It's my party, and I'll cry if I durn well please!

I turn 35 tomorrow-I'm not pleased about that.  That is truly middle age.  That is halfway to 70, and 70 isn't too bad for an ending age.  But I feel great, and had a blast at my tea party today:)

I woke up to a sleepy husband, and very energetic boy...so far so normal

 Where my child had me blow up three balloons and started bringing all this stuff in for my birthday.  I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with an empty pizza box, but I think he was going to plan a scavenger hunt-very sweet.

 All excited, I checked the oil and water, and left only to drive into....well, this isn't going to be nice at all.

 The weather turned out OK, but I did have to pull over a few times to let the engine cool off.  (We've replaced hoses, thermostats, headgaskets...sigh)

 I did finally make it to Lulu's Tea Room.  Where everybody had the tiered tray with tea.  Those flowers are real btw.

 Here are Nelia, me, and Eve.  We had a blast, but all good things...

 And I have quite the mountain to climb, with a car that over heats...so I took the back roads instead of the interstate home.

 Over the hill...

 

And through the woods...

 To home I go!!  Where there are sprouts in my greenhouse!!!!   YAY!!!  Buttercrunch lettuce:  (there's one, look for it)

 And beets! (there's several there)  I didn't check the freezer, I wonder if my seeds sprouted there too.

 And then...I came in...to where the dog got sick...all over my black carpeted bedroom floor. (that's soda)

Sigh!  She's still not feeling well, I wonder what's wrong?  Hope it's nothing serious.

Thank you girls for a wonderful time!

When a Child is Given a Camera

It's time to start springing things.  I know, early, but it's been a very warm and wet winter.  So, it's time to get ready for spring.  I let Marcus out with the camera. 

We had to buy a greenhouse due to erosion trouble.  We had a horrible time last year, and this year has already proven wetter than last.  So, we're starting all we can inside the greenhouse so our seeds don't get washed away, crows don't eat the corn, and weeding is reduced for a while in the beginning.

We planted peas, lettuce, and beets in the greenhouse.

I also filled a freezer with dirt, and planted carrots, onion, lettuce, and beets in it. (it's there on the left)

 We prop it open with wooden wedges...

And hold the covering down with a big rock.  Now, we use a broken screen door for the top most of the time, and...a broken glass door for when it rains and we don't need the water, etc. (George inspects it daily)

We also had the lovely job of cleaning the coop.

Normally, it gets so cold, that the floor is frozen, so we just clean it out in the spring.  When it's frozen, there's very little if any smell.  However, this year, it never got cold enough, and it was so wet, that it was very smelly and messy.  Especially with ducks-ducks are NASTY.

And we spread the manure on the garden:

 It'll have time to settle in before the dirt's used.  This will be the last poop installment until fall/winter.

 Thanks babe, that's real flattering.  (btw, why would I wear a letterman's jacket?  It's wool and expendable.  I wear it to work in all the time.  Very warm!)

Meanwhile, back at HQ...
Arlis removes the bad hay off the latest roll:

   The cats stand guard.

We also insure all boys are in one pasture, and all girls in another for calving.  We bought a new heifer.  She's registered.  We can begin weeding out the grade (non-registrable) cattle.  Here is Arlis's little heifer, Hope.  She's six months old, and in a much better place than where she was (all they fed was grain.  Their cows looked very sick).

Hope is MAD!  We took her from her mother, put a halter on her, tagged her ear, and gave her a tattoo.  I'd be mad too.  Arlis continues to work with her, and now she is able to be led with the rope halter and trusts us more.

Dress

Last night was the first full dress rehearsal.  We also had a little get together.  (I have found that going back on stage is like going on a bike, at least for me.  I fall off a bike a lot.  I call snacks provided "craft services", and get confused when they say "hold" instead of cut or freeze.  Lots of little things here and there that I'm having to transition.  Allow me to also say that theatre is far, far, FAR more disciplined.)  Warning-lots of really bad puns ahead.


Before we got into the "habit" of being a nun... (Christina and Sarah)  Sarah draws all the time.  She's in AP art and does really amazing work!

