334 - CUT!

After a wretched day at work, I put myself in my hair dresser's capable hands. "Cut it," I said. I needed some weight and length off for the summer. Greg is worth the cost, that's for sure!

TTFN!

333 - It's A Wrap

The Sabrina Fair DVD is done! All that is left is to print the DVD labels, burn all the DVDs and drop them in the mail. But, the time consuming, creative process is complete. I really enjoy putting these things together.

TTFN!

332 - Match!

My cousin-in-law, Monica, found out that after her blood tests, we have a match! There are still more tests to go, but so far everything is looking great. I found out from my dad that the lady willing to donate her kidney had a family member receive a living-donor kidney; she's paying it forward. I think we should do that more often - think of how much better our world would be.

TTFN!

331 - Party

My friend, Cori (Into The Woods), is moving back to Indiana in August, so she and hubby Andrew threw a party. Let me tell you, Andrew should open up a restaurant and Cori a bakery. OMG, the food at their house is always so freaking good. It was a mix of neighbors and theatre peeps, but everyone had a grand time. One of the neighbors picked up Cori's guitar and the singing began. What fun!

Even though I don't see her often, I'm going to miss Cori not being in town. But, best of luck to them both!

TTFN!

Some of my fav pics from the night.  The rest are on FB.

330 - Tailspin

When the stomach meds aren't working so well and the best thing to do is be still on the couch, finishing a good book seems to the be the best thing to do.  For a while, I've been telling myself that I really need to keep a list of the books I've read.  I typically read fast, and they're the typical psycho-thriller or crime drama books, so they're easily forgettable.  Well, the 3 books I read before Tailspin I realized that I'd read before but didn't pick up on it from the small amount on the cover.  And while I thought I'd read Tailspin before (when I started reading it), the further I got into it, I realized I hadn't.  Yea!

The nice thing about finishing a book is that there's another one waiting on the shelf to be read.
TTFN!

329 - Science Fiction, Double Featuer

Last summer, The Rocky Horror Show was down at Limelight Theatre, but because of Into The Woods, I was unable to see it.  It's one of Haze's favorite movies (pictured above), so when I saw they were going to reprise it this summer, I told her I'd take her there for her birthday.  Unbeknownst to her, I emailed Shelli to see if she would save us two good seats (open seating in the Studio Theatre), and Shelli said she'd tell Blake (above) it was Haze's birthday.  Since I didn't know when it was going to happen, I couldn't get my phone ready to take a pic, but Haze got a short lap dance from the above pictured Dr. Frank N. Furter.  With the dance along with all the cast attention since she was sitting on the aisle, she had a BLAST! 

And what fun it was.  From a theatrical point of view and all that, probably not the best show, but so much fun!  It took me back to the midnight movies in high school where we would dance, throw stuff, talk back to the screen and more.  It was the first time in almost 30 years that I've done the Time Warp with other Rocky fans.  I didn't forget a step, though.  I had, however, forgotten almost all of the audience shout-outs, but the peeps they had placed in the theatre knew them.  I did get thinking that if someone had come to the show not knowing about the audience shout-outs, they probably would have been very annoyed.

Two characters were selling lunch sized paper bags of props in the lobby before the show.  The bags included water pistols, confetti, birthday hats, rubber gloves, playing cards, balloons, newspaper, and probably some other things.  There were two people on each side of the stage that held up poster-sized instruction cards to the audience that told them when to use each prop.  And any audience members who were live Rocky virgins were leied.  (Note the lei around Haze's neck in the above pic.)

One of the best parts, though, was Juan's brief appearance.  Wow, can that man SING!  Haze remembered him from Into The Woods and was even more impressed last night with his range and power.

After the show, the entire cast and planted audience members were in the lobby to greet patrons, take pictures, talk and laugh.  What fun it was to see these young people, whose parents probably didn't know each other back in the day when we went to the midnight movie, posing for pictures with cast members. 

The show is SO camp, but I'm smiling and laughing to myself just typing this blog.  The only thing with the show is that I was wishing I was one of the 'phantoms' in the show.  It would have been so much fun to be a part of it.

Let's do the Time Warp again!!!

Rocky & Haze

Juan & Me.

He does not have little pompoms on his head.  He has this amazing mohawk.  There are just two dark headed guys standing behind him.

Link to all the photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067753&id=1435721657&l=b61865e32e

328 - Happy Hour and Movie Time

It wasn't too humid this afternoon to do "Happy Hour" in the back yard with the kids. It's been a number of weeks since we spent time out there; it was nice to sit completely unplugged.

Just finished watcing "The Book of Eli."  What a good movie.

It still warms my heart that Oliver wants to be close to the pup.  These pics are from yesterday.

