saving daylight

The weekend flew by.  Losing one hour for DST made the day that much shorter.  Got home around 2:00am which incidentally became 3:00am.  Time on Facebook, checking email and it was after 4:00am before heading off to bed.  Sleeping until 10:00am, a late start, touching up paint, sanding, staining, more Internet and soon it was evening, a quick bite to eat, a run through Target, movie night and a late blog entry and almost bed time.  More home improvement tomorrow, laundry, and packing for the trip.

raindrops

The week has been springlike.  Started out sunny and warm. Then cloudy and warm.  Now rainy and warm.  The forecast calls for more of the same through the next week.  I like it.  Tonight brings dinner, books, mochas together with friends.  Tomorrow I shall be going through my summer clothes (no, not to wear them here even though the weather has been nice), to launder and start packing for the trip to Arizona.  Also thinking about getting new contacts before the trip.  Raindrops, eyedrops.  Before then, I will enjoy the weekend.

a very merry unbirthday

Going to have my own adventure down the rabbit hole tonight, in 3D no less.  Venturing to see the latest version of Alice in Wonderland and dinner afterward.  I have written previously about reading the books, have recently gotten the two soundtracks available, now to witness the extravaganza on the big screen.   Another day of sun and warmth, how wonderful.  I wonder how many days like this there'll be, appreciating it very much.  Had to get out, went and met Doug for coffee at the book store, then we met Shane for lunch, over to the Mall to wander a bit (and a stop at the Disney Store), home for a while before heading out for the evening.

fridays, saturdays, sundays

The weekend is going by fast.  It has been busy, fun, relaxed, noisy.  Glued to the TV, olympics, earthquakes, tsunamis.  Starbucks, wandering the mall, bookstores, driving Main Street during a burst of snow.  Dinner with friends, incredible musical performance, drinks, vanilla bean cheesecake.  Going uptown for breakfast, northeast for cereal, checking houses, housework, laundry and movie night with friends.  I said it was busy, fun, relaxed, noisy.

on a sunday

It turned out to be a lazy day even though some things got accomplished.  Up and out for breakfast, a stop at the hardware store, and a run through the car wash.  Sitting on the couch became napping on the couch.  Did some reading later, then pork chops and mashed potatos and facebook and waiting to head over for movie night.  So much done and not enough.  Snow moving in again, looks like a Winter week, storm then lake effect lingering for days.  Seems to be raining out now, so it begins.

a second view from the bridge

St Joseph River in Mishawaka approximately one month later.

underland

Maybe it has to do with riding the teacups with the MadHatter and Alice, maybe it has to do with my love of reading, maybe it is because of my vast imagination, maybe it had to do with the upcoming movie, maybe all of the above, maybe none of that, whatever it is, I am immersed in Wonderland.  On recent trips to the book store I have acquired reading materials related to my interest.  First the original, then the retelling, finally the extension.  I have searched the Internet to familarize myself with the topic.  I want to buy lawn ornaments next. 

cultured

The house lights dimmed, the curtain rose. Saw The Drowsy Chaperone at the Morris Performing Arts Center. The synopsis: The Man in Chair, a mousy, agoraphobic Broadway fanatic, seeking to cure his "non-specific sadness", listens to a recording of the fictional 1928 musical comedy, The Drowsy Chaperone. As he listens to this rare recording, he is transported into the musical. The characters appear in his dingy apartment, and it is transformed into a glorious Broadway set with seashell footlights, sparkling furniture, painted backdrops, and over the top costumes.

The plot of the show-within-a-show centers on Janet Vandegraff, a showgirl looking to give up the stage in order to marry an oil tycoon, Robert Martin. However, Janet is the star of "Feldzieg's Follies", and a lot of money is riding on her name to sell the show; and Feldzieg, her producer, is being threatened with bodily harm by two gangsters employed by his chief investor. Disguised as pastry chefs, these two pun-happy thugs threaten Feldzieg to stop the wedding, in order to ensure Janet's participation in the next production of Feldzieg's Follies. In order to save himself, Feldzieg enlists Aldolpho, a bumbling Latin Lothario, to seduce Janet and spoil her relationship with Robert. Meanwhile, Janet is having doubts about her groom. Disguising herself as a French woman, she tempts Robert into kissing her, and a massive misunderstanding emerges. What follows is a pastiche of every classic, clichéd plot thread ever to grace the stage, including mistaken identities, dream sequences, spit takes and the occasional deus ex machina, and involving such stock characters as an unflappable English butler, an absent-minded dowager, a ditzy chorine, a harried best man, and, last but certainly not least, Janet's "Drowsy" (read "Tipsy") Chaperone, played in the show-within-a-show by a blowzy Grande Dame of the Stage, specializing in "rousing anthems" and not above upstaging the occasional co-star.

