Frozen to the core

Spent the afternoon standing outside handing out Butter Braids for the Choir Teacher. It is their big fundraiser and the breads come in frozen. She has to make certain that they all get picked up the day they come in... it is all very scientific. Well it was a perfect day for frozen delivery, but after standing outside from 3:00 to 5:30 I am not even close to thawing out.

As to life... things are back to crappy around here. Puck needs to have all his upper teeth pulled to make way for a full upper plate. He has been procrastinating about the whole process and I can't really blame him, but lately he has been barely able to chew anything.

He lost two days of bartending a week to some bimbo which frustrates the hell out of him. He is a great bartender, but he keeps getting bumped by bosoms (not in a good way) Apparently the owners think the bosoms will bring in customers. They never seem to stick around though and inevitably are bad bartenders who just flirt.

Well that cuts into our finances considerably... Then we get an e-mail from the superintendent that 500,000 dollars needs to be cut from the budget in 2009-10 and much of it will come from support staff. It is all a little too depressing to even thing about.

Then I get an "we all miss you at church" message on my answering machine from the new pastor.... I was raised Catholic so I am well familiar with guilt.

I still don't think I am ready to go back

I need to concentrate on weaving rugs and see if I can organize myself to get some pictures on that Etsy website to see if I can sell some rugs and balls online.... I hate when life gets complicated.

Happy thanksgiving

boy was it good to leave school on Tuesday knowing I didn't have to come back until Monday.

Got home very quickly and picked up Puck for our trip up to River Falls to get Maddie.
We were bringing up Maddie's Rat cage to my sister Ellyn's and staying the night. That put us two hours closer to RF and gave me a chance to visit with my sister. Most of the family got together on Thursday, but we opted to just go get Maddie and come home for the long weekend.

Ellyn had adopted two little homeless rats for her classroom (she teaches 4th grade) I knew it would be a while before Maddie would need her cage so I asked her if Ellyn could borrow it. It is a lovely metal mesh cage that is three levels so the rats can have lots of freedom and get plenty of exercise. I also had a big bag of bedding left over that I had tried to find a home for on Freecycle with no luck. Guess that was fortuitous.

Ellyn loved the cage and we had a great visit. They had School on Wednesday so we got up with them and got out of there about 8:00

Got to River Falls a couple hours later. I am sort of inept with the cell phone. I was supposed to call Maddie when we got there, but the dang phone wouldn't work. I noticed a boy in the lobby and tapped on the window. He let us right in, never even questioned whether or not we were axe murderers. Of course we didn't question him about what a boy was doing in the all girl dorm either.

We collected Maddie and her laundry. I made her strip the bed as well since I sort of thought she might not ever get those sheets washed.. Turned out the boy in the lobby was the one we were driving to Lodi. Yes there is one in Wisconsin too. Right before Madison. He was a nice young man and we had a fairly pleasant trip.

Dropped him off and then it started to snow. It was coming down pretty good when we finally got home. It was good to be back.

I got up early Thursday and made rolls and pie... got the stuffing into the turkey and the giblets boiling for gravy later. Didn't get the turkey in until noon so we had a very late dinner. It was very pleasant though.

We watched movies and sat around. did laundry too. Next day we went to see Beowulf. It was fun, but I don't think I can really recommend it. Exciting and gory. The animation was a little stiff. They don't seem to get humans quite lifelike enough.

The judicious placement coverage of items in front of Beowulf's naughty bits was amusing though. He came off the most realistic. I was amazed that people brought little children to that film though. It was no place for 3 and 5 year olds. Yikes!

After the movie we went to Goodwill and Maddie added to her large clothing repertoire. I found a stuffed fish and dog for the play and Puck found a pair of pants. As we were getting out of the car and going into the store Maddie noticed the license plate on the car next to us read "Bewulf" That was pretty funny and odd. It gave us a mighty good laugh.

We next went to the mall (not a place either Puck or I ever go) to get more minutes for Maddie's cell phone. Accomplished that fairly quickly and got home

Maddie's boyfriend came over and they sat on the living room floor and made weapons with pvc, foam, and duct tape for some class project Michael was doing.

Maddie made a lovely Mace and chain. We finished off Slings and Arrows and Maddie even agreed with me that Paul Gross is very good looking (we never agree)

Today she went off with friends to watch Deathnote movies and Puck and I finished Due South. I will miss old Frasier and both Rays. Still eating turkey, but am not tired of it yet.

Tomorrow is going to be a rough day. I am driving Maddie and the boy back to RF and then turning right around and coming home. I sure wish we had cruise control in that car.

Well I better go pick the rest of the meat off that bird
that's all

cannot seem to get myself together

the title of this entry is just the way I feel, but cannot seem to quite put my finger on.

