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slipjig3Is there anything more demoralizing than a power outage when you're two lines away from finishing your LJ update?
My mom is safely back in Illinois now. The visit went very, very well; much seafood was consumed, Mom got the full Grandmother Experience, complete with repeated Dora the Explorer viewings, and no major disasters occurred (outside of my grandma in Illinois going to the emergency room for some bleeding that wouldn't stop; she's okay, but I know Mom was momentarily regretting being in the next time zone). She loved her Xmas gifts: two Gordon Lightfoot CDs, an antique candle snuffer (with a wick pick on the end that guaranteed they'd never let her take it in carry-on), and a gift certificate to Sutton's in Queensbury, which turned out to be slow torture as she tried to decide what to buy. I know the feeling.
The highlight of her visit was Abbey's debut in The Nutcracker on Saturday, with a matinee on Sunday that we didn't get to see. A fantastic show all around; Tim McGuire's Dance Studio is a serious deal, with students ranging from Abbey's age through high school and college students and up to adults, and including some majorly talented dancers. There were a few bugs that needed to be ironed out with props and such, but Abbey nailed her part as Little Mouse #3, which of course is the most important of the eight little mice. I couldn't see my watch in the dark, but I estimate her onstage time as clocking in at about 48 seconds. Great fun.
Some random notes from the show:
1) The second half had the better dancing. Which is a good thing, because the plot is pretty much over by intermission.
2) The fellow who played the Sugar Plum Fairy's Cavalier looks like he could have fronted an alternative band, circa 1994. It's a good thing he chose dance because, well. That ass. Those tights. Yes, indeed.
3) The easiest way to throw a group of young dancers out of sync? Hand them a prop.
4) Jeez, has the Waltz of the Flowers always been that long?
5) Confidential to the family in the next row: The correct answer when the baby starts crying is to take the baby outside. Do not hand the baby your keychain, because then you have screaming baby and jangling keys.
6) Confidential to the guy in front of me: Bathe. Please. For the love of God.
7) I certainly hope that the young woman who did the Arabian dance is in fact a college student, because if she's still in high school, some of the audience is going straight to Hell. (I'm sorry, but there should be a minimum age requirement on some of those moves.)
8) I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't mean to step on your purse.
9) It's very interesting to finally see all this from the front, after weeks of watching rehearsals from stage right.
10) The problem with applauding someone's extended pirouette is that you then have to applaud everybody's extended pirouette.
11) Bitchin' pas de deux!
After my mom got on the plane, I wrapped presents for a long, long time. Next year, it will be paper grocery sacks, held shut with two staples. The good news is, after one stop that I will make before work today, shopping is totally, utterly DONE. Huzzah!
My mom is safely back in Illinois now. The visit went very, very well; much seafood was consumed, Mom got the full Grandmother Experience, complete with repeated Dora the Explorer viewings, and no major disasters occurred (outside of my grandma in Illinois going to the emergency room for some bleeding that wouldn't stop; she's okay, but I know Mom was momentarily regretting being in the next time zone). She loved her Xmas gifts: two Gordon Lightfoot CDs, an antique candle snuffer (with a wick pick on the end that guaranteed they'd never let her take it in carry-on), and a gift certificate to Sutton's in Queensbury, which turned out to be slow torture as she tried to decide what to buy. I know the feeling.
The highlight of her visit was Abbey's debut in The Nutcracker on Saturday, with a matinee on Sunday that we didn't get to see. A fantastic show all around; Tim McGuire's Dance Studio is a serious deal, with students ranging from Abbey's age through high school and college students and up to adults, and including some majorly talented dancers. There were a few bugs that needed to be ironed out with props and such, but Abbey nailed her part as Little Mouse #3, which of course is the most important of the eight little mice. I couldn't see my watch in the dark, but I estimate her onstage time as clocking in at about 48 seconds. Great fun.
Some random notes from the show:
1) The second half had the better dancing. Which is a good thing, because the plot is pretty much over by intermission.
2) The fellow who played the Sugar Plum Fairy's Cavalier looks like he could have fronted an alternative band, circa 1994. It's a good thing he chose dance because, well. That ass. Those tights. Yes, indeed.
3) The easiest way to throw a group of young dancers out of sync? Hand them a prop.
4) Jeez, has the Waltz of the Flowers always been that long?
5) Confidential to the family in the next row: The correct answer when the baby starts crying is to take the baby outside. Do not hand the baby your keychain, because then you have screaming baby and jangling keys.
6) Confidential to the guy in front of me: Bathe. Please. For the love of God.
7) I certainly hope that the young woman who did the Arabian dance is in fact a college student, because if she's still in high school, some of the audience is going straight to Hell. (I'm sorry, but there should be a minimum age requirement on some of those moves.)
8) I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't mean to step on your purse.
9) It's very interesting to finally see all this from the front, after weeks of watching rehearsals from stage right.
10) The problem with applauding someone's extended pirouette is that you then have to applaud everybody's extended pirouette.
11) Bitchin' pas de deux!
After my mom got on the plane, I wrapped presents for a long, long time. Next year, it will be paper grocery sacks, held shut with two staples. The good news is, after one stop that I will make before work today, shopping is totally, utterly DONE. Huzzah!
