While I’m blogging this morning, I’m listening to “My Petersburg” from Anastasia. Over and over. Sung by Derek Klena, it is my favorite song in a scoreful of favorites. I remember when it was added in the middle of the rehearsal process in Hartford. It’s simply great – as is Derek, the young male lead who is one of the nicest people on the planet. And handsome, to boot!
Anyway, it makes me happy. And since I woke to more rain and a forecast that does not bode well for the next week and a half, I’m resorting to music and crossword puzzles and flowers in vases and homemade biscuits and maybe a trip to the nursery to look for plants for the Guy Wolff pots.
Opening night for Escape to Margaritaville was a big deal, a joyous and happy celebration. Jimmy Buffett came onstage at the end and everyone sang Margaritaville. There was a huge party afterward and lots of VIPS and producers and Parrotheads. Don had a great time and now everyone will settle into the run of the show. As always, it’s hard to know what to do with all the spare time you have once the daily rehearsals have ended. I well remember from my days as an actress. Now, as a coach, I’m usually leaving town the day after opening.
I sent Don flowers. He sends them to me and I thought “Hey, I should send some to him, too! This is a big deal!” If I had asked him if he wanted flowers, he would have said “Oh no, don’t bother.” But he was delighted by them and I’m glad I did it. We won’t mention my panic when I couldn’t find out whether they had been delivered. The company I used is supposed to email when the flowers have been “hand delivered” but they didn’t. I called them twice and they couldn’t get hold of the florist. It was now one half hour until curtain and I couldn’t contact Don and didn’t want to try to contact him as I knew he would be preparing for the start of the show. Finally, I messaged him (after the show had started) and said that I’d sent something to him and if he had received it, could he message me? At 3 am my time (I was sleeping) he sent a photo of the flowers. Sigh of relief. They were brought to him in his dressing room about 10 minutes before curtain.
The email? It came a day later. Not helpful.
This guy was way, way across the yard and as I snapped several pictures of him, I wondered if he was another kind of jay. I was confused by his gray feathers. But then I googled ‘blue jays and gray feathers’ and discovered that blue jays look completely blue in the sun but in the shade they look gray because their melanin is more in evidence.
I love learning things like that.
Just as I was finishing this, the free weekend streaming of the Original Broadway Cast Album of Anastasia ended. Sigh. Now I have to wait for my CD to arrive in the mail in about two weeks.
Happy Tuesday.
I like learning things too. I didn’t know that about the Blue Jay. With all the rain you have had, I hope your well has been replenish. I don’t know if you know this Barnes and Nobles has a book on Jimmy Buffet. I was thinking about you both when I saw the book in the new book section yesterday. Stay dry. We are getting wet too.
I’m sure our well has been replenished – between the big snowfalls and the rain, we should be fine!
That little blue jay has attitude! I know, this gray, rainy weather has me down a bit, too. This morning it looked as if our house was inside a cloud! We usually look out onto the lake and across it to houses on the other shore, but this morning—and even now—the view stops nearly up against the windows. Sort of claustrophobic!
So happy for Don’s opening, but I just knew it would be a joyous affair! That seems to happen with Jimmy Buffet around.
Definitely claustrophobic! I need to make myself go out today and do something!!
We are back to several days of rain here also. I got my outside work done yesterday and I’m so happy. The little front walkway area that Mom and I share looks good and makes us both smile. My birds are busy this morning (I also refilled the bird feeders). I need to get out my bird books or google them and find out what kinds I see. I know some of them.
How exciting that Don’s opening went well. I love that you sent him flowers. Sounds like a really fun show to be a part of. Today I must do some laundry, I keep putting it off! Silly me.
Hugs!
He’s really having a great time, Linda. That makes me happy.
Our weather has mostly been gloomy and when it rains, it pours! It’s good for the gardens, so can’t complain much.
So glad Don is having a good time. It went to YouTube over the weekend and found several clips of opening reversals, etc. Don was in several of them. He even had an eye patch! One of these days I am going to see one of his and your shows!
Have a wonderful day?
