Monday, October 31, 2005
Halloween Weekend
First and foremost, here is a photo of 4 of the kittens from the litter that I am picking from - man are they EVER adorable!!! They are 3 weeks old:
OK, now that I've gotten that out of the way, it's time to summarize one rather hectic and fun weekend....
Friday I was pretty tired. I had stayed up till 4 AM finishing the mural on Thursday night so I napped at lunch and then again after work. Around 9:30 PM, I headed over to The Blue Olive to see Kizzy sing with the band Opa. It was a very nice evening - I loved the music they did and of course Kizzy was fabulous. She has a lovely voice and it was great to hear her sing something other than her usual karaoke choices. She looked and sounded fabulous! I'm looking forward to catching her the next time she performs. Oh yes - and Jamie's song was hilarious - of course!
Saturday morning I wound up getting some much-needed groceries. By the time I got them unpacked and put away, it was time to head to rehearsal. We were working on Act 2 and as soon as my scene was done I got pulled away to help out with costumes, which was a nice little change. Then it was time to head home and do more costume stuff - this time for Halloween! Kristi and Ann came over and I helped them with their hair and makeup and we had a blast getting ready together. We then headed over to the ABEC to catch the Improv there. They were very good. My cheeks were sore from smiling so much, and I certainly enjoyed a few really good deep belly laughs. I think they have done a good job organizing it. It's really worth seeing if you get a chance! (I think they'll next be performing at the Somerset Pub on December 8th.)
After Improv, we did a lot of running around. We stopped in at the Somerset Pub but no one we knew was there yet. Then we went to Churchills for a drink and an appetizer, then The Ale House to say hello to one of Ann's friends, then back to the Somerset Pub where we caught up with Kizzy and Jamie and Stephen. Kizzy and Jamie were dressed as "The Queen of Hearts" and "The Mad Hatter". Brenda had made these amazing costumes for them. You could tell she put a lot of effort into them - they were incredible! We stuck around for a little bit and I got up and sang All That Jazz then we left and went to Allain's for his house party. It was a nice gathering that was realatively low-key - which was just my speed for the evening. Here are the photos of folks in their costumes that I know you've been waiting for:
I called my costume "The Fallen Angel" because I'd lost some feathers from one of the wings - so it was easy to say that I broke it on my fall:
Here is Suzy as a "Gypsy Fortune Teller" and Kristi as "The Ghost of Marie Antoinette":
Here is Ann as a "Can-Can Dancer" and Kizzy as "The Queen of Hearts":
Here is Jamie as a "The Mad Hatter":
And Here are Allain as a "Pirate" and Anthony as "Darth Vader":
And that was Saturday night. Sunday was another busy day. I visited the kittens at Bill and Dawn's then made it back in town to the production meeting to catch up with Marzenna about makeup, then we had rehearsal where we ran the full show, then I was supposed to go to Liz's pumpkin carving party but I couldn't manage to gather the strength to go out again. I wound up having a very quiet night in. I really needed it.
Posted by Dre at 7:35 AM
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Friday, October 28, 2005
Sandy's mural
Yay! All done:
Posted by Dre at 8:06 AM
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Thursday, October 27, 2005
In Progress
Well, I didn't quite get half way through the mural painting. Still, I hope to finish it tonight. So far it's looking pretty decent. I'm glad the person I'm doing it for is happy. :-)
Bed time for me is usually 11:30 but when I work on artistic endeavors I tend to lose track of time. So I was up a little late last night - and it looks like I'll eb doing the same tonight. It's a good thing I like working on this stuff!
Posted by Dre at 8:21 AM
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Wednesday, October 26, 2005
This Week's Project
Last night I got things together in preparation for painting a mural in a baby's room for a client. Tonight and tomorrow night I'll be busy painting it. The design is pretty different from what I usually do - as it is meant to be a bit stylized and it has to match the bedding. I am anxious to get started. I find that once I get working on a painting or design project I get in "the zone" and lose track of time. I really enjoy it. It's like meditating for me - and i can create something at the same time. :-)
Posted by Dre at 8:06 AM
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Tuesday, October 25, 2005
The Calm Before The Storm
It's hard to believe that we're already nearing the end of October. Rehearsals are going well for A Christmas Carol. Last night was our first chance to spend a bit of time on the scene that I'm in. It's a fun scene (as most of them are). The next rehearsal that I need to be at isn't until Saturday. That gives me just enough time to do Sandy's mural for her. She just had a baby in September and would like a mural painted that matches the bedding that her sister gave her for the baby. I have to do a bit of running around to pick up the paints needed. I had planned to do that this evening, but with the impending storm, I may have to go tomorrow at lunch instead. I wonder if the weather is really going to be as bad as the forecast predicts. Will we really get 50 mm of rain? How gusty will it really be? I guess we'll find out soon enough....
