I *think* I did it! ***updated w/photos*** *more info*

Well, there are two new holes cut into the pool liner, with gaskets and brackets replaced. Whew! It wasn't really difficult in the labor sense, but it was a challenge to figure out how to place gaskets behind the pool liner. One set of directions I found online said it was not recommended to cut the liner before securing the bracket and gaskets with screws. Huh? One gasket goes behind the liner, the liner is secured to the frame...I suppose one could squeeze one's hands into the filter basket to place the gasket...I just cut a hole much smaller than necessary in the liner to place that gasket behind it. Once that bracket was in place, (and believe me, it took me a while to figure out how to get the screws into the holes without being able to see the holes) cutting the liner was easy. Just follow the edge of the bracket! The other (round) one was a bit easier since there is a hole in the metal exterior of the pool through which one can place the gasket and cut the new hole. Now all I have to do it see if it is watertight! Fingers crossed!

Here they are! The newest filtration thingies added to the new pool liner. And I did it myself.

The pool is slowly filling up--just one more step to go! I would guess it is a little over half-full now.

*update*

OK, so, even though Tom thought I wouldn't be able to tell if there was a leak in the gaskets, I can tell. There is a small stream of water running down the outside of the pool from under the square one...I got out my trusty screwdriver and was able to turn the screws a little tighter. Yes, I did it by hand. I already hurt myself with the power screwdriver once this week--and it still hurts, thank you very much! I dried the area with a towel and there was no immediate indication of continued leaking. Maybe I fixed it? I'll be checking again later. I wonder what I do if it is still leaking and I can't fix it?

busy day, busy people

I have been to Columbia on an errand this morning, returned home to find some paperwork for Hubby and call him with the information he needed.

The ACES Easter Egg Hunt is today. I have too much scheduled for today, so other members of the group have taken the lead. I called and they are doing very well. The eggs are hidden, the prizes organized, drinks iced and just waiting for children to arrive with their parents. I may go over later to help with the clean-up.

The pool is still filling--has been since yesterday at about noon. The water was above the first step to the ladder this morning when I checked. Now that there are nine inches or more of water, I can cut the final to holes to accomodate the filtration system. I will be doing that when I finish here.

Lots of household stuff to get done today, and a beautiful day to do it. Better get busy!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Currently blooming in our yard

Look! There are irises in the back garden! I missed them last year and Tom didn't notice if they bloomed...but here they are this year! I love irises... Also in the back garden, along the left side fence.
In the front garden, under a blooming tree. The blossoms are huge!
Under the same blooming tree, another color azalea.
The aforementioned blooming tree...it started to show color the day after Tom's mother left.

Wednesday morning

It has not been a spectacular week. Tom is trying to get things done around the house and nothing seems to be cooperating. While emptying and cleaning the pool, the pressure washer was doing a great job...then it broke, with just a little cleaning left to go. Tom started using the brush on the pool bottom, and a ripple in the plastic ripped open. It was obvious the plastic was brittle, but it was still frustrating.

Tom has also been trying to update the PC (the computer I usually use) with a new version of Windows. So far it has taken three days. The computer is now usable, but he is still looking for my saved emails...I may have to ask people for information when I need it, like addresses, passwords, emails addresses. We'll see.

We took the car in for service. It hasn't been starting properly. Almost $500 to replace a fuel valve check. There were other things, too, like fluids that needed changing, belts that needed changing, and a broken glove box. When we went to pick up the car, there was a puddle underneath and I saw the puddle ripple like a drop fell into it. The mechanic took it back in to check for a leak and found nothing. They said 'bring it back if there is a problem.' Tom crawled under once we got it home and found nothing himself. I'm hoping it was just that the car was parked over an existing puddle.

Some things did go well, so we feel good about that. The yard is looking better, has been 'weed 'n' feeded' and the sprinkler system is working. Whew! I love that sprinkler system. So easy.

