Thanks for the Memory...

Besides the obvious purging and organization this scrapbooking page project has instigated, it also has been a nice time for memories. I even found my freshman college rhetoric journal. My kids will love perusing this...

Reminiscing as I look through stacks of photos of years gone by adds to the time AND pleasure of this project.  But how did I ever get so far behind? Oh yeah, Kids, Life...

Look at this! That's daughter Lori's Brownie troop in the top of the pic. Add to that, scouting sticker accessories I purchased to go with those life events.  No clue how long ago. I know these are of great sentimental value but I wonder if  Antiques Roadshow would give these additional historical monetary value as well? Hmmm. Just kidding. They are priceless.

Thanks for the Memory for a time before I started living out my golden years here in the End of the Rainbow Valley...

Seed Savers...

I didn't tell a fib when I mentioned that were more stories to go with the Disaster striking our household with this scrap booking endeavor...

 I was actually searching for some kite string to tie around the stuffed turkey roll I was making for dinner in addition to needing ribbon to decorate some of the album pages. I went straight to its home in a cabinet drawer in the garage only to find the string  Hmmm, maybe Natureman needed it for a project. But then I discovered the dispenser completely empty.  How could that be? I searched the entire drawer and then there in the back corner of the ribbon box, there was all the kite string all wadded up and frayed. As I lifted the wad all these sunflower seeds started dropping. The wad of string went straight into the garbage and as I took out all the ribbon more and more seeds appeared.    Someone had been very, very busy.

By the time all the ribbon was removed. Look at the haul of seeds. I felt bad removing all the little creature's stash. BUT winter's almost over and there's still the large bag of seed in the same place if he wants more. I just have reclaimed the ribbon drawer. I just had to start spring cleaning in the garage earlier.

And it just goes to show that this city- country mouse shares this space with other country mice and it's not just the scrapbooking process that  keeps creating more work right here in the End of the Rainbow Valley...

Disaster Strikes

Did you ever have a project that once you start it it has to get worse before it gets better? Well this scrapbooking project began in earnest a week ago.  Poor Natureman is all I can say. For the man likes the order of clear surfaces and my project took on a life of its own spreading from room to room.

It started out in the workroom.  "Honey," I declared " it's going to be a while until this room is workable." He asked, "Couldn't you start cleaning it up?"  The bins had been opened and purging and sorting had begun.  Why had I combined school papers, bills to be filed and scrapbooking stuff?  NO, let's not go there.
Then the bin's contents spread to the back guest bedroom.  OK self containment... BUT an email arrived with the possibility of an overnight visitor...  Eegads an evening was spent regaining the bedroom to its previous condition. Whew. The guest cancelled but I know it was the intervention of a higher power trying to salvage my relationship.

The endeavor spread to the living room coffee table and then the dining room table. But I had to regain some sort of organization, right? I needed ribbons and buttons which would mean more stuff being pulled out. The kitchen island all of a sudden was involved. All I can say is I bet I will have enough stories for this week's blog entries. Every time I finished a scrapbook page, I would clear off the stuff I had used. Natureman had trash for dump day. AND thank goodness for the snow fall which made me stay home.

OK now 17 pages later, I can start repacking. Stickers have been consolidated into one very full binder. There is walking space in the 'work room.' Today will be making sure the great room is back to being great... before I start on one more page.

I found a sticker that sums up really well  what makes all of this even possible to attempt...Thank goodness I have this project time in the End of the Rainbow Valley...

A,B,C/D? What's Your Choice?

Critic Quotes Quiz re: Oscar Nominations

Q.1 "In many ways it's the best horror film I've ever seen. At the same time, it's hard to recommend; I believe I will be struggling to forget this film as long as I live. I doubt I'll succeed."
A) Zero Dark Thirty
B) Beasts of the Southern Wild
C) Amour
D) The Master

Q.2 "I felt like I'd been invited to a seven-course dinner, and all seven turned out to be cake -- and then the host insisted on delivering a lecture about how cake would bring me closer to God."
A) Les Miserables
B)Life of Pi
C) Skyfall
D) Silver Linings Playbook

Q.3 "It's so hypnotically beautiful that people will be using it to calibrate their new TV monitors."
A) Beasts of the Southern Wild
B) Moonrise Kingdom
C) Les Miserables
D) Life of Pi    
   
