Oh no, honey

Here's the quote of the week:

"Oh no, honey! You can't use that blue light. It's far prettier than I am."

Channeling

Today I am channeling the power of the mountain. Yes, in order to get through today's New Year's Eve preparations I must channel the power of the mountain. The power that enables every stagehand to show up bright eyed and bushy tailed for the crew call, no matter the events of the previous few hours. No matter what.

That my friends is the power of the mountain; Quartz Mountain.

No, you didn't imagine it.

No, you didn't imagine it. A few of the blogs that are now appearing were not online a few days agao. Yes, I am guilty of back dating a few entries. Forgive me for wanting to keep some sense of order to these holiday posts.

I now return to regular blog posting....

When I grow up I want my own Snap-On tools

When he grows up he wants Snap-On tools just like his grandfather. Some day little man, some day.

Yes, I am not the only one in the family who appreciates a good set of tools.

Family Gathering

Today we gathered as a larger family to celebrate the Christmas holiday. This is one of my favorite pictures from the day. How can one not be taken by these faces? My brother, now the compassionate care-giver, my cousin so proud of the little one he holds, and my nephew wondering why everyone is so interested in him...it's a little Kodak moment.

Also high on the list of photoworthy moments is this image.
Count 'em up. This image includes five generations. Yes, that's five. Ok, it's not a true five generation picture, but it's close enough for me. Grandma Hennie certainly enjoyed holding the newest addition to our clan. Did you know his name is an homage to the matriarch of our family? Ask her how she feels about that and the subsequent nickname. Oh my!

Yes, I know this is not the most photographic of moments, but hey...did I mention that it represents FIVE generations of our family? You must admit that is pretty darn cool and you will forgive the lack of composition in the image.

Hey, also take a moment and look out the window, yes, that's right you can see the green grass. The day we celebrated Christmas was a green midwestern day. Don't worry there was snow later that night and our Christmas was ultimately white.

Wait a minute....

"Ma'am, wait a minute! You are not Latino. Are you trying to kill someone or something?"

I kid you not, these are the words I heard as I was at the grocery store on Friday evening. What warranted this utterance from the grocery clerk? My purchase of two pounds of fresh jalapenos.
Apparently, the only folks in Clinton who purchase that many jalapenos are as the grocery clerk said, Latin or trying to kill someone.

So, that begs the question. Why was I purchasing two pounds of fresh jalapeno peppers? I was making bacon wrapped jalapeno peppers for our family Christmas gathering. You can find the recipe for these delicious (and easy to make) creations here. In case you were wondering, yes these spicy treats were a hit with the fam.

Follow-up: Here's a hint for preparing the jalapenos for this recipe. A friend asked me how I avoid the burning and stinging associated with removing the seeds from a jalapeno. Simple, I use a grapefruit spoon.

I must be on some list

I must be on some list; and no, I am not talking about Santa's list of who's been naughty and who's been nice. And if I am on this list, how do I get off of it?

Seriously, this is a list I want to be off. It seems that EVERY time I travel and check baggage, my baggage is searched. These are not minor searches either. Clearly I am a troubled traveler and my suitcase should be completely emptied and thrown back together each time I travel.

And folks wonder why I am inclined to carry on all of my baggage. Yes, TSA thank you for kindly leaving me these friendly notes each time I check baggage prior to flying the friendly skies.

December 27, 2007
Follow-up
Yes, it's true; I must be on some list. Both of my bags were hand inspected on my return trip to Amarillo. Perhaps it was my last minute one-way flight to Amarillo last week. Or my two random trips to Dallas in the spring. Why would these be out of the ordinary? Ok, maybe there is some reason to flag my travels.

Now, how do I go about getting off of this list?

Suzy Snowflake

I am not old. And I am certainly not as old as this Christmas classic (heck, even my mom is not as old as this Christmas diddy.) Yet, I fondly remember watching this Christmas short as a child. Imagine my shock and amazement when my co-workers had never heard of Suzy Snowflake.

If you are one of those folks who have never heard of Suzy Snowflake (first of all, please do not admit this to me, it will make me very sad) take a moment and watch this 1951 Christmas Classic.

Go Elf Yourself!

Ok, maybe that sounds worse than it is. But seriously, GO ELF YOURSELF! You can check out the symphony staff version here.

Yes, some people do have too much spare time on their hands.

Nutcracker withdrawal

Now, I don't think this will happen; but it's possible, it's quite possible that I may experience a case of Nutcracker withdrawal in the coming days. In the unlikely event that this does happen, this image is posted of as a reminder of the cramped quarters musicians were squished into for a week. A reminder of the drama. A reminder of...well, yeah, a reminder.

The Rat King was here

Yes, those are rat droppings left on the conductor's second act score for the Nutcracker. This creative Nutcracker gifting is the product of the viola section's creative juices. Apparently the violas were just a wee bit annoyed by the rat king's appearance in the second act. Other viola Nutcracker gifts included a water pistol, whoopie cushion, mousetraps, a licker clicker (I kid you not, this was the name of the piece of candy that included a whistle, clacker, and sucker), a lottery ticket, as well as a variety of chocolate and nutcracker inspired candy. The viola section has a long running history of gifting the conductor upon each entry to the pit for performance.

