Realized I forgot a lid cover the other day, so went back to Bed, Bath 'n' Beyond to get one. Went to Shop-Rite for arugula, tomatoes, and a few other things. On the way home, I dropped a small folding table off at the school. I had heard we wouldn't have even the upside-down tables in the so-called "dressing room" anymore but, as it turned out, they were still there, along with two big pieces of scenery, so it was even more crowded. I don't have too much of a problem, but others do. Well, we just have to do the best we can.
Rehearsal was called for 6:00--it was both a regular and technical one--and I got there early. Somebody had ordered pizza, so I had a slice. That was dinner. We then more or less sat around waiting for the light and sound person to do her thing. We didn't even start until 7:20, so it was pretty long. It went smoothly, though, as far as I could tell. We finished late and I didn't get home until 10:30.
Invited Flo and Joe L. to come to the show. Didn't really expect them to, and they're unable, but I got a nice note back asking me to join Flo and friends for lunch and a movie next week. Flo, Rita, and Barbara have a standing date to do this every Tuesday. I know R. and B. from the L.'s Christmas party, and like them, so was pleased to accept.
Damn, I have a Breeze meeting today at 1:30. Wish I could skip it, but I guess I'll go. Deadline for submission for the next issue is a week from today and I don't have anything prepared, but I'll try to come up with something minor.
I need to get the house reasonably neat and clean for my company, who will stay over on Saturday. Also gotta re-sew the flowers on my hat for the wedding scene and do a multitude of other small chores.
Rehearsal's at 6:00--our last--and yoicks, tomorrow we open!

Good grief, I slept until 7:00! That's because I didn't get home from rehearsal until almost 11:00. I then had to unwind with my daily 45 minutes of television and my popcorn and wine. Am debating whether to go to exercise at 9:00. I know I should, but geez, it's the three mile--.
When we walked into the auditorium last night, we saw why rehearsal had to be called for 8:00; there was a science fair going on and lots of people milling around. By the time they left, it was probably 8:20 or so. We're rehearsing in costume from now on and hey boy, is changing going to be a problem. I wore my act one outfit there, and I don't go on again in a different one until near the end of act two, so I have plenty of time to change, but others don't. The backstage changing area is just miniscule. It's roughly the size of my bathroom and seems to be the electrical room. We had to throw dresses, skirts, hats, accesories, and everything else on the folding tables that I guess are stored there. There are no mirrors, you can't go from one side of the stage to the other backstage and the bathroom is not accessible. These are big problems for all of us. I understand they'll remove the tables, so there will be nowhere at all to put anything except the floor. Tara wears a wedding dress in the second and third acts, so how in the world this is going to work, I don't know. Think I'll bring a folding table to at least have something to put my things on and see if they'll let me keep it there for the duration.
Got calls from sister Betty and niece Joan. They'll meet Betty and the other couple for dinner before the play on Saturday, then Betty will go home and see the play with two friends on Sunday. The four couples will also go with me to the cast party after the Saturday performance.
Early part of the day was miserably cold, windy, and rainy, so I went out only to get something at the bank. It cleared up later and is nicely sunny today.
WIDER: From CommonDreams.Org:
This tax season, if you can stand it, Rethink Afghanistan will tell you how much of the $2 billion a month cost of the Afghanistan War you are footing - and they will send an IOU for that amount to Congress. More on the true cost of these pointless, misguided, unaffordable-on-too-many-levels wars here:
http://www.commondreams.org/further/2011/04/05-1

Went on my walk before 7:00, and to exercise, too. I was pleased to have Beverly B. tell me how much she liked my articles in The Breeze. Saw Judy K. at the clubhouse and decided to sign up to attend the Potluck Dinner on the twenty-eighth.
Went over to Marge's after lunch and we had a good talk. Fred is still recovering from his heart surgery, but looks pretty good. Marge herself seems very frail. I drove the car over and after, went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Got new bathroom rugs for the master bath. I've had the old ones--black--for years. The large one in front of the double sinks finally gave up the ghost and so did a smaller one. I decided on purple--there's a lot of white in the room--and I think they'll look terrific. Found towels on clearance that are white with purple trim and got those, too. Well, as long as I'm spending--got a bath mat, also in purple, that is billed as the greatest thing since sliced baloney.
Mary Ann Van O. called and will come with Susan, Barb, Lois, and me to see Zelda on the thirteenth, and to lunch first.
Dress rehearsal tonight. We'll meet for the first time at Frog Pond School; it'll be good to finally rehearse where the play will actually be performed.
WIDER: I'm getting less and less complacent about the news from Japan. Here's what Harvey Wasserman has to say:
http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/12534