Watching from his armchair, Man in Chair is torn between his desire to absorb every moment of the show as it unfolds and his need to insert his own personal footnotes and vast trivial knowledge, as he continuously brings the audience in and out of the fantasy. As the show goes on, more and more of his personal life is revealed through his musings about the show, until, as the record ends, he is left again alone in his apartment — but still with his record of a long-beloved show to turn to whenever he's blue.

The concept that the audience is listening to the musical on an old LP is used throughout the show. At one point, a skip on a record causes the last notes (and dance steps) of a song to be repeated until the Man in Chair can bump the turntable. A "power outage" near the end causes the stage to go dark in the middle of the big production number. Despite the show-within-the-show being a two act musical, 'The Drowsy Chaperone' is played without an intermission; at the end of the "show"'s first act, the Man in Chair observes that there would be an intermission if "we were sitting in a Theater, watching The Drowsy Chaperone. Which we're not." The monologue at the intermission of the musical ends with the Man in Chair changing records on the turntable and leaving to use the bathroom. The new record is actually the second act of a different musical by the same composer and librettist, starring many of the same actors. "Message from a Nightingale" is performed in costumes evoking Imperial China, with the performers displaying cliched Chinese accents and mannerisms. The Man in Chair returns to the stage and replaces the disc with the correct one for Act II of "The Drowsy Chaperone."

It was a very good production, enjoyed it very much.

a view from the bridge

The St Joseph River in Mishawaka.

iron horse, iron stomach

Early morning.  Bags packed.  Electronics, books.  Waiting for a ride to the depot.  Milwaukee.  Via Chicago.  Via the train.  Discovered how much I enjoy traveling by rail.  Have my Amtrak guest rewards card, have earned enough point for a free round trip, racking up more points.
Went to the newest Chinese restaurant Ho Ping House for dinner last night.  Thoroughly enjoyed pot stickers and beef in black bean sauce.  Spicy, hot.  Mouth burned deliciously.

illumination

The sliding glass door room is coming together nicely.  New lamps, wall hangings, accessories.  A new leather chair, end table, and bookcase will complete the room.  Maybe the painting I saw at the store the other day too.  Went out for Thai food with Shane and Doug the other night.  Did laundry, watched TV (don't I always have the TV running?), Facebook'd (don't I always have the PC running?), went out for lunch earlier, planning on going out for dinner tonight (don't I always go out for dinner on Saturday?), pick up the tickets for the trip in the morning.  Amtrak.  Milwaukee.  Sunday - Monday.  Looking forward to it.

frozen planet

It sure is cold and snowy.  Once again it is lightly snowing, late.  The day was filled with sunshine and icicles.  Did laundry, read, learned more capabilities of the iPhone, watched HGTV.  4WD, Dinner, coffee, and conversation tonight.  Thinking about Milwaukee a bit, planning a trip, Amtrak of course. 

newfangled gadgets

I got an iPhone for Christmas.  Well, a number of days after Christmas that is.  Always talking about getting one, should have gotten one when I upgraded phones last year.  So now I have a new toy to play with.  Seeing how it's been snowing and snowing and snowing and snowing (by the way, it is snowing now as I write this), I'll be playing quite a bit.

another day, another snow

Lake effect.  Shoveled the drive way early.  Snow was light and powdery.  The sun came out and it warmed up nicely, 15 degrees.  Debated on taking down the Christmas decorations, still undecided, the tree is lighted tonight.  Went out for pizza and a movie.  The Princess and the Frog is a great return to hand drawn animation.  Fun story, cute characters, lively music, enjoyed it very much. Playing on the Internet, more time on Facebook, and listening to German New Wave music, heading to bed in a while.  Most likely going to have to shovel again in the morning.