Little House on the Prairie

Hi All!

After a prolonged battle, I finally convinced Miss Cleo that since it is my picture on the blog that I should be the one who actually writes the blog. I wish I could say that she accepted this gracefully but, at the moment she is sulking in her cat tree house.

After a week of fighting with Migraines, I headed downtown Dallas to see this musical.

Now, I should tell you that yes, Hubby went with me to the show. No, he didn't enjoy the show at all but, he went! Husband points!

Truthfully, the show wasn't too bad. I think that for those of us who grew up reading the Little House books and watching the television show (Even though I never really watched the show) there was a big feeling of nostalgia which made the show seem better than it was.

Melissa Gilbert, the original "Laura" on the television show, played "Ma" in the musical. It was nice to have her in the show because of her history but, she really can't sing. Her songs, thankfully, were few and far between.

Kara Lindsay, who played Laura, was excellent. She has a nice, strong voice and a wonderfully charming manner in her dialogue. The many impertinent lines Laura had in the show were delivered perfectly by Lindsay and even though, at times, her voice played as older than her character, she was enjoyable to watch.

The rest of the cast was adequate bordering on good but the actress who played Nellie Oleson, Kate Whelan, almost stole the show several times. Her hair was perfectly coiffed in the requisite golden curls and her costumes were appropriately flouncy. When Whelan sang "Without an Enemy" in which Nellie bemoans Laura's leaving the town to teach school, she really showed her singing and acting chops. That song was one of the most enjoyable of the entire show.

Would I pay money to see this show again? Probably not.

Was I happy to sit through it once? Yes.

Would Hubby EVER sit through it again? NO WAY!

In other news, the key to the swimming pool came in the mail on Saturday and I actually WENT SWIMMING this morning! Can you believe it?

I donned my swimming garb and grabbed my bag containing my towel, sunglasses, sunscreen, pool key, and timer (to make sure I get home in time to "chat" with Mom via IM) and I hit the sidewalk. I trotted off to the pool and the key worked like a charm! Shedding my walking shorts, shoes, socks, and tank top, I plunged in.

Okay. I really didn't "plunge" into the pool. First I took one step down into the seemingly chilly water. Then I took another. Then I took the last step which, for some unknown reason, seems to be twice as long as the others. There was a moment of breathlessness as I adjusted to the temperature of the water and then I was off and swimming.

Since I haven't swum in something like a millennium, my swimming stamina is a bit less than ideal. However, I did manage to complete ten laps and a lot of floating in my time. The pool is wonderful. It isn't too big but it is designed with a "horizon edge" which seemingly merges with the lake in the background. It was so nice to float along and look out on that view.

Today the sky was pretty overcast with dark clouds (I am hoping for rain, of course) so I didn't have much of a problem with the sun. However, I will need to make sure that I am careful about not getting sunburned while I swim. I am hoping that the time I swim - in the morning - will keep the possibility of the burns to a minimum!

I can't wait to do it again tomorrow morning!

That is about it for today! I plan to go grocery shopping and to purchases some tickets to see Avenue Q with my friend Donna. Exciting, huh?

Trisha

Voice Update: I didn't do much reading this weekend. On Saturday, we saw the musical and went out to eat. By the time I got home, my headache was back so I went to bed for a nap to try to get rid of it. Sunday I played hand bells for three services in church which wasn't too good for my head so I went home and . . .took a nap. It isn't too easy to read out loud when you are sleeping off a headache. My voice is showing that I haven't been too vigilant with my exercises. It is breaking more and it is annoying. I guess I should stop stepping on SD's toes and get back into the rhythm of the dance.