Mixed feelings abound regarding the end of the opera. I am glad that mom and I will be able to get back to a more regular schedule. I am sad that I won't have the opera to work on and the people associated with it to see and hang out with. Sigh.
I felt like my life, such as it is, was on hold while I was working/focused on the opera. I do knw that some stuff got neglected. Like my blog. And the mail/bills. I hope to get to them today - at least that is my plan.
Ok, so where were we? Oh, yes. The opera is over. Sunday was a long day. So was Monday, come to think of it. Each will be examined minutely (or not) in due time or course or whatever saying is most apt. Let's start with Sunday.
Sunday was the second and last performance of Don Pasquale. Matinees are odd - like going to a movie in the afternoon. It comes as a little bit of a shock when the performance is over and one walks out into the daylight! The show went smoothly - I think Robert and I finally got the curtains to go at the perfect-ish time. After the show, we had to do strike - remove all evidence of the opera having ever been there. It went pretty well and quickly. Everyone helped, even though they weren't required to. And the piano got moved back - honestly, I had forgotten about the piano. Moving an $80k Steinway is heavy and nerve-wracking (nerve-racking even...) work. Though, truth be told, this is the second (or third?) time for me, so it wasn't nearly as scary. We finally got everything that we were planning on getting done done. By 6:00 pm. Yay!
The "Cast" party started at 6:30 - I didn't get there till seven. I went home, fed mom badly (McDonald's fish sandwich), tried to get her situated with something to watch on television and changed my clothes. The party was at The Cobblestone - a tradtion apparently. We had a much smaller group than in years past, so only took over the top floor. Quite a spread! Lobster, sushi grade tuna, roast beef, lasagna, all sorts of other things - yummy desserts, decent selections at the bar. I stayed for a while after dinner and listened to the performing, but, since Al had decided he wanted to be up and out early - sigh - I wanted to make an early night of it, leaving around 9:30 pm.
Once I got home, I spent some time with mom, checking in. I do feel that I have neglected her a good bit over the past couple of weeks. Poo. But she has probably forgotten already. Yay! And then I stayed up too late playing.
That is part of the reason that Monday was a long day. I went to bed late, slept fitfully (yes, a combination of lots of rich foods does tend to make my sleep a smidge uncomfortable) and woke early. I did get a little done before heading off to the Smith to stuff Al's van full of props, costumes, backdrops and furniture. We had help toting things, which was great. I think it took all of half an hour to load his vehicle and see him off.
Back home, I thought to nap, but somehow never managed to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. A new person is working for the aide service and she wanted to come and see if mom's service plan (like a car?) needed an overhaul. It didn't. Then Jenny came and helped mom out a bit by dusting her corner of her bedroom. I made lunch and headed to the Smith for a staff meeting. After which, back to the house for more attempted napping. Again, mostly unsuccessful! Eventually I headed to the grocery store to get victuals for dinner - left over chicken (from the fridge, not from the store), corn on the cob (yummy), artichokes (not good - too woody) and green beans (which I managed to cook just about perfectly). Huzzuh!
Somewhere in here, I had an epiphany-let: there probably exists a book cataloging app for my iPhone. Sure enough, there was. I bought it. $1.99 which is a bargain. It can scan an ISBN number and put all the data it can find from the web into the local database. Sure, it's a few issues, but it is way better than having to enter every book by hand. I keep telling people that there are 15k books in the house. I think that was the number I entered into a database back in 1999-2000 when I last cataloged the books. We shall see. I have already entered 15 or so. One book at a time until a room is done. Then another room and another...we shall see. Anyone want to guess?
Showing posts with label opera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label opera. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Quick post
Last day of the opera (mostly) today. And it is a matinee. So I need to be out and about or up and out quickly and soon. I was going to skip posting again today, but instead, I decided to do a quick post.
Got up, did stuff, went to bed!
All done!
Thank you for reading and goodnight!
Ok, not really. But it is going to be a quick-ish post. I have an owie on my neck, which I hope is a non-lethal bug bite and will just go away. Owies scare me sometimes. Especially when I can't see them and don't know whence they came. Eeek.
Yesterday's focus was a reception held out at Houghton House for the company that produces the Opera. I got there early to help with setting up and spent my time puttering around doing this and that. One of my tasks was to open bottles of wine, though I didn't end up bartending. Yay. I like bartending, I do. It just gets old in a function like that one. In fact the whole thing brought back memories of working in catering in my interim job as a service captain (between serving and being a Private Events Director (catering sales).
The event went smoothly. The food, which was tasty, was catered by the company that does food for HWS. The program was good with lots of varied performances and performers. Al, the director, did a patter song, even. I will eventually share some pictures. Eventually. I have gotten lazy about taking pictures off of my camera. Bad Augustus!
And there, that is it. Really. Stop reading now. Go back to your lives and lead them! Rah!
Got up, did stuff, went to bed!
All done!
Thank you for reading and goodnight!
Ok, not really. But it is going to be a quick-ish post. I have an owie on my neck, which I hope is a non-lethal bug bite and will just go away. Owies scare me sometimes. Especially when I can't see them and don't know whence they came. Eeek.
Yesterday's focus was a reception held out at Houghton House for the company that produces the Opera. I got there early to help with setting up and spent my time puttering around doing this and that. One of my tasks was to open bottles of wine, though I didn't end up bartending. Yay. I like bartending, I do. It just gets old in a function like that one. In fact the whole thing brought back memories of working in catering in my interim job as a service captain (between serving and being a Private Events Director (catering sales).
The event went smoothly. The food, which was tasty, was catered by the company that does food for HWS. The program was good with lots of varied performances and performers. Al, the director, did a patter song, even. I will eventually share some pictures. Eventually. I have gotten lazy about taking pictures off of my camera. Bad Augustus!
And there, that is it. Really. Stop reading now. Go back to your lives and lead them! Rah!
Saturday, July 20, 2013
One down, one to go
Last night was opening night for the opera. Sadly, there were not very many people in the audience. Happily, the show went pretty well. There were a couple of mistakes. One late curtain. One forgotten hatstand. And one forgotten bench. Luckily the last one was the actors' fault and not the stage crew's fault. I also had the added difficulty of having to run from backstage to the Mezzanine, set up a quick exception in the HVAC system to turn the air conditioning on again and then back to continue resetting the stage for the next act.
The performers came alive on show night. All four of the leads did a great job. And the chorus really came together. No, I am not forgetting Garsevan, who did a funny job as the notary. I am happy to be associated with this production!
After the show, we were all treated to an Indian meal at the restaurant across the street from the Smith: Pure. I had some beef dish that was a smidge spicier than was comfortable, but I struggled through it. Happily.
Other than that, not a lot of interest occurred. I think I got up, made mom lunch and puttered around while waiting to head to the theatre.
One performance down, one to go!
The performers came alive on show night. All four of the leads did a great job. And the chorus really came together. No, I am not forgetting Garsevan, who did a funny job as the notary. I am happy to be associated with this production!
After the show, we were all treated to an Indian meal at the restaurant across the street from the Smith: Pure. I had some beef dish that was a smidge spicier than was comfortable, but I struggled through it. Happily.
Other than that, not a lot of interest occurred. I think I got up, made mom lunch and puttered around while waiting to head to the theatre.
One performance down, one to go!
Friday, July 19, 2013
Last hot day for a while?
My mom is melting! And I can't really do anything about it. At least the hot weather broke a smidge yesterday and is supposed to break again either tonight or tomorrow - or Sunday at the latest. Yay for living in a cooler clime! Though in hotter climes, AC is de rigueur. I try to convince mom that going downstairs is cooler, but she remains in her room most of the day. At least she does have windows and a good sized fan! (Everytime I use that work, I think of fans (short of fanatics) and want to make some comment like "besides me" 'cause I am her fan - most of the time.)
Had my first staff meeting at The Smith yesterday. Yay communication!
And it was a "dark" day for the Opera. I feel a little guilty that I didn't go out of my way to do anything with any of the Opera people. I thought this morning, or was it last night, that it would have been nice to invite Al to dinner at our house. But that would have entailed getting mom dressed - and in this heat, I have been avoiding that even more than usual. Tonight, though, she will have to wear clothes as she is coming to the opera with me! Yippee.
What did I do with my day off? Caught up a little on writing (no blog, I know - until the opera is over, I don't know how blogful my life will be - ok, speaking of blogging, I don't seem able to see comments anymore without going to each page and looking for them. I don't know what is up with that - I need to write to the blogger help people and see if they can shed some light on this issue for me). Made dinner that was, somewhat, from scratch. Played a bit. Oh, had that Smith meeting. Helped mom navigate the tv as well as helped her watch a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie. Looks like she actually only likes two of them - Top Hat and Gay Divorcee. Mom has a memory of Fred Astaire dancing on the walls and ceiling of a room - turns out that was from a 50s movie called Royal Wedding - we don't have that in our collection - yet.)
Since I didn't write yesterday - let me think - what the heck happened. Oh, right, we had Tech/Dress Rehearsal for the Opera, Don Pasquale. It went very smoothly. Sure there were glitches - a lot of the curtains were slow - probably my mistakes for not calling them soon enough. I need to anticipate them a little since the curtain is massive and takes a little bit to get it going. And the performers had a few missteps, but overall, very smooth. It really is an easy show, which isn't a bad thing. I hope we get an audience!
I hope everyone is well and happy! And keeping cool!
Had my first staff meeting at The Smith yesterday. Yay communication!
And it was a "dark" day for the Opera. I feel a little guilty that I didn't go out of my way to do anything with any of the Opera people. I thought this morning, or was it last night, that it would have been nice to invite Al to dinner at our house. But that would have entailed getting mom dressed - and in this heat, I have been avoiding that even more than usual. Tonight, though, she will have to wear clothes as she is coming to the opera with me! Yippee.
