Dear Bloggy,
I'm not really putting an entry in here tonight... well, only an itty bitty entry. I have soooooo much to catch up on, it's probably going to take me an hour or more just to remember what all has happened since the last entry, then upload pictures, etc. I have had such a wonderful last week of TUTS, then the closing Saturday night was phenomenal. This past week since closing has been busy, although I've really had to watch myself because the fatigue was starting to hit me. Gee... I made it through the whole TUTS season, but the fatigue held off until after it was over? Pretty darn decent of it, if I do say so myself!! HAHAHAHA!
Anywho... I can feel I'm tiring easily again, so I'm going to have to make sure I don't overdo anything for this next while. This coming Monday is Chemo Session #7, which could have a lot to do with why the chemo fatigue is showing up a lot more often. Not to mention the chemo muscle pain and nerve damage...this could be contributing to the tiring factor ;)
But... tonight is Saturday night and it is going on 11pm. I think I'm going to call it an early evening (grin). I have various computer projects I have got to get completed... such as updating the Metro Theatre website, completing the Metro Community Theatre Newsletter (which I haven't even started yet) and updating this blog. Hahahaha.. we won't even talk about the backlog of email in my inbox... but if you are one of the 400 expecting a reply... it may be a little while yet (chuckle).
Oooh... and if any of you are on Facebook... then do add me as a friend! That darn Facebook is just too addicting!!! :)
Ok, I'll be back tomorrow with updates and pictures.
Ciao!
Cheryl
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Monday, August 13th, 2007 - The Craziness Continues!
Dear Bloggy,
It has been 10 days since I last wrote in here... where does the time go? Ok, I don't think it's the usual summer whizzing by. I think, in my case, I can blame it all on Theatre Under The Stars. My whole life right now revolves around the two shows, Grease and Oklahoma! We are in countdown mode now with this coming Saturday being the big closing of the season... and closing night for Grease. But this past week has seen me spending morning until night at the office and theatre... and I'm not complaining because I'm loving every minute of it. We have an incredible group of volunteers/staff in all departments, and all the department heads are fantastic... all headed up by James Pollard who is the General Manager. You don't get them any better than James! We even have Board Members pitching in and being there every night... which is pretty much unheard of in other theatre groups. Definitely a feel of one big happy family and EVERYONE is putting in long hours to ensure this year's startup season is as successful as it can be! This has always been one of my dreams... to volunteer/work for a theatre group that has this kind of involvement by everyone and not just a couple of hard workers.
So, where did I leave off?? A few of you have written to me and asked how CB, my little cockatiel is doing, after the scare where it was looking like we might have to put her down a couple of weeks ago. But she is a little fighter and is still with us! She has been back and forth to see Dr. MacDonald, who has drained her cyst again and given her oxygen and vitamin shots... and she is doing much better. She still has the cyst, as well as a lot of her other oddity problems, but she is happy, content and in comfort... so onwards we go! She will be going back for another followup appt either this week or next week. I'll probably put it off until next week since this week is pure craziness...even though Mimi would take her if I end up with an appt. this week.
Last week, I did take Tuesday off from the theatre to go visit family friends from waaaaay back when I was growing up. Julia and Doug Keller lived two houses down from us when we were very young (I was 5, Doug would have been 7 and Julia would have been 10)... and we all grew up together. Obviously, as the years went on and we got older, we all went on our ways. I have not seen Julia for possibly 35 years! I have seen Doug because, for the last 18 years we have lived across the street from each other (grin). But Julia, her husband, her daughter and 5 of her grandchildren were vacationing in Pt. Roberts for this last two weeks. And here I am at the theatre for the whole time! So I purposely took Tuesday off and Doug and I went out to join them for the afternoon/evening. What a great time we had! I really had no idea that it was going to be that much fun. I am not used to being around young children for any length of time... nor is Bridget. I figured if Bridget didn't take well to the children, I could always put her in her bed in the car. She is soooo tired from her "Meet and Greet" job at the Box Offie, I knew she would be perfectly happy to just sleep in the car. But, surprise, surprise... she was great with the kids! Even when they all wanted to take turns taking her for a walk in the back yard on her leash.. she put up with it. Then stayed in the bedroom and watched TV with the kids. Here are two pictures of her with the oldest (10 years) in the evening, which I thought was just priceless:
Then last Saturday night was the finale of the Fireworks competition. What a disappointment!! The fireworks were great but none of us could believe that Canada won the competition!! As far as we were concerned, Canada was the lamest of the three countries (Spain, Canada, China). China should have won and we wouldn't have argued if Spain won... but Canada should not even have been in the running in our opinons!
But, we had fun anyways! Last weekend was Pride weekend, so there were parties all over the place on the Saturday, then the Fireworks at night, and the Pride Parade on Sunday which went down the street in front of our building. Since I am having trouble with my feet because of the nerve damage from the chemo, we all watched the Fireworks and then the Parade from the roof of our building (oops, I got too much sun on the Sunday watching the parade... and I know better than to do that while in treatments!). We had a bit of a slumber party where Greg and Jo stayed over at my place, then Robyn and Graie got back from their Alaska cruise Sunday morning so came straight over to my place... just in time for me to make Sunday breakfast. We had croissants, scrambled egg with mushroom, onion and cheese, ham and a variety of sweets. Robyn and Graie also did a Starbucks run, so we had various Starbucks coffee drinks :)
Oh, and Greg, bless his heart, gave both Jo and I a trim and flat-ironed our hair :) Here are a few pictures from that night/day:
Jo and Cheryl... friends forever (both with flat ironed hair) :)
Greg and Jo. We were trying to figure it out and we think the three of us have known each other for about 28 years.
My hair has pretty much grown out from the last colour I had... and is now a colour I never knew I had. Notice a lot of the gray in the mousey whatever colour that is. Chemo drugs do weird things to hair colour!
Slumber party... and Bridget is not going to miss out on a campout.. even if it is just on the floor of her home!
Well, it is getting late and the memory is foggy. Today was a chemo day so it does tend to play tricks with the mind. I know I was going to report lots of catch up news from the past 10 days but do you think I can remember what that news was? Even though my memory doesn't work well with some things, it does seem to be doing ok with my Box Office Manager duties, for the most part. It was hard at first, but I'm not pretty much holding my own (with the help of everyone around me). So I forget what I was going to say about the following pictures, but I may as well share them all with you, and you'll just have to realize there is a story behind them (grin):
We call this the Bonkamayer, named after Dustin Bonkamayer who worked on putting this "gateway to the theatre" together for his Eagle's badge as a scout. This was pretty amazing... a group of Mormons, the Bonkamayers being a family involved, got together to to something for Theatre Under the Stars because they liked the way we support family entertainment... and did they ever do a fabulous job putting this together!
Here's a picture of the Bonkemayer, closer up, after the show had started. The Box Office Dog is still on duty, waiting for Mom to come and cash out ;)
The Bonkamayer view from the back. These two sections are where we sell Starbucks Coffee/Tea/Hot chocolate from one section and Beer/Wine from the other.
Not the best picture of me, but one that shows Bridget loves her pink bed/basket. As long as she has it, she is one happy girl. The basket has seen better days, but there's no way I can replace it!
