I don't believe my vegetables are growing as well as I'd like. They are growing, and setting fruit, but seem too spindly and yellow. A problem I can't do anything about is that it's too shady for most veggies, but I can certainly change the soil nitrogen level and acidity. Stay tuned!

We saw 42nd Street at the Mac-Haydn Theatre on Thursday. It was great!

I've had my nose to the grindstone, and as a result can predict I will be finished with Fall grades well before the deadline. I did take a break Wednesday (to go the A Christmas Carol at Cap Rep), Sunday (to go to church, do laundry, remove homepage hijacker from the laptop, shovel snow -- winter has come early -- had our second storm today. Below zero temps last night), and Monday (for faith formation). 

We made batik (using Elmer's glue) and tie dye Sacred Heart Church logo tee-shirts. We planned to use Koolaid for the dye, but the prototypes we made were a disaster. We had cotton shirts, and Koolaid washes right out of natural fabrics. So we used a non-toxic dye made for kids instead. As preparation, the kids studied the painting "The Sacred Heart" (1954, Roy de Maistre).

It took two classes, and the shirts came out unbelievably good! Chalk it up to divine intervention, lol. Half the kids were absent the night we did the dye part, and Bob wants to tie dye again in January so the kids who were absent last week can make a shirt too. 

We handed the finished shirts out last night, studied "Nativity" by Elena Khmeleva, drew the nativity scene, and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas." Now we're on break until January 6.

This shirt most closely matches my "vision" for this project

We saw Bob's favorite show, Les Mis, at Mac-Haydn Theatre Sunday night. It was great! Best performance I've seen (& of course way better than the movie). Show continues July 31-August 4. Highly recommended!

Today I had my appointment for root canal re-treatment, and as a result of the procedure, learned that I am one of the unlucky 20% -- my tooth can't be saved.  So now an oral surgeon will extract it on August 6. It's basically already gone, since the crown came off during the drilling and the endodontist didn't put it back on. (I didn't ask him for it, but he gave it to me in a little baggie -- a rather macabre souvenir.) It's tooth #3 so it can't be seen, but it will take some time to adjust. Also to once again wrestle with the implant decision. The joys of aging! It feels like such a first world problem to be too upset, though. But still! 2012 has kind of sucked...

Speaking of "sucks," check out this link from MSNBC, written by someone from Forbes. The content of the story is just common sense, but the headline! Is this already Idiocracy or what? I realized I just used that word so who am I to comment -- but then again, I am writing a casual ejournal for my own amusement with a handful of people looking over my shoulder, not something under the MSNBC and Forbes banner. Shortly after noticing that article, Bob was watching a clip from a show called Morning Joe that seems to exist solely to promote Starbucks.  Haley Barbour and Terry McAuliffe were being interviewed by the snarky host, something about an electric car company for which they managed to land support, I think enormous tax breaks or something. I'm not sure, I wasn't listening closely or more precisely, hardly at all. But I couldn't resist joking a la Idiocracy "Two A-sholes are Interviewed about Bullsh-t by a B-tch." I thought Bob would spill his tea cup into the laptop.

In a contrast with today, yesterday I had a really good day. At Golden Harvest I discovered a table of leftover spring plants. They still had some tomatoes, basil, rosemary, zucchini and cucumbers. I couldn't resist -- I got a four pack of both of the latter to put where the seeds didn't germinate. Bob felt I have enough basil (how can that ever be true? But I conceded) and I restrained myself from buying any of the gorgeous begonias and dahlias.The minute we got home, I planted my new friends, and deeply watered everything. Today the cucumbers look OK, but most of the zucchini plants are only iffy.  Fingers crossed that my luck is better with squash than tooth procedures!

The miniature red roses are blooming again. And the tiger lily is nice this year too.

That leaf near his face is catnip!
How crispy the grass is -- no need for weed whacking at present.

I call this plant "Little Shop of Horrors." (I suppose it should be Audrey Two instead, but that would be reification.)  It's not a perfectly apt descriptor though, regardless, since LSH gives me food, not the other way around.

Later: Novocaine wore off...all of the pain with none of the benefit of the procedure. :-(

How sad.

