times. It's the dance show I stage managed for Brio Dance Company last weekend.

I was backstage for the show, so I didn't get many pictures, but here are the few that I got. Most of them are the gobos on the back cyc, because I'm a tech geek. But they're pretty.

This was the cyc look for the opening scene. It took place in a small farmhouse in Italy.

This was the gobo for the "Roaring 20s" in NYC. If you look at the top of the picture, you can see the shadows of the lighting instruments on second electric.

This one is probably my favorite. I don't remember exactly where it was used, but I like the stained glass look of it.

This was the final scene. Merlee and Andy slow danced to 'Moonlight Serenade' in front of this.

Andy and Julia swing dancing.

Andy and Rebecca: USA enters WWII.

Lane and Jon: The Boys Come Home From War.

Merlee and Tracy: Welcoming Home the Troops.

Things I Don't Understand

2011-04-07T20:11:00.000-04:00

The Cat will refuse to drink out of his water dish because there is a tiniest speck of dust in it.

Yet, he will drink the muddy water out of the plant pots on the balcony without hesitation.

For The Locals

2011-04-05T19:29:00.000-04:00

If you're in the area this Sunday, head on over to the State Theatre and check out Brio Dance Company's spring show: To Gloria With Love.

“To Gloria with Love” is a montage of the years that cover the booming 1920s, the Great Depression, World War II, and the enduring heart of the American people that emerged out of one of the most tragic times in our history. It's a story based on my late grandfather's legacy, the story of a young Italian man whose family came over to America by way of Ellis Island and made their home here. His is one story among millions who not only lived through some of the most turbulent years that America and our world has endured but who have also fought for justice, hope, and freedom...the freedom that we now enjoy. It's a story that I hope will touch the hearts of those who have lived it and will change the hearts of those who haven't. For my grandfather and for many, many others, “To Gloria with Love” is an American treasure.”
-Lane Grosser, Founder and Artistic Director

(Yes, this is a plug for myself as well. I am stage managing.)

Refashioned Shirt

2011-04-03T13:44:00.000-04:00

*** Warning: Craft Post Ahead***

We got shirts for Derby. One blue, one black with the team name on the front and our derby names and numbers on the back (I am Ginan Toxxic, number 20.)

There was a mistake with my shirt. I only got black and it was ordered as an extra large instead of a medium (we won't say anything about certain people doing shirt orders while they're drunk.)

Tomorrow is "dress practice" because Scoop from State College Magazine will be there. We're supposed to were our shirts. My shirt was pretty unwearable as it was.

So I spent part of my afternoon refashioning it into something cute, punky and wearable.

Start with the shirt:

Turn it inside out and cut off the sleeves, sides and bottom:

Then, using a whipstitch, sew up the sides.

Next, cut off the collar and the tops of the sleeves:

Then, make some drawstrings out of the scraps of the bottom and sides of the shirt. Poke some holes (carefully using a very sharp knife) along the tops of the sleeves and the collar. Turn the shirt rightside in and, using a safety pin as a needle, lace the drawstrings through the sleeves to close them together and along the collar (using whipstitch again) to make a decorative trim.

(Complete shirt, back)

(Complete shirt, front.)

Wear and enjoy!

Something I Found Interesting

2011-04-02T21:23:00.000-04:00

That I'd like to share with you:

How To Steal Like An Artist

Cheesey Quinoa

2011-03-30T15:00:00.005-04:00

This is cross-posted as a guest post over at Miss Limer's blog, food porn.

This evening, I am going to share with you one of my favorite ‘Mother Hubbard’ recipes (called so because you can use up whatever is leftover in the kitchen) – Cheesey Quinoa.

In case you don’t know (though, as readers of a foodie blog, I imagine you do,) Quinoa is a type of grain. I’ll be lazy and direct you to the wiki about quinoa where you can read up on it yourself.
Done? Ok, here we go.
You’re going to need two cups of stock. I use vegetable, as my husband is a vegetarian. You can use chicken if you prefer. It doesn’t really matter. Normally, I use boxed stock, but I didn’t have any today, so I used bullion, which needs to be dissolved in water (once cube per cup of water.)