And this is Bridget after a full day at the theatre! All that fresh air and then all the people stopping to pat and touch her... well, a girl gets tired!
So this is my entry for now. The rest of this week is going to be super busy, what with us selling out houses of 1700+. It means we have to process all these people before the show...and we've been doing it! So chances are the next update to the blog won't be until next Monday.
Keep your fingers crossed that I don't have any rough reactions to the chemo this week. I don't have time to be sick and this weekend will be the big closing night party, so I can't miss that! But I see it is going on 2am now which could explain why I'm starting to feel tired (grin). Since I will be going into the office tomorrow by noon, I better go get some shut eye. My oncologist has filled out the application for me to get one of the Handicapped Parking passes, but I just sent it in today so I won't get it in time to be able to use in the park. So far, I have been lucky to get parking very close to the theatre, but sometimes I have to park in the back lot. This means I have to walk (read hobble) to the office, then someone goes and gets my car at night and brings it around to me (or drives me to my car).
Ciao for now and we'll be back with an entry when I'm at home long enough to do it!
Cheryl
It has been 10 days since I last wrote in here... where does the time go? Ok, I don't think it's the usual summer whizzing by. I think, in my case, I can blame it all on Theatre Under The Stars. My whole life right now revolves around the two shows, Grease and Oklahoma! We are in countdown mode now with this coming Saturday being the big closing of the season... and closing night for Grease. But this past week has seen me spending morning until night at the office and theatre... and I'm not complaining because I'm loving every minute of it. We have an incredible group of volunteers/staff in all departments, and all the department heads are fantastic... all headed up by James Pollard who is the General Manager. You don't get them any better than James! We even have Board Members pitching in and being there every night... which is pretty much unheard of in other theatre groups. Definitely a feel of one big happy family and EVERYONE is putting in long hours to ensure this year's startup season is as successful as it can be! This has always been one of my dreams... to volunteer/work for a theatre group that has this kind of involvement by everyone and not just a couple of hard workers.
So, where did I leave off?? A few of you have written to me and asked how CB, my little cockatiel is doing, after the scare where it was looking like we might have to put her down a couple of weeks ago. But she is a little fighter and is still with us! She has been back and forth to see Dr. MacDonald, who has drained her cyst again and given her oxygen and vitamin shots... and she is doing much better. She still has the cyst, as well as a lot of her other oddity problems, but she is happy, content and in comfort... so onwards we go! She will be going back for another followup appt either this week or next week. I'll probably put it off until next week since this week is pure craziness...even though Mimi would take her if I end up with an appt. this week.
Last week, I did take Tuesday off from the theatre to go visit family friends from waaaaay back when I was growing up. Julia and Doug Keller lived two houses down from us when we were very young (I was 5, Doug would have been 7 and Julia would have been 10)... and we all grew up together. Obviously, as the years went on and we got older, we all went on our ways. I have not seen Julia for possibly 35 years! I have seen Doug because, for the last 18 years we have lived across the street from each other (grin). But Julia, her husband, her daughter and 5 of her grandchildren were vacationing in Pt. Roberts for this last two weeks. And here I am at the theatre for the whole time! So I purposely took Tuesday off and Doug and I went out to join them for the afternoon/evening. What a great time we had! I really had no idea that it was going to be that much fun. I am not used to being around young children for any length of time... nor is Bridget. I figured if Bridget didn't take well to the children, I could always put her in her bed in the car. She is soooo tired from her "Meet and Greet" job at the Box Offie, I knew she would be perfectly happy to just sleep in the car. But, surprise, surprise... she was great with the kids! Even when they all wanted to take turns taking her for a walk in the back yard on her leash.. she put up with it. Then stayed in the bedroom and watched TV with the kids. Here are two pictures of her with the oldest (10 years) in the evening, which I thought was just priceless:
Then last Saturday night was the finale of the Fireworks competition. What a disappointment!! The fireworks were great but none of us could believe that Canada won the competition!! As far as we were concerned, Canada was the lamest of the three countries (Spain, Canada, China). China should have won and we wouldn't have argued if Spain won... but Canada should not even have been in the running in our opinons!
But, we had fun anyways! Last weekend was Pride weekend, so there were parties all over the place on the Saturday, then the Fireworks at night, and the Pride Parade on Sunday which went down the street in front of our building. Since I am having trouble with my feet because of the nerve damage from the chemo, we all watched the Fireworks and then the Parade from the roof of our building (oops, I got too much sun on the Sunday watching the parade... and I know better than to do that while in treatments!). We had a bit of a slumber party where Greg and Jo stayed over at my place, then Robyn and Graie got back from their Alaska cruise Sunday morning so came straight over to my place... just in time for me to make Sunday breakfast. We had croissants, scrambled egg with mushroom, onion and cheese, ham and a variety of sweets. Robyn and Graie also did a Starbucks run, so we had various Starbucks coffee drinks :)
Oh, and Greg, bless his heart, gave both Jo and I a trim and flat-ironed our hair :) Here are a few pictures from that night/day:
Jo and Cheryl... friends forever (both with flat ironed hair) :)
Greg and Jo. We were trying to figure it out and we think the three of us have known each other for about 28 years.
My hair has pretty much grown out from the last colour I had... and is now a colour I never knew I had. Notice a lot of the gray in the mousey whatever colour that is. Chemo drugs do weird things to hair colour!
Slumber party... and Bridget is not going to miss out on a campout.. even if it is just on the floor of her home!Well, it is getting late and the memory is foggy. Today was a chemo day so it does tend to play tricks with the mind. I know I was going to report lots of catch up news from the past 10 days but do you think I can remember what that news was? Even though my memory doesn't work well with some things, it does seem to be doing ok with my Box Office Manager duties, for the most part. It was hard at first, but I'm not pretty much holding my own (with the help of everyone around me). So I forget what I was going to say about the following pictures, but I may as well share them all with you, and you'll just have to realize there is a story behind them (grin):
We call this the Bonkamayer, named after Dustin Bonkamayer who worked on putting this "gateway to the theatre" together for his Eagle's badge as a scout. This was pretty amazing... a group of Mormons, the Bonkamayers being a family involved, got together to to something for Theatre Under the Stars because they liked the way we support family entertainment... and did they ever do a fabulous job putting this together!
Here's a picture of the Bonkemayer, closer up, after the show had started. The Box Office Dog is still on duty, waiting for Mom to come and cash out ;)
The Bonkamayer view from the back. These two sections are where we sell Starbucks Coffee/Tea/Hot chocolate from one section and Beer/Wine from the other.
Not the best picture of me, but one that shows Bridget loves her pink bed/basket. As long as she has it, she is one happy girl. The basket has seen better days, but there's no way I can replace it!
And this is Bridget after a full day at the theatre! All that fresh air and then all the people stopping to pat and touch her... well, a girl gets tired!So this is my entry for now. The rest of this week is going to be super busy, what with us selling out houses of 1700+. It means we have to process all these people before the show...and we've been doing it! So chances are the next update to the blog won't be until next Monday.
