This week we went to see Guys and Dolls at the Chemainus theatre. (Marsha had won the tickets.) Now I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a decent community theatre production in the school gym. What we found was a very nice small theatre, with a lobby, proper seats, ushers, very clever sets on a two level stage, professional actors, musicians, and dancers. All the way around a really nice production. It was easily as good as some of the smaller theatres in Minneapolis. The play itself was very nicely done, singing, dancing, gambling, comedy, romance, misunderstandings, coincidences, everything you expect in a good musical comedy. We had a very good time. Afterwards we had dinner in Chemainus. This makes three places we've eaten there and all were great. I've decided that the Chemainus City bylaws must forbid a bad restaurant inside the city limits. 

I'd never seen Guys and Dolls before, not even the movie version. Much to my surpriseI knew many of the songs, the more famous ones at least. I've got a Horse Right Here (aka Fugue for Tinhorns), Luck Be a Lady, Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat, I knew them from when I was a kid. It reminded me of something that happened a few weeks ago. Marsha said that to get something done we'd need to "Buckle Down" and I instantly replied "Winsocki". She had no idea what I was talking about. I had to look up the musical (Best Foot Forward by the way, a show that I swear I'd never heard of) on Wikipedia. 

This brings up a great mystery. When we were growing up we were the literary branch of the family. None of us went out for school plays, or choir, or played an instrument. We read and wrote. My folks were consumed with keeping the family business going and a roof over our head. We didn't have the time or energy to go to movies. On the weekends we'd go to the coast or the mountains for the day. We had no musical theatre in town. The closest thing they had to a broadway show was when Jimmy Buffett played the Lane County Fair. Despite that we knew the songs and used lines from South Pacific, Man from LaMancha, Oklahoma!, Damn Yankees, Brigadoon, and on and on. Mind you we wouldn't sing them. (Singing? Are you kidding? Not in our family.) We'd use them as ammunition and barbs in our verbal sparring matches.  Oh we did have lots of music around the house Classical, Opera, Jazz, and Folk but no records of Broadway musicals. So the question remains where did I learn all these songs from the theatre?

I Have No Idea. 

D&M

We finally got to see the Emily Carr mural in Chemainus. It is a wonderful piece of work. Remember this is a flat concrete wall. The perspective, the lights at the top, the stairs at the bottom, the drop-shadows, the tree and planter, the curved wall, all are painted on this flat wall. It is a truly stunning piece.




This beetle landed on the screen Wednesday and stayed until Friday. It's well over an inch long and quite heavy. We don't know what it is but it cast a big shadow on the curtain, which is how we noticed it. Anyone have an idea what this monster is? 


On Thursday, Barbara came over for a visit.  We had our bottle of wine we had purchased from the Morningstar Farms.  (Marsha had won a gift basket that had a gift certificate in it for the farm.)  The wine was very good and had the cutest bottle - note the wine cork.