Monday, December 31, 2007
Monday, December 03, 2007
"Broadway Bound" closes at Silver Spring Stage
Since our opening in November, we've had five great weekends of shows. Since our rehearsals back in September, we've had many, many great days at rehearsals... Enjoyed working with Norm again and being Co-Asst Dir and Co-Stage Mgr (with Linda!)
Photos courtesy of Silver Spring Stage:
Photos courtesy of Silver Spring Stage:
Friday, November 30, 2007
CCAA finished review of my dossier!
Finally, some news. My September 2006 dossier has made it through the review room! Now I go into the 'referral' pile. Of course, referrals are going very slowly now (and it has been that way ever since I got my referral in September 2006!) CCAA is still making their way through the 2005 dossiers... sigh.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday, September 07, 2007
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Who Won the War?
Mary and I headed out to visit Pennsic War XXXVI (36) on Friday, August 3rd through Wednesday, August 8th. Here’s how the battle scoring went:
Road signs in Pennsylvania are very bad. We made three loops along the way just trying to follow the right signs posted at various points (mostly in reference to the Pennsylvania Turnpike). Also, detour signs were posted everywhere, some worked, some didn’t; some were real, some were not. What’s up with that?!
-5 points
Running Score: -5
Highway 30 in Pennsylvania was a lovely drive. We stopped at several Wal-Marts and K-Marts in search of a cot for Mary. Success was finally achieved with the last cot apparently to be found in Pennsylvania.
+10 points
Running Score: +5
Super 8 Motel in Cranberry was convenient and cheap, but the beds were soft and I think I got bug bites all night long.
-5 points
Running Score: 0
Barnes & Noble in Cranberry was a life saver. Our last good coffee was consumed that Saturday morning as we headed back out onto the road.
+5 points
Running Score: +5
THUMP. Was that the watermelon rolling around in the back of the truck? Oh my gosh, the back truck hatch is open! Did the watermelon fall out? Oh my gosh, what did fall out? We collected our things along the road (how did this happen?!) We soon realized that the THUMP sound was made because the GALLON FUEL tank fell out of the car onto the road as we drove away (plus a few other softer, pillowy items). Geez, I don’t know how in the world that watermelon stayed IN THE CAR! Glad I looked up and paid attention to the thump.
- 5 points (major catastrophe averted luckily)
Running Score: 0
No line at Troll and camp set-up seemed to be such a breeze. Wonderful helpers from camp. Nice weather. You just can’t say enough about ‘nice weather’ at an event like this. Hot, yes; but we are here! We’re a bit further north than last year (in an area most refer to as “The Serengeti,” but we’re actually in “The Far North Area,” which borders the Serengeti!)
+ 5 points
Running Score: +5
The new tent. This tent was bigger than last year’s tent. You could stand up! There was an additional section in the front for our clothes rack. The tent itself was very airy and the fly over it worked tremendously well as a separate piece – good air flow when needed, plus the whole thing withstood some pretty strong winds. We only had a little bit of water to soak up when we had the worst of downpours, plus some minor leakage from the top for some reason that required covering Mary’s side of the tent and cot with plastic sheeting. All in all, a very successful tent!
+ 15 points
Running Score: +20
The new Coleman dual-fuel stove was a complete bust. Perhaps it was due to being in the morning. Perhaps it was due to malfunction of equipment. Who knows. But the thing started to flame and even though all knobs were pointed to the ‘off’ position, the flames continued to burn high and bright. A fire extinguisher was brought over and the flame was ‘blown out’ before burning down our entire encampment.
-50 points (and -5 additional points for an entire morning of being in a bad mood)
Running Score: -35
We have discovered DOUMBEKS. Wonderful Turkish/Egyptian percussion hand drums. We each bought one. Each beautiful. We went to class with Carmine as our teacher. Funny. Fun. Hysterical. We then found many Haflas to attend to listen to music, find the drum beats we had just learned, and watch the belly dancers.
+30 points (and +5 additional points for Mary having to go first in the doumbek battle contest) (and +10 additional points for surviving a thunderstorm while IN drum class, many drummers under a small tent drumming our little hearts out…)
Running Score: +10
Like the stove fire wasn’t enough, Mother Nature decided to destroy my canopy gazebo structure during another thunderstorm. Too much rain puddled at the top and it caved in, ripping aluminum into positions not returnable even with sophisticated, modern duct tape repair. We trashed it in the dumpster. The rest of the week was spent lounging on the ‘side’ of the tent as the sun set in the evenings. Not quite as nice as the canopy but it worked – we still managed to have visitors drop in for a chat or two.
