Post-opera.

I'm getting email now from one of the chorus kids that looks like this:



Which is pretty awesome. She's 10, so I sent her an email message back saying that I'd gotten glasses at 8 and it's been all downhill from there. Cheery, right? This is also the kid whose dad's a funeral director and he did her stage makeup for the show. She reported that she has to lie flat for him to accomplish this, however, which totally cracked me up. She looked great--really nice color, perfectly blended. We should have brought her dad in to do makeup on the entire chorus, but then we would have had to find a table for people to lie on.

We sold out in Minneapolis, which is maybe not that impressive in a 110-seat theater, but it was nice to know that there were lines out the door and that we'd be performing to a full house every night. Once we have pics, I'll post some so that you can see my cartoon wig and some of the really bad faces I seem to be making when the photographer catches me mid-sing. It was a good experience. It was tiring, and I was responsible for a lot in the show, but that is how it goes when you have the lead role and you're onstage all the time. It had been ages since I'd done such a major role--probably 6 years--and it was so nice to have such a long stretch of time to work with my character and with the other singers. I do miss doing opera, sigh, but it's just a fact that I don't want to pursue that life (and at this point I would have to totally bust my ass to try to compete).

And now the show's over, a reality I still have not entirely grasped. It'll be weeks before the music is out of my head, but I'm combatting this by downloading some new stuff and making sure I actually listen to it. I can totally recommend the Mynabirds, especially if you think you would like a blend of Neko Case, Jenny Lewis, and Cat Power kicking it old-school. Also, I think Big Boi's new album is about to be hot shit, and Bad Rabbits, which you can get for free over here, is a throwback-funky R & B lovefest.

Anyway, I'm tired. I haven't managed to catch up on sleep yet, and I'm looking forward to this weekend, to having a lie-in tomorrow, to hanging out with the Brit, to maybe posting some stuff on Etsy, and to sewing up the big hole that appeared in the bum of my dress last night at the Neil Young concert. You know how the thread in vintage dresses just, like, disintegrates sometimes? I don't know how I missed this seam when I gave the dress a once-over recently, but world, welcome to my cheeks.

Neil Young, by the way, was great. We noodled around to the back of the venue to get a look at his tour bus before the show, then went in to hear Bert Jansch being completely awesome and making the most beautiful guitar sounds, then settled in for a nice long Neil Young solo set, acoustic and electric. He sounds good, y'all. Still a ton of vocal control, esp for someone his age, and he played several really strong new songs. Also, I love the fact that he had an upright piano, a baby grand, and a Gothic-looking pump organ onstage so that he could play a single song on each instrument.

Yesterday I finally pulled the trigger and booked our flights to the UK. I am looking forward to vacation like whoa. Two whole weeks, in the midst of which is a trip up to the Lake District, which you may remember from such photos as this one:



And this one:



So yeah, I want to go to there. I only have to wait for FIVE WEEKS and then we will be ON THE PLANE.

Lastly, it's time to get a new bike. What should I get?

Today I have a whole blessed day alone, off work, at my own house. Until about 10 minutes ago the backyard looked like maybe no one actually lives here, but I busted out the clippers, the mower, the weed whacker, and my own digits to try and change the backyard circumstance. Now I feel much better about the whole scene and I've gotten some bonus exercise. Also my forearms feel like jelly.

We have more shows this weekend, but they are here in Mpls, which means that I have to go to work during the day on the one hand but that I can eat a more balanced and leafy diet on the other. We had a great time in Wisconsin but dude, I ate so much cheese. Soso much cheese. And fried things. During the days we were unscheduled, so I sat by the river with TZ Van EZ most of the time, either talking (a lot) or reading (some). I did dock yoga once. After the show opened, I brought the thunder while playing air hockey. We went tubing on Saturday, which was excellent. Floating down a river in a tube with friends might be one of the top 5 most relaxing activities of my year. I got a sideboob sunburn.

As for the show itself, both performances sold out in Wisco and it went over big. One of the set pieces is a moving traincar that I totally busted my ass on during dress rehearsals, but fortunately I managed to keep myself from falling off of it during actual performances. Another feature of dress rehearsals was my wig, which looked Little Mermaid-esque right out of the box but which improved marginally by performance time. Here's hoping it survived the trip.

If you are ever in a show, I highly recommend getting cast with most of your friends. It makes things so pleasant and entertaining.

I have to teach a single lesson later today and then I am going to eat dinner with my husband. Being at home together on a weeknight feels hugely novel and very nice.