twisted-yarns

It's been a loooong time.

2011-05-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a very long time since I posted but I'm back. Things have changed. I started back to college for a second degree, am quitting theatre and my husband has a new job... It's in Colorado. More to follow...

panache

2009-03-06T22:20:00.000-08:00

The construction of all three shows I am working on is underway. With the exception of just a couple of garments, all the purchasing is done. Although I seem to be on top of things, the thought of fitting the three building schedules together puts me into a bit of a thought panic.
Tonight, I organized all items according to show and then actor, washed all fabric that needs to be painted, dyed or sewn and cut out all patterns. Before I go to bed I will cut out the fabric for one shirt and set things up to start printing tomorrow. My goal for tomorrow is to get the shirt sewn together, plus cut out a dress and apron. Sunday, I will print and sew together specialty underwear. That leaves Monday to sew the dress and apron. Wish me luck.
Attached to this post are my renderings for Panache being produced by the Williamston Theatre Project, Williamston, MI.

work, work, work

2009-03-01T21:06:00.000-08:00

The last two weeks have been a challenge. Each day, I get up check my list of things needing to be done that day and start drawing, shopping, organizing, going to meetings and end the day with drawing. I am designing costumes for two shows (Bleeding Red and Panache) and doing a set design for another (Guys & Dolls). It's a great deal of work, very little sleep and stressful but I am enjoying it very much. Last night, I worked an all-nighter not going to bed until I had completed my rendering for Guys and Dolls.
It was 7a when I sent my final product to the director and executive director. Fortunately, they both love the design. I started with the set layout they had used for Evita and, since there is very little time to build, money to build with and the director loves Evita's layout, I stripped the old set and refurbished it. I added archways, doors, a cutout of the 1940's NYC skyline, etc.
Before the rendering was finished, a black and white line drawing was sent to the director & executive director. It's very difficult to illustrate my ideas with only this type of drawing but it is a good start to communicate the physical structure and see if it meets the director's blocking needs. Once this is approved, I color and add details to flesh out the design. Tomorrow, I meet with the technical director to talk about what needs to be done and all the intricacies of the set.

happy anniversary

2009-02-16T23:39:00.000-08:00

The moments ticked by silently, counted in children's birthdays, weddings, picnics, movies, vacuuming, sorting socks, parent teacher conferences, smiles and tears. We celebrated twenty-five years of bonding, loving memories on the fourteenth of this month. Here's to twenty-five more years of us and the family we built! I love you, Greg. Happy Anniversary!

early to bed, early to rise

2009-02-04T04:47:00.000-08:00

Last night, I went to bed at 6:30a and planned to get up in just a couple of hours to prepared for a meeting this afternoon. To my surprise, I slept clean through to morning and got up at 4:30a. Although I am not an early morning person, this feels good and I am hoping to get alot done today. If my schedule allowed for some sort of normalcy I would be more regularly rested. Of well, at least I love what I do.

it's 5 in the a.m. but i'm happy to have another web page up

2009-02-03T01:50:00.000-08:00

That's right, I stayed up way to late but I am very happy with the progress I made this evening. My "Textile Arts" web page is up. Check it out: http://www.converse-doucette.com/converse-doucette-textile-art.html. I scanned in horse-hair (a type of interfacing used to tailor men's suits) and used it for the background and the navigation base. I, also, scanned in some yarn that I hand spun to use as an accent and divider. Craft magazine has posted two of my recent articles, one explaining how to make a neck-tie skirt and the other how to knit with vinyl yarn and use metal hardware findings as adornments, on their website/blog and I linked to them so that my readers (I hope I will have some) can take advantage of the free how-to. Let me know what your thoughts are.

my website is up... well mostly

2009-02-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

omIt has taken me way too long but, alas, my website is up. There are still three web pages to be completed and loaded but I am no longer procrastinating. The benefits are already obvious as I was able to refer a potential employer to my online theatre resume instead of attaching a pdf of my printed document. It is more like a portfolio than a resume as the listing of jobs is interactive, bringing up photographs, sketches and renderings of my work.
In addition to the online resume/portfolio, I am writing a monthly "how-to" craft article and including links to some of my favorite theatre, craft, textile and misc. websites. This week, I have scheduled putting up my textile arts web page. This page will be initially simple but grow and evolve after I get the rest of the site up. SlixGrfx and photography will be the other two pages.
Thanks for checking out my site and I appreciate any feedback. It is a work in progress and I will announce additions and improvements as I go along.
http://www.converse-doucette.com/

home for the holidays

2009-01-09T23:31:00.000-08:00

Greg, the proud father of two beautiful, funny, smart, young women. Porscha and Cynthia. Us in our cool fussy pajamas. Denis brought them back from Korea.

Saying, "Good-bye" to Porscha and Josh at the airport. Zyn, Josh, Porscha and Greg.

photos from the recent holiday season

2009-01-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Dad and 8 of his 12 children at the annual Converse Christmas party.

Cynthia gets aqua highlights and likes the spatula.

Porscha makes "Michigan" Block "M" labeled Buckeyes for a friend that attended Ohio State.
Dinner with Ron, Susannah, Porscha and Josh. Unfortunately, Greg was quite ill and had to go home early.

Hello, again.

2009-01-08T19:44:00.000-08:00

It has been quite some time since I last wrote and much has happened, so... just some highlights.

Christmas came and went, as did Porscha and Josh. It was a wonderful visit... except for that fall I took at ZapZone. My knee still hurts.
Neck surgery removed the mass I have been cultivating for the last year.
I spent a few hours in the Chelsea ER where I was given an iv for dehydration and several drugs for nausea... which lead to hallucinations, another fall on my knee and tremors.
My right shoulder is still frozen but the pain is very minor. YEAH!!!
Hobbs and Black has laid-off dozens of employees and we are getting nervous.
The company that one of my daughters is working for is laying off a large portion of their support staff and she is getting nervous.
Things in the theatre is very slow and I am a bit nervous.
Purple Rose has hired me to do Bleeding Red, their spring show and I am excited.
Cynthia started another semester at Eastern Michigan University.

Well, those are the highlights. The next entry will be coming in the near future.

physical therapy, infrared light, massage, stretching....

2008-10-24T01:19:00.000-07:00

It has been months & months & months..., since April. One swift, long pull of gaffer's tape off the dirty floor of the Mendelssohn Theatre (Ann Arbor) and my shoulder burned. Instruments, music stands, speakers and consoles were hectically being pushed in all directions across the stage as we, electricians, tried to strip the pipes of lights. Due to the activity on stage, we were unable to bring the lights in as much as usual. I reached for a "Source 4" and sharp, hot pain traveled from my shoulder and through my arm. My shoulder was injured once before and healed itself within a couple months. Not so this time. I have turned down tens of thousands of dollars in work, wake several times each night with pain in my shoulder and bursae down my arm and into my hand.
After all this pain and suffering, doctors, drugs and months of physical therapy, I am finally making progress. The second round of physical therapy helps, as does the time consuming stretching but my recent, encouraging progress seems to be coming from "experimental" treatments with RIFF light treatments. Of course, insurance doesn't pay for the light treatments and the stretching and p.t. are very helpful in my advances but I wasn't making these leaps forward until I started the RIFF treatments.
Monday, I will take my fourth treatment... Keep your fingers crossed for me.

pain near the neck

2008-09-03T14:34:00.001-07:00

Physical therapy was recommended for my shoulder in April of this year, without x-ray, mri or specialist referral... as per insurance guidelines. My pain has continued and mobility in my right arm and shoulder lessened. Finally, I was sent to see an orthopedic specialist who ordered x-rays, an mri and diagnosed me with a "frozen shoulder". After a shoulder injury scar tissue and lesions accumulate and work as an adhesive holding the tendons together. The solution? Physical therapy and shoulder manipulation while under anesthesia. Unfortunately, my benefits were used up by the "first episode". Now, the doctors, physical therapist and I are working to cut through the red tape and appeal to the insurance company. Until they do things are on hold.

