Sunday, February 26, 2006

Auditions: A Matter of Life or Death

Our community theatre (of whose e-mail loop Erin has so graciously subscribed us to) put out a call early this week for auditions for "The Music Man." The auditions, this coming Tuesday and Wednesday evening, have been the main topic of conversation in our home ever since. At first we all came to the conclusion (rather practically) that Erin must not try out. You can guess the main reason. However, practicality didn't last very long when Erin found out that our church's summer theatre was going to do a play that didn't need the extraordinary talents of a fifteen year old girl. What I would describe as PANIC was the main emotion that persuaded Erin that she indeed did need to audition for this play. "This may be my only chance to act this year." "I have to act." "I'll die if I don't."

She didn't have to tell me these things. I already knew. I've known since at least our first year of homeschool (her kindergarten year) when she managed to cast Brady and I in her own stage version of "Cinderella," (I had to be Cinderella because I fit into the fancy gown.) She has managed to keep acting ever since. I think she may have dressed up the cats when we lived on our acreage in Iowa and cast them with roles in a fairy tale. We couldn't study the Greek myths in homeschool without writing out scripts and (Brady, Erin and I) acting them out in front of Dad. In fourth grade, she thrived as an orphan in our community theatre's "Oliver!" (How else did you think I knew the words to "Food, Glorious, Food?") The year after that she was able to use her well-learned Cockney accent as Little Emily in a private school's summer production of "David Copperfield." She continued to get her family involved in productions at home. Several movies have been made by McIntosh Studio Productions (Brady not only had to act in them, but film them as well.) She's recruited friends to act in her movies. There's been a film of a Hardy Boys mystery with a couple of former neighbors and a fantasy written by Erin and her friend Kelsie starring the "Six Pack." Last year she was able to act publicly again in our church's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." It had been three years since her last public performance which was "way too long" according to you know who.

On Friday we broke down and told Erin that she could at least audition for "The Music Man." Friday night I couldn't sleep. What were we thinking? What will we do if she gets a part? Besides her major health issues... what about Great Books class, choir, her audio taping for Canon? ETC., ETC.! But even after I sorted through all of that, the answer was still obvious. Of course she needed to do this. Her smile after working on her song for auditions that day was the biggest we'd seen since the "after performance hugs" we gave her last August. That play had helped her to "live" last summer. There really was something to her "I'll die if I don't" statement.

Erin can't figure out why we don't all feel this same way. She has been pestering Brady to audition too. "And mom, why don't you try out...I think there is a part for someone your age," she insists. Yesterday, Brady started singing a song at the computer which provided a perfect "in" for Erin to keep encouraging him to audition.

Last night I didn't worry or stew about our decision. I dreamt about the auditions. Did I dream about Erin and the song she sang? No, I'm not sure if I got that far. The news of the whole audition was that "Magnum P.I." (Tom Selleck) was here and was going to be the music man. They needed an older leading lady than they had originally planned because of this. Everyone kept trying to get me to try out for it and I kept saying, "No, I'm an alto...Erin told me the part was for a soprano!" The auditions were taking place in a basketball gym. "Magnum" was leading and organizing things. Tons of people were there, mostly just to watch, because of the famous leading man. A whole bunch of people from my old home town were there. A male classmate of mine, Sam, got up and tried out for a dancing part. And then my friend Debby and her husband walked in and Debby was talked into trying out for the leading lady. I don't know if she got the part because the next thing I knew I was awake and laughing to myself. What a hoot! I'm not sure if I've ever had such an entertaining dream.

Just in case any of you are interested, auditions are in two more days, four hours, and fifteen minutes.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

I've been tagged

Erin tagged me with these questions that are being passed around in the blogging world right now. Here goes:

Four jobs I've had:
Assistant Librarian
Preschool teacher
Gate girl at Custer State Park, Black Hills of SD
Alumni Telefund Manager at a large university

Four goals I set this year:
Only one, which is the first answer in the Heidelberg Catechism:
To glorify God and enjoy Him forever

Four movies I could watch over and over:
(I could not watch any movie over and over. Here are a few I could watch a second time.)
Pride and Prejudice, BBC
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Man Who Knew Too Little

Four places I've lived:
Wilmot, SD
Mesa, AZ
Glenwood Springs, CO
Storm Lake, IA

Four TV shows I love to watch:
(I don't watch TV - Here are four books I've recently enjoyed reading.)
Confessions by Augustine
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Four Favorite Vacation Spots:
Anyplace I haven't been before
Northern Idaho lakes and rivers
South Dakota
UK

Four websites I visit almost daily:
(These are websites I most frequently visit when I get finally get a turn on the computer.)
Dr. George Grant's blog on moral philosophy
Greg Wilbur's blog on the arts
Amazon.com
My kids'sites

Four favorite foods:
Almost any fresh garden vegetable
Chili with cornbread
Pizza (not pepperoni)
The homemade cake donuts my Grandma Eastman use to make

Four places I'd rather be right now:
Someone else's home for dinner
A ski mountain
A good art gallery (very little modern art)
A classical music symphony concert

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

How prayers were answered

We found a doctor. Someone sat behind me at Psalm Sing on Sunday night. It occurred to her while she was singing right in back of me that she knew a doctor that might be able to help us. In fact, she was going to see that doctor the next day, did I want her to ask him if he could help?