While that is working, heat some oil in a pan. Again, whatever you have available. I use extra virgin olive oil. Then add in your vegetables. Today, I used carrots and onions. Usually, I also add mushrooms (didn’t have any today.) You can put in whatever pleases you most. You can use fresh, frozen, canned, or whatever.
Along with the veggies, add in some garlic. You can put in some meat at this point (or meat substitute.) I put in frozen soy chicken substitute. Again, for the vegetarian.

Once the meat is cooked and the vegetables are soft, stir in one cup of Quinoa.

Be aware, quinoa is small and jumpy. It can make a mess and be a bit of a pain to clean up.
Next, pour in your two cups of stock. You can add some seasoning at this point. I used salt, pepper, parsley and dill. You could make it Mexican by taking out the dill and putting in cumin and cilantro, or make it Italian by putting in oregano and basil. Mix it up a bit. Have some fun. It’s dinner, not rocket science.

Turn the heat down to medium and cook this until the liquid is mostly gone. The longer you let the quinoa sit and soak up water, the softer it will be.

Once the liquid is mostly gone, stir in one egg and half a cup of milk. This will help it all to thicken up. Then, add some sour cream (to taste; I add about half a cup to a cup. You can put in more, or none at all, whatever you like) and about half a cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Then, top it all off with more of the cheesey goodness.

If you have started this whole process in an oven safe pan (like the cast iron one, I used,) stick the whole thing CAREFULLY into an oven set at 350 (F). If you haven’t, get your favorite casserole dish, pour the whole shebang into it, top with more cheese (if your cheese ended up on the bottom) and put THAT whole thing into the oven.

Sit back with a tasty beverage for about half an hour or until all the liquid is gone and the cheese on top has melted nicely.

CAREFULLY take it out of the oven and let it sit for a minute or so to set up.

Serve and enjoy!

Frankenstein

2011-03-29T16:58:00.001-04:00

Last week, The Boy™ and I saw National Theatre Live's broadcast of Frankenstein.

It was wonderful. We both enjoyed it tremendously.

**** Break here for possible spoilers ****

The scenic designer in me totally geeked out over the entire production. The set was gorgeous. The use of a revolve, lift and trucks was just amazing. Though it is hard to get a sense of the size of the theatre itself on the movie screen, the 3/4 thrust stage gives a sense of intimacy (as 3/4 thrusts are wont to do.)

Evidently, tickets to this particular show are selling like hotcakes. A good portion, I'm sure, has to do with the brilliance of the script (which I'll get to in a moment,) but some of it is due to the cast reversal. Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch alternate the roles of Dr Frankenstein and the Creature. The production we saw starred Miller as Frankenstein and Cumberbatch as the Creature.

Cumberbatch's Creature was absolutely fantastic. Having only seen him in more clinical, detached roles (i.e. Sherlock,) I was surprised to find him endearing and dynamic. Unlike any other version of the Creature I've seen before. The physicality he put into the role told a story his words didn't need to. He did, in fact, speak (unlike traditional versions of the Creatrue,) and his speech and development thereof was inspired. We see the Creature born and develop - both physically and mentally - onstage before us

Having never seen Miller in anything before, I had no preconceived notions of his ability as an actor. I found his Frankenstein also unlike Frankensteins of the past. He is cocky, self-assured, a little bit crazy and ultimately very flawed. He approaches his experiment with a single-mindedness only seen in the utter genius and the mentally ill and we watch him walk the fine line between the two. The intensity of the Creature (or perhaps the fact that we don't see much of Frankenstein until the second part of the play) overshadows the doctor. Not that Miller's performance is in any way forgettable, quite the contrary, but one cannot help but watch the Creature the entire time they're on stage together. The few scenes Frankenstein has alone, or with other actors, shows him to be chilling and a bit mad.

The most important thing this production brings to the artistic world, I think, is the story itself. Never before have we had a theatrical or cinematic version so true to Mary Shelley's original story. Writer Nick Dear tells the tale with the Creature's voice, beginning with the birth of the Creature. We spend the first ten or so minutes of the play watching this newly born being discover how to move, how to talk, how to understand his surroundings. It's a bit like watching an infant in fast forward. We watch him grow and learn and begin to understand the world. We are joyous when he finds a friend; our heart breaks with his when he faces prejudice. He sees the world as a child would - a child with a fully developed brain, able to make the connections and conclusions an adult would.

