Thankful to be in out of the rain ...

I'm sitting in my office on Birch Bay Drive on a gray and rainy Wednesday afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving.

I'm surfing the internet for brie cheese recipes and reading my e-mail--I know, I know, I should be working instead of puttering about.

I still have to hit the grocery store before day's end, but am putting it off. I know it's going to be frenzied mayhem. Maybe--yeah, right--the rain will let up and then I'll go out. But the fireplace here is enticingly warm and cozy, and warm and dry is winning the battle over cold and wet.

The surface of the bay is ruffled and gray-on-gray-on-gray, and cars driving around the bay have on their headlamps and the little pinpoints of white and red lights are cheerful in their way.

It reminds me that people are on the road heading to join families and friends getting together for the holiday. More people are traveling by car this year, and fewer by air. I'm thankful that tomorrow I only have to go as far as Antje's home to join her and Rudy for Thanksgiving feast.

I miss gathering with my sons and other family. Our family members seem to be splashed all over the place. It would be nice to have a rip snortin' family reunion one of these days. But I don't care to travel on peak holidays.

But I am very thankful that they are all in a safe place, and are warm, and have plenty to eat.

Last week in Bellingham, I drove by Lighthouse Mission around 7:30 pm and saw a long line of men and women waiting in the dark to get in out of the cold for the night. I am blessed.

A friend sent a photograph of an Ugandan child enraptured with a bit of meat, a holiday treat. I am blessed.

I have my health ... I have presence of mind ... I have plenty to eat ... I am warmly clothed ... I have friends and relatives who love me and I them. I am blessed.

I have a frisky, fluffy little mutt who adores me. I am blessed.

I can read and am surrounded by libraries and bookstores. I am blessed.

I have beads and fibers and canvas and paint with which to make art. I am definitely blessed.

I have a beat-up li'l old Miata I so enjoy driving; a blessing.

I appreciate things, but I'm most thankful for the people who populate my life.

I hope you don't need a rainy afternoon to stop and think

about that for which YOU are thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving

Breakin' a Leg ... a blog-within-a-blog ...

As is often the case, all good things come to a close, and so it was with “Faith County.” The last performance was a Sunday matinee on October 18th and it was the best performance of all twelve!

“Thank You!” to the family of cast members who took photographs during the performances! What great visual mementoes of a totally delightful adventure.

Others in the cast have gone on to direct other plays, or audition for other roles, or apply to collegiate theatrical departments, or perform in high school plays. Others are also looking forward to furthering their involvement in local theater in various other ways. Several of the cast are on Facebook and it’s fun to see what thespian high jinx they’re up to.

I personally hope Jamie tries out for other roles. She was such a natural in her part; it was awesome to watch her work. Everyone working together was a rewarding experience, but Jamie in her onstage debut was remarkable.

I’ve repeatedly been asked if I’m going to do another play. No. Never? Well, never is a very long time, but for the present I’ll not be attending any auditions. But, oh what fun I had as a result of a wild hair to attend an audition!

After the matinee, the cast changed to street clothes and started tearing down the set and taking props and costumes over to storage. Afterward, the cast and family members enjoyed pizza and what all that everyone brought. It was a collaborative effort right down to the very last crumb!

Immediately following the close of the play, I experienced an odd sense of loss. I had been swept up in such an intense involvement of energy and effort and time, that once it was over there was a void, an emptiness. Of course, I soon filled the time with other endeavors, but that sense of loss had been an unanticipated surprise.

Here are some photographs of scenes from the play, the front of the theatre, tearing down the set, my make-up stuff, as

I bid adieu to my Breakin’ a Leg … a blog-within-a-blog …