Farm Market Flowers

These Two

At church today I talked to a friend about this being the last year of high school for her daughter. I could tell she was fighting tears as she is already thinking ahead to next year. Then I read this blog later in the day. Seemed like the day wanted to remind me of something. Today I broke up arguments, took away TV, and banned ice cream. I know that someday I will wish I could do all of that again. The time will go fast, I have so much to teach them. Myah wants to be a marine biologist, hence the shark tooth necklace in the picture... end of story. Taryn wants to move to France and be a chef. I will come with her of course and live downstairs she says. I will take care of her babies, her many babies, all with french names. I asked her if her husband will mind if I'm so close by, she said no, he will let her do anything she wants. Huh, those french husbands sound like easy guys to get along with. It's fun to listen to their dreams. They are so different. Myah, matter of fact. Taryn, master planner of everything. Myah, as flexible as the day is long, Taryn....not so much. Myah, longing for a room and bed of her own...Taryn, not so much. Taryn isn't so keen on sleeping by herself, but tomorrow we will try to change that. She's getting her own twin size bed to tuck under the double loft bed, a change motivated by the quickly approaching new school year. They will also get a new color for the walls and some much needed storage and maybe even some study space, if we can fit it all in...Ikea will help. So for now, I will enjoy each little milestone as it comes, each dream, and yes, each little drama, and try not to cry when they go back to school next week. I said try.

I'm Home....Again

I am home from the big city. Deer Slayer came and picked me up just like we planned. We got up and went on a quest for the city's best donuts, had lunch in Central Park, did a very small amount of shopping, went to my last few hours of work at the Connelly and ended the day celebrating with new friends. My reunion with the kids was wonderful, many happy tears all around. The gallivanting around the country will subside now, life will get back to normal, or as normal as it ever is around here. My brain is going a million miles an hour, but my body is laughing because it simply doesn't want to follow suit. Today I sat in the middle of my living room, surrounded with school supplies DS so graciously gathered in the last few weeks. I poured through lists, teacher's names, times and schedules. I unpacked, cleaned, and started going through mail. I gotta say it was a little like hitting a brick wall....stuuuuupid. I think I'll avoid that wall tomorrow, maybe go to the Farmer's Market, visit with Grandma while she's still in town, cook a nice dinner, ease back into it a bit and convince my brain to wait for my poor aching body to catch up. It's been a whirlwind summer, a summer of firsts and a summer of beginnings, friendships found and re-found. It was about being pushed to the very limit, then gently sliding happily and victoriously over the top liked you planned it that way all along. There were moments of complete insanity and moments of pure joy. Let's not forget about all the custard consumed, the truck that was slept in, the little clear glass room at the top of the Sears Tower that my children were perched on, unbeknownst to mommy, because mommy would have had a panic attack if she was there. We cannot forget the seafood in Charleston, the Hominy Grill or the Banana Fosters French toast. We can on the other hand forget about the outhouse in Cooks Forest, and the rats in the subway. I can truthfully say that I have no idea what is next, but I'm sure something is.... and I truly can't wait to see.... and I will wear my new Doughnut Plant souvenir T-shirt while I wait.

The Final Countdown

My friends go home tomorrow. I'll stay a few more days and work for another wonderful company. They are the Sossy Mechanics and are finishing their own fantastic and successful run. I am lucky to be working for the two best shows at the Fringe. Add to that a fantastic venue, venue director and box office manager and you have a best case scenario that I wouldn't change for anything, not even donuts. Strong language, I know. Speaking of donuts... the sainted box office manager brought me one from The Doughnut Plant. It was quite possibly the best donut I have ever had. I will be taking a trip there myself when Deer Slayer comes on Thursday. He and I will spend the day here before going home on Friday morning. I will show him around, take him to some of the great places we've been and introduce him to some of the amazing people I've met, all the while trying not to get hopelessly lost. I can't wait for him to come. My crazy summer will officially be over in four days and school will start very soon, there is much to be done, but it can all wait because I will be hugging my children non-stop from now until they get on the school bus..... something tells me they won't mind.

Goodnight Ruth

Ruth and Boaz took their final bow tonight as the lights went down at the Connelly Theater. We had a great run... and run we did at times. We are all looking back over the events of these last 2 weeks, and the many weeks leading up to the festival, and we are slightly awestruck at what has just happened. I think if you would have told us two years ago that we would be able to put a set up and down in 15 minutes, navigate a labyrinth of subways in a timely manner, walk miles in 90 degree heat in full costume and makeup, we would have said you were quite seriously nuts. I guess when you have something to share with the world, or the NYC Fringe in this case, you take the chance, these opportunities don't come everyday. I'm so proud of my friends, they persevered in difficult circumstances, braving not only the literal heat but the figurative as well. Turns out some of the inhabitants of this city are a little jaded... who knew. I think they didn't want to like us, didn't want to give us a second thought, but what they didn't know is.... that is completely impossible. 'Ruth' moved grown men to tears, and made college girls giggle incessantly. She even charmed a self professed skeptic. I personally received the greatest gift from 'Ruth', a true friend, Maggie Donnelly. She charged into this endeavor after a long summer working for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. She's as wonderful in person as she is as Ruth. She adds life to every moment and makes me laugh until I cry. I look at this whole experience, this whole crazy experience and I just might be the most blessed person on this planet. I should take this moment to thank the academy.... I mean, my wonderful husband for keeping the home fires burning while I'm away, my kids for letting mommy go to the big city, and 34west, quite possibly the greatest gig in the industry. So there you have it. There's more, but I'll save it for a rainy day, which might be tomorrow....