As the play progresses, the Creature discovers the nature of good and evil, and attempts to discover that nature within himself. Faced with nothing but rejection and abuse, he turns vindictive and revengeful.

We see ourselves in the Creature, demanding answers and explanations from a deity unable or unwilling to answer. While Frankenstein's creature has a more direct route to his creator, he begs the same question in the face of adversity that much of the human race has for many thousands of years: why hast thou forsaken me?

In the end, we see Frankenstein and his Creature choose a horrifyingly tragic existence. They cannot go on with, yet cannot exist without, each other.

Dianna Wynne Jones

2011-03-26T09:40:00.000-04:00

News from Twitter and Mr. Neil is that Dianna Wynne Jones has passed away.

She is on my list of favorite fantasy authors. If you've never read anything of hers, go check out Howl's Moving Castle (don't short change yourself and rent the DVD. The movie is very good, don't get me wrong, but you'll enjoy the book just as much, I promise.) Then go delve into the other books she has to offer.

The world of fantasy is going to miss her.

Connor

2011-03-21T16:42:00.000-04:00

My new nephew was born on Sunday!

Connor Steven. 7lbs 4oz, 20 inches long.

Mama and baby are doing wonderfully. Big Brother has yet to make an opinion about it.

Um. Wow.

2011-03-21T08:53:00.000-04:00

"Peel" oil on linen.

(From Painting a Day, a blog by Duane Keiser.)

Seriously. Watch it. The guy paints an orange then paints unpeeling it. It's awesome.

Waiting ...

2011-03-20T08:12:00.000-04:00

For those of you who are wondering, there is no baby yet. Sister is uncomfortable and ready for it to be over.

Baby needs a time out when s/he is born. When Mama says 'come here,' you come here.

Random Thoughts

2011-03-18T10:55:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to motivate Limer to blog more and in turn she is motivating me to blog more. Not sure if it's working as I have nothing to blog about. Hence random thoughts.
My new niece or nephew was due yesterday. Waiting for the call is distracting me too much to get any actual work done today.
I feel like I have a ton of stuff to do before said baby is born (and I drive up to Sister's.) Whether I have time to do it all depends on baby's arrival.
I have bruises on my ankles from my new skates. They hurt. A lot. I didn't realize how often I cross my ankles until I discovered bruises on them.

(Want more interesting posts? Leave a message in the comment with ideas.)

Keep on Truckin'

2011-03-16T17:22:00.001-04:00

Moving sucks.

That's pretty much all there is to it. I've moved more times than I care to count.

I've moved from one town to another.

I've moved from one State to another.

I've moved within the same town more than once.

I've even moved apartments within the same building.

None of them are easy. No matter how to slice it, moving sucks.

This time, when we move, I'd like to try to make it slightly less sucky by hiring a moving company.

I know people have had bad experiences with moving companies. But people must have had good experience with moving companies too.

Have you ever used a company to move? If you have, who did you use? How did you find them? What were the pros and cons? Would you recommend it?

Or should I just stop being a baby and move myself?

(Image via movingtrucks.us)

Spring Break!

2011-03-15T17:04:00.000-04:00

Last week was Spring Break here in Happy Valley. The Boy™ and I took advantage of his slightly diminished workload to go up to NH and start hunting for apartments. We found a couple of promising places. We'll make our final decision closer to July (our anticipated relocation date.)

We also got to see Wina and her brand new (4 week old) baby girl: Karelyn.

Sleeping peacefully.

Lovely picture caught in between Karelyn's fussy moments. She'd had enough of Pass the Baby by that point.

Nic and Ron getting into the baby thing.

Ice 2

2011-03-06T10:50:00.001-05:00

Ice

2011-03-05T10:49:00.000-05:00

Climbing the Vines

2011-03-04T10:48:00.000-05:00

(Are you sick of these yet? I hope not, 'cause I have more coming. I'm enjoying this little project.)

Trapped!

2011-03-01T16:49:00.000-05:00

Researching Wild Things

2011-02-28T16:48:00.000-05:00

Sk8ter

2011-02-27T16:47:00.000-05:00

I Claim Thee ...