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

The summer rushed past leaving me with regret for not getting outside to play more often and, especially, to the beach. Although he just drove to the U.P. and back twice within the last two weeks, Greg was a good sport and agreed to drive me across the state to visit my parents.
It was very nice to see my father doing better than he was two months ago and wanting to do as much on his own as possible. Our visit with my dad, who is seriously ill with a Parkinson's like illness, was cut short because the situation with my mother is so uncomfortable. My mother is insanely jealous of the attention my father is getting and, once again, proclaimed her hatred for him and her desire to put him in a home. Fortunately, my sister invited us to tag along with her and her son, Alec, to fish on Grand Haven's North Peer and stop by my brother's house to see his new puppy.
Ranger, the puppy is Webkinz sized with a round little puppy belly and very loving. My brother, Arthur, and his wife, Joy, had just got him hours before we arrived and the little thing was exhausted but too excited to let himself go to sleep.
Art, Joy, Lucas (their son) and Ranger joined us on the North Peer. Several times, my hook was aggressively yanked at by a large fish but I was unsuccessful in pulling in any of them. Alec caught 2, Jackie 2 and Lucas one fish.
The September sun began a fast assent and we wandered back to our car and one last visit with another brother and sister-in-law (David and Shelly) before heading home. Shelly fed us a feast of home fried chicken, steak, red skin potato salad and pasta salad while we visited with the family.
We had planned to leave the west side of the state by 7p but were with David, Shelly and their children, Nolan and Jerilyn, until 10p. Reluctantly, we readied ourselves for our trip back but not before Shelly loaded us up with blueberries and David shared several perch fillets with us.
Although I enjoyed the visit, the nagging thought of the Hell my parents and nephew live in churns up my stomach and we had to stop for Benadryl, as I had developed a case of hives.
Porscha suggests I would be better off without them in my life and I have tried that route for a year at a time but I feel lonely, hollow, .... and I go back for more.

30th annual michigan rennaissance festival

2008-08-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

pain, pain and more pain

2008-08-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

Several months ago, I pulled a well stuck, long piece of gaffers tape off the Mendelssohn Theatre stage in Ann Arbor and ripped something in my shoulder. I knelt on the stage and squeezed the top of my right arm and should until the pain was bearable and went back to work. Pushers were gathering set pieces, music stands, mics, etc. and packing them away while the electrician worked around the havoc in "it's all about the load-out" speed. Because of the hub-bub on the floor, we weren't able to bring the electrical pipes all the way in and were forced to reach further than normal to loosed the lights. One pull on my crescent wrench and the immobilizing pain returned. Something was wrong but, like so many times before I thought time would heal my shoulder and I would be strong again soon. One month later and the pain seemed to be lessening but would come back unexpectedly with common, normally benign moves. Without much ado the doctor sent me to physical therapy. Eight weeks of physical therapy three times a week and There was little or no progress, as a matter of fact, I was worse in some ways. The mobility of my arm is greatly reduced, bursae flares from the tendons surrounding my arm from my wrist to my neck and I can not work on stage, drawing is extremely painful and I can only do it in short spurts, most sports are completely off limits and I am suffering financially. Chelsea Hospital's Ortho Department is working me in on the 26th. Until then, my arms hand asymmetrically at my sides, the right one severely limited in movement and slightly askew. Everyday, I have to have help getting dressed, down to having my husband work my deodorant under my right armpit, which doesn't open enough for me to do it myself.
At least, last week's swollen jaw and tooth ache are gone...

Onto Corsets #4 & #5

2008-06-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

There is the macaroni and cheese backed "corset of fame", the anorexic leg stripped "corset of hunger", the "Prozac" corset and, now, onto the "recurring nightmare" and "you don't say" corsets. Before my show in September, I would like to have a dozen or so corsets to choose from. The more I produce the less happy I am with my earlier pieces. It's difficult not to start redoing the ones I have have finished and I plan to rework them after I reach my goal of 12.
Today, I ordered 4 dozen pieces of steel boning, 2 sets of lacing bones and some white bone tipping. Corsets are expensive to produce but interesting to make and make an excellent canvas for my images. There are several corset supply companies online and quite a variety of prices. So far I like Corsetmaking.com (Delicious LLC) the best. They are relatively inexpensive and ship quickly.
Pictures will soon follow.

porscha's surgery

2008-05-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

Greg and I head out for Salt Lake City very early on Saturday so that we can be there for Porscha. On the 20th, she is scheduled to have her coccyx removed. We are a anxious for the surgery to be over with and her to be happily recovering. Thank you for your good thoughts regarding this issue.

flag burning in Grand Haven

2008-05-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, my brother's family woke to find a charred rectangle at the bottom of their flagpole. Of course they are upset... not just because it was a flag they burnt but because someone came into their yard while they slept and destroyed their private property. After several hours they were able to get their troubled daughters (ages 7 and 9) to sleep. Two local news stations ran stories of the mishap and debates regarding the incident are raging online. Most comments seem to take up the argument of "flag burning" which misses the point. This family was violated, terrorized and the fact that it was a flag that was burnt is less important than the permanent damage done to the family, the children and their sense of community and safety. Check out the videos:

http://www.woodtv.com/global/story.asp?S=8286261

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=91855

In the rafters

2008-05-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first experience as a "Prop-tart". I wasn't sure what the job description entailed but found it interesting without being too taxing. The only difficult part of the day was rolling the "Marlee" back on its storage pipes. The flooring has a tendency to curve off to either side which requires unrolling and re-rolling and it is heavier than I like to handle. After a lengthy first roll and a frustrated experience with my co-working helping me, I stood up and gave the center of the roll a kick in the right direction. To my surprise, it rolled much straighter left to its own accord rather than trying to "woman"-handle it into place. My method worked so well the rest of my team noticed and started to try and copy my approach. But that was work at the end of the day. During the second part of the show, my friend and co-worker, Annemarie and I climbed to the very top of the fly system and out onto the cat walk. We sat in front of a hole in the cheese grater like grid, surrounded by balloon and waited for out cue to start tossing them down. While waiting for the cue, I took out my phone and started shooting the show from above. It would have been nice to use my larger camera but I didn't know I would have the opportunity to take photo and was lucky to have my camera phone with me. So I shot a few dozen pix and bi dded my time until it was time to toss the party favors.

Survey says...

2008-05-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Porscha tagged me to fill out this form. Here goes:

4 Jobs I have had in my life:

Web mistress
Set/Costume Designer
Stagehand
Graphic Artist

4 Movies I’ve Watched More Than Once:

It's a Wonderful Life
Beautiful Mind
Gladiator
Oh Brother Where Art Thou

4 Places I’ve Lived:

Boulder, CO
NYC
Santa Fe, NM
Marquette, MI

4 TV Shows I Watch/Watched:

Rome
Scrubs
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Simpson's

4 Places I have Been:

Paris, France
Budapest, Hungary
Osaka, Japan
Bruges, Belgium

4 People who email me regularly:

Denis
Busha
Deborah
Wendy

4 of my favorite foods:

Hummus
Red Bull (Sugar Free)
Curry
Mangoes

4 Places I Would Like to Visit:

Australia
Easter Island
Korea
Machu Picchu

4 Things I am Looking Forward to in the Coming Year:

Visiting Porscha
Cynthia's third year of college
Learning: JavaScript, PHP and Flash (Yes, I am a geek!)
My corset show (coming in September)

4 Friends who I’m Tagging - Any takers?:

Zyn
Erica
Denis
Wendy
Plus, anyone else that would like to!

Blood Clot

2008-04-22T17:42:00.000-07:00

Last week, Greg began to complain about pains in his legs and being light-headed when he went up the stairs. He is in such good shape that it was a bit disconcerting. Tuesday night, he came out of our room limping toward the bathroom and I noticed that his right calf was swollen. It measured a full inch and 1/2 larger than the left. I immediately tried to contact the on-call physician (it was 2a and it took 4 phone calls and until 5a for the doctor to get back to us). The doctor thought it was a blood clot and told me to take him to the Chelsea Hospital ER right away. Greg wouldn't go. He called from the ER around noon and said he had been admitted but didn't know how long he would be in the hospital.

