Romeo and Juliet tour BEGINS!!!

"We started out like Romeo and Juliet, but it ended up in tragedy!"
-Milhouse Van Houten

Good morning everyone, this'll be a short one as I have to get in the shower, load the car, get the girl... Today is the first day of the R&J tour, kicking off in Beverly MA at 1pm. I broke down last night and bought a camera to document the even with. A nice shiny new Sony Cybershot semi-fancypants camera with features I don't even know how to use yet. Gotta figure them out on the fly, I guess.

I also spent 75 bucks on a digital camera for Geoff. It is a simple camera, nothing fancy, but hopefully he learned lessons from when he lost mine and now will be a more responsible steward of properties.

Anyway -- expect little bursts of updatey goodness from me over the next several days. Today we have Beverly Common and the Salem Athenaeum. Tomorrow morning it is Mary Jane Lee park in Salem followed by the big Marblehead show at Ft. Sewall.

Sunday at 1pm is Lynn Woods. If you are at all inclined to come to a show, dear reader from the area --this is the one. The Lynn Woods rose garden is easily found off of Rte 1 if you're coming up from Boston. Take the Walnut Street Exit off of Rte 1, follow Walnut Street past the pond and on your left after the pond ends, the 2nd left is Pennybrook Road. If you're coming from the north, it's a little harder to get to because I do not think there is a Walnut street exit off of Rte 1 as you're heading south. You have to take rte 129 and drive around the Lynn Woods into Wyoma Square to get over to a road that takes you to Walnut street... You can punch "Pennybrook Road, Lynn MA" into maps.google.com to get your route if you like.

The garden is gorgeous and amazing... one of the rebel dads went to the site to check it out and called me from there, insisting that it was by far the coolest spot, and he hoped that dozens of people come to soak this show up.

Sunday at 5 they are in Derby Square at old Town Hall in Salem MA. This will be an interesting show.

Monday is a day off for the kids.

Tuesday at 1 we're at the Senior Center in Salem. A huge room that I hope is filled with Seniors. Tuesday night at 6pm we're at the Palmer Cove baseball field in Salem, under the lights, on the diamond. It'll be amazing.

Wednesday we're in Newburyport at Moseley Woods. You far northern types should take a half day and come down... and then at 5pm on Wednesday we're at Winnekenni Castle in Haverhill. A Castle. And Shakespeare. How awesome.

So yeah. All the info is on the webpage if you want directions, a cast list (so you know when Jess is the nurse and you can come see her in all her awesomeness!)

And you can see the feature article written on the company in yesterday's Salem News.

I'm outta here. Gotta shower fast and get going. I've pissed away an hour so far figuring out how to turn the sound off on my camera so it doesn't make all kinds of stupid noise when I turn it off and on! Times A Wastin'... so ....

more later. Wish us luck. Wish us a nice big fat audience. Wish us well. Thanks for your support (and for putting up with my lack of blogging and still coming back to visit.

Pie Fight at the Burrow

There are phrases I honestly never imagined I would utter in my lifetime. Phrases such as "I'm off to slay a thousand babies and put their heads on pikes 'round town!" Or, "I really think that I prefer the Nazis over the Jews. They had snappier uniforms." I'd never say that. And finally, I never ever thought I would say, "This weekend, I'm going to a pie fight."

Yup.

But that phrase came out of my mouth this weekend for the first time ever, and probably not for the last.

There is another family we know through Rebel, and this is the third year they've done this. They gather friends and family at their house, and fill 7" paper plates with whipped cream and then proceed to "pie" each other.

Why?

Well, why the hell not? Really. When it comes down to it, why not?

When the dad told me this is one of their late in the summer fun activities, I cursed myself for not thinking it up myself, and then insisted we be invited to the next one. A few weeks ago, a facebook invitation flew my way and my heart soared! Yes! Here we go!

When I told Doug, he looked at me dubiously. Doug thinks, honestly (and he may be right) that I'm losing my mind. But I told him that there was a giant wok for stir frying foods and we could bring beer, and his sense of panic seemed to subside. I thought he'd beg off, but he came with... as long as he didn't have to have pie thrown at him.

Well, that's no fun. But if you insist on not having pie thrown at you... then so be it.

The thunderstorm followed us to their front door, and we figured that it would be better to just do the pie fight in the pouring rain than to wait until it gave up. The Dad of the house laid the ground rules, and then Geoff read a spoof of Henry V's "St. Crispin's Day" speech which the dad reworked just for him. Geoff told me that he wanted to do the speech, and the dad thought it would be better if it were funnied up.

This is how it turned out:

"This day is called the feast of Crispian Cream:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home with hair and sanity intact,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian Cream.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil pie his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian Cream Day:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's Cream day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Keri the queen, Geiger and Magnant,
Scott and Staples, Kingsley and Yoffe,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispian Cream shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the summer,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For she or he to-day that throws his pie with me
Shall be my sister and brother; be he ne'er so vile and pasted with cream,
This day shall gentle his complexion and fertilize the roots of her hair:
And gentlemen and ladies in New England now a couch potato,
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their lives cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin Cream's day!"

Geoff read the speech, having memorized the real one he did a great job with the emotions of this one. When he called out the names, the dad of the house and I put our fists in the air and looked at the crowd of 30 people and were like "Yes! That's US!" and they started to cheer and laugh.

We all cheered like mad and ran to the back yard to start the fray.

Here is what we looked like before and after. Photos all by Doug, who didn't want to have pie thrown at him, so he played photographer. The flickr set is here if you want to go see the vicious pie-throwing action.

Now, I'm not sure what is happening inside my brain that thinks this kind of thing is a good idea.

Am I having some sort of mid-life crisis? Some sort of existential crisis?

Maybe.

You will see, if you go through the photos, that the dad of the house and I are the only two adults (well, not so... his sister participated and she's only a couple years younger than he is...) with no sense.

I think that there is something happening in my brain that is looking for something more fun and creative and insane and amazing on a daily basis. Or at least on a once in a while basis. The typical day-in/day-out crud that I feel myself mired in has resulted in me longing for something more creative, expressive and entertaining. It doesn't have to be meaningful, or earth-shattering. Just ... fun.

Throwing pies at teenagers, my own and some that I don't even know, brought me a great deal of joy for about 20 minutes yesterday. Hearing my son read his rousing speech? Amazing. Watching my daughter chase people with whipped cream on a plate and receive a spattering to the face before she could hit her mark? Also amazing. Sitting around watching the garage band of the house play while eating stir fry out of a giant industrial wok and hanging out with new friends... well. That was icing on the cake of the day.

