A shot of the Paper Mill Playhouse – I only have these because Don asked me to take some pictures, so I ran out of the theater and snapped a few. Track 3 and Track 4 are references to Murder on the Orient Express, of course. This is a very old theater and there are other buildings in the complex – a restaurant/catering facility, etc. It’s quite lovely and has a long, long history as a major regional theater which happens to be quite close to NYC. In fact, it’s the State Theater of New Jersey.
Part of the courtyard. It was dusk when I took these, so they’re not the best.
The show officially opened on Sunday night. Everyone associated with it has done a great job. In all honesty, I’m not crazy about the script, which mines the mystery for laughs. It was adapted by Ken Ludwig, who wrote the well-known Lend Me a Tenor, which is a farce. So, there are elements of farce in this adaptation. I’d prefer the mystery itself with maybe a few quirky elements along the way. We all know that Poirot has his own quirks. But I think farce cheapens the brilliant Christie story. It’s not all farce, of course, but I did find it jarring and unnecessary. However, the director and cast have done an excellent job with this adaptation.
We worked outside yesterday, clearing a few more garden beds. I think they’re all fairly free of leaves now. Working outside is tiring for me because of my allergies, which flare up and sort of take over for the rest of the day.
I wanted to tell you that we had a long phone conversation with Adrian on Sunday afternoon. He’s home – we were quite surprised at that bit of news – and, after two months there, he’s very, very happy to be home. But he has to go through rigorous testing every week – a heart biopsy (which is done to see if the body is accepting or rejecting the heart) and a slew of other tests. He’s still in a great deal of pain. Adrian has had a lot of injuries – some major and life threatening – in his life and he said it’s like every bit of physical trauma that he has experienced has come back to haunt him. He’s obviously not sleeping as well as he would like, given the pain. We love him so much and pray that the pain eases soon.
I woke up very, very early today so I’m going to take it easy. We do have to buy some top soil and netting of some sort, but that will most likely be tomorrow.
Stay safe.
Happy Tuesday.
I’m so glad to hear thar Adrian is home now. It’s truly amazing how resilent the human body is. Hope his pain lessens and he continues to recover well. Enjoyed seeing the Papermill Playhouse. I so agree with your comments. Enjoy your day. Pace yourself in the garden. Hugs, Elaine
Thank you, Elaine. It will take time, this healing process, but we’re so glad he’s home with his wife and his beloved dog. I know his goal is to walk on the beach, but right now, he has to use a walker.
Stay safe.
great news that adrian is home and that you, don and adrian could have a nice, long talk! i will contine to keep him (and everyone else) in my prayers.
what a charming setting for a night out or to work … brick buildings and walkways, that metal archway (depicting characters in a play?) …! i’m no expert, but agree with you about agatha christie’s writing and how it might be adapted … i’d prefer any humor be subtle so the focus is on what she did so well … writing mysteries that draw in the reader.
glad you are getting time and cooperative weather to do some gardening and then balance that with rest.
doing a lot of resting here for still being sick. tested negative, am pretty sure it’s a bad cold or maybe that “crud” that you and don had. most of my little energy probably goes to feeling sad and frustrated (i miss my family and there’s so much i want/need to do), but i remind myself to take it easy to get over it faster. faster could hurry up, though!
happy, safe tuesday to everyone.
kathy
Sorry to see that you’re under the weather, Kathy. You always have a good heart for everyone else. Hope you feel better and can see your family soon.
God bless.
thank you, dee dee, for your kind words and good wishes. :)
i will get better and get to spend time with my family … just not soon enough for my liking!
how are you? hopefully you and your loves are staying well, enjoying a pretty day and a very short to-do list! may God bless you all and everyone else (i know He does).
thanks again.
kathy
I hesitated to say it, but it sounds like the ‘crud’ we had. I felt like I had a slight fever when I first came down with it. The only way to beat it is to rest and not rush things. I sometimes had to get on the bus and go to work and that did not help me one bit. In fact, it probably delayed my recovery. So take it easy, maddening as it is. (I’m still coughing – 4 weeks after getting it. Much less, of course, but it’s still there.)