Keep your fingers crossed that I don't have any rough reactions to the chemo this week. I don't have time to be sick and this weekend will be the big closing night party, so I can't miss that! But I see it is going on 2am now which could explain why I'm starting to feel tired (grin). Since I will be going into the office tomorrow by noon, I better go get some shut eye. My oncologist has filled out the application for me to get one of the Handicapped Parking passes, but I just sent it in today so I won't get it in time to be able to use in the park. So far, I have been lucky to get parking very close to the theatre, but sometimes I have to park in the back lot. This means I have to walk (read hobble) to the office, then someone goes and gets my car at night and brings it around to me (or drives me to my car).
Ciao for now and we'll be back with an entry when I'm at home long enough to do it!
Cheryl
Friday, August 3, 2007
Friday, Aug 3, 2007 - Summer Fun!
Hello all you Bloggy readers!
I've gotten a few notes from some of you this week wondering how things are going since I haven't been able to get back to the Blog, even though I did say I would try to write more often. I swear, once summer is over, I may have more time to keep it up to date, especially when the weather turns cooler. Until then, it's going to be a real patchwork style of writing ;)
Hmmm... I'm not even sure where to start since last week. I probably need more than one entry to catch up. But, I will try and just hit the highlights and throw in some pictures along the way.
This week was a Chemo week. Rats! The last chemo session went really well and, other than my chemo feet, I didn't seem to have any side affects that were worth complaining about. Blood work was good before the session and then after I had the session, I was able to keep doing my Theatre volunteering and seemed to have no problem with energy levels or with the high sensitivity to cold. I figured that's because we are now into summer weather so there's no cold to be sensitive to... wrong!! :)
This week, after my 4 hours in the chemo chair, I decided to stop off at Safeway on the way home to pick up a few groceries. Ha! I went into the store and within minutes my whole body (feet, legs, back, arms and face) went into pins and needles mode... the reaction I get to cold. The cold being the air conditioning in the store. So, I didn't get to do much in the way of shopping.. I had to get out of there pretty quickly. It is darn uncomfortable to have your whole body being attacked by pins and needles!
I had parked across the street so when I got outside, the warmth of the sun greeted me. Yayaya! Only problem, my body thermometer now thought I was baking... so I broke into a streaming, dripping sweat. I still had the pins and needles from the cold and now the sweating from the heat. Luckily the car was literally across the street. With my chemo feet and now the cold/hot reactions, there's no way I could have walked the 1 1/2 blocks home. When I got home, I closed the drapes/curtains to keep the direct sunlight out and turned on the fans so there was air circulating. Bridget and I ended up lying down for a 3 hour nap. So, it just goes to show... I do have to still be careful after a chemo session regarding reactions.
Last night (Thurs), we had a sold out house of the performance "Grease". This is great for the theatre, but talk about a work out in the box office! We processed 1685 tickets last night! Yikes!! But what totally amazes me is how some of the public has the worst attitudes and do not stop to think. One gal had bought 2 tickets with reserved seats for her and her daughter because it was her daughter's birthday. After the fact, she decided to order a third ticket for her fiance. The only problem being, she couldn't get a reserved seat for him because by the time she ordered this third ticket (a few days later), there were no more reserved seats to be had... only festival seating. She bought one anyways. Then, when they get to theatre, both he and she throw a complete fit because the three of them aren't sitting together. She went on and on about how it was her daughter's birthday and how could we NOT sit them together? I explained (what she already knew) is that she bought 2 reserved tickets and 1 general admission ticket, so what made her think that the three would be together? If you buy for a sports event in two different sales transactions the chances of you getting all seats together are remote... if you buy 2 different categories of tickets, it's a guarantee you won't be sitting together. I can't believe these two so called adults would behave in such a childish, immature manner, but, you see this all the time when dealing with the public. And somehow it's all our fault that they bought their tickets this way.
Anywho, after last night, my eagle-eye friends who are also working the theatre noticed that I looked exhausted and the heat/humidity was getting to me (I was very flushed and sweaty). Considering before all these treatments I was a sun goddess and the heat never bothered me, this was obviously part and parcel of my ongoing treatments. So, I wasn't allowed to do any after show prep work for today. I was to pack up the dog and head home. Hahaha... and no room for argument... Jo, Jill and James insisted I go home and weren't budging until I did. That is one of the nice things about working with friends... even when I think I may be doing ok, they will be the first to notice if I don't look up to scruff and they put their feet down and send me on my way. Not only that, I'm taking this afternoon off to rest.
But, the week hasn't been all that bad. Busy, but not bad. This is also the week of the fireworks... our annual Celebration of Light competition. The countries involved this year are Spain, Canada and China. We have seen all three of their performances and without a doubt, China was superb! These are the fireworks that are at English Bay and just happen to be across the street from where I live. It turns into quite the festive circus around here with up to 150,000 people out on the streets/beach watching every night. Here are some pictures... a couple from web cams in the neighbourhood and a couple that I took:
They are very pretty and at times quite exciting, but I have to admit, I sure am glad that I live here and don't have to drive or travel to get here to see them! They close the roads to vehicle traffic at 7pm, so even if you are a resident, it's impossible to get back into the area. Residents are allowed back in but the traffic outside the area becomes a gridlock, so getting near the residents' entry points is crazy! That is why, every year on fireworks nights, I park my car at home in the morning and it doesn't move all day. Well, I used to do that, then I'd walk to work or wherever I was going. Now, with my chemo feet, I use the car in the morning to do any errands or picking up anything, then it gets parked in the afternoon and I don't leave the building other than to take Bridget out.
Speaking of Bridget... she is so used to being Box Office dog again that she surprises everyone with how well behaved she can be when we are all going crazy with getting the audience in. Thank goodness she is otherwise, I would have to keep her up at the pavilion where our office is and not have her down on the site with me when we are working with the audience. Here she is just after we got the show in last night. Jo was working with me on the Will Call counter and Greg/Emily were working the door sales. Bridget works whatever counter I'm working... and as you can see, she is such a hyper worker (grin)...
Oh, and I don't think I showed this one in an earlier entry. She was soooo tired when we got back to the office at the Pavilion one night, somehow she managed to get herself caught in some toilet paper and didn't even notice as she went to bed...
And then, this just cracked me up. We had just got the audience into last night's show and the performance had just begun. Because it was such a full house, the Beer/Wine bar had already sold out of their supply of wine/beer BEFORE the show, so it meant stocking up for intermission (again). This meant hauling down wine and beer from our dry storage at the pavilion. So here is Naveen using a wheelbarrow to bring loads of the stuff down. Naveen is the theatre's Treasurer and a very, very funny guy... constantly cracking me up! But here he is being a beer hauler with a wheelbarrow (grin).
Now, I know there's lots more that I've forgotten to write down and chances are there are a ton more pictures I've meant to post. But this entry is definitely long enough. Tomorrow, Greg will be coming over to cut Nathan and my hair, then Jo will join us. We will have a small group of folk tomorrow night to watch the Fireworks, then Jo, Greg and I will have a slumber party at my place. Only to get up in the morning to have breakfast, then watch the Pride parade. This is always a busy long weekend what with the finale of the Fireworks and then it's Pride weekend. Unfortunately, this year I won't be able to participate in all the festivities because I can't walk on my chemo feet... but that's ok. We can do the fireworks from up on our roof and then will take chairs down to the road to watch the parade.