2011-02-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

... for the nation of Lego.

Not the Child

2011-02-19T09:00:00.001-05:00

This is not the child you were looking for.

Frozen Chase

2011-02-18T09:00:00.001-05:00

Investigating the Flower

2011-02-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

Derby Video

2011-02-16T18:59:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I've joined the local Roller Derby Team: The State College Area Rollers (SCAR for short.)

We had our first bout last weekend. More of a scrimmage, really, since it was just our team skating against our team.

Since I'm still a beginner, I didn't skate in the bout itself, but I did skate in the Derby 101 demonstration. That's where we explain to the spectators how Roller Derby works (it's kind of complicated, and most people don't know the rules.)

The Boy™ took a bit of video. It isn't great and doesn't show much but the ten of us standing around, but it's what I have.

I'm the one in the pink socks.

See the video here.

Derby, Derby, Derby!

2011-02-10T22:06:00.000-05:00

I've joined a Roller Derby team.

Okay, so I'm still a scab, but i'm working my way up to being on an actual bout team when we move back to NH.

It's rough, but it's tons of fun.

I'll put up pics and/or videos when I get some.

In the meantime, you should rent Whip It and picture me instead of Ellen Page.

(Via filmschoolrejects)

Just kidding.

English is Weird

2011-02-01T09:54:00.002-05:00

Read this.

What I'm Working On

2011-01-23T11:52:00.000-05:00

I just finished this

(via Interweave Knits )

My picture didn't turn out as well, so I'm posting the pic from Interweave Knits. The shrug itself turned out nicely.

I'm also working on these socks for The Boy™

(via DesignedbyKristi)

only the yarn is black and brown. So far, so good. But it's slow going. I might take a break before the second sock and knit something else. It's a good thing he doesn't rely on my knitted socks to keep his poor feet warm!

That's what's new on the Knitting front.

Somthing Else That is Making Me Happy

2011-01-20T19:16:00.000-05:00

She & Him

What I've Been Up To

2011-01-19T11:35:00.000-05:00

Not a whole lot, honestly.

Work. Home. Repeat.

That's my life lately.

The drafting for Harvey is finished and off to the director and TD. I'm glad that's out of my hands, though I enjoyed working on it.

I've started the job/apartment hunt. Did I mention we're moving in the Spring? We are going back to NH. So if you know anyone in the Southern NH/Southern ME/Northern MA area who is looking for a stage manager, scenic designer or administrative assistant, let me know.

Other than that, just trying to get through the winter. The weather here has been pretty crappy, as it's been through the entire country. I'm trying to stay busy enough that the rest of the winter goes by quickly. Easier said than done.

Harvey

2011-01-13T11:27:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine in NH is directing Harvey for the Community Players of Concord.

(You know Harvey. Six foot tall invisible rabbit? Yeah. That Harvey.)

A few months ago, he asked me to be his scenic designer. A sucker for all things Gary Locke, I said yes.

So, I've been a designing, drafting machine these past few weeks. Enjoying myself in a way I haven't since college. It's been fun. I need to do this more often. I hope to do this more often. It brings me back to the reason why I originally studied design in college, before I got bit by the stage managing bug.

Gary has started a blog about the process. You can find it here.

The show goes up in May. If you're in the Concord, NH the first weekend of May, go and see it. I know it'll be good.

Hopefully, I'll have pictures of the finished set to show you. Otherwise, I can show you the ground plan and construction drawings, which are probably not as exciting to anyone but me.

Happy (Belated) Holidays

2011-01-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

I realize this is late. The Boy™ and I were traveling for the holidays. We went to Sister's and Mom's for Christmas, then off to Wina's for the week between and New Year's. We had a wonderful time and it's very hard to come back to PA and our regular lives.

But, Wina says 2011 is the Year of New Beginnings. We are starting new phases in our lives (Wina with the baby and me with leaving PA and moving back to NH.) I'm trying to remain optimistic about the future. It will be good. I have to get through these next couple of months, and will try to live in the moment and enjoy what I have while I have it.

Part of what I am enjoying is my lovely family. Here are some pictures of Nephew and Sister from Christmas.

