THE NEXT NEW THING

I had an epiphany today.   Whenever I spend a lot of time driving back roads (one of my favorite things to do) and I have the good sense to leave the radio off so that I can think, I tend to make discoveries about myself.   


I left my friend Sandy, aka Thelma, with her family this morning, climbed in my cute little rented Toyota Corolla, and headed off into the day with only a vague idea of what I might do or where I might go.  I needed to get to the Tampa/St. Pete area in order to spend the night with my friend Susan.   On the way, I had made tentative plans to see Joe and Paco in Sarasota.  They were going to show me the progress on their major house renovation.   Joe was the associate conductor of Choral Arts until his retirement from the US Army Band. Now he and Paco live in Sarasota.  They had visited Chautauqua two summers ago, and I had a great time with them during  the week they were there.


So.  . two things. . . Joe and Paco in Sarasota,  Susan in Clearwater.  But beyond that,  I had no idea what the day would bring.   My favorite kind of day.   I left at the crack of dawn and went to a local breakfast restaurant to consult my atlas and decide on the route across the state.  I wanted to A). stay off the main highways as much as possible, and B). see Lake Okeechobee.  I had learned about Lake Okeechobee in Geography in 4th grade, but had never seen it.   It was on the list.  At the restaurant I was immediately "adopted" by the waitress and two locals, who all pitched in and made suggestions about the best way for me to achieve these two goals. I love meeting the locals!  Thanks to them I was routed across  a beautiful 20 mile drive to the lake.  This is what I saw most of the way . .  . 

It was a spectacular drive with the canopy of trees and Spanish moss in abundance.   I arrived on the eastern side of the lake, but you couldn't see it from the road because of the large levee which encircles it.  Luckily the restaurant people had warned me of this, so I pulled off on a side road to approach the lake.

It was gorgeous and huge!  Picture perfect day.   While I was checking it out, I met George:

He was preparing to get his canoe and go out into the lake to fish.  He told me that there is a 110 mile hiking trail all around the perimeter of the lake.  There are camping sites every 10 miles.  Kind of like Florida's answer to the Appalachian Trail without the hills and the bears!  He had done the whole trail on his bicycle.  Sounds like fun.


After saying goodbye to George, I continued north until I picked up Rt. 70 west.  A two lane highway directly through the middle of the state.  My kind of road.   It was lined with trailer parks (called RV Resorts!), orange trees heavily laden with fruit, and the flattest land I've seen since my trip to Illinois and Indiana last October.   One RV Resort in particular seemed to be destined to house all the delusional people in Florida as it was named  Alpine Village! Hilarious!  


I drove into Bradenton, simply because it was at the end of the road.   I didn't really have a clue where I was going because I had not heard yet from Joe and Paco.  But they called and I made my way to Sarasota, had lunch in the historic downtown area and spent a great hour or so seeing the progress on their house.

From there Joe gave me directions to take the scenic route to Clearwater, via the outer beach highways.   The weather was warm and compared to DC, the traffic was light. Several long bridges, one pretty high, and one bridge opening to let tall sailboats through.


Now. . . as for my epiphany.   I realized that have spent my life being seduced by The Next New Thing.  When all is said and done,  history will show that the great love of my life was The Next New Thing.  I have always been willing to move on. . . even if it meant saying goodbye to where I was.     I realized that today during the drive.  Because I was giddy with happiness today at the prospect of heading out on the highway by myself and seeing what happened.  Today I realized that this has been the pattern of my life.  I'm not sure how I feel about that in retrospect, but I could never give up The Next New Thing.


Tonight I am in Clearwater in a gorgeous huge condo with my housemate, Susan from 
Chautauqua.   I will stay with her tomorrow and celebrate New Year's Eve. . . and then I get to go after The Next New Thing again.   I'll have two whole days to make up as I go before I have definite plans of where to stay again.  I can't wait!


I have no expectations at all,  except I would really like to pick an orange off a tree.  I stopped at an orange grove today where you could buy the fruit, but the lady explained that it's against state law to let anyone pick from the trees!   They do have pick your own strawberries however.   And you know you are in Florida, home of senior citizens, because the signs for the Pick Your Own Strawberries include the messages:  "No Bending!"  "No Kneeling!"   That was as funny to me as Alpine Village!


So let the Florida adventure continue.  I hope Thelma is having as much fun as I am.  And I hope I can pick some oranges!

THELMA AND LOUISE CHAPTER 1 : LOST LOVES

And we're off to Florida.  For the record:  Sandy has decided that she is Thelma, which makes me Louise.   We have not robbed any banks yet, and we have not murdered anyone.  So we have no need yet to drive our car off a cliff.  If you get none of those references. . .you need to rent the movie!


I feel I need to make a major shout out to girlfriends everywhere.  Because we SOOOOOO get it on so many levels.  And when we get it, we share it.   And we discover that we have all had the same life, albeit in many different configurations.  


Old loves. . . . fraught with pathos and heartache and euphoria.   Without going into too much detail, I will admit to having "old love" issues myself in the past month.   The beauty of this age is that looking back over the landscape of our lives, we have perspective that we did not have before.   LIke. . . . what is the meaning of the choices I made earlier in my life. . . as in choices in men.    Don't get me started. . . no, please. . . don't get me started. But it is possible to go back over the years and know for sure which guys you should have shown the door, and which guys got away.   That's all I"m going to say about that.   But memories of lost loves can be powerful, and the desire to reconnect can be overwhelming.