Sooooo.. ta ta for now! More bloggy news later!
Cheryl
I've gotten a few notes from some of you this week wondering how things are going since I haven't been able to get back to the Blog, even though I did say I would try to write more often. I swear, once summer is over, I may have more time to keep it up to date, especially when the weather turns cooler. Until then, it's going to be a real patchwork style of writing ;)
Hmmm... I'm not even sure where to start since last week. I probably need more than one entry to catch up. But, I will try and just hit the highlights and throw in some pictures along the way.
This week was a Chemo week. Rats! The last chemo session went really well and, other than my chemo feet, I didn't seem to have any side affects that were worth complaining about. Blood work was good before the session and then after I had the session, I was able to keep doing my Theatre volunteering and seemed to have no problem with energy levels or with the high sensitivity to cold. I figured that's because we are now into summer weather so there's no cold to be sensitive to... wrong!! :)
This week, after my 4 hours in the chemo chair, I decided to stop off at Safeway on the way home to pick up a few groceries. Ha! I went into the store and within minutes my whole body (feet, legs, back, arms and face) went into pins and needles mode... the reaction I get to cold. The cold being the air conditioning in the store. So, I didn't get to do much in the way of shopping.. I had to get out of there pretty quickly. It is darn uncomfortable to have your whole body being attacked by pins and needles!
I had parked across the street so when I got outside, the warmth of the sun greeted me. Yayaya! Only problem, my body thermometer now thought I was baking... so I broke into a streaming, dripping sweat. I still had the pins and needles from the cold and now the sweating from the heat. Luckily the car was literally across the street. With my chemo feet and now the cold/hot reactions, there's no way I could have walked the 1 1/2 blocks home. When I got home, I closed the drapes/curtains to keep the direct sunlight out and turned on the fans so there was air circulating. Bridget and I ended up lying down for a 3 hour nap. So, it just goes to show... I do have to still be careful after a chemo session regarding reactions.
Last night (Thurs), we had a sold out house of the performance "Grease". This is great for the theatre, but talk about a work out in the box office! We processed 1685 tickets last night! Yikes!! But what totally amazes me is how some of the public has the worst attitudes and do not stop to think. One gal had bought 2 tickets with reserved seats for her and her daughter because it was her daughter's birthday. After the fact, she decided to order a third ticket for her fiance. The only problem being, she couldn't get a reserved seat for him because by the time she ordered this third ticket (a few days later), there were no more reserved seats to be had... only festival seating. She bought one anyways. Then, when they get to theatre, both he and she throw a complete fit because the three of them aren't sitting together. She went on and on about how it was her daughter's birthday and how could we NOT sit them together? I explained (what she already knew) is that she bought 2 reserved tickets and 1 general admission ticket, so what made her think that the three would be together? If you buy for a sports event in two different sales transactions the chances of you getting all seats together are remote... if you buy 2 different categories of tickets, it's a guarantee you won't be sitting together. I can't believe these two so called adults would behave in such a childish, immature manner, but, you see this all the time when dealing with the public. And somehow it's all our fault that they bought their tickets this way.
Anywho, after last night, my eagle-eye friends who are also working the theatre noticed that I looked exhausted and the heat/humidity was getting to me (I was very flushed and sweaty). Considering before all these treatments I was a sun goddess and the heat never bothered me, this was obviously part and parcel of my ongoing treatments. So, I wasn't allowed to do any after show prep work for today. I was to pack up the dog and head home. Hahaha... and no room for argument... Jo, Jill and James insisted I go home and weren't budging until I did. That is one of the nice things about working with friends... even when I think I may be doing ok, they will be the first to notice if I don't look up to scruff and they put their feet down and send me on my way. Not only that, I'm taking this afternoon off to rest.
But, the week hasn't been all that bad. Busy, but not bad. This is also the week of the fireworks... our annual Celebration of Light competition. The countries involved this year are Spain, Canada and China. We have seen all three of their performances and without a doubt, China was superb! These are the fireworks that are at English Bay and just happen to be across the street from where I live. It turns into quite the festive circus around here with up to 150,000 people out on the streets/beach watching every night. Here are some pictures... a couple from web cams in the neighbourhood and a couple that I took:
They are very pretty and at times quite exciting, but I have to admit, I sure am glad that I live here and don't have to drive or travel to get here to see them! They close the roads to vehicle traffic at 7pm, so even if you are a resident, it's impossible to get back into the area. Residents are allowed back in but the traffic outside the area becomes a gridlock, so getting near the residents' entry points is crazy! That is why, every year on fireworks nights, I park my car at home in the morning and it doesn't move all day. Well, I used to do that, then I'd walk to work or wherever I was going. Now, with my chemo feet, I use the car in the morning to do any errands or picking up anything, then it gets parked in the afternoon and I don't leave the building other than to take Bridget out.
Speaking of Bridget... she is so used to being Box Office dog again that she surprises everyone with how well behaved she can be when we are all going crazy with getting the audience in. Thank goodness she is otherwise, I would have to keep her up at the pavilion where our office is and not have her down on the site with me when we are working with the audience. Here she is just after we got the show in last night. Jo was working with me on the Will Call counter and Greg/Emily were working the door sales. Bridget works whatever counter I'm working... and as you can see, she is such a hyper worker (grin)...
Oh, and I don't think I showed this one in an earlier entry. She was soooo tired when we got back to the office at the Pavilion one night, somehow she managed to get herself caught in some toilet paper and didn't even notice as she went to bed...
And then, this just cracked me up. We had just got the audience into last night's show and the performance had just begun. Because it was such a full house, the Beer/Wine bar had already sold out of their supply of wine/beer BEFORE the show, so it meant stocking up for intermission (again). This meant hauling down wine and beer from our dry storage at the pavilion. So here is Naveen using a wheelbarrow to bring loads of the stuff down. Naveen is the theatre's Treasurer and a very, very funny guy... constantly cracking me up! But here he is being a beer hauler with a wheelbarrow (grin).
Now, I know there's lots more that I've forgotten to write down and chances are there are a ton more pictures I've meant to post. But this entry is definitely long enough. Tomorrow, Greg will be coming over to cut Nathan and my hair, then Jo will join us. We will have a small group of folk tomorrow night to watch the Fireworks, then Jo, Greg and I will have a slumber party at my place. Only to get up in the morning to have breakfast, then watch the Pride parade. This is always a busy long weekend what with the finale of the Fireworks and then it's Pride weekend. Unfortunately, this year I won't be able to participate in all the festivities because I can't walk on my chemo feet... but that's ok. We can do the fireworks from up on our roof and then will take chairs down to the road to watch the parade.
Sooooo.. ta ta for now! More bloggy news later!
Cheryl
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007 -- Long, Long overdue!
Hello Bloggy!
