38 Special

For those of you with little to no knowledge or appreciation for firearms, you need to know that a .38 special is actually a handgun, not a rifle. I am the only "38 special" in this picture!

I can't think of a better way to celebrate my 38th birthday than by exercising a little fire power. For those of you who are less than enthusiastic about firearms, you may be surprised to find that I grew up with them. Not in my personal possession, of course, but my dad is and always has been a great gun collector. When I was young, he used to let me tag along with him when he went to the firing range with his collection of rifles and pistols, and I would watch from the cement bunker as he blasted away at those helpless targets 100 yards away. The highlight of these excursions was sipping the Grape Nehi my dad always bought me to keep me quiet and out of mischief. If I close my eyes, I can still taste it....I haven't been shooting since I can't remember when -- junior high, I think -- so it was eagerness that I jumped at the chance to visit our local target range last week when my folks came up for a quick visit. Dad had a recently purchased gun he wanted to break in and of course, I had to go and try it out. I was a little nervous, since it has been a few years since I touched anything that could break the sound barrier, but it really is a very pretty gun, and I'm like a raccoon when it comes to pretty things. Anne, too. And for someone who has never picked up anything remotely close to a rifle (other than a video game joystick), she did pretty DARN well! And despite my initial reticence, I have to say that I didn't do too shabby either.

We forgot to take the camera with us to the range, so hopefully you'll accept these pictures as proof....

It's only a little disturbing to know that my child has an affinity for handling rifles. On her first time out, she NAILED the bull's-eye... and not once, but FIVE TIMES IN A ROW.



Just for fun, (and to rub it in a little), here's a color-coordinated look at our success: ( go ahead -- click on the picture to get a better look.)

Roy also grew up with guns, and it is no small victory to see that I have better aim than he does after all these years. He insisted that his first try was simply to get a good grouping (getting all your shots in a tight group), but since I bested him at that, too (his second attempt is in blue up there at the top), I have total and complete bragging rights. Unless he let me win because of my birthday... hmm, I just thought of that...well, that means a rematch!

Anne also tried the pistol, which is harder to control and aim and actually hit the target, let alone the bull's eye, but she liked the rifle better. I swear, the girl did not even flinch. My dad also put up a target that consisted of three metal discs that hung from a frame that would spin when you shot them, and Anne nailed those every time, too.

It was really a lot more fun than I remember, especially since our range didn't have any vending machines, and I think we may have found a new family hobby. Beats playing video games any day!

Other birthday weekend highlights:

• The photo shoot for "Once on This Island" was awesome!!!! Long, tedious, tiresome, and lots of "hurry up and wait your turn" kind of stuff for the kids, but I have to say, they all looked amazing! It's a huge relief to know that, three weeks before dress rehearsal, I'm about 95% done with this job. The official photos are not up for review, but I snuck in my camera and took a few of my own:

Papa Ge, god of Death


Agwe, god of Water

(This dedicated young man shaved his head just so I could paint it gold and detailed, swirly blue waves all over his skull! Talk about sacrificing for the craft!)

Erzulie, goddess of Love


Asaka, goddess of Earth

(Her head-piece is still under construction, but I wish I had gotten a picture of her whole dress -- it took me about 8 hours to make, and it's incredible!)

• Getting my dad hooked on pineapple salsa.

• Wheelbarrow duty at our stake service project.

• Finishing my niece's wedding dress.

• A birthday cake shaped like a sewing machine...
• 

"E" for effort, right? I got the jist of what they were trying to accomplish, anyway ... and it was delicious, which is all that matters.

CONSUMED

Six days to "Once On This Island" photo shoot and counting....I've probably said this before, but I'll say it again, I LOVE MY JOB!! And this show has been so fun! The ensemble costumes (what most of the actors are wearing) were easy to find at thrift shops because the Caribbean Peasant Look is chic right now, I guess, which means I've been able to really throw myself into the creation of the wild, off-the-wall gods and goddesses. It's been really quite a feat to take the drawings I sketched and make them come to life.

But I have barely been able to take a few minutes to breathe at the end of each day lately, and I actually forced myself to not even touch my sewing machine today. The kids needed a break as badly as I did today, so we packed up and went swimming at a friend's house (thank you, Mindy!) and tonight Roy and I are going to celebrate Anniversary #17 by going to the temple. And tomorrow I'll be back to the grindstone...