I pick up the new pool liner today. Hopefully, I'll be able to pick it up when I drop off the cell phones Tom forgot today. Poor guy--it has been a rough week for him.

Monday was errand day...

I ran lots of errands, mostly for other people...although Tom was one of the 'other people' so it's OK.

I took the snacks I bought to mail to our deployed personnel to the office, where we chose what went into the boxes that are prepared, then I took the leftovers and stored them in the ACES closet. I gave the empty plastic eggs and all the prizes we bought to the Major. He and his wife volunteered to stuff them for the Egg Hunt. He was really busy and missed lunch, so I borrowed his keys and transferred the stuff myself. Then I stored the rest of the Egg Hunt stuff in the ACES closet. I had to make several trips because I can only carry so much and the closet is in the next building over from the offices.

After that, I got my directions from Tom and headed off to Columbia for a part for Tom's Shopsmith and a sanding pack. There is a new store out there that is really nice, the owner's are nice, too and the prices are somewhat reasonable. While there, the lady behind the counter said I looked familiar. We couldn't figure out where we might have known each other though. When it was checkout time, they took my name and she spelled it correctly without help. Wait. NO ONE does that. Oh, she once had a student with that last name. Her first name was Carolyn. That's my daughter's name! Oddly, she never taught my daughter...she taught this other Carolyn at Gilbert Elementary. How weird is that?

Following the trip to Columbia, I went to the pool store and ordered the new liner. It will arrive in town on Wednesday. I put over a hundred miles on the car in errands. Today, the car goes in for a checkup. It hasn't been starting well, the brakes go 'thunk', the belts whine, and the glove box is broken. I wonder what that'll cost me?

Saturday

Tom got most of the pool emptied, but there is still work to do today. He also replaced all the garden borders and put out pine straw mulch, and he went to the store and bought weed 'n'feed. He gets more done in a day than I do in a week.

The ACES meeting went pretty well, packages are mostly ready, with just a few things to add before mailing. We decided to go bowling and eat pizza and wings at the bowling alley.

Butterflies are Free was wonderful. The set was really interesting, it was acted well, lit well and the story was a good one. I even had a tear slip down my cheek at the touching mother/son moment.

After the play, we had dinner at The Brewery. We have eaten there before, and I even took our friends Kevin and Geraldine there when they visited. Kevin had asked the waiter about a certain dish, the garlic-rubbed pork tenderloin with cinnamon apples over Charleston grits covered in a brandy sauce. The waiter recommended it highly, but Kev was not sold on 'grits.' Can't say I blame him. Who wants 'grit' in your mouth? During our meal, the waiter brought us a pan of their special grits to try and they were yummy! So, last night I ordered the dish. Oh. My. Goodness. It was so good. Absolutely delicious.

It was a lovely evening.

The Weekend!

Last night, we went to Columbia to see Tick Tick Boom! It is the story of Jonathan Larson, the author of Rent, and his efforts to break into musical theater. I think I may have enjoyed it a bit more than Tom--during some of the more emotional (read quiet) songs, he was examining the architecture and crunching his ice.

Today, Tom is busily working in the gardens, emptying the pool to prepare it for the new season, and generally doing home maintenance. I have a batch of cookies in the oven (sorry, T, these aren't intended for you...I'm baking yours tomorrow), the dishwasher is running, the cookie mess is mostly cleaned up, and a load of laundry is in...we're having a productive day! Later, I am going to an ACES meeting where we will have a Pot Luck snack then pack 'mid-tour' packages for our deployed folks. We will also discuss the next ACES Night Out, which will be pizza and wings at someone's home followed by bowling. We were planning to stuff the plastic eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt next week, but a member and her husband have volunteered to handle that for us. Isn't that great? I have another engagement, so I will likely be unable to attend the Hunt, so it is noce to know that other ACES members will step up and take charge.