But I'm talking about my friend Thelma today.  Because the route we took to Florida by car just "happened" to put us close to the location of her lost love.   I don't even say  "One of her lost loves."  For Thelma. . .this was the big one.   At first it was just "we'll drive past this city where he lives now."   But, let us review,   I am a girlfriend, and I own an IPhone.   So as we approached the appropriate exit on the highway we were debating if she should at least call him to say hi.    Her lost love is now in his 80's.   A quick hello would be fine.  But, to recap. . . .I have an IPhone.  So I have the phone number for her in about 8 seconds.  Plus the address.  Plus a map pinpointing the address.  Now something that was abstract has become concrete.  And we're girlfriends.   Not so long ago, I had a girlfriend do this same thing for me.   "Thelma. . .  we HAVE to drive by his house.   You have to know where he lives!"   Thelma did not take much convincing, even though she did admit to butterflies.  With me in the navigator's seat and my hand firmly on the phone with the precious directions, we slowly made our way to the part of town, the feeder street, and finally to the very street where her lost love now resided.  We turned onto the street and THERE was the house.  Thelma is about 2 skipped beats away from cardiac arrest.   I am the best girlfriend.  I am snapping pictures like a crazy person with my IPhone camera.  We are giggling, and kvetching and internally hemorrhaging. . . this is what girlfriends do.   We do not see him.   We wish we had.  But I have the pictures.  And we leave the town to continue our trip.


Our conversation turns to sharing stories of the "one that got away."   I'm all in on this conversation.    I let one get away too.   We are Thelma and Louise.  We had different lives completely.   But we both know all about this lost love thing.  And it's good to share.  Because that's what girlfriends do.

BLIVET!!!

I spent 5 summers working at the then National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan.   Best summer job ever!  Four of those summers I was the manager of the high school choirs.  We used the large Kresge Auditorium for rehearsal space.   There were multiple performance venues at Interlochen, but Kresge was the big one.  Each venue had its own stage crew that was responsible for setting the stage with whatever was needed for each rehearsal or performance each day.   As the choir manager, I had to work closely with the stage crew to let them know our needs for risers, piano, stands, etc.


On really busy days, the stage might be used continually.  Sometimes rehearsals and performances were literally back to back.   That is when the stage crew had to perform something they called the "blivet."  I never knew if it was a real word, or just something they made up.   A blivet was when a major stage change had to take place really fast, usually with an audience watching.  For example, if a choir rehearsal or performance was followed by an orchestra, the crew had to knock down all the choral risers and set up the orchestra chairs and stands to the specifications of the incoming group.  Usually in less than 5 minutes!   The blivets were always fun to watch.  They were planned like the battle of Normandy, and the crew prided itself in switching the entire stage within minutes.  Every step had to be executed perfectly for the time limits to be adhered to.   At Interlochen, performances did NOT start late.  Often the crew received a huge ovation from the audience at the end of a blivet.  Well-deserved, I might add.


Well, anyway. . . after that long explanation. .  . I feel like I'm in the middle of a personal blivet of my own.  Mine does not have to take place within minutes, but even 36 hours seems tight.   I returned from my Christmas celebration with Casey at the Wisp Ski Resort at Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. We had a delightful Christmas celebration with Cortney's parents and her son Jordan.   I left this morning  at 7 AM to drive back to Afton.   Between now (Monday evening) and tomorrow evening when I turn in at Sandy's house prior to our leaving the following morning for our trip,  I will have to unpack all the clothes I took to a ski resort with temps in the low 30's each day, and repack my suitcase with enough temperate weather clothes to last me for an 11 day trip to the much more temperate climes of Florida.   Luckily, when I changed over my clothes for the seasons, I kept the lighter clothes here at Jean's and did not return them to my storage area.  But 11 days worth?   


I'll do laundry at Sandy's tomorrow and hopefully have done this switcheroo in a way that does not result in my having left something important behind.  In the midst of all that tomorrow, I will work out at 7:30,  check on possible bathtub delivery at the Crappy Little House,  put a hold on the mail,  say fond farewell to Jean as I won't see her again in her house while I'm still living here. . . she leaves for St. Thomas V.I. while I'm gone.   I took her to dinner tonight as a farewell gesture.    


Tomorrow night is the broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors which I will watch at Sandy's.  Have no idea if the choir will get camera time, but I am anticipating that we will.  But the show will be worth watching anyway.   CBS - 9:00 EST - December 27.   This will no doubt be my last Honors appearance so I can't miss watching!    Between now and then. . ..BLIVET!

OH THE DAYS DWINDLE DOWN. . . . .

On the other hand, they are starting to get longer again. . . . Love that.  In the middle of the winter we can look forward to the promise of longer days coming.


Three months ago I was welcomed into the home of Jean Brokamp here in Nellysford.  The house is vintage 1750 and wonderful!   In the center of what little town there is in Nellysford.  This nice lady welcomed me into her home to await the renovation of my Crappy Little House.   She had no idea how long that would take.  She has tolerated my comings and goings and comings and goings. . . and on and on.   She has made no demands on me of any kind.  This kind of wonderful gesture from another human being whom I barely knew prior to moving in is what continues to give me faith in the human race.   


Tomorrow I will leave to pick up Casey in order that we may drive to Deep Creek Lake, Md. for our Christmas celebration with Cortney's parents.  When I get back here on the 26th, I'll be here one night before going to Sandy's for the final night before we leave for Florida.  When I get back from that trip in early January, Jean will have left to spend three months in St Thomas, V.I.  By the time she gets back, I'll be moved into my house.


Here at the end of the year with not many days left of 2011, there are not many hours left for me to spend with Jean in her home.   No words can express my gratitude for this lovely three months.   I will repay her the only way I can. . . the only way any of us can repay each other. . . by passing it forward.   I look forward to being able to help someone else when the time comes.


