Too Much of a Good Thing?

I like flowers. Flowers are pretty, and they smell nice. I plant lots of flowers in my garden (some of which survive long enough to bloom), and I always appreciate having cut flowers in the house. Last night, after the final Voci concert, I received a beautiful bouquet. When I got home, I had a hard time finding a vase to put it in, because B has received FOUR bouquets (plus a single rose) this weekend!

On Friday, I saw her dance in the Nutcracker: she danced in a little duet near the beginning of the show (one of two soldiers that serves milk & cookies to Clara & Fritz), plus she was a member of the Russian Licorice corps in the second act. One of DH's post-docs came with his wife, a dancer, and they gave B her first bouquet.

On Saturday, DH took two of B's friends to watch her dance. Each friend arrived with a bouquet, plus we had purchased one for her, and DH's friends brought a single rose (probably a wise choice on their part).

I think maybe next year we'll skip the Costco bouquet, and go with just a few flowers!

Three Times Before the Tree Grows

I know it's been a while since I last posted; I've had a couple of blog posts rattling around in my brain, but haven't had the time to write them down!

Last weekend was a four-performance weekend. Friday night I worked backstage at B's Nutcracker performance. On Saturday, I left the house at 9:50 am, returned for five minutes at lunchtime, then headed out for another Nutcracker. "Dinner" was 15 minutes at home, spent packing up my stuff, e-mailing and calling carpool members to sort out who was driving, then driving into SF for the S&P concert. With the post-concert reception and the drive home, I didn't get home until 11:30. Sunday afternoon was the first Voci concert (one more this weekend).

On Tuesday, I worked backstage for two outreach performances of the Nutcracker (Act I only), and on Wednesday night I worked the first half of the dress rehearsal before leaving for a Voci dress rehearsal.

Which brings me to the actual topic of this post: Nutcracker music. Although I took ballet as a kid, I never got to perform in a Nutcracker. In college, my women's chorus served as the Boston Ballet's chorus for their Nutcracker production, so every year we would get on the T and ride downtown to the Wang Center. We put on choir robes, picked up our battery-operated candles, and waited backstage for our cue, which was the growing Christmas tree. I still know the musical cues for that--the music grows three times, and the big event happens at the end of the third crescendo. That's when we filed out onto the risers, holding our little candles. Two decades later, I'm still listening for the same cues, because that's when the stage crew has to stumble onto the stage in the dark and remove the furniture (couch, table, and chair), while trying not to collide with the mice frantically throwing gifts and the Nutcracker doll off stage. Next time you watch the Nutcracker, look around during that scene and see what's going on in the dark!

Winter Wonderland

Mother Nature had a surprise for us when we woke up this morning!

The back yard

An unhappy rose bush

An icy branch

B's snowballs

B, L, L, L, & M at school with their snowman

(Photo by L's mom)

Choir Uniforms

Male singers have it easy--they just have to buy one tux and not outgrow it. Women, naturally, have a more difficult time. Some choirs require particular uniforms: you buy the same dress that everyone else wears. Easy enough to do, but because of the nature of dress committees, you usually end up with an outfit that doesn't look particularly good on anyone. (I have at least two long, black dresses in my closet that are gathering dust.)

Other choirs allow you to choose your own outfit, within certain parameters (generally black, full-length, long-sleeved). I've always taken this approach with the choirs I run, because every woman looks good in something different. It does have its drawbacks, though. It's not as formal as the men's unifed tux look, and can frankly look rather ragged with the disparity in styles.

My main complaint today, though, is that I have a closetful of formal black clothing, and can't decide what to wear tonight. Pants? Velvet skirt? Other skirt? Two-piece satin dress? T-shirt, beaded T-shirt, or sweater? Suit jacket or beaded cardigan? Plus, whatever I pick out needs to work with the "Christmas-colored" scarf I've been requested to wear for the second half.

Christmas is Coming

We had a nice, relaxing weekend, with absolutely nothing on the calendar. I played Super Mario Kart with the kids, and they also taught me how to play Rock Band guitar.