The doctor started him on Cumemen (sp?), a blood thinner. It was Saturday before he was released. Of course, he did too much right away and has been suffering every since. Yesterday, we picked up some crutches for him. Today, we purchased some compression socks. They seem to be making a huge difference. Although he isn't feeling very well, he has been working at home with a laptop and papers that I picked up from the office. He is to participate in a conference call with his U.P. clients on Thursday, rather than going up via car or airplane. We don't know how long it will be before he can get back to any kind of normal life and travel. Hopefully he will be able to make the trip to Salt Lake City with me for Porscha's operation next month. Doctors think it could take over a year for the clot to dissolve or correct itself.

a friend's loss

2008-03-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

As a cat lover, my heart goes out to my friend for the loss of his cat, Stanley. He has posted a beautiful tribute to Stanley that I thought you animal lovers could appreciate:
http://randomphoto.blogspot.com/2008/03/stanley-1998-2008.html

tie one on

2008-03-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

Look for my most recent article in an upcoming edition of O'Reilly's Craft magazine. The article is a how to for a "Wrap-a-round Necktie Skirt". I submitted the article, 2 illustrations and several photos to accompany it this evening. Cynthia, my daughter, will be my model. Thank you very much, Cynthia.

here's tom!!!

2008-03-12T23:34:00.000-07:00

childhood home

2008-03-11T23:49:00.001-07:00

Years and years ago, I built a dollhouse for Cynthia. Since then, she has played with it, outgrown it and moved on. Like most abandoned houses it has fallen into disrepair. This week, I started the renovation process. Most of the windows need reworking, shingles are missing and broken, trim is loose, the carpet is dirty, wallpaper torn, etc. I have removed all loose or damaged windows and bought basswood sheets to cut new window frames to replace missing one. The plan is to redo the windows, sand, side and repaint the exterior, clean and remodel the inside, trying to keep the original details that are still cleanable and in good repair. The plain foundation will be painted to look like fieldstone.

parkinsons

2008-03-09T21:50:00.001-07:00

He asked me to help him with his taxes, a man that prides himself on being able to do anything and everything for himself. Of course, I was happy to help. My siblings all live on the other side of the state and help my parents with their chores, trips to the pharmacy, grocery store, etc., I went across to see my parents, both are not doing very well. While there I helped with the taxes, ran to the post office, vet, library, McDonald's and returned a pair of shoes for my mother.
It is heart wrenching to see my father shrinking, his feet glued in place and him fighting to move them but the hardest thing to watch is the cruelty that goes on in my parent's home. My mother says horrible, mean things about my father and other people that I love and wishes my father all kinds of ill will, while my sister (she and her child have been living with them for over 8 years - rent free - utility free -) bullies them around verbally. Although my parents bicker it was mild compared to the abuse she slings at them . During my short visit she started screaming at my mother and turned it on me when I told her to stop yelling at them and suggested she thrived on the upheaval. She continued her tirade and suggested the parents were responsible for her being upset and the reason she does "drugs". She said that she hated it there, to which I responded, "Well then, move the &*%@$ out!"
The whole business was very ugly and very upsetting. Although I can hold my own with her I shook for a least an hour after our altercation. I am so glad I don't live anywhere near my dysfunctional family but I desperately would like to spend more time with my father before he is gone and would like to help out the my parent's needs. Since my return from the other side of the state I have been in a funk and am working to set my head straight and not let them get to me.

another day another day another day

2008-02-27T21:54:00.000-08:00

For the last couple weeks and the next couple of weeks, my days have been and will be filled with driving to Williamston, painting, shopping, sewing and driving the hour home (2 hours if we happen to have any more snow storms). Last night, I painted the back arches of the set at the MSU scene shop. It took a full 6 hours but I persevered and finished. They were to be delivered to the Williamston Theatre today, along with the top part of the 12" riser. It would be nice to find both parts of the riser there tomorrow, so that I can paint the base of the stage and get it done with. This is an exhausting schedule.

ouch!!!

2008-02-15T17:46:00.000-08:00

While running downstairs to gether more supplies for my model I slipped and fell on my a--. It hurt like H--- and left a bruise larger then the one I got from breaking my hip in a motorcycle accident. It still hurts like crazy... Good thing I have some Vicodin left from my recent illness.

london

2008-01-17T16:39:00.000-08:00

Cynthia and I are back from London and enjoying being home. While there, we visited places we long dreamed of: the Tower of London, Tate and Tate Modern museums, Stonehenge, the theatre, Victoria and Albert Museum and more. Our last evening in London was spent with a friend (CL Hardy) and her boyfriend, Tim, at the play Shadowlands and then the pub. We were up way to late but, hey, it was our last night.

white, white, white

2008-01-02T14:35:00.000-08:00

The days are short and the sun is scarce but there is no shortage of snow this January. It snowed all New Year's Eve, leaving the trees pimped out with a thick layer of cold, white bling. Denis and I took his Subaru out to Argo Park and shot the event. After an early movie with Greg (the Magic Compass... which was amazing), I donned my thin windwall gloves and continued my photo documentation of the splendor.

i'm don't have that triangle thing

2007-12-28T10:18:00.000-08:00

Cynthia and I had a delicious panini dinner with Denis and his new panini grill. After the meal, Denis and I put on a movie but Cynthia left to be home for an "important" ("boyfriend") phone call.
John Malkovich was just becoming believable as a Stanley Kubrick impostor when a slightly hysterical Cynthia called. My first thought was that she had been in an accident.
"My car won't work. I am stuck halfway out of a driveway and halfway into the road. And I can't find my hazard lights. I don't have that triangle thing!" She was in the early stages of panic.
"Don't worry. Where are you? Denis and I will come and get you." I tried to calm her while struggling with my coat and the door handle.
"What did Denis do to my car?!" She cried. He had just used it to run a couple of blocks to Zingerman's Deli for our panini bread and cheese.
Denis' look of concern turned to one of amusement. "I turned on the parking break. That's all."
"Did you remove the parking break, Cynthia?"... I calmly asked.
"The parking break? I never use the parking break. It's not that...., " pause. "Oh, um it's working now. The parking break was on."
This event will live in infamy.

Is anyone out there?

2007-12-18T13:56:00.000-08:00

If anyone reads this blog they may have noticed that I haven't had an entry in quite a while. The reason for this is simple... Why write a blog if no one is going to read it or communicate with me through it? I read many blogs and find they are all responded to on a regular basis and I routinely contribute to these comments. However, my blog seems to be unread or no one cares enough to make a comment, say they stopped by or care. Therefore, I am seriously thinking of ditching "twisted-yarns". After all, I have many beautiful journals I can write in if I am writing for myself and I have many other things I can be doing instead of writing blog entries and uploading photos to share.
If you read this blog and would like me to continue, let me know.