Posted by Dre at 7:53 AM
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Monday, October 24, 2005
Andrea needs
Thanks to Mare and Cyn for this fun exercise!
Google "[your name] needs" and see what you get...
- tuition to go to UCLA
- to be promoted to Commodore
- some help coming up with stalker songs
- treatment. Not a death sentence.
- some optimal sledding advice
- to be active and fun-loving
- to take a bus to the airport
- to be able to create written material
- a lot of special care
- a copy of selection rubric
- template for a slide show
- help about Annotator printing option
- a good punch recipe
- glasses - or do we?
- a profession in which she can express her inventive and idealistic side
- to use foundation
- time to relax
- a very loving, structured and understanding family
- a makeover
- to subtract 203 from 299
- YOU!!!
Posted by Dre at 12:58 PM
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It Was A Very Full Weekend
... and I have a very full work week so I'll try to make this quick:
Friday was lovely. I met up with a "few" friends for dinner at Suwanna, then headed over to Churchills for drinks. Thanks everyone for coming out and thanks Colin for organizing it.
Saturday was a hung over morning followed by an hours nap then rehearsal in the afternoon then a lovely dinner party at Scott T's where we read Hedda Gabler between courses.
Sunday was visiting the kittens (they have thier eyes open now!) at Bill and Dawn's, then back into town for the sound recording (I got to scream - that was fun & cathardic!) then stop in at Stephen's store to pick up some reading material and say howdy, then a quick dinner at Churchills with Colin, then the Shakespeare Society reading of Much Ado About Nothing before heading home to crash hard and sleep like a log.
Posted by Dre at 8:02 AM
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Friday, October 21, 2005
Friday Feast
Appetizer:
Do you button shirts top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top?
I start at breast level and go down, then go back and button the one above where I started.
Soup:
What is your favorite sandwich?
I'm not a huge sandwich fan, and I don't think I have an absolute favorite. I used to love BLTs when I was a teenager. I still enjoy them but don't tend to get them that often. Now I usually go for egg salad or a reuben on rye bread.
Salad:
What was a family project you helped work on as a child?
A family project? I don't know if we really had family "projects."
Main Course:
When have you acted phony?
When I am being polite to someone who has pissed me off.
Dessert:
Do you write letters or postcards? If so, to whom?
Every now and then I send a letter to my aunt Jessie. I used to write to Aldon and Natalie too - but I've gotten lazy. I just love getting letterrs, and I miss it. Getting an email from a distant friend can be nice, but it isn't the same as a good ol' letter.
Posted by Dre at 8:03 AM
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Thursday, October 20, 2005
Workshop Tonight
Tonight I will be hosting a workshop for the Saint John Theatre Company. I'm really looking forward to it. I hope it'll be fun and informative:
HOW TO APPLY YOUR OWN STAGE MAKE-UP!
The focus will be on coaching participants with hands-on experience and good practices when applying one's own stage make-up. YOU will be applying make-up onto yourself in this exciting and educational session to prepare for the big show! This is an invaluable skill-set that every performer should have, whether new to the stage or experienced, male or female. The workshop will be particularly beneficial for people who will be involved in Imperial Theatre productions, such as the upcoming SJTC presentation of A Christmas Carol in November. If you have previously been in plays and musicals but have never learned this essential expertise, this is the perfect opportunity!
Key information you'll need to know:
Thursday, October 20*, 2005 at 7 pm
Saint John Theatre Company Loft at 86 Prince William Street, 4th Floor
Suggested donation: $5
All are welcome to attend. Pre-register at stage@saintjohntheatrecompany.com or at 634-1990. It is also suggested that you bring a small, free-standing mirror and a facecloth with you to the workshop. For those of you who cannot attend this fun and informational workshop on October 20 but are still interested in participating, please register and we will be contacting people in the spring with further information on our next session.
Posted by Dre at 12:05 PM
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Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Recycling
I'm all for it. I think recycling is a great thing. We are trying it out at our office - even composting!
However, I have a little beef with the way they have it set up. They took my garbage from my desk. Now all I have is a big blue bin for paper. I throw away about 2 pieces of paper/month. Most of my garbage is actual garbage: the empty yogurt container from my morning yogurt, the empty coffee cup from my daily afternoon coffee, the empty styrofoam container from my lunch from the market, etc....
And then there is the whole kleenex thing. I have allergies. I go through at least one box of kleenex a week - and that's without having a cold. My used kleenex need to go into the compost bin which is down the hall next to the regular garbage bin. I now have a pile of garbage and used kleenex sitting on my desk because I haven't had a chance to get up and go throw them away because I've been busy actually working. Lovely.
Let's just say, I'm not impressed.
