Welcome, Sophie…

We welcomed Sophie into our home today…

So far, we know she was born on July 21, 2009 and she is incredibly playful and she has very sharp teeth!<G>

How absolutely adorable is she?

Tech weekend…

We are in that part of production of Prelude to a Kiss that requires a lot of my time, my physical presence and my energy…this past weekend was spent with my lighting genius whose expertise turns my simple set pieces into theatrical magic, plus a runthrough that showed me all kinds of exciting new tidbits by the actors…yummie…

This week, we run the show three times and rehearse one night with “Peter and Riter (or sometimes Rita and Peta)”…I know this sounds weird, but I’m glad hus is on the road so I don’t have to feel conflicted.  I’m one of those weirdos who actually enjoys spending time with my hus.  Next weekend, we add lights and sound, then costumes, then OPENING NIGHT!!!!  November 6, 7, 13 and 14…now if I can just get the program drafted and off to the printer, the signboards made and distributed and BUTTS IN THE SEATS!!!!

Here’s to you, Silly Tater Tot!

I am not a food blogger and I don’t normally go around taking photos of food.  But tonight’s dinner was worthy of presentation to our Silly Tater Tot…

Butternut squash with maple syrup/nutmeg/dark rum reduction

Rubbed pork chops topped with salsa and squash

Then, a couple of hours later…

Homemade cherry pie

Can you say YUM?

Kids…

OK…yes…I am one of those moms.  I was my kids’ biggest fan from the day they were each born.  I shepherded them through school, drove them to dance and music lessons, soccer, baseball, softball, football, swimming…you name it…I sat on the sidelines (errr…except for swimming…after developing a coccyx problem from sitting on the concrete risers at swim, I started working the meets as a timer…my behind thanked me) and cheered.  Fast forward to the present and I am STILL my kids’ biggest fan.  My daughter is happily married, employed and a good and responsible parent to their two gray monster cats and their two goofy, hugely affectionate dogs…she is a good person, a truly good person.  My son shares a sunny Vermont apartment with his girlfriend and his goofy cat, is a happy baker, blogger, beer lover and A+ student who is also a very good person.  Life is good when one’s kids’ lives are good.

Waking in the dark…

Let me just say once more that I HATE waking up in the pitch dark, only to find that part of my “morning me” time has been slept away.  I’m one of those odd folks who has to wake up at least an hour or two before I have to get up and get going.  I love my morning quiet time, watching morning news/Morning Joe, reading my favorite blogs, catching up on email, doing Washington Street Players work, sharing cat love time with our two kitties, sipping coffee…

Almost as bad is coming home in the dark…ARGHHHHH…don’t get me started…

Snow? 59 to nothing? 11-0?

What a weekend…Saturday, which was supposed to be wet and stormy, turned out to be beautiful.  Sunday, I came out of rehearsal at 3:30pm to SNOW!!!!!  Big, fluffy, wet snowflakes falling out of the sky…it snowed the rest of the day, leaving nothing on the ground here, but any of you who watched the Patriots demolish the Titans yesterday, just down the interstate from us, saw that the snow did stick there.  Global warming?

The Phillies celebrated their homecoming with a Cliff Lee masterpiece…11-0 when all was said and done.

Speaking of rehearsal (Prelude to a Kiss, Upper Town Hall, runs Nov. 6, 7, 13 and 14…), what a wacky rehearsal we had yesterday.  Because of the inclement weather, the Breast Cancer Walk needed an indoor space for registration and fellowship.  I had Upper Town Hall reserved for my rehearsal.  Such a good cause, how could I say no?  So, the Breast Cancer Walk folks filled the Hall, while the Prelude folks huddled in chairs behind two sets of curtains to try to muffle the noise.  Noise muffling was not terribly effective, but my actors were TROUPERS and managed most of Act 1 off book.  I knew I had an excellent cast, but watching the show come together is magical…my actors ROCK!

A good day…

You know it is going to be a good day when your daily Google calendar reminder emails you that you have nothing on your calendar for today.<G>

Bits and pieces…

Snow?  October 16????  SNOW????  Now, we’re only talking a little bit, mixing with the rain, but please…

Baseball has me really uncomfortable right now…no Red Sox, so no automatic choice for me.  Although I love those family members and friends who are Yankee fans, I am not one.  Despite the fact that I was born in SoCal and was a Dodger fan all my young life and really respect Joe Torre, I am an active Manny despiser and loather and that overrides everything else.  I went to an Angels game once when I was a kid and again sometime in college, but I could never get excited about them.  That leaves me with the Phillies…at least for now.