It's been such an eventful month already.  I have sung with the stars, worked hard at finalizing plans for my new home, watched the dramatic progress of that home,  lost another few pounds,  worked out multiple times, spent time with both of my sons,  acted and sang Christmas music at the Kennedy Center, seen a local play and a broadway-level show, spent time with my friends, and reconnected with dear friends from the past.   It has been a roller coaster of a month.    And I still have my Christmas celebration with Casey and Cortney to look forward to, as well as the start of my Florida trip with Sandy.   I'd like to see anyone try to pack any more into a month!  Life is exceedingly good.   Blessings and love to all my special people!  I may operate independently most of the time, but without the people that care about me I would be lost.  

BILLY!

Today after my workout I headed north yet again.  Stopped in Fredericksberg to see Patti and her son Ryan for lunch.  Ryan is Casey's age and is currently studying for his Doctorate in Music at University of Texas.  He's already a legendary high school band director, and his star just continues to rise.   Loved chatting with him about his music history final.   It's fun to talk music!


I decided that I should venture even further into the realm of new technology and got acquainted with Pandora this week.   I know everyone else already knows about this (especially Ryan who was all ready to tell me the next newest thing. . . . one new thing at a time, please).   Anyway, you write in a band or composer or genre of music and Pandora creates a "radio station" that features music like what you entered.  At first I thought it would play only the music of the band or artist I wrote.  So I was surprised when I hooked up Lady Antebellum Radio that I was hearing all kinds of country music.   And I really liked it!   And I found that at least 75% of country lyrics are freakishly personal to me.   The happy ones and the sad ones seem to all know just what is going on in my life.  I also have YoYo Ma radio, and Coldplay radio and on and on.  There is unlimited free listening out there.  Who knew.  Let the downloading from ITunes cease and desist!


Met Dave at the Rivers restaurant at the Watergate for a grown-up dinner out.   A wonderful by-product of our Kennedy Center theater subscription is the opportunity to do a nice dinner.   Tonight was weird in that Choral Arts was performing in the Concert Hall at the same time we were in the Opera House.  I guess if I'm going to stop being in the group at the end of this season, I have to begin my withdrawal at some point.  It's hard learning to live without something that means a lot to you.  A big help with that was seeing the show Billy Elliot.  There aren't words to describe how I feel watching brilliantly talented young kids on the stage in professional level theater.   Who needs Broadway when you have the Kennedy Center so close?   Of course, I'd be willing to go to Broadway as well.   I'm such a theater junkie.


Back home tomorrow for 24 hours before returning up here to meet Casey to drive to Maryland for Christmas.  I wonder if my bathtub has arrived yet?????

LAST CHANCE!

For anyone that wants to just wander into my Crappy Little House any time of day or night, your opportunities are getting pretty limited!   Behold. . . . the arrival of the windows and doors.  Now granted, you can still just push those puppies open and walk in, but if the doors are in, can the locks be far behind?   Never mind that I never lock my doors anyway.  You get the gist!  So here we have it. . . . and the photos were personally brightened by me because I was just determined to find out how to do that, given my limited resources and even more limited abilities! I guess I learned something today!

THE FRONT DOOR!!!!   I couldn't be more excited!  Love the style, the upper windows and the fact that it will eventually be painted a orangy-rust color!  Trust me. . . it will be stunning!  And hopefully that beam won't be there holding the whole apparatus up! Not a real confidence builder if you're contemplating venturing up to the stoop.

This is the door going from the kitchen/living room out to the screen porch.

Sliding doors to the master bedroom.  This is only partially nailed in because it will have to be removed when my bath tub comes.  Tub was shipped yesterday!

Window on the bump out over the bath tub!

View from the inside of that window!

The side of the house now, all openings having been filled in!

Front corner.  Next big addition is the siding, which is pre-painted and should arrive this week.   It's going to look like a real house from the outside pretty soon!  I'm sure the Pella family is having and extra-festive Christmas thanks to my contribution to their household!


Wiring has been begun.  After that the drywall and insulation.  Then we'll be ready for the stuff I bought yesterday.   With the holidays approaching it will be interesting to see how and when this all gets done.


And speaking of that. . .. I leave tomorrow for DC to see Billy Elliot at the Kennedy Center with Dave.  I'll stop in Fredericksberg to have lunch with Patti who is visiting her mom.  Then I have to get back on Thursday in time for a luncheon at my friend Isabel's house.   Jean, the lovely woman who has been letting me occupy a huge bedroom in her house for the last few months, will be there, as will my Afton BFF Sandy.  Sandy and I have just finished planning our great Florida adventure.  Stay tuned as we transform ourselves into Thelma and Louise shortly after Christmas.!  I'm sure the blogs will be as memorable as the trip.


Hope everyone out there is getting all their holiday preparations finished, and that it is shaping up to be the best Yuletide season ever!

KA-CHING!!

I think this is my 100th blog of 2011!   Let's just say it is.   Happy 100th Blog of the year!




So today I guess was a spending money kind of day!  I worked out at 9:45 and then went to meet with Duncan the Builder.


Then I met with Amanda of Lowes for a couple of hours.  As of right now I have purchased (all today) - All the flooring for the house,  all the appliances for the house including washer and dryer,  counter tops for the kitchen,  master bathroom vanity and top.   So that's laminate, carpet, vinyl, acrylic, wood, marble and various and sundry supplies for installation.   This Crappy Little House might just become a Cute Little Cottage.  But I don't think I will be able to call it that.  It will always be The Crappy Little House to me.


Tomorrow exterior doors and remaining windows should arrive.  Siding later this week.  I hope to see it looking like a closer form of its eventual self before I leave for the warm south with Sandy.


The next pictures I post should be great!   Stay tuned.

THAT'S SHOWBIZ!