Ok, ok... don't anyone say a word! Yes, I KNOW Bloggy is very much out of date! I didn't even look at the last entry because I know it was a long time ago. Back when it was sunny and we were getting ready to open the 2007 Theatre Under The Stars season. Well, we are now open... we've been running for just over a week now... and already (grrrrrrr) we have had to cancel two shows due to heavy rain. Actually 3 shows were officially called, but last night, the cast of Oklahoma! decided they wanted to perform for the 200 or so hearty souls that came out in the monsoons to watch the show. It's very disappointing to both casts when a performance has to be cancelled... not to mention to the audience who have tickets and the tourists who are only in town for a short time. Oh sure, we honour all rained out tickets and they can come to any other performance during the run, but it still is disappointing... and yes, costs lost revenue!!
Anywho... I have been thrilled to be involved with the gang this year. For a couple of reasons. The first being that I love musical comedy and always miss it when I'm not involved. The second, the fact I get to spend this time with some very dear friends who I have known in our theatre circles going back 30 years... that's pretty special to still be together this many years later. Also, considering I am still going through my chemo treatments, although I have to do a balancing act so I don't overtire myself, it is a great support system. The whole gang down there act like mother hens (grin), so IF I am doing a little more than maybe I should, it doesn't take long for someone to jump on top of things and get me to stop :)
Soooo... I am happy to be occupied this summer with two musical productions, which both happen to be a lot of fun and of a good standard.
I also have started up my two aggressive chemo treatments again. This first session was this past Monday. I'm actually very pleased with myself... it has gone pretty darn good! Mild nausea, but nothing that the anti-nausea meds couldn't take care of. Yes, I have been tired, but not super fatigued, so is the tired from the chemo or just because I'm stimulating my chemo brain with box office procedures?
The only major complaint I have right now are my chemo feet :/ OWWWWWWW!!! The pain is kind of hard to describe. It's all internal and feels like one is walking on a dozen or more tacks in each heel. It may start off ok, but then within a block or so, the pain sets in... and the walking turns into a shuffle... then a slow shuffle... meanwhile the feet are in pain the whole time. Gone are the days where Bridget and I could just go walking. Heck, that was going to be one of our plans to walk from our place to the theatre in the park, which is about a 1 1/2 mile walk from door to door. Not a chance I can do that now. It is quite the challenge just to get Bridget out and around one block in the mornings. Another bonus of being down at the Park during the day/evening... there are plenty of the gang who are thrilled to take Bridget for a walkie in the park.
Sooooo... the chemo feet are probably going to take some time to heal (and heal they better!!). It could be a matter of starting to heal after we stop the chemo, or it may be a gradual return to painfree feet over the course of a year or so :/
Speaking of chemo... the plan after the radiation sessions was to have a 3 week break and then we'd do 4 chemo sessions (consisting of 4 hours of the one aggressive chemo and 46 hours of the second aggressive one), then repeat every two weeks. This would take me until the middle of September. Dr. Gill (oncologist) and I had an appt. a week ago and she said that she would like me to do 6 more sessions if my system and blood cells could handle it. She said that if we did the two extra sessions, it would be beneficial to me. Hey? Who am I to argue?? The whole purpose of this aggressive treatment is so I survive this whole ordeal! Survival is definitely important in my books :)
My blood work that was done before Monday's chemo was excellent! She was super impressed and pleased with how healthy my bone marrow is and how quickly it is replenishing the blood cells that the chemo kills off. It's almost replenishing them at the same rate of speed :) So, this is a good thing... as long as that blood work remains good, then we can continue on with the treatments plus the extra treatments :)
Now, some not so happy news :( My dear little bird, C.B. is not doing well. I noticed yesterday that she seemed to be breathing heavy. I thought it might be because it is very humid these days, what with the mild temperatures and all the rain we've been getting. She is a special needs bird, after all. But then, one shouldn't really see a bird breathing, it shouldn't be laboured. So, I made an appt. for her to see the Bird Doc, Dr. MacDonald this afternoon. Mimi took her in since I had to be at the theatre to get tickets ready for the show tonight.
Not good news. CB's abdomen appears to be full of fluid and an ultrasound showed that it could be a cyst of some sort. Not sure if it is benign or not. So, I talked to the Dr. on the phone and asked what we could do, if anything. She doesn't think it looks too good since CB does have her share of health issues. Dr. M. was going to drain the fluid out and see if that will make her more comfortable and give her a better quality of life. If that doesn't work, we may be looking at putting CB down. Mimi is very upset and I'm just taking it as it comes. My main concern is that she does NOT suffer. She has so much character and has always been a little fighter. She has come through a lot in her 18 years. If she still has fight left in her, then I'll do whatever it takes to make her comfortable through her fight... but if it means she will spend the rest of her little life suffering, then I'll have to make the decision us pet owners hate to make. I'll know more in the morning when I call the birdy hospital.
Sooooo...that's it for now! I WILL try to update a little more often and hopefully get some more pictures going. But it's kind of a crazy, insane time these days! I don't have my datebook handy but I know I have also scheduled "rest days" (grin) and maybe I can catch up on a rest day :)
Ciao for now!
Cheryl
Ok, ok... don't anyone say a word! Yes, I KNOW Bloggy is very much out of date! I didn't even look at the last entry because I know it was a long time ago. Back when it was sunny and we were getting ready to open the 2007 Theatre Under The Stars season. Well, we are now open... we've been running for just over a week now... and already (grrrrrrr) we have had to cancel two shows due to heavy rain. Actually 3 shows were officially called, but last night, the cast of Oklahoma! decided they wanted to perform for the 200 or so hearty souls that came out in the monsoons to watch the show. It's very disappointing to both casts when a performance has to be cancelled... not to mention to the audience who have tickets and the tourists who are only in town for a short time. Oh sure, we honour all rained out tickets and they can come to any other performance during the run, but it still is disappointing... and yes, costs lost revenue!!
Anywho... I have been thrilled to be involved with the gang this year. For a couple of reasons. The first being that I love musical comedy and always miss it when I'm not involved. The second, the fact I get to spend this time with some very dear friends who I have known in our theatre circles going back 30 years... that's pretty special to still be together this many years later. Also, considering I am still going through my chemo treatments, although I have to do a balancing act so I don't overtire myself, it is a great support system. The whole gang down there act like mother hens (grin), so IF I am doing a little more than maybe I should, it doesn't take long for someone to jump on top of things and get me to stop :)
Soooo... I am happy to be occupied this summer with two musical productions, which both happen to be a lot of fun and of a good standard.
I also have started up my two aggressive chemo treatments again. This first session was this past Monday. I'm actually very pleased with myself... it has gone pretty darn good! Mild nausea, but nothing that the anti-nausea meds couldn't take care of. Yes, I have been tired, but not super fatigued, so is the tired from the chemo or just because I'm stimulating my chemo brain with box office procedures?
The only major complaint I have right now are my chemo feet :/ OWWWWWWW!!! The pain is kind of hard to describe. It's all internal and feels like one is walking on a dozen or more tacks in each heel. It may start off ok, but then within a block or so, the pain sets in... and the walking turns into a shuffle... then a slow shuffle... meanwhile the feet are in pain the whole time. Gone are the days where Bridget and I could just go walking. Heck, that was going to be one of our plans to walk from our place to the theatre in the park, which is about a 1 1/2 mile walk from door to door. Not a chance I can do that now. It is quite the challenge just to get Bridget out and around one block in the mornings. Another bonus of being down at the Park during the day/evening... there are plenty of the gang who are thrilled to take Bridget for a walkie in the park.
