Wedding Belles

Stephanie in the snow, 4 Winds Faire, 2007

This afternoon Stephanie marries her fiance. To those who knew her as "Squire Stephanie" at Four Winds Faire, I ask you to wish her godspeed and good luck as she rides off into a new life with her husband Russell. No, he never made it out to the faire; I don't think she knew him back in 2007. They met & got to know one another during the past year or so. He's part-owner of a gamers' store in Dallas. At the moment, Steph teaches automotive work at a junior college in Dallas; hopefully, the admin will extend her contract at the end of this school year. Even DISD has gone to year-to-year contracts, so no teacher has "tenure" unless his/her evaluation is a good one. That's the whip they snap behind us; in the present economy, the job salary carrot has withered a bit.

Last weekend, the ballet studio & company held a show at "Treasures of Hope" at the Plaza of the Americas. The folks in charge of entertainment weren't organized as well as most anime/ SF cons, but we managed. The pre-show dressing went fairly smoothly -- luckily, we had done the show the week before at St. Bernard's Church -- and the dances themselves looked lovely. I need to invest the $10 so Mom can see the DVD of the new performances. She felt rather puny and stayed home ... I couldn't blame her; those Saturdays were rainy and cold. With luck, we can get Hope (or the web mistress) to upload some new photos to the web site. The soloists (as well as the company) looked great, and the little girls did well, too. Perhaps we can get an adult dance group together and do our own court dance for the spring show.

The 2011 section of the school year ended on a fairly calm note, although too many folks sponsored parties in their classrooms. I felt as if only the English dpt. was teaching on Friday. They don't have the TAKS looming over them at the beginning of March, so they think they can relax occasionally ... We might relax (or at least watch videos connected to our lit) after the TAKS. We shall see.

Faire Times in Louisiana

Falconer at LA Ren Fest

After 3 years of planning, Joy and I finally made the pilgrimage to Hammond, LA, to visit their Renaissance faire. Sara Dunlop and her daughter have booths there ... as do several other people who we know from other faires. The trip proved rather long; the directions from Google were accurate, but without a map you never quite know how far you've driven (or how long you have to go). We stopped several times after dark because we didn't know where we were -- well, we knew we were going east on 190, but we didn't know where Baton Rouge might be. It turned out that we were driving along the northern edge of the Achafalaya Swamp. We crossed the mighty Mississppi and then started looking for a hotel ... and I knew we were not in a good neighborhood. It felt like Oak Cliff -- but whether it was the safer side like the older neighborhoods near Sunset or the rougher side like Roosevelt's, we couldn't tell at 10:30 at night. All I know is that the Motel 6 had a security guard who warned off a shabby-looking dude who approched the night clerk's window. 'Nuff said.

Fog haunts the state. It crept up silently as night fell and stayed until the sun was high in the sky. The drive into Hammond was uneventful ... We passed the high school and rounded a corner -- and there were the signs!

As we drove up, I noticed a guy in a kilt. It looked like -- yes, it WAS Marc Gunn playing his autoharp. Alas, we were stuck in the opening ceremonies, whether we liked it or not. Other playtrons wore garb, so we didn't stand out ... Finally, Queen Elizabeth welcomed us into the town of Albright, and the Faire was on!

Inside the gates, we passed Marquise & Ima Nutt from Foolhardy. They had performed at Four Winds years before ... they looked well, but they were going to greet patrons (and we didn't quite fit that bill). Next, we were accosted by Gypsy Storytellers (no problem -- everyone needs the shills to start the day) before we once more ran into Marc talking to 2 fans. The faire stretched both ways -- we could see the lake (alas, much depleted by the summer drought), so we strolled along its edge ... and there was Deb's shop (and Jeff) from Four Winds and Sara's doll shop. Many greetings and conversation, then we wandered on our way ... and ran into Arlene who has a shop 2 doors down from us ... Her friend Larry also has a shop (We saw him later.) on the other side of the lake. We shopped a bit, mainly looking since most of our money had gone into travel expenses ... However, Joy found a small Christmasy owl to go with her Roddy griffin puppet; I got a print by Sara's friend. After years of "squashed fairy" mugs, she has rediscovered her love for illustration.

We eventually found the falconers' tent; Joy took a photo with their Euroasian owl Artemis, then we stayed for the show. The theme song is "Ladyhawke" by Julia Ecklar ... Unlike the man who's the head falconer at Scarby, the woman at LARF treats her birds as if they're friends -- maybe pets with very sharp beaks and claws. As one who's been bitten by cockatoos, I can sympathize. She showed kestrels, hawks, a barred owl (above) in the free flight show. Alas, their lovely peregrine was killed by a hunter ... a hunter who knew that he'd done wrong because he cut off the bird's talons to take the jesses & transponder. They're posting around the faire & in town -- and now the Feds are involved because falcons are a protected species. Handsome birds and friendly handlers create a great show.

Then we watched Foolhardy's show ... I remembered it of old. Marquise & Ima worked the crowd with all types of bad puns and feats of magic. The audience (young and old) loved them. We missed the "Untrained Dog Show," but I know it was hilarious.

Eventually, we circled the lake and, to our surprise, we found Neid Fyre playing her violin. Although it was the end of the show, we settled in to watch ... and talk a little bit after the crowd dispersed. She's coming to Four Winds in April 2012, so we can talk more about her little daughter and personal doings then. Ah, we'll waddle up to the new tavern for marvelous music.

After some homemade soda (carbonated sugar water with great flavors), we returned to Sara's booth. Everyone seemed to wander in and out; she's the fairey grandmother at LARF as she is at Four Winds ... even moreso because we spotted younger people coming in and out. Marc stopped in to say good-bye to her; the owner dropped in ... all sorts of folk wanted to speak with her ... Joy and she talked about BJDs. (We had brought her some 12" bunny boys to dress.) The sun slowly set -- and we realized that it was almost closing time. Bidding Sara, Rod, Deb and Jeff farewell (at least until March 2012), we headed into the mundane world.

In Hammond, we didn't find our original highway, but we did find a nice hotel. It was an early evening -- and I crashed before 9 o'clock. So sad ...

Monday saw more fog, plus a long trip home. This time, we went through Houston; the directions were quite simple, but the distance was longer and added another 1-2 hours. Still, we got home before the heavens graced us with some rain. Tired and content, we settled in with birds (Joy) and kitties (me). There's no place like home.

Remembering Our Vets

11-11-11

Students wrote letters of gratitude instead of reading on 6th period ... I got some silly ones, some partial ones, and some very good ones. Yes, we're doing the "Operation Writehome" letters as part of a project. I just didn't write the grant to get money from Sunset alumni to buy the suupplies we need to create cards. We even had a few letters to faculty members who've served -- and the Sunset Purple Marching Machine led the Veterans Day parade in Dallas. I hope someone took pictures; I was stuck in #339.

At the end of the day, Coach Stirman and I discussed our dads' involvement in WWII. His dad fought in the Pacific front; his troops arrived at the front just about the time the Japanese gov't surrandered. My dad fought in the European front with the Timberwolves under General Terry Allen. They went in D-Day plus 90 and fought their way into Germany, where my dad was wounded by shrapnel and sent back to the States to recuperate. Sharon's dad fought too; his name is listed on the Sunset roster next to the Registrar's office ... Our building -- just like North Dallas -- has many plaques that commemorate teachers & students who passed through the double doors on Jefferson Boulevard. Unfortunately, the portraits of the Honor Society students on the third floor were taken down during construction; I hope they find a hallway where they can be displayed again ... and that Sunset doesn't choose to forget its past just because the students are a different ethnic group from the ones who currently go there. They keep bucking to add black too the official colors -- so far, they haven't succeeded. I suspect the alumni would never agree to that break in tradition.

Here's a virtual toast to our American heroes, past and present: the thanks of a grateful nation.