Thankful

2007-11-14T12:06:00.000-08:00

Greg and I took a short trip out west to visit our daughter, Porscha. While there we hiked, talked, enjoyed an early Thanksgiving, walked Beau (her dog) and got to know Josh (be boyfriend) better. We had a wonderful time.
The view from my window as we flew over the desert was beautiful. While the sun still threw light across the land, mountains, canyons and rivers intrigued me but at the sun went down and darkness enveloped the landscape. Tiny spots of white and gold light lay in small clusters. A narrow line of lights, Moab, came into view and I knew my daughter was one of those small lights. So far away and so small in the dark, my heart reached out to the spot where she is and a tear escaped.

behind the scenes

2007-10-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

golden age

2007-10-22T08:46:00.001-07:00

The Cambodian "Magic Flute" was in Ann Arbor this last week... and, they were amazing. Every moment was precision, expressive and beautiful. Sophiline, the artistic director, explained to me that girls wanting to dance in this style must start before they are eight years old or their joints will be too rigid to forms the graceful hand/finger arches required of them. As I sat back stage watching the show, I caught myself unconsciously bending my fingers backwards. A quick look around and I spotted several stage hands doing the same thing.
The dance group was extremely friendly and positive. This week I will be working with a group from Central Asia and another from Chicago, the Hubbard Street Dance. Pictures to follow.

thank you, best buy & sony

2007-10-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

My generous husband purchased a hp computer/laptop for me last December as an early Christmas gift and I was thrilled. After a month of use the DVD/cd burner/player died and we returned it for exchange. Unfortunately, the model we had purchased was discontinued and we ended up spending $500.00 more to get a comparable Sony Vaio. The name brand reassured us of its quality and reliability. Two months ago, the webcam ceased working and I was told it would have to be sent out for repairs. Knowing I was to be out of town for a week in September, I waited to turn it into Best Buy. It took them 2 weeks to get it back to me... with a completely reformatted hard-drive. Good thing I backed everything up using the Vaio Backup Utility... or so I thought. The 4 DVD's it burned for me before my trip are completely corrupted and I have lost all the work for the last 9 months. Uggggghhhh!!! The icing on the cake? Best Buy charged me, again, to remove the AOL software that comes with the computer because Sony reset everything to the original settings.
Now, I must go and write 2 "strongly worded" letters, one to Best Buy and one to Sony.

paris weather

2007-09-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

46°F
ClearWind: S at 2 mph
Humidity: 87%
Today
68° 48°
Fri
71° 51°
Sat
73° 53°
Sun
77° 55°

Ahhhhh.... I will return in just under a week. Until then... au revoir!

caged heat

2007-09-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

This poor kitty was in the back of a car at the Ypsilanti, Depot Town old car show. His owners may think he likes getting out and being around people rather than staying at home by himself on Thursdays, but his expression shows other emotions.
In addition to this unfortunate cat, we were accosted by a very demonstrative, large black cat when we returned to our car. He leaped into the air to pet himself against my dangling arm and did the same to Cynthia. He was quite an adorable, loving cat. While petting him, Cynthia noticed a large group of cats on the loading dock of a nearby business so we went to investigate. We managed to get within 20 yards before the last of the cats ran off. Although they all looked healthy and robust, they were very skittish and probably wild cats. Too bad it was so dark. I would have loved to have gotten a photo of the lot of them.

cynthia moved out

2007-09-12T23:13:00.000-07:00

I went through the empty-nest syndrome for a while when Porscha first moved out, Cynthia went to Austria for 5 months and Nicole moved back to Europe. It was difficult and lonely for me. The two saving graces seemed to be that Tom (our cat) was still home and Cynthia would eventually move back. Cynthia came back from Austria with a suitcase full of souvenirs, stories and a bit more confidence. She finished high school and is in her second year at WCC - a local community college. Last year, she bemoaned the fact that she was missing out of the full college experience - dorms, friends around all the time, more independence, and so on. It didn't surprise me when she announced that she wanted to move in with a group of friends for this school year. She quit her job at the library, works in Arborland, has borrowed my car to get there and to school and back. She, also, has the cat to keep her company. Good for her.
I am happy for her and, I think, I am handling empty nesting better. Well, except for the sinking feeling that this time it is permanent. It's an vacuous ache in the pit of my stomach, the crawling nerves that trickle up and down my arms and legs when I can't sleep at night. It's the too close tears that try to reveal themselves when friends and neighbors ask me how I'm doing with both kids away.
Children are a joy... no doubt about it. The time goes fast indeed. But all the old adages don't prepare parents for the inevitable emptiness that is left when they move out. Some people tell me they couldn't wait for their kids to leave, more room in the house, less messy, teenagers are a pain... And, it's true that there are benefits to them moving out. I have more time to work on my art, less laundry to do, less dishes to wash but, boy, I miss Cynthia! Don't get me wrong as I miss Porscha as well, but the loss of Cynthia's presence in our house is new, fresh and an open hurt... and she took the cat!

go ask alice

2007-09-06T23:54:00.000-07:00

The thing about being in theatre is that you always get paid for holidays... of course, that is because one always works the holidays. For example, this Labor Day, I worked the Alice Cooper show. Monday, we worked 14 hours, Tuesday, we worked 10. It was gruelling work and I thought I was having a heat stroke for a while but a stint in a very nice man's air-conditioned car and a cold, wet towel around my neck had me back on my feet, pushing, pulling, lifting, tugging, swinging, etc. The last two days I have been trying to make up work for the rest of my life and have been having problems doing so. I am exhausted... exhausted and very bruised. My right forearm has the appearance of heroin use by a drugged out user with a bad aim. Those contusions will heal quickly as they are very superficial. The bruise on the top of my left shoulder, however, will be a painful souvenir of the concert and drag-out for a while. It is extremely tender.

deep fried twinkies

2007-09-05T10:36:00.002-07:00

Think you have seen everything? Eaten everything? Think again! The Michigan State Fair 2007 offered exotic gastronomic concoctions that challenged the definition of "too rich". Take the "deep fried Twinkie" for example. A regular Twinkie is dipped in batter and dunked into a deep fryer until golden brown, It is then pulled out and topped with powdered sugar and drizzled with chocolate. Twinkies not your thing? They also offered deep fried Oreos.

school

2007-09-05T10:36:00.001-07:00

civil war muster and ice cream

2007-08-26T23:09:00.000-07:00

I was up until early, yesterday morning, working on a costume/fashion project for Hobbs and Black so I wasn't sure about my plans for today. Sleeping seemed a priority but... Today there was a Civil War muster in Jackson and it is great fodder for photography and I couldn't resist. Although I am not feeling well, I went and got some great shots. On the way back home, Denis and I stopped in Chelsea for an ice cream splurge. He had the mint ice cream/hot fudge/cream puff/whipped cream special and I stuffed myself with black cherry ice cream topped with hot fudge and a waffle cone. It may be the reason I feel a bit nauseous but it was so worth it!

keeping it too light

2007-08-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

Parking in Ann Arbor is always an unknown factor when trying to plan travel time to a job so I left 50 minutes before I had to be at work and arrived 35 minutes early. I parked across the street from the Michigan and loaded my tool belt with the necessities. In an effort to keep it as light as possible I left my camera in the car. I took a seat on the back stage steps to listen to Rufus Wainwright and wait for the show to end. The music was wonderful and the musicians than ran back and forth from the stage were friendly and entertaining. One of the band members laughed so loud that the stage manager came off-stage to "shush" him but ended up laughing himself. I turned around to see a tuxedo-ed man standing, facing into a corner of the stairway with an orange traffic cone on his head. Slowly her turned around to reveal a large, protruding cucumber...
Note to self: Leave the wrench, bring the camera.

it's dry in the horse barn

2007-08-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

Darkened skies lowered on the fair as we laid down the $14.00 admission and hoped we hadn't wasted the money. 40 yards into the fairgrounds and a loud rolling groan shook the air, the wind picked up and rain poured down. People frantically gathered into their small groups and headed for either the parking lots or, if daring, for one of the large metal barns. I chose the pecked horse barn. The wind whipped through the place as though both doors were still wide open. People made new friends or ran into old ones and chattered away through the 15 minute downpour.
After the danger was passed, we enjoyed the thinned out fair. The rides weren't running but a lively animal auction was taking place in the auction barn where small children paraded their 3 and 4 hundred pound projects out to be bid on by local markets, restaurants and livestock enthusiasts.
The silent rides stood eerie and garish as we made our way past them to the other end of the fairground where the demolition derby cars were sliding through thick, sticky mud and throwing it on anyone wanting to get close enough to take a good photo. We sat the the stands enjoying the show until we both had our limit of mud.

3.5 miles!!!

2007-08-21T18:56:00.001-07:00

Today, I went out for a run with the idea of running absolutely no more than a mile. After running down Cushing Court and back up toward my house I decided to cut up toward the school administration building and then onto the post office. At that point, running felt effortless and I changed my goal. Up to the middle school, through their drive and rounded past the upper middle school, I was smokin'. The run was easy with the exception of the last four blocks and then I pushed it, pushed it all the back home. This 3.5 mile run is 1 mile longer than the run I took last week. It was great! and... I hope just the beginning of my build to be able to run 10 miles.

more wedding photos

2007-08-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

This evening, I will be working in Detroit at Ford Field, tearing down the Kenny Chesney concert. It looks as though it may rain at any moment and I am praying it doesn't. This will be a huge, messy job without the presence of rain. Starting time is 10:30p and we should be done ... ??? maybe, 3a. Wish me luck.

