The art of pretending

Make-believe. Daydreaming. Pretending. Wishing.

Every little kid has at some point used their imagination to pretend to be someone else, be somewhere else, do something else. Some of those kids never out grow it. Enter community theater. Or theatre, if you've done more than one show and dream of grandeur and Broadway. 

My darling little girl started her theater "career" last winter with a large-scale production of The Wizard of Oz. She made a darling munchkin. 

My adorable Munchkin.

She was one of 40 munchkins. In my opinion, she was the cutest.

That's her, right in the middle in the back, listening intently to what Glenda and Dorothy are talking about. This production had flying monkeys, flying witches, a live pit orchestra....not a bad way to begin a stage career for a novice. 

  
(Pardon the blurriness of the pit, the phone is a phone first, camera second.)

They performed to a packed house. Over 3,800 people saw The Wizard of Oz in Hutchinson at Memorial Hall over four days in February. Again, not bad for a first ever theater production. 

She had a blast.

Why should she have all the fun? I was talked into auditioning in the next show by a friend who had just wrapped Oz with her daughter. Audition with me, she said. It'll be a blast, she said. Then, she gets pneumonia. But, I was already at the theater, so what the heck.

I was cast in Life With Mother Superior. A fun little show. Not a huge production like Oz which was held in the large community all-purpose building, this one would actually be in the Flag Theater, home to The Flag Community Theater of Hutchinson. I would be Miss Connelly, the sweet, but naive PE teacher.

 

Me with Wendy, who played one of the nuns, and Mallory in front of the Flag Theater in Hutchinson after the cast party for Oz. New found friends, that's one of the fun benefits to being in community theater. I'm still holding out hope that one of these shows, Tracy and I can act together.

Which brings me to now. Mallory and I are in a show together! Tom Sawyer, The Musical. Singing, some dancing, stage time with my girl....and the opportunity to play make-believe. Some kids never grow up. And it's a blast! And, I get to be in the show with friends. Wendy is in this one, too, as is my friend Ben, the director is Piper, a friend from Sterling, and Mallory is making friends with some of the other ensemble kids. I have 3 children in the show, a boy who falls under Tom's bad influence, a daughter who seems to be a bit boy-crazy, and my youngest, my own Mallory. In one of the songs, Mal and I are a "pair".

"A few years back I gave birth 

to the sweetest little baby on Gods green earth.

Baby turned one, then two, then three,

Baby started talkin' back to me.

Four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine,

sugar turned to turpentine.

But the worst thing that could ever be,

my folks say,

she/he's just like me."

A sample of the song Ain't Life Fine. And yes, on most all accounts. But mostly sugar. ;)

So, if you're in the Hutchinson area and are available August 7-10, you should stop by the Flag on Main Street and catch a show. 

I am so grateful for the diversion of the play, for the opportunity to play make believe with my own little baby and the friendships that are forming on the stage. 

And, yes, there is even an oil for this. Brain Power is a blend that can aid in concentration, so a dab of that on the temples for rehearsals and learning music. Add Valor for show nights, for confidence on stage. 

Better living through nature. And make-believe. 

Fishy business

We added to our little family today. A Calico-Fantail-Goldfish. Appropriately named Callie. Or Kelly, it's changed a couple of times in the last few hours.

We had a goldfish before. A nice good sized one that would beg for food. It was the cutest thing. But, it decided it'd had enough of the tank life and jumped to its demise. Right out of the tank. I've never seen a fish do that before, but finding it on the floor in the morning left no question as to what happened.

So, we "adopted" a fish from PetCo tonight.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to take a picture of a fish on a camera phone?

Isn't she cute? Not that you can tell what she looks like....oh well, it was a valiant effort. Hopefully she'll be alive in the morning. It's always a gamble with fish. 

Food, fun, fireworks, and friends.

Holy cats I'm tired.

But yesterday was so worth it, even if I wasn't able to go home. My hometown, Junction City, KS does a spectacular 4th of July celebration. It's a week long, involves a carnival, vendors, food, live music for days, and fireworks in the evenings with the biggest show being on the 4th. Main street (or Sixth Street, technically) is closed for blocks in all directions, the stage is set up right in the middle of the street facing the city park, the carnival spreads out around it and it's just the most wonderful experience ever. The parade in the morning is always huge and full of patriotism, which isn't a surprise since Junction City is home to Fort Riley and the Big Red One. *sigh* It's a wonderful week-long celebration. And I missed it this year.