My big Kennedy Center acting debut was today.  Role of a lifetime:  Woman in the Snow


On the surface it would seem a role that anyone could play.  No lines.  On stage for 10 minutes.  Walk out to the front of the stage,  "collapse" from cold and hunger, lie motionless while a little girl pretends to warm you up and watch over you and the choir sings. Get up and leave.  Re-enter "cured" (Christmas miracles after all). Hug the boy, hug the girl, wave, retreat.   Curtain call.    How difficult could this be?


Well. . . starting with yesterday's dress rehearsal when I was called upon to "collapse" multiple times until we got it right, more difficult than you would think.  It's not the collapsing so much at my age as the getting back up again.   Thanks to George the Trainer and my countless hours in the gym over the last 3 years, I must admit that I pulled it all off with aplomb!


But the problem yesterday at rehearsal,  according to the director, was that the white blouse I was wearing under the shawl that was my costume, caused a glare of the spotlight. Something about "it makes you too noticeable."  I countered with something like:  "And that's bad because. . . . .. .?   She ignored me and suggested I bring something black to wear.  I suggested that all my clothes were 150 miles away and if she had wanted black I would have needed more notice (I did not deliver that "suggestion" as snarkily as it sounds, but really. . .  I totally have a new appreciation for divas!).    She told me she had several "large" black tops at home that she could bring so that I could put one over the blouse.   Now in the first place. . .should I have been insulted by the emphasis on the word "large?"  I guess not.  At least I didn't have to go out and buy something.  I decided to let it go.  Deep breath!   Calm!  (LARGE???????)  Ah-ah-ah. . . . . deep breath,  calm. . . . . . 


Today I was approached by the choir manager upon entering the backstage area.  He had the "black garment" that the director had brought.  He went in and brought out a decidedly NOT LARGE, zip up, wool jacket.   It was so NOT LARGE that it was in fact:  SMALL.   As in Size Small. As in, on the little tag at the collar, a big, juicy "S".    Is she kidding?   The last time I wore a size small I was 9 years old.  And it was probably a man's small.    Should I have been concerned about the implications here?    Can I even get into a Small?   Is she pulling some sick joke here?    Deep breath!   Calm!


It's shortly afterwards that I take a really good long look at our director.   For the first time I realize that basically, my left leg is bigger than she is.   I bet in her tiny little world,  this black jacket is actually large and roomy.   Hmmmmmmmmmm. . .


Well. . . no time like the present to try this puppy on and see if there is any way to make it work.   And HOLY WEIGHT WATCHERS!   It zips right up!   Don't get me wrong.  It wasn't roomy!  But it wasn't awful.  And the shawl was going to cover it up anyway.   Things are looking up!  I feel positively lithe, the (albeit smaller) rolls around my waist hardly noticeable.


I put my "costume change" on the table off stage and took my place for the entrance of the choir.   I entered from the house. . . walked through the aisles with some of my colleagues greeting people, waving, shouting.  This concert is clearly less formal than our normal ones. I even got to wave at my son Casey who was in a box seat with girlfriend Cortney and her son Jordan.   I yelled,  "HI CASEY!" and waved.  And he yelled "HI MOM!" back.    Not that anyone heard him because every one was shouting greetings.  Very down-home Christmas-y! Very folksy!  Very Norman Rockwell!


The first few numbers go off without a hitch, and then it's time for me to sneak off and go back stage for my costume change.   I pull off my red blouse and zip up the large/small sweater thing over the white tee shirt.  I put the alpaca throw around my shoulders and head.  I await my cue.  The tension is palpable.   ( I love that word.   I've used it twice today!)


Here comes the sound of wind.  The high school dancers, all in white and carrying white streamers simulate the snow storm.  I bundle up, and hobble to the front of the stage and collapse exactly on my marks.   (This is exciting!  I had MARKS!  One for my head and another one which was so close to the first one that I'm not sure which body part it was designated for.   I hope I landed the appropriate appendage on top of it).  My eyes were closed.  I honestly never did know what was going on on-stage while I was there, because my high degree of professionalism in each rehearsal prevented me from even so much as cracking open an eye to peek out.  So I certainly wasn't going to do it in the performance.   The children discover me shortly after the collapse and the action ensues.  Girl:  "I can't go to the cathedral!"   Boy:  "But you'll miss the music!"   Girl:  "I have to stay with her.  She could DIE!!!!  Here. .. take this small silver insignificant teeny tiny worthless coin to place on the altar right after the king offers up his crown! And try to act surprised when the chimes ring!!" (I'm paraphrasing here, but you get the gist).   Now while this touching dialogue is going on, the main spotlight is right on me.  I can see it through my closed eyelids.  And then the girl has to put her scarf around me to try to keep me warm.  


Here's where my Academy Award Winning instincts kick-in!   Because I'm lying on a stage in black tights (known for their ability to keep the wearer warm),  a skirt,  tee shirt,  zipped up wool sweater that you may remember is NOT LOOSE!  I'm covered by the shawl I wore out on stage, and the scarf that has just been put on me.   And a million watt light bulb is glaring down on me.   To say I was not in actuality freezing to death as the story would suggest, would be an understatement!  Add to that the fact that my right arm has gone completely numb and my right hand is cramping in the position I have chosen.   And my high degree of professionalism refuses to move so much as a tiny muscle, lest the audience suspect that I am, in fact, not truly near death with the cold.   


The choir is singing, the little girl is singing.  It's unbearably poignant.   And I am slowly roasting to death.  I would not be surprised to find out that the front 3 rows began to detect the unexplainable aroma of roasting meat.  I am breathing deeply and mentally urging the choir to pick up the tempo on the song.   As it was, if that song had gone even another 8 bars, it's possible that the play would have had a very different,  much more dramatic ending than the one planned.  Let's just say paramedics would have been involved. But the song ended, I managed to get up and be led off stage.  