She Also Makes Me Happy

2010-12-22T15:16:00.000-05:00

(You can find out more at her homepage.)

Yikes!

2010-12-21T22:46:00.000-05:00

I've neglected this poor blog for quite a while this time. My apologies, Dear Readers. I wish I had some exciting excuse.

Like I won the lottery and have moved to Hawaii.

Or I got kidnapped by a tall, brown-eyed alien in pinstripes and a blue box.

Or I started a rock band and we've been on our first world-tour.

Or I've written a best selling novel and I've been busy with book signings.

Unfortunately, I've just been busy at work and distracted by the upcoming holidays.

Sorry to disappoint.

This Thing I'm Doing

2010-12-03T19:03:00.000-05:00

B introduced me to pinterest about a week ago.

It's kind of like tumblr, I guess. Only different.

I'm excited by it.

You should join up and follow me (and let me follow you.)

Quote of the Day

2010-12-02T21:57:00.000-05:00

Evil presupposes a moral decision, intention and some forethought. A moron or a lout, however, doesn't stop to think or reason. He acts on instinct, like a stable animal, convinced that he's doing good, that he's always right, and sanctimoniously proud to go around fucking up, if you'll excuse the French, anyone he perceives to be different from himself, be it because of skin color, creed, language, nationality, or, as in the case of Don Federico, his leisure habits. What the world needs is more thoroughly evil people and fewer borderline pigheads.

~ from The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Nativity Set

2010-11-29T18:00:00.000-05:00

A few years ago, I came across this nativity set:

(via oliverfabel.de)

I loved it, but wasn't willing to spend the money on something so simple.

So I made a set of my own out of wood scraps from my mother-in-law, some stain and letter stamps. Arranged artfully on the hutch in my dining room, this is what it looks like:

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T11:57:00.002-05:00

Arlo Guthrie Alice's Restaurant
Uploaded by shawshawshaw. - Explore more music videos.

Knitting Doozers

2010-11-21T17:59:00.000-05:00

This makes me happy in all kinds of ways:

Doozers Knit

Happiness Shared by The Boy

2010-11-10T13:23:00.000-05:00

I love, love, LOVE this song.

And the video makes me happy too.

(Doesn't that little boy just crack you up?)

QuickBooks

2010-11-08T14:29:00.000-05:00

I have a question for you, Dear Readers.

Do any of you have any experience with Quickbooks?

This program has become the bane of my existance. It is an accounting program that we use for work. Well, that I use for work, now that I am the one in the office, doing the majority of the accounting.

I seem to be having problems with the thing. Particuarly with reconciling.

If you or anyone you know has any experience with it, and think you can help, please leave a message in the comments.

Otherwise, please send Understanding and Patience Vibes my way.

I am very grateful.

Via Amy

2010-11-04T18:11:00.001-04:00

This is the Mom I hope to be someday.

November

2010-11-04T10:57:00.000-04:00

November looks like it's going to be a good month.

First (in order of importance) My Birthday!

Thanksgiving.

Birthdays of two siblings and one best friend.

Theatre!

Peter Pan with Anne:

Straight No Chaser with The Boy and the SLPs:

(The song begins at :29)

I'm looking forward to going home for Thanksgiving for a nice, relaxing weekend. Possibly including the baking of Christmas cookies? We shall see.

Have a nice November, Dear Readers.

This Made Me Think

2010-10-26T18:16:00.000-04:00

A Bike That Made Me Happy

2010-10-24T08:27:00.000-04:00

Where can I get one of these??

(Via typographyserved)

Wedding

2010-10-17T18:28:00.000-04:00

My big brother went and got himself hitched yesterday.

It was wonderful; a very low-key ceremony at the house, followed by a big party with all the families. It was just perfect for the two of them.


The Groom and the Best Man wait for the bride.


The Bride and Groom


Rockstar!


Cutting the cake.

The beautiful bride.

San Antonio Zoo

2010-10-16T07:19:00.017-04:00


Anteater


Heron

Nephew doesn't quite get it.

Komodo Dragon

Flamingos

Rino

Fish and Turtles

San Antonio

2010-10-15T19:19:00.000-04:00

One truck, two planes and an SUV later, we have safely arrived in San Antonio, Texas!