I missed it due to a series of unfortunate events. First, I took our beloved yet old honda in for a tire rotation only to be told we'd need to replace two of the tires. There went the budget to drive home. Junction City is two hours away from where we currently live, and gas is 3.5something a gallon....but tires are important. And we were saving for a family vacation in July. Then, the very next day I was told that my department at work had "restructured" and I was "restructured" right out the door. Major bummer. There went not only my trip home but also our family vacation.

To say I've been bummed is an understatement. But, instead of letting depression beat me (and it's tried), I've been using Trauma Life, a blend from Young Living, at night and Idaho Blue Spruce oil during the day. Trauma Life, as the name suggests, helps you to release the negative emotions and, I believe, helps to stimulate the "happy" hormones. I put a drop in my hands at night as I go to bed, rub it down to my wrists, and inhale its wonderful aroma all night long. Among other things, it has Frankincense, which is one of my favorite scents, and Valerian, which helps with sleep disturbances. The Idaho Blue Spruce also helps with calming and grounding, which is important to keeping me from getting lost in the worry. A bit of brain power on the temples helps with the job applications.

So, yesterday, with the weight of not getting to go home weighing on me and an 8-year-old begging us to "do something, it's the 4th!!", I was extremely relieved to get a text from a dear friend saying we were going to another dear friends house for a bonfire, cookout, then to Sterling for fireworks, and back to the bonfire for s'mores. Food, friends, fun, fireworks, and beer. Too bad beer doesn't start with "f", then my alliteration would be PERFECT. Ha.

But first, we played in a parade. The Patriot's Parade, in Hutchinson. This year was one for the record books. We got word, as we sat on the trailer and baked, that the parade was delayed "due to a public safety threat." Turns out some guy had barricaded himself in his garage with a rifle and wasn't feeling very friendly, towards himself or anyone else. I'm not sure how that turned out, but the parade eventually got started. Then, right in the middle of the shindig, the train came through.

On the way back to the starting point, where most of us had parked, we "lost" a flag, so one of our older band members jumps off the moving trailer right in the middle of the road to "save" it. He's dang lucky he didn't get run over. Once he gets back on, he says, "Well, I used to jump boxcars as a kid, but I guess I misjudged the speed." You think?! Silly man, you're so very lucky you weren't run over by the trailer. Goodness gracious....

And my baby girl was corrupted and enticed to join the dark side...the low brass. I'm going to have to work on this. ;)

That evening we had a blast with good food, good friends, and good company. Steaks cooked over an open flame are something special. Meals thrown together at the last minute are the best when friends are around the table, or bonfire.

The fireworks at Sterling weren't as good as the ones in JC probably were, but to have an evening where I could put my worries aside, even if it was just for a few hours, kick back, have a Mike's Hard Lemonade or two (the Black Cherry is my favorite!) and just enjoy companionship was a blessing.

And the bugs weren't that bad. I used Purification, a YL blend, on myself and Mallory and it worked like a charm! One drop rubbed into my arms, one drop for exposed ankles and feet, and the same for Mallory and not one bug bite all night. Now, I just have to figure out how to make it a spray to keep it cost effective.

YL, good friends, good food, good music, good fireworks....great 4th.

If you build it, they will come.

Fairies, that is. Not baseball players.

Another gift from Grandma and Aunt Mica from Young Living's 2014 convention. A fairy village starter kit. We have pavers, colorful 'shrooms, a swing, a table and chairs, pond, bench, birdhouse, and welcome sign. Oh, and a resident fairy. 

 

The pot at the end will soon be a painted home for our newest resident, and we still have some plants to add, but its a start! 

Mallory invites you to follow our blog and watch our fairy village grow! Subscribe with your email address down below. We'd also love to hear from gardeners what sorts of herbs and flowers would grow well in a porch-planter box that gets direct sun for only a handful of hours a day. 

And our fairy needs a name! Please comment with suggestions, thoughts, tips, anything you can think of!

We look forward to hearing from you and having you follow our Fairy Adventures. 

UPDATE: 

We have a large box elder bug population in our yard, so to keep our new friends Enchanted Meadow from becoming a bug haven, I added a couple of drops of Purification around the perimeter and in two locations within. After a few minutes, the "meadow" was bug free. No harsh chemicals for our fairy!