Posted by Dre at 12:04 PM
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A Productive Evening
I got home from work and used spray-insulation to fill in the gap between my wall and floor along the outside wall of my bedroom. I'd always found it to be pretty drafty there in the winter. Then I cleaned out my closet and dressers. I wanted to make sure I had room for all of my clothing to be put away. Once I get the kittens, I don't want them to have a pile of clothes to nest on! Then I got a bit of work done - figuring out what I need to get together for the makeup workshop which is tomorrow night. While I was doing that, I put Kingdom of Heaven on and managed to stay awake for it. It was a decent movie. I wonder why it got bad reviews - perhaps folks were expecting more from it. At least it wasn't as truely horrible as Alexander was. Man - that was terrible. But I digress...
Posted by Dre at 8:09 AM
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Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Yum!
Thanks, Joanna, for making a wonderful Chinese dinner last night!
Photo courtesy of Joanna Lawrence
Posted by Dre at 8:13 AM
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Monday, October 17, 2005
Weekend Update
It was a good weekend. Friday after work was another rehearsal for A Christmas Carol and drinks after.
Saturday morning I finally got around to re-covering a swivel chair that I have. I have a piece of fabric draped over it for years which I'd intended to use to recover it. I just never got around to doing it until this weekend. What a nice little sense of accomplishment to finally get that done.
Once I'd finished that, I picked Colin up and we headed upriver to Bill & Dawn's to take a peek at the kittens. There are 6 of them and they were so adorable! They were about 3.5 inches long and they still hadn't opened their eyes yet. They should have their eyes open by next weekend. So I have decided to get two kittens. From all of the reading that I've done, two kittens are actually less trouble than one - and it's also much better for them. They are social creatures - so it'll be great to have a sibling to play with! I should be able to get them once they are weaned from their mother - and that should be just after we have finished with A Christmas Carol. I can't wait!!!
Saturday afternoon, I went out to the vortex (that's McAllister place and environs) and wound up out there for about 4 hours. It's easy to get sucked in to spending more time out there that you anticipate. I got back uptown with enough time to grab a bite to eat and get ready to head over to the Imperial to see Lily's Song. It was good. Very touching. Liked the ending. Thought folks all did great jobs with their characters. A good-sized group of us gathered at Churchills for a drink (or two or three) afterwards. then Kizzy, Jamie, Allain, Kristi and I headed over to Lisa's so we could congratulate the folks in the show. I think I got home a little after 4 AM. Crazy late. I'm still paying for that.
Sunday I met Colin and Beth for breakfast and then headed over to rehearsal. We were doing blocking, and we could go as soon as we were done the scene we're in, so I was able to head home earlier than I'd planned. That gave me a bit of extra time to work on cleaning out my jewelry containers. That turned out to be a much bigger job than I'd expected. You see, I have a lot of costume jewelry. Quite a bit of it came from the early 90's when I used to bartend. We had uniforms for work and back then I had big hair so I used to wear big/funky earrings as the one thing I could change up every day. Anyway, half of it made it back into the containers and the other half made it to the "old jewelry" box in the art supply cabinet - to eventually be repurposed for Christmas ornaments etc. :-) So now my Jewelry containers are all kitten-friendly!
Posted by Dre at 7:39 AM
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Friday, October 14, 2005
Friday Feast
Appetizer:
Who is someone you would consider to be a calm person?
My friend Renny in Halifax. He never flies off the handle. Here is an example: his roommate nearly burnt the house down and instead of getting angry at him and kicking him out, he thought about it for a while and then asked his roommate to go out and get smoke detectors and fire extinguishers for the house and set them up.
Soup:
What was your last "gut feeling" about? Were you right?
I had a gut feeling that rehearsals were going to be great fun for "A Christmas Carol" - and I was right.
Salad:
List 3 words that you really don't like how they sound.
fat
sludge
mononucleosis
Main Course:
What kind of shampoo and conditioner do you use?
I change the brands I use every month or so. I usually use stuff you can get at a drug store. My current pick is Pantene for colored hair.
Dessert:
If you found out that you definitely do have a guardian angel, what would you name it?
Sebastian.
Posted by Dre at 8:14 AM
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Thursday, October 13, 2005
Let The Rehearsals Begin!
Tonight is the first read-through for "A Christmas Carol" - which will be at the Imperial Theatre November 17 - 20. I'm looking forward to getting started - I think it's going to be a really fun production to be involved with!
Posted by Dre at 8:06 AM
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Wednesday, October 12, 2005
An Uncommon Evening
Last night I headed over to Common Council. There is a first time for everything. I wanted to go and support the Saint John Theatre Company as they made a presentation to the coucil. Being involved with the Theatre Company means a lot to me. I don't know if I would have stuck around Saint John much longer if I hadn't gotten involved.
