Cinderella

Angelina was a Dancing (snooty) Lady in the Cinderella musical performances on Friday and Saturday. She had a great time being involved with this production; you could tell by the excitement in her voice when we asked how practice went for the day. We will definitely be making time for this group next summer.

The entire cast of Cinderella (rags to riches version)!

This isn't the typical Cinderella story ... as you can see by the costumes. The actor standing on the far left is Patches; he's also one of the traveling directors for the company. The second director was behind the stages making sure all the kids were ready to go. Patches was the narrator for the whole show and was onstage for all ... he tied it all together. The show had many twists and turns in the story line and word play was funny. We enjoyed watching and it was fun for the kids to perform. Below is the group of snooty Lords and Ladies, Angelina is sitting on the far left, front row.

Angelina, on the left, gives her best snooty look - she's pretty good at it!

Her brother Dash has been living out the excitement vicariously! I know he regrets NOT trying out, now. When he found out it was Cinderella, I could tell that was a turn off - it's a 'girl' show. But, Angelina has told him every detail, and I can hear them talk, animatedly, about everything ... from tryout songs, expressive individual spoken lines during tryouts, and how kids from town (kids they've met) play their parts. Anyway, it's really fun to see the kids excited about something new.

We attended the Friday show. Grandma & Grandpa Green Acres will attend tonight. Quite funny and amazing what the two leader/directors did with this group in one week.

Landscaping

The paver sidewalk from our garage pad to the front steps is done!!! We plan to have the landscaper add a half circle to the top of the paver pad in front of the steps to add a bit more room (and a bit of character). But, as you can see, there is a lot more work to be done ... with dirt.





All I could think about was covering the dirt with grass when we started summer; now, we'll need more dirt to fill in around the foundation and build up a few areas. I'm okay with the fact that not all the yard will be seeded this fall. It just makes more sense to get the ground 'flowing' right before seeding grass. We plan to seed the east side of the yard for sure - that's where the swingset will be built, so the kids will have grass to play on next spring. That ought to preserve my sanity a little.

I still need to get my poor perennials in the ground. I'm planning a flower garden in front of the SFG & tomato garden, so that's probably where I'll plant the perennials ... at least for winter. At this stage of pregnancy, it's more important to just get the plants in the ground! I can play around with design over the winter and move plants next spring when I'm able to bend at the waist. I sure hope this new little one likes the outdoors, because we are going to be outdoors A LOT.

More sewing

Last night I finished off two flannel baby blankets. I've made quite a few of these over the years as gifts and they've become very easy for me to complete. You do get what you pay for with flannel; that was evident from the few yards I purchased at different stores. I like the thick, soft flannel, for which I paid a bit more.

There are different qualities of blanket binding too, but I haven't figured out how to tell the difference yet. I've only seen one kind of packaging/brand.

I'm hoping that I'll have a use for the purple blanket ...

Sewing and such

Last week, I found a bit of time to go through some of my sewing tubs. It started out as a mission to find fabric to match a pajama top for Angelina and layout/cut-out/sew a pair of pajama bottoms for Graham. In the process, I found quite a few old projects ... even one that was not MY project, but was given to me (I must be nuts cuz I agreed to take someone else's partially finished project!! Please don't send me yours ... although, now that I'm in this mode, yours might get done if it arrives on my doorstep.). I made up a bag for my quilt group, and I took out all the unfinished projects and put them in a tall pile on my sewing table.

The almost-finished pajama bottoms (they are now finished).

Slowly, I'm sewing to completion. At least two of the old projects had been cut out for SIX years! Yes, the boxers were for Dash when he was six ... he's now twelve. The other pair of boxers are for my husband.

Why I thought I should make boxers for my boys, I do not know. The pattern is simple to cut and sew ... maybe it has something to do with the cost of boxers ... the going rate is about $7/pair for men! That's a big price for one pair.

Proof of how long the project has been in my tub ... Size 6.

Unfinished no more! Both boxers are completed and ready to be put away.

The unfinished project I was given is a blue plaid flannel shirt (medium men's). Too small for hubby and probably too big for Dash, but I figure Dash will grow into it at some point, right???The front, back and facing were sewn together; all other pieces were either cut or ready to cut. Oh, did I mention there were no instructions - that's the crazy part - why did I take this project? And, why in the world am I sewing it this week???

I took this pic because it shows the plackets ... I haven't sewn plackets (the overlapping part on a sleeve just above the cuff) in years. I could not remember, for the life of me, the whole process. Thank goodness I had an old pattern that showed how to 'do it' so I could refresh my memory. One placket turned out great; the other not so great. But, Dash is not a clothing judge, so it will probably fly by without scrutiny.

Then, there's the casual suit (skirt & jacket) for me that is already cut out. I think I'm just silly enough to sew that right now, even though I won't be able to wear it for months; maybe it would fit next summer. The thought of it being done is tugging at me, but the verdict on whether this will be completed is still out... there'll be a pic later if I actually attempt this silliness.

Amid all the old projects, I've been finishing up a few new baby projects, too. I have an assortment of flannels for burp cloths and flannel blankets. I have three burp cloths left to embellish and about four blankets. Not all are for the Baby Lahlum.

The fish patterned flannel was irrestible AND it was in the remnant section at a discount.

Froggy's Mother

Have you ever read this book?? It's one of those children's books that even I enjoy reading over and over because it's absolutely hilarious.

Today, I felt like Froggy's Mother ....

"Ange - liiiiiinaaa, I need your history workbook so I can finish correcting."

"Zeeeeeeke, please come and put your binder on the shelf."

"Ange - liiiiinaaa, you need to correct this answer."

"Daaaash, you need to do your handwriting on a hard suface."

"Zeeeeeke, read the word. Don't guess!"

An Audition and Pre-Registration

Today, Angelina tried out for a part in Cinderella, presented by The Missoula Children's Theatre, a traveling theatre company that brings direction and all the costumes needed for the performance. It's a one week commitment - perfect from my stand-point! Practices are from 1:00-5:30p each day this week (depending somewhat upon the parts) and the two performances on Friday and Saturday are at 8:00p. Then, we are done.

Angelina will be in a group of Lords and Ladies ... snooty Lords and Ladies! The try-outs were fun to watch. The leaders lined all the kids - approx. 54 - up by height and then asked each child to speak together as a group and alone in front of the group. Each child was also asked to show movement (marching and large, expressive motions to go with their speaking) and sing. From this, they were able to choose children for all the parts. I can't wait to see the show.


After theatre auditions, Angelina and I traveled to Ellendale (about 60-70 miles from our farm ... yes, still a drive, but closer than the 100 miles to Fargo/Moorhead) for dance registration. She'll be enrolled in ballet, tap and jazz. The great part is that all these classes take place on ONE day in the span of 1.5 hours. This will fit our 'getting busier' schedule much better.

My bonus for going tonight was that we were able to find used ballets, taps and jazz shoes! That's quite a huge savings.