Q.4 "Certain movies are sprinkled with pixie dust, an indescribable concoction that infuses scenes with irresistible magic; _________is practically hand-rolled and deep-fried in the stuff."
A) Life of Pi
B) Anna Karenina
C) Silver Linings Playbook
D) Lincoln

Q.5 "After 2 1/2 hours, the movie's become a bowl of trail mix -- you're picking out the nuts you don't like and hoping the next bite doesn't contain any craisins. "
A) Django Unchained
B) Anna Karenina
C) Lincoln
D) Les Miserables

Q.6 "A powerful, morally complicated work on an urgent subject. It is a film that deserves -- that almost demands -- to be seen and argued over."
A) The Master
B) Argo
C) Zero Dark Thirty
D) Flight

Q.7 "A movie that can't be dismissed because there is too much in it but can't be embraced because it's all spread too thin."
A) Django Unchained
B) Les Miserables
C) Lincoln
D) Life of Pi

Q.8 "If you didn't know otherwise, you'd swear this was the work of a veteran master like Steven Soderbergh."
A) Beasts of the Southern Wild
B) Argo
C) Flight
D) The Master

Q.9 "It starts to fray about halfway through as it shifts into a more conventional mode, taking on the usual trappings of the genre and making its way to a predictable resolution."
A) Argo
B) Silver Linings Playbook
C) The Master
D) Sky Fall

Q.10 "It's serious and substantive, an ingeniously written and executed drama fashioned from a fascinating, little-known chapter of recent history."
A) The Master
B) Argo
C) Lincoln
D) Zero Dark Thirty


Want to see how you did?

ANSWERS:1.C 2.B 3.D 4.C 5.D 6.C 7.D 8. B 9. B 10. D

Take me out to the.... Movies/Home.

I don't know if you'd agree with me but there was a lot of good films out there this year and the Oscars are really appearing to honor every genre. There are nominations for films about redemption, death, slavery, mental illness, espionage, spiritual splendor, love and social class.

Can you match up these films ?

I am just kidding. I always liked to make matching tests and have some answers that could be used more than once.  Anyhow here are links to see each Best Picture nominee synopsis and a trailer to help you decide which movies you'd like to see in the comforts of home.

• "Amour"
• "Argo"
• "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
• "Django Unchained"
• "Les Misérables"
• "Life Of Pi"
• "Lincoln"
• "Silver Linings Playbook"
• "Zero Dark Thirty"

Something wrong with the darts?

If you saw them all, which was your favorite? Usually I use the Oscars to help me make my list of what I should add to my Netflix list especially with the foreign films. 

If nothing else, it sure is wonderful to see everybody all dressed up/ down. We will be enjoying the evening at the University's Reflections of Ebony.  So enjoy the Academy Awards for me this year.

 NO TIVO here in the End of the Rainbow Valley...

Mary and Max, Who , What?

Mary

Due to a late return from group movie night I thought I would leave you with this verbatim Star Observer article re: the claymation film Mary and Max that received rave reviews at Sundance Film Festival. A true story of the director's real penpal Max mixing your tears with laughter as he infuses himself in the other half of this corresponding duo Mary... Elliot worked 5 years on this baby to make this a must see. In fact probably more than once as there's a lot to get....

" The film, detailing the long-distance penfriendship between an ostracised Melbourne schoolgirl (Mary) and a middle-aged New York man with Asperger’s (Max), recently opened the Sundance festival -” making it both the first Australian and the first animated film to do so.

Despite this double milestone, Elliot admitted Sundance wasn’t all he expected. It was good for the film, and it was a huge honour. But opening night at Sundance doesn’t necessarily translate to box office success, and a lot of films get slammed on opening night. We had a lot of reviewers saying the film was too bleak. I don’t see it as bleak, I see it as a story of redemption, he said.

And there wasn’t much celebrity-spotting to do. The only celebrities I saw were Tom Arnold and Sting, who crashed our after-party.

Mary's Mom, the Mom we never want

I talked to him and he said he hadn’t actually seen the film because his plane was late, so I said -˜Well Sting, I’m going to have to ask you to leave’, he laughed.

The festival represented Elliot’s re-emergence into the media glare -” in the five years since his Oscar win, he’d all but dropped off the public radar. However, the studious animator never stopped working.

Mary and Max took five years from script to screen, but there was a perception that I’d sort of disappeared. That TV show Where Are They Now? even rang me up. I said, -˜I’m not coming on your show, I’m busy!’ I can only really make two films a decade, because they’re so complex.

