Record snowfall and more...

I must confess to putting off blogging for a couple of weeks. I have been waiting on some pictures of a suit I made for my friend's Bar Mitzvah party. Looks like they aren't going to be ready for a couple of weeks from now. I took pictures of the jacket after I finished my part, but it doesn't show to its best advantage. I did all the structural work, making a fully lined man's jacket, in the style of a Civil War uniform (McCalls' M4745). Truthfully, I'm not sure I've ever made a fully lined jacket. But it came out well. I put bias tape trim around the the front edges and collar -- using my cool new sewing machine foot. I glued the fringe on the bottom and the cuffs. The friend's dad did all the other decorating. I can't imagine many 13 year-olds have Beatles-themed parties these days, but it was fun. We took our grandson to the party and he had a great time, too.

This week we've had record snowfall in North Texas -- 12.5 inches!! I stayed home Wednesday with my grandson, and it snowed big, fluffy, wet flakes non-stop all day. Rick came home at lunch and they made a snowman. I just couldn't bring myself to get out in it. When Rick came home after work, it was still light, so they went out and built another snowman -- and had a snowball fight. See, I was right not to go out in it.

My little dog, Ivan the Terrible, went out like a good puppy, but the snow was deeper than him. Not that it stops him. He is fearless. But I had to keep a towel handy, because he was so wet and cold everytime he came in. Buddy, our sheltie-mix, is bigger (a lot bigger) and has a double coat, so he didn't get that wet. Poor Ivan has a maltese coat and he gets very wet. I have an electric heater we use in the living room when it's this cold, to offset the doggie-door draft. Ivan basks in front of it.

Speaking of Ivan, he had his sterilization surgery a couple of weeks ago. He was so pitiful in the "cone of shame" (cultural reference to the movie "Up"). He's so little and the cone was so big, he had to walk with his head held up. He got used to it pretty quickly though, and was able to go in and out the doggie door himself. We left it on for about 8 days. He still has a stitch that hasn't dissolved that is worrying him a lot. Our grandson said "he was licking his junk". Funny comment from a 5-year-old. I couldn't figure out if it was better or worse than using the clinical term. It's a procedure you have to be careful explaining to a little boy -- don't want to traumatize them!

Back to the snow, I was right not to go out in it. This morning I went out to get in the car to come to work -- drove the Honda since my GMC pickup is iffy on wet roads and scary on icy ones -- and, naturally, slipped. Sat right down. Thank goodness for the 6 inches of snow, but there was still cement underneath. I've had a rough day, apparently bruised those "tailbone" vertebra. Great. Since the arthritis in there was already a problem. I just hope it didn't crack or something. A true pain in the, well you know.

New show at the theatre opens tonight -- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged. Three-man, improv-style comedy retelling of 36 plays in about 2 hours. They haven't needed much help, just some costume repair and some prop work. Had to make a head baked in a pie (I don't know if I've ever even read Titus Andronicus). The director had used spray foam insulation to rough out the shape in a pie pan. Rick carved it into a face and then we covered it with a bread-and-glue dough. Looks pretty good, but doesn't carry very far in the house. Fortunately it is a brief scene. We went to the preview, since our regular preview audience was a no-show. Rodger & Eden came, too, and they both enjoyed it, thought it was very funny.

The next production is The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. The only traditional "play" we are doing this season. I'm going to AD. A very interesting script, featuring a 70-something woman with a propensity for vulgar language, a 50-something in mid-life doldrums, and a mysterious bi-sexual woman who initiates a menage a trois with the woman and her husband. That part is implied, but there is a same-sex onstage kiss. You never know about our audience. We sold out Rocky Horror Picture Show, and it had simulated sex acts, both hetero- and homosexual, on stage. I guess we'll see how it goes. I keep telling people that the retired people, who make up a large percentage of our audience, aren't as old-fashioned as they used to be; if you are 70 now, you were 25 in 1965. Even the 80-year-olds were there at the birth of rock-n-roll. Gives you a different perspective, huh?

I hope it won't be so long between posts. This is why I never kept a journal -- I get pumped up at the start and then my interest wanes. C'est la vie.