Sunday, April 24, 2011
Wicked
We sat in a row with several young girls all dressed up for an evening at The Hult. “How
lucky are we to get to sit by so many princesses,” I commented to the little girl next to me.
“We’re not really princesses,” she answered solemnly.
“Oh, well you look like a princess,” I smiled back.
“Thank you,” she said. “You look like a princess, too.” (So you
see, royalty after all, because how gracious was that?)
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Me with Princess Zamora |
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Gary hit another one out of the ballpark with this
week’s Friday night date
– tickets to the
Broadway touring production of Wicked at Eugene’s Hult
Center.
Wicked is the pre-story to
the Wizard of Oz about the relationship between Glinda,
the Good Witch, and
Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. |
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Waiting for
Hult Center
doors to open
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Glinda tried so
hard to impress others with her goodness ... but
really,
she was just full of herself.
Elphaba, who was shunned and misunderstood all her life—and who
wouldn’t be, with green skin?—defended the defenseless and was willing to lay down her
life so that her friend, Glinda, could go forward truly
being good.
Wow, the Easter story at The Hult. For God so loved the
world, that he gave his one and only Son. And I am Glinda.
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The
untold story of the witches of Oz |
The little princess sitting next to me? Zamora was her name, and
she sang along with a couple of the songs.
OK, so everyone knows the soundtrack to The Wizard of Oz,
right? “We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of
Oz,” … and “Follow the Yellow Brick Road,” … and “Somewhere Over
the Rainbow.” (Got you singing, didn’t I?!)
But who knows the lyrics to “Dancing Through Life” or “One Short
Day”? Obviously Zamora and her fellow princesses.
Wednesday, April
20, 2011
Quintuplets!
I have a thing for geese. Their
long graceful necks and plaintive honks as they fly overhead in V—and
sometimes W, heck I’ve
even seen X—formations
capture my imagination and give me a yearning for adventure.
And so I am pleased to report that my co-workers and I
are the proud godparents of five goslings!
Today they practiced
distracting us from our work
–
the ever-vigilant mama and papa parading their entourage near
the pond outside our windows.
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Three of the five fuzzy little critters |
Being the expert undercover photographer, I nonchalantly wandered outdoors and snapped a few photos,
pretending I wasn’t paying any attention to them.
What is
it about tiny, cute, fluffy (or furry) things that bring
out the awwww in us?
All I
have to say is, none of my co-workers were exempt
from the cuteness that paraded outside the cancer center today.
Sunday, April
17, 2011
Busted
We were snapping a few photos undercover when one of the
sales guys approached us. “You wanna be in one of our ads?”
“Nah, we’re just shooting for fun.”
“Yeah, we’ve been watching.”
Hmmm ... maybe not so undercover.
Today we tried on a few recreational vehicles for size. Just for
the fun of it.
You can see where hubby is heading with this.
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Just a fancy Greyhound bus |
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I had a hard time prying Gary’s hands off the
steering wheel |
An RV the size of a city apartment. It didn’t
take long for hubby to lean back and prop his feet up.
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If you like driving your apartment around with you
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As for me – I like small and cute.
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Small and cute |
Um … too small and cute.
I stepped into a mini-RV – cleverly designed to make use of
every square inch. Great gas mileage. But the bathroom
doors open up to enclose and convert the kitchenette into a
shower that drains out the kitchen floor. A little too clever
for me.
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Invading
my space |
I’m thinking we wouldn’t get out of the state before
having some sort of “You’re
invading my space”
conversation.
The medium-small RVs—not
sure if medium-small is the correct industry terminology—would
be my choice.
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Hubby
could get used to this |
We travel light and we pretty much like each other … and when
hubby starts to get on my nerves (or more likely, when I start
to get on his), one of us could gravitate toward the
outdoor living spaces.
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Notice
the flat-screen TV - sort of an outdoor man cave |
I’m
thinking our marriage could survive a year on the road in one of
the medium-small rigs. At least it would be fun trying!
Wednesday, April
13, 2011
Tough day at the
office
A tough job, but
someone had to do it. Today I cruised in one of those
helicopters that you never want to ride in. You know, the kind
with the red cross painted on the bottom.
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One
of the AirLink ships |
Only today I was
part of the crew. Well, maybe not exactly part of the
crew, but they did give me my own helmet with microphone.
(The
instructions were to keep the chatter down during take off and
landing ... and believe me, I
held my breath the entire time so they wouldn’t think I was
chattering.)
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No
chattering from this passenger |
Our mission: Drop
more than 1,000 golf balls onto a targeted area in Farewell Bend Park.
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Raining
golf balls |
Today was a
practice run for the first annual
Wendy’s Wish Golf Ball
Drop scheduled for August 7.
The idea is to buy
a numbered golf ball that will get dropped with thousands of
other golf balls from a helicopter on the appointed date.
You cross your
fingers hoping your ball is nearest one of the holes for a
prize. And if you don’t win, you will have contributed to a
great grassroots organization that raises funds to assist local
cancer patients.
So you see, either
way, you do win.