Sooooo... the chemo feet are probably going to take some time to heal (and heal they better!!). It could be a matter of starting to heal after we stop the chemo, or it may be a gradual return to painfree feet over the course of a year or so :/
Speaking of chemo... the plan after the radiation sessions was to have a 3 week break and then we'd do 4 chemo sessions (consisting of 4 hours of the one aggressive chemo and 46 hours of the second aggressive one), then repeat every two weeks. This would take me until the middle of September. Dr. Gill (oncologist) and I had an appt. a week ago and she said that she would like me to do 6 more sessions if my system and blood cells could handle it. She said that if we did the two extra sessions, it would be beneficial to me. Hey? Who am I to argue?? The whole purpose of this aggressive treatment is so I survive this whole ordeal! Survival is definitely important in my books :)
My blood work that was done before Monday's chemo was excellent! She was super impressed and pleased with how healthy my bone marrow is and how quickly it is replenishing the blood cells that the chemo kills off. It's almost replenishing them at the same rate of speed :) So, this is a good thing... as long as that blood work remains good, then we can continue on with the treatments plus the extra treatments :)
Now, some not so happy news :( My dear little bird, C.B. is not doing well. I noticed yesterday that she seemed to be breathing heavy. I thought it might be because it is very humid these days, what with the mild temperatures and all the rain we've been getting. She is a special needs bird, after all. But then, one shouldn't really see a bird breathing, it shouldn't be laboured. So, I made an appt. for her to see the Bird Doc, Dr. MacDonald this afternoon. Mimi took her in since I had to be at the theatre to get tickets ready for the show tonight.
Not good news. CB's abdomen appears to be full of fluid and an ultrasound showed that it could be a cyst of some sort. Not sure if it is benign or not. So, I talked to the Dr. on the phone and asked what we could do, if anything. She doesn't think it looks too good since CB does have her share of health issues. Dr. M. was going to drain the fluid out and see if that will make her more comfortable and give her a better quality of life. If that doesn't work, we may be looking at putting CB down. Mimi is very upset and I'm just taking it as it comes. My main concern is that she does NOT suffer. She has so much character and has always been a little fighter. She has come through a lot in her 18 years. If she still has fight left in her, then I'll do whatever it takes to make her comfortable through her fight... but if it means she will spend the rest of her little life suffering, then I'll have to make the decision us pet owners hate to make. I'll know more in the morning when I call the birdy hospital.
Sooooo...that's it for now! I WILL try to update a little more often and hopefully get some more pictures going. But it's kind of a crazy, insane time these days! I don't have my datebook handy but I know I have also scheduled "rest days" (grin) and maybe I can catch up on a rest day :)
Ciao for now!
Cheryl
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Saturday, July 7th, 2007 - At the theatre
Dear Bloggy,
Well, there's not a lot of variety in news to report. For the most part, I've spent my time down at the park, working in the office as we gear up for the opening of Grease and Oklahoma. This is the week before opening and everything is happening at once. Very chaotic... but at the same time, it is probably one of the most calmest "Tech Weeks" I've every experienced... and this is with putting up TWO shows, not just one!
Since it is 11pm and I'm a little tired, I think I'll just put up a bunch of pictures which will sort of explain my week... and you can see for yourselves how gorgeous Vancouver is when the weather co-operates :)
This was an exciting point this week... the breaking of ground where they are building our new Gateway structure. This structure will hold the outdoor box office, the outdoor coffee bar and the outdoor Beer/Wine bar as patrons arrive to the theatre.
The start of building our Gateway. Here is James Cronk (in tie), the theatre's new President and James Pollard, the General Manager.
This picture cracks me up! Here we all are in the office working on our own depts... and everyone has their own laptop and are lost in their own little world (grin)
And here we have another supervisor... surveying her domain!
"Ok, when does this show start?? I'm getting impatient!!"
"Hey, Mom... this ride is pretty lame. It's ok, but it's no roller coaster!"
By the end of the day, they now have the structured beams up... we still need the roof and the flooring.. and then the drop down fabric for the temporary walls. The structure will come down after the season is over in August... and put back up again next year.
This kid is amazing!! He's a boy scout who is working on his "Eagle Badge" (?). He's the one who has headed up getting the gateway built. He met with engineers, electricians, carpenters, etc. and basically has been the Project Manager. He has gotten some help from our techies, but this has been his project to work on to get his badge.
Bridget and I take breaks from being in the office and we go for little walks (ok, in my case, little hobbles since feet and legs are now weak points for me). Here is one of the trails we went on to check out the rose gardens.
Back to the theatre to check how the move-in is coming along. In this picture, they had just moved all the set pieces for Oklahoma in.
Bridget was also interested in what was going on on the stage, although, in all honesty she was more interested in the people that were around. She loves to run up and yodel at anyone who pays attention to her... which is most everyone.
Later at night... here is a rehearsal shot of Oklahoma.
Here's another rehearsal shot of Oklahoma. By this time I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes in the grass. Gotta get some mosquito spray!
Ahhh... yes... so much fresh air, people, chaos, activity... the box office dog has had enough and just curls up in her little pink bed and is oblivious to everyone and everything around her.
Ok... I'm going to stop now. Time for me to head to bed.
Nighty-night all!
Cheryl
Well, there's not a lot of variety in news to report. For the most part, I've spent my time down at the park, working in the office as we gear up for the opening of Grease and Oklahoma. This is the week before opening and everything is happening at once. Very chaotic... but at the same time, it is probably one of the most calmest "Tech Weeks" I've every experienced... and this is with putting up TWO shows, not just one!
Since it is 11pm and I'm a little tired, I think I'll just put up a bunch of pictures which will sort of explain my week... and you can see for yourselves how gorgeous Vancouver is when the weather co-operates :)
This was an exciting point this week... the breaking of ground where they are building our new Gateway structure. This structure will hold the outdoor box office, the outdoor coffee bar and the outdoor Beer/Wine bar as patrons arrive to the theatre.
The start of building our Gateway. Here is James Cronk (in tie), the theatre's new President and James Pollard, the General Manager.
This picture cracks me up! Here we all are in the office working on our own depts... and everyone has their own laptop and are lost in their own little world (grin)
And here we have another supervisor... surveying her domain!
"Ok, when does this show start?? I'm getting impatient!!"
"Hey, Mom... this ride is pretty lame. It's ok, but it's no roller coaster!"
By the end of the day, they now have the structured beams up... we still need the roof and the flooring.. and then the drop down fabric for the temporary walls. The structure will come down after the season is over in August... and put back up again next year.
This kid is amazing!! He's a boy scout who is working on his "Eagle Badge" (?). He's the one who has headed up getting the gateway built. He met with engineers, electricians, carpenters, etc. and basically has been the Project Manager. He has gotten some help from our techies, but this has been his project to work on to get his badge.
Bridget and I take breaks from being in the office and we go for little walks (ok, in my case, little hobbles since feet and legs are now weak points for me). Here is one of the trails we went on to check out the rose gardens.
Back to the theatre to check how the move-in is coming along. In this picture, they had just moved all the set pieces for Oklahoma in.
