Rosebud

This weekend took the Rosebud dinner theatre off my list. As luck would have it, I picked the most glorious weekend weatherwise and the drive to Rosebud, a tiny hamlet an hour and a half north east of Calgary was beautiful. The farmers had been busy and the crops were in, the trees were a stunning mix of green and gold and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Rosebud itself is situated in a small river valley and consists of about 6 streets, a handful of houses, several small gift shops and galleries, a couple of eating places, a tiny museum, the School of the Arts and the Rosebud Opera House and Mercantile - all as pretty as a picture and totally centred around the theatre. I had booked us into a local B and B which turned out to be a clean but tiny bedroom in someone's basement and we left before breakfast, but other than that, the visit was most enjoyable.

We spent a hot couple of hours walking around the village (30 minutes would have been enough!) and visiting the galleries and gift shops. Merv was seriously dragging after an hour so we spent the second hour on the patio of a little Bistro that served beer and wine, which was very pleasant. Several large Harleys bumbled through the village which is obviously a favourite destination for elderly bikers.

Finally it was time for dinner which turned out to be a better than passable buffet in a surprisingly large and busy restaurant in the Mercantile building and we were entertained by 3 young women with beautiful singing voices who also worked at the Opera House.

The play, "Queen Milli of Galt" was a gentle little story set in Galt, Ontario after the Great War about a young woman's supposed "affaire" with the Prince of Wales. It was well acted and professionally presented and the pretty little theatre was almost full of an interesting demographic mix of people, most of whom were obviously regulars and who laughed loudly and enthusiastically.

So, another item checked off my list and I now know that if I ever go back to Rosebud (and I may) I will do the matinee!

A Tale of Two Cities

Yesterday I finished the book on my list that I had set myself to read during this year. I chose this famous Dickens novel because in spite of being an English major and in spite of having read most of the Dickens classics, I had never read this one. I thought I knew the book well, knew the story line and knew the ending, and I thought there would be no surprises. I was wrong. I was not expecting to be so riveted and appalled by the descriptions of the French revolution, the graphic descriptions of the massacres and the brilliant depth of the characterization of the evil Mme Lafarge and her supporters. Why is it that the villains and rogues in literature are so much more memorable and 3 dimensional than the heroes? What does that tell us about ourselves? Anyway, I enjoyed the book and am inspired to read more classics that have slipped by me - maybe I will even read War and Peace... or maybe I will just watch the movie!

This weekend I am taking Merv to Rosebud to experience the famous Rosebud Dinner Theatre and stay overnight in a B and B; something I have promised myself for years and I shall write all about it here. Stay tuned.

The Odd Couple

My apologies to those loyal followers who have been waiting for updates. I am beginning to realise that writing a regular blog is almost as challenging as finding the time to do the things to write about! Anyway, I have been making progress, albeit in baby steps and not all items on my list are blogworthy - isn't that a great word? Blogworthy. I think that should be added to the OED or at least the official Scrabble dictionary.

So Saturday was the day that I had bought us 2 tickets to go see Scottie play Oscar in the Odd Couple at the Pumphouse Theatre. I was very keen to see this performance as I was myself a cast member in the Odd Couple, Female Version some 20 years ago with the Bearspaw Drama Club. The plan was to go out for dinner and then on to the show. Well, true to form in the life of a Realtor, the phone rang as I was getting ready and I had to spend the next 30 minutes dealing with an offer. We eventually got to the restaurant, ordered and waited.... and waited.... and eventually after the 1/2 litre of house red was finished we got the waiter to pack our untouched meals up in styrofoam, paid and left. Merv was not happy. My fault. Nothing new there then. We ate it when we got home at 11pm!

We then proceeded to get lost trying to find the Pumphouse Theatre, not for the first time, and finally arrived as the play was due to start, but good old Pumphouse, they made the actors wait for us!

The performance was wonderful and Scottie was a scarily convincing Oscar. The whole cast was great and I have to admire the actor who played the Cop as he had broken his arm that very afternoon and played his part with his arm bound up and didn't miss a beat. What a trouper! I must say that I enjoy all live theatre, but amateur and small rep companies can be the most satisfying and the most fun because these guys are doing it in their spare time because they love it. Great job Scottie.

Ziplining - check!

I did it! This was one of the more challenging moments of my life when I had to walk down those steps and stand on that removable board while they hooked me on to the zipline. Hanging there above the drop that you can see, waiting for them to throw the release lever was - well, memorable! Once I got past that moment the ride down was fun and I am delighted that I made myself do it and I can now face the rest of the challenges ahead with supreme confidence because the worst is now behind me. I (of course) immediately bought myself the T shirt that says "I survived the zipline" and wore it to dinner that evening at the Bear's Den. Not "dress code" but who cares - I did it and I am proud!