All told, it was a really fun event. And I'm already looking forward to next year.

---

We haven't been to church nearly all summer. Next weekend we won't get there because Jess needs to be in Lynn at 11:30 for her Rebel performance. Doug and Geoff could go, but I'll need to leave here to take her there.

And the weekend after is Labor Day weekend already, so the summer rushed past us with amazing speed.

This morning, church was nice. Since we haven't been for quite a while I expected a lot of "oh! Where have you been?!" comments but we only got one. I think most people understand that summer is a busy time. Church was half empty, so I think we aren't the only people who haven't been.

After the service, Geoff approached our pastor and reminded him that when we first started attending that Rob (the pastor) promised two things. First, that Geoff could ring the church bell. Second, that he'd show us the bell tower. Since it was winter when we started, we couldn't quite go up due to the ice and snow. Today, though, was a picture perfect day, an amazing day, it was THE day to go up if we were going to go.

We trudged up the narrow stairs to a 3'x3' opening that I was afraid I wouldn't fit through (due to my girth, ya know) and as I stood on the bottom step and looked up at Geoff going through the hole, I honestly started to panic. There are no walls up there, no windows. Just sky. And I didn't see the 3 foot high railing that went around the platform... I just saw Geoff leaping out the hole and into what I could only assume was ... sky.

Jess got up after me and assured me that there was a railing, and I heard her encourage Geoff to use caution. I got up next and was relieved to see that he couldn't just accidentally spill out to the streets of Newburyport below... and then I saw the view.

Wow.

Amazing.

I mean, honestly. Woah. Holy... wow.

There is a Paul Revere bell from 1802 up there, and not much else. A six-sided platform that offers 360 degree views of all of Newburyport, Salisbury, Amesbury, Newbury, all the way to Rockport and Halibut Point, Seabrook NH, and ... amazingness.

Because I don't have a camera, and Jess isn't always thinking and didn't have hers with her, we don't have a visual record of the day. You just have to take my word for it.

The pastor of the church, Rob, takes people up there all the time. Tour groups from all over the country come all week long and the church has office hours where you can just show up and go up. You can also go to the basement where the crypt of the church founder is.

But to be honest, THIS is the thing to go see. I can't wait to go up again. Perhaps in the fall, when the leaves are all ablaze and amazing.

In September, they are doing historical tours of the North Shore, and if you're thinking of something interesting to do... just let me know and I'll tell you where to head and who to ask for. And you can tell'em I sent you.

Anyway. I guess that's about it. In less than one week, the Romeo and Juliet North Shore Extravaganza Awesomeness Tour 2008 begins. I secured a date for Beverly, so we'll be on the Beverly Common at 1pm on Friday, August 22nd. The dates are on the website. Be sure to try and come to a show. It'll make you happy.

They Call it Stormy Monday, and Tuesday and Wednesday, and ...

I'm damp. For the last five days it's rained. Some days, a little bit... with a lot of cloudy hours before and after the actual rain. Last night and today it has been rather Ark like. Raining so hard that the sound of the rain on the road outside my window was loud enough to make me think there was a car accident happening this morning.

There has been no wind with this soaking rain. So all my windows have remained open -- allowing the cool mid-August night air in.. along with all its dampness. I woke up this morning when the aforementioned deluge woke me, and just felt cold and clammy. My sheets were damp. My pillows damp. Cold and almost comfortable, but noticeably damp.

I'm wondering when we all beginning to grow mold spores on our bodies.

Right now it isn't raining, but I bet it'll start up again. You just watch.

I don't mind the weather like this for a while in the middle of summer. The grass is amazingly vivid green instead of dead, burned brown. The plants and flowers are thriving. I don't have to pay the electric department for AC and fan usage; and I don't have to worry about just selectively watering the plants only and letting the lawn die. This is our third summer here (if you can believe that) and the yard has never looked more amazing. I love it.

But I want it to sunny up and warm up a bit here, not too much. It can stay cool if it wants to... I don't mind that. But the rain has to stop by August 22nd so the kids can do the Romeo & Juliet tour.

I'm still looking for a location in Beverly for the show. I'm finding it nearly impossible to get the Parks department to return my calls. I'm not sure if my persistence annoys them and they're not calling me back for spite or what ... but really. I have 10 days until that show, and I have nowhere to stage it.

Everywhere else has been a breeze. I've been treated with respect, the people I've been working with have been kind and amazing. Everyone has been so supportive and encouraging and interested in what we're doing. Just this one town is posing a problem and it's hard because a mess of the kids live there and want to stage the play in their town. I could do a sixth show in Salem, or go to Danvers or something... But I want the kids to represent in their home towns... I emailed one of the moms from that town and asked her to pull the "I live here, book it" card. I hate having to do that. This is supposed to be MY responsibility. I shouldn't have to call someone to pull townie rank.

While that has been frustrating, everything else is going great. Jess is off book and totally into her parts. The kids are amazing. The photographs that we've taken are amazing. I look forward to picking her up each day and hearing all they've got planned. I cannot wait for the shows.

So. Mark your calendars, dear friends. And I will post this again to remind each of you area-resident types.

Each show will be different and amazing, unique in its own way. From a playground to a castle; a ball field to a bustling inner-city historical square, no two shows will be the same.

Friday, August 22 @ 1pm - TBD
Friday, August 22 @ 5pm: The Athanaeum, Salem MA
Saturday, August 23 @ 1pm: Mary Jane Lee Park Playground, Salem MA
Saturday, August 23 @ 5pm: Fort Sewall, Marblehead MA
Sunday, August 24 @ 1pm: The Rose Garden, Lynn Woods Reservation, Lynn, MA
Sunday, August 24 @ 5pm: Derby Square, Old Town Hall, Salem MA
Tuesday, August 26 @ 1pm: The Senior Center, Salem MA
Tuesday, August 26 @ 6pm: Palmer Cove Ballfield, Salem MA
Wednesday, August 27 @ 1pm: Moseley Woods, Newburyport, MA
Wednesday, August 27 @ 5pm: Winnekenni Castle, Haverhill MA

Thursday - collapse and break. And then my journal entries won't involve Shakespeare for quite a while. :-)

---

There hasn't been much to write about I suppose. There are some incredibly random things that don't really MAKE an entry on their own, so I'll just list them out here.