Errin's Wedding

2007-08-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Greg and I made the trek across the state for my niece's wedding. The wedding was scheduled to take place outside and the weather was beautiful. Errin had asked me and another woman to do photography. Although I loved the opportunity to take photos I found it difficult to eat during the reception and found myself and Denis' camera covered in frosting at one point. Although my brother and nephew did a wonderful job cleaning the camera I felt compelled to tell Denis about the incident. Not entirely to my surprise he wasn't that concerned. His response, "Well, if a camera dies in the line of duty it is a good death....." What a guy!

it's raining

2007-08-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Thursday evenings during the summer, Ypsilanti's Heritage Town holds a vintage car event and Denis loves to take photos there. Sometimes I tag along, snap some shots and enjoy the cars and music. The evening light holds magic but only last a short time so we usually put off dinner so that we don't miss any of it and when it wanes we head for a restaurant.
Last week, we ate at Sidetracks. Anyone looking for an interesting menu without being wallet emptying should check out Ypsilanti's Sidetracks. Although they don't appear to have air-conditioning they draw a large crowd and pack their patios. I had the Goat Farm Burritos with marinated portobello mushrooms and goat cheese (of course). Although I would rather not have my plate covered with nachos chips it was delicious and went well with my Cosmo.

working on the show

2007-08-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

It's difficult to say, "no" to friends and fun but I am serious about getting this gallery show up and I want to put a huge of myself into it and be proud to show it. Today, I turned down going to Lansing for a Jazz Concert with Denis and a movie with Greg so that I could work.
I sketched and redrew and rethought my ideas for the "eating disorder" corset but I am sure, now, of what I am doing and I am anxious to get on with it. The back ground of the fabric I am making to sew it out of will be comprised of my scanned notes on my personal experience with bulimia. I don't want to give too much away as this is a public forum but will have photos when everything is up and in the show. No advanced peeks.

genius idea... NOT!

2007-08-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

The roof isn't complete but it already looks fabulous and the yard has been cleaned up. Greg hired a large dumpster to be dropped of for a few days so that we could fill it with roof refuse and then be hauled off. Unfortunately, it was too heavy to move around the yard and there were several piles in various parts of the lawn. Greg thought to chain it to the back of my old Mazda, put a board under the resting leg at the front of the dumpster and pull. It would not budge! What to do? What to do? The obvious answer: Use Greg's old skateboard under the leg and on the board. It worked for about 3 inches and then, "CRACK, SNAP, BANG!!!!" The skateboard didn't make it.

jerilyn's visit

2007-07-28T00:03:00.001-07:00

Last year, we had Jerilyn visit us for a few days during the summer. She is a great deal of fun, with a lot of energy and a fresh view on life. We were thrilled to have her back this year for almost a full week. During her visit, we indulged in bubble tea, saw a couple of movies (Meet the Robinsons and Hairspray), took in some mini-golf and DDR, shopped for bargains and dyed t-shirts. Although I had to work more this year than last I am hoping she had a good time and will visit, again, next year.

New Puppy

2007-07-24T19:47:00.001-07:00

My parents had to put their dog, Suki, to "sleep" last year. At the time they didn't want the responsiblity of a new puppy... potty training, chewing, too much energy, and so one. They are finally up to the task and we (my siblings and I) went together to get them a new puppy. SuziJane is a 8 week old toy dachsund and ny parents are enamored. Unfortunately, I don't think their other dog is as excited about it. Toby was once the apple of their eyes but has lately taken a back sit to SuziJane, whom my mother carries everywhere. It's a bit much and I feel for both dogs. Toby must be confused and hurt and poor SuziJane will never know the joys of being a dog and, instead, will be totted around like a squeeky toy.

pedicures & haircuts

2007-07-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

There is always so much to do that I could constanty be working but... today, Z and I took a couple of hours for beauty. We got new haircuts and pedicures. I, also, got a manicure and haircolor. Here is Cynthia with her new do -

very nice visit

2007-07-14T22:50:00.001-07:00

For the first time in years, we had the pleasure of a visit from Greg's sisters, Linda and Jeanette, and Linda's twins, Maximus and Alexander. Unfortunately, it was an all too short visit but we loved seeing them. We made the most of our visit by going for a long walk, talking, having a relaxing dinner, building a fire and making smores...

bad news calls

2007-07-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

Andi, my niece, has had more bad luck in her short life (20 years) than most people ever have and it seems more bad things happened to her every year. Before she was even born she lost her father, my brother, and today... her 17 year old sister died suddenly. Apparently, Casey had an epileptic seizure while she slept and she smothered. Tomorrow, I plan to head out for a visit with Andi and her mother. The thought of going to the funeral is just too much for me. I have had more than my share of funerals for young people and with 18 and 22 year old daughters I can't and don't want to envision a funeral for a 17 year old girl. Tragic, simply tragic.

waffles & tribulations

2007-07-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter has been working at a diner in Park City, Utah for a few months and has enjoyed it... except for one exception. One of the guys she works with has been verbally abusing her and grabbing her butt. Scariest of all abuse was the threat, "I am going to fu#$-ing kill you, bitch!" She was justifibily upset to the point of tears and vomiting last week and called me for advice. Her boss has agreed to fire the young man responsible for the abuse but there are still problems.
1. The possibility of retribution or stalking
2. The culprits father is very well known to the owner, eats at the restaurant all the time, built his house and didn't like my daughter to begin with.
3. The son has mislead his father regarding the relationship with my daughter, thus he think she mistreated his son.
She likes the job and the people (other than the abuser, obviously) and has started making some improvements in her financial health but isn't comfortable about working there anymore with such hatred in the atmosphere. I am not sure what to tell her except that her self-respect, safety and health are more important than a job. I don't know how this will wash out but am very anxious for her. It was so much easier when she was young and I was able to protect her from strangers.

... survey says, "

2007-07-01T20:14:00.001-07:00

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey

Name: Sally Converse Doucette
Birthday: 12.30... none of your business
Birthplace: Fremont, MI, USA
Current Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Dark Brown (with white)
Height: 5'2"
Right Handed or Left Handed: Right
Your Heritage: Native American, French, English
Your Weakness: Computer games
Your Fears: Falling into deep, dark water, having something bad happen to my daughters, not leaving behind something useful/positive
Your Perfect Pizza: fresh mushrooms, broccoli, banana peppers, shrimp, feta cheese and a light sauce
Thoughts First Waking Up: "No way... not already."
Your Most Missed Memory: I missed making memories with my family the summers I was away from my family for work.
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Either, just give it to me cold without lemon or sugar
Chocolate or Vanilla: vanilla
Cappuccino or Coffee: latte
Do you Smoke: no
Do you Swear: rarely
Do you Sing: everyday
Do you Shower Daily: no... bathe
Have you Been in Love: have been and am
Do you want to go to College: Maybe to finish a MFA
Do you want to get Married: I am
Do you belive in yourself: Yes
Do you get Motion Sickness: Oh, yes
Do you think you are Attractive: Most of the time
Are you a Health Freak: On the edge
Do you get along with your Parents: at a distance
Do you like Thunderstorms: Love them
Do you play an Instrument: Guitar and Ukulele
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol: Cosmos
In the past month have you Smoked: no
In the past month have you been on Drugs: Vicodin and penicillin (root canal)
In the past month have you gone on a Date: no
In the past month have you gone to a Mall: no
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos: no
In the past month have you eaten Sushi: Several times
In the past month have you been on Stage: yes, several times
In the past month have you been Dumped: no
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping: yes, in the Great Salt Lake
In the past month have you Stolen Anything: no
Ever been Drunk: yes
Ever been called a Tease: yes
Ever been Beaten up: yes
How do you want to Die: When I am much older and doing something I love.
What do you want to be when you Grow Up: Happy
What country would you most like to Visit: China
Number of things in my Past I Regret: 1

100 woolies just released!