The whole “balloon boy” spectacle yesterday has me scratching my head and wondering where reality TV has taken us.  Lots of families have stories about the sleeping child that was left at home or the kid who goes missing only to be found safe and sound…reality TV has people thinking that it is normal to share the most painful details of their lives with TV cameras…what is wrong with us?  I’m feeling quite  old fogyish about some things (“In my day, we…”) and this is one of them.  BUT WAIT!  I’m a blogger…who the heck am I to talk?  I just don’t know what to think…

Back to New England winters…my herbs and geraniums, which live outdoors in the summer, are back inside in their winter homes.  The geraniums are in the sunniest bedroom in the house, our guest room.  The herbs are on a table in front of the sliding glass door in the kitchen, waiting to be snipped and consumed.  The potatoes are all harvested and in the process of being eaten, as are the onions.  I haven’t figured out what to do with the four smallish red cabbages I finally harvested last weekend.  Right now, they are sitting on the kitchen counter, which I know can’t be good for them.  Good thing it is weekend…I see red cabbage on the menu!

Let me just say that I HATE waking up in the pitch dark, thinking it is probably 3am, discovering that it is 6!  That is probably the side effect of winter that affects me most…dark mornings, dark late afternoons…dark, dark, dark…I’m thinking of getting myself a full spectrum lamp for my office…actually, I’m GOING to get myself one.  Let’s see if it helps.

Finally, speaking of dark…I am a Chicos girl…bought my first Chicos clothes when I was young and childfree, back when it hurt to pay that kind of money for clothes.  But they were me.  Over the years, Chicos has grown with me…their Travelers tops and pants have taken over my closet.  I own about 3 of the same pair of black travelers pants and 3 of the same black travelers top and use them as a base for something colorful.  It hit me yesterday as I was getting ready for work, though, that there may be those who know me well who think that I must wear the same clothes day after day…what must they think of me?<G>  So, just in case you are wondering…

When long isn’t long enough…

Can’t believe another three day weekend has come and gone.  So many plans, so little actually accomplished.  We did get the toilet fixed…it should be back up and running tomorrow.  We did get the books dropped off to the book donation drop-off so that the front foyer is empty.  We did get to the grocery store and pick up fixings for some good eating this weekend.  I did get a To-Do List done and even got one or two things crossed off.  We got all the geraniums and herbs indoors for the winter.  And we got lots more old photos scanned in…can’t wait to get that project finished and an SD card of photos in the hands of my in-laws (for their beloved digital picture frame) and the kids.

This was also an extremely stressful weekend in sports…first the Red Sox were swept by the Angels and then the Broncos beat the Patriots…but worst of all was having to watch replays of our misery on Morning Joe and all the sports shows we watch.  Not nearly as much fun as winning the World Series and the Super Bowl!<G>

Oh, the biggest and kind of sad chore this weekend was harvesting the rest of the garden.  I ate a mess of roasted brussels sprouts (with a little olive oil, salt, balsamic vinegar and then a splash of maple syrup before eating…incredibly yummmm…wish I had more.  Next year.  We also harvested lots of white and red potatoes which are now sitting in a closed paper bag for a couple of days before we move them into the potato drawer.  The red onions are out on the deck, letting the green ends dry up so we can store them.  And that is it for our 2009 garden.  Time to plow everything under, sow a winter crop and dream of 2010 veggies…

Speaking of dreaming…time to have one more sleep before going back to work and real life…I don’t wanna, but I must.

P.S. to Home Again…

A few days ago, I said in a post that I hadn’t taken a single photo on my vacation.  This was all for the good, though, as hus (did the majority of the work) and I started scanning all the family photo albums…that scanner buzzed for 7 days running and yielded an amazing family history in photos.  We will be sharing with the family, but here are a few that warm my heart or make me laugh:

F-I-L and M-I-L

Me, hus and our best friend

Adding to:

Katy and Lucas' wedding

And then one that just makes me so happy when I look at it:

Katy, my beloved mum-in-law and Andy

All good reasons for not having taken any photos last week.