Summer 2015

Hi friends.
It's been a while.  :)

Adorable foster kitten Harley

I've been sharing mostly on Instagram these days, so be sure to follow me there!  
My handle is, of course, Airstreamdiva.

So... to catch up.
What have you been doing?

I've been:

1. Directing a huge heap of shows, including several brand new productions.

• Il Ritorno d'Ulisse at Rice University, which was a super fun production we set in a grand villa on the Italian coast.  Check out the fun pics on my professional webpage!  (www.tarafaircloth.com) 
• Gorgeous new Eugene Onegin at Arizona Opera, with the lovely Corinne Winters.  What a blessing to work on this amazing opera, with friends old and new.  Pics HERE. 
• Visited the great flat North.... North Dakota State University, where my long time designer pal Rooth Varland runs the theatre department.  She and I created a lovely Midsummer Night's Dream (opera) for the music school.  I stayed with her family for the month and had a grand time working on this gorgeous score.  Also staying up all hours painting banana leaves on massive scenic flats.  A director wears many hats....    Pics HERE. 
• Not a new production, but directed my very first Nozze di Figaro.  At Atlanta Opera, my homeland.  This show has always seemed the pinnacle of opera to me... massive, deep, important, "sacred."  I did a lot of sweating in the months prior. Like so many things in life, there was a lot of dread and angst, it was hard, and it ended up being wonderful.  Pics HERE, and scattered all over the website. 
• And a few other productions, but those are the highlights.  :) 

Munger St "River"   May 2015

2. Basically spent about 5 days at my home in Houston between Christmas Day and May 17, so it was pretty wonderful to crawl into my own bed for a bit.  Just in time to enjoy the crazy floods we have experienced this spring/summer!  Man, I was feeling pretty smug about my decision to raise the house 18inches last summer. 

3.  Did MASSIVE work on the foundation and exterior of my house, fall 2014.  Another post on this to follow. 

4. Big news: my man-friend Matt moved from NYC to Austin!  Not the same city, but at least we are in the same state again.  Moving him was the normal pain in the rear x10 that anything involving NYC means.  But now he is here, and has a lovely apartment, and I have actually been able to spend some time with him before heading off on my summer gig! Huzzah! 

Ok, that feels like enough updating for the moment.  I am feeling "bloggy" this summer, so check back soon for more updates.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Productivity

Well I have been back home in Houston for just about two weeks. Two very hot, but fairly productive weeks! This is what I have done since my adventures with Sweeney Todd at Wolf Trap:

1. Took my time driving from Washington DC to Houston with my boyfriend as co-pilot, making stops to visit my parents in Georgia, and his parents in New Orleans. Little to no bloodshed in the family meet-ups, lots of laughs. Verdict: good times, sore fannies (from the long drive!).
2. Meet with the Tax Authority to protest the new valuation of my house: It had miraculously increased in value nearly $40,000 in just a year! Amazing! Especially since that valuation was $20,000 more than I paid for it just over a year ago! Luckily, the protest guy agreed with me and set the tax value of the house at my purchase price. Oh, home ownership.
3. Have been tediously transcribing a literal translation in my Barber of Seville score; thinking about and studying the show; having major doubts about my ability to direct this piece well, interspersed with feeling really good about it.
4. Assessing the situation and hiring contractors to do interior work in the tenant side of my duplex before my new tenant moves in. They are over there right now, re-tiling the bathroom. It's gonna be so pretty!
5. Working my ever loving buns off on another major home project! The tenant side yard of my property was a total nightmare when I bought the place... there was once a concrete sidewalk but it was all broken and it basically looked like an earthquake had hit that side of the property. I had the concrete pieces taken out in the early summer and had hoped the mud would miraculously smooth out and grass would seed and all would be lovely. On my return I realized this was a fool's wish, and thus I have been spending my mornings creating this:  

  

  Can you even believe it?  I excavated and hauled sand and gravel and bricks and pavers and this morning it is done!  Now my side yard is jealous of the tenant side yard.  As well it should be.