School Posting

This blogging comes live while the anime club plays Yu-Gi-Oh and "Gundam Wing" plays on the TV ... The second 6 weeks ends on Friday, and it seems that I'm still telling certain classes that they need to do some basic things if they don't want to have a negative ending at least once a week ... Some folks find silence a challenge, and sitting at their table still worse. Sometimes the juniors are worse than the sophomores! [Yes, I read the composition about how Mom abandoned the family; yes, I understand why you crave attention, especially from a female figure; still -- grow up!! ] [Yes, I know the class studies the same stuff you studied 2 years ago; you should've done the work -- or gone to summer school -- the first time!]

The manga library moves fairly regularly, since I find books that the kids don't often see ... and I have about 5 more ready to bring -- we shall see how they react to my eclectic mix.

My throat feels scratchy; I only hope I didn't catch something from the nasty slime that came off the bannister onto my hand yesterday. So many germs, so few innoculations that work.

Ah, time to bid the kids a fond sayonara!

A Stellar Saturday?

Must ... Grab ... It ...

... or there's no escape.

That's how I feel on this "Stellar Saturday" -- wrapped in vines and far from home. The intentions of a SS are good, but the execution is weak. Supposedly we're jointly planning for the upcoming 6 weeks. In reality, we're hearing the same old stuff that we heard in earlier staff development sessions. If I have to "unpack" another student expectation, I may scream -- and my team members' attitudes do not help. One follows the loudest voice, and the other doesn't worry about tomorrow until the crisis is upon us ... Neither has taught in a low-performing school in the inner city, so neither knows that torments that TEA can inflict upon a faculty of a UA school. Been there, done that -- and got the school off the list, but it took everyone doing his or her part, in all departments. Oh, well, my asst. principal (and evaluator) asked me to go since she can't (and the guys didn't volunteer). Once more into the breach, dear friends!

Speaking of Shakespeare. the second performance of Midsummer Night's Dream was more trick than treat. The cast blew lines and entrances while Doc H and Mrs. B watched from the front row. He commented that he couldn't understand what they were saying and, worse, they sounded like a bunch of Mexicans ... Also, Ms. W had prejudiced them against the play; she implied that the blocking was inappropriate and that parents had objected ... Really? I do sympathize with the theatre director -- At FDR I heard the same complaints year after year, except that the kids were using ebonics. Truly, theatre is the red-headed stepchild of the fine arts in high school.

Still, alas, the performance did NOT go well. The crew didn't set all the set pieces -- I spotted that and told someone to put the stool off-stage. (He didn't.) The energy was off -- the audience just sat there -- and too many people shifted this way & that, distracting people trying to watch the play. Worse, someone got into the dressing room & stole money -- THAT destroyed everyone's concentration ... It seems that someone (custodian, construction worker, teacher, student) left the side door open, so anyone could come down the corridor, get into the room, and leave without being seen from my post stage right. Then the clowns blew their scene, which could've saved the show -- and one clown was clowning onstage when he wasn't supposed to!

Again, that's the problem when you have teen actors on stage -- will they remember to do what they're supposed to do? Will the crew remember? We got disqualified last year for running over time -- all because the tech guy wasn't paying attention. He's gotten worse, not better, as the year's progressed -- only into his rap music on his i-pod. I don't know whether he'll find teachers to intercede and keep him at SHS for his senior year ... which might not matter since I think seniors can choose which school they want to attend.

Nest week, the second 6 weeks will be history ... then only 1 week until we're off for Turkey Day! We will survive!

October Night's Dream

I Have a Song to Sing, O!

Magic happened last night at Sunset HS. Maybe Oberon & Titania decided to take pity on the theatre department as it struggled against weather and construction to put on "Midsummer Night's Dream." The tech rehearsal sucked big time, and they hadn't run the entire show as a continuous production; when we began, we had no idea how long it would run! Worse, we had no idea if we'd have an audience: SHS Bison had a football game, and the Rangers played Game 7 in the World Series.

The weather felt chilly on bare legs & arms, so we moved the stage into the back atrium. Then, we blew the circuit in the back wall -- and the portable light board (an ancient device). We grabbed extension cords and started stringing them to every available outlet ... The director said not to worry, but our "Thisbe" (in his tiny tunic) persevered. We got work lights on the stage. The sound system worked ... and people started to arrive. All told, I think about 40-50 people came to the play. One teacher sourly commented that they came to see their kids ... well, duh. However, I'd done plays at Sunset before, and we didn't have that many people.

Once started, the actors hit their stride, although they never quite mastered Shakespeare's poetry. In other words, they forgot lines ... One flat almost fell on Demetrius when he lay down. As the audience gasped, he caught it, and Oberon pushed it back into place -- and theatrically shushed the audience so the play could continue. (Well played, King!) Lines echoed, and it was hard to hear at times. (No mikes -- the space had too much reverb.) Still, the audience laughed at the right places -- and was quiet. Of course, the clown scene stole the show, thus proving that in low comedy there is no such thing as going "over the top."

After the show, cast and crew -- and parents! -- helped strike the set, roll up cords, and get almost everything into place. Monday morning, they'll have to finish moving tables & Bo Bison into their usual places.

Then we get to do it all over again Monday night ... and, hopefully, the fairies will persuade Mother Nature to grant us clement weather, so "Shakespeare in the Parking Lot" can appear in its natural environ -- before a stone wall with a grassy knoll covered with trees.

Falling into October

Savoyards, Unite!

When I studied at the Dallas Theatre Center, I encountered the marvelous operas of Gilbert & Sullivan. True, they gently satirize British attitudes as the Victorian age grew into the Edwardian years and approached the new century ... The songs still show both men's talents -- and I wish a G&S Society existed here in the DFW area; I enjoyed playing stage manager for the summer productions. The singers might be amateurs (Perhaps they were nonpaid professionals -- I know that some principals wanted to use the experience to move into the opera world.) Last year, a lyric opera company performed The Mikado. At the moment, Dallas Opera will perform Die Zauberflote by Mozart. (Another composer whom I encountered whilst studying at DTC -- my friend Cheryl Duval dedicated 1/2 of a zine to Wolfie -- the other universes were BatB and Phantom of the Opera (the musical not the Lon Chaney original).

At the moment, things aren't quite as joyful as the music might imply. A dear friend from my DTC graduate days is recuperating from chemotherapy, and I just got news that another friend injured herself in a car accident. Both performers, they won't be on the boards as performers for quite some time ... and we have a Christmas performance in early December! As stage manager, I get to schedule our "dance moms" to utilize their talents without crowding the backstage areas. For this I went to grad school? Well, yes -- DTC utilized our abilities backstage and onstage and front of stage. In those pre-Equity days, everyone pitched in to put on the show ... I'm not sure where the stage crews and front of house people come from. (I did see some Junior League ladies working as ushers at "Christmas Carol." However, I don't see their husbands shoving around the set pieces ...) A third friend, hopefully, is doing well after major back surgery last week -- yet another prepares cast & crew for our production of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot -- Midsummer Night's Dream. (I get to do makeup and managing for that one, too.)

A wandering minstrel I,

A thing of shreds & patches ...

I'll close for now. Marc Decascos may appear on tonight's show ... We shall see.

Solemn Thoughts & Silly Season

This says it all --

The debate continues -- have we passed into "little old lady land" or not? I confess that, yes, I'm solidly in the middle ages; however, Joy & Karen insist that they are LOLs ... though most of the time we can't take advantage of senior discounts. Ah, well, I guess I have a day pass (or perhaps it's a night pass) since my students DO believe I'm younger than the age courtesy of my birth certificate. I just don't let them know how long I've been teaching; they can do the math after I tell them how many years I've taught in DISD.

