Wednesday Delights

Delighting me today:

1.  Thinking these might be the perfect summer shoe...

2.  Getting a brand new roof TOMORROW AT 9:30AM!!!
3.  The hurts-so-good feeling that you get when you do manual labor.  Like building a path out of used brick...

4.  Gratitude that the manual labor I am doing is by choice and I do not have to do this for a living.
5.  The occasional spurt of creativity in regard to my future projects.
6.  Electric blankets. 
7.  My awesome gas heater... especially during repeating power outages!
8.  A new haiku:

Major bride-zilla:

Lucia di Lammermoor.

What a wedding night!

Ode to a mouse

fimo mouse by PixCat

Mousie in kitchen,
you are cute, yes, but make me
scream! Please take the bait.

Haiku trio

inside may be tired.
outside must always seem strong.
who made this "must" rule?

satisfaction should
come from within, otherwise
it will not be found.

disappointment waits
at every corner, but it's
not the only choice.

A haiku for Sundays.

Blueberry pancakes,
frothy coffee and bacon.
Sunday mornings ROCK!

Is this thing on?

A haiku regarding my absence...

Long-distance road trip...
Great for thinking and planning.
Not so great for butt.

Wow... I had no idea it had been so long since my last post! Loyal readers, I am so sorry! The past week or so must have been a desolate and lonely time. :)

So, what have I been doing? hmm...

1. Finishing up the season at Central City Opera, or as I like to call it "Misogyny 2008." hehe. Three shows featuring sexual predation of women.... The Rape of Lucretia, West Side Story, and Susannah. All kidding aside, there was some powerful (if depressing) work going on this summer, and I was happy to be a part of it. Also, my cast of Susannah (Amanda Hall, David Govertson, Daniel Shirley and Josh Whitener), rocked the house. Not to mention the kick-buttock singers in the scenes program. Yay.
2. Gathering up all my stuff, packing it tightly into my small car. (see #1 above)
3. Visiting Santa Fe. Seeing the shows and my dashing baritone pal. Taking in the art galleries on Canyon Road and getting inspired.
4. Visiting Amarillo. Seeing the opera camp production of Brundibar and catching up (ever so briefly) with Amarillo pals.
5. Driving, driving, driving to Houston... (see haiku, above)
   
6. Unpacking my stuff into pal Susan's living room, in prep for our upcoming move into a two-bedroom, hopefully the first of the month.
7. Painting up some cute little canvases for the newborn baby of some good friends. I will scan them in when they are done. SUPER CUTE if I do say so myself.
8. Beginning my CRUSADE OF PRODUCTIVITY. Brace yourselves. I have dedicated myself to a plan of "regular" working hours during the times that I am not on a gig... when the idea of "regular" hours gets shot to hell in favor of working basically all waking hours. So today, I got up around 8am-ish, went for a jog, made some oatmeal, then hit the library for a solid 4 hours. It is incredible what you can accomplish when you focus yourself. I knocked some major points off of my "to do" list! More on this to follow...

So there you have it. So nice to be back in Houston, though I always feel displaced and out-of-whack for the first few days. How have YOU been?

On being grown up

Central City, Co.
Like summer camp, but now I'm
the counselor.... sigh.

Haiku for time off

Negotiating
contracts is not my favorite
thing to do. Ha-rumpf!

Repacking suitcase
for the summer also not
my favorite thing.

Margarita on
a breezy patio. That's
what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Perversely glorious sunday morning

Breath-taking morning
Espresso fragrant in cup
But heart is heavy

haiku italiana

ok, some of you might recall my sad attempts to create italian haiku while I was abroad in Italy ("Italian Haiku not possible"). I was sharing my frustrations with my pal Charlie. He got quiet for about 25 seconds and then promptly offered up this jewel:

Ma scusa, bella
Haiku Italiana
e possible.

damn you charlie temkey, you've bested me again.

Haiku for tech week

Magic Flute, my love
for you came as a surprise.
Only six days left.

Sunday Haiku fest

Die Zauberflote (non german speakers: trust me, yes, this is 5 syllables)
plus Dido and Aeneas
makes my small brain tired.