What did I do with my day off? Caught up a little on writing (no blog, I know - until the opera is over, I don't know how blogful my life will be - ok, speaking of blogging, I don't seem able to see comments anymore without going to each page and looking for them. I don't know what is up with that - I need to write to the blogger help people and see if they can shed some light on this issue for me). Made dinner that was, somewhat, from scratch. Played a bit. Oh, had that Smith meeting. Helped mom navigate the tv as well as helped her watch a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie. Looks like she actually only likes two of them - Top Hat and Gay Divorcee. Mom has a memory of Fred Astaire dancing on the walls and ceiling of a room - turns out that was from a 50s movie called Royal Wedding - we don't have that in our collection - yet.)
Since I didn't write yesterday - let me think - what the heck happened. Oh, right, we had Tech/Dress Rehearsal for the Opera, Don Pasquale. It went very smoothly. Sure there were glitches - a lot of the curtains were slow - probably my mistakes for not calling them soon enough. I need to anticipate them a little since the curtain is massive and takes a little bit to get it going. And the performers had a few missteps, but overall, very smooth. It really is an easy show, which isn't a bad thing. I hope we get an audience!
I hope everyone is well and happy! And keeping cool!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Late post - day and time
Physically a bit on the tired side yesterday. The call for the opera was 11 because we didn't really have a lot to do - just rehang a few pieces of set decoration. Ha! Al decided that it was time to clean the stage area. Sigh. Had I known this, I would have planned it - asked David and perhaps someone else to come in - started earlier and all. But that wasn't the case. So Al and I did it all. If it were up to me, the theatre/stage area would be this clean after every show. And perhaps before every show (production/event). But it isn't up to me. Yet. At least I have been educated in how to run the air conditioning system. A little bit. That is a good thing.
When I was back at home for lunch, I sat and chatted with mom for a little while she ate her lunch. But I could barely keep my eyes open. Yes, I am looking forward to the opera being over. Not in a bad way, but so that I can get more beauty rest.
Monday was a really long, full day of rehearsing. Luckily for mom, Jenny, the aide, came. After a lot of prodding, mom allowed Jenny to dust off the top of her desk. That is great! It was getting thick there. Now if we can just get her to do more dusting in mom's room. And vacuuming perhaps. I would really like to do a deep cleaning in there. And get her a different bed. And I am toying with getting her an air conditioning/window unit. I don't know how much they cost. And to think I had three or four of them down in the house in NC that I abandoned to my friend Ted - or did Paul end up with them. Who the heck knows? I certainly don't!
Mom likes the lemon bars that I made. I think she is tired of watermelon though. I wonder, do coconut and watermelon go together? Hmm. I like coconut but never think of it. Dinner Monday night was frozen Bertoli's pasta dinner. Tuesday was take-out buffet from Ling Ling Chinese Buffet. I am, mostly, looking forward to having time to cook again.
When I was back at home for lunch, I sat and chatted with mom for a little while she ate her lunch. But I could barely keep my eyes open. Yes, I am looking forward to the opera being over. Not in a bad way, but so that I can get more beauty rest.
Monday was a really long, full day of rehearsing. Luckily for mom, Jenny, the aide, came. After a lot of prodding, mom allowed Jenny to dust off the top of her desk. That is great! It was getting thick there. Now if we can just get her to do more dusting in mom's room. And vacuuming perhaps. I would really like to do a deep cleaning in there. And get her a different bed. And I am toying with getting her an air conditioning/window unit. I don't know how much they cost. And to think I had three or four of them down in the house in NC that I abandoned to my friend Ted - or did Paul end up with them. Who the heck knows? I certainly don't!
Mom likes the lemon bars that I made. I think she is tired of watermelon though. I wonder, do coconut and watermelon go together? Hmm. I like coconut but never think of it. Dinner Monday night was frozen Bertoli's pasta dinner. Tuesday was take-out buffet from Ling Ling Chinese Buffet. I am, mostly, looking forward to having time to cook again.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Brain Doubly tired now...
I just wrote a decent post - not great or anything, but decent. I hit save. It seemed to save. But each time I hit publish, nothing happened - well, not what was supposed to happen. So I hit save again and then left the page to see if I could figure out what was going on. Well, I figured out what wasn't going on. My post wasn't being saved. Sigh. So, let's start again, shall we? Joy and Rapture.
I haven't been able to focus on much except for the opera just now. It is very time consuming, enervating and takes over my life a bit. As does any show, actually. I think it is hard on my mom when I am away as much as I need to be for this production. I am not in her head, but I get the feeling that she feels extra special lonely when she remembers that I am out of the house. I basically drop in a few times a day and then go to bed.
Here is a fairly typical day: starts with rehearsal at 10 which goes until 12. Then when I manage to extricate myself, I head home to create lunch for mom. At 2 rehearsal starts again, so back to the rehearsal space. Rehearsal generally stops at 5. Then I have to zip home again - usually with a shopping trip to Wegman's being required - to make dinner. When I am home I try to give my mom some quality time. Doesn't usually work, but I try. Then around 7 I am supposed to be back at the theatre. Optimally, I would be earlier to each of the rehearsal sessions. But I am also picking up one of my staff - and there is travel time and parking time and such that eats into the time. Suffice it to say that I feel like I have little time for mom or for me recently. Rehearsal ends at 10. Actors may not be called or they might be let out early, I get to go to every rehearsal and stay till the end. Yippee! It makes for a long day.
Mom asks me what I do during all of that time. Not an easy answer, really. In this show I am the stage manager/tech liaison and general dog's body for Al the director. Let's look at today for example - I fixed a piece of furniture, moved a lot of furniture, raised and lowered a lot of drops, helped hang a set piece, unknotted a coil of fishing line, photocopied a prop for the show, and tried to pay attention to what was happening on the stage. Physically demanding, mind tiring, and all around intense work, interspersed with times of doing little. And things change from day to day. Luckily, I really do enjoy doing just about anything related to theatre. My favoritist thing, as I have probably said many times, is direct. Maybe again one day...
One of the upsides to this production, this year I am actually hanging out with some people from the opera after rehearsal. I don't get a lot of adult companionship most of the time here in Geneva. Not that these are dates or anything. Just getting together for a beer and talk. Yay!
All of this is to explain why my brain is tired and I haven't been blogging as awesomefully as I normally do. Your understanding and patience is appreciated!
I haven't been able to focus on much except for the opera just now. It is very time consuming, enervating and takes over my life a bit. As does any show, actually. I think it is hard on my mom when I am away as much as I need to be for this production. I am not in her head, but I get the feeling that she feels extra special lonely when she remembers that I am out of the house. I basically drop in a few times a day and then go to bed.
Here is a fairly typical day: starts with rehearsal at 10 which goes until 12. Then when I manage to extricate myself, I head home to create lunch for mom. At 2 rehearsal starts again, so back to the rehearsal space. Rehearsal generally stops at 5. Then I have to zip home again - usually with a shopping trip to Wegman's being required - to make dinner. When I am home I try to give my mom some quality time. Doesn't usually work, but I try. Then around 7 I am supposed to be back at the theatre. Optimally, I would be earlier to each of the rehearsal sessions. But I am also picking up one of my staff - and there is travel time and parking time and such that eats into the time. Suffice it to say that I feel like I have little time for mom or for me recently. Rehearsal ends at 10. Actors may not be called or they might be let out early, I get to go to every rehearsal and stay till the end. Yippee! It makes for a long day.
Mom asks me what I do during all of that time. Not an easy answer, really. In this show I am the stage manager/tech liaison and general dog's body for Al the director. Let's look at today for example - I fixed a piece of furniture, moved a lot of furniture, raised and lowered a lot of drops, helped hang a set piece, unknotted a coil of fishing line, photocopied a prop for the show, and tried to pay attention to what was happening on the stage. Physically demanding, mind tiring, and all around intense work, interspersed with times of doing little. And things change from day to day. Luckily, I really do enjoy doing just about anything related to theatre. My favoritist thing, as I have probably said many times, is direct. Maybe again one day...
One of the upsides to this production, this year I am actually hanging out with some people from the opera after rehearsal. I don't get a lot of adult companionship most of the time here in Geneva. Not that these are dates or anything. Just getting together for a beer and talk. Yay!
All of this is to explain why my brain is tired and I haven't been blogging as awesomefully as I normally do. Your understanding and patience is appreciated!
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Cloud Atlas anyone?
Sometimes I get a little carried away with my responses to my Daily Challenge posts. Too many words. Not as many (or as boring, I hope) as some of my connections on there. But still, I feel like my 200 words was easily accomplished and don't feel like I have any more left for my blog post. Yet, I mostly struggle on and attempt to come up with more verbiage.
Last night's movie was Cloud Atlas. I enjoyed the movie. It was really, really long and I admit to taking one break from it - nature called. The stories were all interesting, the actors all did a good job, visually it had a lot of great moments. I guess I will have to read the book at some point. (I just looked and my library system doesn't have a copy on CD. Hmm. We will see what happens here...)
More thoughts on things to do in the future. Move to Canada - Toronto or Montreal - Toronto because it is not that far from Geneva. Montreal, because Cirque headquarters there and I could again try to find work with them. Or move to Las Vegas for the same reason - though I think I would rather work a touring show or at the home office than work a show in Las Vegas. Find some other circus to work with. I could also start trying to find backers again for Sirius Theatre.
After rehearsal last night, I went to Parker's to watch Al, the director, eat. Ok, that wasn't my primary reason for going. I like Al and enjoy hanging out with him. I had a beer or two while he had dinner. It had been a long while since I was last in Parker's. Certainly not my favorite place in town - but it wasn't terrible. I noticed on the way out that they had Dogfish Head 90 minute - I am guessing it was on tap. Which means I will have to go and have at least one beer there sometime soon. 90 minute doesn't last long, usually.