For those of you who are unaware, we're here for the week because my brother is getting married! The big day is Saturday, so we're taking time to be tourists today.

Some pictures so far:


You know you're in Texas when they decorate with cowboy boot planters!


Nephew looking handsome.


Brother and SIL at the Zoo.

More Zoo pictures to come in a later post ...

This Made Me Happy (About Knitting)

2010-10-13T07:46:00.000-04:00

(via The New Yorker)

My Buddy

2010-10-12T17:11:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you know my friend John.

He greets me at about the halfway point on my running trail.

It's the little things that keep you going.

Ink

2010-10-11T19:47:00.000-04:00

Thinking ....

This Made Me Happy on a Sunday

2010-10-10T08:56:00.002-04:00

This Made Me Happy This Afternoon

2010-10-07T11:23:00.002-04:00

Spamalot

2010-10-05T13:16:00.000-04:00

Did I mention I got to go see Spamalot last week?

I did.

It was just as wonderful as I'd hoped it would be (aside from the horrible sound mixing that Eisenhower Auditorium insists upon.)

My thoughts from the show: there are two kinds of people who go to see Spamalot - theatre geeks and Python geeks.

Rarely are the two the same person.

The theatre geeks laugh at all the theatre jokes (and there are many.)

The Python geeks laugh one line before the Python jokes (because they know they're coming.)

I would have loved to see the original Broadway with Tim Curry as King Arthur.

I'll leave you with everyone's favorite earworm.

I Think I'll Go For a Walk Outside

2010-09-21T17:14:00.000-04:00

The (Indian) summer sun's calling my name!


(via last.fm)

It cooled down last week, but this week it has warmed up a bit. We're forecasted to be in the 80s this week. I am not complaining!

(via flickr)

Things are settling down a little at work. I'm finally able to catch up on some of the projects I've been putting off.

Today was nicely productive. I'm sitting on the deck right now, with Jersey-cat, enjoying the weather and the sun.

(via yetanotherphotoblog)

These pictures are not mine (though I wish they were; they're gorgeous!) I am meaning to go out and take some pictures of the fall colors around here. We don't have much color yet, and they're not sure we're going to get a lot. It's been such a dry summer down here. But I will do my best and update with them later.


(via ilgaleja)

In the meantime, I'm going to catch up on my knitting as well. How about something with these lovely colors?

This Made Me Happy at 5:00 AM

2010-09-17T05:19:00.002-04:00

Labor Day

2010-09-12T17:30:00.000-04:00

I could waste your time and talk about all the fun and exciting things I did over Labor Day weekend last weekend. But I know the only part you're really interested in is pictures of Nephew. So, here you go:


On the deck, checking out Grandpa's plants.


Trying to lift the Big Orange Ball.


Trying to decide which to play with: the ball or Moose.


Colin B's close-up (and my favorite of the day.)

This Also Made Me Happy This Morning

2010-09-01T09:29:00.000-04:00

Favor For a Friend

2010-08-31T21:08:00.001-04:00

A friend of mine requests:

I need your help with my dissertation research. If you are in the military and have contact with active duty personnel with high school age kids, and are willing to be a point of contact, please send me a message ASAP.

If you can help, please leave a note in the comments and I will pass it on.

Thanks!

This Made Me Happy

2010-08-31T11:50:00.002-04:00

So I'm sharing it with you.

Got it!

2010-08-27T08:59:00.000-04:00

After much searching on Ravelry I found a shawl pattern to use for that yarn.

It's super easy and knitting up really fast.

The yarn is nice and soft.

I might have to curl up in it and take a nap!

Seriously, I'm going to take it on the plane when we go to Texas in October to keep me warm. Airplanes are so cold!

Stumped

2010-08-25T22:35:00.000-04:00

Last May, at the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival, I bought this yarn.

To be exact, I bought this yarn.

I had a project all planned out for it.

In the past two days, I've cast on and frogged that project about four times. So I'm giving up on it and looking for something new to knit.

My problem is, I only bought two skeins (which was enough for the original project.) I'm having a hard time finding a substitute project.

