Phew! I Made It to the End of the Whirlwind

Phew!  Is right!  This past week has been nuts!  I hardly made it home… dishes piled up… I have no clean clothes… the weeds are taller than the tomatoes… the grass is unruly… there are no healthy foods in the house…  That’s right… this past week was the last LONG week of CET.

I worked hard.  However, I am not healthy enough to have neglected my blood pressure meds like I did.  It really wasn’t a planned thing.  I just wasn’t in town when the pharmacy was open so I went about 10 days with out.  When you add that to the 95+ heat each day, I was wiped out by the end of the week!  Oh… and add to that my diet was crappy… still plants but only eating potato chips for a day because that is all the time you have the food available to walk around with.  You can see what I mean.

The week began with the end of the Level 7 show.  Lillian was stunning and it was a definite proud mom moment.

We also saw the opening and closing of Prince and the Pauper at the Salem Art Fair in Bush Park.  I loved how the design turned out.  I only used 4 4×8 flats with an Old London skyline.  Then there were about 12 4×5 boards with various things painted on them.  I had a new painter/paint teacher this year.  She did a great job teaching and encouraging parents and students in the art I penciled out on my front elevations.

Then we had 3 small shows with our youngest students.  I only made the backdrop banners years ago, and organised props and the painting of the blocks for these little shows.  I still had to track the tech kids and sound stuff.  It was so hot at strike.  I was wilting!  Thank goodness Lilli helped to carry all the stuff across the parking lot.

Then we had the traveling show, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Tales (or something like that – I’m just too tired to think).  This show performed in 4 different venues and had to travel in trucks to each one of them.  Kids helped with the design of the show.  I gave therm the shape of the flats and blocks and told them to paint them like the illustrations in the book.  I LOVE how they turned out.  They were perfect… plus Dallas High School and Howard Street Middle School are both planning on doing the show now in this coming school year and so they will continued to be used.  That is pretty cool.

The Library Show was The Tempest.  It was super simple and I loved how it turned out too.  It helped that this season I was able to buy some Par Can lighting instruments for cheap and to give the library some lights.  The costumer and the puppeteer did exceptional work as well.  I will be using these set pieces again for sure!

Then, we opened and closed the Lion King Jr.  It didn’t quite look as good as the first time I created this set and lights… but it was acceptable.

Thank goodness John Hatch loaned me his trailer and came to help gather Central items on strike night! (That I Hatch in the dark stomping down the dumpster).  I ended up delivering 3 truck and trailer loads to Central.  Jeff had several car loads of stuff to Central too.  It will take us weeks to put it all away.  Dani and Kevin and Mason helped me set up for FAN.  This year FAN was at Willamette University in the Smith Hall.  I had to take a selfie with the stage and the stream that runs through campus for Hannah.  Her old boss was thrilled to meet me and work with us.

This is my favorite look…. an empty tech hall and the calendar down to 1 day (okay, there were two when I took the picture, but it was the end of the final day at South Salem High School).

These people make it possible for me to survive.  Sure.  I do loads throughout the school year, but it is spread out!  It isn’t normal to be responsible for 8 productions in 5 weeks.  I love these guys!  This picture looks like a band cover… Dani and the Lug Nuts.  LOL!

The last night was tough for Lilli.  These kids are some of her best friends.  She grew up with them and most of them will not be back next summer.  Heck.  She might not be back next summer.  It was even harder because the projector didn’t work, even though we tested it, and she didn’t get to watch the final slide show.

Other things that happened this week.  Lilli went by herself to the ward Pioneer celebration and shot things and threw axes.

John went to Utah and worked.  He got to play with the grand kids, go to the Logan temple, and visit his family.  He also helped Chad change his brakes.

Freya got a hair cut.  Her little curls are now gone.

Kimber brought the kids to see Lilli preform and the played in the fountain at the park.

Hannah is rocking the mission!  I sure miss that kid.  Now we are filling our time with new projects… like putting in an above ground pool and cleaning up the attic and garage in preparation for Kimber’s family and Chad to move in.  No rest for the wicked!