Unfortunately, being a LOL isn't all it's cut out to be. My mom has all sorts of health issues as she grows older -- and, if memory serves me correctly, the issues won't go away -- and her parents lived well into their 90s. A friend at school nearly ruined her health taking care of her elderly mother ... and the list goes on. The "golden years" turn out to be plated, not 14K solid gold.

On an even more serious note, one of my oldest friends is being treated for Stage 4 lymphomic cancer ... After Karyl moved back to Alabama, we became long distance e-mail and letter friends; this summer, she dropped out of sight after she and her mom moved out of the family house in Birmingham. Thanks to e-mail, her sister could update us -- and her last message was to my Gmail account in September. I missed it then ... and Joy got the update before I did since I seldom check my Gmail. Many prayers will wing their way to St. Peregrin & St. Luke for strength (for her recovery) and inspiration (for her physicians) as she battles for her life.

But on the flip-side, it was Rally Day at St. Lawrence's Church today. Has a NASCAR flavor, doesn't it? Let me tell you, these people know how to have fun ... oh, yes, we had coffee and cookies at some of the booths that were out to recruit new blood into the various organizations. I now belong to two: the St. Lawrence Chorale [choir] and the Ladies of Mary of Walsingham [very Olde Schoole -- founded in 1061 in Norfolk, England! The choir offered sushi (at 10 AM!) and mimosas (yes, I imbibed). Another group had chocolate martinis (yum! they had me at chocolate), the ubiquitous Swedish meatballs (Bab 5 creator J. Michael Strazinski implied that all cultures in the galaxies had a similar dish.), and much more. I mixed and mingled -- as per orders of our choir master -- and met a few more people. With 241 families, I now have a few strands into this larger church. THEY say they're small; but my old parish had less than 1/10 as many people. It may be small compared with the mega-church down the road (also seen from Cherry Court), but it's mighty ... As I recall, I'm going to persuade the girls to do something for the GRACE outreach center. A little charity is good for the soul.

Randomizer Thoughts

The Best Doctor Ever?

For the 21st century, a definite yes~ though you're always remember your first with fond memories. Tom Baker, Doctor 4, brought me into the Doctor Who universe -- and I bet he made fans out of many of the people who now produce (and act) in the show. Still, after Eccleston brought the show back from its long dormancy, Tennant was simply brilliant (to use his own catch phrase). Russell T. Davies resurrected some of the best of the old monsters, a tradition that Steven Moffatt has continued ... though he's added his own twists to the DW mythos that some older fans take umbrage to. (Don't get Joy started on the River Song storyline ... I liked it, but she did not. Spoilers!)

So far, after 8 weeks of school, classes have settled into a routine (more or less). Although we teach more classes, most classes are smaller than last year ... unless you teach English III or IV, where the classes hit 30+. The 10th grade team offered to take up the slack -- even if it's only in one class -- but the powers-that-be declined to consider our offer. Ah, well, we tried. Speaking of which, I must remember to write out the lesson plan & copy it -- It's not a complicated plan (except for the cursed TEKS numbers), but it must be done ... People are counting coup this year; we suspect that the interim administrators need to justify their jobs.

However, I neglected to comment about our last 2 weekends at Four Winds Faire. If Joy took pix, I'll post them ... The Celtic Music Festival, alas, was sparsely attended -- and I suspect did not earn the performers' fees. Last year, we had less than 20 folks come; luckily, one was my friend Marcia who drove in from Flint. Where's Flint? You're asking little old me from DFW? All I can say is that it's a small town in East Texas off Highway 110. Tyler is the largest town near it ... Marcia came to visit both weekends; we talked dolls and enjoyed good music -- although I hadn't quite expected a South rock jam session at the end of CMF. That's all right -- it just shows the connection from Celtic music to folk to "Southern rock" to current country. Besides, all of us rocked right along with the performers.

The following weekend brought the first Wild West Steampunk Exhibition at Four Winds. The belly dancers became "Desi D. Mona and her slightly soiled doves;" the cavaliers became gunfighters and the sheriffs. (Yes, we had shootouts at the tavern -- I mean, the saloon. (Ye Olde Tavern has gotten a massive facelift, with a complete sound stage, raised performance area, and an upstairs. Right now it plays the role of a haunted house.) We had more people this weekend, including part of the Court (dressed as Edwardian ladies & gentlemen), although still more were needed. For Owl Moon Studios, they were rather successful weekends; we made some new contacts and some cash. Dustin says the WWSE will continue in 2012. Yeehaw!!

Beauty & the Beast -- BJD style

Colette & Jurgis

Joy-Joy and I have dolls playing the roles of Beauty & the Beast ... more to follow.

Falling into October

Quetzalquatl Rising

Another season passed between blogging entries. As an update, we moved from Lancaster to Southlake -- about 50 miles as the owl flies, but drastically different in cultural attitudes. Folks from South Dallas and Wilmer-Hutchins have continued the western migration, and most of the southern Dallas County has a minority slant ... whereas Southlake remains unremittingly Anglo in contrast. Plus, I suspect that there aren't any LEP or SED students in the area. Believe me, if you glimpse a person of color around this town, he or she either works for someone or earns twice my salary.

Also, the school year brings its own new stresses as we move from TAKS to EOC ... The new test looks like a pre-AP test; I wonder how long it will take before the powers-that-be notice that the "learning curve" to pass the test for graduation will take longer than 4 years ... and they claim that LEP kids won't get an exemption once they're in regular classes.

Enough boring stuff -- Joy and I went out to Four Winds for the Celtic Music Festival. They had a small crowd; as usual, the advertising came out at the last minute. Worse, there were 2 state fairs, Canton First Monday, TJC football game, and who knows what else competing for people. Two friends of ours showed up, which improved the day -- and we did sell a little jewelry. Of course, we spent some on a new hat for a BJD and a new CD by Jed Marum, the "Yankee in Texas." Unfortunately, the Southern rockers took over the final set, so Jed put away the sound system and didn't sing. A disappointment because I hadn't had a chance to listen to him perform this year -- and he was one reason why we chose to go.

This weekend brings the first Wild West/Steampunk Weekend at Four Winds. I don't know how it will go -- for all of social media's claims to put you in contact with other people, I haven't seen impressive results. As Hope says, until you see the people in the audience, you can't count on their online promises to attend. My only concern comes from teaching on Monday ... though, if it's an A-Day, I'll only have 3 classes ... that might not be too bad. Ah, corsets and clockwork (to quote a book title) promise to create a memorable weekend.

Scorching School Daze

Benedict & Beatrice, 2011

School started last Monday with little fanfare at SHS. We are still a construction zone -- no kitchen for the cafeteria, no auditorium, ripped-up walls. and few water fountains and restrooms ... What a beginning to a new school year! The old lady of brick and mortar is getting a facelift, but we're in the middle. In fact, the Thursday & Friday when I moved my classroom and organized it, there was no AC -- and it was 105* in the room! The room also had no ceiling; you looked upwards and saw the 86-yr-old joists and beams that support the roof. In the workroom opposite mine, we found windows looking onto nothing -- they had been sealed years before. The journalism teacher braved the heat to take photos; we joked that they were windows for the mysterious "fourth floor," a legend in the school ... SHS has its own urban legends of ghosts and goblins.

A hurricane on the East Coast and the heat in the Southwest -- I don't want to wish storms on the Gulf, but I wish we could get something besides heat and more heat.

David Tennant & Catherine Tate re-united in Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. I hope there's a cast recording, since that's the only way I'll experience their Benedict & Beatrice sparring. I loved the movie version directed by Kenneth Branaugh and for the longer time thought that he and Emma Thompson's performances couldn't be topped ... Well, the current stage versions may prove me wrong. I worked costumes & front of house when the Dallas Theatre Center did the play in the 70s -- we costumed it as warriors returning from the Texas war of independence in 1835. (Remember the Alamo!) Google and check out the gallery; Tate's Beatrice wears overalls in the early scenes, and Tennant wears a Navy uniform. It's a fun play; for those of you who aren't familiar with the plot, think Romeo & Juliet in a comic universe: no matter how bad things seem to get, the universe works to unite the lovers, despite their avowed dislike for one another. "Our hands against our hearts," as Benedict says. It all works to the good.