The little girl and I were supposed to hang at the back of the stage against the risers until our next entrance in the "she's alive!  It's a miracle" scene.  But I summoned up my inner diva and left the stage, removed the shawl and jacket and headed for the water cooler to rehydrate.   I had some time.  The villagers and the king were trying to make the chimes ring by offering expensive gifts.   Apparently they had not read every Christmas story ever written that this never works.  While I was back stage where I wasn't supposed to be,  I went to the bathroom.  Oh yeah, I did.  I was gettin' on with my bad self! Being all "I can stroll around back stage if I want to!"  following my brush with death on the stage.   I did manage to get myself together and re-costume myself for the very brief reveal of my miraculous recovery.  Hug boy.  Hug girl.  Wave.  Retreat.  And. . .  (for me). . . . Scene!


I was completely revived for the curtain call.   Then it was back into the red blouse and back on stage for the final songs.  All in a days work for us veteran actors.   

THERE'S ONE IN EVERY CROWD

Well, sure enough, the first time I allude to any random photographer in a post, one steps up and proves that he has entirely too much time on his hands.   To illustrate:


Yesterday's picture, admittedly not top drawer photography:

And my suggestion was that it was too dark.   And I hesitated to add that it was in part because it was clearly a grey kind of day.    So someone out there in cyberspace who shall remain nameless sent me an "improvement."

Which begs the question, don't you think. . . ..  are photographers really that good, or do they just know how to work the software???   Just sayin'. . . . . . ..I think we can all agree that if the day had really been that bright and sunny, it would have been less appropriate for me to sing to my workers about Christmas.  But I will concede that the 2nd picture is much easier to see,  the "playing God"-thing with the weather not withstanding.


In other news, today was dress rehearsal for my Kennedy Center acting debut tomorrow.  Had to be "woman in the snow" through several different run-throughs.  They certainly were taking a lot for granted when they cast a 62-year old woman in the role and then assumed she would be able to fall down and get up multiple times within a couple of hours.  I may be all stiff and sore tomorrow.   Maybe I need to get the photographer to add a hot tub to the porch in that picture!


The show will be great.  The kids and families will love it.  There will be joy and good cheer in abundance in the Concert Hall tomorrow afternoon.  I look forward to having part of my family there, and to hoping my arm doesn't fall asleep as I fake being asleep in the snow for about 10 minutes worth of the play.    Wish me luck!    Between you and me I think Meryl Streep is safe in being considered the greatest living actor!

SHINGLE ALL THE WAY!

I'm sorry. . . lame title.  But I couldn't resist.


Because when I got to the Crappy Little House this morning there were Al and Dwayne on the roof nailing shingles.   I just looked up at Al and stood under the stoop and sang at the top of my lungs: Shingle Al,  Shingle Al,  Shingle all the way!    Poor Al.   I could just about hear him under his breath (Dios Mio!!!!)   

Well, there they are, hard at work.  I'm not sure if this is before or after I started singing.   And before I go any farther. . . there better not be any photographers out there that will take issue with the lighting of the picture.  It's an IPhone and even though there are probably ways of making it do better, I have not discovered them yet!

By some miracle Al decided that with the singing lunatic down on the ground, he was safer on the roof working, so he continued.   I just hope he comes back tomorrow.

Last night right as it was getting dark, I admit that I did go up and have a sit on this little beauty:

Today Ronnie the Framer was driving it around and redistributing dirt around the foundation of the house.  I figured that begging him to show me how this works and then to let me work it was not advisable on the same day I had been Wassailing his buddy Al.  Another time.  One of the top items on my bucket list is to learn to operate earth moving equipment, and this just seems to be fraught with possibilities.  They leave it unattended with the keys in it at night.   Stay tuned for possible dramatic developments!

Here's the front stoop. . . pretty much semi-completed and under roof, and shingled:

And also, they tidied up the interior:

Probably as tidy as it will ever be again.


Now this little bump out is interesting:

Made from "Sips" panels, this will augment the window over my bathtub and allow for an extra deep window sill as I sit in my tub, gaze out the window at the mountains and watch House Hunters on HGTV. Pretty much the budget cuts are not showing up in the master bath!

Current target date for move-in is mid-February.  And that is only because the kitchen cabinets will not arrive until Jan. 24.    Exterior doors and all the other windows probably going in on Monday!

I'm in DC for our final dress rehearsal for the Family Christmas Concert tomorrow morning at the Kennedy Center.  The concert is early Saturday afternoon.  Then home again.  Weather warmer. . . . . YEA!!!!

DECISIONS, DECISIONS!

Home again, home again, jiggedy jog!


I stopped on the way home to meet with Duncan the Builder.  We had lots of decisions to make.   I'm out so much all the time this month that I need to make decisions when I'm back in Nelson County regarding the renovation of the Crappy Little House.


Ordered my wonderful bathtub today.  It's going to be spectacular.  I'm cutting corners with my budget every way I possibly can so that I can get the non-negotiables.  One of them being my wonderful bathtub.  It will be shipped on Dec. 19th, so I'll send pictures once it's installed.


To Lowes to order the kitchen cabinets and choose flooring and countertops.  I've gone in many different directions on all of these items.  But I knew that I would know the right combination when I saw it.   And with the help of Amanda the Kitchen Planner at Lowes, I found the combination today.  Not at all what I expected to choose.  But I'm happy with the decisions.   Cabinets ordered.  Pending the approval of Duncan the Builder I will have a laminate floor ( I know, I'm surprised too) and vinyl in the laundry room and bathrooms.  Acryllic countertops.   I won't go into all my rationale.  But I have samples of it all here at the house and I'm thrilled with the look.


Screen porch roof up.  The porch is HUGE!   Much bigger than I anticipated.  At least as big or bigger than the once I had on the house I just sold.  Plumbing is roughed in.  Electric comes next.  Progress, progress, progress.  I won't be homeless too much longer!