Yes, he wears an eye patch! And he plays the ukulele and sings. Sort of perfect.
So thrilled everything went well…including the flowers! But then…I sort of figured it would…considering the subject matter Jimmy Buffet…you know? It’s been nice here one hour…then, bam….rain. Then glorious again…go figure. Makes it difficult to do yard work….you know! Hopefully you will find some glorious plants (course all plants are glorious!) to fill your new pots. Happy hunting! ;)
Rain today, tomorrow, a break on Thursday and Friday, then rain, rain and rain!
A bit depressing!
Have fun finding the perfect plant for your pots! My Mom just gave me three boxes of pots, and her pots of succulents and orchids. She no longer has time to care for her plants as she goes to care for and be with Dad every day at assisted living. They are mostly glazed pots with Asian designs. I planted a bulb in each and they are all sprouting.
PS: of course, it was a grand idea to send Don flowers. My husband loved receiving flowers. He was the only guy in his office to get them (from me, of course!), and the other guys were openly or secretly envious!
Don said he was the “envy of the dressing room!”
How nice of your mom to give them to you. I know you’ll take good care of them.
whew about the flower delivery!
thanks for the info about bluejays. they are beautiful!
and hurray for don, jimmy buffett and everyone else associated with “escape to margaritaville”! found a promo of it on the margaritaville and la jolla playhouse instagram accounts; saw don, heard a bit of “one particular harbour” and it all looks great!!! i want very much to see that musical and hope it will show in chicago.
hope you have a good week ahead.
kathy in iowa
I just saw that today – Don had no idea it was on YouTube. Fun to see him with his ukulele!
agree … that was fun to see (and makes me want to see the show all the more). and much, much more fun for you two! :)
happy wednesday that feels like tuesday.
kathy in iowa
Oh gosh, isn’t that the truth? I’m thrown by the Monday holiday.
The stump the bird is on looks like a hedgehog!
Funny! Thanks, Do!
So glad Don will now settle into a more regular schedule. I suppose with a brand new production of a play that the rehearsal time is much longer than it is for a play which has been produced and done many times. Do they know yet how long their run will be in La Jolla? Guessing there are still many unknowns.
We actually have some blue jays nesting in our yard. This is the 2nd year. The babies are hilarious to watch. As they begin to fly, their routes are quite short, and they cling to anything they can find. Then they sort of slide down whatever it is. Their feathers at the top of their heads are so unruly ~ it is just so funny to sit and watch them. And the parents are VERY vocal and yell….. a lot!!!
I hope you have a nice day and get out and about. Wandering through a nursery is always a fun and calming thing to do. Even if there are many clouds outside, the inside of a nursery is always bright and cheerful. Enjoy!!
It closes July 9th. It’s been extended twice, but they do have another production coming in later in the summer.
Glad everything went well for Don’s opening. Show albums are so enjoyable. My sistera and I have many show albums.
Marilyn
I grew up listening to show albums, Marilyn. And I still do!
Very interesting about the blue jay. I have them in the yard; they’ve always been here at this house; lots of personality.
Trying to catch up to your posts/reader responses.
Yesterday, I was in a frightening car accident. I was at a dead stop at a red light and a car plowed into me from behind, then fled the scene at high speed. Fortunately there was a witness who came forward, so he’s in the police report to substantiate what happened. Although I was in immediate pain with my neck, I turned slightly in the driver’s seat to stare at the fast-disappearing license plate as the bad guy gunned it in a u-turn. I tried to memorize the plate numbers, repeating them over and over while I found pen/paper which I knew was within easy reach, in the console between the seats. I got most of the plate number just before I think I started to faint…felt like I couldn’t move my neck…but then I didn’t faint. I called 911, called my husband; but I could hardly punch in the numbers I was shaking so badly. It took like four tries each.