TTFN!

327 - Part Deux

Tonight, Linda and I were finally able to get together for dinner.  2 hours of catching up was awesome!  She looks great.  Baby #2 is more active than Tony was at this point .... 4 more months....

Late this afternoon, though, I took a pretty nasty tumble.  Diva left one of her pigs hooves right in front of the bedroom door.  I stepped on it; it dug into the arch of my foot and I went down quicker than I knew what was happening.  Carpet burns on my knee deep enough for it to bleed.  But there is a HUGE postive - my hand hit the end table by the couch, but my head did not.  That would have been very knarley.

Now, I'm going to put this achy body to bed, hoping that I won't be too sore in the morning.
TTFN!

327 - LUNCH!

Whenever we can finally manage to coordinate schedules and get together for lunch, that is the highlight of my day.  Today was the day that Mary and I made that happen.  Even though I feel like I'm in a fog, it was so freaking good to see her and catch up on everything.  We have that rare friendship - the one that started as a work friendship and survived one of us leaving.

Yesterday, I was energized after good sleep.  Last night, it was back to normal and I'm dragging today.  Ug.

TTFN!

326 - Rest

It's amazing how much better I feel after getting a couple nights of good sleep.  Today, I feel like a new person!  I have my focus, energy and motivation again.  Wow.

Today, I also had lunch with Michael.  It's great to be able to grow a friendship.

TTFN!

325 - You Can't Stop A Trane

It took them just over 4 hours, but my new A/C is in.  Thanks to the tax credit, I was able to upgrade to a nicer, more energy efficient Trane unit.  I look forward to seeing how much my JEA bill will drop ... after I choke paying this months bill.  This handler is much quieter than the 16 year old one I had in the house before.  The repair people (a man and a woman) were very thorough and actually did more than just install the units.  They fixed some stuff that will help conserve energy in the long run. 

I chose Florida Home A/C (http://www.floridahomeac.com/index.jsp) based on reviews, and I'm confident I made a good choice.

324 - Father's Day

Father's Day today, and I KNOW that I'm a very fortunate person.  I have a father who is full of integrity, strength, caring and loves his family.  I look forward to spending time with him a few weeks from now in Wyoming.

Love ya, Dad.

323 - Last Chance

Well, last night's recording of Sabrina Fair did not turn out well (in my opinion), so everything rests on tonight's recording.  I don't like that, but since the show was fresh in my mind, there was a good chance the mistakes would be minimal.  And they were.  Only a handful of times did I grimace.  The best thing, though, was seeing friends who had come to see the show that night.  I consider myself very blessed.

TTFN!

PS - I selected a different graphic for this blog, but thought I might have used it before.  Sure enough, last Saturday.  :-)

322 - Back To The Beach

Final weekend for Sabrina Fair at Players By The Sea.  Typically, the final shows are the best for the production, so that's when I try to do the recording.  Trying to make the most of my trips to the beach, tonight I was fortunate to have dinner with Caryl and Celia before the show.  So nice to be a part of theatrical conversations!

TTFN!

321 - Edit Time

I'm the type of person that needs a deadline.  Since I was going to be at the beach this weekend, it was a good time to let the folks from Rose's Dilemma and The Actors Showcase pick up their DVDs ... but that meant I had to finish them!  Tonight, everything except for the DVD labels is done.  And, I'm relatively pleased with the outcome.  :-)

TTFN!

320 - Polite

After almost two years of nursing my a/c along, I finally gave in and called to have it looked at.  Bill, the repairman, was polite, a dog lover, and answered all of my questions.  For what turned out to be an expensive decision, at least this visit was a positive experience.

TTFN!

319 - Shutter Island

This evening, I actually managed to sit through a movie.  Don't know what has changed, but I just can't seem to sit still or maintain concentraction long enough to watch a movie anymore.  Well, I've been waiting for Blockbuster to have a copy of Shutter Island available, so after I picked one up, I closed the curtains and blinds to watch.

I really, really enjoyed the movie. I didn't see the twist coming, though things were not adding up there near the end.  Leonardo DiCaprio was awesome.  And to top it off, we had a thunderstorm come through while the hurricane was hitting the Island!  Like how they left the ending just hang ....

Highly recommend the movie; I know I'll watch it again.
TTFN!

318 - Community

Every now and then, I realize that I'm a part of a very cool, close theatre community, and when I realize it, it always picks me up.  Today, friends were waiting to hear if they were cast in ABET's production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" which will run in September.  I was so excited waiting to hear who was cast.  And when ML posted the cast members, it was almost as if a collective "YEA" went up.  I'm proud to say that I know most of those in the cast, and am so excited for everyone involved.  I'm also excited because while I won't be on stage, I know I'll be working with the production in some way, shape or form. 