Last night's movie was Cloud Atlas. I enjoyed the movie. It was really, really long and I admit to taking one break from it - nature called. The stories were all interesting, the actors all did a good job, visually it had a lot of great moments. I guess I will have to read the book at some point. (I just looked and my library system doesn't have a copy on CD. Hmm. We will see what happens here...)
More thoughts on things to do in the future. Move to Canada - Toronto or Montreal - Toronto because it is not that far from Geneva. Montreal, because Cirque headquarters there and I could again try to find work with them. Or move to Las Vegas for the same reason - though I think I would rather work a touring show or at the home office than work a show in Las Vegas. Find some other circus to work with. I could also start trying to find backers again for Sirius Theatre.
After rehearsal last night, I went to Parker's to watch Al, the director, eat. Ok, that wasn't my primary reason for going. I like Al and enjoy hanging out with him. I had a beer or two while he had dinner. It had been a long while since I was last in Parker's. Certainly not my favorite place in town - but it wasn't terrible. I noticed on the way out that they had Dogfish Head 90 minute - I am guessing it was on tap. Which means I will have to go and have at least one beer there sometime soon. 90 minute doesn't last long, usually.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Cooking to do
I have things I would like to do in the kitchen and I am busy not doing them. Like making lemon bars. I just like lemon bars so would like to try my hand at them. One day. And I have a seedless watermelon that desperately needs to be de-rind(ed?) so that just the edible bits are left. Which is everything since it has no seeds. And I am not doing that either. Sigh. Maybe I will get to them both. One day soon.
Wednesday night, as I was putting out the recylcing - which didn't get taken last week because it was July 4th - I decided to be a little ruthless - I put out a large bit of the pile of mom's New York Review of Books newspaper like things. Yay! If, after mom leaves the house, I leave the house too - because as I noted, so far, there is nothing keeping me here - and I am not, surprisingly, getting any younger - then I need to clean it out a good bit - either to rent it or to sell it. I would prefer to rent it for the time being, as I have a lot of stuff that I am not going to find it easy to let go of - like my pool table and my GiJoes and having the house means that there is storage space for stuff. Hmm.
Wednesday night I dreamt that a woman (who I knew in the dream, but upon waking didn't recognize) asked me out before I could get up the nerve to ask her out. Made me wake feeling hopeful. Then again, I often feel that hopeful. Until I eat something. Weird?
Wow, Thursday night was surprising and depressing, all at the same time. After rehearsal for the opera, I was determined to go to Red Dove to have a beer and to say hi to Sarah in her new position as Thursday night bartender. So despite there only being one seat available again, at least it was a corner chair, which really made all the difference. As soon as I walked in, though, I saw lots of people I knew, which was mildly surprising. And they all said hi, which was nice (not surprising or depressing). But they were all in couples - which was the depressing bit. Add to that the fact that Jessica no longer works at Red Dove - which is good for her and sad for me - well, it wasn't an optimal experience. One of the couples did buy my beer for me - that was surprising and nice. Almost made up for the seemingly "rub it in your face that you aren't in a relationship" aspect of the night.
I ate a whole sleeve of saltines while watching Star Trek (original series - only many episodes left to go). Yup. For no particular reason. Well, except that if I didn't eat all of them, there would have been some left, which would have necessitated some sort of storage or they would have gone stale. Few things are worse than stale saltines. I did notice that the sleeve was at least 10 saltines less full than similar sleeves had seemed to be in the past - another example of product amount shrinkage to maintain the same price point. Sigh.
Mom's current memory is "A noisy noise annoys an oyster!" How cute is that? Not one with which I was familiar.
Wednesday night, as I was putting out the recylcing - which didn't get taken last week because it was July 4th - I decided to be a little ruthless - I put out a large bit of the pile of mom's New York Review of Books newspaper like things. Yay! If, after mom leaves the house, I leave the house too - because as I noted, so far, there is nothing keeping me here - and I am not, surprisingly, getting any younger - then I need to clean it out a good bit - either to rent it or to sell it. I would prefer to rent it for the time being, as I have a lot of stuff that I am not going to find it easy to let go of - like my pool table and my GiJoes and having the house means that there is storage space for stuff. Hmm.
Wednesday night I dreamt that a woman (who I knew in the dream, but upon waking didn't recognize) asked me out before I could get up the nerve to ask her out. Made me wake feeling hopeful. Then again, I often feel that hopeful. Until I eat something. Weird?
Wow, Thursday night was surprising and depressing, all at the same time. After rehearsal for the opera, I was determined to go to Red Dove to have a beer and to say hi to Sarah in her new position as Thursday night bartender. So despite there only being one seat available again, at least it was a corner chair, which really made all the difference. As soon as I walked in, though, I saw lots of people I knew, which was mildly surprising. And they all said hi, which was nice (not surprising or depressing). But they were all in couples - which was the depressing bit. Add to that the fact that Jessica no longer works at Red Dove - which is good for her and sad for me - well, it wasn't an optimal experience. One of the couples did buy my beer for me - that was surprising and nice. Almost made up for the seemingly "rub it in your face that you aren't in a relationship" aspect of the night.
I ate a whole sleeve of saltines while watching Star Trek (original series - only many episodes left to go). Yup. For no particular reason. Well, except that if I didn't eat all of them, there would have been some left, which would have necessitated some sort of storage or they would have gone stale. Few things are worse than stale saltines. I did notice that the sleeve was at least 10 saltines less full than similar sleeves had seemed to be in the past - another example of product amount shrinkage to maintain the same price point. Sigh.
Mom's current memory is "A noisy noise annoys an oyster!" How cute is that? Not one with which I was familiar.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Mid Week Madness!
From the title, one might be thinking that something exciting or crazy or at least midly interesting and out of the ordinary might have occurred. Well, nope, that just isn't the case. Just had to put something there...As long time readers of this blog know, my life is, well, not that over the top right now in terms of thrills. Still, it wasn't a bad day. Few are.
I had thought I was going to spend the afternoon and evening in rehearsal for the opera. But that didn't happen. As I was starting to pack up (I take my laptop) to go to afternoon rehearsal, I noticed a call from the director - Al - saying that they were taking the afternoon off. Yippee! The next rehearsal segment was at 7, which was fine by me.
At 5, there was a "volunteer appreciation" event at the Smith Opera House. I was surprised at how many people there were! I hadn't really realized just how many volunteers there are who help out around the place. A lot of familiar faces were in attendance. There was yummy food, from Club 86 I think I heard someone say, of which I had a decent amount. I even had a piece of cake! Awards were given out, speeches were made. Apparently I am going to take over for David as Technical Director or Production Coordinator or some such thing after he leaves as I was introduced to the volunteers as such. Not sure what all that entails at this point, but I do hope to find out sometime.
I didn't get out of there as early as I had thought I might. That, combined with me being full-ish from grazing at the party, made me reconsider my food plans for the evening. Not in a huge way - I just decided to give mom some leftover salmon for her protein rather than a pre-cooked chicken from Wegman's. I think I will do that tonight instead. I still got veggies and some other things at the grocery store and hurried home to prepare them for her before heading to rehearsal.
The opera is progressing nicely. I love rehearsals. I really hope that I will do some directing in the not too distant future. How that will work with the time I need to devote to mom, I don't have a clue. After rehearsal, Al and I roughed out the rehearsal/production schedule for the next few days. I love making schedules!
I had thought I was going to spend the afternoon and evening in rehearsal for the opera. But that didn't happen. As I was starting to pack up (I take my laptop) to go to afternoon rehearsal, I noticed a call from the director - Al - saying that they were taking the afternoon off. Yippee! The next rehearsal segment was at 7, which was fine by me.
At 5, there was a "volunteer appreciation" event at the Smith Opera House. I was surprised at how many people there were! I hadn't really realized just how many volunteers there are who help out around the place. A lot of familiar faces were in attendance. There was yummy food, from Club 86 I think I heard someone say, of which I had a decent amount. I even had a piece of cake! Awards were given out, speeches were made. Apparently I am going to take over for David as Technical Director or Production Coordinator or some such thing after he leaves as I was introduced to the volunteers as such. Not sure what all that entails at this point, but I do hope to find out sometime.
I didn't get out of there as early as I had thought I might. That, combined with me being full-ish from grazing at the party, made me reconsider my food plans for the evening. Not in a huge way - I just decided to give mom some leftover salmon for her protein rather than a pre-cooked chicken from Wegman's. I think I will do that tonight instead. I still got veggies and some other things at the grocery store and hurried home to prepare them for her before heading to rehearsal.
The opera is progressing nicely. I love rehearsals. I really hope that I will do some directing in the not too distant future. How that will work with the time I need to devote to mom, I don't have a clue. After rehearsal, Al and I roughed out the rehearsal/production schedule for the next few days. I love making schedules!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Sneaky Me
I am a sneaky Augustus. Devious even. Yup, that about sums it up. When mom and I were at my sister's in Maine the other week, we were talking about coffee. Mom loves coffee (ewww). She would drink it all day if she could. At 10 at night, she asks for coffee. Much as I love her, I am not going to give her coffee at 10 at night. Even Decaf coffee. Personally, the idea of decaf coffee (isn't that an oxymoron) sounds horrible. And somewhere, a long time ago, I read that to make coffee caffeine-less, the processors used a lot of icky chemicals - making decaf coffee even ickier than regular coffee. That all being said, I do know that caffeine does affect my mom's stomach. Sometimes her "sick stomach" feeling is nothing more than a result of unmitigated caffeine, causing an over caffeinated stomach. I do my best to give her food when I give her coffee - a lot of food. I think it helps. But, here comes the sneaky bit, since I am trying to avoid mom having "stomach" issues, I broke down and bought a tub of decaf coffee and have started mixing it into her regular coffee! I am not sure what the percentage is - but I plan to increase the amount over time. I wonder if Gevalia offers decaf coffee. I also wonder if I ought to stop the mail order coffee deliveries from them. I probably ought to...