Last night's birthday celebration with Chad was wonderful.  A rollicking good time was had by all.  What a treasure to spend time in the company of both my boys.  Also had a good time with Sara and Murray (my grand dog).   Life is exceedingly good.

WOMAN IN THE SNOW

So I'm back in DC.  Shocker . . . . I had to get my car serviced while I was home for 48 hours.  Seems the miles in my "new" car are creeping up what with all this commuting!


This trip is two-fold.  The first fold is for a rehearsal for the one Christmas concert I am singing. . . the Choral Arts Family Christmas Concert.   This one is light and fun and made for families with kids.   It always centers around a Christmas play, with the second half being full of light-hearted holiday songs complete with the arrival of Santa, Rudolph and Frosty.   Fun to do and conducted by our former Associate Conductor, Joe Holt, who is retired from the Army Band and living in Sarasota where he has his own professional choir now, thank you very much.   Always fun to sing with Joe.  And as an extra bonus I got tickets for Casey, his girlfriend Cortney, and her 6 year old son, Jordan.  I'll be spending time with Jordan for Christmas at Cortney's parents' place at Deep Creek Lake, so I thought it would be fun for them to bring him to the concert.  


So I get a phone call when I was up for my Fantasy Island weekend a few days ago.  It's from the Choral Arts office requesting that I "play a role" in the Christmas play that occurs in the first half of the concert.  I'm guessing they somehow got a hold of my blog from Chautauqua last summer, read the one about my Readers Theater class, and figured they just could not do any better than to cast me in the coveted role of "woman in the snow."   I mean. . .doesn't that just reek of major role?????   The first thing I asked was how many lines I would have.  Because there's just so much time between now and Dec. 17, and I'm a busy girl!   Jeff assured me that there were no lines.   (NO lines?  Maybe they didn't read the blog after all!)  Well, then. . . . . .what does playing this role entail?   Basically. . . . walking out on stage and falling down.   Hmmmmmm.  I resisted the temptation to ask how many other choristers had turned this role down before he called me.  Why make myself miserable?


Here's where it gets hilarious.  Apparently "woman in the snow" falls down because she is homeless and starving.  Well, I am kind of homeless right now, so I don't have to dig too deep for that.   But STARVING?   Okay. . . . actually I am kind of hungry now and again on the Weight Watchers program (down 11 1/2 pounds!).   But really. . . . can I pull off that I'm starving?   Chubby old me???  Will the audience laugh at the notion?  Is this a comedy instead of a tragedy???  Oh screw it. . . .I'll do the part.  Let them laugh!  I'm acting in the Kennedy Center.   Will Jordan be delighted or creeped out to find "woman in the snow" around the Christmas tree on Christmas morning?   It's all too interesting to turn down.   


So last night we rehearsed.  Being "woman in the snow" means there are a few songs I won't sing. . . .because I will be pretending to be prostrate from hunger on the stage.   Basically I lie there while a little girl sees me and decides to forgo her trip to the cathedral to see if the chimes will ring so that she can stay and watch over me.   I don't think she's carrying any food, however.  Her brother has to go to the cathedral alone, but of course, his gift of the small silver piece that his sister gives him before deciding to stay with me, is just the gift that gets the chimes to ring!!!  Which means that I get to jump up and be cured because of the whole Christmas miracle thing.  Actually it will be a miracle if I'm able to jump up from a lying down position on that stage.  And this is the gods' truth. . . when I get back to Afton on Saturday, I'm having George the Trainer help me with how to fall down without breaking anything.  Nobody ever said that Ruth Powell did not fully research and perfect her stage directions!   Take that. . . .Mr. Sanders who never once cast me in a play in high school!!!!


This "acting credit" at the Kennedy Center will be right up there with the credit I have for playing the tuba at the Kennedy Center.  The year that the band teacher at the school where I taught decided to form a teacher band, and I began playing the tuba, the principal and I (she was playing the euphonium) marched right down to the Kennedy Center and took part in Tuba Christmas.  Right along with the military band instrumentalists.  It was a hoot.   So why not acting?


Now the second fold of my reason for being up here is that I'm taking Chad and his friends and Casey to dinner tonight to celebrate the fact that Chad turned 33 yesterday, on Pearl Harbor Day.   He chose Texas Roadhouse for the venue. Somehow I think it might be a challenge to follow Weight Watchers there, so I'm taking it easy in the eating department today until tonight.  Don't want  the starving "woman in the snow" to appear any fatter than she already does!


Singing, acting, and taking my sons to dinner.   This is better than the events of last weekend. . . . by a mile!

HOME AGAIN!

Today has a real  "did I do that?" quality to it.   I'm back at Jean's and it's hard to believe I really experienced the last 72 hours!  I have to read my blog to see that I did!


Now I can report on the week's progress on the Crappy Little House.  I couldn't wait to get home to see it.  And I was not disappointed.  When I pulled up in the driveway not only were the 4 framers hard at work, but Duncan the Builder and the heating guy were there!  Great timing.   Here's what I saw:

You may remember the former porch on the CLH.  Now it's a side wall.  New windows in!

And also:

This is the new front door, although you can't see the opening because the fabric stuff is over it.  But you see the new windows and the stoop for the front door.  

And finally:

The beginnings of the screen porch.  You can see the large triple window which is in the living room.  I'm hopeful to resurrect the idea of a jigsaw puzzle table in front of this window.  You can see a half deck in front of that window.  That will lead to the door on the screen porch. . . the "back door" if you will, leading into the kitchen.  Beyond the screen porch frame, there is additional decking outside my master bedroom.

The only entrance to the interior at this point is through the opening for the sliding glass door in my bedroom.   The rooms are completely framed and defined, but no drywall yet.   The measurements for the kitchen have been taken.  