I think I blocked traffic for five miles on the busy holiday on a busy state highway. A kind man helped direct traffic. It seemed like there were scores of people all around me but the paramedics put me in this tight sort of body cast on a board with my head locked in a contraption (concerned my neck was fractured) so all I could see was the ceiling of the ambulance, or the sky when they were trying to safely get me out of the car, which was painful although one paramedic was holding my head the entire time (I was crying uncontrollably; I’m sure it was also a result of some shock); I couldn’t get faces or see name badges to even thank all of them because my head wasn’t allowed to turn toward the person talking.
I was in the hospital all afternoon; I got sick and had a bout of throwing up but they couldn’t even give me one sip of water; I don’t know why. They had to do two CT scans (head & neck) and I just had a CT scan in September (when I had a bad fall) so that’s ‘way too much radiation for a cancer survivor like me but there was absolutely nothing else to be done. Anyway, not fracture…but whiplash, which is bad enough and I hope it won’t haunt me for the rest of my life [as neck and back pain can]…and today I feel like I’ve been hit by a train and my low back is just killing me along with the neck. Am on a lot of medication (can’t drive or make financial decisions; I’m drugged and probably shouldn’t be on the computer), under medical care and back home. What a huge disruption for daily life and my next weeks…I’m trying to temper the self-pity with gratitude…
Body shop has just told us our car is a total loss. Thousands of dollars in damage. My husband is beyond upset although he’s much more worried about me than the car. I’m glad I have car insurance but I wish I knew who did this…if they catch/identify the bad guy…because it is that guy’s insurance who should be paying for everything. Of course, my luck, he probably HAS no insurance. I hope his car is totaled too, the jerk; he must have tremendous front-end damage to his vehicle; he hit me HARD in the rear. Maybe his neck is hurting him, too. Would serve him right. I’ll work hard on my forgiveness aspect but, right now, I’m still feeling anger. To think there are people out there who are so bad that they would cause an accident and then flee, leaving someone in a disabled car and injured…it’s just so morally wrong and of course clearly illegal.
You just don’t know who and what is out there driving on the roads, and a car can be a lethal weapon, but I refuse to let this incident yesterday intimidate me; I absolutely WILL get back in a car again, soon.
The cops tried to interview me at the scene and then sat with me in the ER yesterday; they think they know who the criminal is (like I said, I got most of the plate numbers; how I did, I’ll never know; God’s work at hand in more ways than one) and the police department will keep me posted; wanted to know if I can identify the guy and his passenger from old photos or in a line-up, so obviously he’s known to them (who needs this..?…what a lot of stress for me and my husband!…I don’t want to be in court with some bad guy; scary…who needs this drama…?..); it’s a felony if he’s caught.
I’m just glad I’m not paralyzed from injury; glad no other innocent person got hurt. Upset about my car, though. It’s worth a lot more to us than what it’s going to Blue Book out at; we just sunk quite a bit of money into it with a whole new air conditioner, etc. Other costly stuff besides that, too; I don’t even want to add it up or I’ll be even more upset. It was our back-up car and the car we like to take out on weekends/daytrips; very easy/smooth ride although it’s an older model. We’d planned to keep it for years yet. I’d finally become accustomed to driving a big, full-size car. Now we’re going to have to buy another car, with not enough money for one.
Remember when I think it was ‘kathy in iowa’…reader here on the blog…who talked about her home being burglarized? I feel the same way; victimized and violated.
Worried about the long-term prognosis of my neck; ER doctor agreed I’ll need physical therapy although they said it’s too soon yet, maybe in a week if I can just get in somewhere. He said I have a lot of arthritis in my neck, which I knew…makes it worse than if I didn’t already have the wear & tear, but I’m a ‘senior’ not a kid; stuff happens over time and years. Counting my blessings, though…again, so much to be glad about; that I was near the hospital; that my husband wasn’t at work; that my big’ol hulk of a car protected me more than if I’d been in my other compact car (which is awaiting repair on a whole ‘nuther issue so, as of right now, we have only one car, for my husband to get to work, and I then personally have no car at all, so this is a nuisance, inconvenient and frustrating). We can’t afford a new car, and I don’t want to buy a used car in a hurry, so I hope (faint hope) my insurance will give us a rental car but I haven’t gotten an answer on that yet.