Tonight we are headed to Charleston to see another play--Butterflies are Free. We are hoping to be able to do some shopping while we are there. There is a wood store Tom is anxious to visit and I am hoping to find a suitable print a Rainbow Row for our friends. When they were here, they chose one at a gift shop near the USS Yorktown. We planned to pick it up when we returned from our tour of the ship...but the Gift Shop closed before the ship museum did! Not good marketing strategy, in my opinion.

I still have to load all the egg hunt prizes, boxes, my Pot Luck contribution, cookies, cups, plates and napkins into the car, so I'd better go.

Happy Saturday!

Wow! I've been away a while....

Funny how time passes so quickly when you are busy. We headed north for a visit with Jen and her family for the weekend. While we were there we celebrated Lily's first birthday. We had a wonderful time! Lily was so cute--she warmed up to Tom and I really quickly, which surprised me because we have not seen her since Christmas. For the first time in history (I think) a baby bypassed Tom and came to me! I was very touched and Tom took pleasure from that, so it was win-win. She still likes her Grandpa, too. Jen noticed that when Tom left the room, Lily made the same sound, "Gah!" We think it means either "Granpa!" or "Come Back!"





We gave Lily a learning puppy and a Princess Ball (a bouncy ball with a picture of Disney's Cinderella). She liked both, but really had a good time with that ball. Jen had suggested that since the boys got annoyed when she played with their balls. She wanted one they wouldn't be pleased to be seen using. Personally, I don't think they cared, but it is definitely Lily's ball.

The Princess Ball and the Learning Puppy.

Lily's birthday cake, decorated by Grandma.

Lily climbs onto Grandma's lap.

Grandma gets a snuggle.

Strike

"Strike the set" means to remove the set from the stage. Actually, in theater, 'strike' means to remove something from the stage. So during the performances, the stage crew might 'strike the scene' and reset another during a scene change.

Last night was the planned strike for I Hate Hamlet. Tom wanted to take a CD of all the photos he took so Sylvia could burn copies for everyone, as promised. The computer gave him all sorts of heartburn, so he finally left me behind to wait for the thing to complete. He wanted to be on time because his guidance would be needed for the work involved. By the time I got there, he was all alone, working away. Sylvia, Marge and Katie had all gone home. We worked for a bit, then Michael arrived to help. He and his wife are directing the next show, Alice in Wonderland, so he has a vested interest in getting the stage ready for his group to come in. We didn't get done as much as Tom would have liked, but a lot did get done. We can probably finish tonight. I did ask Michael if Alice's adventures might not take place on a 'hardwood floor.' He understood completely, saying he thought about that...but it wasn't going to happen. We laughed about it because we all know theater paint work is only temporary, lasting only until the next show.

I've had a couple of emails from TJ this week. He is doing well, safe and happy. He likes the folks he works with, and has been playing his own version of 'paintball.'

There is work to be done. See ya!

Monday meanderings...

Lots to catch up on with the play ending...

Our ACES Easter Egg Hunt is coming up, and I needed to shop for prizes. Another member offered to go with me, after 3:00pm (because she is a teacher) and on a Monday or Friday (because that fits her schedule). Of those choices, MY schedule only allowed yesterday, so off we went. Some of it was really difficult--we wanted wrapped candy to put into the plastic eggs--and most of what is available for Easter is chocolate, which would melt if it were too warm on the day of the hunt. Last year it was over 80 degrees... We did find some wrapped jelly beans and then went with non-Easter-themed candies. I don't think the kids will really care. We also found some toys, which won't fit into the eggs. We'll put 'tickets' into the eggs and the kids will be able to claim their prizes from the Prize Table. Lisa suggested we just use a couple of colors for the tickets, and allow the kids to chose from groups of items. I disagree--too many choices makes for major problems with large groups of children. Some kids just cannot make a decision at all, others will take a really long time. Others will get upset if something they wanted is claimed by another child. Any mother has experience with this; I would have expected a teacher to have similar experiences. I really think each item needs it's own identifier on the tickets, even if we just use the name of the item. Truthfully, we will never be able to please everyone.

