Mary Poppins

Yes, you read right, Mary Poppins is the title of the post. It's been a while since we've written so I figured we were due for an update. Besides painting and working and trying to make it to the gym on a regular basis, we haven't been up to much. Well, I've been baking, but I'll save that for another post.

Anyway, I went to New York yesterday with my mom to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. What a delightful show! When I agreed to go, it was more to spend time with my mom and sister and less about the show (I figured it might be a little juvenile). My sister decided not to go (her big loss) and I've always liked Broadway shows - and my mom - so I knew I'd still have a good time. Well, it was a super show in every way, and it was enjoyed by people of all ages in the theater. The sets were amazing, and the actors did a phenomenal job (Mary is played by the woman who played Belle in the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast; Bert is played by the man who orignated the role in London), including the two children actors who play Jane and Michael Banks. I think most people know the stories and songs of Mary Poppins, so it was a fun trip down memory lane to hear tunes like Feed the Birds and Chim Chim Cheree and A Spoonful of Sugar.

The show was still in previews, so there were a few minor "whoops" moments, but most people didn't even catch those ever-so-slight mistakes. If you are thinking of this show, or if you love the story, I'd highly recommend making the trip to see it. Tickets aren't cheap, but it was absolutely worth every penny. I loved it, and it re-sparked my desire to see more shows, both in New York and here at home in Philly. There's no excuse for us to miss shows that are in Philly, since they're only a few blocks away from our house!

That's it for now. I head to Indy this week, and Markus leaves for a meeting in Harrisburg the day I get home - it'll be a busy week for both of us. I'll post again when I have something - or bake something - worth writing about. Cheers!

I'm still here

OK, I did some painting today. This is how it turned out. It looks better in daylight... but even with the lousy flash on the olympus camera you can see it's an interesting blue. The furniture is piled in the middle of the room because I still need to paint the trim. Once that is done the room will be put back together and I'll post more pictures.





And while I'm at it, here's a picture of the nook. The color is Mellow Yellow.


Just paint trim and then the 3rd floor is basically done. The floor still needs some work, but it will be a remarkable improvement.

Wheatfields and waterfalls

Well, not wheatfields, but rather Wheatfield. What about Wheatfield, you ask? That's the new color of our bedroom!!! I'm so excited (think of the Pointer Sisters singing, and doing the dancing, too. I've got no rhythm.)! Markus and I went to a Benjamin Moore paint store two weekends ago and picked out paint for the rest of the house. We came home and our first projects were the bedroom and painting the doors in the house. The bedroom is wheatfield, and I just love it. We're taking this opportunity to get some new artwork for our bedroom, and I think I'm going to print a few nice photos from our travels to hang in there, too. One in particular is from our trip to Puerto Rico and is mostly greenery which will complement the walls nicely. We also added a couple of plants to the room, which is a nice touch. We both love plants, but have to be creative in how and where we place them because the cats eat them (and then occasionally get sick...). Oh, we also decided to paint our bedroom trim the same as the doors - Grizzly Bear Brown. Don't you love paint color names?! The other colors we picked are: Marmalade (orange - middle bedroom); Tranquil Blue (third floor); Mellow Yellow (third floor sitting area); and, Capri Coast (hallways). Then our whole house will be full of wonderful colors! We'll post more pictures as we finish more rooms.

Now to the waterfalls. Every night when I head into our bathroom to get ready for bed, Camper jumps in the tub in the hope that I'll turn on the faucet for her. She LOVES to drink from the faucet. I had decided that we should get a water filtration drinking thing for the cats, and found this super neat one that has a small foutain. It was designed by a vet, and believe it or not the logic makes sense - animals in the wild are used to drinking from streams and natural bodies of water that run rather than water that just sits in a bowl. The water contraption arrived while I was in Indy. Markus hooked it up while I was on the phone (yes, the cats and I talk while I'm away, too. Camper actually meows when I say her name - isn't she smart?) and he said Camper sniffed it, stuck her paw in it, and then just stared. After I got home, I was delighted to catch her drinking from this. Even Samba, our more remedial cat who has never taken to drinking from the bathtub faucet, started drinking from this fountain. I was a proud cat mommy that day. Unfortunately, she was too quick for me to get a picture. Here's one of Camper, though. No making fun of the crazy things like this that I buy for our "kids". Markus has already done that. Oh, I also bought the Aqua Garden that attaches to the side of the water bowl - it will grow cat grass for the cats to eat. Aren't they lucky girls? Well, I have some apple date bars baking and boy do they smell good! I have to go check on them and make sure they don't burn. When I have time in the next day or so, I'll post about my beading adventures and post pictures of the necklaces I've made so far.