Stay tuned for our costume preview!

Tastes like chicken

I can't think of a better way to celebrate the birthday of our nation that to eat a bunch of food from other countries. That's what our country is all about, right? A big melting pot of earth's humanity, all gathered in this mighty country of ours to celebrate their differences and to share their cultures and and express their ethnicity on every street corner and grocery store shelf and even in the mailbox.

This friend graciously complied by surprising Emma yesterday with a big, ol' box of goodies from her husband's native country. In case you can't read the small print, here's a closer look:


What, still can't read it? Sorry, I forgot -- it's in Polish! But from what we could tell, these chips really are chicken flavored, and they were reallllllllly tasty! Thanks, Lisa, SOOOO MUCH! You have no idea how much this made Emma's day!


We had to take a quick picture of all the loot before everybody devoured everything. My personal favorite: the cherry chocolate bar (we're talking YUMMY) and the twiggy colored pencils (which, of course, we didn't eat, but nevertheless put to good use!)

(Apologies for the sideways view -- it wasn't sideways when I attached it, I promise!)

And while we're on the multi-culture subject, here's a quick glimpse at the costumes for "Once on This Island." Anne is modeling the outfit I made for 'Agwe', the god of water. The vest is made from an iridescent green/blue taffeta, embellished with a teal brocade and turquoise lycra waves, complete with strips of the taffeta to resemble seaweed. The pants are made of the turquoise lycra, with a wide-leg overlay of teal and gold-glittered nylon netting, embellished with brocade waves at the hem. Her hair is hanging loose from a recently broken ponytail elastic, curling naturally over her shoulders, enhancing the aquatic theme. (Which isn't totally accurate, since the god of water is going to played by a boy and he's getting his head shaved for the occasion so we can paint waves across his head! Talk about dedicating yourself to the craft...)

So much fun! I can't wait to do 'Erzulie', the goddess of love!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled holiday:

This friend , my brilliant photographer friend from days gone by, issued a challenge for the month of July which I was glad to meet. July is the best month of the year -- Indepence Day (I consider myself a very patriotic person), my wedding anniversary, my birthday (twenty-one shopping days, people!), and officially the half-way year mark all happen in this month (which happens at exactly noon on July 2nd, in case anybody's wondering).

So, I dutifully got out the camera and purposely went to a major department store to find matching shirts and a new flagpole just so I could take these:

(And Carin, by the way -- recognize that first pose?)

Tonight we'll be heading out for a good, ol' fashioned neighborhood barbecue, complete with swimming pool, volleyball, burnt shoulders and peeling noses (not if Roy can help it! If they made a sunblock with SPF 2000, he'd buy stock!) and lots and lots of amazing food, including but not limited to the teriyaki chicken I have marinating in the fridge as we speak. Hope you all have a fabulous Fourth!

To Whom It May Concern;

Please excuse Sue from her regular blogging activities. She will still be posting from time to time over the next two months, but you may expect her back permanently by August 23rd. In the meantime, she will be tearing her hair out, planning for Girls Camp and organizing and designing costumes for her next theatrical performance while hiding out in her totally cushy and plush surroundings at her new digs, the Ginger Rogers Craterian Theater in the greater downtown Medford area. (Her office is located immediately above the front entrance-- see all those windows? Awesome.)

Thank you for your concern.

Yours truly,

The Management

And here's a small sample of what she'll be doing:

What starts looking like this....









Is going to end up looking like THIS...



.....thanks to my genius brother, Mike, who coached me through every step of the process. Mike, you're my hero! Stay tuned for the finished product. We're wrapping all four masks with wire mesh tomorrow, then plastering them with just-add-water plaster. It's super-light-weight, and incredibly durable. And once they have dried, the REAL fun part begins -- PAINTING!! And then we add feathers, and jewels, and all kinds of glitzy glop.

And that's just the head pieces.
We also have four incredibly amazing COSTUMES to make to match the masks... not to mention the ensemble cast of 52 other kids!

Every time I think, wow, this is the most amazing thing I've ever done in my theatrical career over the past thirteen years, something ALWAYS comes up that is even more challenging. This, I think, takes the cake. Even above life-size giraffe and elephant suits.

I love my job.