March 2007

Miracles happen. We got tickets to The Police - in the section closest to the stage on the side, Row 2. We are BESIDE ourselves - particularly since we had the chance to see Van Morrison but Mike was deep in tech. rehearsal and it just couldn't happen.




Times flies, as does the snow. Right now, Mike is at the University where he's taking in "The Shunning," the show he's been directing, which just opened last night. The first theatre we (as a group) established in K-W staged this play back in 1992; it featured Scott Holt & Helen Butlin (Battler). Watching it last night took me way back, although this is a very different production. Several friends came and all said that it was an incredibly powerful experience.

Meanwhile, decisions continue to be made; I was accepted into the MACT program at the U of a (Masters in Communication & Technology), and - given the fact that one grad student in the house at this point is enough - decided to defer my acceptance for one year. If I pursue this, it will begin in May of 2008, and aside from 3 weeks classroom time for 2 consecutive years, the program is completed online - and it's a lot of work. Our house, we discovered, was built in 1899 and is likely eligible to be registered as a Heritage Property at the municipal level, and possibly at the provincial level as well. We're still trying to figure out what this means....

We've spent some time "in the country" - checking on my cousin's menagerie (that's Jesse & Natalie with one of the felines, above) and having a winter picnic at the farm with mom & dad. Hope to be there more often after this weekend, as Mike's directing madness will grind to a halt. We plan on being in Ontario for Lost&Found's premiere of "Falling: A Wake" by Gary Kirkham. We found a great place to get produce that's cheaper than anything else we've seen called The Good Earth. And we just had to have an Oscar party, which turned out to be a scream with lots of great food and wine and hysteria. The apparel our friends wore ran the gamut.



My work at the U of A, in Development, is accelerating, albeit slowly - we did manage to get around 30 development people onto a chartered bus and attend an alumni event in Calgary, at the Hyatt, that the president hosted. Quite the place - worth a trip to see the art alone - and quite the event!

We'll keep you posted on our goings-on - hopefully in a more timely fashion!

We've had another bout of -40º weather; tomorrow is supposed to be -6º. I am euphoric with the concept of not wearing 4 layers to work! Mike is trying hard to write his paper for his German professor and cast his next show. The two have not been compatible. We'll keep you posted on the show...Terry in Slovenia wanted to know what our house looked like from the outside: here you go, Ter. And thanks for getting us thoroughly addicted to Battlestar Galactica (I seriously am grateful)!
We continue to enjoy our Christmas tree (we keep it up until the end of January), cringe at the heating bills and cook weird things. Both the weather and Mike's studies have helped to create a rather introverted household. It's for a season, and we can live with that.


Mary Pat (also known as "The Last Great Hope" for Theatre & Company, when she bravely attempted to be general manager back in 2001-03) was in town briefly and we managed to see her, in spite of the fact that she'd had 1.5 hours of sleep. Here we are at the Bistro Praha. I'm adjusting to work at the University of Alberta - some of the fun parts have begun, including listening to Danielle Peers speak at an event that we hosted. Danielle is a member of Canada's Olympic Basketball team (wheelchair olympics) and she is truly inspiring (daniellepeers.com/).
The cats are all fine - although Abe needs a thorough de-matting. Stay warm, be safe, have faith.