Let's hope the same goes for the 2011-2 school year.

Mother Nature's Crying

If you live in North Texas, Saturday brought a welcome surprise ... The clouds had a pity party for the farms & fields that have turned brown during this long drought. I'm sure the sun will come out tomorrow -- and with it 100+ heat -- but for today I'm enjoying the unexpected precipitation.

This week has brought a funeral as well as a rainstorm ... Even us city kids watched the different clouds and the way the wind shifted north and west from Oklahoma. After the funeral Mass, we drove to the Mt. Carmel Cemetery outside of Electra, past Punkin Center. The fields had been burned to a crisp -- not even the cows were in sight. Still, each family took the cemetery tour after the internment. Most of the names were German ones: Fluesche, Hartmangruber, Roessler, Jacobi. According to Chuck, one ancestor -- Emil Fluesche -- settled there and brought other people from the Old Country to farm cotton and wheat in the 1870s & 80s. Chuck gave the quick tour to one of our cousins who'd come up from San Antonio for his mother's funeral ... I doubt that he knew how much history was contained in such a tiny plot of red dirt.

So, what does Sherlock have to do with rain and funerals? On the drive back to Dallas, I discovered that my cousins also watched Doctor Who and other British shows ... even the old ones like Up Pompeii. Perhaps it's because both attended schools that taught Latin. Who knows? I should've guessed since Chuck's vehicle has a Union Jack pasted to the back window. Strange that we don't have that much time together, yet we wind up in the same cultural place ... Hmmm. You might deduce that nurture tops nature, as far as personality development goes. Either that, or I read waaaay too much.

Texas Toast

Testing the Waters

Keeping an eye out for Mother Nature's heat seekers ... We had these visitors at the community lake (pond, rather) in Lancaster. I've seen a few near the megachurch just west of the apt. Good luck, birdies!

I don't think heat was a contributing factor in my aunt's passing in hospice ... She had spent years in a nursing home; her family had scattered decades ago. I'm not sure that my other aunts have any contact phone numbers for her ... We shall see on Thursday when we go up for the funeral. Ironically, we had planned to drive to Wichita Falls to visit with her.

This weekend I said farewell to the church that I had attended since 1980 when I moved to Lancaster. The congregation has steadily shrunk as children moved away and the demographics have changed ... At best count, we had 12-20 people who regularly came to Mass. Although we had moved in June, I regularly went down on Sunday; but with the start on school next Monday, summer is ending -- and it's time to move on. They understood why I didn't want to make a 40-50 mile drive ... gas hasn't gotten any cheaper since June. I made the announcement, and -- for the last time -- stayed for cake & coffee. St. Martin's is a good country church ... I only wish we had found a way to "grow the congregation" where we were planted.

Texas

On the Move

Ah, the waltz from Labyrinth -- "Worship me, fear me ... and I will be your slave." Now that was a line that made many women sit up and think seriously about the temptation that Sarah faced ... A different version of "Beauty and the Beast," I suppose, although I've gotten quite tired of the variations on the vampire and werewolf themes. Perhaps I've just tired of the usual plot motifs for romance novels.

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray cured me of the "love conquers all" theme (at least for the moment). Love and family constantly war against the desire for money (security enters into it for a while, then Becky subverts everything to her quest for the good life). Amelia worships her wastrel husband, who marries her despite his family's disapproval (since her father lost all of his money in a economic crash); he dies at Waterloo, and she spends most of the money spoiling their son and worshiping her husband's memory ... Either way, the satire cuts through sensibilities like a scalpel. What hurts is the fact that, except for the corsets and cravats, the same conflict haunts 21st century society ... except that our creditors can't send us to debtors' prison. (Yes, someone said that during a bankruptcy meeting ... and the speaker agreed!) Although Thackeray's novel is set during the same time as Austen's novels, their views of society and love are polar opposites. Interestingly enough, Thackeray's allusions point out that the common Victorian readers recognized more allusions than many modern readers ... He only caught me once or twice ... and even the Cliff Notes didn't mention the ones I didn't know, so I don't feel totally culturally illiterate.

The recent anthology Hot & Steamy edited by Martin Greenberg proved that non-romance writers (and readers) just don't understand what constitutes a romance. Shoot, Corsets & Clockwork (a YA anthology) fit the genre better ... Both anthologies claimed to combine romance with steampunk, but the adult anthology generally had unhappy endings -- the last story, which had the most imaginative premise -- tunneling under the North Sea to provide the coal for engines -- ends with the death of the girl's newly-wed husband. Several had automatons involved in love triangles ... The one set during Sherman's march to the sea chilled, since the crazed Southern inventor epitomized every stereotype of the evil plantation owner, like a mechanically minded Simon Legree. The YA anthology fit the romance genre more closely; I think the story set on the train with the female sharpshooter and the rustler on the run put the best twist on the historical links that lurk in the steampunk era -- Jane and Jesse make quite a pair.

Unfortunately, "hot and steamy" describes Texas all too well this summer. 40 days (more or less) of days at 100* or over ... no wonder we can't get anything done, except read and enjoy other worlds.

The Heat Is On

... and the rising sun will scorch us one more time. Thanks to the Doctor, we aren't falling into the sun itself -- but with the projected high at 106* (and no telling what the heat index will be), we'll feel like the poor Brits in a Doctor Who adventure.

I haven't updated this blog -- because we've moved from Lancaster to Southlake. Some people have no idea where either town is located, so here's a bit of perspective. Lancaster sits south of Dallas on I-20 between I-45 and I-35. When we moved there 30 years ago, it was a quiet town surrounded by country ... Now it's a town surrounded by truck stops on the north and chain businesses on the west. The largest employers are the Lancaster school district and Wal-Mart. Southlake grew up west of Grapevine when commuters decided to leave the urban sprawl behind and create their own upscale community. Highway 114 is the main road in or out, although I'm learning a series of back ways since there's a massive piece of road construction between my abode and my job.

The other reason I haven't written lately is connected with the ballet studio. See how good the Doctor looks in his suit? Believe me, some tailor worked hard to get the right fitting for the pants and coat. And that cape? Don't get me started! Since ballerinas show a lot more arm and leg than a Time Lord, their tutus need an even better fitting. One miscalculated seam, and you're in for a massive amount of pinning and sewing. That was a nightmare that eventually had a happy ending ... though I bet we'll do another round of precision tailoring before the August show. We won't have distance and stage lights to enhance the illusion.

14 days, and I'm back in school. My, how time flies! and I didn't have a TARDIS!

Dawg Daze of Summer

Mother Nature & La Nina have sent some scorching weather our way ... The last time it was this hot, I had moved north from Houston to Dallas. We're moving this summer, and we've had 2 weeks of days over 100* with no rain in sight. Still I found a bit of cool in this hot neighborhood. I feel like the Wicked Witch of the West after Dorothy doused her with the bucket of water: "I'm melting! Melllllting!"

If you look carefully in the center, you might see the turtle that I found during my last morning walk. I was headed down Cherry Lane, enjoying the dappled morning light, when I found a largish turtle strolling towards me. She/ He could have barely fit inside a Dutch oven and weighed several pounds ... She dripped water on me as I turned her this way and that -- she was some sort of slider, and never tried to bite. This lady was all about being in the shell. Although she didn't sport a red blotch on her head, she was some sort of slider. I took her back to the apt to show to Cheri and Joy ... I put her into the cat carrier under the bushes while I fetched them. They cooed over her, then it was time to return her to the tiny stream (pond?) at the end of the block. The two artificial pools are too small to be home to anything bigger than tadpoles and mosquitos. (Though the dragonflies like to visit!)