The yarn is so soft and warm, I'd like to make something I can wrap around me: a wrap or a shrug or something like that. I'd love to do a sweater, but two skeins isn't nearly enough.

All else fails, I suppose I can do some mittens with it.

So I'm staying up way too late tonight (having gotten very little sleep last night) to find a pattern to knit.

My life is exciting, isn't it.

Finding a Routine

2010-08-24T10:07:00.000-04:00

Now that the show has closed, I'm trying to figure out some sort of routine with my days.

The semester has started for The Boy™, so he's trying to find some sort of routine as well.

My day (should) consist of either going into the office or the box (or both,) some sort of workout (which I have been neglecting since Dolly rehearsals started,) quick cleaning around the apartment, dinner and relaxing time with The Boy™.

Not necessarily in that order.

I was going to try to start that today. But my truck is in the shop until sometime this afternoon. So that's throwing a kink in things.

I know some people like the idea of just showing up to work when they feel like it and doing whatever they need to do around that.

I can't do that, though. I thrive on routine. If I don't have my routine, I get stressed and nothing gets done.

Which is, I think, worse than doing the same thing every day.

What sort of routine do you have set up for yourself?

Want! (To Make)

2010-08-16T19:10:00.000-04:00

The Boy™ and I started reading the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels a few months ago.

The movie has recently come out.

I want to see it.

And to make the hoodie that Ramona Flowers wears.

Off to find the pattern!

Days Off!

2010-08-16T13:15:00.000-04:00

While Dolly performances are going spectacularly (three sold out shows last week!), it's good to have a few days off.

I spent all of yesterday lounging in my favorite chair with Knitting and Netflix. I'm almost done with Season One of The Riches. It took me a couple of episodes to get into this show (the pilot was a little more violent than I was expecting,) but I'm really beginning to enjoy it now. It wasn't a very long run series, so there isn't much to watch.

Since yesterday was SO unproductive, I decided to be moderately productive today and do some things around the house that I won't have the time or energy to do once I'm back to the grind tomorrow. I've gone for a run, cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom and now going to go fold some laundry.

Then I'll probably be done for the day and relax some more. Hurray for days off!

Hello, Dolly!

2010-08-10T09:51:00.000-04:00

We open tonight!

Check out the trailer. This cast isn't half bad.

Click here to watch trailer.

The New Apartment (Finally!)

2010-08-08T09:52:00.000-04:00

At long last, here are the shots of my favorite places in our new apartment.

There are a lot of empty spaces still. Things not unpacked. Furniture not yet bought. I'm not complaining about the open spaces, though. It is very relaxing.

I don't know why this shot came out so green. This is (as you can see) the bedroom. The light used to hang above my desk in the old apartment, but I really like it above the bed here. Gives the bedroom a little bit of flair.

This is where I spend my small amount of free time. I am sitting in that chair right now as I type this. The art on the wall is some of the art we bought in Hawaii when we were there for our wedding and my brother's wedding. There are seven pieces total.

This is where I spend the rest of my free time (and some work time as well.) My desk is in the far corner of the bedroom. Betty and Wilma are up on the shelf with the plant. The window overlooks our tiny bit of front lawn and the parking lot. The tree out front keeps the room in shadow all day, so we haven't felt a rush to put up curtains. That will happen eventually.

Again, not a great picture, but I wanted to show off the eating area. Erinn and Dave have lent us that small table for the year (since it doesn't fit in their new townhouse and would only sit in storage.) It is perfect for our little dining area. Not much room for company, but we rarely have people over to eat anyway. I can't even remember when I got that tablecloth (I know I got in when we lived in NH) and I'm happy to have a table that it fits.

So that's it. That's the new place. It's nice. I'll keep it for the year.

Don't expect to hear much from me for the rest of the week. Dolly opens on Tuesday, and I have a big project at work to finish by midweek. Busy, busy.

Gahhh!

2010-08-02T23:28:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.

Dolly is eating my soul.

Will post pics of new apartment soon.

New Places

2010-07-25T08:56:00.000-04:00

We're finally all moved into the new place. The move went well, despite the heat. It helped that we had a week to do it. I don't look forward to the time when we move everything all at once. Which might be as soon as next year. fingers crossed

Don't get me wrong, I look forward to moving. Just not the actual move. Maybe by that time, we'll be able to afford movers. I've been envying the people I saw last week using actual moving companies.