Elliot readily admitted he’s worn down by the five years he spent on the film, describing the process as like making love and being stabbed to death at the same time.

Despite the higher budget his Oscar win afforded him, he said it was still a painstaking process.

It’s all about scale: Harvie was 23 minutes and this was 93 minutes. On all levels it was a really overambitious project. The hours I had to work -” one week I did 92 hours. You don’t see your family, your friends-¦ I’m lucky I still have my partner. Right now, I’m not sure I’ve got another film in me, he said.

I’d love to see the passion come back, because I love what I do. But for me to make a piece of art, I need five years, eight million dollars, 100 crew members-¦ I wish I was a cake decorator!

He should take comfort in the fact that Mary and Max was well worth the laborious effort. It’s an absolute triumph: hilarious, deeply affecting and one of the most uniquely Australian films since the mid-90s golden period of hits like The Castle and Muriel’s Wedding.

Max

Surprisingly, it’s also inspired by true events.

In another mirror of Mary and Max’s onscreen friendship, Elliot and his American correspondent have never met.  Max is based on my real penfriend in New York, who I’ve been writing to for over 20 years. He inspired me to write the script. He’s got Asperger’s, he’s Jewish and he’s in Overeaters Anonymous, so I haven’t changed much about his life in the film, Elliot said. 

I know he’s keen to see the film -” he wants to wait until it screens in the US. Philip Seymour Hoffman [who voices Max] lives just down the road from him in New York, which is bizarre. Philip’s said that he wants to take the three of us out for lunch if I make it over there. That’s going to be an odd experience, he chuckled.

While the character of Max remains relatively similar to his real-life counterpart, Elliot created the character of Mary as his penfriend. However, he admitted there’s more than a little of himself in her.

Mary is the gay character, even though she’s not actually gay. She’s me, she’s all gay people -” I mean, I called her Mary for a reason! It really is a very gay film-¦ it’s about people who are marginalised and different.

Elliot sees his artistic attraction to the marginalised as a direct result of his own sexuality.

I’ve realised that I’m actually an angry writer. It’s all about injustice. I don’t like seeing people persecuted or sidelined.

There’s a line in the film where Max says not having Asperger’s would be -˜like changing the colour of my eyes’, which is a common gay expression. My sexuality is so ingrained in me, it’s hardwired into me, he said.

With that, our time was almost over, but before I left, Elliot kindly let me hold his Oscar. Producing the golden artefact from its sturdy leather case, he handed it to me and before I knew it, I found myself thanking the Academy, God and my parents, all the while trying not to blubber Gwyneth Paltrow-style.

When Elliot himself accepted the award, he famously thanked his beautiful boyfriend. He and Doherty had only been dating for three months at the time -” how’s that for pressure?

When I got up to do my speech, I knew I had to thank him, but I didn’t know what word to use. I didn’t want to say -˜partner’ because that would be too general. I didn’t want to say -˜lover’ because that’s just so -” ugh. The only word I could think of was -˜boyfriend’, he said sheepishly.

I felt like I was 16 again!"

The BEST Kept Secret in Town...

Every February there is an event that is one of the best kept secrets in town... So I am telling you about it ahead of time.  In celebration of Black History Month, the UW-L Black Student Association plans a wonderful evening, Reflections  of Ebony, with great 'soul' food for dinner and wonderful entertainment.

We started attending my first year teaching at UW-L and each year we have watched the evening's attendance grow. And boy do those students get decked out, sharp young men in suits with yummy colored ties and girls in dresses and high heels that take people watching to a new art form. Usually anything goes in La Crosse but let me tell you, Honey, will feel underdressed in jeans!

I swear I read a blurb about the event somewhere but was sure with the play and all the excitement, we had missed the evening.  Then Natureman surprised me yesterday and said while he was on campus, he had seen a flyer for the event and had gotten us tickets.  I have since searched high and low through campus mail, the newsletter wherever and I can't locate the article to share other specifics with you but I did read it somewhere. Anyhow, promises were made that this will be the biggest and best celebration yet. If past events are any indication, you won't be disappointed to be there.

Call university information and request the UW-L Cartwright information desk and ask about tickets. I don't know how many they were selling but I know students used to be free/ if not, they are a minimal cost as it is for community considering, it's a night chock-full of entertainment and dinner.