We're about 2-5 miles south of Lake Grapevine ... and there's a small series of ponds or creek overflow spots. The Gateway Church has its own large fountain in the middle of a fountain. If this summer weren't so hot, I'd hike around to see whether we have more birds and wildlife ... Today I found a baby snake on the driveway. I touched its tail, and it squirted at me. (Bigger snakes excrete too, when they're grabbed. Joy & I found that out first hand!)

Mom has had a few close encounters on the wild side; I think a possum has made her yard its home. I suspect that Rob will try to live trap it and move it into one of the wildlife refuges near his house in Garland ... Otherwise, he can drop the possum off at Flag Pole Hill or White Rock Lake!!

Dolly Delights

OOAK necklace by OMS

Jury duty today -- cut short by the admission that I now live in Tarrant County ... Still, I got to see the traditional movie explaining that it's our duty as Americans to vote and serve as jurors. Clarice Tinsley and Scott Sams narrated, which means that it was filmed years ago ... But since the courts don't worry about ratings, they can re-play the tape until it deteriorates. Now you can get on-line and fill out your questionnaire; however, I don't know whether you can disqualify yourself on-line or whether you still need to show up ... At any rate, I was out of there before 10 o'clock.

Check out the necklace in the picture -- Joy and I make doll jewelry as lovely (and sometimes just as expensive) as full-sized pieces for people. BJD parents love to bedeck the dolls, and they appreciate the time and effort needed to build jewelry to scale. While Joy works on bracelets and necklaces, I'm working on a "thank you" gift for PG, who sent us her warehouse extras -- over 50 dolls to mod and re-make into a new vision ... We plan to transgender several of the boys ... although with the girls' heads that she included, we might not have to do much ... After all, little girls don't have boobs! (But these boys are muscular enough to be teens, so we'll have to use lots of frills and furbeloes to disguise the shoulders ... ah, a challenge!!) Alas, I had to modify the human necklace -- it's been over a year since I worked on the right-angle Dutch spiral, and I have no idea how I ended the pattern, or whether I intended the spiral to end exactly as it has ... So, I'm adding two "sea moss" extensions to finish the necklace length. I hope PG likes it.

Almost 4 weeks of summer done, and the house is still in flux. 30 years of stuff to inspect and decide whether we can use the items, store the items, or just walk away because it's too old or too dirty to salvage ... And the weather has stayed so hot that we can't work in the house after 2 o'clock. The little AC units & fans can't combat the heat creeping into the house. We shall soldier on -- there are treasures hidden amongst the junk, probably in some long-forgotten "safe place."

This week I'm reading "The Final Chapter" by Russell T. Davies ... The end of the David Tennant era of Doctor Who grows by leaps and bounds, as he demonstrates how little bits of ideas eventually grow into a character or plot. Davies juggled 3 SF series -- and now he's working on the Showtime version of Torchwood. I like three of the male characters, plus Eve Myles, so I'll watch the show. Maybe Joy won't complain as much as she does whenever Matt Smith appears as the Doctor. After all, we're not quite as invested in the series as we were in DW. Still, I wish he could've discussed the 4 different women in the Doctor's life: Rose, Sarah Jane, Martha, and Donna ... But Ben Cook asked the questions, and I suspect that question didn't interest him. He raised some good ones about writer's voice and Davies' opinions about writing ... and both books are HUGE!! I didn't mind spending money on either one ... and the pictures aren't shabby, either. I recommend it along with the books by Strazinsky of Babylon 5. Maybe I'll check out books by Joss Whedon, too. He's had a few hits along the way.

Father's Day

Peter Pan & Tink by Paulette Goodreau

Today would have been my dad's 85th birthday ... When I drove past the cemetery on my way home yesterday -- which was Fathers' Day -- I stopped by to visit. Mom is worried about the neighborhood; the apartments and homes around Calvary Hill Cemetery are decidedly blue collar Hispanic now -- but I saw many other families paying their patriarchal respects, so I didn't worry about any unexpected muggers. Planes zoomed overhead on their way to Love Field -- Dad was on the road much of his career, though usually he drove rather than flew. I suppose he might shake his head over my more recent decisions ... and I'm sure Mom and my brothers are doing the same. I remember my dad's smile the most -- and his horribly corny jokes that my brothers repeat at the most annoying times when the families are all together ... My nieces groan (just as I did) while I try not to laugh. I suppose that's one legacy to keep a man alive; that, and my brothers' determination to support their families.

In some ways, my dad held onto his inner little boy -- which probably frustrated my practical mom. I remember his sense of play -- though he worked hard on his various side businesses. Unfortunately, his plans to build a business to support Mom and him after his forced retirement never quite worked out ... In fact, he gave his life for his family, and his heart played out.

So, how does my dad tie into the Peter Pan mythos? Peter played "father" to Wendy's "mother" -- and their give-and-take mirrors my parents on one level. We never had any pixie dust, unless you count imagination to let folks soar. Jon had his music; Rob math and motorcyles; and I had writing & theatre ... and now dolls that I costume and create stories ... if I can figure out how to work the templates to build storyboards once more.

Everyone -- clap 3 times, so Tink can fly again!

After A-Kon Is Over

Angel Elf Soo in her pirate garb

Mariann in Renaissance garb

A-Kon passed in a blur or 3 1/2 days. We met at the hotel on Thursday evening to set up our tables; however, everyone was running late. This convention reminded me that someone has to make the list of who brings what and who needs a ride, etc. Sad to say, we spoke to each person in turn -- and no one made the connection that Person A could pick up Person B (and goods) so we didn't have to wait for Person C to finish her errands in order to bring Person B ... Oy!! But it all was done ... This year, I didn't have school stuff on Friday -- in 2012, alas, we go back to the first weekend, when I will have end-of-year checkout to finish before I can turn into a fangirl.

Friday sales were steady -- and, for most of the con, sales stayed steady; however, we didn't make any really big sales. We did sell 3 out of 4 Hestia dolls ... and only 2 people recognized them as Tuesday Morning close-out items. A few people bought Obitsu dolls, but no one wanted a OOAK.

Dollakon started on Saturday ... Joy got to see a few panels, and she bought tickets in a raffle to benefit Japan relief ... She also won first prize for the Angel Elf Soo that Sara costumed this year as a pirate wench. We have to plan for 2012 in order to compete once again. One lady brought her daughter to us -- the little girl wanted a BJD, and we told her how much she'd need to save for one. She had the money, but we didn't have the dolls. We sent her to the other dealers ...

Saturday afternoon also marked a performance by the ballet company. Steph worked sound tech & video while I oversaw the costumes. Hope's MC this year had prepared patter, so the quick changes weren't totally insane. Still, there were costume pieces all over the section of the restroom where I stored our costumes. The con patrons just had to move through the section -- It seems that there was a Japanese fashion show rehearsing at the same time as we performed ... and no one from Department A had communicated with Department B. We managed, but it left a sour taste ... luckily, we were able to pass the hat and collected around $100. Erin, our youngest dancer, said that there were some scary-looking people at the con ... and she didn't see the worst offenders!!

Sunday afternoon was the first slow period; we signed up for A-Kon 23 ... Joy discovered that she'd won a doll and a Gracefaerie pattern. We said good-bye to our out-of-state friends ... and A-Kon 22 was history. How time flies when you're pushing dolls & baubles.

On a side note -- about a dozen Sunset students who were my original anime club members showed up for A-Kon 22 ... My mundane soccer niece came with a friend ... but the biggest surprise was finding out that 3 other teachers had worked the con! I knew one was supervising one of the games on the 3rd floor, but 2 others had worked for a games exhibitor. At first, I thought I had imagined seeing them ... but on the second trip to the frieght elevator, we spotted each other. How weird ... I guess SHS is a better fit for my personality.