-20 points (and +3 additional points for saving the top piece to use as a tarp cover for even more rain showers.)
Running Score: -7
The Inner Vagabond. This was my afternoon sanctuary. Sharbat (frozen icy drink with passion fruit and mandarin orange flavorings). I tried it once as the milk version but liked it without better. Sometimes I would also have the Pistachio Burma (whole nuts in a flaky backlava type crust… hmmm, yummy.) This is a vendor set up like a Turkish coffee house, serving all things middle eastern, with an occasional session with musicians and dancers.
+25 points
Running Score: +18
Shopping. And shopping. Garb and more garb. The first thing I bought was an Indian bed sheet cover (I have one already that I got here locally at the Sari Palace), but this one had colors I couldn’t pass up for my bedroom. We also bought cool hair pins (it was HOT, did I mention that?) But alas, the day before we were set to leave, I lost one of them. So I bought another one! And then, when we were packing up, I found the first one under my camp cot. Now I have three. I also found a gwazi (I can only imagine that that is how it is spelled.) It is an ottoman style overcoat thing. I also got the undershirt that you wear with it. It matches my blue skirt and my harem pants, so lots of mixy/matchy options.
+20 points (and –10 points for losing hair pin and +5 points for finding it again)
Running Score: +33
Gifts. There’s always too much food. “Hear ye, hear ye, Ye Olde Mead Hovel! The Barony of Ponte Alto brings gifts!” First, it was watermelon. Then, cucumber/hummus middle eastern flatbread sandwiches. And finally, I also found a home for the two gallons of Coleman Fuel (one of which had managed to survive falling out of the back of the truck!) that we didn’t use since my camp stove was put out of commission.
+5 points
Running Score: +38
Parties. On Monday night we tried to go find the Women’s Tea. It was way across the battle field and up a hill. This was a part of the land that we’d never visited before. And we had someone with us that had a foot injury so we boarded the Pennsic ‘bus’ for the first time (yes, they DID have buses in medieval times), and the bus went to unknown places but eventually did take us to the top of the hill we were looking for. As we were walking, a lovely encampment (a pirate ship called Ridden Moon) called us onto their land and gave us Apple Martinis! (yes, they DID have apple martinis in medieval times.) Eventually we continued on to the Women’s Tea (by following drummers also looking for it, even though they were two hours late for the event themselves.) Had good food at the Women’s Tea and some sort of Cherry liqueur drink. But, alas, since none of us actually wanted to be picked up by ‘ladies of that persuasion’ we decided to move on and go back up the hill again, this time to Wolf Company, since they were having a Hafla. We were given wonderful liqueurs to taste (hmm, that butterscotch was quite nice.) We found Carmine there and had a chance to chat with him.
+30 points (and –5 points for getting to Wolf Company just as the music came to an end) (and +5 points for watching a new little pirate getting inducted at Ridden Moon; she was about 8 years old and completely precious – lucky girl.) (and +5 more points for rum shots earlier in the week from RavenSpittle, another pirate ship encampment, along with a lovely tour of the pleasure deck of the ship by the captain himself.)
Running Score: +73
Costumes. I was very happy on Monday night in my wench costume. It’s sorta gypsy-ish. My day clothes worked out ok, even in the rain. Thank God for Mary’s ‘shower dress,’ a long pullover shift that we both used for shower trips and we kept hanging it up to dry. My new sandals trucked me all over the place without incident; those darn toed sandals for my Greek/Roman costume gave me a big blister after one walk (and then I was in pain for the walk back.) The Greek/Roman costume was fun to make, but it was supposed to be for the Ball. And the Ball was all about DANCING. One cannot dance while wearing that much draping fabric. I couldn’t wait to take it off. My new gwazi created another fun costume and I had a great time in it for our partying when we ventured up and over the battlefield.
+10 points overall (and –10 points for stupid Greek/Roman costume theme) (and +5 points for new shoes that were SOOOOOOOO much better than last year’s shoes)
Running Score: +78
Weather… although we extended our Pennsic visit by two extra days this year, we actually got two days of rain more than last year (no rain last year.) And when it wasn’t raining, it was close to 100 degrees F. Last year it was cold at night and you needed cloaks to keep warm; you needed to get in quickly and snuggle down in your sleeping bag during the night to stay warm. So, I made my very own cloak for this year (vs a borrowed one). It looked nice. Didn’t use it even once. Did NOT want to try it out in the rain.