Olympic Opening Ceremonies
I wasn't going to watch them. I am really not a big Olympics fan in general... for as much as I like sports. I think it is a spectacular waste of time and money, especially when you know that the Chinese government built these amazing structures and pushed people out of homes to make room for this, what, ten day event? Ruining lives left and right so they look good. Nice.

Well.

I happened past the 2008 drummers drumming and was astonished and I stopped to watch.

Nothing in recent memory has made me say "wow" as many times as these vignettes. I was absolutely moved by the beauty and scale of the whole thing, the combination of really high-tech visual amazement and sheer number of humans out on the pitch making all of the things run. Some of it was hokey (Oh look, here come the children. Horray for Children! Aren't they cute!? Oh yes, they are our future! Horray! Feh).

Overall, it was fantastic and then I got horribly bored with the parade of nations and oooh this designer made this country's clothing for tonight's parade and oooooh don't they look darling in their little hats. Whatever. I liked the more traditional garb that a lot of the African countries were wearing, and the sweet humility of some of the smaller countries who showed up in khakis and polo shirts or T-shirts with their country flag on the front... looking like tourists, strangers in a strange land.

And I might just say that no other Olympics after this need bother having an opening ceremony. Nothing will top this. Ever. Nothing. So don't even bother planning, London. Just have everyone show up and do the parade of nations and shoot off some fireworks and go out for a pint.

China did something right, and better than anyone else ever will.

Brains are Mysterious
Has this ever happened to you? I get up once a night to go to the bathroom (sometimes I'm able to sleep all the way through the night but I wake up at 6 and really really need to pee!). I don't turn the light on, because I'm a girl and don't need to SEE to pee. And if I do turn the light on, my eyes don't adjust to the dark well enough to walk back to my bedroom without tripping on a dog.

So I'm sitting on the lou, in the dark, and I look out the window. And I see a SNAKE on the garage roof! A SNAKE! I swear to God! And I look at it for a long time and say "Why is there a snake on the roof of the garage and how the hell did it get there?" I slowly start to realize that it isn't a snake. It's a serpentine branch. Sitting in the moonlight, being a stick on the garage roof. My mind registers that and I say "Oh, okay," finish up my business and go back to bed.

The next night, it happens again. I look out, see the snake, wonder why it is there and how it got there, ponder, and realize. Accept and then go back to bed.

Over and over this happens.

Do you have any weird brain not absorbing things adventures you'd like to share.

At least I don't SCREAM when I see the snake on the roof. That would be bad. A nightly scream of terror when I see the stupid thing.

TV
I watch a lot of DVR'ed TV shows. Doug recently started DVRing two shows that I highly recommend. Normally, I don't tell people what to watch because someone will take me up on a suggestion and say 'ugh, that was AWFUL' and then I feel like I've let them down.

But if you get a chance, AMC has a TV show called "Mad Men." It takes place in a hoity toity advertising agency in Manhattan in the early 60s. It is really amazingly beautifully shot. When I first saw it on the screen as I walked through the living room, I thought Doug was watching a movie, it was that good. TV normally doesn't have that kind of a super detailed amazing eye to the period. But this does. The dialogue is snappy, rude, smart, amazing. And everyone smokes, just like they did in the early 60s. And you can see smoking etiquette taking place. A man lighting two cigarettes to give one to the dame on his arm, huge fancy lighters as table pieces. Astounding.

The other show is "Aliens in America" on the CW. I don't know how long they can ride this show, because it is about a Pakistani exchange student living with a family deep in Green Bay Packers' territory in Wisconsin. The characters are great, the dialog is really believable and funny, and I love it, even when it is cringe-inducing. Watch it.

---

Alright. I guess that's it. I have to get some work done this morning. Geoff started football last night and came home a sopping, disgusting mess. So all of his stuff is in the wash. I'm going into the office later this afternoon and hope to not have to eat any vacation time this week thanks to him not having anyone to be with him. Sigh.

More later.

Camp Grandma

I didn't intend for a whole week to pass but that is sometimes the thing that happens. I worked a lot this week, helped out with some stuff for professor CM, and that was amazing and fun and so rejuvenating to me. I had forgotten how smart and creative I am. I haven't worked with CM for a long time so it was such a blessing to have the opportunity to help him out with his workshops. I enjoyed it to the core of my soul.

I spent time with Jess goofing around. Having just her and me in the house made for a very different dynamic. We kidnapped one of her "Romeo & Juliet" directors and took him up to the castle in Haverhill where we will be doing the play later this month so he could see it and start thinking wicked thoughts about staging and blocking and the like. He's up to no good in a good theatre sort of way, and it will make it an amazing event. Mwah ha ha ha.

We went out to dinner and he invited another person from the program from when he was a student. I was a little wary of meeting someone new but something just clicked with me and this guy. And I adored him instantly. Amazing. Fun. What a fun time.

I intended to do amazingly productive things with my week free of Doug and Geoff but the only thing I did was clean out the recycling and get the bottles ready to go to return redemption. And I 99% finished a web form that was making me have kittens (thank you Peter Wood for your help) and have gotten it to the point where it is running but I have some tweeeeeeking to do to make it perfect. That'll hopefully happen this week.

---

In the last entry, I'd mentioned that Geoff had nowhere to go and nothing to do for the next three weeks until school starts. Because he refused to do Rebel again (he says it conflicts with Football, whereas I say it does not) he puts me in a position where I cannot just leave him home alone all day. So I have to find somewhere for him to go.

My mother, God bless her, agreed to have him come stay again. I call it Camp Grandma. He calls it "Suffocating to death in Old People Land." He is a little ingrate and I could smack him... but he doesn't like being the ONLY kid in the neighborhood and he gets bored easily. My mom pointed out that the water park nearby is open, and she'll take him there, if he's good. I told him that and he shut right up. So hopefully that'll make it better. We also started giving him an allowance for doing things here in the house. He was sad because he would not receive his allowance because he wouldn't be HERE to do his jobs. I told him that he needed to work it out with Grandma -- that I'm sure she can find things for him to do to earn a dollar a day, and we'll pay him for it when he gets home.

Knowing how to spin shit to this kid is key. I always feel like I have to sneak in the back way in explaining stuff to him to get him to do it. And sometimes it works, other times it turns into a ten day negotiation battle with lawyers and industrial labor relations representatives and closed door meetings and shady deals... resulting in a stalemate.