Posted by Dre at 7:17 AM
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Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Thanksgiving Weekend
Yep. Went to Halifax. Met up with Stephen and Sandra for a drink Saturday evening, Saw the parents, had Aunt Jackie & Uncle Dave, and Aunt Josie and Uncle Marty visiting from ontario. Was great to see them. Ate a lot for Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. Was given a gift certificate to Chapters and a new floor lamp for my living room as birthday gifts. Drove home on Monday, set up the lamp, had dinner at the Irving on the highway with Colin, then headed home to clean my apartment.
Heard a wonderful surprise this morning. It turns out that Brosie had her kittens last night - so my kitten will share my birthday! How cool is that!!!
Posted by Dre at 10:22 AM
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Friday, October 07, 2005
Friday Feast
Appetizer:
Name 3 qualities that are important to you in friendship.
Respect, trust, a compatible sense of humour.
Soup:
If you could dream about anything tonight, what would the subject matter be?
I'd like to come up with a great idea. I find that when I work on creative projects, I sometimes dream the solution then I can implement it the next day.
Salad:
Do you usually make an effort to personally thank people who do favors for you?
Yep. I really do appreciate when someone helps me with something - especially if I have to ask for help (not an easy thing for me to do!)
Main Course:
If you had to go out of town for an extended period of time, who would you trust to take care of your home and belongings?
Colin.
Dessert:
How do you react to practical jokes when they're played on you?
Not well. I'm not a fan of practical jokes - even when they are played on other people. That's definitely not my sense of humour.
Posted by Dre at 8:04 AM
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Thursday, October 06, 2005
Lucky? Oh Yes!
Lately I've been thinking about how thankful I am for having the life I lead. I am lucky. I am an independant female. I am glad I am living in a day and age - and location - where I am able to be free and make my own choices. I love my little apartment. I have a great job. I am thankful that I've gotten involved with The Saint John Theatre Company - without it I would have moved away about 4 years ago. (We are ALL very lucky to have the opportunities that we do with theatre here - to perform at the Imperial and work with great people on some great productions.) I am glad my family isn't too far away that I can't visit them on a whim. And - thanks to living in this modern society - I can use the phone or internet to connect with friends and family who are farther away. (Think about it - 150 years ago it would have been a wee bit harder to stay in touch!) I am thankful every day that I have my health. And I have some really amazing friends. I know I sometimes (ok - oftentimes) spread myself a bit too thin (can you blame me for wanting to do it ALL?) so I don't get to see everyone as often as I would like. Even so, I feel honoured to know some pretty fabulous people. So thank you all for just being who you are: great!
Posted by Dre at 7:43 AM
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Tuesday, October 04, 2005
And So Ends Opera NB's Production Of Tosca
I know I've said it before - I had a wonderful time working on this production. I am honored to have been a part of such a high-quality show right here in Saint John. It was amazing how everyone was so incredubly nice AND so unbelievably talented. They really put on a superb performance last night - it was wonderful to listen to from backstage!
So thank you - to everyone that I met and got a chance to work with! And a BIG thanks to Marzenna, Guyla, Lynda and Ingrid for volunteering your time and energy and doing a great job helping out with makeup - I couldn't have done it without you!
I got a few great photos with the principles last night....
Here I am with Wendy Nielsen:
...with John Avey:
...and with Stuart Howe:
Posted by Dre at 8:07 AM
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Monday, October 03, 2005
Yet another busy weekend that flew by...
Friday night was a quiet one. I napped after work and stayed in and cut out fabric for a halloween costume.
Saturday I was up bright and early and around mid-morning, I headed off to the gym and ran into Ann Keery. I joined her and Jay and Suzy and Chris for brunch at Cora's. It was great to see them all - it had been a long time since I've seen a lot of my theatre friends. That afternoon I sewed a pouch with pockets for one of the ASM's for the show who said she'd buy one from me. (When you work backstage, it's nice to have a place to put all of your supplies so they are handy to you.) That evening was the second performance of Tosca. Once again, it was a lot of fun to work on. (We've all had some great laughs while trying to deal with the fake blood....) We are fortunate to have such a high quality production right here in little old Saint John. Did I mention that I'm glad I'm a part of it?
Sunday was another full day. I met Colin for breakfast at Reggies, sewed another pouch (this time for the stage manager), ran down to Harbour Station and walked the 1k for Run for the Cure, ran home and changed, picked up Ann, and made it to the cast & crew BBQ in Grand Bay by about 3:15. We hung out there for a bit before heading upriver to Bill & Dawn's. It has been a fair while since I've been upriver and it was really nice to see them and catch up with them. And man - the weather couldn't have been any better. It's October and it was 25C out yesterday!! It was great to see Brosie - who is expecting her litter of kittens any day now. Did I mention I''ll be adopting one of the kittens from that litter? Man - am I ever excited about that! No doubt I'll be stopping out to visit a little more frequently once the kittens are born!
Posted by Dre at 8:03 AM
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