Mavs Mania

It's a disease, I swear. People who didn't grow up in Texas don't get it. Why do you care about sports teams when you don't really follow sports ... Don't ask me. I am not really a sports fan, but last night when I turned on the TV and Game 4 of the NBA finals was on ... Well, I stayed up to find out whether the Dallas Mavericks won Game 4 ... It reminded me of the time that we stayed up until 2 A.M. when the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999. By the way -- the Mavs won! The series is tied 2-2 ... and Dirk (their lead scorer) played with a temperature of 101; he sounded sick when they interviewed him after the game. That reminded me of Mike Modano of the Stars; when reporters asked if he wouldn't play after he broke a bone in his hand (or arm), he said he would ... They could strap him into his glove and he'd play. He would heal after they won the cup. (And they did!)

Marion Zimmer Bradley hated Texas because the lives of small Texas towns revolve around 3 things: God, family, and football (and not necessarily in that order). When she became a popular science fiction writer, she refused to come to Texas conventions until the 80s or 90s. Why -- bad memories, I suppose, although you'd think that she would realize that the people who go to SF cons are very different from the good ole boys back in a railway town in West Texas ... I suspect her experience would mirror that of an outsider stuck in the small town of Friday Night Lights.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate sports ... and I understand how people find them fascinating, though I prefer other physical activities. Besides, an athletic scholarship will pay for much of my niece's college education. (I pray that the boyfriend thing doesn't interfere ... so many girls lose everything because they don't put books before boys.) I just prefer science fiction (and its related romantic cousins) and fantasy ... until the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" series made reading fashionable to teens (well, teenaged girls), we fans were the geeks ... and series like "Big Bang Theory" reinforces that stereotype. Ah well, that's life. Over 12, 000 anime geeks and freaks and fans will descend on the Sheraton Hotel and its environs this weekend. So much to see and do ... and I get to sit behind a table and sell jewelry. With 5 of us there, we should get a turn to see panels and check out Dollakon 1. Sayonara, ya'll!

Graduation, Redux

The third niece graduated from Sachse HS last night;she's the one who has an athletic scholarship in soccer (hence the photo) ... The ceremony was familiar, yet different, from the ones that I ran for RHS and worked for SHS in DISD. Shoot, even the program -- and the paper the program was printed on -- had a familar format. The one time that a principal of mine tried to deviate from that formula, he was informed by our asst. superintendent that she didn't like it and that we must return to the old tried-and-true format. This was definitely the "family thing" that threatened to make me revert to a sulky teenager, since every personal plan was put on hold ... My mom wanted to make sure we got there in time, so we arrived an hour before we were supposed to go to supper with the family ... Then they delayed another hour because my nephew (poor guy) was laid low by a virus and couldn't come ...

Many cultures mark the official end of adolescence. My Latina girls have their "15" or Quinceneras; there used to be "Sweet 16" parties. I swear some guys mark it by siring a child; since so many don't stick around to raise the resulting child, I can't say that they're a "father," even if they claim to be the "baby daddy." Still, most kids suffer through the graduation ceremony -- and it does mark the end of 13 years of education. Who knows? Some may have learned something about life ... or will realize that we tried to teach them something about life later on. A high school diploma is the first important piece of paper on the way to a career ... and some career paths don't recognize a GED since it generally shows that you didn't finish the standard HS curriculum.

So long, and Godspeed, Classes of 2011 ... as Mom reminded me last night, school is over (ar least until August). Time to move on.

Memorial Day

Pigeons Cooing -- in Southlake

We spent Memorial Day in moving stages ... We drove past the exit for the National Cemetary for DFW soldiers. I wonder whether some of my students lie there. The WOLF pulled out many OSE country songs dealing with the sacrifices sometimes required to preserve our freedom ... and my students are so la-di-da about it. I'm not sure that we were quite so blase. After all the late 60s and early 7os marked the beginnings of the Viet Name protests.

Of course, they played "Have You Forgotten?" by Alan Jackson; it reminds people of why the US went after Osama bin Ladin ... Another song took the POV of a fallen soldier -- you don't realize that he's observing his own grave until he describes how he saw his grandfather's grave when he was 8 years old ... and now his grandfather greeted him when he enters the cemetary. We shall see how July 4 goes -- Neither family decided to decorate the graves (and Dad's a WWII vet) or to get together today ... Jon's family took Mom and us out to lunch since Adrianne's uncle & aunt came up to celebrate her graduation next week. (4 down and 1 to go!)

The apt is a tad smaller than the house ... but there's not so much stuff around, so we have more room to walk -- when the two black labs don't decide to get underfoot. Bird cages stand along each wall of the bedroom and living room ... and Cheri's 5 cats live in the other bedroom. I shall be traveling light in the pet dpt: a friend will shelter Lola and Skittles -- and maybe the kitten Zasu. The 3 "biguns" have to go to one of the shelters in the area ... There's enough open country around the house that coyotes could sneak up and snatch one of them off the porch or out of the back yard. Joy heard an owl last night ... she swears it was checking out the new white birds on the dining table.

This week begins the final week of the 2010-11 school year. I have so much to pack and move -- and we have luncheons two out of four days! To make matters worse, these are the kind of mandatory meals that you don't want to miss if you want to keep the powers-that-be happy. At least teaching doesn't require this kind of social activity very often ... Business people (and college professors) seem blessed with these events much more than teachers. Are we having fun yet?

Pomp & Circumstance 2011

Sunset released new members to the adult herd yesterday afternoon. I recognized many faces; I had taught many of them in 10th grade. Ironically, though not surprisingly, I didn't see the faces of the students who had caused chaos in 10th grade ... One dropped out after summer school; another couldn't pass the math TAKS; a third played the "numbers game" and didn't get all of his credits ... still, SHS had the largest graduating class from a comprehensive high school this year in DISD. Family and friends filled the upper decks while graduates and teachers filled the floor.

Graduation is a ceremony that marks the official end of adolescence; although many students need more time to mature, graduation acknowledges that they've reached a new stage in life. I fear some will meet some nasty surprises since the state (and school and teachers) no longer extends the protection of "They're just kids" and "It's the ---'s fault if they didn't learn the concept (or chose to skip class). For many, the safety nets are gone -- if indeed the nets were there at all. I have one student who's pregnant and whose foster mother tossed her out of the house the minute she turned 18. The girl is a pain sometimes, but turning kids onto the streets is not a Christian act ... but that foster family has had issues ever since I first met them 2-3 years ago. It turns out that her mother was my student over at my old school ... and when her mentor asked for money so the student would look good for graduation, I forked over $5. I suspect that other teachers contributed to the gown fund.

We arrived at Moody Collisseum around 2:30 -- the ceremony began at 5:30, but we wanted everyone in place by 5, so we sent out the word ... I hoped to sit out the ceremony; instead, I was tagged as a line leader. The line-up was much simpler this year: alphabetical order down one side then the other. The old-fashioned criss-cross is out since it requires a longer rehearsal. Quite frankly, its success also depends on knowing who's graduating more than 48 hours in advance. With all the grade changes and credit checks, the line-up can change after the class practices ... so why take any chances?

The ceremony hasn't changed much since your high school graduation, although I don't recall the school board representative speaking to our class. It definitely hasn't changed since I began working graduations in 2001 ... The posting of the colors, the song dedicated to the seniors, the interminable calling of names (I almost always drift off during this part.), the certification of the graduates ... and the processional and recessional to Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance." At Roosevelt, we used "March of the War Priests" from Verdi's Aida. Still, we had the same order of ceremony -- and pretty much the same layout for our program. I'll bet its a DISD thing.