Chocolate Cake and a Review

We just had our cake and ate it too!

Check this out!

Long Island City

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't been blogging. My days and nights have officially switched. Last night we had a 10pm show, so we got home around 2:30 am. Everything is going really well, homesickness comes and goes. Here are just a few pictures from around the neighborhood. I'm having trouble uploading larger pictures so I guess you have to settle for wee ones for now. More later.....

Studio B and a Blueberry Cream Puff

We had a little brush up rehearsal tonight in studio B. All of our props and set pieces are already across town at the Connelly Theatre, so it was just the actors and their fearless director.

I choose this picture because they really look like they are listening, when we all know they just really want him to be done.....

...... so we can eat this.....

......and this. Happy friday everyone, next time you hear from me our first show will be done and I'll have a whole weekend's worth of things to tell you, and judging on how full our days have been, it could be one doozy of a post.

Central Park

This is what happens when you go to Central Park with actors.

NYC

We're here. It's been a long road, but we made it. The only thing that got us through today was experience. The kind you build after hours and hours of collective hard work. Years of setting and striking, rehearsing and memorizing, timing and perfecting. Let me see if I can use more 'ing' words in a sentence. Today was not for the faint of heart. It was the dress rehearsal to end all dress rehearsals. I can't even explain it. Having said all that, it went very well.

I have even more respect for this profession after today, and more yet (if that's possible) for my friends Jeff, Maggie and Steve, they all brought it, in a big way. They constantly make me think anything and everything is possible. This whole experience is theater on steroids. When I said the other day that I would ride the wave, I neglected to say that I would be holding on for dear life.... but I will be smiling, oh, and looking for NYC's best donuts!

The Woods and Beyond

The woods was good.

I soaked it all in, and took pictures in the quiet.

I literally stopped every 10 steps to take a picture.

It was just one of those days.

Tuesday, I will trade these trees for skyscrapers and ride the wave one more time this summer.

Dinner and Something New

So....what do you eat when you've just arrived home from a week and a half excursion, the contents of your fridge are....well.....a week and a half older than when you left them, and you're leaving again for another excursion tomorrow so it doesn't make sense to buy groceries? Don't worry, I won't let the suspense kill you.

You study the pantry, pull out a can of tuna, dig around in the produce drawer for something that isn't shriveled up, a lemon in my case, then you go outside and grab a handful of basil and put all of that in a food processor with some olive oil. Then you pull out the old George Forman grill, that you're sainted Mother-in-law bought you, oh... let's just say 15 yrs ago or so. Butter the bread that your lovely husband brought home last night

(along with the rotisserie chicken) that saved supper and put it all together, sprinkle with shaved Parmesan, because who doesn't have Parmesan, and grill away. Marvel at how smart you are as you listen to the lovely sizzle, then remove the beautiful and healthy sandwich and take a picture of it with your new camera. Did you like that? A huge, grammatical train-wreck of a story, to tell you that I finally bought a new camera. My really generous, wonderful, friend informed me before my trip last week that he would like to borrow his camera back. Now that he has me addicted to Nikon crack, he needs it back. It's like he has a new girlfriend or something, and she's moving away and he wants to take her picture so he has something to remember her by, or something, whatever. I have really important things to photograph, like dinner, dessert, possibly even breakfast, and donuts...... for the love. What was I to do about the donuts? So, desperate time called for desperate measures. I payed a visit to our lovely neighborhood camera store and spent an obscene amount of money. Actually I can't even believe he ever even let me touch his camera in the first place. I wasn't able to duplicate what he had, but I came pretty close. I'm really excited, I've never really owned my own camera before, I've always had hand me downs or 'borrowed' other peoples stuff. I still have a lot to learn. I'm planning on taking classes in September and reading my manual cover to cover. Hopefully you will see the fruits of my labor here, where donuts and other things picture worthy, matter. See you on the flip side.

We're Home

Home for a day then off again, I know, I know, craziness. This time to a more remote location for a little more family time before making my big NYC trip next week. Wisconsin and Chicago were great, more to come hopefully tomorrow. This is actually one of the best, and only, family pictures we've had in a long time. And yes, I did coordinate the clothes rather subconsiously so we would go with the fish exibits at the Shedd Aquarium..... I'm strange that way. How do you like that shark tooth necklace, must have been a big one.