So long and the short of it is, one week at Camp Grandma and then after that I have no idea again. I'm stressing out. He has to stay close to home because football practice starts a week from tomorrow, so it isn't like I can send him back to Camp Grandma or to Pennsylvania or anywhere ... so I'm at a loss. meh.

---

The other big news is that Doug and Geoff had a great time at camp and fun was had by all. Which was an answer to prayer, because I somewhat envisioned him pulling up into the driveway, pushing Geoff out the door, and going to the pub to get shitty drunk after a week with The Boy.

Doug came home all fired up because he enjoyed himself so much. Geoff behaved wonderfully, and he didn't get into any arguments or do anything epically wrong or stupid. He did two things that were kind of WTF moments. But they weren't show stoppers or anything that would go down in history as the "Oh My GOD you guys do you remember when Geoff..." kinds of things that I imagined he'd get into.

Well -- we're on our way out. I have to finish up getting him ready and go brush my teeth so I don't have dragon breath. More later.

Off to Boy Scout CampDoug and Geoff just left for Boy Scout Camp. I hope they have a good time, because yesterday on more than one occasion, I thought

Doug and Geoff just left for Boy Scout Camp. I hope they have a good time, because yesterday on more than one occasion, I thought Doug might kill Geoff. Pray for them... Doug especially.

After they get back, I don't have Geoff enrolled in anything at all. No camp, no nothing. Not sure what to do with him. Hmmmm.

You want him? You know you do.

Part of my problem is that I thought he would do both sessions of Shakespeare. But he rejected the idea of doing the August program because he will miss 2 football practices during the week of the performances. I talked to the coach, and he said it was okay by him since Geoff is a returning player. He said "There's more to life than football, and that sounds like a great program for him." Thing is, I don't know that they'll even have practice those two days of the performance dates because those two days are during the first week of school. So it would probably not be happening then anyway.

But. He'd miss the first three days of school, even with the football coach's permission to miss practice. And he told me that he can't miss the first three days of school.

First of all, I hate our district. None of the other districts in the area are starting on the Tuesday before Labor Day this year because Labor Day is very early. But ours is. Seriously, I called seven school districts all around us, and not a single one is starting before September 2nd.

I don't have a problem with him missing it, Jess is missing it because of her Shakespeare thing. But the boy is insane.

What kid on this God's Green Earth doesn't WANT to miss school, especially when he or she (he, really) bitches and moans incessantly that school is horrible. School is evil. School is no fun.

Whatev.

So... Football practices start August 11th, so he has to be HERE in town at 4:30pm to go to practice so it isn't like I can take him somewhere or send him to a sleep away camp for two weeks... I may see if I can hire someone from the local college to watch him.

For the week after camp, I can see if he can go to Camp Grandma... He'll complain about it, but ... it was his choice to not do Shakespeare camp.

So there. Deal with it, I'm doing my best to work around your choice to make life okay for you. I'm dealing with it, you deal with it. Feh.

Thing is, he wants to stay home by himself, and he can't. Not yet. I think he's about 2 years away from that. For an hour or so, yeah. I can see it. But all day? No. Not gonna happen.

---

Anyway, enough bitching. What's the update over here?

Yesterday our Boy Scout Troop worked a fair and we did a barbecue tent with burgers and dogs and stuff. I ended up manning the grill. The boys were putting two burgers on at a time, and I was all "um, people are going to show up and be like ... hungry?"

The burgers took 10 minutes to cook, and another minute with cheese. So I stepped in and threw a million burgers on the grill and just started cheffin' the joint up. The boys were relieved, because it was so damn hot. So incredibly hot. They would come get completed burgers and place the order... And I just kept them coming.

My buddy Thane was all setting up the buns for the finished burgers to just slide on. We had a system... it was rocking. I think I may have shot myself in the foot though, because our next big fundraiser is another barbecue at the town homecoming festival, and I may be manning the grill by the looks of things.

It was three solid hours of working my ass off. I got home and was all exhausted, and discovered Doug didn't take himself and Geoff shopping for the stuff they needed for camp, and no one took the laundry out of the washer and put it in the dryer. So I flipped out a bit, yelled some, got a shower and felt better... Doug and I ended up taking Geoff to go get the supplies. Why they needed me to come with them, I'll never know.

Doug hasn't owned a bathing suit since college, so he needed one if they were going to be out in the pond doing stuff with the boys. There is a mile swim challenge that a lot of the boys try to do, and Doug may have to row a boat beside the swimmer for safety. So he wanted to be prepared.

But we went and it was fun until we were at the supermarket and Geoff, for reasons unknown even to me, brought our EMPTY shopping cart (because we only had 3 bags and I left the cart inside the store) out to the parking lot. Empty. And then he let it go, and it went flying and crashed into our car.

BANG!

totally dented the hell out of the front passengers side front fender where it meets the door. He could NOT have hit it in a worse spot. The passenger side door will not open now because the metal is all bent to shit.

So that was awesome. I was supposed to keep that car for the week but Doug took it because we'll be getting in and out of it (Jess will, actually) and whatever vehicle he was taking would just be sitting somewhere. So. He figured it was only fair.

That boy. Gonna drive me to hard liquor.

Anyway. On Wednesday of last week, Doug took Jess to go get her learner's permit.

You read that right.

They both read the book, he quizzed her on all the possible questions, and they went over. They waited an hour. She went through intake and got right up to the point before they were to administer the test to her, and the woman asked her for her birth certificate or passport for ID purposes.

Um... yeah.

They didn't bring her passport, birth certificate or social security card or anything because the literature didn't SAY to bring that information. Nowhere in the information they had did it say "bring your passport or birth certificate and social security card."

Nowhere.

So ... they didn't, and the woman explained that she couldn't take the test. She has to come back next week and get things taken care of. And Doug was pissed to shit about it.

I said to him "What were you thinking? This is a post 9/11 world. Everyone needs ID for EVERYTHING (except people who come illegally across the border and then get jobs at their friend's meat packing plants, but, whatever...). Of course you need an ID to apply for a learner's permit. You need an ID for everything. Every. Damn. Thing. "

"But you show me where it says so in the literature and on the form," says Doug. "It doesn't. It does not say it ANYWHERE. So if they want people to bring ID, it should say it."

"Yes, it SHOULD. But it goes without saying in this day and age that we need to always ALWAYS bring ID to anything. Wow. What is this, 1955? No. It is post 9/11/01 and you have to show ID for fuck-all everything. Like it or not. And leaving it off the form is probably just their way of saving ink."