I had another epiphany-let the other day and finally acted on it. As some of you know, I listen to audio books in the kitchen (primarily). I have destroyed a few playback devices so far, probably from putting the books on pause and leaving them that way for 12+ hours. That can't be good for the machines. Though there must be some sort of digital way for machines to remember where they are on a CD rather than a physical way that most of them seem to use. Whatever. With the current CD player, I have been stopping the disc and turning the player off - conserving power and hopefully conserving the life of the CD player. That would be nifty. Anyway, my memory is ok. Not awesomely excellent. I tried to remember what track I was on (and about where on the track I stopped) but was not doing a great job at it. So, I have this perpetual calendar (that often languished next to my bed - unused for months) and thought - heck, it has numbers that I could set to the correct track. Which I did. And it works pretty well. Or at least has so far! Yay!
The daily recap - what day was it? Oh, yes - Tuesday. The biggest news was that I walked downtown to Red Dove for a beer last night, sauntered in, found the place packed to the gunwales and turned around and walked home again. Yes, there was one seat at the bar, but I just didn't feel like being there. But I had a great walk. I do like walking, fortunately. Yippee! Other than that, nothing too interesting of note.
Oh well, one semi-interesting note. I went into the Smith to work with David for a little bit. Dimmers are being rented for the Opera and we needed to guesstimate how long the cables would need to be in order for there to be light! I don't understand how the whole system is wired - where the cables run etc, but we did what we could. Hopefully it will be sufficient for the lighting company to do what they need to do.
Ok, that really is it for interesting stuff. At least for now. We don't want this to become too exciting a post.
I had another epiphany-let the other day and finally acted on it. As some of you know, I listen to audio books in the kitchen (primarily). I have destroyed a few playback devices so far, probably from putting the books on pause and leaving them that way for 12+ hours. That can't be good for the machines. Though there must be some sort of digital way for machines to remember where they are on a CD rather than a physical way that most of them seem to use. Whatever. With the current CD player, I have been stopping the disc and turning the player off - conserving power and hopefully conserving the life of the CD player. That would be nifty. Anyway, my memory is ok. Not awesomely excellent. I tried to remember what track I was on (and about where on the track I stopped) but was not doing a great job at it. So, I have this perpetual calendar (that often languished next to my bed - unused for months) and thought - heck, it has numbers that I could set to the correct track. Which I did. And it works pretty well. Or at least has so far! Yay!
The daily recap - what day was it? Oh, yes - Tuesday. The biggest news was that I walked downtown to Red Dove for a beer last night, sauntered in, found the place packed to the gunwales and turned around and walked home again. Yes, there was one seat at the bar, but I just didn't feel like being there. But I had a great walk. I do like walking, fortunately. Yippee! Other than that, nothing too interesting of note.
Oh well, one semi-interesting note. I went into the Smith to work with David for a little bit. Dimmers are being rented for the Opera and we needed to guesstimate how long the cables would need to be in order for there to be light! I don't understand how the whole system is wired - where the cables run etc, but we did what we could. Hopefully it will be sufficient for the lighting company to do what they need to do.
Ok, that really is it for interesting stuff. At least for now. We don't want this to become too exciting a post.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Uncertainty Rules!
There are rules for uncertainty, aren't there?
First, a quick catch-up from Monday. Nothing too exciting or out of the way to write about. Jenny, mom's aide, did not come, which was a mixed blessing. Mom was not eager for a shower - which is nothing new. I called the service provider and discovered that they somehow thought our being away for a week meant we were still away two weeks later. I know, working with a calendar can be challenging. I also know that I could have called them last week to tell them we were back. But I didn't. Because I thought we had an understanding. Which we apparently didn't. Which is not surprising. Nor exciting. But it is uncertain...
I also spent part of the day watching rehearsal for the Opera at the Smith. Don Pasquale has a fairly straightforward Commedia plot - young lovers thwarted by Pantalone (Don Pasquale) who are aided by Dottore in this case (who is more like a Harlequin character than a Dottore). Rah. I could direct this. Heck, I could direct anything. I miss directing. Sigh. Maybe I will get back to it one day.
Meanwhile, back at the homestead, two papers I was looking for turned up in exactly the place they were supposed to be. I am not the most organized person on the planet. I hope for either a helper or for stripping my life waaaaaay down so I don't have too much to keep organized. I don't really want a stripper (combination of stripping and helper...) - though that might not be a bad thing...
Which brings to me to this morning's contemplation: what will the future - the larger future - have in store for me. I wish we could shop for our futures. Sigh. Anyway, I do think about it once in a while. At this point, my options are pretty much unlimited in terms of choice. Sure, I doubt I will choose to become a concert pianist or an opera singer. Both are possible, both are pretty unlikely. My thoughts vacillate between sticking it out here in Geneva - trying to cobble together a life and livelihood - or taking to the road either here in the US - buy an energy efficient/alternate energy vehicle of some kind - preferably a Type whatever the small type of RV is - and drive around a lot - or head abroad - I have never been to South America and I must admit to a fascination with Brazilians - what better place to find Brazilians than Brazil...Or maybe a trip to Asia - Russia and India are both high on my list of places I wouldn't mind visiting/living a bit before I exit the world. Yippee and yay for possibilities!
Today is another day, apparently.
First, a quick catch-up from Monday. Nothing too exciting or out of the way to write about. Jenny, mom's aide, did not come, which was a mixed blessing. Mom was not eager for a shower - which is nothing new. I called the service provider and discovered that they somehow thought our being away for a week meant we were still away two weeks later. I know, working with a calendar can be challenging. I also know that I could have called them last week to tell them we were back. But I didn't. Because I thought we had an understanding. Which we apparently didn't. Which is not surprising. Nor exciting. But it is uncertain...
I also spent part of the day watching rehearsal for the Opera at the Smith. Don Pasquale has a fairly straightforward Commedia plot - young lovers thwarted by Pantalone (Don Pasquale) who are aided by Dottore in this case (who is more like a Harlequin character than a Dottore). Rah. I could direct this. Heck, I could direct anything. I miss directing. Sigh. Maybe I will get back to it one day.
Meanwhile, back at the homestead, two papers I was looking for turned up in exactly the place they were supposed to be. I am not the most organized person on the planet. I hope for either a helper or for stripping my life waaaaaay down so I don't have too much to keep organized. I don't really want a stripper (combination of stripping and helper...) - though that might not be a bad thing...
Which brings to me to this morning's contemplation: what will the future - the larger future - have in store for me. I wish we could shop for our futures. Sigh. Anyway, I do think about it once in a while. At this point, my options are pretty much unlimited in terms of choice. Sure, I doubt I will choose to become a concert pianist or an opera singer. Both are possible, both are pretty unlikely. My thoughts vacillate between sticking it out here in Geneva - trying to cobble together a life and livelihood - or taking to the road either here in the US - buy an energy efficient/alternate energy vehicle of some kind - preferably a Type whatever the small type of RV is - and drive around a lot - or head abroad - I have never been to South America and I must admit to a fascination with Brazilians - what better place to find Brazilians than Brazil...Or maybe a trip to Asia - Russia and India are both high on my list of places I wouldn't mind visiting/living a bit before I exit the world. Yippee and yay for possibilities!
Today is another day, apparently.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Oops, I think I didn't do it again...
Here it is Monday and it looks like I have neglected my posting duties. I think I just needed a break. That and, well, not much really happened in the intervening days. Or maybe a lot happened but none of it too darn exciting. Or unmentionable stuff happened, so I didn't mention it. Hmm. I guess we will see as I sort through my memories and see what pops up on the page. No, mom and I haven't died or we didn't have a terrible accident or anything like that.
Drove to Rochester Friday, not for fun. Suffice it to say that a ball has been set rolling which will hopefully help me to breathe (metaphorically) more easily. Yay!
I, Clavdius was not a winner here in Geneva. As a communal, shared event it might have gone over better, but I had no desire to subject myself to the many hours of the series just to enable mom to watch it. She tried one episode and said it was too much for her. But we tried. It goes back to the library today.
Rango was good fun! I rented in hopes that mom might like it, but after watching it by myself, I think it would have been too confusing for her. The story really zips all over the place. I loved the singing owls/mariachi band and lots of other bits here and there, but way too much for mom, I think. I am still thinking we might go see Monster University, if things work out that way.
Of course, we have eaten lots of food over the past few days. On Saturday, I made pizza and was going to make some chicken wings for dinner. I was shocked to find that chicken wings were hard to buy. I remember buying a huge bag of them for next to nothing. The only ones I could find readily at Wegman's cost $3.50 a pound! About as much as boneless chicken breasts (how the chickens walk around without bones has always been something I have been curious about)! So I got us some drumsticks instead - at $1.70 a pound. I offered hot sauce to mom but did not make her have it - she has lost her taste for hot/spicy foods. I had some though - yum!
Yesterday, Sunday, my nephew Sam, his son Lewis and his fiancée Abby came for a drop in on their way from Buffalo to Ithaca. It was lovely to see them and to catch up on their news and lives. Sadly, mom had a hard time with the visit - mainly because she couldn't wrap her mind around who they were. She mostly got who Sam was, but Abby and Lewis kind of escaped her ken. Sigh.