 Regina is a nun with us, and these are her kids.  They are by far the best little actors on stage.  Little Sasha is the cutest, and I get to escort her in the beginning.  She is so sweet!  I love your kids Regina! (and considering how well I do NOT get on with kids-that's saying a great deal)

 Eunice and Bob-they are a real blast!  She's nuns with me and he monks around.

 Obi Wan Kenobi

 Why yes, this is a brownie.  It was made from the chocolate of Chili and the spices of Sicily with a slight dusting of powdered sugar from the sugar cane of....  (this is Steve-he plays the Captain and is really a lot of fun)

 One of the children's costumes

 Weslie-directing...while 20 nuns change clothes all at the same time in the same room with lots and lots of mirrors.  We must be Roman nuns.

 My Novices.

 Mature nuns. 

 This is under/behind the stage and what must be maneuvered through.  With over 100 cast members in this production, it can get busy.

 One thing I've noticed about this theatre is that everyone knits.  And I mean EVERYONE!!  This includes small children and...this random guy I've never seen before sitting in the green room.  Perhaps I have found a new outlet for my wool??

 Let's be serious now.

 Or not...

Allow me to inform you that panty hose, black shorts, black shirt, and the nun outfit does not allow for quick trips to the bathroom.  The nuns never have time to sin, they're always adjusting their clothing.  It was truly ridiculous.  Nuns were constantly pinning habits back on and tying dresses back up.  I might could handle the lifestyle, but I will never be a nun on the account of clothing alone!

 Hear no evil, see not evil...

 

Now, I had never seen the monks in costume before.  So when they walked across the stage during the intro, all I could think of was....

 One of the back drops.

 We had to put the chickens up early last night, but the guineas would NOT go up.  So, we tied Mya to a rope so she could wee and left her out till we got back.  This morning, I just went to open the door in my grog only to hear the guineas on the back porch...oops.  I had to tie poor little Mya up again this morning.  She's not a happy dog.

For those interested in the play, here is a little snipet for Knox's WATE 6  (the hyperlink isn't working, you'll have to cut/paste the link, sorry)


http://www.wate.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=6684436&h1=6+Around+Town%3A+January+28%2C+2012+-+5&vt1=v&at1=Station+49&d1=449867&LaunchPageAdTag=Search+Results&activePane=info&rnd=85224710

If there is a picture I took of you and it's not here and you want it, let me know. I couldn't include all of them, sorry.

The Drama behind the Drama

Remember that earlier sentence?  Here's where it comes in.  In all that time, I have never ONCE had someone on stage grab me and move me to where they wanted me, or push me aside and go around me....until now.  At this point it's laughable, so here are some examples:

We (a small click of girls that have at least minimal stage experience) are constantly avoiding arms pointed under our noses, other nuns informing us where we need to be instead of where we are, and flat out being told what to do by other cast members.  You can't talk sense into them either.

For example, scarf-headed woman yells at a little girl for cutting line at the sign in sheet.  Then she cuts line herself (she also only sings one note...in bass).  Coffee woman talks the whole time the director is giving direction while holding a huge Java-ON STAGE, and then tells others where to go and what to do by pressing said java into your back.  These instructions are more often wrong than not.  She also refuses to listen to anyone else's info, even when it's exactly what the director already said.  Viking chick randomly picks people out and tells them what she thinks they need to do, but she is easily ignored.

So far, it's been horrible, but appears to be calming down some to almost tolerable.  Coffee lady is the worst (for me) as she is one of those soccer moms that gets all up involved with things and buddies up to the coach (director).  I can only hope she's not around for future auditions/plays and that I am.  She seems to be there for her kids. However, last night, an occurrence did take place that I hope helps.  There was a very light couch on set.  Katy (the stage manager) had her hands full and needed help to carry it off stage.  So, with candle in hand, I use my other hand to pick up my end and carry it backstage.  As I walked back I heard from many nuns "Did she just carry that couch with one hand?!"

Maybe they'll leave me alone now.