He further explained that he was her representative, he was her ID. As her parent with HIS ID, showing residency in our house and shit, this should be sufficient. It was when he got a license. His dad went with him and showed his ID. But honey. That was like 1984. Totally different world.

So we argued about it, and on the one hand he's right -- if it doesn't say you need it, well then what do you expect. On the other hand, I'm right. We should always always have our damn IDs on us to take care of this shit.

Gah. Frustrating.

Anyway. I'm going to grab a shower and head into my office for a while this afternoon. I'm trying to be as far ahead as humanly possible, as our office is moving this week and I don't want to be caught behind the 8 ball. I am taking a couple days off during the week this week, and really don't want to be anywhere near the office the day of the move. So. Going in today for a few hours will make a difference. Maybe take Jess out for dinner tonight. We'll see.

Right then. More later. Have a nice rest of your Sunday, or happy Monday if you're reading me at work in the morning.

The Happy Few

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile... "
- William Shakespeare, Henry V

What. An. Amazing. Weekend. So many ups and downs, so much drama and levity. I am exhausted from thinking about it, and I am just one blip of a character far on a periphery of what the CORE of this production is and was... so I can hardly fathom what those in the center feel right now.

I am still living a lot of it in my head, what I saw and what I know. I'm not even one of the 15 year olds who paraded around in tights and tunics to make it so or a director who for the past 4 weeks busted ass getting these kids ready....

I'm just an observer... a proud one at that.

But wow. Amazing. Where do I even start with the recap? And do you even need or want to hear about it. Well... bear with us Gentle Reader.

First of all -- thank you to Amy, and Bunkosquad, and Keith from College (has it really been since 1990 since I saw you last?!) and Ron for coming out. I sent out postcards to the fundraiser and tagged all of my eastern MA contacts in Facebook, and when Keith showed up under the tent in the pouring rain and "poked" me, I was thrilled beyond measure. Wow.

Thank you to The Shakespeare Geek also for coming out and seeing at least SOME of the play and writing about the Rebels in his blog, comparing videos and talking about what it was like for him to watch the kids in costume in the heat. His three wee ones are a little too wee to sit through a production, but they were adorable, and he and his wife came out, and it was humbling and amazing and I'm so happy to have met them.

I also thank my in-laws for coming out. It was so nice to have them here with Elyse once again to see another play. I hope some of this (and last year's production of Midsummer) impact her in wonderful ways. And my mom and dad -- thanks for braving the traffic and suffering the bug bites in the field to come see Geoff in his first play. It was so cool to have family present. It meant a lot to him, I know it did.

And boy... BOY was it hot.

Wow.

On Saturday Geoff went with Doug and his dad to pick up his football gear. We were late getting down to the park, but it really struck me how his lives just overlapped right there and then.

Football one minute, Shakespeare the next.

We got down to the park and there was this slight breeze, and by slight I do mean slight. It was over 95 degrees and the field was beaten under the sun. Even on the ocean, where you would think some cool refuge could be found, there was little to be found.

Ten minutes before the play was to start at 2pm, Geoff was nowhere to be found.

Seriously. Nowhere.

The kids were in the warm up circle, doing voice exercises and stretching, and I walked over and looked for him, only to notice he was not there. And no one ELSE noticed he was not there. Because they were focused on ... doing their thing. Indeed.

I pointed this out to Keri -- and told her not to panic. Geoff had pulled a hissy fit with me about an hour before about wearing tights.

Everyone had on tights. But Geoff HATED the tights and wanted to take them off. Or roll them up. I told him he couldn't. Chris, one of the directors told him he couldn't. EVERYONE had their tights on, and YES it is hot, we know. But you have to wear them.

Deal. With. It.

I thought he might be off sulking somewhere. So I pulled one of the boys to go check the bathroom.

No Geoff.

Another girl ran up through the "backstage" looking for him but came back saying that he was not there...

Shit. That little bastard. Four weeks of being AMAZING and now? this? Jebus.

I looked around -- there was no Ross the awesome Ross there.

Okay.

Awesome Ross may have taken a petulant and angry Geoff for a stroll... so I went in search of Ross.

Ross was up at the info booth directing traffic (and boy, was there traffic). He had not seen Geoff, and looked panic stricken.

"Well, I haven't seen him WALK off the island down the road, so... that's a good sign, right?"

Yes, Ross, that's a good sign. I threw up a little in my mouth.

I went back to the circle, and I could feel panic and heat. Keri saw me and announced to the group that Geoff was not around and asked that the kids spread out and look for him.

They sprang into action. Yelling. Calling. Screaming.

Cabot found Geoff sitting exactly where Cabot thought he would be (note to self, always ask the people Geoff works CLOSEST with what Geoff might be up to).

Geoff was indeed in the backstage area, waiting.

Waiting for the play to start. Tights on, and angry, but there. I don't know how the other girl missed him, Cabot said he was right there.

So everyone heaved a maaaaaaasive sigh of relief, and Shakespeare was thanked in loud voice. The crowd was shuffling in. My mom and dad were there, and Jess was there, and the play was about to begin.

With Geoff found.

The sun was brutal, and each time a cloud moved across its hot face you could FEEL that difference. I heard people sigh when it happened.

The play was amazing. Each scene, each action. Geoff and Cabot and Luke as the knuckleheads Pistol, Nim and Bardolph. Henry, petulant and moody. Exeter, strong and powerful by his side. And the English and the French... All. Amazing.

The first production went well.

Geoff got laughs for his Bardolph and I am totally in love with the two guys who were in scene with him, Luke and Cabot.

Unfortunately, or ... fortunately, depending on how you look at it, I bailed after the St. Crispin's Day Speech because we were totally out of water and ice.

I bought four cases of ice and six bags of water to bring back. When I got back, I'd missed everything and the fundraiser party was starting. Kids unloaded my car, got ice and water going, and I went up to the party, which was a swinging success and an amazing amount of money was raised.

The 6pm show started, and Bunko was there, and Keith was there. It was amazing.

Annnnnnd..... Right before the battle of Agincourt the storm hit. And Boy, I'm tellin' ya. What a STORM.

Keri went to call the show, and parents cheered "NO!" because we were at such a critical moment... they continued through Crispin again, right to before the battle started. The sky opened up, and many attendees ducked under the tents while everyone else ran for the pavilion where the party had just taken place.