I also have lots of housework to catch up on, and my MIL is visiting next week. Busy, busy, busy.

Final Show and Cast Party

I took a nap after church yesterday...and Tom woke me up at 1:30 to go to the theater for the last performance of I Hate Hamlet!. Since we are supposed to BE there at 1:30, we were running a bit late. We grabbed our food contribution to the party, as well as our gifts for the exchange and got on the road. The show went really well, which is almost surprising because I really felt tired. Everyone else did a wonderful job and the audience seemed to have a really good time. After the show, we took pictures for the archives--crew first.

Here we are, clockwise from the center: Tom (set design, & construction, light design & operation, special effects); me (set painting, stage management & sound operation); Paige (set crew); Marge (costumer); and Sylvia (Props Mistress & set crew)

Tom got this shot from the booth during the show. He has been trying since the beginning to get a good shot of the seance.

The cast from left to right: Dee as 'Lillian Troy'; Kristel as 'Deirdre McDave'; Trey as 'Andrew Rally'; Kelly as 'John Barrymore'; Mark as 'Gary Peter Lefkowitz'; Lidsay as 'Felicia Dantine'.

Once we got all the pictures, we made our way to Katie's house for the party. There was plenty of good food, and we all chatted and were enjoying ourselves. Kelly had to go early, so we did the gag gift giveaway. It was really fun--people can be so creative! Kelly's gift was for Katie, our director. He did a performance piece about the play and theater in general with illustrations done by his daughter. Then Katie gave Paige a magnifying glass because her job required 'being able to see well.' Paige had Kelly,and she gave him a plastic sword, his own pair of tights because she thought he might miss them, and a banana and an apple because she couldn't find a plastic cucumber or potato. [This is a direct reference to one of Kelly's lines in the play: "The potato, the cucumber, the rolled sock...this is the history of Prince Hamlet!"] The presentation was really funny. With this we came to a dead end because Kelly had already given his gift to Katie, so we started around the room...that meant Mark was up and he had me. Since I had reported that all the actors were wonderful at being where they needed to be without much help from me, he thought I must be bored so he got me things to do while backstage: a game of poker, popcorn and Butterfinger flavored hot chocolate. My gift was for Kristel, who played Deirdre. I had three things for her--an "Eagle Eye Award" because she spotted a fallen picture on the stage that no one else saw-which would have been a major distraction to the audience during the second act, a package of M & M's because there was a 'plethora of that letter on page 64 of the script' and a can of Campbell's Soup because it's "Mmmm Mmmm Good!" [Kristel'a part called for her to say "Mmmmmmmm" repeatedly, like a 'contented cat.'] Kristel's gift was for Sylvia - a pair of slippers that looked like hightopped tennis shoes with smiley faces on them. Sylvia was responsible for 'Deirdre's' shoes--hightops with smileys painted on them. Sylvia had liquer-filled chocolates for Dee, and Dee had diet cokes and velcro for Marge, the costumer. Marge had Tom, and she really went all out. She created a game for him! It's called 'The World of Tom' and it has a game board, markers, and die, cards to fill out and photos of the set on it. It is similar to 'Clue.' I loved it and so did Tom. I'll post a picture soon. Tom had Shoe Goo for Mark, because Marks's costume shoes were pulled apart the first night. Since they were mentioned in the review, it was decided they should be repaired with glue. The only ones left were Trey and Lindsay. Lindsay went first. She wrote a poem based on the play and presented gifts that coincided with the poem. REALLY well done. Trey made Lindsay a CD of him singing all the songs he drove her crazy with backstage. It was HILARIOUS! There was even a 'tutorial' for the Trailburst Nuggets commercial he had to do for the show. Too funny. I was really amazed at the creativity involved. Tons o' fun!

Did you 'Spring Forward?'

Just wondering....