This is a steller, powerful cast - the "Killer Bees." 
Way to go!

317 - Family

I haven't seen Teri or her family since her dad's memorial service.  Her mom was in town this weekend, so I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with them.  Tim came over and cooked dinner for all of us.  I love them so much, and feel so helpless.  Even with that, I am very glad I was able to go over.

"Blood is thicker than water, but love is thicker than blood." 

Hugs.

316 - Saturday!

Sometimes, the most positive thing about a day is the day that it is.  Saturday ... and nothing scheduled.  Didn't have to get up and out of the house by a certain time; didn't have any deadlines; didn't have anything.  It was my day to do as I pleased - be productive or waste it away.  Somehow, I managed to do both.  Finished a video project and finished a book.

TTFN!

315 - Noms & Smiles

Got to catch up with my friend Leslie, whom I haven't seen since last October.  Great fun getting caught up with what's going on with her, and so glad things are going well.  And as always, enjoyable dinner at Joe's.  Just wish the skies hadn't opened up ... it was really noisy inside.

This is my fav Joe's shirt.  Maybe one day I'll get it.

TTFN!

314 - Still In

I was afraid I'd lost my adjustment from last week as I was having some neck pain and headaches.  But, my adjustment was still holding! Yea!!!  Lovely muscle tension and trigger spots are causing the discomfort.  I need to start scheduling a massage as well.  Problem is, it makes my appointment longer... all of 30 minutes.

TTFN!

313 - The Foreigner

Another night; another show.  That's what it's been this week!  This time, it was the Alhambra to see The Foreigner.  Now, I haven't been to the Alhambra since they re-opened over 6 months ago, and I was so very pleased to see the changes.  There is a doorman who opens the front door for everyone.  The lobby is nice and clean.  The box office is gone; replaced with a center podium/desk where you get your tickets.  The room where they had the food in recent years is now a waiting area with a full bar.  Wonderful atmosphere.

One of the changes I was so excited to see ....  the buffet is back on the stage and is presented and withdrawn to a musical fanfare and applause!  Yea!!!  I really missed that when the former establishment moved the buffet to the room off the lobby.  And the food???  It's no longer nursing home food.  It was very enjoyable.

Tod Booth is still directing the shows, so we're still seeing the same actors, but then again, this is our only Equity theatre and there's only so many Equity actors in town.  Oh my - this show was HILARIOUS!!!  My theatre life couldn't have hit more opposite ends of the spectrum these last two nights - Death of a Salesman on Tuesday and then The Foreigner on Wednesday.  Alhambra could have made some extra money selling Depends, we were laughing that hard.

There really wasn't a weak actor in the cast.  They were all great; their timing and delivery was right on.  Brooks Anne was so freaking funny.  Her character did the typical ... if you don't think a person understands you, you speak louder.  Well, Charlie wasn't deaf, he just supposedly didn't speak English; she cracked us up with her yelling!  Michael Stauss was equally good as Charlie.  Since he didn't do much talking (expecially in Act I), everything was communicated through his body and facial expressions.  Really though, the entire cast was awesome.

This was also my 2nd night attending shows with Holly and Redgie.  I'll tell you, you go somewhere with them, and it's like walking around with theatre royalty.  I was introduced to so many new people!  Poor Redgie, though.  He probably wished he had an ear plug tonight as I kept busting out laughing, right in his ear!  Lee was with our party, which is always fun, and I got to know Josh and Zeek as well.

I'm really glad the Alhambra is back on track.  It was really nice, also, that Craig Smith made himself so available to the audience.  He asked that we email him if there was something we would like to see changed .... time to write an email.

TTFN!

312 - Death of a Salesman

I have not hidden the fact that I'm very ignorant when it comes to the classics of literature.  I do not recollect ever having to read Shakespeare in high school or college, and with a focus on music, don't really know if I had to read any of what we call the classics.  So, I went down to Limelight to see Death of a Salesman knowing virtually nothing about the play.  In fact, what I'd heard just through life wasn't good, but when someone whose opinion I respect said this show was excellent, that was good enough for me!  And Joe was right - the show was excellent, even more than excellent.

I can see how folks could say the show is depressing, but it didn't do that for me.  And, I can see how folks could say it's not enjoyable to watch.  If the cast had not been stellar, the 2 and a half hour play could have dragged horribly.  But, this cast of actors were so on their game that I didn't notice the length and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm not going to do a play synopsis.  If you don't know the story line, you can look it up.  John Thomas was superb as Willie Loman.  Every step he took, ever word he said seemed authentic and real.  What an incredibly demanding role, and he pulled it off with what looked like ease.  It wasn't until I read the bios after the show that I found out that John was Charlemagne in Pippin.  I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that Willie and Charlemagne were played by the same actor.  Wow. 