Bridget was also interested in what was going on on the stage, although, in all honesty she was more interested in the people that were around. She loves to run up and yodel at anyone who pays attention to her... which is most everyone.
Later at night... here is a rehearsal shot of Oklahoma.
Here's another rehearsal shot of Oklahoma. By this time I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes in the grass. Gotta get some mosquito spray!
Ahhh... yes... so much fresh air, people, chaos, activity... the box office dog has had enough and just curls up in her little pink bed and is oblivious to everyone and everything around her.Ok... I'm going to stop now. Time for me to head to bed.
Nighty-night all!
Cheryl
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007 - Happy Canada Day!!
Happy Canada Day, Bloggy!!
Yayayaya... it's a gorgeous sunny day for all the Canada Day festivities around the lower mainland! Finally... we are seeing a touch of summer (grin)! Talk about timing!! Yesterday we had the first annual BBQ/Reunion of old friends at Shel and Jill's house. The first one was last year, same weekend, and we had so much fun that we repeated it again this year! Soooo much fun!! I have come to the conclusion that the most important times and memories in my life are when I share them with my super, wonderful friends. It doesn't get any more special than that... time spent with friends laughing, sharing stories and just soaking up the energy of friendship. Yesterday was no different... I loved every minute of it! And, it's amazing... even though, physically, the body was feeling the impact of standing or even siting for any length of time, the energy in the room more than compensated for it. I could go like this for hours. Ok, so today I'm really feeling it (grin) but it's worth every ache and pain in the muscles/joints.
I am off to another BBQ today... this one is with family out at my brother and his girlfriend's place in Coquitlam. Hehehe.. no, it will NOT be a late night for a second time in a row. Even *I* know that I have my limits (grin).
Now, since I am here (hehehe... have you noticed this is twice in the last couple of days??), I will post pictures from last night. These pictures are just some of the people I consider dear, dear friends from many years in my life!
Jill and Sue show off their muscles (grin). Wow.. how far back does THIS friendship go?? Easily 26-27 years ago!
Inga and her mom, Jan. Inga is stage managing the production of Oklahoma at Theatre Under The Stars this year.
Troy is Inga's husband. We had a lot of fun laughing about this idea of putting together a musical called "Box Office - The Musical", then as the evening wore on, it just became "Wicket" (take off on Wicked and ticket wicket). Guess you had to be there (grin)
Margo, Anne and Greg. Margo played the role of Woodstock when we did a production of Snoopy...hmmm... about 25 years ago? Anne is Margo's mother and Greg is... well, Greg, the Hair Wizard :)
Shel and Margo. Shel is directing the production of Oklahoma at Theatre Under The Stars this year.
Lynda and Nancy. Ok, Lynda, Nancy and I have decided we should put our penny jars together and buy a condo in Whistler so that we can have slumber parties during the Olympics! Fabulous idea, in case anyone wants to contribute to our cause! (Lynda... don't forget, we are doing Starbucks on Thursday!)
Anne and David. David was in Grease back when we did it in 1981. Here we are, 26 years later and another generation is doing it for Theatre Under The Stars this year. What goes around, comes around!
This was one of those funny-you-had-to-be-there moments of the evening. When some of us noticed how little Sue had on her plate, I then went and filled my plate (plate on the right)... and complained about how stuffed I was and how was I going to eat all of this?? (grin)
Cheryl and Naveen. Naveen is the Treasurer of Theatre Under The Stars (gee, do we see a pattern here... it's reunion time and we all are working at TUTS this year for old times sake!) and a very funny man!
Greg, Teddy and Ian. Teddy and Ian are married and although they are not working at TUTS this year with the rest of us, Teddy works for the Arts Club and Ian works at the Shadboldt Centre/Theatre.
Well, I better stop here. I have the concert in tribute to Princess Diana. Great concert... very well done! But I also have to get ready to head out to Coquitlam. Don't think I'm going to have time to go to the park next door for the music in the park with the neighbours. I'm running a little behind right now (grin).
Happy Canada Day, everyone!!
Ciao for now!
Cheryl
Yayayaya... it's a gorgeous sunny day for all the Canada Day festivities around the lower mainland! Finally... we are seeing a touch of summer (grin)! Talk about timing!! Yesterday we had the first annual BBQ/Reunion of old friends at Shel and Jill's house. The first one was last year, same weekend, and we had so much fun that we repeated it again this year! Soooo much fun!! I have come to the conclusion that the most important times and memories in my life are when I share them with my super, wonderful friends. It doesn't get any more special than that... time spent with friends laughing, sharing stories and just soaking up the energy of friendship. Yesterday was no different... I loved every minute of it! And, it's amazing... even though, physically, the body was feeling the impact of standing or even siting for any length of time, the energy in the room more than compensated for it. I could go like this for hours. Ok, so today I'm really feeling it (grin) but it's worth every ache and pain in the muscles/joints.
I am off to another BBQ today... this one is with family out at my brother and his girlfriend's place in Coquitlam. Hehehe.. no, it will NOT be a late night for a second time in a row. Even *I* know that I have my limits (grin).
Now, since I am here (hehehe... have you noticed this is twice in the last couple of days??), I will post pictures from last night. These pictures are just some of the people I consider dear, dear friends from many years in my life!
Jill and Sue show off their muscles (grin). Wow.. how far back does THIS friendship go?? Easily 26-27 years ago!
Inga and her mom, Jan. Inga is stage managing the production of Oklahoma at Theatre Under The Stars this year.
Troy is Inga's husband. We had a lot of fun laughing about this idea of putting together a musical called "Box Office - The Musical", then as the evening wore on, it just became "Wicket" (take off on Wicked and ticket wicket). Guess you had to be there (grin)
Margo, Anne and Greg. Margo played the role of Woodstock when we did a production of Snoopy...hmmm... about 25 years ago? Anne is Margo's mother and Greg is... well, Greg, the Hair Wizard :)
Shel and Margo. Shel is directing the production of Oklahoma at Theatre Under The Stars this year.
Lynda and Nancy. Ok, Lynda, Nancy and I have decided we should put our penny jars together and buy a condo in Whistler so that we can have slumber parties during the Olympics! Fabulous idea, in case anyone wants to contribute to our cause! (Lynda... don't forget, we are doing Starbucks on Thursday!)
Anne and David. David was in Grease back when we did it in 1981. Here we are, 26 years later and another generation is doing it for Theatre Under The Stars this year. What goes around, comes around!
This was one of those funny-you-had-to-be-there moments of the evening. When some of us noticed how little Sue had on her plate, I then went and filled my plate (plate on the right)... and complained about how stuffed I was and how was I going to eat all of this?? (grin)
Cheryl and Naveen. Naveen is the Treasurer of Theatre Under The Stars (gee, do we see a pattern here... it's reunion time and we all are working at TUTS this year for old times sake!) and a very funny man!
Greg, Teddy and Ian. Teddy and Ian are married and although they are not working at TUTS this year with the rest of us, Teddy works for the Arts Club and Ian works at the Shadboldt Centre/Theatre.Well, I better stop here. I have the concert in tribute to Princess Diana. Great concert... very well done! But I also have to get ready to head out to Coquitlam. Don't think I'm going to have time to go to the park next door for the music in the park with the neighbours. I'm running a little behind right now (grin).
