happy new year

valentine's day at the judson sunday service

m and c and i spent our morning at judson church. the beliloveables were asked to dance for their valentine's sunday service. the dance lori belilove chose for them to perform was southern roses, a beautiful favorite . . and perfect for the judson's large classical space. it being valentine's day, everyone was wearing pink or red, and had heart-shaped cookies and cards to hand out . . and there were also lots of heart socks! g was at home, drafting a last minute letter for our mortgage re-financing, but managed to arrive just in time (the girls opened the service at 11 am).

when a dog has to share his chair

ummmm . . this is a little tight up here!!

. . yeah, i'm talking to you lady jane.

don't try and purse your lips at me. my jowls are bigger than yours.

sheesh . .

what are YOU looking at.

hmmmmm . .

(sigh). no one respects me.

&#!@. who does she think she IS? reading in my chair . .

slowly melting

snow day continued

today is a beautiful, clear and very icy day! it was so wet last night. m and i actually went out to see the limon company perform anna sokolow's rooms and jose limon's there is a time at baryshnikov's 37 arts space. it was so wet that we just hopped in a cab as my feet were sinking in slush between street corners. of course riding in a cab during such wet conditions wasn't fun either. we lucked out on the way home and an M11 bus that was stopped at a red light at the corner of 37th street and 9th avenue let us on.
yesterday there was a major battle between swallows and amazons. it was a very wet battle, and i hear that hands got rather cold. when they came upstairs, afterwards, coats and pants and socks and gloves and hats were soaking wet and hung from every nook in the bathroom. they all warmed up with some molasses and ginger cookies and cocoa spice tea.

snow day

we're having a blizzard today and all our out of the home classes have been cancelled, which makes me very happy! of course we can still do some lessons at home, and a short lesson on rock art of ancient africa is up on the board (tassili-n-Ajer). the girls hope to have a snow playdate with a friend later on in the afternoon. i think the weather should be alright. actually, considering how everything in the city has shut down due to "inclement" weather, the storm isn't so bad! it started snowing about five in the morning, and has been continuing off and on. right now it has stopped again and looks rather clear outside. maybe it's supposed to worsen as the day progresses?

the lion king

m and c have a good friend whose dad plays zazu in the lion king. he's currently on the road with the show at the bushnell theatre in hartford, connecticut, which is only a half hour from my sister. so, we decided to head up north and see the show with my sister and brother-in-law.


the bushnell is a beautiful theatre, but has a very small backstage. m and c's friend's dad, tony, said they needed a few rehearsals to get the show running smoothly. there are 100 people backstage, 52 of whom are the performers. things are tight so everything is very organized! i really liked seeing the aisles of long, narrow cubby holes, with costumes neatly hung on hangers, and each performer's name labeled along the top. the ensemble has many costume changes to make, and are constantly busy. it's a fun show to do, and a fun show to watch. the first number, circle of life, is tender and thrilling, and m and c and i were excited to see tony at the back of the house, getting ready for his opening run up to the stage with his puppet. from the beginning, the audience's heart is captured and the joy that the show brings was really expressed by an exuberant standing ovation for the performers at the end (even before the principal actors came on!). everyone in the entire theatre was standing and cheering. it was very, very moving. as the usher whom i spoke with before the show began, expressed, "this is one of the most outstanding shows that has ever come to the bushnell." she praised the show excessively and proudly declared to me that all the music was live, and extra rooms were needed under the stage (the orchestra pit was very small) to hold all the singers and musicians. afterwards, we had a great backstage tour with tony and were regaled with funny stories that m and c already knew from their friend, who could probably give the tour herself!

and of course tony was amazing!!! he really made the show special for us.