Had state testing all week and that sucked. The kids were off and so was I. I tested a small group of special ed kids who could have parts of the test read to them. The first part was fine, but the math got difficult when some kids wanted to go ahead of the rest. I felt I should read all of the questions to all the kids so spent most of my time wandering between the 5 kids and whispering the questions to each one individually.

It has gotten cold here. I sort of enjoy the cold. I seem to think more clearly in cold weather, but we are not very ready for the bitter weather yet. Yard needs raking, we need to replace a storm window. The stupid pull chain on the ceiling fan in the dining room is stuck so we have no light in there. I printed off some instructions to fix it but we probably will need to get some kind of replacement part. Puck was concerned that no where in instructions does it mention shutting off the electricity :)

We are picking Maddie up at school on Wednesday for a brief thanksgiving holiday. It will mean a lot of driving, but it will be good to see her. I hope that she will give us a little time too :)

Puck picked up her giant mushrooms from the theater (they wanted them out) and now I am typing on the computer under the shadow of giant mushrooms. I feel sort of like Alice or a mouse from Beatrix Potter. The cats seem to like them a little too well.

I have stopped attending church. Still pondering what I shall do about that. Right now it seems the best thing for me spiritually, but living in a town that knows me people keep asking if I have quit going to church and then I have to explain things that I am not really certain about. That may be how I cannot get myself together. I really miss the singing and banjo playing.

I re-connected with a classmate on Facebook which is weird since I only got the dang facebook account accidentally... then Maddie added me and then my classmate added me and we started talking. I really didn't know him in high school, but we had friends in common. It is weird... I think we just want to connect with some place we both knew.

I put an ad on Craigs list for caning and the next day I got a bite. That was pretty cool... we will see what comes of it. It is an antiques place in Madison and he wants to refer people to me. That would be very nice.

I have been trying to straighten up the house, but it is seeming overwhelming. I need to get things organized for drama, but that seems overwhelming too right now. I had a meeting with the principal about how Read 180 was going. I wrote up a whole page of notes and got a lot off my chest about the program. He ended up giving me an hour a day free to take care of incidentals in the room. I have yet to enjoy a whole week of that, but I really hope it takes away that loose end feeling that is strangling me.

Watched Sin City last night... What an amazing film! I love the graphic novel feel of it. I still had trouble with the degree of violence, but it was beautifully and stylishly done.

Puck and I have been hooked on Due South lately too. We have watched season one and two and are now close to finishing season three. It is fun to watch and I guess being from Minnesota we really enjoy all things Canadian :)

What I love most about the series is that I recognize the weather... the slush , the mud, the snow, You can feel the bitterness of Chicago weather and beauty of the pristine wilderness of the wild places in Canada.

Ok that is enough blathering

Thanks Tree for your help by the way and for the book on tape and the two lovely books of poetry.

silly pictures of bunnies

silly pictures of bunnies

The King and I

http://dramamamaforever.blogspot.com/

here is a link to blog I had to create in order to show my pictures to another theater Group
Puck only got 400 dollars budget to build the whole set for the King and I... I have been trying to stay out of it as much as possible.

Last night the stage crew was careless and dropped the spiral dictionary stand which is plaster and made from a very large lamp we picked up from someones curb. Puck was very bummed and ready to scrap it, but I think I came up with a solution using glue and plaster craft to patch it up... time will tell

I painted some depth onto the rock wall he made and helped him untangle some foliage

I might loan some peacock feathers to brighten up the set... The peacock chair is one I scrounged from the neighbor across the street's trash and also the wicker basket in Anna's room... Her mosquito netting is from our bed. The bed frame Puck found in the trash too.

The two pillars on the dictionary stand are parts of a cool curtain rod I found at Goodwill and spent too much money on... A whole $10 dollars... we will be keeping those though

Too tired

Had a very lovely weekend... went up to River Falls after work on friday to see Maddie and friends. It was Alumni night for the theater department so the tickets to the show were free and there was a small reception.

Puck is so busy with The King and I and he had to bartend so he stayed home and I trekked up there alone... I had thought I would have to stop, but I plowed ahead the whole four hours straight. My knee was a little stiff, but all in all it was a pleasant trip. I listened to Jane Smiley's At Paradise's Gate. It lasted pretty much the whole trip exactly. It was an ok book and good for the ride, but I don't think I would recommend it heartily and it will not be listened to again by me.

anyhow I bought Maddie some flowers and her dad got her a paint brush and wrote an appropriately sappy note... He is a very sentimental guy and gets a little maudlin at play opening time.

I headed down to the Greenroom to wait for Maddie. Had my copy of Plato and a Platypus walk into a bar, understanding Philosophy through jokes with me to read while I waited. I was not too certain what kind of reception an ancient alum would receive, but the kids were cool.