Which brings me to my latest soul searching. I read a(n) FB page's posts about alzheimer's and caregivers. (Quick aside - when using an abbreviation, like FB, do you use an article for the expanded work or for the abbreviation - is it a FB page or an FB page?) Recently there have been a few posts about people being very happy about having placed their loved ones into assisted living facilities. The facilities they mention sound idyllic! Memory wards or areas of care abound with trained staff who seem to really care about their patients. Though I do recall lots of the other kinds of stories as well. I think I know my mom. At least I hope I do. And I just can't see her being happiest someplace else. Then again, I don't really know how far gone she is. Is her reality built up each day as she wakes and finds her way? Does she know where she is? Does she feel safer here than she would someplace else? Am I being selfish keeping her at home? Glarg.
Ok, sorry for the rant. I do question myself sometimes. I find waterboarding especially fruitful...
The opera is in town. I went to help out a bit yesterday. Got the clown van (which I mean in the most bestest way) partially unloaded - only the things that were actually needed for rehearsals - and the costumes (so they could be sorted and such) came out - there is still a good bunch in there - Al does an amazing job packing his van-let! Later, I went and watched an hour of rehearsal. Most of the case are people I have worked with before. Yippee! I didn't go to their inaugural dinner/grilling thing. C'est fromage.
And there we have it. Not the most exciting post, but it catches us all up. Which was the intention.
Drove to Rochester Friday, not for fun. Suffice it to say that a ball has been set rolling which will hopefully help me to breathe (metaphorically) more easily. Yay!
I, Clavdius was not a winner here in Geneva. As a communal, shared event it might have gone over better, but I had no desire to subject myself to the many hours of the series just to enable mom to watch it. She tried one episode and said it was too much for her. But we tried. It goes back to the library today.
Rango was good fun! I rented in hopes that mom might like it, but after watching it by myself, I think it would have been too confusing for her. The story really zips all over the place. I loved the singing owls/mariachi band and lots of other bits here and there, but way too much for mom, I think. I am still thinking we might go see Monster University, if things work out that way.
Of course, we have eaten lots of food over the past few days. On Saturday, I made pizza and was going to make some chicken wings for dinner. I was shocked to find that chicken wings were hard to buy. I remember buying a huge bag of them for next to nothing. The only ones I could find readily at Wegman's cost $3.50 a pound! About as much as boneless chicken breasts (how the chickens walk around without bones has always been something I have been curious about)! So I got us some drumsticks instead - at $1.70 a pound. I offered hot sauce to mom but did not make her have it - she has lost her taste for hot/spicy foods. I had some though - yum!
Yesterday, Sunday, my nephew Sam, his son Lewis and his fiancée Abby came for a drop in on their way from Buffalo to Ithaca. It was lovely to see them and to catch up on their news and lives. Sadly, mom had a hard time with the visit - mainly because she couldn't wrap her mind around who they were. She mostly got who Sam was, but Abby and Lewis kind of escaped her ken. Sigh.
Which brings me to my latest soul searching. I read a(n) FB page's posts about alzheimer's and caregivers. (Quick aside - when using an abbreviation, like FB, do you use an article for the expanded work or for the abbreviation - is it a FB page or an FB page?) Recently there have been a few posts about people being very happy about having placed their loved ones into assisted living facilities. The facilities they mention sound idyllic! Memory wards or areas of care abound with trained staff who seem to really care about their patients. Though I do recall lots of the other kinds of stories as well. I think I know my mom. At least I hope I do. And I just can't see her being happiest someplace else. Then again, I don't really know how far gone she is. Is her reality built up each day as she wakes and finds her way? Does she know where she is? Does she feel safer here than she would someplace else? Am I being selfish keeping her at home? Glarg.
Ok, sorry for the rant. I do question myself sometimes. I find waterboarding especially fruitful...
The opera is in town. I went to help out a bit yesterday. Got the clown van (which I mean in the most bestest way) partially unloaded - only the things that were actually needed for rehearsals - and the costumes (so they could be sorted and such) came out - there is still a good bunch in there - Al does an amazing job packing his van-let! Later, I went and watched an hour of rehearsal. Most of the case are people I have worked with before. Yippee! I didn't go to their inaugural dinner/grilling thing. C'est fromage.
And there we have it. Not the most exciting post, but it catches us all up. Which was the intention.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Note to self
Note to self: Don't leave a post open for several days and expect things to work they way they ought. This is a computer, after all, not a piece of paper. Things go wrong with computers. All you can do with a piece of paper - ok, so lots can go wrong with a piece of paper to. Just different things. That might be more under one's control. Not that control is important. But where technology is concerned, things just happen sometimes. There - I have it out of my system - my kvetching over losing most of yesterday's - well, Wednesday's post to the computer gremlins. Let's see if we can avoid that same fate today, shall we?
I've got me some catchin' up to do. It is hard for me, to rehash things that I have already rehashed - not that you got the benefit (?) of my previous rehashings, so I oughtn't to take it out on you. Anyway...
Where was I when my party was so rudely crashed? Ah, yes, Wednesday. Not Ash Wednesday, completely different thing. (By the way, I am pretty tired just now - I finally got to sleep around 3 last night and woke up at 9 this morning - I need more than 6 hours of sleep - beauty rest, don't you know...) Ok, I can't remember anything that happened on Wednesday. Moving on to Thursday. Ah yes, the day of many happenings.
Thursday was supposed to be a crowded house, with lots of people checking in on mom. One ended up cancelling, so it wasn't quite as full, but still - three people is a goodly number. More visitors than we have had in one day in a loooong time. Diane the aide came again - mom still likes here. She was here for two hours and got something accomplished. The bathtub that currently doesn't work got cleaned out. Yay. And it turns out that aides can't wield pruning shears, er, clippers on their clients. What is up with that? Afraid that someone will get pricked and sue? Sigh. What's the point of them, then. Oh, right, to stand in the bathroom and help mom shower. That is good enough for me. Anyway, I have high hopes for Diane eventually. We shall see what next week brings with four hours of attention.
Two people from Ontario Council on the Aging also came to check and see how things were going. After one visit, I don't know that there was too much that they could learn, but as long as it made them happy, it was nice to have them stop by.
After all of the excitement in the house, we decided to take our excitement on the road with errands! Mom needed an x-ray of her neck, so we went and waited here and there and eventually got it done. Finding things at the hospital is a little difficult just now because of construction. I asked a young woman where something was and she didn't know - having only worked there for five days! Oh well. We made it and got it done. Stopped in briefly at the library before shopping at Wegman's and heading on to Red Jacket. Mom has been hankering for her favorite apples - Ida Red. Apparently these don't ripen until later in the year - as do most cooking apples I learned. Well, we got there and Karl called. It was a hot day and I didn't want mom sitting in the car in the heat while she talked. Karl said he would call back in 5 minutes and when he didn't, I called him. Just as mom started talking, a busload of people - 60 at least, arrived! Eeeek! We didn't go in. Red Jacket normally only has one person at the cash register and I didn't feel like waiting for a month to get two apples and some cheese. I know, I am not the most patient person in the world.
Thursday's excitement continued, at least for me, as I headed to Microclimate for my rocking night on the town. While there, I coerced one young lady to download Flippety - yes, it is available on iTunes - I hope she has a good data plan or was signed in to the wifi. I also chatted with an interesting guy who is teaching a class at Hobart. And saw David from the Smith (see notes on the opera earlier in the summer). All in all, a pleasant day! Yay!
Friday. Nothing. Saturday. Nothing. All caught up! Yay! That wasn't so hard now was it...
I've got me some catchin' up to do. It is hard for me, to rehash things that I have already rehashed - not that you got the benefit (?) of my previous rehashings, so I oughtn't to take it out on you. Anyway...
Where was I when my party was so rudely crashed? Ah, yes, Wednesday. Not Ash Wednesday, completely different thing. (By the way, I am pretty tired just now - I finally got to sleep around 3 last night and woke up at 9 this morning - I need more than 6 hours of sleep - beauty rest, don't you know...) Ok, I can't remember anything that happened on Wednesday. Moving on to Thursday. Ah yes, the day of many happenings.
Thursday was supposed to be a crowded house, with lots of people checking in on mom. One ended up cancelling, so it wasn't quite as full, but still - three people is a goodly number. More visitors than we have had in one day in a loooong time. Diane the aide came again - mom still likes here. She was here for two hours and got something accomplished. The bathtub that currently doesn't work got cleaned out. Yay. And it turns out that aides can't wield pruning shears, er, clippers on their clients. What is up with that? Afraid that someone will get pricked and sue? Sigh. What's the point of them, then. Oh, right, to stand in the bathroom and help mom shower. That is good enough for me. Anyway, I have high hopes for Diane eventually. We shall see what next week brings with four hours of attention.
Two people from Ontario Council on the Aging also came to check and see how things were going. After one visit, I don't know that there was too much that they could learn, but as long as it made them happy, it was nice to have them stop by.
After all of the excitement in the house, we decided to take our excitement on the road with errands! Mom needed an x-ray of her neck, so we went and waited here and there and eventually got it done. Finding things at the hospital is a little difficult just now because of construction. I asked a young woman where something was and she didn't know - having only worked there for five days! Oh well. We made it and got it done. Stopped in briefly at the library before shopping at Wegman's and heading on to Red Jacket. Mom has been hankering for her favorite apples - Ida Red. Apparently these don't ripen until later in the year - as do most cooking apples I learned. Well, we got there and Karl called. It was a hot day and I didn't want mom sitting in the car in the heat while she talked. Karl said he would call back in 5 minutes and when he didn't, I called him. Just as mom started talking, a busload of people - 60 at least, arrived! Eeeek! We didn't go in. Red Jacket normally only has one person at the cash register and I didn't feel like waiting for a month to get two apples and some cheese. I know, I am not the most patient person in the world.