2007-06-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

we don't know where they went (well, okay, maybe we do...but if we told you, we'd have to kill you...) we don't know where they'll end up...but we DO know they're destined for greatness. or at least something wild and wooly. c'mon knitters! show us just how wild you can be! (dammit jim, i'm a KNITTER, not a doctor!)

ummmm hellllo?

2007-06-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

Cynthia rolled in about 3a this morning. She had been out with Jenny and Jenny's twin sister, Kim. They had enjoyed "Top of the Park" or "Summer Fest" as it is now known and messed around at a park. Innocent enough in the middle of the day but in the middle of the night? 1 - 3a in an Ypsi park? Three young women alone? I don't think so. What were they thinking!? Dolts! I have friends that have children that were murdered in there apartments not far from where they were, in the 70's a serial murder roamed Ypsi killing young women, young women get raped and killed all over this country, everyday and, yet, these three think they are safe hanging out in an abandoned park at 3a. Hopefully, Cynthia will think more before doing something like this again. Her father and I both lectured her and I think she gets it. Of couse, I did stupid things when I was the same age and I am glad I wasn't hurt doing them so I am not completely self-righteous about the happening. But I couldn't stand it if something happened to them. What a perspective difference it makes when one are a parent.

mission accomplished

2007-06-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the deed is done and I survived. It took a little over two hours to gas me, numb me and drill me. A young, female doctor that I hadn't met before tenaciously drilled through the narrow canals of my infected molar and filled the remaining space. To make sure all offending necronizing cells were gone, she xrayed me four times during the procedure. Convinced the job was done to her satisfaction, she sent me to pay my $800 bill and on my way home. The numbness wore off and my jaw and head began to ache so I took one of my remaining Vicodin and a nap. It's 10p and the pain is but a small, dull reminder of this afternoon's event. Now, I can move forward and on with my normal life.
For those of you that may have to go through a root canal in the near or distant future: It's not that bad. Don't let the worrying about it ruin a few days of your life. It is a little more involved than a filling and the drugs alleviate the pain.

pain be gone

2007-06-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

My tooth started aching Friday evening and the pain worsened until I called the dentist Monday morning. Since then I have been living in a Vicodin induced fog but the pain doesn't matter anymore. Tomorrow, I go back to the dentist for a root canal. The name alone strikes fear in my heart. Hopefully, I will be up, pain-free, clear headed and strong by this time tomorrow. Vist me luck as I go under the drill.

weekend of parties

2007-06-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was filled with parties, starting with the "Annual Lugnut Event", with my husband's office, and ending with a Saturday evening birthday party for my guitar instructor (Josh Bornfield). In all, we attened 5 parties. As part of Josh's present I made his a birthday cake with part of the birthday song on it (in G-Major).

a uka-uka-ukulele

2007-06-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

The program said 3:30, Denis thought it must be 3 but then changed his mind to 4:30 with a check of his Blackberry. Not wanting to miss The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, I took at seat at in front of the stage at 3 and listened to a local jazz group playing in the meantime. It was 4:15 before the jazz group started to tear down their things and the Brit's began to set-up.

In the dry British style, the orchestra played a rendition of Shaft that had us rolling. They did some disco, a little classical, "folk?" and a couple of medleys... and all on and only on ukuleles. It was amazing. Fabulous. We loved it! You can check them out on youtube.com. Try searching for their "teen spirit" bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ixsOYEjJxE

Or, my second favorite, the theme to "the good, the bad and the ugly":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3gp7B8WC4Q

life goes round

2007-06-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to see how things flow through out my life. Today, I found myself sitting in on a meeting with LD, DD, DD & DR the founders of a company I used to work for. They had called me in to do some graphics work for them and liked what I was able to do. LD would like to have me work for them, again. If his plans work out they will have the money to hire me and I will certainly entertain the idea. But... after being downsized once I am a bit leery. Of course, I would be in a completely different position and have a great deal more insight into the dealings of the company. Hummmm. Interesting possibility.

eeeeeeee. now that's gross... i mean interesting

2007-06-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

miss you

2007-06-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

stop the madness

2007-05-30T22:15:00.001-07:00

So many things to do, so many different things to do and a limited amount of time to do them. It's a bit daunting. To help organize my work I made a list and was surprised at the number of coals I have burning. There is the upcoming needle-felting class that I am teaching, the magazine article I am writing, two websites that I am maintaining/adding to, gallery show I am preparing for, etc. It seems so enormous that the weight of my obligations stops me in my tracks and I play computer games, a.k.a. waste many hours of my life without anything to show for it. I am desperately trying to discipline myself and organize my time in a more efficient and meaningful way. Without structure, I float through my days without realising they are passing and am surprised when they are over. No wonder I hate to go to bed and end the day. Although its May, almost June, I think I will make an addendum to my New Year's resolutions to cut down on the procrastination and put some structure into my life. That's it... So it is written, so it will be done. I will organize my life.

tba

2007-05-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, I drove 40 minutes to Williamston (just outside Lansing) for a meeting about next season's design work. As usual, I was running late and struggled with parallel parking. Two weeks ago, I saw Tony for the first time in thirteen years. He had produced my first costume design show... Gypsy... over 200 costumes... a few volunteers... and almost no money. Since then, he has worked for Purple Rose and started his own theatre. Me? I raised my two children, went back to school to finish my degree, worked all over the country (including a stint in the Big Apple), quit theatre for a while and started, again. We looked through my portfolio and the line up of next season's shows. We talked for about an hour and I left feeling good.
Stay tuned to see what happens next! Will I get a show? Two? Costume design? Set design?... Is Sylar really dead?

scary bear

2007-05-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

An old motel, advertising "RCA Color TV", lives beside the Mexican restaurant we ate at the second day of our stay in SLC, UT. The "Kiddie Fairy Land" once boasted a waterfall, a couple of pools, playhouse and critters for the "kiddie's" to enjoy.

faux marble

2007-05-23T00:05:00.000-07:00

Cynthia, Beau, Porscha and Josh gathered on Porscha's front porch for a quick photo and momento of our first trip to visit her in Utah. It was difficult to leave her and Beau but we left with some amazing memories and the hope of seeing her again, soon. (I love you, Porscha!)

Spiral Jetty, Great Salt Lake, UT

2007-05-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

Cynthia and I have been having a tremendous time in Utah with Porscha and Beau. Yesterday was particularly rewarding as we drove into the middle of nowhere for about 2 and 1/2 hours and found the "Spiral Jetty". It was a bit disappointing as it was partically submerged but we enjoyed wading trhough the rocks until Cynthia's Teva's caught on a rock and sent her backwards into the water. Fortunately, she quickly raised her camera to the gods for protection an dit was, thus, saved.
Since she was already wet, I suggested she continue her swim and see if she would really float in the "Great Salt Lake". Yes, she did. Porscha, Beau (with Porscha's help) and I joined her. We had no swimsuits with us so went au natural... Yes, the swimsuit has been drawn on me.

spring cleaning

2007-05-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining, wild fires are flaring and the cat meows to get outside. It can only mean one thing... Spring is finally sprung and it's time to do some deep cleaning. We are busy people and it makes doing a thorough job difficult but I am trying to take it in baby steps, daily baby steps.