-25 points
Running Score: +53
Fellow campers made us happy and smiley. Things like… medieval rain gear, “bed to tent” ratio, babies at Pennsic, women warriors, expert shoppers, good cooks, Reveille bugle call (NOT!), home-made spirits, packing assistance, “excuse me, is there an Asian Studies major here,” friends of pirates, bagpipes in the afternoon (w/accompanying doumbek), glistening hair. “Yell: Touch! Re: McGroyne!”
+25 points
FINAL SCORE: +78
So, how did we do?
Less than 0:
Yes, admit it. You stayed in a hotel nearby and barely made it to the field. You didn’t dance; you didn’t fight. You missed all the pirate ships. We won’t miss you next year.
0 – 25 points:
You were dragged here screaming, weren’t you?
25 – 50 points:
You partied hard. You slept way too much. Your tent got drenched and all your garb and gear were ruined. You lost all your battles but at least you showed up to fight, even though your medieval underwear was missing. However, your arm will be better by next year.
50 – 75 points:
You’re almost there. The camping and the weather are a bit much even for your sturdy demeanor but you fought bravely. Next year will be your year.
More than 75 points:
You are a true Pennsic fan. You have multiple costumes and an excellent persona. You enjoy good drink and good friends. You like all the wonder and the weirdness. You will return next year and lead the mighty and the strong to victory again.
Road signs in Pennsylvania are very bad. We made three loops along the way just trying to follow the right signs posted at various points (mostly in reference to the Pennsylvania Turnpike). Also, detour signs were posted everywhere, some worked, some didn’t; some were real, some were not. What’s up with that?!
-5 points
Running Score: -5
Highway 30 in Pennsylvania was a lovely drive. We stopped at several Wal-Marts and K-Marts in search of a cot for Mary. Success was finally achieved with the last cot apparently to be found in Pennsylvania.
+10 points
Running Score: +5
Super 8 Motel in Cranberry was convenient and cheap, but the beds were soft and I think I got bug bites all night long.
-5 points
Running Score: 0
Barnes & Noble in Cranberry was a life saver. Our last good coffee was consumed that Saturday morning as we headed back out onto the road.
+5 points
Running Score: +5
THUMP. Was that the watermelon rolling around in the back of the truck? Oh my gosh, the back truck hatch is open! Did the watermelon fall out? Oh my gosh, what did fall out? We collected our things along the road (how did this happen?!) We soon realized that the THUMP sound was made because the GALLON FUEL tank fell out of the car onto the road as we drove away (plus a few other softer, pillowy items). Geez, I don’t know how in the world that watermelon stayed IN THE CAR! Glad I looked up and paid attention to the thump.
- 5 points (major catastrophe averted luckily)
Running Score: 0
No line at Troll and camp set-up seemed to be such a breeze. Wonderful helpers from camp. Nice weather. You just can’t say enough about ‘nice weather’ at an event like this. Hot, yes; but we are here! We’re a bit further north than last year (in an area most refer to as “The Serengeti,” but we’re actually in “The Far North Area,” which borders the Serengeti!)
+ 5 points
Running Score: +5
The new tent. This tent was bigger than last year’s tent. You could stand up! There was an additional section in the front for our clothes rack. The tent itself was very airy and the fly over it worked tremendously well as a separate piece – good air flow when needed, plus the whole thing withstood some pretty strong winds. We only had a little bit of water to soak up when we had the worst of downpours, plus some minor leakage from the top for some reason that required covering Mary’s side of the tent and cot with plastic sheeting. All in all, a very successful tent!
+ 15 points
Running Score: +20
The new Coleman dual-fuel stove was a complete bust. Perhaps it was due to being in the morning. Perhaps it was due to malfunction of equipment. Who knows. But the thing started to flame and even though all knobs were pointed to the ‘off’ position, the flames continued to burn high and bright. A fire extinguisher was brought over and the flame was ‘blown out’ before burning down our entire encampment.
-50 points (and -5 additional points for an entire morning of being in a bad mood)
Running Score: -35
We have discovered DOUMBEKS. Wonderful Turkish/Egyptian percussion hand drums. We each bought one. Each beautiful. We went to class with Carmine as our teacher. Funny. Fun. Hysterical. We then found many Haflas to attend to listen to music, find the drum beats we had just learned, and watch the belly dancers.