Stay safe, Kathy.
thanks, claudia. :)
i was happy for you to have work, but sad for you that it came when you were so sick.
glad you are mending. don, too … and repairing and more healing starts this friday!
keeping you and don (and everyone else) in my prayers.
day four here of a fever, headache, runny/stuffy nose and coughing. so much coughing that i should have better abs by now. ha but not really ha.
but i will get better and be with my family (priority)! :) in the meantime, things like finishing those free-standing, removable shelves will have to wait … though i do sometimes pad into the living room to look at them in place (minus the screws and paint) .. ha.
thanks again.
hope you and don are having a good, easy day!
kathy
xoxo
kathy, I’m so sorry you’re not feeling well; best thoughts for a fast ‘get well soon’…
thank you, vicki.
i hope your day is going well and you are happy. :)
hugs,
kathy
kathy, so sorry you aren’t feeling well. So much of that crud going around. A lot of strep throat, also. As everyone else said, don’t rush it. One of the benefits of Retirement is not worrying about getting better to get back to work. Take your time and, as hard as that is, it truly does serve you in the long run. Rest really is the key. All of the To-Do list will remain waiting for you!!
Take care! You are in my thoughts and prayers. 🖤
thanks so much, chris, for your kindness. your prayers are especial and very much appreciated! :)
i know i will feel better … i just want it now (i am not a patient patient) … but it takes time and rest, among other things, so am following that good advice to take it easy.
agree … being retired, not having to go to or worry about a job helps a lot! (doesn’t seem possible that as of may 07 it will be a year already).
how are you? do you feel 100% better for what you’ve gone through? i hope and pray so!
thanks again.
happy wednesday.
kathy
Glad to hear that your friend Adrian is doing so well after such a life changing operation.
I love the photos of the theatre complex, what a wonderful setting. There’s something very familiar to me about the style of the building and its brickwork.
Murder on the Orient Express and the true crime it is based upon isn’t the subject for a farcical approach!
Well done on all your hard work coaching all the different accents needed for the play.
Happy Tuesday
Yes, I don’t know why the playwright thought that was a good idea. I don’t. But I can not like the play and still love what the actors have done with it.
Thanks so much, Dee Dee.
Stay safe.
My father had endured a lot of physical pain in his life from various things but when he had open-heart surgery, nothing quite topped it. Although life-saving, you don’t rally super-fast after a doctor has sawed through your chest. Everybody’s different, but it took a long time for my dad to feel physically himself again. He was age 65 at the time. He was a 6-ft-tall man and his weight dropped to 139 lbs, so we all had to work hard to get his appetite and strength back. But it was also a mental test because even months after the surgery, he still didn’t feel secure about his new titanium valve, so we learned that ‘way after his surgery when he was up and around (again, months later), driving again and everything else, he was, one-by-one, visiting people and essentially saying his goodbyes; but it got better and he got his faith back, in himself and his higher power. And when his surgery, at the time, had a high mortality rate, Dad beat a lot of odds and lived another 20 years, considered for most of that time by his doctors to be one of the active, ‘super-elderly’. And he also was primary caregiver to my mother all that time, too; he was amazing. I’m sure glad we had him that xtra two decades. They can do unbelievably-wonderful stuff in cardiology care these days; all my best prayers and hopes for your friend in his journey!
I love the brick of the playhouse; its walls, the patio. Because of earthquakes where I live in Southern Calif, you see so little brick, only decorative (not real) stuff. I had a brick home when I lived on the Gulf Coast and I loved it.
I grew up in a brick house. Every house in my post-war neighborhood was built with brick. I took it for granted.
xo
Yes, when I’d travel thru other states, I was floored by the number of brick homes across the country; a ‘regular thing’ whereas in Southern Calif at least, everything is stucco.
Yes, I got tired of all the stucco when I was living there!
xo
sorry for what he and you all went through, but i’m very glad you and your father had more time together, too.
hope today feels/is brighter and easier for you, your husband and the pup!
kathy
thanks, kathy; hoping as well that YOUR day is going better and that you’re recovering each day from the crud; it’s out here in Calif too; lots of people have been sick with whatever it is…now of course it seems to also be mixed in with allergies, so folks are suffering!
Thanks, Vicki. Adrian is 72 years old – a year older than Don. He’s very strong, a vigorous 6ft guy. But he’s had two years of heart failure and 2 months of time in the hospital. He’ll get there. If anyone can, he can.
Stay safe.
Prayers and more prayers for him; you and Don are such supportive friends to Adrian! It does take awhile to rebuild strength after a long hospital stay. Then add major surgery on top of it; it’s a lot.