Marcia Morgan-Cook played Linda Loman, and again was simply superb.  I think it would be difficult to play a character that is pushed into the background, who has to so delicately walk around the main character.  Marcia had us just aching for Linda's situation, her loneliness.

The other two actors that I thought were great were the two playing Happy and Bernard.  (The one who played Bernard was also in Barefoot in the Park).

Fitting for the emotion of this play, the curtain call was perfect.  No running on stage for bows; the lights came up to find the cast standing there.  Simple movement to the front for recognition.

Wow.  It is so energizing and fulfilling to see good theatre, and the Jacksonville area is extremely blessed to have the wonderful actors they have.  Big congrats and thank you to the Limelight, cast and crew of Death of a Salesman.

Ciao!

311 - Adored

Today, I received an email in reply to one I'd sent.  It was a simple, one sentence email, but it MADE my day.  It said, "I just adore you!"  It can't get much more positive than that.

Ciao!

310 - Sunday Funday

This afternoon, we celebrated (early) the birthday of one very talented and kind lady in the Jacksonville theatre circles.  It was so much fun to hang out with 20+ theatre peeps at Mellow Mushroom, and I was thrilled to be invited to join them.  I'm proud to be one of her peeps and value that friendship.

Happy Birthday, Sunshine!

309 - Back In The Saddle

Today's positive is the email I got from my mother.  In March, she had surgery on her right wrist (throttle and front brake) that required 3 months of physical therapy / recuperation.  Her PT told her a few weeks ago that she could start riding short distances, first in parking lots, then out on the road as a part of her therapy.  But then, she broke her right ankle (rear brake).  Fortunately, it was a very clean break, above the ankle bone, and the doctor didn't even put her in a cast, just a splint.  All of this was during a time-line crunch as before the end of this month, she and my dad will be saddling up to ride to Wyoming.

Today, I received an email from her that she and Dad went for a 75 mile ride and the only pain she had was from reaching for the right turn signal (right wrist).  No pain in her ankle.  Yea!!!!  She still has 3 weeks (I think) before they leave for Wyoming.  She'll be in great shape, and I won't worry as much.

Happy Trails.
PS - the photo above is the photo the New York Times used in 2005 when they interviewed her for an article on the Harley Davidson Sportster.

308 - Sabrina Fair

Tonight, Sabrina Fair opened at Players By The Sea, their last show of the 09/10 season.  I'll start out with, "What an enjoyable show."  I'm not familiar with the movie at all, so all I knew going in was what I'd read on Player's website.

The set was absolutely beautiful!!!  Hats off and standing O to Lee and folk!  One thing I really liked was that there were no set changes.  The only set change, so to speak, was when Margaret (the maid) came out inbetween scenes to removed glasses from tables or move the ottoman.  Very refreshing.

I thought the acting was superb, especially in the lead roles.  Absolutely loved Linus Jr., Maude and Aunt Julia.  There were some great witty lines in the play; just wish I could remember them.

I do love what Players does on opening night - h'ordeuvres in the theme of the show, lots of milling about and excitement of opening night.  Fun!

Ciao!

307 - God Speed Rue

I'm going to borrow from my friend Michael and make this more of a 'grateful' post than a 'positive of the day' post.  Today, another Golden Girl passed away.  Rue McClanahan, 'Blanche' on The Golden Girls, died of a massive stroke.  I loved the character Blanche, her raw humor and complete acceptance of herself.  That show is one of the best comedy shows I've seen.  I'm also grateful that I have an autographed copy of Nunsense starring Ms. McClanahan.

Some favorite Golden Girls / Blanche Quotes

Dorothy: There's a man on our lawn

Blanche: Get the net!!

Dorothy: Oh c'mon, Blanche. Age is just a state of mind.

Blanche: Tell that to my thighs.

Blanche: He is so sophisticated and charming and rich and handsome. He fairly screams Blanche. At least, he will when I'M through with him.

Blanche: I do love the rain so. It reminds me of my first kiss.

Dorothy: Ah, your first kiss was in the rain?

Blanche: No, it was in the shower.

306 - It Feels So Good When It Stops

Massive headache today.  I hesitate to really call it a migraine because I don't have a history of them and a doctor hasn't called it that, but ... the excruciating headache was accompanied by nausea and bright light made it worse.  I moved to the couch around 2am because I wasn't feeling well; the headache started around 4am.  At 7 this evening, the headache finally subsided and by 10pm, the nausea was gone.  Yes, my positive is that I was finally able to eat easily and then get a good night's sleep after a miserable day.