Turns out that this doctor use to have a practice with the main doctor at the clinic we were going to go to. When my friend and her husband told this doctor about our problems he told them, "Yes I can help them, but it's complicated." Now that's an answer we appreciate. Our last two doctors didn't seem to think it should be very complicated and didn't understand why we weren't getting better.

He's in the Seattle area as well. We have to wait two more weeks to get in, but having this good personal reference (our friends really like this guy) helps us feel much better about making the effort and paying the big bucks to see him. The frosting on the cake is that both the nurse and receptionist that I talked to were very nice and helpful.

Another added bonus is that now we may be able to rehearse with the choir this week and get enough rest to sing in our Lenten concert next Friday. God is very kind!

Keep on praying : )

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Please pray!

Many of you know that we have doctor appointments made for next week in the Seattle area. Neither Brent nor I are sure about going to this doctor. We're just not sure if he's going to give us the help we need. I have been doing more research on the 'net trying to locate doctors that specialize in our condition. I've found a couple that I'll call on Monday to see if they might better help us. One is in Clarkston (30 miles away) and one is in Everett, WA just north of Seattle. I will also call the doctor's office (in Seattle) that we are scheduled to go to and ask them more questions.

We just gave up on a supplement that we have been on since the beginning of December. For the last month we were pretty sure that it wasn't doing anything for us anymore, but I continued to "hang in there" with it mostly because I wanted it to be the LAST THING. I didn't want to have to look for anything else anymore. I wanted it to cure us. A couple of weeks ago, we did get on something else to help supplement the other - as recommended by someone that is familiar with both products. But that addition didn't help and so now we've jumped back on an anti-fungal. We had to. We could barely move anymore. (Many of you also know the merry go round we've been on with anti-fungals, both natural and synthetic, and so you know that this anti-fungal will only work for a short time and then we'll need to begin another.)

Last night and this morning I read information about an infection that I had not read about before. What I've read so far about it is that 60-70% of candida overgrowth sufferers may have it. I will ask these doctors on Monday if they have heard of this, if they test for it, and if they do, what they prescribe to cure it. Maybe, just maybe, that is what we are dealing with. If it is, it sounds like it can still take several months to eradicate, but at least we'd be on our way.

Please pray that God will lead us to a doctor that will be able to help us to "get on our way" to recovery. We would like to get to a doctor next week as Brent already has the time off for it and we need some help now! Pray for us to standfast in the faith and not get discouraged as we end the usage of the supplement we thought would do the trick and as we start another. Please pray that the anti-fungal that we started taking last night will help us to feel better and start maintaining the yeast again so that we can do our every day chores. Thank you for the prayers you've been praying on our behalf already. We know they are heard and answered. We continue to rejoice in His faithfulness to us.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Inside a Snow Globe

Today I lived inside of a snow globe. I love snow globe days. When it snowed in South Dakota or Iowa it was either cloudy or windy (usually both) so snow globes were the ultimate fantasy toy. But in Colorado and now in Idaho we occasionally have these ethereal-like days that remind me of those fantastical balls. Inside a snow globe, "snow time" is a magical time. A snow globe gets held up to the light to turn on the scene and no matter how hard you shake the globe the snow comes down gently and quaintly giving a wonderful, peaceful feeling to every beholder. That's what happened today. The sun shone very brightly and clear and the snow fell ever so sparkly and light. At times it was as if the globe had hardly been shaken, a sparse amount of laughing flakes fluttered here and drifted there. Then moments later, a flurry of flakes whirled around as if someone couldn't stop shaking the globe. The sunshine spotlighted the performance and made me want to clap and smile during the whole show. Then I realized I was part of the scene so I stepped lighter; enjoyed the elegance displayed around me; felt warmer. After living out several more weeks of researching doctors and medicine protocols/products; dwindling energy; and just plain not feeling well; it was a valentine from God: Don't worry, be happy. Laugh, smile, enjoy the show. I love you! Your Heavenly Father.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Which Artist Would Paint You?

VG
You have the Vermeer girl look. A Vermeer girl

appealed mostly to the old masters of the

Dutch school, who painted pictures of

everyday life as they knew it. With her fine,

fair skin, she suited a light, natural, dewy

make-up. The Vermeer Girl loved homely

things, such as homemade soaps and candles.

The following artists would have liked to

paint you; Pieter de Hooch and Jan Vermeer.


'Pretty As A Picture' - Which Artist Would Paint You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I pulled myself off the couch this afternoon to go blog hopping. Sometimes you just have to do that or should I say do both...pull yourself off the couch AND go blog hopping. As you may have guessed, I'm not feeling very well.

I found a link to this quiz. I admit, you have to be a little creative in answering it but I liked my result :). I'm a big fan of both Vermeer and de Hooch. In London we were able to see a couple of de Hooch's originals. I didn't want to stop looking at them. I want to go back to the National Gallery and sit in front of them for a very long time.

Well, what are you still doing reading this? Find out which artist would paint you!

Stay Tuned

From her restful position on the couch, Mom requested me to make this quick post for her, to say, "Stay Tuned!" She has not given up on her blog. She will post again, as soon as possible. She just needs a little time to recuperate.

Miss Erin