We did ours last night, just before bed. 7:30 came *way* too early this morning! I feel like I need a nap. Mass was not very well-populated and the priest congratulated us on being there.

The show last night went really well. No missed sound or light cues, few missed lines and none that were crucial to the plot of the play. One scene change took far too long (again). All that needs to happen is that a bunch of junk food wrappers get dumped on the actor playing Barrymore and the sofa he is sitting on, and a portable TV is placed on the sofa, too. Why this takes TWO MINUTES is beyond me. There are two crew members there to achieve these things. It *should* take 15 seconds and we actually did it at that speed once. The actor *is* very picky about where the trash goes, and he always wants actual food to eat in spite of the fact that the director said 'no' because it might interfere with his concentration and his ability to speak. There is absolutely no hurry at all, in spite of my efforts to speed things up. Heck, one member of the company (the costumer) suggested we really needed to slow down the process so that people will have time to 'get a tissue or a mint.' What? I am SO not used to that!~

Three people from ACES were at the show, which really pleased me. I saw them afterward and they said they enjoyed it. I hope they did, but seriously, what else can they say to me? I will say the audience laughed more than any of our previous ones - and they even got some of the more subtle nuances of the humor. As our director says, this is very sophisticated stuff. Sometimes the audience has to think about it before they fully find the humor.

Yesterday, we took in Tom's laptop with all the photos he has been taking from the booth. Everyone loved it, in spite of the blurriness due to no flash and distance. He can't use flash during the show - it would be too disruptive to all involved. Speaking of disruptive -- for the past two shows, we have had a cell phone go off TWICE during each performance. I am assuming it is the same phone each time (but not each night) because the second ring tone is the same as the first. Seriously, PLEASE turn your cell phones off or at least switch to vibrate when you are attending a public performance. It really throws the actors off and affects the quality of the show for everyone.

Last performance this afternoon, followed by an hour's worth of photos, a cast party and gag gifts. Should be fun.

Paper! Paper! Everywhere!

There is such an accumulation of paper-everywhere! My recycle bin keeps filling to overflowing each time I straighten up. I just did my bills, and the amount of unnecessary paper is atrocious. Papers on my coffee table, kitchen table, in my purse, seems every horizontal surface in my home! Heck, I was walking the gardens yesterday and found several pieces of paper, both advertising and newspaper, on my lawn. Is paper like rabbits--proliferating every chance it gets?

What's blooming in our yard?

I know you folks up North are still cold and even had snow this week, but our garden is beginning to show some color and I thought I'd share. I wasn't here for this part of the growing season last year, so this is my first time seeing what pops up. I don't recognize everything!

Don't know what they are, but aren't they pretty?

Camellia. These budded almost all winter...ours are among the last to bloom in the area. My theory is exposure--these are sort of western.

Those are pink azalea just peeping out behind the daffodils.

All around our mailbox. Tom never told me about these last year. Later, day lilies will bloom, then canna lilies.

I put my hand behind so you could see how small these are. Aren't they cute?

This one is just different -- the outer petals are very thin. Wish I'd focused better....
I know lots of you folks up North are still cold and even had snow this week, but our garden is beginning to show some color and I thought I'd share. I wasn't here for this part of the year last year, so this is my first time seeing what pops up. I don't recognize everything!

Wednesday afternoon

Tom has been working hard to get the yard in shape for Spring. That means removing wooden edging and replacing it with plastic and raking up all the leaves that take forEVER to fall off the trees here. Seriously, there are trees out front that still have brown leaves on them! Last night when he got home from work he went immediately into the back to 'enjoy the weather' with plastic bags and a rake. After folding some laundry, I joined him and we managed to bag three sacks before it started getting dark and cool. I went out this afternoon and bagged two more sacks and pulled some weeds. We have even found some blooms we don't recognize. The flowers look like miniature daffodils, but they are clustered on one stem. I'll add a picture later. I'm sure Tom will head out again this evening...