Added: the unsuccessful lobbying effort.

Also: My earlier post. She is as much to blame for this as anyone or anything else.

This is a great idea! A campaign I can really get behind. Go get a sign at MHRHS!

Another positive thing to do: Vote for Pastor Charlie.

What with Ande's death, I have been remiss about posting some things so here goes...

I saw "Curtains," which was put on by Spotlight Players last night. Good show. Another thing I can get behind, community theatre!

I also saw "Chicago" at Mac Haydn theatre recently - wow. I've seen it many times before, and it has been great every time (the movie is also good), but it really stood out as theatre in the round, with few sets.

Then, recently I finished Atwood's "Year of the Flood." As always, great book by a master contemporary writer. Scary too. "Oryx and Crake," sort of its "pre-quel" was better, though.

On Saturday, we went to the Ghent Playhouse and saw Prisoner of Second Avenue. It was fantastic! The '70s economic situation really resonated. And the playhouse itself is such a great re-use of the old town hall.

Don't let the screen door hit you in the a-s. Good riddance. Poor Carleton.

In other news, this is a sad situation. I once worked for someone who had the same sort of attitude. I doubt she would have stolen or misused public resources, but she definitely would have agreed that "arts are different." While I have sympathy for that sentiment, I am a strict objectivist on ethical issues. I've no reason to doubt that the director is a charming, charismatic, dedicated person, but what is especially irritating is that her sense of entitlement has put the Institute at risk - at a time when the state is closing parks, cutting essential services, etc., she made it easier to justify axing NYSTI, and that is despicable. But it doesn't sound like she will take responsibility, which is pathetic.

Last night we went to see Gypsy at Cohoes Music Hall. The theatre was built in 1874, the same year my grandfather was born. The seats are uncomfortable, but they put on very good performances there. I'm not much of a Sondheim fan, but Gypsy was great. As I watched it, I remembered seeing the movie version (with Natalie Wood) when I was a kid. Also interesting, the real-life Baby June died on March 28 at age ~98.

Last night, we went to opening night of the play No Child at Capital Repertory in Albany. It was great! It was provacative, which I expected, but it was also quite funny at times, which I was not expecting. And, since it was opening night, there was fabulous food before the show, as well as champagne and a very tempting table of pastries afterwards. (I had a cannoli.)

On Monday, I went to the oral surgeon. Much better experience than the first place! My extraction is scheduled for 3/9.

Hooray! Good news for horses.

Chicago was awesome! Better than the Proctor's show last year, and I'm sure better than seeing it on Broadway. The theatre was tiny, the acoustics were amazing, and afterwards for $10 we got dessert and a cabaret show, with some of the actors singing favorite songs from other shows.

Hot again today! More than 80 degrees.

I haven't had the time, nor the inclination to write very much here. This week started out with Rudy's birthday; he would have been 12 if he was still here. (sniff) The next day, the 18th, was mine. Tuesday is a teaching day, and after my night class we had an extravagant meal at Marche. Bob got me tickets to see Chicago at the Cohoes Music Hall for tomorrow. It is hot today, more than 80 degrees! The garden is thriving. The computer remains a problem in Samsonville. I have some things fixed, and some things still pending. I am tired of the hassle. Little Ande (spelling it that way, it is Edna backwards) is doing well, though still isolated from the other animals at this point.

What with being back on campus and the hectic weekend, I haven't had a lot of time for posting. On Friday night, we saw the Music Man at the Mac-Haydn theatre in Chatham. It was awesome!! Before the show, we ate dinner at Lippera's Chatham House, and after the show, we had a nightcap at Peint o Gwrw Tafarn, which had live music. On Saturday we went to Samsonville. There was another humid 90 degree day the Thursday before, so the pool has stayed warm. (Two more humid days of near 90 are predicated for Friday and Saturday, so although Bob's plan has been to close the pool on Sunday, if this weather keeps up, he'll wait another week and play it by ear.) We came back on Sunday, and went to a wedding at Birch Hill. The food was great, it is a very nice place for an event. Finally, on Monday I replaced my window box petunias - which had been glorious all summer but were getting pretty ragged - with mums. It looks great!