After a while, it became obvious that they were finishing the show up at the pavilion, and I was down in the mud cleaning up and hearing the cheers after all was said and done. Shit. I missed yet another Battle of Agincourt. Dang!

Keith from College stayed and cleaned up, as did my father in law. Jess took her little cousin Elyse with her in the mass exodus, and all told, the cheers themselves warmed the island. I was sad to have missed the battle of Agincourt TWICE now, but felt I was where I was needed and had fun with Keri's daughter in the cleaning up and the mud and the rain.

I slept like the dead that night.

Sunday was not as hot... but the rain came as we were getting ready for the battle of Agincourt. UP to the pavilion we ran. Finished the play.

And again... I missed the battle.

And then it was weird in between productions with a lot of stress and deciding what to do with yet another thunderstorm baring down on us.

Good lord, mother nature, cut us some slack wouldya?!?

We scrambled at 5:30 pm to move everything up to the pavilion, and the entire time in my mind I'm bemoaning the fact I still hadn't seen the battle of Agincourt, or Henry wooing Cate.

My husband and in-laws showed up for the 6pm 2nd showing, which surprised me, but I guess my niece really WANTED to see Geoff again.

Which warms me in ways I cannot express to you. At all.

We could have moved down to the field, but we stayed in the pavilion because my sister was my personal National Weather Service with moment by moment updates after 5:30 pm about what was happening. There was a cell south of us, according to Linda, but after that we were in the clear.

We kept the entire first half in the pavilion, and at intermission moved back to the field.

Where the Battle Of Agincourt raged amazingly.

I didn't take many pictures, because I wanted to SEE it, watch it, digest it, ingest it, amaze in it and enjoy it.

And I did. And it was amazing.

All told -- Geoff himself was great in his role. Each time they performed it, he did a little better.

The final time was hysterical -- because we were at the pavilion so he didn't have the usual shelter of the backstage area. They just had a picnic area. So his character goes to get hanged, and he steps behind a pylon and screams....

like a girl.

A shrill shriek, very silly and crazy. And just as our Henry goes into his big Post-Hanging Speech, Geoff goes TEARING up the side hill with the rope around his neck, pulling at his pants to keep them up (because, you know, those nasty aforementioned tights are just giving him what for) with the executioner and Exeter following him.

Oh ... my... God. Did everyone just laugh their asses off.

Including poor King Henry, trying to do his speech. Ha! But it was clearly the most memorable moment ever. Ever.

And that was the bulk of our weekend, dear reader. I'm exhausted. I think I slept until noon, and I honestly don't know how Keri does any of this, if I'm this tired just being on the periphery.

Next event will be our Romeo & Juliet.

Which I know all y'all sit in rapt attention, awaiting.

If you're interested in seeing the photos, they are up in flickr as usual. Saturday here, and Sunday here. And do go through them all and love them and leave comments, for I am nothing but a comment whore. Right?

There are a couple of videos in my youtube account... you can see Geoff in action in several shots, and the famous St. Crispin's Day speech by our young Henry.

And on that note, oh.... dear countrymen, my band of brothers. I seek sleep.

zzzzzzz.

Oh Steve, Say it Ain't So

Before I head to bed every night, I do one last wide sweep of the internets. I check my mail, make a move or two on Scrabulous on Facebook, dance through bloglines to see who has updated since I ate dinner and troll through the discussion boards for Guster and Barenaked Ladies to see what's new in the little fan worlds.

Jo sent me a link to that troll P.Hilton (you know who he is) last night. He posted a story about Barenaked Ladies lead singer Steven Page being arrested in upstate New York, charged with possession of coke and pot.

Now, a lot of musicians, actors, and rock stars do drugs. A lot of pot smoking, coke snorting, alcohol... a lot of it comes with the lifestyle of having money, free time on busses that travel long distances and somewhat addictive personalities. More than somewhat. And sometimes it gets totally out of hand and they die an early and sad death, like Heath Ledger (I have noticed a lot of his movies are being broadcast as his latest, posthumous release gets ready to hit theatres, and I'm really sad watching him because he really was a good actor even though I never really got it why so many people worshiped him the way they did).

I'm not surprised when I hear people are arrested in possession of controlled substances. And I'm not surprised to hear that one of my all time favorite musicians, writers, and people was caught in a situation that landed his ass in jail. Not surprised.

But this time, I'm actually sad. Honestly, just plain to the core saddened to hear this news. And I'm processing things and looking at it like it's an opportunity, that whatever Steve needs help with right now in his life, he can get that help and get ironed out and get safe and happy.

Bandmate Jim Creegan told the newspaper in an interview about this "It's so new. We just heard about this and we just want to fight these charges and hope that everything goes all right. We want to keep on playing and being a band... We're fighting the charges and hopefully they'll just go away."

A lot of this echoes Clayton for me personally. I'm glad Steve has bandmates like Jim who are going to stand up beside him, not behind him, and help him. But even if the charges "just go away" there is the problem that he may need some very serious intervention. It is where we failed Clayton.

When Clayton was just hanging around with girls who did heroin, keeping them safe and getting them through times when they tried to kick it, he thought he was helping them and assured me repeatedly that he was okay. The fact was he was surrounding himself with people that he was calling friends... although he wasn't using the stuff, he was deep in it. He distanced himself from us when he started using, we kicked him out of our house and it was frying pan into the fire. From a distance, we tried to work with him, convince him to get help. We tried to get his attention back to the things that mattered, point out that he was in the viper pit and needed to escape before it was too late. But he'd already been bit. And we lost him. And that was several months before he died.

Steve Page was arrested in a house where there was cocaine present. No mention of a field sobriety test or blood test for whether or not he was under the influence of any class whatever controlled thingie. I'm not so naive to say "oh, he was just sitting there, and it belonged to the girl! He never did it, I'm sure!" Nope. I'm not that silly.

But I look at it this way. Several times Clayton was sitting on a couch where there was a table in front of him that had all sorts of drugs on it. At that time, he wasn't using. But eventually, he did start using, it got worse and worse, and it eventually ended his life. Not a promising career, but a life.

Now, in our society, millions of people go through huge battles with drugs. Some of them are sickly famous like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Robert Downey, Jr. They've got careers, they're healthy, they're doing well. 20 some odd years of battling their problems have clouded public opinion of them, but Steve Tyler played the Super Bowl Halftime Show, and Robert Downey, Jr. has a hit movie on his hands. They're not in jail, not suffering that we can see from here. They aren't branded with a giant scarlet A for Addict on their chests except when people sit back and think about their pasts and how they've "beaten" the dragon after riding it for so long.