Thursday's excitement continued, at least for me, as I headed to Microclimate for my rocking night on the town. While there, I coerced one young lady to download Flippety - yes, it is available on iTunes - I hope she has a good data plan or was signed in to the wifi. I also chatted with an interesting guy who is teaching a class at Hobart. And saw David from the Smith (see notes on the opera earlier in the summer). All in all, a pleasant day! Yay!
Friday. Nothing. Saturday. Nothing. All caught up! Yay! That wasn't so hard now was it...
 |
| A dinner from sometime |
 |
| Lots of toothpaste mom has collected and I am trying to use up |
 |
| We had to wait while all 207 people ahead of us got served (not really) |
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Full Fun Friday!
Wow, two days in a row with lots going on. Now, it is time for a rest. Maybe for two weeks. Maybe not. One never knows what the future will bring, does one? And on top of that, welcome Wendy! Follower 48!! Two more to go to the elusive follower fifty, after which the sky will open and manna will fall from heaven. Or not. But I do have 48 followers for now! Yippee and thank you!
First errand of the day was picking up my check for services rendered to the Opera. I decided to walk, which turned out to be an inspired decision. First off, it was apparently the beginning of Freshman orientation. There were police barricades complete with policepeople helping the traffic flow sluggishly around the neighborhood. It might have taken me longer to drive downtown than to walk downtown with all of the traffic. Students everywhere! Eeek! And it was a lovely day. Nice temperature, low humidity. Just plain gorgeous, actually. I like the walk to downtown Geneva and try to do it as frequently as possible. Well, not like six times a day for no reason. But if I am going downtown, and have the time, I like to walk.
Picked up the check and cashed it at one bank, walked across the street to my bank and deposited it. I chatted with the summer teller, Hannah who will be leaving soon to go back to college - premed! Yay her. I love living in a small town! (Most of the time...)
After getting home, I checked on mom before heading to Walmart to do a slightly major shopping. We were out of a lot of staples: Swiss Rolls, Kit Kats, pistachios. And they were all less expensive at Walmart than at Wegman's. And I did get other stuff that we were out of or running low on, like maxipads, eye drops and pretzels. On the way up, I had dropped off a presecription with my phavorite pharmacist and picked it up before heading home.
Mom and I ate lunch together, interrupted by a little trip I had to take to help out on the Opera one last time. Sadly, by the time I got there, the issue had already been resolved - though I had received no call telling me not to bother to show up. Sigh.
I tried to get mom to come to Trumansburg with me, but she didn't want to go. It is actually a good thing that she chose to stay home as we ended up wandering around quite a bit. I got there and met Bill outside of the Rongovian Embassy. I had really wanted to go there, as the last time I went was 30 years ago. Maybe longer, actually. The thing I remember most about the place is that they had a list of Zombie (rum based) drinks that is pretty fun. Sadly, they were closed, with no sign of their hours. We checked on them several times while we were in town, but they remained closed. Weird. I hadn't realized that the Rongovian Embassy (Rongo for the locals) had changed hands frequently and was often closed. Oh well. We ended up at Gimme!, the coffee shop we had met in before. People kept sitting next to us, and I kept talking with them. None of them were excited about my app, but they all seemed excited by Bill's wine diary app. Yay for Bill! While we were there, he did help me solve a couple of problems I was having. Though I did also have a bit of an anxiety attack which did not fully manifest until I got home and was sitting in front of my computer again. The anxiety was about my app Flippety - which looks like poo and is cludged together - I know that people can't see under the hood - but I know what a mess it is in there. So, it is a kind of buyer's remorse - or programmer's remorse or something. Glarp.
After hanging at Gimme! for a while, we wandered around T-burg looking for a place to have a beer. Finally, found Ron Don's. Yay! We sat outside, which was the smoker's area, but luckily wasn't too horribly smokey. Very pleasant to sit and sip a beer and chat. It is great to have some adult time occasionally!
Back at the homestead, mom had made it through the day safely. Always a good thing. I made dinner - salmon for her and hamburgers for me. My hamburger turned out deliciously! I made two hamburgers and plan to have the second one for lunch today. Yippee! We also had broccoli - which I over cooked a smidge, and corn, which turned out well - though one of the ears I picked was not good. Mom got the good one.
After dinner, we watched Bottle Shock on Netflix through our Blu-Ray player. Yay technology. It was actually quite an enjoyable movie - though it had its quirks and oddities. I didn't know much about the movie - just that Alan Rickman was in it and I like him. Lots of other good actors in it as well. It was a movie about wine and the first time that American wines went head to head with French wines and actually won a blind taste test! Good stuff. If you like wine, like Alan Rickman or need a light interesting film to watch, I certainly recommend it.
A full on Friday! Rockin' it Augustus Style! :)
First errand of the day was picking up my check for services rendered to the Opera. I decided to walk, which turned out to be an inspired decision. First off, it was apparently the beginning of Freshman orientation. There were police barricades complete with policepeople helping the traffic flow sluggishly around the neighborhood. It might have taken me longer to drive downtown than to walk downtown with all of the traffic. Students everywhere! Eeek! And it was a lovely day. Nice temperature, low humidity. Just plain gorgeous, actually. I like the walk to downtown Geneva and try to do it as frequently as possible. Well, not like six times a day for no reason. But if I am going downtown, and have the time, I like to walk.
Picked up the check and cashed it at one bank, walked across the street to my bank and deposited it. I chatted with the summer teller, Hannah who will be leaving soon to go back to college - premed! Yay her. I love living in a small town! (Most of the time...)
After getting home, I checked on mom before heading to Walmart to do a slightly major shopping. We were out of a lot of staples: Swiss Rolls, Kit Kats, pistachios. And they were all less expensive at Walmart than at Wegman's. And I did get other stuff that we were out of or running low on, like maxipads, eye drops and pretzels. On the way up, I had dropped off a presecription with my phavorite pharmacist and picked it up before heading home.
Mom and I ate lunch together, interrupted by a little trip I had to take to help out on the Opera one last time. Sadly, by the time I got there, the issue had already been resolved - though I had received no call telling me not to bother to show up. Sigh.
I tried to get mom to come to Trumansburg with me, but she didn't want to go. It is actually a good thing that she chose to stay home as we ended up wandering around quite a bit. I got there and met Bill outside of the Rongovian Embassy. I had really wanted to go there, as the last time I went was 30 years ago. Maybe longer, actually. The thing I remember most about the place is that they had a list of Zombie (rum based) drinks that is pretty fun. Sadly, they were closed, with no sign of their hours. We checked on them several times while we were in town, but they remained closed. Weird. I hadn't realized that the Rongovian Embassy (Rongo for the locals) had changed hands frequently and was often closed. Oh well. We ended up at Gimme!, the coffee shop we had met in before. People kept sitting next to us, and I kept talking with them. None of them were excited about my app, but they all seemed excited by Bill's wine diary app. Yay for Bill! While we were there, he did help me solve a couple of problems I was having. Though I did also have a bit of an anxiety attack which did not fully manifest until I got home and was sitting in front of my computer again. The anxiety was about my app Flippety - which looks like poo and is cludged together - I know that people can't see under the hood - but I know what a mess it is in there. So, it is a kind of buyer's remorse - or programmer's remorse or something. Glarp.
After hanging at Gimme! for a while, we wandered around T-burg looking for a place to have a beer. Finally, found Ron Don's. Yay! We sat outside, which was the smoker's area, but luckily wasn't too horribly smokey. Very pleasant to sit and sip a beer and chat. It is great to have some adult time occasionally!
Back at the homestead, mom had made it through the day safely. Always a good thing. I made dinner - salmon for her and hamburgers for me. My hamburger turned out deliciously! I made two hamburgers and plan to have the second one for lunch today. Yippee! We also had broccoli - which I over cooked a smidge, and corn, which turned out well - though one of the ears I picked was not good. Mom got the good one.
After dinner, we watched Bottle Shock on Netflix through our Blu-Ray player. Yay technology. It was actually quite an enjoyable movie - though it had its quirks and oddities. I didn't know much about the movie - just that Alan Rickman was in it and I like him. Lots of other good actors in it as well. It was a movie about wine and the first time that American wines went head to head with French wines and actually won a blind taste test! Good stuff. If you like wine, like Alan Rickman or need a light interesting film to watch, I certainly recommend it.
A full on Friday! Rockin' it Augustus Style! :)
 |
| Our lady of Geneva in a park |
 |
| The Closed Rongo |
 |
| Where we eventually landed |
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Finally Finished
And about time, too! I am glad to be finished with the opera. Not that I didn't have fun. I did. It just was mentally draining and it took a lot of time away from mom. The last little opera bit was accomplished early in the morning. For some reason, I didn't sleep early or enough. I woke up a little after 6 and didn't go back to sleep. I like sleep. The morning is nice and everything, but I do prefer the night, generally. Anyway, I was dragging most of the day. I did get to the theatre early, only to find that people were already there. Which was good, as we got a large part done quickly - moving the big pieces of furniture. Yay. Soon, the others arrived - not many others - in fact fewer than I had anticipated - but enough. We got Al's (the director's) car packed up - almost as full as last year. And the electronic keyboard got back to Trinity. Yippee!
My next mission was to get the car registered. So, I walked to the insurance agent's office. Who had moved. Added an extra ten minutes to my walk. Still, it was good to be out and moving. And I got to walk some places I haven't walked in a while. The insurance card was waiting for me, so I picked it up and headed to the DMV.