Don't forget Tosca!
That makes three shows all at once...
Please pass the red wine.

Prop lists and schedules.
Have to be creative...NOW!
Singing not so bad?

Haiku for today

cinnamon goodness
shall I devour you or just
apply straight to butt?

This little haiku was composed for you while walking around White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas. Nothing like the thought of fresh baked cinnamon rolls to get a girl to hustle her way through an exercise routine! hehhe (see yesterday's post for more gooey detail)

italian haiku not possible

Italian haiku
is not possible, I think.
Too many sylla...

hahaha. but seriously, i have spent some time on this... not a lot, but some... and since even the simplest italian words have 2 or 3 syllables it makes the 5-7-5 limit pretty restricting. i will keep you posted as developments arise.

in other news, as i am wandering around the streets here, i spend most of my time obsessing about one stupid thing or another that i can't control, or crafting italian conversations in my mind. since at this point i have the conversational skills of a 3 year old, these conversations are neccessarily rather brief, but matching up all the tenses and types of verbs with the cases of adjectives, etc provides hours of scintillating entertainment. Since I really only know one tense at this point, everything I say sounds a bit like an overly demanding, slightly hyper-caffeinated child. "I WANT COFFEE. IN THE MORNING IT PLEASES ME TO TAKE THE COFFEE."

For a hysterical account of similar troubles, see the "Jesus Shaves" chapter of David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day. The man is a genius.

sad haiku

Tracking swords and guns.
"Mi scusi... entri la, si?"
Macbeth is a pain.

Okay, this is not my finest work, but I felt that something was in order after such a long absence.

Haiku for Saturday

In honor of my day off, I thought I would "treat" you all to a few Haiku.

1.
Vexing me by day,
Haunting as I try to sleep...
Carmen, soon you end.

2.
Allergy season
Reminds me I am alive.
Please pass the Kleenex.

3.
Coffee and croissant...
Breeze brushes cheek and birds sing.
Monday, never come.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend...

Beading for fun and profit

In the interest of procrastination (do not remind me of this when I am freaking out, mid-season), I have spent a little time doing some bead work. I love this hobby, though it could easy bankrupt a person like me. A person who is inordinately attracted to beautiful, colorful objects. Yesterday I spent a little time at a local bead shop, and then made 2 necklaces.

Little wooden bead,
your beauty fills my soul with
longing and wonder.

The little number in brown is available for purchase in my online store at Etsy.com. The little number with the celtic knot is not, as I plan to wear it everyday for the next several weeks, at least.

Haiku mania takes over nation/Opera in the Park

It was bound to happen. Good things always happen in groups, don't they? Just as I reveal to the world my new haiku obsession, one of my regular blog-reads posts a "high-fashion haiku." See this post on Daddy Likey for said poem.

In other news, Houston is gorgeous. Normally it is already hot and disgusting in May, but for some reason, nature is giving us a break and it is stunningly beautiful outside. I am finding myself spending a lot of time in outdoor cafes. Not a bad thing.

This lovely weather is just in time for one of my favorite events: Miller Outdoor Theatre's Opera in the Park.
A few nights of the year, Houstonians have the opportunity to pack up their picnic blankets and coolers, and head to Hermann Park, where, for absolutely free, we can sit under the stars, bat away life-threatening mosquitoes and sweat buckets while watching an opera. This is the good life. Really. I think most any opera is better when one has full freedom to nosh on random goodies, really stretch the legs, maybe giggle quietly in the dull parts, or even take a small nap if needed. Plus it is a rare chance to see much of Houston's music world all in one place on one night. This town is overrun with great musical opportunities (again, not a bad thing), but it seems most of the folks I want to see make time for this event. The show is Houston Grand Opera's production of Hansel and Gretel. I am quite looking forward to it.

A haiku for today.

Oh Six Feet Under.
Netflix brings you home to me.
Where is the postman?

Well my obsession with Six Feet Under is beginning to wane. NOT that I have stopped watching, mind you, but I no longer stand by the mailboxes, tapping my foot and checking my watch.
Six Feet Under - The Complete Fourth Season