I went to the Post Office this morning and have been catching up on the house...working on a play really takes its toll in housework!

Action shots from the light booth

Act I: "I don't need any dead ham bone teaching me anything!"

Act I: [See? Tights!] Act I: "The Pitch. Gather ye round... It's not cops. It's not young doctors. None of that TV crap!"
Act II: "I don't think I can do that."

Act II: Advice from Barrymore. Note the footstool. Act II: He wants me to do what? Act II: "One last encounter?"
Act II: "...and you were so bad!"

Act II: "Your bow. It was perfunctory."

Act II: "Good Lord! Is that... an audience?"

Ahhhhhh!

I actually had the day 'off!' I didn't have to run off to the theater to paint something or practice sound cues or attend a rehearsal...I showered, then relaxed with my book.

I did make dinner, just like I planned. We are having lasagne.

I also called my friend Carol in England. Carol had her last round of chemo and radiation last week. She is still feeling the aftereffects, but her mental state is good. The cancer is in remission (YAHOO!). It was good to talk to her.

Tonight I have an ACES meeting, where we will discuss the Easter Egg Hunt, among other things.

Tomorrow I guess I'd better concentrate on all the stuff around the house that got neglected during preparations for the play.

Bits 'n' Pieces

• I did it! It's only the fourth performance, and I managed to hit ALL my sound cues just right! Of course, I still have a problem getting the curtain pulled on time, but that is another story involving the lack of radioes and communication with my crew.....anyway, I am so pleased I finally managed to do the show properly. Next weekend, we have four more performances, and I am hoping to get them all right, too.

• I was a bit concerned when I got to the theater and realized I had left both my cell phone and my wallet home. I use the clock on the cell phone and my license is in the wallet. I borrowed Tom's phone and had no need for the license, so all was well. We did have a minor emergency during the intermission: as we were waiting for the crewmember to return and tell us the audience was back in their seats, one of the actors noticed that a picture hanging on the wall was not right. I had to remove my radio, rush across the stage as quietly as possible and fix it. I don't know who put it up, but it was there with a balled-up piece of tape stuck onto the screw head, I guess hoping the tape would be strong enough. It did not hold and the picture was wedged against the wall by the one below it. I didn't ask about it because by the time I got back, the entire set crew (both of them) was there watching what I was doing so whoever tried it knows it doesn't work.

• Last night, when we opened the curtain on Act II , where the set is all dressed up and pretty, there was a 'wow!' from someone in the audience. Sylvia, who opens the curtain says she hears a collective intake of breath every show at that point. But this afternoon? The audience actually applauded! How cool is that?

• Yesterday, the actor who played Andrew came to the theater limping. He had thrown out his knee while helping a friend move earlier in the day. He was in a lot of pain during his sword fight rehearsal. He needed first aid, so I got him some ice, Sylvia ran home and got an ice-pack, some Icy Hot ointment, and a heating pad, and Paige went to the store and bought an ACE bandage and more Icy Hot. Are we a helpful crew, or what? He handled the show pretty well, and I think only those of us who know how he usually behaves would have noticed.

• Today, we drew names among the cast and crew for 'gag gifts' at the Cast Party on the day of the final show. I want to try to find something that would be funny without being mean--I have a woman's name, and we can be so sensitive sometimes!

• It was still light out when we came out of the theater after the matinee today. It seemed so wrong, somehow! I actually cooked and am planning to cook again tomorrow. Tom won't know what to think.

• Tom has been trying to squeeze in as much work at home as possible. He was raking leaves yesterday, and today he pulled the wooden garden edging that the termite inspector suggested we remove and took it to the dump on his way to the theater. Tonight he is cleaning his garage, which was pretty deep in sawdust from his work for the theater.

We got reviewed...

This came out before the first performance.

We were reviewed afterward...Check it out here.