Steve has always written some amazingly depressing songs with really bouncy happy tunes. Some really dark songs about depression, madness, suicide and self-loathing. I am certain the past few years, where CD reviews were posted by writers who listened to one track off the release and continued to label them the "clown princes" of Canadian pop rock, haven't made him feel the super stellar star he was with "Stunt" and "Maroon." So whatever he has got going on that has brought him to sit at dining tables in homes with women who have coke at the ready; whatever has brought him there instead of at home with his sons and his band, gets worked out and made well.

I'm hoping that Steven Page, for what it's worth, doesn't have to look back 20 years from now like Robert Downey, Jr. and say "well, that's when it started and the next two decades were a blur."

I want Barenaked Ladies "Behind the Music," not Motley Crue "Behind the Music." And the genius that is Page and Robertson, I don't want it destroyed. It doesn't need to be genius like Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin or Jim Morrison.

If worse comes to worse, hopefully he'll get some good music out of this experience and work it out that way. I don't love him or admire him any less. I just hope he does something that makes me admire him more and get out of the mess he finds himself in quickly, successfully, before it is too late.

I don't know. In the meantime, he's due back in court tomorrow. And I hope he'll be okay.

Everything is just amazing

I have been doing a lot of stuff this week for Rebel and putting in some longer days at work.... which leaves little time for blogging. Sad but true. But busy is good, and everything is amazing. Busy and amazing and exciting. Where shall I begin?

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Jess' party was nice. Not amazing, but nice.

We invited close to 15 people and 6 showed... which was sad. But we had food for a week and I haven't had to go to the market to get anything. Which rules supreme. But I am entirely over the concept of cheeseburgers at this point.

Jess was able to spend a lot of time with each person, like here with Frazier, and really catch up after not seeing people for a month or so. Doug and I sat under the trees and watched the kids play a wicked game of badminton. Geoff was actually an amazing help, serving food and helping make onion dip. He played well with the others, and wasn't his usual horrifying "Little Brother Attention Whore" that he can be. I was quite proud of him.

All told, a good party. And I think we should have one every month to help keep our house clean.

My parents will be coming up to see Geoff in the play, and since they only live 90 minutes away, I kind of demand this of them. Come see the kid in a football game or two, and come see them in plays. You don't have to come to every little last thingie they do... but do come to this kind of stuff please. So my parents will come up on Saturday morning and follow us to the park, because it sure is easy to get lost going to Winter Island if you don't know your way around Salem.

The more fascinating thing to me was we talked to Doug's folks last week and I gave them the update on the kids. They wanted to know when Jess' play was in August, and I told them about how Geoff was doing this too. They thought maybe that had past and were happy to hear they didn't miss it.

They called back the following day and had evaluated schedules and whatnot, and told Doug they were going to come up to see Geoff's play AND then come up in August to see Jess.

I was surpirsed, what with the price of gas and the distance and the fact he has like 4 lines and dies by hanging... it isn't exactly a starring role.

But it totally brought a big smile to my face that they want to come see him. They'll be staying Friday and Saturday night at least, and probably Sunday. I'm not sure yet.

So it is a good thing my house is 90% clean after last week's party. Heh.

The kids' rooms are a disaster, but that is their problem as Jess will need to clean hers to ready it up for them to have a place to sleep. Ha! Clean your room, kid. I don't care about Geoff's room, because it is unlikely they will be hanging out in there at all. I think that the only things I'll need to do are a wipedown and a mopping in the kitchen, and a sweeping/tidy in the livingroom, and a toilet brush applied to the bathroom thrones, and all will be well. Maybe an hour or two worth of work instead of dozens of hours like last weekend.

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On Thursday afternoon, I sat in on a rehearsal/attempt at run-through for the play.

There were no other adults present, and I didn't feel comfortable leaving the kids where they were alone... especially after someone complained to me the minute I arrived that their behavior was abysmal.

I ended up yelling (kind of) well, being the "heavy" and reading them the riot act after being there only 5 minutes. I felt kind of bad, but they were there to rehearse, not to horse around, jump off cliffs into the ocean and swear at the tops of their lungs. What was terrifying to me was my son was the best behaved kid there. Not sure if it was because I was there, or because he takes the whole "It's time to rehearse" thing incredibly seriously...

So I stuck around and the kids did a good job once they settled down. Geoff's scenes are early in the play and fully blocked and he made me laugh... very overacty and loud. The two kids he's with are perfectly cast. They are the knuckleheads all three together (Pistol, Nym and Bardolph...). And I was impressed with how they've nailed it.

The kid playing Henry is AMAZING. The girl doing the Chorus is ... AMAZING. She really impressed me and gave me chills. And a lot of the other kids were ... a disaster. It was hard to watch at times, and knowing that a week from right now they'll be halfway through the weekend of performing, it terrifies me to ponder whether or not they'll all be able to be "off book."

It always comes together, doesn't it? I'm really excited for the shows. Dress rehearsal is Friday. And there are four total performances. Come if you like. It is free. See the website for details and directions.

And don't forget, there is a fundraiser event BETWEEN the productions, which I kind of accidentally (by offering suggestions and opinions) got involved with. This one is what is keeping me most busy. Seeing as it happens next week and we're still running around like mad.

Yikes.

Wine, Beer, Fun, Foodstuffs, Raffles (and not like STUPID raffles but a good 50/50 and I think someone donated an iPhone...) and performances/vignettes and just plain awesome fun. It's gonna be cool. So think about coming on Saturday to see Henry V and watch Geoff get hanged. It'll be awesome.

Amazing, even.

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Jess' cast for Romeo and Juliet is set in place.

We have our sites lined up except for 3 openings and one tentative booking that have yet to be solidified.

They are running two casts so each person has two roles.

Jess is the nurse in one cast, and Peter in the other. So they get a lot of exposure to the roles, the characters, the play. And there is a sinister twist that I bet some of you can figure out, if each person has two roles... But I'll keep that a secret for a bit. Wink. But all y'all are SO SMART I know you'll guess... heh.

This is a "touring" production, so I've been scoping out locations. Right now this is what it looks like, pending massive changes, I can guarantee this lineup:

Friday August 22 1pm: TBD
Friday August 22 5pm: The Athanaeum. Salem MA, outdoors in the garden... Friday nights they do a "speakers series." And we're the speakers...