Now the holiday madness begins. This month, the family calendar shows 14 performances that we're participating in. In addition, we're going to see The Hard Nut, and B is going to her best friend L's Nutcracker.

Here's a look at our calendar for this week, excluding school & work (I'm pink, B is purple, and M is green):

Both B and I need to clone ourselves, so we can attend overlapping events. M doesn't have that problem, but we're still trying to figure out how to get him to the school dance on Friday evening.

Turkey Day 2009

Dishes are washed (thanks, DH!), and guests have left. Now I'm waiting in line for the shower so I can get the smell of turkey out of my hair.

Tonight, in addition to my family (mom, dad, & sister), we had two postdocs from France, a professor and his wife from Canada, and a grad student originally from Germany, currently attending school in Sweden. Interesting conversation, too much dessert, too much food in general. A good Thanksgiving for all :-)

How Fast Do Weeds Grow?

I knew M was going to be taller than my mom, but was surprised to see he is also taller than my Dad (formerly 5'9", now a bit shorter). Maybe it's time to measure M again?

Nutcracker & Turkey Day 2009

A collection of unrelated November thoughts:

B is moving up in the ballet world: today she has to stay for the entire six-hour Nutcracker rehearsal, because she dances in both acts. They are running Act I from 12:00-3:00 (3 times), and Act II from 3:00-6:00 (2 times). This year she's a green soldier (featured as one of the two "Milk & Cookies Soldiers" in two shows), and a Russian licorice corps member. They have four casts for eight shows, and B is in Cast A and Cast C this year.

My parents arrived safely yesterday, only a few minutes late. There was some heavy rain which delayed us: B and I barely made it to the airport in time, despite leaving a hour before the flight was supposed to arrive.

The turkey is defrosting in the garage fridge, about half the supplies for dinner have been purchased, and today I bought two extra folding chairs, since we're having some extra guests on Thursday.

And Straight On Till Morning

A crazy week here, and it's not even December yet!

Today was First Thanksgiving, an annual tradition in the elementary
schools. At the beginning of the school year, we weren't even certain
it was going to happen this year, as the district's long-time
naturalist was let go in the last round of budget cuts. Fortunately
for B and her classmates, the now-retired naturalist volunteered to
help run it this year, along with a large group of parents.

So, I spent 5.5 hours outside at the nature area today, helping with
Native Americam and Pilgrim crafts (other classes were in charge if
games and food prep). We had a feast at lunch: venison, trout, turkey,
quail, green beans, corn, cranberry sauce, corn bread, baked potatoes,
baked apples, freshly churned butter, and a wonderful stew made with
boar, venison, duck, and pheasant.

After a 30 minute stop at home (changed my clothes, straightened out
with the pediatrician's office which flu shot B & M got two weeks ago
and which one they're getting next week, packed a snack and a Diet
Coke), I am now at the middle school, waiting for the opening show of
Peter Pan to start in 20 minutes. The first show for each cast (today
and Thursday) is billed as a "preview" show: cheap tickets with no
reserved seating.

Six total shows this week, then an all-day Voci workshop with members
of Anonymous 4 on Sunday. I'm really glad tomorrow's a holiday!

(First try at emailing a post from my iPhone--I apologize in advance
for typos/formatting errors.)

Second Star on the Right

The middle school production of Peter Pan opens on Tuesday afternoon. M is on tech crew again, running the light board for the "Hook" cast. Although they're not doing the musical version, I'm spending next week at the keyboard as the voice of Tinkerbell. It's fun--a lot different from the usual accompaniment.

The producer loaned me a DVD of the previous production (from four years ago), and I thought Tinkerbell's voice was pretty boring. It was mostly the same tinkle, no matter what she was saying. I've put a little more thought into it, tailoring the bells to her mood, and what I imagine she's saying. The Tinkerbell from the "Tink" cast seems to appreciate it--she's come up to me after both the rehearsals I've been to with them and thanked me for the great job I'm doing.

The final dress is on Monday, then the two preview shows are after school on Tuesday and Thursday. Friday and Saturday I play two shows each, then we'll be done until spring musical season.