The most major surgery there is.
xo
I’m glad Adrian is home, despite all the follow-up. There’s much to be said for home and healing. It looks like a lovely theatre and I”m glad things are going well. Without knowing the script, I’m inclined to agree with your assessment about unnecessary farce. It’s a solid story; it doesn’t need laughs.
Exactly. But the audience, especially those who aren’t familiar with the original story, will have a great time.
Stay safe, Jeanie.
So relieved to hear your friend Adrian is now recuperating at home. My hubs went through the bypass so I know how difficult that is, a heart transplant must be so much more intense. Getting off of the pain meds is also a difficult process. Prayers for all.
Yes. He’s really only taking extra-strength Tylenol right now because he doesn’t want to go through withdrawal.
Stay safe, Eve.
That’s such good news that you were able to talk on the phone with your friend….good for all of you! I, too, was thinking how nice the brick theater looks….not a common sight anywhere in California! I’ve only seen the movies of “Murder on the Orient Express”….and enjoyed both….I can see where the farse would be distracting….but, something different!
Different, but not my cup of tea – in this case. I love farce when it’s original and not an adaptation.
Stay safe, Barrie.
So glad to hear your friend, Adrian, is home to recuperate. Being home is the most wonderful medicine there is after being in the hospital/ rehab center/ etc. Truly, having the dog and the cat around is something I consider as helping the pain. Home is where we do the best!!
Hope you have had a good day. Take care.
You know that very well, Chris! Plus, he was in ICU the whole time and he never slept well, machines were beeping, people coming in the room all the time. At least he’s free of that! Not hooked up to anything.
Stay safe, Chris.
Glad your friend can finish his recovery at home. Hospitals aren’t the best place to get the rest you need during the healing process. That brick playhouse with the courtyard is adorable. Very jealous you’re able to work outside now. It feels like winter is back here, unfortunately.
K.
It’s a bit cold here, Kay, and the temp went down to 32 last night! But there are certain things I can do and must do, so there you are!
Stay safe.
What an amazing life you have! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Kay.
Stay safe.
My mother passed away a couple months ago. your blog was followed by her for many years and she recommended it to me about a year ago. I was Instantly drawn to your blythe dolls. I purchased my first (of two) and mom guessed that I did. When she was dying, one day she said to me to say hello to my Cassie. I adopted my second one, it’s from malaysia and it’s face is more brightly painted. My two blythes are very best friends. Thank you, Claudia for making my days brighter. I’ll continue reading your blog for my mother’s memory.
Irene, this touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for writing me. I’m so sorry for your loss. Losing a parent is heartbreaking. I’m sending you a virtual hug and my wish for healing during this time of profound loss. Would I know your mom by name? Did she comment on the blog?
I’m so happy you’ve discovered Blythes. They are wonderful, aren’t they? If I’ve had even a small part in making your days brighter, I am humbled. Thank you. I’m so glad you’re here.
Stay safe.
Hello Claudia,
My mother was a mom to 7 children. She coerced my dad into marrying her, as she was aware other young women would be very interested in him! Dad built her 4 homes throughout their marriage of 61 years.
She was a master at many crafts – taught me to garden, can, sew, quilt, crochet, cross-stitch, and we both began journaling at about the age of 10. Dad was her nurse until the end of the cancer she had for 1 1/2 years, but she ended up in hospital and hospice. Mothers Day will be extra sad this year. My two moms – Grandma and Mom, now passed away. Mom loved your blog – your photos, your old house, your love story. She’s in a better place now. And now it’s time to help my old dad. Good thing he’s funny! I count it a privilege to help him in any way.
Mom and Dad both came from Holland and I am happy to wear the dutch ring Mom liked a lot. My husband is also from Dutch background. I’ve met some crazy Dutch men, but thankfully he’s not one, ouch.
Mom never wrote to you but thought of you so much. I hope your day is bright and cheery. If I lived where you do, my allergies would be nuts too!
– Irene
keep those sweet photos of your Blythe girls coming!!
Thank you, Irene. Your parents sound like wonderful human beings. I know Mothers Day will be hard this year. I’ll be thinking of you and your Mom. Bless her. I’m honored she loved the blog. Much love to you.
Best,
Claudia
Hi Claudia,
Thank you for your kindness. I admire you for all you get done in a day! Careful, I think that I’ll be a responder! Hah
– irene
Yay! xo