Saturday August 23 1pm: Mary Jane Lee Park, Salem MA.
Saturday August 23 5pm: Open - Possibly Beverly or Marblehead.

Sunday August 24 1pm: Open - Possibly Beverly or Marblehead
Sunday August 24 5pm: Derby Square, Old Town Hall steps, Salem MA.

Monday -- Day off

Tuesday August 26 1pm: The Senior Center, Salem MA
Tuesday August 26 6pm: Palmer Cove Ballfield. Salem MA. Around the corner from Mary Jane Lee Park, the outfield will be Verona, and the lights will be turned on so everyone can be seen.

Wednesday August 27 1pm: Tentative -- Moesley Woods Park, Newburyport MA. A natural wooded amphitheater with a giant rock sculpture/climbing thing that will be good for the balcony scene.
Wednesday August 27, 5pm: Winnekenni Castle, Haverhill MA.

Thursday August 28, Christine is hospitalized with exhaustion. Not to mention, the kids who will also collapse in a heap. Voof.

It will be amazing. Trust me. TRUST me. My favorite one so far and they haven't even done it yet will definately be the one in Mary Jane Lee Park, and I talked about it here a little bit. It still amazes me that this is going to come together in so many locations, and each performance and production will be unique and have really special things about them. The two directors are going to nail this one and it is just going to be stellar.

So, if you're north of Boston, mind that schedule right there. Mark your calendars. Come to some. Come to one.

And on that note -- I'm going to go outside and play. Or garden. Or something. More later. And I promise a whole week will not pass. I'll get in an update before the Henry shows next weekend... I'm sure.

long awaited update

I started an update after Jess came home and that got totally and sadly waylaid. Then on Friday I went to log in and finish it only to discover that I had no FTP access to my server to update my site. Seems my host had some sort of problem on Friday where all the sites went down. They came back up after an hour or so, but ... all of my FTP settings were shot and jibberish in Dreamweaver.

Not sure how that can even happen, but ... meh? It's all set now so life is good.

Well, picking up Jess at the airport was double fun. I was standing there waiting for her when my friend Carrie walked up to me with this "what are you doing here?" look on her face. I had the same look on my face... what are YOU doing here? She was dropping another friend off as he was getting ready to fly to France, and had just parked the car and walked into Terminal E and saw me there.

Jess was in customs forever so we ran upstairs and got Dave and had a nice time catching up and they left when she got out of the customs area... which they didn't need to do but they wanted for us to have "that time." Which is sweet of them.

It was one of those incredibly random things that I love that happen to me a lot. I always run into people I know places... like running into people at lunch in Marblehead. People I haven't seen in 10,000 years.

Jess was incredibly hyper upon arrival and buzzed the whole way home with OMG mom! stories that cracked me up. It was 5am their time by the time she went to bed. I really anticipated that she'd sleep until nightfall the following day.

Doug had taken the next day off to hang out with her, but morning came and she was dressed and ready to go to the island to camp. I was shocked that she was up and raring to go... and Doug was disappointed that she was leaving him. I didn't take the day off because I had to take Geoff down to camp anyway, so he was flying solo.

Poor guy. He got over it quickly though.

She was thoroughly embraced and adored upon arrival at the island, and it almost made me cry. It was wonderful to see people who love her flocking at her and mobbing her. I'm sure that she had a wonderful time with the folks in Germany, and I know that she loves us... but this is different. This is soulmate territory. This is like-kinded in such a way that I hope she never loses these connections.

Welcome home, Jess.

Geoff is doing well with camp. He has his lines memorized and on July 19th and 20th are the performance dates. I don't know if they are doing two casts the way they usually do, or just one this year... but he is settled into his part and is enjoying the experience.

Oh -- by the way. We're doing a fundraiser thing between the two performances on July 19th if you're in the area and would like to come support Rebel, kids in theatre, and Winter Island... $20 donation and sponsors ($100 minimum) are welcome. Cocktails, wine, cheese, canapes, and perhaps some monologues from alumni and current students will be thrown in the mix. It'll probably start at 4pm, so if you come to the 2pm production of Henry V (and watch my son die a horrible death by hanging!) you can nosh afterwards. If you miss the first performance, you can come for the fundraiser and stay for the second (and watch my son die a horrible death by hanging). A good time to be had by all.

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I spent most of my July 4th holiday weekend busting my ass cleaning my house. Jess' friend Lizzy decided while Jess was away that we needed to have a party for her when she got home, so we picked today.

Doug, Jess and I all made a hell of an effort and the place looks great. I think we need to schedule a party every month just to guarantee that the place gets cleaned this well. It looks great.

Either that, or I totally need to hire someone to do this because man alive it is no fun to clean.

Anyway... I invited about 15 people and only six have shown, which irritates me because when people SAY they are coming and then don't... well, feh. Whatever.

The six that are out there are having an uproriously good time, and so far Jack has only stolen the Badminton shuttlecock once. And everyone seems to be getting along, even those who don't know one another. It's very nice.

Doug bought the badminton set the other day on a lark, thinking that it would be nice to have the party guests doing something, seeing we don't have a pool or anything. He and Jess set it up last night and we played as a family, boys vs. girls, just the four of us. Geoff called his team (comprised of him and Doug) "Fat Guys with Glasses." He named my time (comprised of Jess and myself) "Mrs. Geigers." The phone rang while we were playing and Geoff said "the phone's ringing, mom." And I hit the shuttlecock and said "let it." We had a good time until the mosquitoes found us.

Oh -- and I totally meant to update you on the Pentax Camera that I got off of freecycle.

First of all -- the woman is amazing. She shared her father's award winning photo with me that he took with this camera. She got all new batteries and two rolls of film for me. She showed me how to load the camera and took a couple of sample shots. It came with four lenses. Some of which I have no idea what they do. On the whole -- it is amazing. I have been having a blast playing with focus and DOF and settings and all kinds of stuff and have just a couple of shots left in the camera to use before getting both rolls developed.

The weird thing is -- there is a bug inside the camera. A dead bug. I cannot get it out for the life of me. I see it in every photo, every time I change lenses, every time I plot out a photo to take... I have to take it in somewhere to get it cleaned.

But, for the most part... holy cow I'm having a blast. The lenses screw into place and they're just awesome. I'm in love. I love this camera. I can't wait to see the film and can't wait to share it with you.

And on that note, I'm going to head back outside and watch kids play, and get the grill started. We have way too much food... but that's okay. It's better to have too much than too little. And who knows, maybe a few more folks will show up later.