Happy Canada Day, everyone!!
Ciao for now!
Cheryl
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Saturday, June 30th, 2007 -- Hello out there!
Hiya Bloggy!
First, I must apologize to all of you who are following this blog! No matter what my intentions for regular updates, it just doesn't seem to happen! And to think the original plan was that I would do daily updates, like a journal! Hahahaha... ok, I guess I need some practice.
Now I'm even late for my weekly update being that I was doing those on Thursdays and here it is Saturday. Who keeps speeding the clock ahead?? :)
Ok... I need an answer t a very serious question. Does anyone know where our summer went??? Tomorrow is July 1st, so why didn't we get a sunny, warm spring this year? Can we really blame this on global warming or is this just unpredictable Vancouver weather?? Since tomorrow is July 1st, it would be really really nice if summer would show up. Especially since we will be opening the Theatre Under The Stars productions of Grease (July 11) and Oklahoma (July 12)... and they will run on alternate nights through until August 18th.
Hahaha... I say "We" will be opening them, but I have to be honest... I am on an "as energy permits" basis (grin). I am back in my familiar surroundings of the box office and what a shock that is! WOW! Things that I used to take for granted, or procedures I could do in my sleep, are all totally new and can actually be a challenge. It doesn't help that the memory isn't reliable and, because of the chemo chemicals, the brain isn't functioning on all cylinders ;) But, what the hey... everyone is being super nice and very accommodating, so I am having the time of my life!
And, it's getting pretty exciting. The techies are busy bringing the Bowl (stage) out of mothballs. Considering last year they had to cancel before even starting, the stage has been exposed to the elements for two years now... lots of cleanup needed!
These two pictures show that activity is now happening! The stage is being worked on, the sets are arriving and will be touched up, curtains/blacks will be hung, the scaffolding is being set up for the lighting and yes, the chairs are all being hauled out of storage :) They will probably set up about 1000 chairs and if it looks like we are getting close to selling out, then they can add another 600 or so.
Bridget has been coming with me when we go to the TUTS office and has settled in like this is old hat to her! It's been some years since she was the box office dog at Metro Theatre and the TUTS office doesn't look anything like the Metro box office... but she fits right in. After greeting whoever is in the office, or any of the techies that come in and out, she curls up in her dog bed which is beside me at the desk and she just goes to sleep for the afternoon. Couldn't care less about all the activity around us :) Hahaha... meanwhile, when we both leave the office and go home, that's when *I* need to curl up and have a big nap...which we usually have to do :) It still amazes me how I will have energy one minute and none the next!
Last week, Bridget went to the clinic to see Joan to get her annual check up. She is now 9 1/2 years old (where DOES the time go??) and she passed all the tests with flying colours. Even her teeth which have always been her weak point in the past, Joan said were looking really good. Joan did notice a little cloudiness in her eyes... I can't believe my baby is getting older!
Today a bunch of friends from the past are getting together for our annual BBQ/Reunion at Shel and Jill's house. I sure hope the weather co-operates... or at least stays dry!! I'll take pictures and put them up on the blog later :) Tomorrow, I have another BBQ to go to, this time at my brother and his girlfriend's. They live in Coquitlam. I have no idea how I'm going to survive two in a row!! :)
Soooo, that's about all I can remember right now, which is pretty darn funny. Earlier in the week I told myself I should put an entry on the blog because I had so much to say... but now... do you think I can remember what that was?? Probably something really good... but, alas, the memory is not co-operating :) If I remember, I'll come back and post it. Hahahaha!
Meanwhile... I think I'll go have a little nap now before I have to get ready and head over to Shel and Jill's :)
Ta ta for now!
Cheryl
First, I must apologize to all of you who are following this blog! No matter what my intentions for regular updates, it just doesn't seem to happen! And to think the original plan was that I would do daily updates, like a journal! Hahahaha... ok, I guess I need some practice.
Now I'm even late for my weekly update being that I was doing those on Thursdays and here it is Saturday. Who keeps speeding the clock ahead?? :)
Ok... I need an answer t a very serious question. Does anyone know where our summer went??? Tomorrow is July 1st, so why didn't we get a sunny, warm spring this year? Can we really blame this on global warming or is this just unpredictable Vancouver weather?? Since tomorrow is July 1st, it would be really really nice if summer would show up. Especially since we will be opening the Theatre Under The Stars productions of Grease (July 11) and Oklahoma (July 12)... and they will run on alternate nights through until August 18th.
Hahaha... I say "We" will be opening them, but I have to be honest... I am on an "as energy permits" basis (grin). I am back in my familiar surroundings of the box office and what a shock that is! WOW! Things that I used to take for granted, or procedures I could do in my sleep, are all totally new and can actually be a challenge. It doesn't help that the memory isn't reliable and, because of the chemo chemicals, the brain isn't functioning on all cylinders ;) But, what the hey... everyone is being super nice and very accommodating, so I am having the time of my life!
And, it's getting pretty exciting. The techies are busy bringing the Bowl (stage) out of mothballs. Considering last year they had to cancel before even starting, the stage has been exposed to the elements for two years now... lots of cleanup needed!
These two pictures show that activity is now happening! The stage is being worked on, the sets are arriving and will be touched up, curtains/blacks will be hung, the scaffolding is being set up for the lighting and yes, the chairs are all being hauled out of storage :) They will probably set up about 1000 chairs and if it looks like we are getting close to selling out, then they can add another 600 or so.Bridget has been coming with me when we go to the TUTS office and has settled in like this is old hat to her! It's been some years since she was the box office dog at Metro Theatre and the TUTS office doesn't look anything like the Metro box office... but she fits right in. After greeting whoever is in the office, or any of the techies that come in and out, she curls up in her dog bed which is beside me at the desk and she just goes to sleep for the afternoon. Couldn't care less about all the activity around us :) Hahaha... meanwhile, when we both leave the office and go home, that's when *I* need to curl up and have a big nap...which we usually have to do :) It still amazes me how I will have energy one minute and none the next!
Last week, Bridget went to the clinic to see Joan to get her annual check up. She is now 9 1/2 years old (where DOES the time go??) and she passed all the tests with flying colours. Even her teeth which have always been her weak point in the past, Joan said were looking really good. Joan did notice a little cloudiness in her eyes... I can't believe my baby is getting older!
Today a bunch of friends from the past are getting together for our annual BBQ/Reunion at Shel and Jill's house. I sure hope the weather co-operates... or at least stays dry!! I'll take pictures and put them up on the blog later :) Tomorrow, I have another BBQ to go to, this time at my brother and his girlfriend's. They live in Coquitlam. I have no idea how I'm going to survive two in a row!! :)
Soooo, that's about all I can remember right now, which is pretty darn funny. Earlier in the week I told myself I should put an entry on the blog because I had so much to say... but now... do you think I can remember what that was?? Probably something really good... but, alas, the memory is not co-operating :) If I remember, I'll come back and post it. Hahahaha!
Meanwhile... I think I'll go have a little nap now before I have to get ready and head over to Shel and Jill's :)
Ta ta for now!
Cheryl
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