My mouth is already watering for the cornbread, fried chicken with a good kick, mac n cheese, collard greens/ green beans (with ham bone/ vegetarian) and of course bowls of Tabasco sauce at the end of the buffet line. I may have forgotten what the dessert has been but I can't wait for this Sunday the 24th, Valhalla Hall, Cartwright Center , 6 pm.

Let me know if you're coming.  Be sure to come early and maybe we can all sit together! Some nights I don't mind leaving the End of the Rainbow Valley and Honey child this Southern gal can't wait ...

An Unsung Hero?

I  have to admit to being critical that we have to have to mark a month to celebrate Black History Month as our history textbooks should include this part of our country's history. Yet  as an adult I am learning something new all the time. So thank goodness that PBS shared a documentary in honor of Black History month  The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights. I learned about Whitney Young who played a major role in mobilizing the Civil Rights  Movement.

Whitney Young used humor to make change palatable to the white community.

Mr. Young's work with the Urban League brought capital investment to the inner city. "He turned a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively fought for equitable access to socioeconomic opportunity for the historically disenfranchised. "

Below of some of his famous quotes which sum up the essence of his being and his lifelong work.
"Every man is our brother, and every man’s burden is our own. Where poverty exists, all are poorer. Where hate flourishes, all are corrupted. Where injustice reins, all are unequal."

"I am not anxious to be the loudest voice or the most popular. But I would like to think that at a crucial moment, I was an effective voice of the voiceless, an effective hope of the hopeless."

"You can holler, protest, march, picket and demonstrate, but somebody must be able to sit in on the strategy conferences and plot a course. There must be strategies, the researchers, the professionals to carry out the program. That's our role."

"Black Power simply means: Look at me, I'm here. I have dignity. I have pride. I have roots. I insist, I demand that I participate in those decisions that affect my life and the lives of my children. It means that I am somebody."

"Liberalism seems to be related to the distance people are from the problem."

"I'd rather be prepared for an opportunity that never comes than have an opportunity come and I am not prepared."

"Pride and dignity come when you reach in your pocket and find money, not a hole."

He was criticized by many as selling out but his feeling was that you had to work from within the system to effect change.  What a smart man who accomplished so much and to whom we all owe a great deal ... Better to sing his praises now than to never have sung them at all...

Star Gazing...

As in all good soap operas there's always drama and the season 3 finale of Downton Abbey didn't disappoint us now, did it?  Good Grief, Charlie Brown, you don't think I 'm spilling the beans now, do you?

It was almost like Friday night when we were watching Django and didn't get to see how it ended. Now that's just plain not right. It 's like getting roses/ other closed flowers and not getting to see them open.

Speaking of which, the roses from Natureman for the last performance of the play are opening just fine as well as the stargazer lilies from the Jazzercise girls bouquet and notice the fuchsia plant down at the base of the floral shrine, a Valentine's Day gift from Natureman.  Nothing beats adding color to winter days. And there's even a floral aroma wafting in the great room. Simply delightful.

Besides the floral delight, the good news is that I am making my daily donation goals for St Baldrick's...
you can still donate if you haven't- ... any amount is accepted. I sure won't mind surpassing my goal and I apparently need to nudge you. Just click on this link:  St Baldrick's Link

AND the other good news is that there is a Season 4 of Downton Abbey.

Wishing you a great week from the End of the Rainbow Valley...

As Luck Would Have It...

Some days are just better than others/ you might even wonder why you decided to leave home. This morning might have been one of those mornings. It was blowing/ maybe I should say spitting snow so I thought it might take a while to leave the valley.

If there was ice underneath, who would know as there was a thin snow covering?  So I departed the valley taking my good old time and once I was in Stoddard, it was smooth sailing. Perhaps too smooth as I had a good half hour before Jazzercise class would start.

It seemed time efficient to take the time to stop by the University and ask the Tech guys a couple questions regarding my University issued I-pad. As luck would have it, there was a parking place right in front of the building.  The gods were truly smiling upon me this a.m.  Tech help had me out of there within 10 minutes but as I crossed the street towards the car, I felt inside my pockets and there was no car key. Uh oh... I walked gingerly over the icy crosswalk and peered into the car. There on the back seat where I had removed my Ipad from my school bag, lay my key.

 I looked back across the street and there at the stop sign sat a police car. I gave him my 'stage' desperate look.  OK I am kidding, I frantically waved him over , explained my predicament and he told me that he'd be back in 5 minutes and that I would need to sign a waiver. No problem.