Left at 7 am and arrived up north about 8:00. Had a delightful time with the four boys--so good to see them again. We had breakfast, then took Lu for a walk, each boy holding her leash for an allotted time. After, sat out in the sun and N. told us about they wedding they'd attended while J. attended to his motorcycle.
I left about 1:00, had a big salad for lunch, then took a nap on the couch. Not sure when I actually lay down, but I slept until 5:00.
Have a number of errands to run, then will visit Marge after lunch today.

Said goodbye to Susan after our walk, as she and Walter will be in Florida for a week. With some difficulty, I added the picture of the library display window on this blog and now it's gone. The hell with it; it was problematic in the first place and I'm not going to spend time trying to get it back.
Got both crock pots a-simmerin' in the morning: carrots with chives in one, Brussels sprouts with capers and seasonings in the other. Ate some of both later and they were yummy.
Got a call from niece Joan. She and Jim will be down for the play and to stay over on Saturday. I invited them for lunch, too
Attended the arts and music festival at the Seaport in the afternoon and enjoyed it. Listened to an artist interpret the works of area painters, then to poetry readings. Jeanne S., who's in Our Town, is a member of the poetry group and read some of her poems. Not bad, especially the one about a drinker. I assume he's her ex-husband. Desi and the H.'s, also in the play, were there. Ray and Barb H. happened to have stopped in to buy tickets for the show, which I was glad to see. Chatted with them for a bit. Nice day.

Got a call from librarian Ellen that the display window was cleared. Took my Our Town info there before lunch and dressed the window. Tara K., who plays Emily, happened to be there with her four-year-old and she helped me move a glass panel. The display looks pretty good, I think; see picture above. Registered four friends and me for the Zelda presentation on April 13. Naturally, we'll do lunch first.
Took Susan and Walter to Outback for dinner. Good thing I made reservations, as the place was packed. S. and W. have had me over so many times, and I haven't reciprocated, so I was glad to treat. Because I don't eat animal flesh at home, the "signature steak" I ordered tasted sublime, although I took most of it home. Had a good Merlot and a cold beer, too.
Got home a little after 8:00 to get a Skype call from son Mike, who had beauteous little Violet on his lap. Vivian was at a sleepover at a friend's house.
WIDER: Well, the peace laureate, not satisfied with the extent of his war activities elsewhere, has asssured us of more death and destruction in Libya. Just a tidbit of his amusing speech on the subject:
"I firmly believe that when innocent people are being brutalized; when someone like Gadhafi threatens a bloodbath that could destabilize an entire region, and when the international community is prepared to come together to save many thousands of lives — then it's in our national interest to act."
I think his speechwriters should get a raise! It's priceless to hear that we're concerned with saving "many thousands of lives," so we're going to--what? Send members of the Peace Corps over? Sit down and negotiate with Libyan leaders? Try in any other peaceful way to end the violence and lend a helping hand to the people?
Nah-h! We'll bomb the hell out of them!
Problem solved.

When I got home from our walk, I laughed to hear a phone message from Betty. She assumed we wouldn't go because of the rain. I called back to say we had umbrellas and completed our usual mile and a half.
Susan mentioned that Walter was happy with Dr. DeMarco in Tuckerton as a dentist, so I went to his office, introduced myself, and picked up paperwork to fill out. His place has the virtue of being only a hop, skip, and a jump from home, as opposed to a three-hour round trip to Dr. Lyons'. Got up to Bordentown in a steady rain for my last visit. When I told her and the staff I had decided to make the switch, they were very understanding. After chatty Meg (the woman never stops talking) cleaned my teeth I got my x-rays and left.
Stopped on the way home at the Columbus Farmers' Market for broccoli, asparagus, and a few other goodies.
Rehearsal last night went well, I thought. Jeanne S., who plays Mrs. Gibbs, looked great in her costume--very authentic. This is our last rehearsal at the community center, thank heavens. It beats cold, moldy "Gifford" (the former municipal building), but it isn't the venue in which we'll perform, and we're all anxious to rehearse there.
Yoicks--we open a week from today! As with any performances, I'm looking forward to it with equal measures of happy anticipation and frozen dread.
Dinner at Outback with Susan and Walter tonight.