Beside me, on the floor is a stack of things to try to sell on e-bay. It's not so much the money it will bring but getting these things to people that will appreciate and use them that is important. It makes me feel guilty to see the number of things I buy and never use much or that have been replaced with new technology. Not many people want the music cassettes but the Suzuki Cd's and Latin books are a hit. Unless someone has a better idea I will be taking what doesn't sell to the Salvation Army except the books. Those I will give away or donate to the community library.

trolling for next season's work

2007-05-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

The work is gruelling and consuming with no job security. Why do I do it? Partially, I love to see a show come together and being a part of a great show. When I do a set design I love thinking of r the spaces when the actors can bring the story alive and doing it in an interesting manner than adds quality and imagination to that world and a place where the director can bring his/her best efforts forth. And... I just love to build a small scale model and watch it become life size. The part I really don't enjoy is trying to line up jobs for the next season. The pursuit has started for next year's jobs and is going well so far. I have couple of calls back and an offer to write an article for a new magazine (This could lead to more.) and a gallery show coming up. Two shows and the rest would be fine with me because I don't want to be as busy as I have been the last six months, besides I am still working for the union. For those of you reading this... wish me luck!

beautiful weather & a day off

2007-05-01T00:15:00.000-07:00

It's been months... over 6 of them, since I had a day off without having to worry about a show and much longer since I had one off with good weather. Fortunately the two (good weather and a day off without a show to worry about, that is) came together last Saturday and I was able to enjoy a long walk in Ann Arbor's Arboretum.

the show's up!!!

2007-04-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

Last evening was final rehearsal and tonight it opened. It is so very strange not to have something to do every single minute of my day/night. Although I have websites to maintain and a gallery show coming up I have decided to take it easy this week. I will work on these things but at a somewhat reduced pace and let the burnout dissipate.

sad day in daffodil-land

2007-04-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

Not to long ago in Ann Arbor, the daffodils raised their smiling yellow faces to a warm, bright sun. They were hopeful, young, strong and a beautiful sign of spring. Since then, the realities of April in Michigan have dashed them about and broken their backs. Their faces meet hard, cold earth and they give in to snow and frigid temperates and weep.

keb'mo'

2007-03-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

Wednesday evening, Keb' Mo' (born Kevin Moore 1951, noted American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter) played the Ann Arbor Michigan Theatre. Earlier that day, I received an unexpected called from the IASTA to help with the move-in and then the load-out. It was hard work made more so by the towers of speakers the tour brought with them. They were prepared for much larger venues with the equipment to haul up the speakers via lifts. Thursday I was covered with bruises and am questioning the intelligence of my working as a stagehand for these types of shows. My small stature limits my ability to do somethings and increases the risks of someone getting hurt. I was worried about my call to work, Friday, for the UofM Groove program. As it turned out, I enjoyed the work which was mostly lighting with no heavy lifting and no holding down lighting pipes loaded with three hundred pounds in stage weights that would send it flying if someone isn't doing there job. (Photos used here are from www.kebmo.com, Keb'Mo's official website and are for the sole purpose of illustrating whom I am talking about.)

gallery opening

2007-03-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

The Krappy Kamera Club had its first gallery show, which opened last weekend. Ross (VoxPhoto on flickr.com) posted this photo of Cynthia and I at the opening. Interesting note: The soft lighting was made possible via his "Tuperware diffuser".

sunday morning pleasures

2007-03-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

Although I enjoy cooking, I rarely have the time to make a good meal... except for Sundays mornings. The family (well, not Porscha she lives far, far away) is together and I like to make an traditional breakfast.

more renderings

2007-03-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

costume renderings

2007-03-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

Today, my back and neck are hurting as I have spent most of the day drawing and painting on the computer but I like the results and, therefore, it's worth the pain. For the first time I drew and colored my costume design renderings completely on computer, using Illustrator and Photoshop. Attached are some of the renderings, let me know what you think.

helping out - the sequel

2007-03-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, I did help Madeleine. She called, again, Monday evening and asked about the possibility of my working at Eastern on Tuesday. The union has no work for me this week and the designs for the dance are going well so I managed to give Mad 7 hours today. It felt good to help her out and she managed to get funding to pay me. Woo Woo. Of course, I would have done it anyway but it sure is nice.
I am saving some money up for an acoustic guitar so that I can bring it with me, easily, and play places other than home. Today, I received a paycheck from Comic Opera Guild and it is going to the guitar fund as I worked really hard on that show and the money is really just a pittance. The pleasure I wil get through paying it will make up for some of the stress building the set caused.

the recital, the union, the mascot, the websites and friends

2007-03-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

The IATSE has kept me very busy for the last week and I am very appreciative as the check should be enough to get me out to visit Porscha. Last night, I was up until 6a working on the drawings for Albion's dance recital. Although the drawing is going well worries about the budget and build time are hanging dark. In the morning I had an meeting with Linda of SquareRose.com. She started her business and put up a website just over a year ago and things are moving well. She took a class in DreamWeaver but isn't confident in her abilities, so she wants me to kind of hold the bike while she takes her first ride. She, also, needs a couple additions to her site and some photography done. Lisa from UofM's graphic design department has asked me to produce another mascot for them and... Madeline called first thing this morning to see if she could hire me to help at Eastern. Wow! It's nice to be in demand but since there is only one of me I have to learn to say, "no," to some of this work. Mad is a dear friend and I would love to help her out but it can't happen.
Is it a "woman thing" or just a "person thing" that makes it difficult to walk away when one could help out a friend even though it would be detrimental to the person doing the helping out? Either way, I just have to get used to looking after myself first and not always being available to help others. Geeez, just thought of it makes me crazy.

numb fingers

2007-03-17T01:07:00.000-07:00

It's been just over a week since I bought my guitar and just over a week since I had my first lesson. My repetoire is E-, A- and B7 and Cynthia is anxious for my to learn more chords or a song. I can't say that I blame her because playing the same 3 chords each day at a 1/2 hour per day is more than 1 hour per chord and a great deal for anyone to have to listen to. Fortunately for her, I have a headset so that she doesn't have to listen to my "amplified" practices. Although my fingers are sore I am enjoying this process and look forward to my Sunday lesson.

busy again

2007-03-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

Those that read my blog are probably getting annoyed with how many times I say it but.... "Damn I'm busy!!!" I am in the midst of my final design for Albion College and am in the drawing phase. Fortunately/unfortunately, I have the union work to do to. I love working for the union. The work is very interesting and I get to meet many unusual, intelligent people. The money is great and I am very lucky to have so much work coming in right now so I don't want to turn any of it down, besides it wouldn't weigh well toward my acceptance into the union.
This Saturday, I worked my first "big" concern, the Justin Timberlake concert at Joe Louis Arena, Detroit. We loaded in and packed up 28 semi-tractor trailors. My part of it took 10 full hours of none stop manual labor and I loved it. When I returned home I weighed myself and found I had lost 3 pounds since the morning. I had Sunday off, drew and went for a walk with my family. Today, I am back at it a the Michigan Theatre andddd Urban Tap.

my new baby

2007-03-09T17:29:00.000-08:00

In fifth grade, when everyone else was getting an instrument and learning how to play I was just trying to survive my mother's abandoning me and my parent's divorce. Since then I have worked to afford living. Finally, I have a few extra dollars and am able to learn to play that instrument I always wanted to play. This lovely, candy apple red guitar is mine and Sunday I have my first private lesson. I am so excited that I have, already started working on chords via the instructional DVD that came with the guitar/amp package and have been practicing in my dreams. Wooo woo. Wish me luck.

Wendy, Kiyoshi and I

2007-03-04T21:00:00.000-08:00

This souvenir photo of Wendy, Kiyoshi and I was taken on a cruise of the Seine. It's hard to believe it was only a week ago.

still lagging

2007-03-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

I am sooooo tired. My throat is starting to feel better and I have been getting much needed sleep but I am still tired. Hopefully, it is just because I have been running myself ragged and it will soon pass. Usually I get going when I need to and when things relax I crash. Well, Sunday I have to drive to Albion for strike and Monday I have three meetings so I better crash now and hustle then.

creme bruele to die for

2007-02-28T05:52:00.000-08:00

Wendy and I went to Paris to visit Kiyoshi, who is the best host in the world. While there, he treated us to Eze where we stayed in Chateau Eza the former home of the Crown Prince of Sweden. Our first evening in Eze we ate a wonderful meal at the chateau which, ironically, was Japonaise. It was an interesting Franco versions of Japanese cuisine and included five courses, one of which was sushi. It was served with a fork?... which threw us so we asked for chopsticks. We received a look of complete puzzlement for this request so we used our hands to eat the delicately rolled ball of salmon and rice. Of all the delicious meals we ate while on vacation, my favorite dish as the creme bruele. It was a light, creamy, cool dish topped with a sliver of sugary stained glass.

i'mmmmmm baaaack!