As the wind blew, the 5 minutes wait seemed interminable but he did return. I gladly filled out the form and then he didn't use that long flattened metal ruler thing... Instead he had a flat piece of plastic that he used to wedge under the rubber tubing around the top corner of the door. When that door corner was protruding a bit, he took what looked like a blood pressure cuff and pumped it, this air inflated cuff then created enough space for him to insert a long small rebar like ( thicker than the proverbial coat hanger wire) which was bent a bit to try to push on the automatic door button. Well apparently, once you have clicked the button , you have 2 seconds to pull open the handle/ the car's security system starts blaring. He hadn't experienced this before. Now, not only do we have a squad car calling attention but people I know are passing by. Embarrassing... although a lot better than being pulled over for a ticket.

We would need to call the towing guy because there was no way this  officer could get me inside of my vehicle. I was cold with my still damp hair so the young police officer offered for me to sit in his front seat. And so we waited together... visiting. I'll save that conversation maybe for another day...

Within 10 minutes the tow guy arrived , explained the timing issue, had the door unlocked and I was on my to Jazzercise about 10 minutes late with a new story to share.

I guess luck can only last so long. So much for being early -

 May your day goes a lot smoother than mine started out, out of the End of the Rainbow Valley.

Don't forget the blood pressure cuff...

I Love Surprises...

I bet my Jazzercise class was surprised when I failed to arrive Tuesday am to class since they were awaiting me donning scarves like pirates.  Unfortunately this particular day since it's mid quarter, I  had 2 student teacher observations and I was a no show.

BUT with some time in-between the school visits, I decided to join the girls at our local coffee joint. Then  I was the one who got the big surprise!

      In walked Pirates Sarah and Judy bearing flowers and a card. Those girls.      How sweet is that?

  It was time for another group shot of this motely crew.   I couldn't resist adding eye patches.

Back row  L to R: Sue S, Barb, Cyndy,  Sally , Cari,
Middle row Linda, Sara, Judy, Brenda
Bottom row: yours truly and Debbie

                    The card read: When WE think of you , WE smile... We smile a lot.

 and inside were all the girls's signatures with this note...

The handwritten  message was as endearing as the group...

So the afterglow of participating in the Pirates of the Chemotherapy continues to  GLOW a bit longer. This memory may take a while to dull... BUT one's girl friends will be around to create lots of new memories!

Thanks for the surprise. XOXO  You are all sweethearts and I feel blessed to have you all in my life.

Hare Today, Goon Tomorrow!

I suspect that you remember the story about Bunny Foo Foo... 'Little Bunny Foo Foo hopping through the forest, scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head , then down came the good fairy and then she said " Little Bunny Foo Foo I don't wanna see you scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head. I'll give you 3 chances and then I will turn you into a goon...' Little Bunny Foo Foo continued his bad behavior and the fairy stuck to her word. She did turn him into a goon and the moral of the story is : get ready "Hare today, goon tomorrow."   Little Bunny Foo Foo...
I too will be missing my 'hair' on March 10th ... Why?

Because now that the Pirates of the Chemotherapy play is behind me in which I was the 'only' one supposed to have hair, I need to get super busy to get contributors to help me out with raising at least a $1000 for St Baldrick's Day on March 9th when I will participate in donating my hair for Kids with Cancer...

There have been some protests  that I shouldn't have my head completely shaved but rather just cut short.... So this is what I am going to do. If you would be kind enough to donate to this cause for my so far 'one' woman team... Pirates of the Chemotherapy, and then let me know if your donation was a vote for shaving/ cutting my hair very short,  I will tally votes  to determine whether I will be completely bald/ have very short hair. No matter what, my locks will be donated to make wigs for Kids with Cancer.

You can leave your vote either on FB, email/ my blog. Remember one donation, one vote. You can mail me checks if you don't feel comfortable donating on line at the link below... JUST donate.

Here's the URL to make donations... Please help by donating for those who are too young to have a voice. Click on the below to go to my donation page.

My St Baldrick's Webpage for Pirates of the Chemotherapy

FYI I felt that Cancer patients don't get to decide if they lose all their hair or not...

Research that’s just for kids

"Children with cancer aren't just little adults fighting adult cancers. Childhood cancers are unique and require unique treatment and research, yet government and pharmaceutical funding for childhood cancer research is scarce. That's where St. Baldrick's steps in."

