Madama Butterfly

On the eve of my departure for my next job, I finally sit down and write about my last job, Madama Butterfly. All around, it was a great production.... superb cast, simple but beautiful set and gorgeous, mostly uncomplicated costumes.

The set was unique as in it was raked enough to remind us all that we did indeed have muscles in our legs that we did not use normally. By the time we were well into onstage rehearsals, I had forgotten how extreme the rake was since we'd all gotten our 'rake legs'. The rake grew more and more extreme as it got closer to the curtain. In fact, the lowest platform actually tipped down into the pit. Simple, yet dramatic. Very suiting to the piece, I think.

Here's the view from the balcony, which gives a better idea of the rake:



What you can't see is the 26 stairs leading up to the rear of the mountain. Let's just say that I really got my exercise during tech week.

What was really fun was opening night. Butterfly opened the season, so there was a gala of sorts. We (staff) wore corsages (yes, a la prom)



and ate dessert sushi - which bears an uncanny resemblance to real sushi except its made of fruit, coconut and who knows what else, but it was TASTY!





And lastly, our lobby was adorned with decorated parasols:





Brava tutti! I will certainly miss everyone and look forward to our next show together... wherever it may be.



Still to come: Driving Adventures

Exploring Utah

Once we open the show, we have every other day off. All those long days really pay off come performance time. I've spent some of those days off exploring the area around Salt Lake City.

Some friends took KE and I to Antelope Island, which is an island in the Great Salt Lake. We saw no antelope, but we did see many bison (Antelope Island is home to TONS of bison), and we also saw a fox and a VERY large snake.

Let me just preface this picture by saying a) I was using my 55-250mm zoom lens and b) i was in a car. And pretty damn terrified.



Here's a lovely picture of the low-level lake to distract you:







The amazing thing about Antelope Island was the silence - it was so close to the city and yet absolutely silent.

Today, I went with a fellow photo buddy and we explored two canyons of the Wasatch Mountains including some very windy roads.





I'll cover opening night soon... probably after closing, which is tomorrow afternoon!

New Look

Inspired one of the blogs I read, I adjusted my layout. I'm not wholly in love with it, but I'm liking it better than the skinny look I had before. It will also allow me to post larger photos, which I prefer. But now all my 'small' ones look funny. We'll see if I change them.

I'll catch up on overdue posts soon...

Necklaces

Some gals have billions of pairs of shoes, mostly designer. Some gals have a large collection of designer handbags. Me? Apparently my thing is necklaces. I can't really pinpoint where it started; but I think someone complimented my necklace choice several times; and said something to me, appreciating my taste in jewelry.

Thus started my collection of jewelry. There's no question I'm picky and I'm definite a fan of the "less is more" style of jewelry. Most of the jewelry in my collection comes from NY&CO, surprisingly enough. That is, until now.

I've blogged before about the farmer's market here in SLC which just had its last weekend this Saturday past. I found this fabulous designer there named Dee Horn. Her designs are simple, elegant, and, unlike many of her fellow jeweler's at the market, affordable. I probably have spent more than I should have at her booth; but I have a lot to show for it. Not all of it was for me: more than a few were meant as gifts and some others might end up that way still.

What's even better, is that she is willing to work/sell from afar. Honestly, I don't know when I'd make it back to Salt Lake, much less during Farmer's Market time. I don't know anyone here except work folk. So I was highly pleased that I'd found a great designer, an affordable designer and someone willing to work long-distance.

Here's a sampling of some of her work. Some are purchases (mostly backed by purple) and some are taken from her booth. Her booth was uber-busy on the final weekend and there were many returning customers like me... that's a testament to her!

















I wish I had more pictures of her necklaces from the booth, but the pictures are really busy because of how she displays most of them.

If you like her work and are interested, let me know and I'll give you her info. She's a real sweetheart! Did I mention that this talented lady does this as a side business? She's a nurse by day!

Up next: Opening Night and Nature Adventures

My DSLR's First Snow

Yeah, it certainly isn't *MY* first winter. Certainly not, I'm a midwestern gal. But I don't live the midwest anymore and I keep living in places that don't have 'true' seasons: LA, Houston. I think this is my first snow in a good long while. I don't remember where I was last winter anyway - probably Houston.

At any rate, it's the first time I've been around snow since my increased interest in photography and the acquisition of more advanced equipment to pursue said interest.

So when the snow really began to fall like it does in a shaken-up snow globe, I broke out the camera and walked downstairs.

Here's just a few photos to share, check out more at flickr.











At least this was pretty snow that only stuck to greens, flowers and parked cars. It didn't stick to roads much at all, thankfully.

SNOW?!

Yeah, you read right. Snow, on October 11th. No kidding.

It's not much right now, but I think this is the earliest I've seen snow in awhile.

And it's perfectly timed with my day off... *sigh*



More in the morning, maybe. I'm off to bed. It's been a very long week, one that I don't care to repeat.

Long Week And It's Only Wednesday

It has been a long week and yes, it's only Wednesday. Things Ike-related (yes, that bad I-word again) exploded in a major way and this blogger was NOT happy. Things have been mostly resolved thanks to the kindness of a good friend, PS, who is a life-saver.

So now I blog about my other super-pup, Tommy, because he makes my day. And I have super-cute pictures of him to cheer me up.

Tommy is the least terrier-like terrier because he's so mellow in personality and has lots of love without overwhelming you and jumping like he has a spring in his legs. He's very unlike his sister.

Due to his personality, he's what you call a therapy dog. He visits sick kiddos at a children's hospital and rehab centers to offer those in occupational and physical therapy a variation in their therapeutic routines.



I mean, how can you resist that smile? That's Tommy with his favorite toy, Yellow Swan. He lights up like a kid at Christmas when he sees Yellow Swan and is happier than a clam in mud. Yes, I used cliches, but they're ever so applicable.

But my new fav picture of all time is this one:



I'm still SHOCKED I got this photo. I had no idea I'd made this capture until I was uploading the photos from the camera. I can say for sure I wouldn't have gotten this photo without my DSLR.

Tommy does this trick called "1-2-3" and on three, we toss the cheerio and he catches it in his mouth. We were doing this in the midst of a dual photo session (in fact, Pippin is on the far right of this cropped photo). I just started snapping away, kind of in the hopes of catching the cheerio in mid-air. Not even dreaming that I'd capture this.

I just about squealed and levitated out of my chair when I saw this. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do...

Pippin

Yesterday (Sep 30) was my baby girl's FIFTH birthday. It seems like just yesterday that she was a rambunctious little puppy and driving us all nuts with her boundless energy. Oh wait, that's still true.



All kidding aside, I love this little bundle of energetic fur. She gets so excited sometimes that she makes squeaking sounds (hence the nickname PipSqueak) and she'll shower you with kisses if you're willing.

When I'm home, she waits eagerly at the den doors for me to get up (our house gets up very early) and once she spots me, she starts bounding up and down so excitedly that Tommy, our other dog, tries to restrain her.



During the day, she often pops into my room, gives my leg a lick and bounds right back out - as if she's checking to see if I was still there.



When she's calm, she cuddles very well and she's an excellent alarm dog. She never hesitates to let us know that there's a car passing by or that there's the awful neighbor cat terror in the backyard.

Her favorite perch is our big front window so she can "spy" on the neighborhood and "supervise" the watering of the new front gardens.



She's a headstrong little gal and often tries to boss her big brother around and hasn't quite learned the meaning of sharing, but she's still an adorable creature, isn't she?