All I was doing, why I was out in the car in the first place yesterday morning, was going on to the cemetery to decorate the graves of ‘my’ veterans for Memorial Day–uncle, his father-in-law and my dad (WWI and WWII)–with gladiolas from the yard and some red/white/blue garden stakes I’d just bought at the dollar store, to press into the ground around the grave markers in place of the little stick flags which they’d sold out of…but, just never know what a day will bring…and sitting at the computer with this back and neck pain is tough although I keyboard pretty fast, so, I’m going to go lay down now and try to turn my mind off because I keep thinking of the accident over and over and over again which makes me pretty anxious.
I guess I’ve overshared once again but thanks for listening. I need a hug, Claudia. What opposites…heroes who helped me, and a coward who ran. And I guess that’s just life. The beauty of it being that there are a whole lot more of the heroes, bless them.
First of all, thank God it wasn’t worse! I cannot believe what you’ve been through, Vicki. My heavens, how horrifying and how terrifying for you. I hope they find this disgusting excuse for a man and throw the book at him. I’m sending you a huge, huge hug, my friend. I’m praying for a complete recovery from your neck injury and for peace and healing. I would be feeling the same anger and I think you have to allow yourself permission to feel that. Forgiveness can come later. Right now, you are allowed to feel whatever emotions are there.
I’m so, so sorry, Vicki. The car replacement will work out. Trust that it will. And don’t worry about it now, you have to take care of yourself. You can’t drive right now anyway. Let your husband take care of you and just rest.
Sending love,
Claudia
Thank you, Claudia. Thank you, Nancy.
How I love this blog, Claudia. Friends here!
Just after I sent my long comment, the police came to my house …so, here I was, ice packs on my neck, nauseous; having to look through these pages of felons to try to identify the driver and they were the scariest-looking people EVER and I think one of the women who was the passenger was in those, what do you call them, headshots/mugshots? But I couldn’t be completely sure, so I don’t know if I helped the police at all. They cautioned me to be sure. I’d called my husband to say the police were coming and that I was just not up to this emotionally or physically so he raced home from work and at least was with me as the police officer departed (I’m so lucky the police are trying to act fast on this, for me and the public good)…but then I completely dissolved, mega meltdown, sobbing; and my husband read (in the ER notes sent home with us) that after a traumatic event like this, it’s not unusual to have a delayed emotional reaction like I just did; so, what else to do but take more of the muscle relaxant and knock myself out for a little while.
We, in fact, both just went to sleep for a couple of hours; this is exhausting for my husband, too. It takes everything out of you. My husband said it was awful when he came upon the scene and saw them trying to get me out of the vehicle and onto the ambulance with all the streets blocked off by police and fire. He was running from where he had to park and the police initially barred him and he said, “You don’t understand, that’s my wife; I have to get to my wife!” We’re older people now; this kind of thing can induce a heart attack. It’s hard to get a call that someone you love has been in an accident. This was no fender-bender; my car is gone…done…wrecked.
I’m sure I’ll feel better emotionally tomorrow. Just being rear-ended to this degree is bad enough but to have the criminal element added to it is very unsettling. My husband keeps telling me he’ll be strong for both of us right now and that we’ll get through this because we’ve been through a lot together in our long marriage. At least it is better timing for the ‘job’ part of our life because his long out-of-the-area job assignment since January ends this week, so he’s near(er) in miles (with a more flexible work schedule)…and I don’t mean to be such a wimp but I need him right now, badly.
I’ll try not to talk about this much more on your blog. Everybody’s got problems. We need happy things here! Keeps us sane from life’s sometimes-insanity.