Ok, off to be productive for today....  more soon?

What have you been doing with your August?

Traffic

Have you seen this amazing video of a busy NYC street? It is a wonder we don't hear of more pedestrian fatalities every day. Houston is examining this study and considering a more bike- and pedestrian-friendly city plan. Hear, hear!

See article on Houston plans HERE.

Wonders of Houston

Yesterday I visited two very famous Houston spots that I have managed to miss in my 8 years of living here.

1. The Menil Collection. "WHAT?!" you say, "Tara, you are so erudite and sophisticated and cultural, etc, and plus you have lived within a 5 block radius of this world-famous museum for perhaps 30% of your time in this fair city.... HOW IS IT POSSIBLE YOU HAVE NOT VISITED BEFORE?!" I know, I know, people. I asked myself the very same questions. Mainly I was busy pinching myself, because right there, just down the street from my apartment and with free admission five days a week, are some of the major landmarks of modern art, particularly the surrealist movement. THEY HAVE THE DUCHAMP "LHOOQ" FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! This museum in gorgeous, small, free and filled with incredible treasures. Also the Rothko Chapel is right next to it. See it.

2. Texas Junk Company. Another Houstonlandmark. "WHAT?!" you say, "Tara, you are so erudite and sophisticated and cultural, etc, and plus you have lived within a 10 block radius of this world-famous store for perhaps 30% of your time in this fair city.... HOW IS IT POSSIBLE YOU HAVE NOT VISITED BEFORE?!" Ok, Ok, I have driven by it 800 times, and they are NEVER open. Sheesh. Finally I read the sign and the hours are clear: Thurs-Sat 11-6. So yesterday I went, and I will tell you that I have never seen so many cowboy boots in one place in my entire life. And also that the use of the word "Junk" in the title is not ironic. Still, a very interesting place to spend a half-hour (or, if you get lost down a trail of bedframes, an hour or so).

Typical week

Again, long time, no blogging.
What I am doing with myself these days:

1. Working! On my first gig at Houston Grand Opera. The cast is great.... they sound great, and they are really going for it, dramatically. AND I love the director. I really admire the way her mind works and it is a pleasure to be assisting her. yay.
2. Finishing my taxes. bleh. Federal and two non-resident states. For the first time in years, I am not getting a refund. suck.
3. Reading: The Elegance of the Hedgehog Delicious. May be best read with a dictionary nearby.
4. Soaking up the gorgeous Houston "winter". High in mid-70's today. This place may be awful in the summer, but January, February, March cannot be beat.
5. Fretting about next season, getting things lined up.
6. Working on edits for "The Mini Magic Flute".... an adaptation of Mozart's opera for the Utah Symphony and Opera, to be performed next spring. YAY!
7. Loving all the great blogs I read. A few recent adds: Of a Certain Age (fashion), Couponing 101 (my newest obsession), OnceWed (supporting my secret desires to become a florist)

Reasons to live in Houston in the Winter: Fitness Edition

I see the look on Homer's face here, and up until lately I could completely empathize. BUT NOT NOW FOLKS. I AM A JOGGING MACHINE, THANKS TO SUZ'S COUCH TO 5K PODCASTS. This is me now:
Ok, not really, but I kid you not, listening to these podcasts has me jumping out of bed, whistling while I lace up my new sneakers and head to the streets.

Based on some fancy other running program that I also tried, but could not bear the featured new-age techo music, Suz talks you through a series of jogging/walking intervals. Just when you feel as if you might explode, it is time for another "cool-down" walk! Miracle! Every week the running intervals get a little longer, and pretty soon I will be running marathons for fun. Probably not, but I WILL be a little more in shape, by crikey.

Did I mention that this particular podcast relies heavily on hiphop music... which is what makes it so awesome. But also rather explicit. Consider yourself warned. Not everyone has an inner gansta like me. Anyway, visit Suz if you are interested in becoming a fitness super model like me.