If you have a chance, please visit shadowwolf13's entry here and share a positive thought or two about your LJ friends.

On Monday I walked a labyrinth at church on the university campus where I work. One of my coworkers accompanied me, as he had never walked one before. Inside this church on one of the walls surrounding the alter was this quote from Revelation 21 in the Bible:

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

I found it especially timely. I wish I could wipe away the tears and the death. Instead, I walked a labyrinth.
( Read MoreCollapse )

Since I last posted, I have been in the ensemble of the Pittsburgh Savoyard's production of the Yeoman of the Guard which was a blast. I helped my daughter sew a bustle skirt in black satin and white crepe and we had fun doing that, too but it took a couple of weeks of sewing. In there I had a birthday and there was this storm called Sandy that decided to rain on it. But where I live didn't get much more than some wind and rain. It seemed like every day last week it rained. In fact I think the sun poked through once yesterday that I saw and a little bit today.

People who I know and care about and live closer to the East Coast did not fare as well and my heart goes out to them. Especially my brother-in-law and sister-in-law who had over a foot of water in their house (they had evacuated and so did not lose their cars). They lost a lot of stuff that they had only put up a foot and are racing against the clock to get things cleared out before mold sets in. First I am glad they are all okay. I know this is very hard for them. I know that they will recover from this and that there are people out there who won't be able to recover from this.

2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes (one with Basil, Oregano and Garlic)

2 32 oz cartons Organic Chicken broth

1 lb Hot Italian turkey sausage

1 large onion --diced

3 garlic cloves --diced

1 16 oz bag Frozen Italian Cut Green Beans

About 1 8 oz bag of baby carrots sliced

1 1 lb package frozen cheese tortellini

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt

Italian Seasoning

dried basil

Garlic powder



Place the onion and garlic in a heated, oiled (with olive oil) cast iron skillet. Let that cook for a minute or two. Remove the sausage from the casings and place the meat in the skillet with the garlic and onion to brown and crumble. In a large stock pot heat the chicken broth and diced tomatoes. Add the frozen Italian cut green beans and sliced carrots and Italian seasoning, basil and garlic powder to taste. Once the carrots are mostly cooked, add sausage and frozen tortellini and cook just until the tortellini is done. (Usually I add about a tablespoon of fennel seed but I forgot to do this and it seemed fine. Also, you can add salt and pepper to taste.)

Had to share this. I came across this in Neil Gaiman's Tumblr

Today would have been my mother's 77th birthday. She died 18 years ago.

I'm still around and reading and commenting but I have been nudged by the kind, xjenavivex, to update here and yeah, it's been two months! Right after finishing up the show, things got kind of busy at work and hence part of the reason for the LJ silence. In addition, a friend's son was involved in a very bad motorcycle accident (not his fault --an SUV in the opposite traffic lane crossed into his) and for at least 4 weeks, it was iffy as to whether he would survive but he seems to be more firmly on the surviving side and on the mend. I've been following that day by day over on Facebook.

I've also been attending more conventions --mostly more with a Steampunk theme --which has been fun!

I do have a few posts in mind for the future. I will try to update here a little more often.

Hope everyone there is doing well -even if you're not posting.

In every Pittsburgh Savoyard's production that I've been in, there has been some kind of dance party that goes on in the wings among the actors who are waiting to come on stage for the next scene. In the Mikado, we just danced randomly. In the Pirates of Penzance, I made sure to be up in the wings for the "Cat-like Tread" dance where myself and a couple other female chorus members and one of the double cast leads (who is still in high school) would imitate the pirates dance while they did it on stage. This is a lot of fun, a way to pass the time while waiting for the scene and builds energy for the performance.

Every day during performances there was some sort of snacks/food brought in. I always brought in homemade trail mixes --chocolate chips (Ghirardelli 60% cacao), cranberries (craisins) and almonds in one bag and yogurt peanuts and raisins in another (because one of our cast members was allergic to all chocolate). Over the course of the run several cast members had birthdays so cupcakes appeared for those and we sang Happy Birthday to each one. The last birthday occurred on the day of the last performance and it was for the person playing the Major General so after we finished singing Happy Birthday to him, one of our cast improvised "For he is the birthday boy," and we all sang along.

The first Sunday of the run, the person set to play Mabel was in a multi-car accident but wasn't hurt. She came in about ten minutes before the show started (she wasn't on until later) and had two or three other cast members help her get ready and performed the role. This was most impressive as she is a high school student and was driving the car, her dad and a friend were with her and the friend went to the hospital to be checked out. I think it helped her take her mind off of what happened to have to concentrate on performing but it was still impressive and I'm not sure I would have been able to do that.

By now, most everyone, who knows him, is aware of popfiend's wife Lisa's sudden death on Sunday, March 4th.

I know popfiend primarily through his posts on Livejournal. He is very much the same in person as he is online so I was very aware of how devoted he is to Lisa and likewise how she was to him. I think they got each other on a level that is rare in relationships and it was truly inspiring and beautiful. So when I did get the chance to meet Lisa last November at Philcon and see them interact, it was just as evident in person that they loved each other deeply as popfiend had posted about on a frequent if not daily basis. Their lives, their being, were/are so intertwined that it is nearly impossible for me to imagine one without the other. This is why the news of Lisa's passing is such a shock, "A punch to the gut" as grayhawkfh has so aptly put it. popfiend is someone who is a force for good on Livejournal and in life. Over the past few years that I have come to read his journal regularly, I have come to care for popfiend as for a dear friend. I am cycling through almost as many emotions about this as popfiend. Shock, anger, sadness, worrying about popfiend, are just a few. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to popfiend and all of Lisa's family. If there is anyway that I can be of any help, my friend, popfiend please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please also go over and read this entry on the same subject by cbpotts linked by elionwyr and this byelionwyr for a far more eloquent and accurate reaction than I am capable of relaying.

Here are a couple of quotes that came to mind when thinking about popfiend's loss.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft star-shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
-Mary Frye

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
― Lao Tzu