I'll finish with a wish for good luck and Godspeed to the Class of 2011. They have many challenges waiting for them, as well as surprises both good and bad. Sunset HS had a hand in forming them ... Here's hoping that they prepared for the real world beyond the red brick and white granite walls.

Dancing Fools

Can-Can Dancers Ready to Shake the Skirts

When Dallas Arts Festival canceled all outdoor music, no one knew whether we'd have a show. Hope turned to St. Bernard's Church, where she teaches pre-ballet to grades K-4, and got permission to have a show ... which sounds a lot like a few Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland movies from the 40s. We held dress rehearsal last Saturday, not knowing whether we'd have a space to dance, but Hope got permission from the principal -- and word went out to come and see what the company and classes had done this spring.

I got indirect permission to leave early since I'm working graduation on Saturday afternoon. We don't get paid any more, and we can't check out early -- thanks to Chancery & computers -- so I don't feel guilty. When I got to the studio, Hope had everything packed, but we did a final check just in case -- I haven't forgotten the time we left the Faust scarves at the studio, and I had to drive cross-town to get them. We packed the car (Yes, women in performing arts must be strong like bull!); we had help at the church getting the huge costume buckets inside, then started setting up the dressing room ... and the first moms & girls showed up early! As the company and class girls filtered in, we had more and more to do -- the music had to be cued (on an I-pod, no less!); girls' hair & make-up needed doing. (Several moms watched because they want to do their daughters' hair next year.) Hope's costume needed longer elastic straps ... just the fiddly bits to bring a show together ... Steph was able to step in and build costumes since I got laid low this spring. Otherwise, to quote Hope, "We would've had a bunch of nekkid dancers on stage!"

To my surprise, my mom showed up during set barre. Years ago, when Madame toured with the Ballet Russe, the company developed a quick method of warming up the muscles ... and all of us afterwards learned the movements as "set barre." The music never changes; I did the same steps to the same music when I was a little dancer in elementary school ... I noticed that the "littles" from St. Bernard's wanted to follow Hope, but they couldn't see her -- and Hope was concentrating (as she should) on warming up for a performance. So, I kicked off my ballet flats and started doing plies where the girls could see me. I had to check Hope every so often to remember the sequence ... and I know I didn't do it perfectly. Well, the girls responded with more enthusiasm than accuracy. Who cares? They were dancers, like the company girls on the front stage. Briana, our wanna be diva, asked, "What made you an expert?" I leaned down and said, "I started dancing ballet when I was 3 years old." I didn't add that I had quit dancing for over 25 years.

The performance itself went smoothly, once we got the music squared away ... Never work with unfamiliar technology during a performance! Luckily, Steph had a back-up file that didn't shuffle or shift among the files; the tech wanted to find a hole and hide ... If Hope & the dancers weren't upset, then she needs to calm down ... The "littles" had to wait for applause -- I'm not sure whether their music was messed up or not ... But, oh, being the "gatekeeper" for those girls was not fun! They wanted to peek at the audience and whisper (and 8 girls in a small corridor get loud) ... but for most of them it was their first performance. I noticed that some parents brought flowers for their little dancers. Hope's brother Jesse came through with an adapted hornpipe/ step dance to "If I Only Had a Brain." We finished with "Can-Can" ... I started the clapping (and whooping). At dress rehearsal, the littles and their moms had seen how loud we could get in order to encourage the dancers to high kick, do splits, and shake those skirts. It was a raucous, fun finish to the show.

After the show, I saw 2 Russian Orthodox priests in the audience ... or maybe 1 R.O. and 1 R.C. I suspect that the pastor came around to see what his church was hosting. They seemed pleased with the results ... and we got donations for the company AND the church. Hope got to advertise for the studio's classes -- and the classes at St. Bernard's for 2011-2. So, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, we created a work of art from a potential disappointment.

Next Show -- A-Kon at the Dallas Sheraton Hotel

Ballet on the Run

Friday night, the ballet company has its spring recital -- we have the "baby" duo; the 8-10 littles from St. Bernard's Church; two beginner students from the studio; and the company ... It'll display a wide range of ballet styles, from contemporary ballet of "Equinox" to the vivacious "Can-Can" and the more traditional "Summer Garden." Luckily, we have permission to leave a bit early after finals on Friday, so I can zoom to the church and help set up the audience/ performance area. Hmmmm ... pack boxes today and put them in the car on Friday ... That might be a plan. We shall see.

Last Saturday we held the dress rehearsal at the studio ... Everyone got to watch the dances as we ran them, one after the other. Steph and I did hair and make-up for the littles, who were thrilled to get to wear "ballerina" make-up. Ah, the wonders of Aquanet, extra-hold. We had many a helmet-head, but the girls looked good. Of course, a bunch of little girls get bored during a dress rehearsal, so I invoked the memory of Madame; I began the story of how ballerinas must learn to dance from other ballerinas who came before ... and Hope came to recall Madame and explain who was the smiling old lady in the portrait. I got down the picture of Madame dancing ... the mothers seemed more fascinated by the stories than the kids. Well, we ARE the "Heritage School of Classical Ballet." They need to know their heritage, right? Hopefully, we shall do the old lady proud.

Mother Nature did the watusi on Tuesday night; we were in Oak Cliff for the club meeting ... while the speaker was talking, I heard the sirens go off. No one else heard. I went outside and stared at the sky. Yes, I stood there -- hand on a parking sign -- and watched the clouds slowly rotate while lightning flashed in the sky. The southern skies looked clear, but north was dark and lowering. Later, we hid in the corridor near the restrooms when Bill's son (in New York!) called him about a super cell thunderstorm heading our way ... No downed power lines and fewer tree branches -- we had worse troubles back in April when lightning split a tree next to our house.

5 days left of school -- 1 full day and 4 exam days -- and I get to pack and move the classroom contents over the next week. Oy!! It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate over the course of 4 years. I may need to sort and eliminate items ... though what to do with my bookcases and manga!

Touched by an Alien

Doctor 10 & Donna Nobles

I've been gone over a week -- the right kidney decided that it was time to pass a stone. Obviously not drinking water this spring caught up with me ... You'd have thought I would've learned that lesson Summer 2010 since the same thing put me in the hospital. But no ... it seems that I, like my students, am a slow learner. Let's not make it three times! Since I knew what was happening, I didn't go to the doctor this time -- but, to add insult to injury, some nasty bronchial bug laid me low. For about 60 hours, I lay comatose in the bed while my body healed. I only got up long enough to watch "The Doctor's Wife" on Saturday night. Nail Gaiman wrote a wonderfully witty script with a good mix of chills and thrills. The interplay between the anthromorphized TARDIS ("Sexy") and her thief showed why this show tends to have writing that is head and shoulders above most American scripts. Favorite lines: "You're always bringing in strays!" (Now we know what the TARDIS thinks of the companions!) When the Doctor says, "You're unreliable. You never take me where I want to go," the TARDIS replies, "No, I take you where you need to go." It's a show to introduce a first-time viewer to the WHOniverse, but fans will enjoy the acting and story.





Gina Koch has her own version of aliens with two hearts (like the Doctor) in her ALIEN series. I picked up the most recent, Alien in the Family, which was the third book centered around a wedding ... there was so much comedy & conflict in the blurb on the back of the book that I was intrigued -- but I decided that I'd better put the 2011 novel down and locate the first in the series, Touched by an Alien.


Katherine "Kitty" Katt must have reconciled herself to the absurb name her parents gave her. She's an ordinary woman in heels ... who springs to the rescue when a man morphs into a winged monster and goes on a killing rampage. The clean-up crew in sunglasses and black Armani suits may look human -- though impressively on the GQ model side of human -- but they are really alien males from Alpha Centauri. Jeff Martini is their local squad leader, and he and Kitty hit it off immediately. Pheremones fly as she comes to grip with how hot the men are ... and how immensely dangerous the situation has become.