Not too many people there, just enough so that I could fill out my paperwork while waiting. Sadly, I couldn't do my my driver's license. NYS requires one to have their social security card. What? Why? Why isn't a passport enough? Glarg. Whatever. The registration process went smoothly enough. Got my plates and everything. Why does NYS, though, require front and back plates? Silly and wastefully expensive. Why have two when one is good enough. Whatever. Not my problem. As I walked home, I called the mechanic's office and asked if they could inspect the car. But they couldn't. So tomorrow (today - which I will write about tomorrow - which will then be today and today will be yesterday) I will get the car inspected. Now, fingers crossed that the two tickets really were fix-it tickets and will just go away on the 16th. Please!
What else exciting happened on Monday? Mom and I went food shopping. She bought five more yogurts after swearing that she had eaten all of the ones in the fridge. She was close. There were only three left in the fridge. Yogurt has a long shelf life, doesn't it? I got a blog feed from one of the few blogs that I skim - and she had cooked patty melts. Yum! So I decided that was what we were going to have for dinner. And home made french fries. And coleslaw. And corn on the cob. Great dinner! I haven't really been in the kitchen to cook much since coming back from the trip. Or at least it seems that way for some reason. Everything turned out well, though the fries weren't as crisp as I would have liked. What is the secret to crisp fries? Hmm...
My next mission was to get the car registered. So, I walked to the insurance agent's office. Who had moved. Added an extra ten minutes to my walk. Still, it was good to be out and moving. And I got to walk some places I haven't walked in a while. The insurance card was waiting for me, so I picked it up and headed to the DMV.
Not too many people there, just enough so that I could fill out my paperwork while waiting. Sadly, I couldn't do my my driver's license. NYS requires one to have their social security card. What? Why? Why isn't a passport enough? Glarg. Whatever. The registration process went smoothly enough. Got my plates and everything. Why does NYS, though, require front and back plates? Silly and wastefully expensive. Why have two when one is good enough. Whatever. Not my problem. As I walked home, I called the mechanic's office and asked if they could inspect the car. But they couldn't. So tomorrow (today - which I will write about tomorrow - which will then be today and today will be yesterday) I will get the car inspected. Now, fingers crossed that the two tickets really were fix-it tickets and will just go away on the 16th. Please!
What else exciting happened on Monday? Mom and I went food shopping. She bought five more yogurts after swearing that she had eaten all of the ones in the fridge. She was close. There were only three left in the fridge. Yogurt has a long shelf life, doesn't it? I got a blog feed from one of the few blogs that I skim - and she had cooked patty melts. Yum! So I decided that was what we were going to have for dinner. And home made french fries. And coleslaw. And corn on the cob. Great dinner! I haven't really been in the kitchen to cook much since coming back from the trip. Or at least it seems that way for some reason. Everything turned out well, though the fries weren't as crisp as I would have liked. What is the secret to crisp fries? Hmm...
 |
| Morning over Scenic Lake Seneca |
 |
| Starting to fill Al's Car |
 |
| Finally reached Amy's Office |
 |
| Pretty flower seen on the walk |
 |
| newly plated |
 |
| Delicious dinner (if I must say so myself) |
Monday, August 6, 2012
Sunday Matinee
Sunday we had our final performance of the opera, at 2:00 as a matinee. And what a matinee it was! Everything went very smoothly. The actors seemed to have hit their stride. Too bad, for them, that there weren't more performances. Oh well. There were no technical glitches to speak of too! The Sunday audience didn't seem as large as the other two but still a decent turn out. I got there way too early and left way too late. Because of strike. Strike, for those of you not into theatre, is when the show is taken down, taken apart, put to sleep. For this show, there wasn't a lot to do, thankfully. The big things were the costumes, folding the drops and moving the grand piano back to where it lives.
The drops took up the whole stage when being folded. Lots of hands made it easy. Unfortunately, we didn't get to all of them before the piano mover guy came. Which meant that we had to wait for that ordeal to be completed before finishing up the drops. The piano move went pretty easily - again many hands. None of the principals (lead actors) this time around. The chorus, though, did stay and help. Much appreciated in fact!
After the rehearsal, I drove home and got a ticket for my car being unregistered and uninspected. Sigh. I am not the best at life management - especially detail-y things like car registration. Ick. I need a personal manager to handle this stuff for me. One day perhaps... Anyway, this meant that I couldn't drive to the cast party. Not a huge loss. I had to get up early this morning in any case to do the last bit of load-out for the opera. Dinner was a can of soup. I needed to eat less (but plan to make up for it tonight).
The drops took up the whole stage when being folded. Lots of hands made it easy. Unfortunately, we didn't get to all of them before the piano mover guy came. Which meant that we had to wait for that ordeal to be completed before finishing up the drops. The piano move went pretty easily - again many hands. None of the principals (lead actors) this time around. The chorus, though, did stay and help. Much appreciated in fact!
After the rehearsal, I drove home and got a ticket for my car being unregistered and uninspected. Sigh. I am not the best at life management - especially detail-y things like car registration. Ick. I need a personal manager to handle this stuff for me. One day perhaps... Anyway, this meant that I couldn't drive to the cast party. Not a huge loss. I had to get up early this morning in any case to do the last bit of load-out for the opera. Dinner was a can of soup. I needed to eat less (but plan to make up for it tonight).
 |
| The piano about to come up the ramp onto the stage |
 |
| One of the drops being folded |
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Opera Night Two - Check
Two shows down, a matinee, load-out (well, strike at least) and then a cast party left to go. Not just the cast get to party, but the crew, too! And sundry other people that Gena (the producer) invites, because, well, she wants to invite them, I guess. Enough about today already, let's get into yesterday!
Well, it was much like the day before, except I tried to cook in time to get mom and me to the theatre at 6. Which actually happened. I was a few minutes early even. Still, there were people waiting to be let in. What is that about? I like to be early, but come on, people! Get a life!
For dinner, I cooked mom some salmon and I had a sausage. We both had broccoli with left over veggies mixed in. And a corn cob (with corn still attached - I mean, just the cob would be pretty weird and not easy on the teeth). Mom took it all in stride and didn't kvetch too much as I hustled her out the door.
Oh, mom and I had a minor melt down the other day at lunch. In the aftermath I am trying to adjust my behavior. I have to keep reminding myself that she isn't acting out of spite or malice, but it is just that her brain isn't working as it once did. The fact that she asks me the same question four times in the span of a minute is not because she is not listening, it is because she is not processing the facts that she has asked the question before and that it has been answered before. I do sometimes wish that we could get inside other people's heads for a bit - just to experience the world someone else experiences would be, in my opinion, amazingly enlightening.
What else happened recently than I can put up here? Oh, I did start on OKCupid. Much better site than Plenty of Fish. Or at least I like the way it is designed better than I liked POF. Not that I have had a truckload of people sending me messages saying that they are dying to have me in their lives. Still, it is something new to try.
The show went smoothly - except for one of the cast's issues - over which I had limited (if any) control. I mopped the entire stage (during which mom asked me at least 7 times if I mopped the stage every night - sigh). Oh, and to answer the question yet again - I do like to have the stage mopped before every performance. Not anal about it, but I feel happier for the actors' tootsies that way. Mom enjoyed the show overall, which is a good thing.
Well, it was much like the day before, except I tried to cook in time to get mom and me to the theatre at 6. Which actually happened. I was a few minutes early even. Still, there were people waiting to be let in. What is that about? I like to be early, but come on, people! Get a life!
For dinner, I cooked mom some salmon and I had a sausage. We both had broccoli with left over veggies mixed in. And a corn cob (with corn still attached - I mean, just the cob would be pretty weird and not easy on the teeth). Mom took it all in stride and didn't kvetch too much as I hustled her out the door.
Oh, mom and I had a minor melt down the other day at lunch. In the aftermath I am trying to adjust my behavior. I have to keep reminding myself that she isn't acting out of spite or malice, but it is just that her brain isn't working as it once did. The fact that she asks me the same question four times in the span of a minute is not because she is not listening, it is because she is not processing the facts that she has asked the question before and that it has been answered before. I do sometimes wish that we could get inside other people's heads for a bit - just to experience the world someone else experiences would be, in my opinion, amazingly enlightening.
What else happened recently than I can put up here? Oh, I did start on OKCupid. Much better site than Plenty of Fish. Or at least I like the way it is designed better than I liked POF. Not that I have had a truckload of people sending me messages saying that they are dying to have me in their lives. Still, it is something new to try.
The show went smoothly - except for one of the cast's issues - over which I had limited (if any) control. I mopped the entire stage (during which mom asked me at least 7 times if I mopped the stage every night - sigh). Oh, and to answer the question yet again - I do like to have the stage mopped before every performance. Not anal about it, but I feel happier for the actors' tootsies that way. Mom enjoyed the show overall, which is a good thing.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Opera Night One - Check
The first performance of The Barber of Seville was last night. Yay! Only two more performances to go. I am enjoying the production, for the most part, and am looking forward to it being over at the same time. I just got an email today asking me about hours and such. Sigh. I could go on a little rant here, but I am going to restrain myself. Suffice it to say that sometimes I wonder about people's priorities.
Speaking of the performance - nothing major went awry. The show seemed to be well received by the smallish audience that attended. The actors seemed pleased. And Al (the director) didn't have too many notes for we technical types. Yay! There was an opening night feed session at Pure - the Indian Restaurant across from the Smith. Yum!
Yesterday, I went shopping at Wegman's for the first time in a while and was a bit taken aback at the crowd! I was there a little after four and the joint was jumping! Much needed supplies (like potato chips and soda water) were purchased. It looks, though, like another trip today is warranted. Dinner must be prepared! Oops, after doing a Daily Challenge challenge of cleaning out the fridge, I found enough vegetable matter to make dinner without shopping. Yippee!
