Friday, February 27, 2015

Birthday Jjigae



Doug and I went to to lunch (without the kids!) and I got some kimchi jjigae for my birthday. This time we went to Gangnam BBQ (which used to be Honey Pig and was Duriban before that). It wasn't the best jjigae I've had--I think the kimchi was too fresh--but it was a good meal. I ate three bowls of rice.  (They were not overly full to start with, but still, lotta rice.) And then I got a birthday nap, which was awesome. And my family called and sang to me badly, as is traditional.

We finished up the day with a ward activity (where I got a nice long sit-and-chat with friends), and I did not have to do any cooking or dishes all day.  (Aside from the breakfast oatmeal.  Which I'm not counting.)  So, all around, good day!



Doug got me some flowers, too (roses and alstromerias). Awww!

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Peeking Up



This was a nice surprise today!

I planted tomato seeds on the 13th and hadn't seen any signs of sprouting yet, so Friday night I went up to McLendon Hardware and got a seedling heat mat (I was going for just the mat, but they had the Hydrofarm Germination Stationon sale, so I got that.  Comes with a tray and dome also.) I put the seeds in it that night and had some little baby sproutlings Sunday morning! They might have come up on their own anyway, after being in the dirt for a week, but I'm thinking the heat helped.

 I planted twelve different varieties and a few of them haven't made an appearance yet, but I am optimistic. And if they don't come up I've got plenty of time to try again.  

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Sunny Days

We have been having a lovely early Spring.  It's crazy how everything is blooming.  (Tacoma has a Daffodil Parade in April.  I'm not sure what they'll do this year--all the daffodils will be gone by then!)

We took advantage of some lovely Saturday weather at Titlow Park.



Wheeee!



Down at the beach.



Finding crabs.



What Andy does when a train goes by. They are close! And loud!

Sunday, February 15, 2015

So this happened....



It's February 15th. There's something wrong with this picture.

Friday, February 13, 2015

In which Doug hits half a century.



This guy is fifty today! (This is rather unfathomable... fifty?  Really?)  Still as cute as ever. 




Doug's big present is still on the way (clearly I should have ordered it sooner...) but I did have something for him. I got ahold of family and friends ahead of time and got people to contribute to a "50 things we love about Doug" card/book.



Andy got to add his own personal touch.



Helen Chick contributed a poem. (Clever!)



A gelli print for the back cover.



Doug and Kate enjoy checking out everyone's comments (while Andy hides under a blanket).  Doug is awesome and funny and smart and dependable and resourceful... so many things.  In fifty years he's developed some unusual talents and interests.  (And he makes fabulous homemade pasta!  Score!)

We had a nice little birthday observance at home. Andy's been sick all week with a cough, fever, and ear infection (ugh!) but he's finally starting to feel better, and we had a gorgeous sunny day. (I started some tomato seeds!) We are planning to continue our celebration with a trip to East India Grill on Monday.

Happy birthday Doug!  

Friday, February 06, 2015

Planking the Pinafore



I've been busy working on the set for the latest production of Tacoma Opera--Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore. It's been a year since I painted for them and I was thrilled to be back. It's been a bit hectic but it all turned out great. (Picture from Evan's phone--I, with my 50mm lens, cannot get the whole set in the frame even if I go all the way to the back of the balcony. )



Evan Ritter was the set designer and lighting tech guy for the show. He made this fabulous model (out of illustration board). I love the forced perspective with the diagonal walls.



For this show I got to paint lots and lots of flooring. We decided to recreate a polished wood deck on the ship, so I got some high-gloss paint, marked off eight-inch boards, and painted all the wood grain by hand. The opera now has a big space on the bottom floor of the old Armory building (for rehearsals and set preparation), and I spent many long days holed up there with my audiobooks and my snacks.



I did about two dozen of these things. I got faster at the wood grain, but probably still ended up spending longer than I should have. Re-doing all the seams after finishing up the boards did get a bit tedious. (The last couple of days, all I was doing was seams. I developed a system.)



Tony loading up the boards to go to the theater.



"Just like laying flooring!" says Tony. "But less rewarding," I say.



A little floor touch-up. My painting clothes have become excessively more painty.

Our comp tickets were for dress rehearsal rather than opening night this time.  I took along my friend Wendy and her daughter Melanie, who were both in our multi-stake Pirates of Penzance, and we enjoyed finding all the similarities between the two shows.  (Sir Joseph was particularly fabulous, in a mincey-poncey-Scarlet-Pimpernel kind of way.)  I also got to stare at the stage for two hours and compare notes with the rest of the production crew, which was good.  We ended up darkening the interior walls (seen through the doorways), painting the door frames red, which was not in the original plan, and changing some of the gold trim to red.  It made things pop!



We new buddy Johann. I had a couple of helpers as we were finishing up for opening night--holding my ladder, handing me stuff, and washing out brushes for me. And when I was done they helped me carry everything out to my car. It was awesome.  (Though I neglected to check the paint cans to make sure all the lids were on securely, which turned out to be a problem later!  Oops.)



Swabbing the deck. We really cut it close--patrons were congregating out in the lobby as we were cleaning up. Whew!

I get to help out with the next show too--Roméo et Juliette, in April. I'm excited already.  It's all great fun.