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And you thought flight nurses only saved lives ... |
I’m happy to report
today’s mission was successful ... and I’m almost sure they
couldn’t have done it without me. ;)
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Target practice from a bird’s eye view |
P.S. If
you’re ever in an accident on a remote stretch of central Oregon
highway (heaven forbid) or you need a quick transfer to a
medical facility in the valley, this is the ship you want to be
on. And this is the team you want on board – Bill, Lead Pilot,
with DeeDee and Ray, Flight RNs.
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DeeDee, Ray and Bill (l to r) |
Sunday, April
10, 2011
McKay Cottage
I did a quick purse
change – downsizing and leaving my wallet at home because hubby
was paying. Meanwhile, Gary changed clothes and left his wallet
in his pocket. In the pants that were still on the bed.
We ate their food
and discovered we had no cash, no checks, no credit or debit
cards. Awkward.
The solution: Leave
the wife at the restaurant as ransom and hurry home to get the
wallet, hoping to not get stopped while driving without a
license.
Good thing we were
at McKay Cottage – one of Bend’s treasures. Not only did they
serve us a delicious lunch in a lovely old Craftsman cottage,
they let us go without making us wash their dishes: “Call back with
your credit card number.”
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McKay
Cottage – one of Bend’s treasures |
Gary had their
special of the day – a lobster and crab melt on sourdough bread. I had
the vegetarian quesadilla. Spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms and
cheese in a tortilla with avocado slices, homemade pico de gallo,
and a blended sauce of what I’m guessing was yogurt and chipotle
with a smoked bacon flavor. Talk about yumm!
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Quesadilla
with spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese |
Needless to say,
when hubby called back with his credit card number, he included an
extra nice tip.
Thursday, April
7, 2011
Random thoughts on a snowy April day
Woke up to a layer of winter white this morning.
Sometimes central Oregonians complain about the long winters,
but I
love winter.
I don’t like being cold, but I love the
magicalness of falling snow.
I
love
snow-shoeing,
and wearing hand-knit scarves, and fireplaces burning cheerily,
and homemade soup simmering on the stove, and
blueberry scones hot out of the oven – none of which you can do
in the summertime. Well, maybe the scones.
In fact, one of the things on our
bucket list would be to live at the foot of a mountain range
with a gazillion lakes and trails and trees.
No, wait ... we
already live there.
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This morning’s walk along the Deschutes River |
Our friends, Sam and Leanne—she’s a multiple cancer survivor—have
generously donated their time these past several weeks leading an
exercise class designed around hula
hoops.
One of the things on their bucket list is to hit the road
spreading hooping and healthful living to survivors
across the country. I will be their biggest cheerleader when
they set off: “You go, Sam and Leanne!”
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Hooping it up |
I think items on a bucket list can be as specific or as general
as you want. So, for example, instead of “Hike in the Alps”—which
is something we plan to do—our list
reads: “Hike in as many
mountain ranges as possible.”
And even though we have enough saved to do an Alpine trek, with a job and taking time off to travel and
speak, it probably makes more sense to tackle the Tetons
this year and do the
Alps when I’m no longer tied to an office desk.
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One of many mountain ranges on our bucket list |
So, increasing physical activity for healthier living, whether
indoors or in spring snow: on our bucket list.
Sunday, April 3,
2011
Thai food and amazing grace
This weekend’s date was changed on the way to the date.
“I’m
kinda
in the mood for take out and a movie in. Waddya think?” Hubby
was on the same page.
So we
detoured into an alley off 7th Street and got in line at
Thai On The Fly, a drive-thru
specializing in authentic Thai food
housed in a tiny trailer operated by the cutest Asian women.
(Incidentally, a place we had been looking for but, until this
weekend, had been unsuccessful in locating.)
One of the women ran out to our
vehicle offering
sample tastings
as we waited in line.
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In line at the Thai food trailer, just off the alley
near the lube place |
The other woman, when she realized it was our first visit said, “Maybe you
be back tomorrow!”
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The food was delicious; we will be back, but probably not tomorrow! |
I
can’t
imagine the challenges these women faced in leaving their
homeland, learning a new culture and language, and
establishing a successful business.
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Which brings us to the rest of our date, the movie, Amazing
Grace.
It’s the incredible story of one man’s
determination to do the right thing in the face of
overwhelming opposition.
William Wilberforce battled Parliament for 26 years
before his efforts to abolish the
slave trade in England finally met with
victory. |
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The movie’s
title comes from the words of John Newton who was a young sailor
involved in the slave trade before he became a minister:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me;
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.
In
the movie, William Wilberforce’s friend, William Pitt,
was
planning to run for Prime
Minister. Pitt wanted Wilberforce in
his government, but Wilberforce thought they were too young,
still in their 20s at the time.
To which Pitt replied, “We are too young to realize that
certain things are impossible, so we will do them anyway.”
Pitt becomes England’s
youngest Prime Minister.
What are you too young (or
too old, or too uneducated, or too culturally challenged) to
do?
Do it anyway.