Good thing Kitty's an only child with few close friends, except for her conspiracy nut friend Chuck who is mentioned but never seen, and no pets ... The nastiest terrorist on the planet (no, it's not a real terrorist) has combined with the nastiest monster parasite in the known universe; both want to either kill or convert Kitty to the cause. She's not buying it ... besides, she wants to get her hands on Jeff's hot bod and discover the joys of alien sex.


Koch has a deft touch for comedy, and the sexual high jinks shouldn't turn off most readers. I checked her bio: yes, she's a member of RWA (Romance Writers of America), a bonus from a marketing point of view. Although I found the novel in the SF section, I would not be surprised if some intrepid soul moves it over to Romance. By the rules of romane writing, technically this novel is NOT a romance ... The defeat of the main villain happens after the couple resolve their differences; also, defeating the villain might be a hair more important than "the relationship." Both items break the rules of romance writing, which reverses the importance of those events. Still, the book was a fun read -- if a covert one at school -- and I bought the second in the series yesterday at Borders.


Check out Touched by an Alien for a fun summer read. See ya under the cabana ... and ignore the screams from the room next door. It's just Jeff teaching Kitty new ways to be touched by an alien.

Mark of the Cat

'Ware of the Cat

Since the school year is drawing to a close, I decided to include reviews of favorite books -- in keeping with the theme of this blog, most of them will have a feline twist. The first is an old favorite that I uncovered while packing my library for storage.

Many fans grew up reading Andre Norton; now most of her books are out-of-print, and younger readers must find her in local libraries stacks -- if the older books haven't been culled to make space for newer authors. It's a shame, since many current SF favorites based their writing styles and plots on Andre's tried and true hero journeys. In other words, if you like Mercedes Lackey (and almost any other female SF/ fantasy writers), you should check out Andre Norton, the grandmistress of them all.

Mark of the Cat uses notes from a fantasy artist, Karen Kukendall, who created a world of 5 queendoms under an emperor. This book traces Hynkkel's journey from outcast to emperor -- and Anne McCaffery used the same tropes in her dragon books. Lissa goes from the scullery maid to the Queen's Rider ... and rejuvenates the Weyrs of Pern. Along the way, Hynkkel makes the great sand cats his allies, one becoming his blood brother ... Norton wrote her books with male protagonists (since those sell more books), but she didn't leave out the females of the species. When he reaches the capital city, Hynkkel has three important females supporting his imperial claims: his sister, a master craftswoman in jewels; Ravinga, a dollmaker who is more than she seems; and Allita, her apprentice who also has a secret in her past.

Norton weaves all the storylines together to show how the people who are least appreciated by a society as a whole can become more powerful when they work together and have the strength and courage to follow their destinies. Allita and Hynkkel don't want to walk the paths of power; however, Ravinga forces them to understand that they must, if they don't want the Queendoms to fall to the rats & their hidden master. Yes, if good has a human actor in Ravinga, evil has its herald in the rat-lord ... who makes his appearance in the sequel, Year of the Rat. The sequeal may not have as compelling a storyline as Mark of the Cat, but most readers will want to know how Hynkkel and Allita will escape the webs woven by their enemies, the Queen of Valapa, her war leader Shank-ji, and the Rat Lord.

As a teen reader, I would've read these novels for the characters; however, as an adult, I'm more impressed by the 6 lands that Norton created from Kukendall's notes. From the harsh desert of Kahuwela (where Hynkkel grew up) to the lush garden city of Valapa (where Allita lived), each land has its own people and customs. We meet them in the first book when Hynkkel goes on his quest to prove he's worthy of the last trial to be Emperor; we encounter them a second time on Hynkkel's royal progress.

Most critics would dismiss Norton's works since they tend to end happily for the main characters -- good or evil, characters get their just desserts. Call me old-fashioned, but it beats the downer "realistic" endings of many modern authors. So, the next time that you go to the library or a used-book store, check out Andre Norton's novels. They're good reads.

On a totally different note: GO MAVS!! They have beaten the LA Lakers 3-0 in the semi-final NBA series ... True, I'm not that into professional sports. (I didn't watch the games, after all.) Still, I am a Dallas girl, so -- win or lose -- all the teams get my support. Joy doesn't understand it; I don't get it either. It's just a fact of life down here in Texas where football is king.

Joy & I have started building the yahoo news group for "Four Winds Blow." The newsletter was rather popular while the faire ran. I hope to continue the bi-monthly editions. Right now, I don't want to invite other people until there's more than a calendar of events. Sigh! Another job to do -- still, as Bruce says, faire is like an 8-week family reunion. Therefore, someone gets to do the fairemily newsletter during the off-season.

Ballet Basix

Worship Me, lowly two-legger!

Tonight I'm playing hooky from ballet class ... my left leg is unhappy since I ignored the ache & walked up and down the stairs a few more times than usual. It's an awkware hop-step, but I can get up and down without waiting an eternity for the elevator. I hope it doesn't make the strain worse -- but, after almost 2 months (or is it 3?), I have to take a calculated chance.
Bast -- pictured above -- has welcomed most of a feral litter of kittens that nested near our house. Their mother moved them just before the deluge struck last week; I had thought they had perished in the storms, trapped by the water; however, Joy noticed that none had a mark on them -- which we thought might mean that Skippyjon, the Siamese tom, had hurt them. Then, we heard crying one night near the porch ... it was the little red. We placed him/her in the carrier, but it died during the night. I suspect it's the "failure to thrive" syndrome, because they looked fat and healthy when their mother moved them ... Shoot, Margot's kittens seemed all right, but 3 of 4 perished. Zasu Pfittz, the grey-striped girl, is the sole survivor of the litter born on the coldest days of this school year. She plays by herself or with the older cats -- and we're trying to convince her that she should play with humans and not just fluffballs.



We observed Cinco de Mayo today at SHS -- and I played hooky from the community celebration after school ... I came home and ate supper before heading for the computer ... I'm sure that Mrs. Garcia brought together many elements from our local community, but I didn't have the money for food or drink -- and I had errands to run. Speaking of which, I need to call my mom once more ... it's a daughterly duty thing, y'know? I skipped out of some of the assembly today ... they tagged me to do backpack searches in the morning, so I felt that I deserved a little time to myself. I hadn't done backpack duty or metal detector screening in 4 years -- with the budget cuts, I suppose all of us will learn the knack once more. Rumor has it that we may lose all of our hall monitors ... Hall duty, ah, I remember it well. I still haven't forgotten the time that I sat metal detector duty; a mom of a student set off the alarm. I asked to look in her purse -- and she calmly pulled out a folding knife and handed it to me. Holy crap! How do you play off that one?

Mother's Day is this Sunday, so I'm co-ordinating the family cook-out thing at Mom's house. Right now, we're not quite sure who might or might not be there -- my brother's mother-in-law has an aggressive cancer, so they'll head over there first. No surprise -- intimations of mortality have cropped up all over the place, like weeds after the first spring rains, during 2011. Occasionally my mom's given us a scare or two, but this seems to be a good week for her -- though I'd prefer it if she'd answer the phone. I get paranoid when she doesn't answer, and I don't know her schedule since (generally) she stays at home most evenings ... Who knows? She may surprise us all and adopt a dog for a mother's day gift. Still ... no answer ... now I'm wishing that I had driven north to check on her and stay for dinner.

For a complete change of subject -- this week I launch "Four Winds Blow -- on line." Joy will set up the Yahoo group, and I will direct folks from Facebook to the newsgroup. I hope they enjoy this bimonthly edition, though I suspect that the news may be sparse unless people send me items. I know where a few of our compatriots will perform and/ or compete -- and I took copious notes on the last days of Faire. This weekend is Pirate Weekend at Hillsboro ... I need to get cracking, if I'm going to get everything in place.

But first, I have to check on Mom ...