Halloween 2009

We had a nice, quiet Halloween this year. This is our third Halloween at this house, and the last two years, we did not have a single trick-or-treater. We put B's lit jack-o-lantern on top of our mailbox, so it could be seen from the road. B insisted this year that we decorate for Halloween, so I bought a string of pumpkin lights and she draped them on the fence. We also added three little pumpkin leaf bags (stuffed with the results of last week's raking), plus she hung two homemade signs and a rubber snake on our front door.

Despite our lack of trick-or-treaters, I always buy candy (just in case!). It turned out to be a good thing, as we had 16 little kids show up at our door! (Fifteen came in a group, two of whom had already been by earlier.)

B went to her friend L's house, and they went out together. We told M to invite some of his friends, thinking we could drop off the mob on a street and wait for them. Most of his friends were not planning to trick-or-treat, but one came along, and his dad dropped the boys off. DH and I ended up sitting on the couch, watching a movie (Star Trek IV).

M originally wanted to go as a vending machine, but we talked him out of it (last year's port-a-potty costume was a pain to make and wear), so he went with a Jason mask and bloody machete from the Halloween store:
 

B and I had great fun with her Vulcan Starfleet officer costume:

The black mock turtleneck, black boots, and pointed ear tips were mine, and the black pants were hers. We only had to buy a blue sweater (I scoured all of Target looking for a T-shirt, but only found this sweater), make the insignia (aluminum foil glued onto card stock, outlined with a Sharpie), and do the makeup (eyebrows & ears).

Happy Halloween!

Boo!

On Sunday night, our doorbell rang. When I got to the door, I heard footsteps running away, and found a plastic pumpkin in front of our door, containing cookies, candy, apples, and some plastic toys. Also included was a poem telling us had been "booed," and giving us one day to pass it on.

It took us two days (we didn't get home last night until past B's bedtime), but after an emergency run to the grocery store, we've stocked our three pumpkins with Kit-Kats and homemade Rice Krispies treats:

After B gets home from ballet class tonight, we'll be hitting three of her classmates' houses down the street, plus leaving a small bag of treats at the original booer's house.

And On the Seventh Day, Mom Worked

Washed, dried, & folded five loads of laundry.
Did one load of dishes (kids put away previous load).
Raked front yard & driveway with B while M vacuumed inside.
Stuffed leaves into pumpkin-shaped leaf bags (B is really into decorating for holidays).
Off to the grocery store soon.

Exciting Commute

Just got home from picking up DH in Berkeley. He was planning to come home on BART, but when he arrived at the station, he found the entrance blocked by police. Several policemen with automatic weapons rushed down the escalator. Still no idea what happened.

And The Heavens Opened

Today's forecast was "a chance of showers." They didn't say anything about "a chance of a deluge, right when school lets out," which is what actually happened. No one had a raincoat today!

DH and I lucked out. We walked to our car after lunch to head home for the car swap (Monday evenings require both of us to have a car, but we share a carpool parking permit), and a minute after we got in, the downpour started. A quick dash into the house, and we were set for raincoats.

The carpool lines at both B's and M's school were incredibly long, and there were a lot of soggy kids standing outside. At M's school, the middle-school kids are generally too cool to worry about a bit of rain, but it was coming down hard enough that everyone took shelter while waiting for their carpools.

Local weather station says we received 0.81 inches of rain in slightly over an hour.

Sometimes It Doesn't Pay to Plan Ahead

First Thanksgiving is a tradition at our kids' elementary school. Every year, the fifth graders get to dress up as Native Americans and Pilgrims, and spend a day at the nature center learning about the first Thanksgiving. They eat wild game, do crafts, play games, and have a good time learning history.

When M was in fifth grade two years ago, I remember scrambling to get his Native American costume done, along with B's Halloween costume (I convinced M that his Native American costume would have to do for Halloween, too). This year, B is determined to be a Vulcan for Halloween, not a Native American or Pilgrim, so I decided to be organized and get the Native American costume done in advance. In August, B and I went to the fabric store and got all of the materials needed for her costume, and I finished sewing it last month.