My classes, especially the evening sections, are very quiet so far this semester. Maybe the cold weather of the Spring semester has an impact? Not sure. Last night, I gave my first ever multiple choice quiz. I decided to add pop quizzes into the class after a handful of excellent students over the past several semesters have suggested that I should do something to "encourage" more students to come to class prepared for the discussions - prepared meaning that they have done the reading. I am not really a fan of this type of assessment, and I don't know how it will work, it is too soon to tell.

I finished Team of Rivals (I was sad to have it done, it was so good), and have started Margaret Atwood's Lady Oracle. So far, Lady Oracle is shaping up to be as good as her other books. On the entertainment agenda, we saw Children of Men over the weekend. It was a good movie, although maybe not as good as the review I'd read suggested. We also got tickets to see Ordeal by Innocence at the NYS Theatre Institute, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Proctor's. The Proctor's show is an Oneonta alumni event, with a mixer before the performance at the Parker Inn. An alumnus is in the cast. During Spring break, we are going to NYC to see Les Mis.

Since it was spared in the Diocese reorganization, the congregation has been inspired to do things to fix it up, and I've been doing some research on the history of the church I go to when I am in Samsonville. It is the one I attended when I was growing up in West Shokan. We lived next door, and now my nephew lives in that house. The original church structure was lost when the Reservoir was built, and there was no Mass in West Shokan for more than 40 years. Once it was re-established, Mass was held over a general store, and then, after a major fundraising effort, a new church was built. Here's what I came up with so far, it is a PDF document with some photos and maps.

On Tuesday, we're going to see The Wedding Singer on Broadway! I can hardly believe it. Adam Sandler movies are a guilty pleasure, and I have probably seen it 100 times. I knew it had been turned into a show, but since it is new, going to see it is not likely until far in the future, if ever. But then Bob's brother invited us! He isn't really into musicals, but he won four tickets in a raffle that was a fundraiser in honor of a 9/11 victim. He knows we love shows, and the movie! I tortured myself for about an hour after the invitation - what to do about my Tuesday classes. Be a martyr and decline the invitation? Try to find someone else to cover (no easy task)? Cancel? I decided on canceling. My students didn't mind a bit (no surprise there). Actually, the day class seemed happy - Monday is a holiday so for those with a light class schedule, this gives them an extra long weekend - but my evening class seemed neither thrilled, nor disturbed. Maybe because I told them about the raffle, and they found the 9/11 connection upsetting. The anniversary has been a topic of discussion in their online board. Anyway, we'll take the train down. Dinner out is included too. Bob bought the CD and we are learning the songs. I'm psyched!

PS The TU is going to print my letter. Not sure when.

Last night we saw Phantom of the Opera at Proctor's. It was great! We'd seen it before, in 1994 on Broadway and it was wonderful (that's a funny memory, maybe there's a story there for another time). The movie from a couple of years ago was an abomination! Ugh! All DVDs of it should be confiscated, and snapped in half. I am happy to have seen it again live, to erase the image of that piece of crap out of my mind.

Tomorrow we are going to see 1776 at the New York State Theatre Institute.

I've figured out the dynamic in my lower division class...it is 57% male! That's rare at this university, and unheard of in the school of education.

All in the Timing (the play we saw on Saturday) was great, I think it was the best we've seen this season at the campus.

On Sunday we went to see The Passion of the Christ. It was a wonderful, powerful movie. Something I liked a lot was that it was subtitled, which was so appropriate. It was not at all anti-Semitic, I believe that controversy was generated by people who did not see the movie, or maybe they are anti-Christian/anti-Catholic, or perhaps just plain ignorant. It brought tears to my eyes twice. There were some very violent scenes, and for that reason I was hesitant to see it, but I just averted my eyes a few times. It was not gratuitous violence. My sister remarked that it made her want to read the Bible, something she had not done in quite a while, and it had that impact on me, too. Some have asked, for a non-Christian is it worthwhile to see? I am not sure; I think it may be of interest to someone who is of a different religion, but I am not sure whether atheists would appreciate it. I know some reviewers have praised it on technical grounds, but as it is very much a spiritual experience I am not sure whether it would be appealing to non-believers. Something to think about.