Friday Night Show

Things went pretty well, although I still allowed the second sound cue to go off prematurely! I have a HUGE note in my book now, so perhaps I won't miss it tonight. I practiced several ways of doing the two close sound cues, and managed to do them fairly well. All the rest went off just fine.

There was one problem with an actor losing part of his costume (Barrymore's tights!) and the newbie stage hand went and got the costume lady out of the audience to come solve the problem. This is a no-no. One does not enter the theater once the show has begun. This problem should have been brought to ME and I was responsible to solve it, or so I was told by the Props Mistress. I told her I would have panicked, too. She said "Yes, but what would you have done?" I would have sent HER to go locate the tights! She said that was exactly right. Anyway the tights were found and the actor did not have to perform naked. The poor costume lady missed the first act AGAIN, and this time her mother and sister were there, too. I hope Marge eventually gets to SEE the show!

Today, after Tom raked the front lawn and I helped him bag the debris, we went to Columbia for the Annual Crafts Show. There were some wonderful things there, and Tom has been inspired to try some new things.

We leave for tonight's performance in about an hour. I hope I can get things right tonight.

Happy Birthday, Lily Grace!

Our dear granddaughter is one year old today! Lily is a sweet baby- happy, smart and a joy to be around. She has been walking since she was about ten months old, and has a mouthful of teeth, about six, I think. She obviously loves her family, and like all babies, gets along famously with her Grandpa. I'm so glad to be geographically closer so I can see her more often than I saw Ryan when he was a baby, even if it isn't every day.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl. I love you!

Newborn Lily with Grandma in the hospital.That's me, saying goodbye to Lily at three weeks. And here she is in a shot from Mommy's blog. Doesn't she look pleased with her newfound skill?Five month old Lily with Mommy on Family Vacation.

Great-Aunt Laura gets credit for this shot, taken during Family Vacation. Isn't it terrific?

Ten month old Lily with Grandma at Zach's birthday party.

Opening night...

...went pretty well. I didn't forget any cues, and only had trouble with two. One when I forgot to 'pause' the CD player after the opening music, so the bell tolled too soon...

The second was at the same time as I had a problem last night -- when the actor spoke more quickly than usual. I practiced and learned a good way to do it, but tonight she was slower than last last night....So I couldn't go directly to the next cue, I had to 'pause', then press the button for the cue. Since the first track had reached the end, if I press 'play, it takes five seconds for the sound to go off. If I press 'forward' or 'back' I go to the wrong cue...tomorrow night, I will just have to stop the first cue early, then press 'forward' then 'play' and hope it works. Maybe it will....

There was also a funny incident in tonight's performance. Back story -- at a certain point in the play 'Andrew' asks 'Barrymore' for advice. 'Barrymore' places pillows on the floor and has 'Andrew' sit there at his feet while 'Barrymore' waxes eloquent on the proper performance of Hamlet. Well, 'Andrew' had difficulty sitting in a modest manner while dressed in Hamlet's tights on the pillows. I took in a little footstool I bought in Belgium. It is oak, carved and my favorite little piece of furniture. I thought perhaps it would be easier for the actor to sit there than on the pillows. I checked with the director, who gave the go-ahead for them to try it. The actors didn't use the stool last night, so I asked if I should remove it from the set tonight. 'Barrymore' had forgotten about it, so they decided to try it tonight. At the appropriate time, 'Barrymore' pulls the stool out from under the throne, holds it up so all can see, places it on the floor next to the throne, then pats it, indicating 'Andrew' should sit. 'Andrew' was unaware of just how small this stool is until he saw it. His reaction was priceless! He sort of squatted down with his arms out for balance until he was in a sitting position, then he pulled his knees together and looked up at 'Barrymore.' The look on his face was hilarious! He sat there through the whole speech, with his knees slightly higher than his waist -- too funny. The cast and crew watching from the wings were laughing so hard they had to move away or risk being heard by the audience. The director didn't like it -- but we sure did!