I asked for Maddie and they said she wasn't there. I identified myself as Maddie's mom and they all warmed up nicely. "Oh we love Maddie, are you the one responsible for her fabulous fashion sense?" "I am in her acting class and I always try to guess who she is that day"

It felt good to know that she was part of the crowd. I flopped down into the sofa and proceeded to read my book. The kids ignored me quite nicely and carried on with their normal business. It felt like home.

Maddie and her friend Matt showed up after about a half hour and I drove Maddie back to her room to unload all the crap I had brought down for her. Some anime movies I had found at Goodwil;, a bag of wooden beads, and a bag of porcelain insulators that looked cool and like they would make a good mobile. She already has started a collection of found objects so that part of her has not changed a bit.

I also brought up her tv, dvd player and vcr so she had to get that all set up. last but not least I had put together a giant bag of emergency snacks.. mostly healthy and those that weren't were bite sized packages (snickers and peanut m&ms) There were granola bars, craisens, raisens, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and a couple four-packs of Bawls... a high caffeine soda that comes in a pretty bumpy blue glass bottle and they do not sell up in RF.

Sounds like her new roommate is a much better fit even if she does go home on the weekends.

Maddie had to go get ready for the play ... she ran the follow spot..so I went up to the reception a little early. I was waiting for my old friends, also alumni, and they didn't show up till just before the house opened. It was so wonderful to see them. Vicki and Bill are probably our best friends, but Neil and Ellen I have not seen in 18 years. We had a wonderful reunion. They are the third couple that met in the theater department and are still married from our group.

Neil and Ellen run a small community theater in Osceola called The Barn and they work with Vicki quite a bit. I would kill to be up there working with them and they expressed much the same about Puck and I. Ellen is writing a play for Vicki and me and her called empty nesters... She is pretty talented and I hope I still have a memory when she gets it done.

Vicki is directing Plaid Tidings in New Richmond and I was able to help her solve some properties problems. I also brought up a whip for her.

The play was ok... not great and I was disappointed that Maddie had not made the cast, well sort of, None of the dancers were any better than her. The lead was only OK and they did a very poor job of costuming the poor girl. This was supposed to be a Texas Whorehouse in the 70's and I sure would have put her in some kind of dress rather than black jersey slacks. I would have painted her fingernails red and given her some big-ass hair instead of the long locks pulled back from the temple that she was wearing... heck she looked younger than most of her girls and she was supposed to have been a young woman when Kennedy was inaugurated. Oh well.

the boys looked good and had some really great dance numbers. Maddie did a fine job on spotlight too.

After the show I went back to Vicki and Bills. Neil and Ellen came back too and Neil rode with me. As I got into the car my scarf caught in the door and so it would not close. The dang thing was going beep beep beep and I could not get the dang door open. Neil is not terribly healthy. He contracted Lymes disease almost 30 years ago when nobody really knew much about it. He was diagnosed way too late and it destroyed his liver. He is already 5 months past a predicted death and I was so worried about him exerting himself not to mention the fact that we were laughing our asses off at the situation. He finally hip checked the door and the beeping stopped... I was still not certain I was ever going to get out of that dang car. Too fat to climb out the window and too crippled to crawl over the stick and across to the other door.

We talked and laughed all the way to Vicki's Turns out we have the same philosophies about theater. It was good to hear it. Finally we got to the house and tried the door one more time. Thank heavens it opened. We were giggling all the way in.

We sat and talked for another 3 hours out on the porch. It was wonderful.

Next day I went back to River Falls and spent the day with Maddie. We sat around the dorm for a while then drove around town and I showed her where we used to live and she showed me where they shot the zombie movie. We went out to our old house that she spent the first three years of her life in. The road was supposedly closed and only open to through traffic, but I decided to chance it. Sure enough they were pretty much done with the road so we could just skirt the signs a little. Then we drove to Hudson and went to a great antique shop. She found some scarab earrings and a very cute little velvet hat that matched her coat. I bought a 101 dalmatians tie for Puck and a little egg cup with bunnies on it for my friend Jean.

We had lunch at Dick's in Hudson, a place that we usually stop in at and where Maddie learned to play (well sort of) pool as a baby

we talked and laughed and had a wonderful relaxing visit. I drove her back to school after we stopped and bought a few provisions for her. Dropped her back there and went back to Vicki and Bills. Had another lovely visit with them and left the next morning.

All in all it was so lovely I would leave here in a heartbeat! I miss them all so much. I miss talking with people like that. People that think like me, that watch movies and read books. Ah well. some day maybe


The trip home was long and arduous. I was so tired and got sleepy on the drive. Not sure what the problem was... Not looking forward to getting home I guess.

Today was exhausting at work and I am glad it is over.