Duncan and I had lunch after this unplanned meeting.   So excited to see this progress.

Honda going in for servicing tomorrow.  Sandy and I will lunch at Wild Wolf Brewery. . the latest new restaurant on the strip in Nellysford.   It's good to be home for the 48 hours before going back up for our Family Christmas rehearsal.  Worked out this afternoon,  weight lifting in the morning, and another workout Wednesday  before I leave again.    I may have sung with the stars this past week, but other than that I was a slug!!!

HONORS #2

What a day!  Heck, what a weekend!   I feel like I've been on Fantasy Island.


Spent the bulk of the day at the Kennedy Center.  This morning were final run throughs of all the tributes.  What I never knew before (this is I think the 4th KC Honors Program I have sung) is that we are allowed to go into the Opera House and watch the other rehearsals live!  Yikes!  I didn't know that.  So after our morning run-through I found myself back in the Opera House after lunch watching the Neil Diamond and Yo-Yo Ma tributes.  We had seen much of Yo-Yo  Ma's tribute yesterday.   I was so enamored with ELMO that I didn't realize that he was the 2nd person on the tribute.  The person who made the initial introduction of Yo-Yo Ma was none other than  (this truly was the HIGH POINT of the entire day. . . and it was a day of high points) Steven Colbert!!!  What a hilarious man. . .absolutely brilliant.  If you watch the Honors broadcast on Dec. 27 and get to see nothing but his 5 minutes at the beginning of that tribute it will be worth your time.


The Neil Diamond tribute was fabulous.  John Lithgow introduced him.   Then there were various musicians playing his music. . . among them Lionel Ritchie, Jennifer Nettles (from the band Sugarland. . . her rendition of Hello My Friend was out of the ball park), and Smokey Robinson leading Sweet Caroline.  There is a big surprise at the end that was very cool and which I don't want to reveal.


For Meryl Streep there was Stanley Tucci,  Tracy Ullman, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blount and Kevin Kline.  And with all those names, frankly her tribute fell a little flat.  However there was a wonderful retrospective of her film career with golden nuggets of moments from her movies.   Which means, in essence, that she paid tribute to herself!


I did go over to watch the "red carpet."   Always fun to see the celebs come in.  However. . . . aside from the fact that I found myself being interviewed for the NPR guy.  .. . .once Newt Gingrich arrived I quite frankly had to leave.  So I missed most of the big stars.   I did see Cal Ripkin of the Baltimore Orioles!  


Our segment went well, although after we were through we were initially told that we would have to stick around and re-record the end of the piece because (the rumor was) Glenn Close had not been in top form.  But they later cancelled that and we could leave.  I stayed to the bitter end watching the show on closed circuit.  Lots of the show is cut for the television broadcast, and I wanted to see the whole thing.


One other fun time was when we were lined up and waiting for our cue.  The curtain rises at the very end of the Barbara Cook segment to reveal us.  Just before the curtain went up, Sarah Jessica Parker ran through to get to the other side of the stage.  She looked fabulous. . . very Sex In The City!


I think it's likely that the choir got some camera time, but only Dec. 27 will tell who gets  shown and for how long.  I was on the front row of the choir slightly to the left of center. Depends on where the camera swooped whether or not there will be proof positive that I was there.  


Tomorrow. . . . Country Roads Take Me Home!!!  It's been a week.  I can't wait to get back into my jeans, hit the road, and see what progress has transpired on my crappy little house.


Stay tuned for further adventures as I reveal the dramatic role I've been cast in for the Family Christmas concert!

HONORS #1

Gotta do this quick as I'm due at the KC at 10:00 this morning.  Will report on all that tonight!


Yesterday was our first run-through at the Kennedy Center for our Honors appearance.   Singing Honors is an interesting event in that we spend an inordinate amount of time waiting around for our 2 minutes of glory.   Many colleagues choose not to participate for just this reason.  But the hanging around is what is interesting in a place teeming with celebrities going in and out all day.   I'm not a groupy of anyone, but it is fun seeing them come and go.  And you don't know who is going to be on the program until you get down there and see who shows up.


Yesterday they were doing run-throughs of each segment of the show.  Barbara Cook's segment will be #3 of 5 on the show.   This year they let us sit in the back of the opera house and watch while the previous segment was being rehearsed. . . . this was the one for Yo-Yo Ma.   Wow!   On the program, if you watch it on December 27, you will notice the booming male voice who announces all the celebs as they come on stage. . . ala the Academy Awards.   So we're sitting down in our seats and I look up and who should be behind the podium waiting to speak but. . . . . wait for it. . . . . . ELMO!!!  They have built a special podium to roll out with Elmo in it so that his handler can be screened.  And he spoke.  Pretty excited to see the real Elmo!   The the announcer booms:  Ladies and gentlemen:   John Williams.   And the famous composer/conductor strolls out on stage.  We actually sang with him conducting when we did the Stephen Spielberg tribute a few years ago.   Then:  Ladies and gentlemen. . . . James Taylor!    And out he strode. . . sang a kick-ass version of Here Comes the Sun with the three strings groups representing the different phases of Yo-Yo Ma's career.   That tribute is going to be fantastic!


Then it was time for Barbara Cook's tribute.   As we were leaving the Opera House to line up in the hall,  the announcer boomed:   Ladies and Gentlemen. . . . .Glenn Close!  And there she was.  She is singing in OUR segment!   Or maybe we're singing in HER segment.   Or maybe we're all singing in BARBARA COOK'S segment.  There. . . that's it.