2007-02-27T20:06:00.000-08:00

7 days away and I am anxious to get back to my family, friends and work. The South of France, Italy and Paris were beautiful/amazing, not to mention... delicious. When one is with Kiyoshi, they don't go hungery. We ate our way around the country. Right now, I am extremely jet-lagged and ready to sleep so I will get back with more details later. Au revoir.

...on parade

2007-02-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Subject 1: In just two short days I will be winging my way to the South of France and I am stoked! In the meantime I have quite a few things to get done. First, the costumes of Fiddler have to be Ready enough for the students at Albion to finish. Done! Tonight a "dress parade" was held to see were we stand and things appear in great condition. There are many alterations to do, the constable's jacket and two Russians' shirts to make but a whole week to finish the work. Second, notify the Union that I will be out of town... Done. Third, pack and make copies of my itinerary for the family. Done. There are a few other things to do but they are small and, mentally, I am already there.

Subject 2: Porscha is on her way to El Paso for a few days of climbing. It's great that she is able to see old friends and have a break from work but I sure worry about her getting there, sleeping in her car and getting home. From the time she leaves her home until the time she arrives back home I worry. (I love you, Porscha! Keep safe.)

Subject 3: Cynthia and Virgina are out at the Necto tonight. Surprized? I am. Virginia talked Cynthia into putting on a satin brocade corset and gold jeans and off they went.

and, Subject 4: This morning I had a glorious manicure and pedicure at Silk, an upscale nail salon in Ann Arbor. Alexis bathed my feet in rose-petal water, slathered it with cucumber creams and exfoliators, as I set back in a body massaging chair. Two and a half hours, I walked in a relaxed fog to my car with my sparkly copper fingertips. Sounds like a dream, doesn't it? Well, it was until nine of the ten tappered nail shed their lacquered coats completely! Tomorrow morning you will find me in the manicurist's chair again.

shopped 'til i dropped

2007-02-10T19:18:00.000-08:00

The heat is on as the shows come into technical week and I still quite a bit to do especially for Fiddler. It would have been very nice to go skiing with Greg tonight but I just got home from shopping for shoes, fabric, coats, wigs, hat, paint, dye and so on. Now that I am home I have sorting and building to do. The first thing I should do is build a rope ladder and then sails for the masts of Pirates of Penzance, next I will sort out my purchases for Fiddler and cut out three vests and a pair of pants. It would be nice to work out tonight but I am insistant about getting my eight hours rest tonight. As for cleaning the house? Well, I bought Cynthia a pair of nice shoes tonight and am hoping she will do me a favor and help out. Wish me luck!

count down

2007-02-09T22:07:00.000-08:00

Things are beginning to come together for Fiddler and that makes me more relaxed. I worked in Albion all day and supervised the students work. There is much to do and many students stop by to help out. They come in not knowing anything about sewing or having some experience and, if I'm lucky, very experienced. But mostly, they have never sewn before. It slows my progress to stop and explain how to gather or clip; corners or finish an edge, but teaching and watching the excitement that comes with mastering a new skill.
My first sewing experience was in 7th grade HomeEd (Now, known as domestic engineering) where I made a knit tank top of a blue, white and turquoise blocky print with a navy ricrac trim. Back in the seventies even Meijer's sold fabric. Now, it's difficult to find sewing material.
I would like to write more but I have been trying to get to sleep earlier and the wine I am drink has started to take effect. So I must sign off for tonight. I'll catch up with you tomorrow.
Good night.

Stressed by making progress

2007-02-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has been days, maybe a week since I have posted to my blog. No apologizes but an explanation... I have been so busy that I have been barely able to sleep. A typical day goes something like this: I wake about 6a. and go to Ann Arbor's Power Center and run wardrobe for the Hubbard Street Dance Company, off at 1p. and spend the next few hours shopping the show I am doing for Albion College, run back home to grab a bit and some paint clothes and I am ready to work on the set for Pirates of Penzance from 7:30p to 10:30p, finally, I return home to do paperwork, any web updates for my clients and organize costumes for the next day. Usually, I get to bed about 4 but two nights ago I couldn't turn off my mind and was only able to sleep 1.5 hours. How do I keep going? Well, Pirates moves into the theatre next Monday so I can see the light at the end of that tunnel and I leave for France on the 21st and the thought of that mental health break keeps me going. Fiddler opens the day after I return so that will be off my plate. However, I still have one more show to design before the madness is under control. That is the dance show for Albion College. But, I don't want to think about that now. My most desperate concern is the union. I call in every Monday to see what jobs they have for me that week and I can not turn them down. Things have worked out well so far but the next week is very busy already and I don't know how I could fit another 15 minutes of work into it.
Tonight, I wanted to go to a show at Eastern for one of my old professors that is retiring. He is designing the set and my friend, Madeliene, is designing costumes. It was there final dress and I was to take photos. After returning from Albion I just couldn't get up the energy and I still have some planning to do for tomorrow so I decided not to do it. The guilt is heavy but I have to learn to do what I have to do for myself. This was a first step.

show update

2007-01-31T21:22:00.000-08:00

The details are a bit too gory to go over here but let me say.... THAT WAS SOME NOSE BLOW! I can breath now!

The show is going fairly well, but I am nervous about relying on the students to organize and sew the things that need making. Today, I spent almost $400 of the budget on thread and fabric. Tomorrow, I plan to spend about half that. There is little more than three weeks left to build the show. The director e-mailed me today to ask about adding 16 new costumes to the budget. That is more than 50% of the costumes we already have. Of course, I said it wasn't financially possible and that time just wouldn't allow us to build them. I suggested adding masks and shawls to the "dream scene" instead of whole new costumes and she likes the idea. Well, I will cut this off here so I can get some sleep. I have to get up early to pull rental costumes.

Snow Storms Coming

2007-01-29T17:05:00.000-08:00

A drive to Albion College is just over an hour in good weather. We are expecting 6 to 12 inches of snow in the by tomorrow evening and my contract with Albion College states that I will be there two days per week, Tuesdays and Fridays. Damn! Well, I do have Maalox and can get up early. The show goes up in just over three weeks so I will cross my white knuckles and pray for the best.

Ready, set.... GO!

2007-01-28T20:57:00.000-08:00

I finished paining the costume sketches for Fiddler, last night, and finished the plot today. It is such a relief. Now, I can concentrate on pulling, renting and building.

whiling away the hours, playing with some water

2007-01-26T21:19:00.000-08:00

The sketchs for Fiddler are complete and inked in on watercolor paper. All there is to do now is... paint them, scan them, make a costume Bible and pull list for the costume shop, sew, drape, shop, rent, schedule and follow though with fitting and put it all together in the next three weeks. I'll keep you updated.
An aside: Porscha was just okayed to get her own apartment is very excited about it. I am happy for her as she has wanted this since she was about four. Although she and Beau will be living by themselves, they will be just blocks from her present roommates and other friends. I'll give her a couple of months to get comfortable and go for a visit.

lighter shade of pale

2007-01-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

It snows then freezes, drizzles and snows. Don't get me wrong I am not complaining. The cold, slippery weather outside makes staying inside easier. It's cozy and warm in my down layered bed and I have been able to sleep, wake and then sleep some more. With all this rest I have been able to push through one illness only to find another on the other side. My sinuses are no longer stuffed and the sneezing, body aches and swollen eyes are yesterdays' problems but they have been replaced by a sore throat, tired, weak and pale.
Tonight, I painted over my ghostly pallor and ventured out to to see Dream Girls with Cynthia and Denis. It was refreshing to be out in the crisp air, chat and sip a late at Amer's. The short break has lifted my spirits and given me hope that my health will soon be restored and my energy will return and see me through the work I need to complete Fiddler and Pirates.