PLEASE not only help me make my goal but surpass it.

Once again the link for my team of Pirates of the Chemotherapy is:

Help me, help them...

Thanks ever so much, 
Karen

Make ' em Laugh!

The ole proverbial bucket list is a bit lighter as one item has been scratched off.  You see the last time I tried out for a play I was 15 and I was cast as Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof for a summer camp production in Barryville,  NY.  Heck, I must have forgotten how much work it was to put on a production. Maybe memory fades like 'giving birth'... Well anyhow I have a friend who does Community Theater all the time and I thought why not at least try out. Fat chance of really getting a part.  So when the Cancer fundraiser play of The Pirates of the Chemotherapy needed actors, I thought this was a sign. It wasn't a large cast call and you could say by default, I was offered the role of Winnie, a single cynical independent store owner who has a hell of a lot of lines... BUT what was I thinking when I said 'yes' to a role in the middle of a Wisconsin winter?

We were assured that previous acting experience wasn't necessary. Come on... when directors tell you to go off book cold turkey, who are we kidding?  In education, we always break things into chunks. So ok go off book for one scene at a time would be feasible but the entire play all at once for a cast of novices. Ha. Could we pull this off?

For the last six weeks I experienced the roller coaster of theater... cancelled rehearsals, losing our first director  and a cast member due to personal reasons, influenza which struck a cast member, members of the fundraising committee and even my own household, one cast member being in a musical production at the same time, the second director having a weekend work schedule in addition to previous out of town commitments, one cast member had a funeral, bizarre inclement weather and a 'minor' problem (sarcasm) that we couldn't get into the theater until the week before the play besides the meltdowns.  BUT maybe that's what you get with an all women cast with only 2 of us post-menopausal.

Was this play doomed? "Be more, not less.."

Tech week was a night mare as props, costuming and the stage were all crammed into one week.  A poorly constructed ramp led to my pushed wheel chair wheel slipping off one edge along my foot at the same time. Now add physical pain with 3 days to go before curtain time. And practices got later. I am a morning person and tired didn't begin to define my body with a constant headache and dread of a long drive home in questionable road conditions. Luckily, a cast member friend opened her home to me and I spent more than a couple nights 'in town.' Alas the show must go on... there were no understudies in this low budget production so if anybody got sick / quit, we would be done...

Falling mikes during 2 out of the 3 performances added to the excitement.  Each night we remembered our lines differently but the audience laughed and cried.  Boy did that laughter  serve as a catalyst to converting one of our members to a new theater addict... MAKE EM LAUGH

It was a shame more people didn't come/ at least purchase tickets as donations as ticket proceeds went to our local breast cancer center. Somebody really screwed up in the PR department and local paper coverage was minimal. Besides if you're smart, you let people sell tickets wherever/whenever they can, at least that's money collected.

Six weeks of my life were consumed by theater and I met some women who have made my life much more interesting... and hey if nothing else, I had a part that let me cuss like a sailor.

Karen, Judith, Doris, Winnie, Peace and Nancy
alias Colleen, Jodi, Sue, yours truly, Jessica and Bonnie Jo
The Pirates of the Chemotherapy

To all my friends and family who came to see us, thank you for supporting us and our efforts for such a great cause. All the way from Milwaukee -Sally and Gene, Coon Valley- Lynn, my La Crosse (Jazzergirls most of them pictured below), CSOA buds- Ed, Corrine, Monica, Bob, Maureen, Clara & her Boys, 2 of my family members, Sam and of course Natureman who had to put up with a Theater Diva for 6 weeks...

Left to right:The Jazzercise Girls : Cari (Matt), Trini, Rita, Cyndy, Sara, Linda, Sue, Debbie
not pictured Mary, Sally, Barb, Bonnie& Pam

pictured below from Friday's performance Cari, Bert and Judi

     
Our last performance was over in an instant after all those practice hours.  After greeting our 'adoring' fans ... the 'high' was quickly replaced by one more theater chore, to 'strike,' ( put everything away that we used on stage.) AND one more stressor loomed as the impending darkness neared and I knew that an icy mile of driveway awaited me, I bid a quick goodbye to my shipmates and reached my destination as dark descended and a surprise candlelight homemade dinner, roses and a very happy Natureman welcomed me home to the End of the Rainbow Valley... 

It's great to be home.