+30 points (and +5 additional points for Mary having to go first in the doumbek battle contest) (and +10 additional points for surviving a thunderstorm while IN drum class, many drummers under a small tent drumming our little hearts out…)
Running Score: +10
Like the stove fire wasn’t enough, Mother Nature decided to destroy my canopy gazebo structure during another thunderstorm. Too much rain puddled at the top and it caved in, ripping aluminum into positions not returnable even with sophisticated, modern duct tape repair. We trashed it in the dumpster. The rest of the week was spent lounging on the ‘side’ of the tent as the sun set in the evenings. Not quite as nice as the canopy but it worked – we still managed to have visitors drop in for a chat or two.
-20 points (and +3 additional points for saving the top piece to use as a tarp cover for even more rain showers.)
Running Score: -7
The Inner Vagabond. This was my afternoon sanctuary. Sharbat (frozen icy drink with passion fruit and mandarin orange flavorings). I tried it once as the milk version but liked it without better. Sometimes I would also have the Pistachio Burma (whole nuts in a flaky backlava type crust… hmmm, yummy.) This is a vendor set up like a Turkish coffee house, serving all things middle eastern, with an occasional session with musicians and dancers.
+25 points
Running Score: +18
Shopping. And shopping. Garb and more garb. The first thing I bought was an Indian bed sheet cover (I have one already that I got here locally at the Sari Palace), but this one had colors I couldn’t pass up for my bedroom. We also bought cool hair pins (it was HOT, did I mention that?) But alas, the day before we were set to leave, I lost one of them. So I bought another one! And then, when we were packing up, I found the first one under my camp cot. Now I have three. I also found a gwazi (I can only imagine that that is how it is spelled.) It is an ottoman style overcoat thing. I also got the undershirt that you wear with it. It matches my blue skirt and my harem pants, so lots of mixy/matchy options.
+20 points (and –10 points for losing hair pin and +5 points for finding it again)
Running Score: +33
Gifts. There’s always too much food. “Hear ye, hear ye, Ye Olde Mead Hovel! The Barony of Ponte Alto brings gifts!” First, it was watermelon. Then, cucumber/hummus middle eastern flatbread sandwiches. And finally, I also found a home for the two gallons of Coleman Fuel (one of which had managed to survive falling out of the back of the truck!) that we didn’t use since my camp stove was put out of commission.
+5 points
Running Score: +38
Parties. On Monday night we tried to go find the Women’s Tea. It was way across the battle field and up a hill. This was a part of the land that we’d never visited before. And we had someone with us that had a foot injury so we boarded the Pennsic ‘bus’ for the first time (yes, they DID have buses in medieval times), and the bus went to unknown places but eventually did take us to the top of the hill we were looking for. As we were walking, a lovely encampment (a pirate ship called Ridden Moon) called us onto their land and gave us Apple Martinis! (yes, they DID have apple martinis in medieval times.) Eventually we continued on to the Women’s Tea (by following drummers also looking for it, even though they were two hours late for the event themselves.) Had good food at the Women’s Tea and some sort of Cherry liqueur drink. But, alas, since none of us actually wanted to be picked up by ‘ladies of that persuasion’ we decided to move on and go back up the hill again, this time to Wolf Company, since they were having a Hafla. We were given wonderful liqueurs to taste (hmm, that butterscotch was quite nice.) We found Carmine there and had a chance to chat with him.
+30 points (and –5 points for getting to Wolf Company just as the music came to an end) (and +5 points for watching a new little pirate getting inducted at Ridden Moon; she was about 8 years old and completely precious – lucky girl.) (and +5 more points for rum shots earlier in the week from RavenSpittle, another pirate ship encampment, along with a lovely tour of the pleasure deck of the ship by the captain himself.)
Running Score: +73
Costumes. I was very happy on Monday night in my wench costume. It’s sorta gypsy-ish. My day clothes worked out ok, even in the rain. Thank God for Mary’s ‘shower dress,’ a long pullover shift that we both used for shower trips and we kept hanging it up to dry. My new sandals trucked me all over the place without incident; those darn toed sandals for my Greek/Roman costume gave me a big blister after one walk (and then I was in pain for the walk back.) The Greek/Roman costume was fun to make, but it was supposed to be for the Ball. And the Ball was all about DANCING. One cannot dance while wearing that much draping fabric. I couldn’t wait to take it off. My new gwazi created another fun costume and I had a great time in it for our partying when we ventured up and over the battlefield.
