The rest of October...

 This whole "getting back to normal life" thing!  I tell ya.  It is BUSY.  October has gone by in a blink, a whirl of rehearsing and performing and costuming and working and cleaning.  Add in the fact that we seem to be in the process of buying a multi-family investment property, and my mom is settling in to a new apartment as of October 20th... and this month has kind of been a lot. 

When I sat down to write a blog post, I was thinking to myself-- now why haven't I posted anything in 3 weeks?  After typing that intro... I am giving myself some grace. 

Here are the highlights from October 11- 28th.  Halloween is up next!

Right up til this past week, our October weather has been a gift.  Warmth, sunshine, holding on to outdoor time while we can...

A nice walk by Doan Brook on a crazy warm day.  Ivy was so sweet, sitting and listening to music and drawing on a log by the brook.  'I could stay here all day, mom!' and I heard echoes of 11-year-old me in her voice.  My kiddos feel so good in nature. 

Kiddos, including Winter. 

And me!

Social outings continued-- we met up at the Fairmount for a celebration of our Arts Prize- winning neighbor.  Didn't get to see much of her as her event ran late-- but we enjoyed the VERY liberally poured Old Fashioneds we ordered, ran into a friend from church, and had perhaps a bit more fun than we should have on a weekday.  The ease of going out "as grownups" these days may be a little dangerous...

Lunchtime walks in the woods by my school, to soak up this sky...

Our first trip to Playhouse Square since the pandemic started!  We took the kids to see "Lion King" and it was so fun!  From the dressing up to the "being out" to the shock of SO many people... the show was so fun, and the staging and costumes were amazing.  The opening song, with the phenomenal animal puppets streaming onto the stage to "Circle of Life," while the audience went wild for each one-- brought tears to my eyes.  So much creativity, so many people excited to celebrate it again.

On the way home we had a great conversation about all the people who are a part of a production like this one, and Ivy's eyes lit up at when we described the job of a stage manager.  ( I think my "instructional" girl was maybe born for that role...)

Sometimes you find your fun wherever you are... had to go to Tractor Supply for chicken feed, dragged our homebody children along-- and they had a blast.  After loading all of the new topsoil for our garden into the back of the car, the rabbit's hay felt light enoufh for a game of catch in the parking lot.

What it takes to run an urban homestead these days...

One last gathering at Gram's old apartment.  She relocated to McGregor Assisted Living on October 20th, in order to be closer to us (and especially her grandkids).  It was not the easiest decision-- there were certainly some nice amenities at Rose that she enjoyed.  But we are already loving having her so close by, and are hopeful she will be able to make a wider variety of friends and enjoy her new place, too. 

And then, all of a sudden, it was concert week for COC.  Which looked like 3 nights of 3 hour rehearsals followed by a performance.  Who needs time at home, right??

It was pretty exciting to be in the Hall. Particularly the amount of time we get to tromp around backstage and in all the hidden hallways and stairways to get from palce to place!  I just love that part.  Also, its kind of like this place was built to hear music-- what a lovely acoustic to sing in!  

Managed to fit in some quick walks, and our third bike club for the season, in the few hours I did have at home

Bike Club is definitely "small but mighty" this year, thanks to how busy "normal life' is keeping us.  But the ducks are still friendly and I lvoe that Ivy and Vio still get some quality time together as the navigate all the new friends and new learning at their different middle schools. 

Concert night!  Kind of a relief to wear a mask-- no worries about how one's lipstick looks after warming up!  Having spent all week in the same seating position (which never seemed to happen at more than two rehearsals so far this season) I finally got to know some of the ladies seated around me.  It was fun to talk and share excitement with each other as we got ready on Thursday night.

A beautiful evening, and beautiful music.  I'd forgotten how much I love performing for an audience-- and how utterly different it is than rehearsal.  The full-house crowd was enthusiastic and it felt like a party when we came on stage.  I was able to sing most of the piece from memory and just enjoy myself-- and I didn't even make the two egregious mistakes I'd been having a hard time with!  Audience reports were all positive-  they could hear us well even in masks, and loved the performance.  The three curtain calls were most likely for the (amazing!) soloists-- but I do think I did a good job with my tiny role in all this, and I beamed behind my mask during all the clapping. 

Now, to learn some Christmas music and do this 8 more times before the holidays!