Call Me Imelda

"What becomes of the broken hearted? The buy shoes." Mimi Pond

Don’t know about you, but I had one of the best weekends I’ve had in quite some time.

Saturday, I did a quick gardening session in the horticultural disaster that is my front garden, had some tea and toast and then overwhelmed by the effort of all of the aforementioned, had to have a three hour nap.

I then met my friend “Vivienne Leigh” who played Mrs. Graves in Enchanted April for an evening of dinner and "thee-ay-tah!" We went to go see East Side Players productions of After You.

East Side Players do their productions out of The Papermill Theatre at Todmorden Mills. It’s an absolutely beautiful facility, consisting of restore mill buildings nestled in the Don Valley. You feel right in the middle of the country, even though you’re in the city. The theatre is very modern and comfortable and there’s a beautiful art gallery for you to wander around before the show and at intermission. If you get a chance to see a show or go there for any other reason, I would highly recommend it.

As for the show itself, it was top notch and I enjoyed it immensely. It’s the story of Jean and Adele, two elderly cousins, who are at their northern Ontario cottage in 1998. Adele is dying, and Jean who is herself riddled with cancer, is caring for her. At the same time, you see Jean and Adele as young women, 60 years previously, when events and decisions changed the course of their respective lives forever.

The play utilizes the intriguing dramatic device of having all four actresses not only act with their contemporary, but with their older/younger selves as well. At times the entire ensemble is in the same scene, including Paul, the object of their mutual affection.

Yes, ultimately it’s always about a boy isn’t it?

Afterwards, I dropped Vivienne off, who I’ll be joining once again at the Arts & Letters Club [my new favourite place] for an evening of one act plays later in the month. Ah the art, the food, the Harry Potter fireplace. What’s not to love?

Sunday I ventured out to do some shopping. It was one of those “have credit card, will travel” kind of days. I just had to spend some money on myself. Somewhat annoyingly, however, my first stop was at Theatre Books. I’d placed an order for plays well over a week ago and the order went AWOL. They left me a message later but personally, I think it was just an oversight. I know I should have called when I wasn’t seeing the charge go through on my VISA. At any rate, it’s all resolved now.

Then I went to the Bay to get some skincare stuff and cases for my sunglasses, since I am near demented trying to ensure they don’t get smushed all the time. I was contemplating getting some summer sandals, but then thought, well I can hang on a little longer. It was then that the right heel of my sandal decided to come off. Like right off. I took this as a sign from the gods and proceeding upstairs to the shoe department.

Where there was a sale!!!

So I ended up getting three pairs of new shoes; a light black pair for work during the summer, casual sketchers and some sandals. Oh the joy of comfortable foot wear Romanship! Here is a view of the shoes, for which Chudleigh graciously agreed to interrupt his nap.



I then proceeded to Brampton to see my folks. I stopped in at Lowes and drooled over the bbq I’ve been coveting, then got a new garden hose. It was while I was at Lowes taking pictures of potential paving stones for the garden that the heel of my left sandal came off.

I then got to my folks and partook of some fantastic dinner and pictures of their trip to Italy. Here's what my sandals looked like by the time I got there. Oy! Da carnage!



Maybe it’s my Vitamin D levels getting back to normal. Maybe it’s the summer weather kicking in. Maybe it was buying myself some nice stuff. Whatever it was, I felt lighter and happier than I had in a long time and am actually looking forward to summer.

I know! Me!

I Cannot Think Of A Title

I've never considered myself a summer person, but even I'm beginning to find the interminable mix of rain, cloud and mild temperatures a bit much. I don't think we've gotten above 20 degrees yet. I long for nights with some heat still in the air.

But, given that my garden is in need of a good weeding, the lower temps can stay for the time being. Weeding in the searing sun. Now that's interminable.

On the upswing, I've had a very good week at work. My boss is loving my ideas. The fact that we have no budget or resources is besides the point. LOL! But I do feel that I'm finally in a groove with this job. I know what's what. It occurred to me today that the other adjustment I've had to make is being in a job where I'm not stepping on toes by speaking up. That's actually what's expected of me now.

How refreshing.

The anemia's still kicking my ass, but still, I could do worse things for a day job.

Come to think of it, I have.

Heh!

Yes, We Have No Bananas

No bananas! You mean fo evah evah, fo evah evah, fo evah evah?

Check it: B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Small Victories

I feel we have reached a point in our cyber experience Romanship where I can be completely honest with you.

There is nothing like new underwear.

Aaaaanyway, I have slowly but surely been climbing out of the anemic haze of last week. Can't say I got as much done as I wanted to at work today, but then again, I can't say I wanted to do much. I sometimes feel like I'm succeeding despite myself, but at the least, I am succeeding in that the higher ups who determine whether or not I have a job seem to be happy.

Still I wake up most mornings and hear the birds and wish I could stay home. Most of us do come summer. But I had a couple of minor victories today. I got home for another lunch and made a dent in the laundry. I also ordered my discounted software through work, something I've been meaning to do for over a year since I got my laptop for my birthday. Soon I will have fully functioning MSWord and I will start my book - fah reels. I'm going to talk to the Marine about getting internet cable downstairs too. Oh the joys of blogging on the couch.

Speaking of which, check this out. Thoughts?

"It's Hedley, Not Hedy."

I was genuinely saddened to hear today about the death of Harvey Korman. I remember absolutely loving the Carol Burnett show and Korman was always my favourite performer. A couple of years ago, the Marine and I were flipping through channels and stumbled across a repeat of Blazing Saddles. We hadn't laughed that hard in ages and I remember watching it at a time when I felt pretty down about the state of my life in general. I looked up the address to send fan mail to, but never did write that letter to Mr. Korman. I really wish I had. I wish I had taken the time to tell him how much he had meant to me as a performer and how much I admired his work.

There was something else I learned about Harvey Korman today. Per the Toronto Star:

“For the next 13 years I tried to get on Broadway, on off-Broadway, under or beside Broadway,” he told a reporter in 1971.

He had no luck and had to support himself as a restaurant cashier. Finally, in desperation, he and a friend formed a nightclub comedy act.

“We were fired our first night in a club, between the first and second shows,” he recalled.

After returning to Chicago, Korman decided to try Hollywood, reasoning that “at least I’d feel warm and comfortable while I failed.”

For three years he sold cars and worked as a doorman at a movie theatre.

It was only then he got his break. Every time I get an inkling to quit, something always comes along to make me want to keep going. Thank you Harvey. Godspeed.

Because I Felt Like Posting Them

"The moon swam up over the bare wheat fields like a great flower. He went across the yard to the windmills, took off his clothes and stepped into the horse tank. The water had been warmed by the sun all afternoon and was not much warmer than his body. To him, the sun rotated about the wheat fields but the moon, somehow, came out of the historic past and made him think of Egypt and the Pharoahs, the slave quarters of old times, prison windows and fortresses where captives languished.

Inside living people too, captives languished. Yes, inside of people who walked and worked in the broad sun there were captives dwelling in darkness. "--- One of Ours, by Willa Cather

"If you say, 'I am white' it is all over for you. Because the moment you say 'I am white' you force me to say that I am black. --- James Baldwin