My first cold of the season has struck. I hope it goes away soon because my colds tend to turn into sinus infections if they don't go away soon. The stuffed nose has corresponded nicely with Reading Rodeo. So for the first day of the Rodeo, I was kind of slow and plodding. We had a stampede, we rounded up some blends, and we line danced phonics chants. I felt rather slow and my head felt fuzzy so I wasn't as on my toes as I wanted to be, and my kids got bored of my lessons. Oh well, there are four more days of Reading Rodeo, so hopefully the rest of the week won't be so bad.
This past weekend we went to see BTE's production of Much Ado About Nothing. Contrasted with the setting, NapaValley post-WWII, the Shakespearian lines stood out, but not awkwardly. I enjoyed it greatly even though I disagreed strongly with the portrayal of Claudio. Someday I want to see a Claudio who you could actually believe was a great warrior. I am tired of the goofy-in-love perspective. Benedict and Beatrice were more fun before they were in love, but they did an good job bringing out the humor yet seriousness in their characters. Balthasar was great, he did more than just recite lines, but actually had a character. Verges, portrayed as old lady with a gun, stole the show. Even more incredible was the fact that she doubled as Margret. Yet all in all, my favorite characters were Leanato and Don Pedro. They had so much energy and depth. They made me laugh and made me sympathize with their troubles. They were not props for the story, but vital participants in the story.
Afterward, one of the cast commented on the unity of the group, where there were not stars and extras, but one community presenting a story, an ensemble. This was not only a cast remark, but it was evident in the production. Cheers for BTE!
Monday, October 30, 2006
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
The Powerhouse Eatery
If ever you should be travelling Rt 80 through Pennsylvania around exit 273, you should stop at the Powerhouse. It was a power plant for a tuberculosis treatment center around the early twentieth century. For many years now, it has been a resturant.
Atmosphere: The table were dimly lit and the music was not too loud. You could hear the voices of other tables but not what they were saying. Our waiter was a good friend from church and he did an excellent job. The pacing of the meal suited our digestion -- liesurely, allowing things to settle before the next food item. The bathrooms were generally clean, though the trash can was not right beside the door. There was one TV over the bar, but the sound was off and it was not overly distracting. Since it was inside a powerhouse, old blowers or mechanical devices hung from teh ceileing, but they were painted and looked impressive. The attire was casual, but the table was set semi-formal.
Food: The bread on the table as we sat down was incredible -- thick without being heavy, soft without falling apart. I dipped my in the olive oil provided, but my husband preferred butter. We both ordered veal of various sorts. With the entree came a salad; we experimented with parmesean peppercorn dressing. It was amazing. I had veal parmigiana. Though I was not able to finish my meal, I did not feel that it was too much. The veal was juicy and covered with parmesean cheese. I enjoyed it thuroughly. My husband had veal madiera which he said was delicous. For dessert we had maple creme brulee. Our waiter carmellized it with his torch at the table! We enjoyed the show.
We came away comfortably full, not overstuffed, happy and contented. I would recommend the restuarant to people in the area, or travelling through.
Atmosphere: The table were dimly lit and the music was not too loud. You could hear the voices of other tables but not what they were saying. Our waiter was a good friend from church and he did an excellent job. The pacing of the meal suited our digestion -- liesurely, allowing things to settle before the next food item. The bathrooms were generally clean, though the trash can was not right beside the door. There was one TV over the bar, but the sound was off and it was not overly distracting. Since it was inside a powerhouse, old blowers or mechanical devices hung from teh ceileing, but they were painted and looked impressive. The attire was casual, but the table was set semi-formal.
Food: The bread on the table as we sat down was incredible -- thick without being heavy, soft without falling apart. I dipped my in the olive oil provided, but my husband preferred butter. We both ordered veal of various sorts. With the entree came a salad; we experimented with parmesean peppercorn dressing. It was amazing. I had veal parmigiana. Though I was not able to finish my meal, I did not feel that it was too much. The veal was juicy and covered with parmesean cheese. I enjoyed it thuroughly. My husband had veal madiera which he said was delicous. For dessert we had maple creme brulee. Our waiter carmellized it with his torch at the table! We enjoyed the show.
We came away comfortably full, not overstuffed, happy and contented. I would recommend the restuarant to people in the area, or travelling through.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Weekend
My weekend was very enjoyable. We were visited by some college friends and had a relaxing and fun time together. (Note to all other college friends: if you are in the area, or want to be in the area, let me know.) Because I had planned to be hostess, I planned on getting nothing done. There was little pressure to be doing stuff, especially relating to Kindergarten. We stayed up late and got up late. We ate tons of food. We watched Hoodwinked. We talked with one another. It was great.
By the way, if you haven't seen Hoodwinked, you should. It is hilarious and very quotable.
After such a great weekend, I was very tired today. Unfortunately, my Kindergartener's were not. So now it is naptime, or at least clean the room and be quiet time.
By the way, if you haven't seen Hoodwinked, you should. It is hilarious and very quotable.
After such a great weekend, I was very tired today. Unfortunately, my Kindergartener's were not. So now it is naptime, or at least clean the room and be quiet time.
Monday, October 09, 2006
The Curse of the "Should Haves"
What if there was a town where everyone had the curse of the should haves. Whenever they did something they would doubt themselves and think they should have done something else. Then they would begin doing something else, but wonder if they should have completed the first thing. Where would they be if they realized that washing the dishes was good, but they stopped doing it to do laundry which is also a good thing, but it was a bad thing to stop the one and do the other so they think they should have finished the dishes first. But then they realize that if they had finished the dishes first then the laundry would not have been dry in time. Therefore what they did was good, except it wasn't good because the dishes were still undone.
And what would happen if a man entered the town, never having know any "should haves", but only "dids" and "did wells." Would he love them or would he give up on them? Would he feel compassion, or disgust? If he did have compassion, would he help them do all their tasks, and think through them so they didn't have should haves? Or would he laugh at the people under the curse? No, I think he would he teach them to laugh at themselves. He would pity them, and see that the problem really isn't the "should haves" but confusion about what is best. He would teach them what was best, but for those times when there were two bests, he would help them do their best at both things.
And he would laugh - a rich, confident, beautiful laugh.
And what would happen if a man entered the town, never having know any "should haves", but only "dids" and "did wells." Would he love them or would he give up on them? Would he feel compassion, or disgust? If he did have compassion, would he help them do all their tasks, and think through them so they didn't have should haves? Or would he laugh at the people under the curse? No, I think he would he teach them to laugh at themselves. He would pity them, and see that the problem really isn't the "should haves" but confusion about what is best. He would teach them what was best, but for those times when there were two bests, he would help them do their best at both things.
And he would laugh - a rich, confident, beautiful laugh.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
My Day with Word Association
blackboard, dirty, B as in bell, button, points, calendar, fourth of October, rough, student, principal, Daddy, home, sleep, homework, ba be bi bo bu, yelling, whispering, high-voice, music-class, final-straw, second-red-slip, one-more-hour, goodbye, gone, relief, email, yeah!, helping-mom, clever-me, blogging, not-clever-me, food, dinnertime, friends, youthgroup, singing, hallways, walk-not-run, bathroom-time, water-fountain, nalgene, full-of-water, thirsty, ahhh-that's-better, lunchtime, 3rd&4th grade, stampede, Reading-Rodeo, planning, headache, naptime, wiggles, rocking-chair, rest...
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