August Adventures

I know, it's been a while. August has been a bitter sweet month. It has also absolutely flown by. First, Damn Yankees was a grand success. I highly enjoyed being on the stage again. I played six different characters, including a male baseball player. The picture below is from the opening scene when the wives are complaining that baseball takes precedence in their husbands' lives "Six Months Out of Every Year". Great number to start the show. Also pictured is the kid who played my husband, Eric Williams, yelling at the TV, which I'm sitting on, which contributed to many of my bruises.

I also had speaking lines. My favorite was granny. I got to play a 102 year old woman. That's me with the gray hair, cane, and "effects of gravity". Also in the picture is the baseball team coach, Applegate (the devil), and the reporter. "He never lived in Hannibal, that much I'll tell you!"

My job at Big Thicket ended July 31st. The following week was in between weekend performances so I took off for Corpus Christi, TX. I have a good friend who works at Padre Island National Seashore as a ranger. I stayed a few days with her, read my book on the beach, and ate delicious seafood. Thanks Chelsea!

The show closed Sunday August 9th. It was hard to say goodbye to the cast. It was a great group of people to work with. I moved out of my apartment in College Station the following day. That was bitter-sweet; I loved my little place and I will dearly miss the friends I made there, but it was so good to get out of that town. I was in Houston for two and a half days before I left with my brother Adam to drive up to Utah before his fall semester started at BYU. We stayed one night with his mission president and his wife in Vallacito, Colorado. In the morning, we took a beautiful hike. Below is a picture of Adam and I and one of the mission president's dogs. I think I look slightly malnourished in this picture, but it's a good one of Adam and the scenery is beyond compare.

We got to Utah Saturday and met our parents in Salt Lake that afternoon. They were up for BYU's Education Week. We celebrated Adam's birthday by having authentic Italian pizza. It was really, really good. Sunday evening we all headed for Provo. The next three days we attended classes for Ed. week. I was also able to take some time to see friends I hadn't seen in a long time and meet spouses or spouses to be. Below is a picture of me and Jenn Roundy.

Thursday, bright and early, I headed for Montana. I took a shuttle to the Salt Lake airport, rented a car that had a poltergeist, and drove to Deer Lodge. It was a grand drive and I realized how much I miss big sky country. Friday was spent visiting, running errands, and enjoying being back in town.

Saturday morning I made the wonderful drive to Missoula. My friend Heather and I tubed the Blackfoot River that afternoon. It was so pretty!! The water is clear, you can see the rocks on the bottom, even when it's deep, and you're floating through a canyon. The water was rather chilly for this Texan, but I was brave. My tiny rental couldn't hold both our tubes so Heather had to hold onto one of them out the window while I drove us up to her car. So funny!

Sunday night my friend Elizabeth put on a benefit show to raise funds for the local community theatre that burned three years ago. I was part of the action and had a good time. It was wonderful being back in the old theatre again and on stage with my friends. Monday was spent visiting more folks, driving my favorite routes on the east and west sides of town, and getting ice cream at the little shop by the old prison museum. In the picture below, I'm also sporting my new haircut. It's a bit shorter than I wanted, but thankfully hair grows.

Me and Elizabeth.

I got home late Tuesday night and have been back to cleaning and sorting through eight years of Utah State, Montana, and Texas A&M stuff, getting ready for whatever is next. I still don't know what/where/when, but I will keep you posted. It has been a wonderful month and I can't wait to see what adventures await in September!

Connecting With a Star

How often do we aim for the stars and hit the fence? I know I've had plenty of painful encounters with fence posts. However, every once and a while, you connect with a star. It may be for a brief few days that make you so incredibly happy but pass much too fast. You think you're emotionally prepared to leave but find it harder than you thought it would be. It's slightly scary to realize how often you're thinking about the encounter and your insides are all messed up. Even so, short though it was, you're glad you had it.

Bruises

I don't think I have ever had so many bruises for so long before in my life. I was a pretty banged-up little kid from playing outside a lot, but this is slightly ridiculous. They extend all the way around my legs and all the way up. The photos hardly do justice to the true nature, color, swell, and hue of the marks. What, you may ask, are they from? The show! I have no clue how I got some of them. The ones on my feet (not pictured) are from being stepped on by baseball cleats, some are from places in the choreography where I'm either kneeling or sliding around on the floor (it's a show about baseball), and the three big nasty ones are from when I ran into a television set piece back stage in the dark. The others, I couldn't tell you. Below, I have a picture of the full effect, then the right and left legs alone, respectively. Hopefully they will heal before someone asks if I'm being abused.