Audra McDonald sings just before we do.   We are situated in the very back of the stage behind the orchestra and up on high risers.   We are behind a curtain until the very moment we start singing at the end of the segment.  The curtain goes up, and there we are.  From our perspective here's how it works.  The curtain goes up and all those big stars:  Glenn and Audra included are turned with their backs to the audience and facing us. . . watching us!  YIKES!  I forgot my words!   Glad I knew that was going to happen ahead of time.


We should have plenty of time to gaze into the Honorees box to see them all and also POTUS and FLOTUS who will be there!    


Today we run it through once more, then hang out in DC for the rest of the day and come back in time to tape the real thing.   I expect we should get a camera sweep of the choir when we sing, but we won't know until we watch the show on the 27th.


Off I go.   Tomorrow I head back to the country. . . .all this big-city stuff just a warm memory in my head.  What a life!

NESSUN DORMA!

Roughly translated means:  No one must sleep.   The final aria of the night with Mr. Bocelli. I use it as my title, because judging by the Facebook entries flying fast and furious from choir members right now. . . .  at 12:30 AM on Saturday morning. . . we are taking that message to heart.  I will not be sleeping for a while, so I might as well try to get this down now while I sip my wine!


Where to start?  This was another Choral Arts phenomenal event.  How do you even process the kinds of experiences I have been able to have with this choir?   I guess you don't.  Not at 12:30 AM after spending 6 1/2 hours at a venue rehearsing and performing.


And "rehearsing" might not be the best word.  In the first place, up until tonight we have had several rehearsals as a choir.   With a piano.  And incomplete scores.  And a director that says over and over,  "Now we don't really know how this piece is going to work.  They may cut some parts.  They may add some extra music here."  All we could do was learn the notes they gave us, show up, and hope for the best.   This was PROFESSIONAL music making.  Which means. . . you are paid for knowing what you are supposed to do when you show up.  But of course we are not paid.  But we are supposed to function as if we are.   So here's how that all important final rehearsal with orchestra, conductor and artist really went:   Conductor shows up in our gathering room to say the stage has not been set up yet.   So they drag an electric keyboard down to the room and he plays while we run through some of the music once.  The keyboard is so loud that he can't hear if we're doing what he wants or not.   About an hour or more late, we make it to the stage with the orchestra.   We practice our opening number. . the one we sing by ourselves.  One run-through.   Bocelli comes out (more about him later)  and we kind of go through parts of some of the things he is doing.  Some pieces we don't do at all.  The conductor shouts back at the choir:  "Choir, is this easy for you and you don't need to do it?"   We shout back, "No, we need to do it!"    He shouts back,  "Great. Then we don't need to do it!"    Flying by the seat of our pants. . . . professionals.   


Dinner (provided) was NOT a ham sandwich!   It was pot roast,  roasted chicken, pad Thai, vegetables and salad on real breakable plates with real metal silverware!   Wow. . . the big time!


Biggest thrill of the night. . (because really. . most of the thrill is the anticipation of the event.  Once you get there, you're so busy working and trying to get everything right that you don't have time to realize that you're thrilled):   walking down the back hallways of the Verizon Center. . .being told to line up in a hallway. . . realizing that the EXACT spot where I am in the line is right next to the open door of Andrea Bocelli's dressing room.  The door is open.  This is before the rehearsal. . .we have not yet laid eyes on HIMSELF.   The whispers around me say that they just saw him walk in there.   I keep my eyes pealed on the open door. Then, into that space walks  AB himself. . wearing the coolest white sweater and jeans.  He walks up to the piano that is there and starts to warm up.   I'm maybe 10 feet from Andrea Bocelli as he opens his mouth and sends that voice into the atmosphere!   I almost pass out!  I'm quite sure in those few seconds I was about as far from a professional-acting person that there was.  I was a 13 year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert!  And I might add that the man is pretty damn cute.


He did come up on stage for the run-throughs, although as I said earlier, we didn't even almost go through 50% of our pieces.  Oh well. . . I guess that's why they pay us the big bucks. . . .oh wait. . . . never mind.


So after dinner it's back on to the stage for the performance.   The Verizon Center has about 12,500 people in attendance from what I heard afterwards.  A wildly enthusiastic crowd.  Very receptive to the opera of the first act,  but WAY more receptive of ACT 2 which included Ave Maria, Amazing Grace, Adeste Fidelis, and all of his big pieces as encores.  We sang in only 9 of the pieces, so we had ample time to sit and watch the concert.   Talk about the best seats in the house!   


Now an observation. . . .I really began to think hard about what it means for him as a blind man with this wildly successful career.  He is a genuine talent.  But there were a couple of times when maybe due to his proximity to his microphone, the feedback was such that he could hear his voice coming right back to him a split second later.   During a duet he was singing, this seemed to momentarily throw him.  Because what he can't do is watch the conductor for the beat.  Luckily the lovely woman who was singing with him could, and she was able to ignore the feedback by just staying with the beat.   That must be hard for him.   And then I got to thinking about this tour he is on.   One thing I have learned from my friends who travel for work is that they enjoy seeing all the different cities.   I realize that a tour for him is just going into one venue after another and pumping out the songs.  For him, Washington, DC is no different from NYC, or Columbus, Ohio for that matter.  How profoundly sad to not be able to see and appreciate the differences between all the places you go because you cannot see what their famous landmarks and characteristics are.   Heck, just driving home tonight in all the traffic, I enjoyed my slow trip down Constitution Avenue with the Washington Monument on the left, and the White House (the Obamas must have been in bed. . . it was dark) on the right.  He can't see any of that.  It just made me think.


Such a wonderful time.  Walking the bowels of the Verizon Center. . .past the locker room for the Capitols, the Wizards, the Mystics.   So much goes on in that building.  Watching how this huge show was put together.  Being challenged to sing perfectly when you don't exactly know how it is going to go.  And hanging and sharing this with my colleagues.   Truly truly blessed.   


Nessun Dorma.