It’s just been such a startling turn of events and, well, a variety of feelings/emotions, and I hurt, although my husband did have a good talk this afternoon with my former physical therapist who I’ve seen off and on again for 26 years and he’s ready for me as soon as I see the primary care doctor later in the week and get the go-ahead for physical therapy (neck right now is too tender/injured). The HMO is going to want to send me to somebody else but my husband says we’ll appeal it and, in the meantime, get the therapy started. That made me feel better because this therapist is a wonder who somehow blends physical therapy with accupressure and a touch of the chiropractic; he’s a magic man, seriously. He’s been in business for 40 years as a physical therapist; he’s always had his own practice (I’m so glad he hasn’t retired yet). The orthopedic surgeons speak highly of him. He really, really cares; is dedicated. I refuse to go to anyone else, not when it comes to the neck (been there/done that and the wrong therapy can set you back months and/or do irreparable harm).
I’m going to try not to have nightmares remembering those pages of scary felons I had to look at today; not anybody I’d want to run into in a dark alley.
I know my thoughts need to now go toward getting my body well and getting my peace back. And I definitely WILL get my peace back. Your blog will be part of my ‘therapy’, Claudia. Give me pots, give me birds and some good blog conversation; your blog does us readers a world of good.
Anytime the police get involved, there is another layer of stress added, because you’re trying to identify the perpetrator and that isn’t always easy or even possible. Do what you can do. They have most of that license plate number and if they can find the car, there will be damage that will serve as proof.
I’m holding you (and your husband) in my thoughts and prayers, Vicki.
I love everyone here. I’m just in tears for all the love. Thank you.
xoxoxo
Oh Vicki…I am so sorry to hear about all this. You and your hubby are in my thoughts and prayers. Take your meds, drink plenty of fluids, and read Claudia’s posts…they are bound to bring you joy. Hope they catch that felon…and quickly! Get better soon! ;)
Thank you, Donnamae. I always enjoy reading your ‘Claudia’ comments. You are so kind. I appreciate that you took the time to wish me well.
You always say everything right, Claudia. You ARE my friend and I appreciate the hug and the kindest words. Sending love right back atcha…
xoxo
I am so sorry to hear what you have been through Vicki…I don’t understand how people like that sleep at night…Take your medicine and get lots of rest…that’s the best you can do for now…Hugs, Nancy
You are the sweetest. Thank you, Nancy. Your comment made me feel better. Thank you for the hug; I needed it.
Thank you Vicki…too bad we are so far apart…but I will gladly send you a long distance hug anytime!
to vicki …
i saw in claudia’s post today (may 31) news about the accident.
i am sorry you were in an accident and, worse, that it was a hit-and-run. don’t know how someone could do that – leave the scene of an accident, especially when someone is obviously hurt. the police will catch up to him. so will justice.
in the meantime, i hope you can rest and heal, quickly and completely. glad you have your husband and the physical therapist; they both sound great! hope you are surrounded by those you love, good books, movies, your favorite tv shows, flowers, whatever helps you to relax and smile, whatever reminds you of the beauty in this world.
already said a prayer on your behalf. will send more.
and here’s a hug from someone else who cares () …
kathy in iowa
So very sorry to hear about this, Vicki! I just wanted you to know that I will be praying for a complete recovery with no lasting ill effects. I hope they catch the creep that did this and make him pay for what he did. Please keep us updated. We care. Dottie in Georgia
kathy, thank you so much for saying such nice things to me; you just don’t know how much it means to me..
Dottie in Georgia. I am so touched by your kindness and it’s when I need it most. Along with my neck injury…and, oh, gosh, do I ache today…I’m suffering from some sort of post stress (I think) which is making me so weepy. I think it’s a lot about a bad thing having been done to me by somebody who didn’t even care, even though I know it was an accident…the bad thing of course being that the offending driver deliberately took off. I’m trying to find forgiveness in my heart (struggling with that). All of you lovely readers of Claudia’s…and Claudia…rallying around me are making me feel better and restoring my faith. Thank you.
I really enjoyed listening to the wonderful music from Anastasia…Now I will try to find the clips from Don’s show that the other ladies mentioned….You and Don should be very proud of what you do…You both bring such joy and happiness to others through the work you do! I hope that you found some gorgeous flowers to fill those beautiful pots!
Thank you, Nancy! I’m so glad that Don is having fun with this show. And he is!
Went and saw the clips of Don’s show…fun! He is cute with his eye patch!
He is, isn’t he?