The Chemistry Experiment: Actual Results

A few days ago I posted a teaser blog indicating that these few ingredients could be used as part of a chemistry experiment that would yield a delightful holiday treat.

Sadly, I started the chemistry project a few days ago, and did not finish until today. On a positive note, the reaction was not hampered by the extended pause after phase one of the reaction.

This morning I decided I needed to bring yet another homemade goodie to today's Nutcracker performance.

Pause for a point of information:

In case you didn't know, Nutcracker is as much a time for food and fellowship among members of the orchestra as it is a time for playing an important ballet score. I have tried all week to have some sort of fresh treat for the members of the orchestra as bribery is often required when one is placing 65 people in a cramped space (more on that later)

So, this morning I opted to finish the chemistry project in order to create some happy musicians. The candy of the day is Sponge Candy. It's a relatively simple recipe, but is tricky. If there is too much humidity in the air, the candy will flop.

Here's how it works (also known as the recipe)

Combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup dark Karo corn syrup and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar in a saucepan. Mix well. Heat on stove top on medium heat.

The mixture should look like this:
Once the heating process begins, do NOT stir the mixture. Monitor the temperature of the mixture carefully with a candy thermometer. I use this digital one as it reminds me of the hours I spent in the chemistry lab in college.

The sugar mixture will continue to heat and look like this: Once the mixture reaches 300F, quickly remove the saucepan from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon baking soda. Use a spoon that is easy to clean as this makes one sticky mess. There are no pictures of this part of the process because you have to move quickly and I was alone in the kitchen.

I can tell you what happens though. Have you ever made a volcano for a science project? Well, this is the same idea, if you mix baking soda and vinegar you will create a chemical reaction. In this case the reaction causes the mixture to expand and harden.

Once the baking soda has been added to the heated sugar mixture, quickly pour the batter into a buttered (no margarine, use real butter!) 9x9x2 cake pan. The mixture will continue to expand and eventually harden like the picture to the right.

After the candy has cooled and harden, drop the pan on your counter. That's right. I said drop the pan. I'm sure there are far more elegant ways to break this candy, but I like the fun of dropping the pan. And really, if you are going to make a mess in the kitchen, one should really have some fun.

These individual pieces of candy should then be dipped in a chocolate coating (I use chocolate flavored almond bark).

The end result is bite size chunks of chocolate covered goodness, much like a Butterfinger, only better.

Regretfully, I forgot my intent to blog about this candy making experience and did not capture a picture of the finished product. I suppose I could take a picture of the empty containers that transported the goodies, but what good would that do? Only a few hours after the end of the preparations all of the pieces of candy are gone and I have only the happy mouths of musicans and stagehands to show for it. Some of the folks seem to think that I should just make another batch so that I would have one to take a picture of...I'll get right on that in all of my spare time.

December Grassfires

This evening while leaving my apartment I noticed heavy brown smoke drifting towards our complex. Looking towards the western horizon, this is what I saw.

A few moments later, the sun had set revealing this fiery glow.

I also learned that one should not send a cell phone picture of a grassfire to a dear friend as dear friend may have minor heart attack thinking gal named sue is being consumed by fire.

The man in question

For those of you who have asked, here he is...

Behind the curtain of the New Nutcracker

This week the local newspaper added a web portal that features images, news stories, and video interviews with members of the creative team. If you can't be here in Amarillo with me to see the scale of the production, this portal gives you a detailed glimpse. Even if you are here to see the show, this backstage view will take you places audience members cannot go.

Nutcracker: The fun begins today

Tuesday, December 4 the day a part of me has been dreading for quite some time. Today is the day that full technical rehearsals for the Nutcracker begin. The months of preparations will culminate in this final week of rehearsals. The dancers will be in costume, the orchestra will play, the stage crew will run set-changes all with the hopes of being ready for Friday night's opening gala of the New Nutcracker. If you want read more about all of the hype, check out this article from Sunday's paper.

In case you were wondering, the proposed TV documentary is not proceeding at this time. (At least as of the writing of this blog).

I'll keep you posted of fun Nutcracker updates as the week progresses.

Chemistry you can eat

Stay tuned for details on how this chemistry experiment becomes a yummy treat.

KinderKonzerts

This past Thursday and Friday the Symphony presented 6 education concerts for pre-school and kindergarten students. If you take the time to do the math, that's nearly 6000 young children yelling and screaming and expressing pure glee. Pure glee? This education concert has a special guest conductor. Here's a hint he flew in for the gig on Air Claus and his first name is Kris.

Symphony music, Christmas spirit and Santa Claus are the key ingredients to winding up any auditorium of youngsters.

The stage was festively set with 5 large Christmas trees. Special thanks to our crew who persevered to assemble these magnificent decorations. The show would not have been the same with out talk of the gender of electrical outlets. How many loose male (plugs) do we have? How many females are without a mate? Oh, the inuendos were prolific and provided great fodder for the ClearCom conversation during each of the six shows.

Each of the days of the run presented it's own unique challenges. Thankfully, I had the pleasure of working with a great crew.

Little Announcement

I'm an aunt. :)