The only thing left to do now is unpack. That could take another week. Between work and rehearsals, I have very little time from day to day.

But the new place is nice. So quiet I almost couldn't sleep the past few nights. Almost. Jersey Cat has practically moved out onto the balcony. He's there all morning and all evening, while it's cool, and then spends the heat of the day under the bed (where I presume it is also cool.)

As soon as we get settled, I'll take some pictures and get them up so you can see our new digs.

Small Change

2010-07-21T12:56:00.000-04:00

I've made a small change to the blog. If you check out the bottom of this post, you'll see new options. You can share with friends, or acknowledge a post without actually leaving a comment (funny, interesting or dislike.) Although, I prefer comments, a small acknowledge that someone is reading this is better than nothing.

So go ahead. Try it out. I'll wait ...

Moving

2010-07-17T11:38:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again. Our lease is up and we're moving into a new apartment.

This move is only across town. But it still involves packing up everything we own into boxes and renting a moving truck.

This is our life for the next week.

[Title of Show]

2010-07-07T11:11:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to be going to see this show tomorrow with some girlfriends.

Okay, we're not seeing the "official Broadway Musical" on Broadway or anything. A local theatre company is doing in here. Locally.

If you haven't seen it or heard the soundtrack, go check it out. It'll make you happy. It makes me happy. And don't we all need things that make us happy right now?

Yes. We do.

(via nymag.com)

Happy (belated) Fourth!

2010-07-05T10:50:00.000-04:00

This Independence Day has been brought to you by the letter B:

Baseball

(via frontiernet.net)

Barbecue

(via rioc.com)

and ...

BANG!!

(via zayko.com)

Our Fourth of July celebrations were tons of fun. We started out the afternoon with a baseball game. Our local minor-league team has free tickets for college students and The Boy™ was able to score us two. Our team won (woo!) and The Boy™ and I melted in the 90+ degree heat and both got sunburned (never using spray sunscreen again.)

After a cool shower and a nap at home, we were off to a friends' house for a BBQ and the fireworks. Evidently, we have the 3rd largest display in the country here. I have to admit, I was impressed. Our host tuned in to a radio station that apparently plans the display along with the pyro people. The whole display had a fun musical score: some classic rock, some new favorites for the kids and some patriotic classics. The finale filled the valley with smoke in a way that made me glad I don't live down there.

I have to admit, though, the New England traditionalist in me thinks all Fourth of July fireworks display in this country ought to end with Stars and Strips Forever (a la the Pops,) but the display was impressive none-the-less.

The Boy™ brilliantly navigated our way home, avoiding all traffic leaving the fireworks area. It took us less time to get home than it took to actually get there.

Now, it's Recovery Monday. The Boy™ begins the final push on comps. I begin to pack for the Move.

Wish us luck!

The Story of the Plant

2010-07-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

When The Boy™ and I first moved to PA, Cousin Margot gave us a cutting from the plant she has in her front hall (front hall-kitchen-most of the downstairs.) It started out as just two little twigs with a couple of green leaves on them. Over the past four years, it has grown into a nice, respectable looking plant. I currently have it wrapped around the fish bowls to add a little greenery to the area.

It's been just that, though. A respectable looking green plant.

Just green.

In the whole four years that we've had it.

Then one day, about a month ago, I looked over and saw something funny on it.

"Hon," I said to The Boy™, "What's that on the plant?"

"This?" He said, going over to it. "Wow. It's a flower!"

Sure enough. It was a little pink flower.

Now, that was something unexpected! I told everyone I knew who was interested (and some people who weren't) about this adorable flower on my plant that hadn't flowered in four years. Heard in return stories of plants that flowered once in a lifetime. And then didn't think any more about it.

Until we got back from vacation and I saw these suckers:

Mother Nature is an amazing thing, isn't she?

Publicity

2010-06-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

Interested in seeing some of the things that happen around here? This is the trailer for the show that opens tonight at SCCT. If you live in or plan on being in the State College area in the next two weeks, stop by and get your tickets!