+10 points overall (and –10 points for stupid Greek/Roman costume theme) (and +5 points for new shoes that were SOOOOOOOO much better than last year’s shoes)
Running Score: +78
Weather… although we extended our Pennsic visit by two extra days this year, we actually got two days of rain more than last year (no rain last year.) And when it wasn’t raining, it was close to 100 degrees F. Last year it was cold at night and you needed cloaks to keep warm; you needed to get in quickly and snuggle down in your sleeping bag during the night to stay warm. So, I made my very own cloak for this year (vs a borrowed one). It looked nice. Didn’t use it even once. Did NOT want to try it out in the rain.
-25 points
Running Score: +53
Fellow campers made us happy and smiley. Things like… medieval rain gear, “bed to tent” ratio, babies at Pennsic, women warriors, expert shoppers, good cooks, Reveille bugle call (NOT!), home-made spirits, packing assistance, “excuse me, is there an Asian Studies major here,” friends of pirates, bagpipes in the afternoon (w/accompanying doumbek), glistening hair. “Yell: Touch! Re: McGroyne!”
+25 points
FINAL SCORE: +78
So, how did we do?
Less than 0:
Yes, admit it. You stayed in a hotel nearby and barely made it to the field. You didn’t dance; you didn’t fight. You missed all the pirate ships. We won’t miss you next year.
0 – 25 points:
You were dragged here screaming, weren’t you?
25 – 50 points:
You partied hard. You slept way too much. Your tent got drenched and all your garb and gear were ruined. You lost all your battles but at least you showed up to fight, even though your medieval underwear was missing. However, your arm will be better by next year.
50 – 75 points:
You’re almost there. The camping and the weather are a bit much even for your sturdy demeanor but you fought bravely. Next year will be your year.
More than 75 points:
You are a true Pennsic fan. You have multiple costumes and an excellent persona. You enjoy good drink and good friends. You like all the wonder and the weirdness. You will return next year and lead the mighty and the strong to victory again.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Book 7
Along with the rest of the muggle world, I waited patiently (anxiously?) for my copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." It arrived at 1 pm Saturday, and I managed to read straight through to 3 am to finish it. I read in bed; I read at the table; I read outside; I read in the living room; I read in bed again. Now, I just need to absorb it and let it soak in. And to very soon re-read the last 150 pages again.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Cousins and Daughters...
My cousins Marsha and Debra, both with their beautiful daughters. I just found out that Marsha is also in the process of adopting from China! My LID is in Sept 06 and hers is Feb 07. So, eventually it looks like our girls from China will each have a cousin from China!
Monday, July 09, 2007
Work on the Baby's Room...
Yes indeed, most of the house 'work' has centered on the kitchen and the outdoors. However, last winter, my friend Tony spent some time here and did lots of work for me on the top two levels of my townhouse. One room was the Baby's room, so here are a few pictures of this 'work in progress' (the bones are now there: new paint (yellow and pink), remove the ugly closet doors, new floor (laminate from Lumber Liquidators), new furniture (found on craigslist), new rug (from C-Mart), new rocker chair (another great find on craigslist), new closet system (from the Container Store). Eventually, the theme will be 'realized.' The theme is DRAGONS. (and fairies, and princesses, and castles, etc.) There are already a few dragons in the room -- can you find them? The room just needs a finishing touch (window treatments, shelves, art -- all fit for a princess) -- which may not come for a while (will wait till closer to referral time...) The bunk bed is for me (so that I have somewhere to sleep when my folks visit and get 'my' room.) I do have a playpen from a consignment sale but am currently waiting before purchasing big ticket 'baby' stuff, like a crib, high chair, stroller, car seat...
Friday, July 06, 2007
Good photo of Pickles
Couldn't help but post this shot. I've been trying so hard to get a good shot of those lovely baby blue eyes, and I finally got one!
New cameras!
I waited a long time, but after dropping my cheapie Nikon Coolpix 2000 (and now it doesn't work anymore but it served me well for a few years), I decided to go all DIGITAL. So, I now have the Nikon D40 SLR (what a treat), and a new little wifi COOLPIX S50c. Took some shots of the lillies that I planted in container pots for my front patio.
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