Yesterday, we received an e-mail from B's teacher, stating that there would be no costumes allowed this year. Apparently there was some sort of order issued by the district last year, in response to a complaint about the Native American costumes. I'm having trouble understanding why the costumes were a problem. Admittedly, they were mostly not authentic costumes, but the kids were learning about Native American culture, not making fun of it! And Native American costumes are widely available: I was at the temporary Halloween store yesterday (in search of Vulcan ears), and there was an entire rack of "Indian" costumes (including some pretty skimpy women's outfits).

So much for being organized. Anyone want a boy's Native American costume (men's one-size-fits-none taken in to size 10 Slim), a girl's Native American costume (also size 10), or a women's Pilgrim bonnet & collar?

How Much Is Too Much?

DH and I have been tortoise raisers for quite a while now. Otto, our sulcata, is 16 years old now, and spends his summers roaming our back yard, and his winters in the garage. B wanted a tortoise of her own several years ago, so she saved up her birthday money and bought Ashlee (another sulcata) about four years ago. Ashlee has been a trouble-free, healthy tortoise, up until the past few weeks.

About two weeks ago, I picked up Ashlee to clean her cage, and noticed something hanging out of her rear end that wasn't supposed to be there. It looked serious enough that I called the local reptile vets, and made an appointment for the following day. DH and B took the tortoise in, and it was diagnosed as an intestinal prolapse. The only way to fix it is surgery, so DH called to see what I thought of the $475 quote. How much money are we willing to spend on our daughter's pet? A lot, it turns out. After subtracting a parasite test, but adding a calcium shot, the total turned out to be just under $400, and I got the fun job of giving Ashlee antibiotic injections over the next week. Chalk that one up to the cost of having pets--stuff like that happens, so you just have to deal with it.

We went out last week and bought a new cage for her, since it would be easier to install the sun lamp and keep the heat constant in an enclosed cage. Total for cage and lamps was around $250.

So, this morning, I was sitting in the kitchen finishing my breakfast, when I heard a thump from the living room. I got up to investigate, and discovered that Ashlee had somehow managed to SLIDE THE GLASS DOOR OPEN, climb out, and fall three feet to the floor. Aaargh--do I call the vet? She looks fine--no shell damage, all four limbs appear normal. She's taking a nap now, which worries me slightly, but on the other hand it's a perfectly normal thing for her to do in the middle of the day.

Cake Wrecks

Today B and I went to a book signing for Cake Wrecks. As part of the signing, they had a contest for the best Wreckplica, in cupcake format.

Here is my entry (see the original):



And here is B's entry (see original)




Unfortunately for me, another Cake Wrecks fan had the same idea as I did, and her belly cupcake won the prize. B, however, was one of the top three:




As a prize, she received a carrot jockey necklace:

Baking and More Baking

I've been doing a lot of baking the last few days. First, B came home on Wednesday, asking me to make sugar cookies for her class potlatch, to be held Friday morning. Normally, to produce cookies for a Friday/Saturday event, I start them on Tuesday night, so I have time to bake and ice them. Wednesdays I don't get home from rehearsal until after 10:00 pm, so it was a bit of a rush trying to get them done on Thursday:



The acorn cookies were a great hit at the Tlingit-style potlatch, along with the tacos produced by some other parents (don't ask me why an Alaskan tribal potlatch involves tacos and sugar cookies for breakfast--the kids planned it entirely themselves).

Next on the list are cupcakes for a friend's birthday potluck (happening tonight). Devil's Food cupcakes (from a box), filled with homemade pastry cream and glazed with a chocolate glaze:

Feathered Friends

Another Orinda Idol has come and gone. This year, B and her friends did a fabulous job, and we really thought they had a chance at winning the K-5 Group category. After hearing the dress rehearsal and performance, we knew it was going to be between them and the Wicked Girls. Alas, the Wicked Girls won the prize this year, but B isn't too upset about it, as she agreed the Wicked Girls were very good. L, however, is quite put out at "losing to second graders."

Here are the girls in their feathered glory:

S, L, K, & B