Last night, we ate the last Bertolli's, which I managed to overcook a little - weird but true - and some corn on the cob. Mom loves corn on the cob. She asked me my secret and I told her "butter." That is my secret ingredient for most cooking. Yay butter!
Have I mentioned that I don't like the ads on Hulu? I am thinking of going for Hulu plus, but the finances aren't there just yet.
Ok, not the most exciting blog post. Maybe it will be more exciting tomorrow? Anything is possible (most things are unlikely).
Speaking of the performance - nothing major went awry. The show seemed to be well received by the smallish audience that attended. The actors seemed pleased. And Al (the director) didn't have too many notes for we technical types. Yay! There was an opening night feed session at Pure - the Indian Restaurant across from the Smith. Yum!
Yesterday, I went shopping at Wegman's for the first time in a while and was a bit taken aback at the crowd! I was there a little after four and the joint was jumping! Much needed supplies (like potato chips and soda water) were purchased. It looks, though, like another trip today is warranted. Dinner must be prepared! Oops, after doing a Daily Challenge challenge of cleaning out the fridge, I found enough vegetable matter to make dinner without shopping. Yippee!
Last night, we ate the last Bertolli's, which I managed to overcook a little - weird but true - and some corn on the cob. Mom loves corn on the cob. She asked me my secret and I told her "butter." That is my secret ingredient for most cooking. Yay butter!
Have I mentioned that I don't like the ads on Hulu? I am thinking of going for Hulu plus, but the finances aren't there just yet.
Ok, not the most exciting blog post. Maybe it will be more exciting tomorrow? Anything is possible (most things are unlikely).
 |
| Dinner at home |
 |
| Michele (Rosina) and her parents |
 |
| Yummy Indian food at Pure |
Friday, August 3, 2012
Lots of sleep!
Yay! I had a great amount of sleep last night. Yippee, even! I guess I needed it. And tomorrow, laundry! Though it is Saturday and I may just wait until Monday to do laundry...
Yesterday was another Opera day. And not an intense one. It was our second full dress rehearsal. For those who don't know, rehearsals come in lots of different shapes and sizes and types. The ones that are closest to performance conditions are called "dress rehearsals," a phrase you may have heard used in other contexts, like "Life is not a dress rehearsal." This was our second dress, because we have two casts (though two dress rehearsals isn't really a bad thing in any case...). We never had a tech/dress or a purely technical (cue to cue) rehearsal, which is fine because we really don't have that much tech to do. Yay!
One of the things that happens to me (and to others I believe) during the run of a show, is that the show gets into my subconscious. I keep hearing the music and words going through my head. In straight shows (no music), people will often get snippets of dialogue wedged firmly in their minds. Makes no sense to people who haven't done much theatre, but it is fun and disconcerting at the same time.
Dinner was pizza from Pizza Hut - they have a $10 pizza deal currently. We don't eat a lot of fast food - but I didn't think I would have time to cook yesterday. Turns out I did, but I didn't want to rethink my plan. Less thought sometimes equals a happier Augustus. The pizza was ok, not great - and I think there is something in there to which I am allergic. Well, poop. There is lots of left over pizza - mom only ended up eating one piece (I had two).
Oh, darn, I forgot. I finally finished all of "Stargate" by finishing Stargate Universe, which I was enjoying, despite Eli's whining. I don't know what I am going to watch on Netflix next - there are so many options. Meanwhile, I am going to do a little catching up on Hulu - Glee, Eureka and Warehouse 13.
I showed a couple of iPhone users my game Flippety and they seemed to enjoy it. Yay! I still have more work that I need to do on it. Hopefully I will get some done later today and on Monday!
Yesterday was another Opera day. And not an intense one. It was our second full dress rehearsal. For those who don't know, rehearsals come in lots of different shapes and sizes and types. The ones that are closest to performance conditions are called "dress rehearsals," a phrase you may have heard used in other contexts, like "Life is not a dress rehearsal." This was our second dress, because we have two casts (though two dress rehearsals isn't really a bad thing in any case...). We never had a tech/dress or a purely technical (cue to cue) rehearsal, which is fine because we really don't have that much tech to do. Yay!
One of the things that happens to me (and to others I believe) during the run of a show, is that the show gets into my subconscious. I keep hearing the music and words going through my head. In straight shows (no music), people will often get snippets of dialogue wedged firmly in their minds. Makes no sense to people who haven't done much theatre, but it is fun and disconcerting at the same time.
Dinner was pizza from Pizza Hut - they have a $10 pizza deal currently. We don't eat a lot of fast food - but I didn't think I would have time to cook yesterday. Turns out I did, but I didn't want to rethink my plan. Less thought sometimes equals a happier Augustus. The pizza was ok, not great - and I think there is something in there to which I am allergic. Well, poop. There is lots of left over pizza - mom only ended up eating one piece (I had two).
Oh, darn, I forgot. I finally finished all of "Stargate" by finishing Stargate Universe, which I was enjoying, despite Eli's whining. I don't know what I am going to watch on Netflix next - there are so many options. Meanwhile, I am going to do a little catching up on Hulu - Glee, Eureka and Warehouse 13.
I showed a couple of iPhone users my game Flippety and they seemed to enjoy it. Yay! I still have more work that I need to do on it. Hopefully I will get some done later today and on Monday!
 |
| This lovely pick-up truck decoration was pointed out to me |
 |
| Our pizza from Jabba the Hut |
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Sporadic Posting
Just didn't create the time for the post yesterday. Life is that way sometimes. True, I didn't have to go in to the theatre until later, but lack of sleep was reaching a critical level. So, I slept. A good bit. And then napped after waking up. And did I do anything else constructive with my awake time? No, I did not. Well, made mom some lunch before running out the door. Yay me!
So, the last two days have been mostly spent in the theatre. This is not the glamorous theatre that most people experience. The walking in, sitting down, enjoying the performance and then walking out sort of theatre. The time I have been spending in the theatre is sweaty, sometimes heavy, labor interspersed with times of sitting around waiting. There are not a lot of things to do during the actual running of the show. There are a few sound effects. And the scenery has one major switch. And there is some actor cueing to do. Other than that, there is a lot of just hanging out.
As for the physical labor part, moving scenery is a lot like moving furniture. Most people have moved some furniture in their lives. For us, some of it is done in the dark, which always makes it more pleasant. And some of the stuff weighs a ton! Oh, and there is the sweeping and mopping. Al, the director, told a version of the great old chestnut - a boy from the Midwest ran off to join the circus. His job, scooping up elephant poop. His parents came to see him and saw what work he was doing. They begged him to come home and work on the farm. His response "What? And give up show business??!?" I must admit that I am looking forward to it being over. Not because I don't enjoy it. I do. I just don't enjoy it as much as I could because I feel like I am neglecting mom. And that is why I am in Geneva, right now, so that I can look after her and help her out. Sigh.
Speaking of helping out, mom "emptied" a box yesterday. Basically she took everything out and spread it out nicely on the dining room table. She says that she threw a lot away when she sorted it. Somehow, I don't think that was the case. At least she tried, which is the important bit. She has also been doing dishes, which is a mixed blessing. I do hope the Ontario County Aging Program wait list shortens quickly! What would be optimal, though, would be to have someone come and take care of mom for a week. Or two. Though that is unlikely to happen any time soon. If ever.
In and around here, I have managed to do a little on Flippety - cleaning up and replacing graphics etc. Most importantly, Kelly (who we met in Hood River on the trip) sent me artwork from the beer labels that he designed! How awesome is that?! Check out Crooked Fence brewing when you have a chance! The labels look great!
Ok, at least this was a post of some kind. I hope to get back to regular posts starting with this one. We shall, of course, see.
So, the last two days have been mostly spent in the theatre. This is not the glamorous theatre that most people experience. The walking in, sitting down, enjoying the performance and then walking out sort of theatre. The time I have been spending in the theatre is sweaty, sometimes heavy, labor interspersed with times of sitting around waiting. There are not a lot of things to do during the actual running of the show. There are a few sound effects. And the scenery has one major switch. And there is some actor cueing to do. Other than that, there is a lot of just hanging out.
As for the physical labor part, moving scenery is a lot like moving furniture. Most people have moved some furniture in their lives. For us, some of it is done in the dark, which always makes it more pleasant. And some of the stuff weighs a ton! Oh, and there is the sweeping and mopping. Al, the director, told a version of the great old chestnut - a boy from the Midwest ran off to join the circus. His job, scooping up elephant poop. His parents came to see him and saw what work he was doing. They begged him to come home and work on the farm. His response "What? And give up show business??!?" I must admit that I am looking forward to it being over. Not because I don't enjoy it. I do. I just don't enjoy it as much as I could because I feel like I am neglecting mom. And that is why I am in Geneva, right now, so that I can look after her and help her out. Sigh.
Speaking of helping out, mom "emptied" a box yesterday. Basically she took everything out and spread it out nicely on the dining room table. She says that she threw a lot away when she sorted it. Somehow, I don't think that was the case. At least she tried, which is the important bit. She has also been doing dishes, which is a mixed blessing. I do hope the Ontario County Aging Program wait list shortens quickly! What would be optimal, though, would be to have someone come and take care of mom for a week. Or two. Though that is unlikely to happen any time soon. If ever.
In and around here, I have managed to do a little on Flippety - cleaning up and replacing graphics etc. Most importantly, Kelly (who we met in Hood River on the trip) sent me artwork from the beer labels that he designed! How awesome is that?! Check out Crooked Fence brewing when you have a chance! The labels look great!
Ok, at least this was a post of some kind. I hope to get back to regular posts starting with this one. We shall, of course, see.
 |
| The Armory in Geneva - I was taking a picture of the NYS state Flag |
 |
| The door I have a key to at the Smith Opera House |
 |
| Most of the prop table |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
