Sal Sees Another Great Show at Near West Theatre

Sal and I just returned home from a very enjoyable evening seeing Side Show at Near West Theatre with some of our favorite people.  As usual, Near West's production was boffo!  The performances were wonderful, the costumes and sets were amazing, and the show was incredibly moving.  As people were entering the theatre and finding their seats, I started taking pictures of Sal in front of some of the really cool scenery.  Unfortunately I had to stop when a very polite young lady asked me to get down from the steps I was on "for safety reasons."  I figured I would take some pictures of Sal with other parts of the scenery (not standing or sitting on any steps, of course) during intermission, but during the first half, the coolest things were removed as the plot progressed.  Sigh...  (Glad I got a couple of shots before the show started!)

The Side Show set consisted partly of signs like this one, which advertised the "freaks" that customers would see if they entered the eponymous sideshow.  I wanted to get pictures of Sal with more of these signs, but alas, it didn't work out (for the reasons described in the paragraph above this photo.)

I like how Sal looks against the grain of the wooden box she is sitting on -- and the wonderful backdrop, of course.

After being saved from a possible fall down the scenery steps (though I promise I was being very careful), I went by the concession stand and asked the friendly folks working there if they would pose for a photo with Sal.  As you can see, they did!

There are always lots of yummy homemade refreshments at Near West shows.

I also asked my friend Mary -- who was handing out programs -- to pose with Sal. 

I think Mary looks great holding a uke!  (hint, hint!)

I returned to my seat, and greatly enjoyed the show.  I must confess that tears were shed by moi in both acts of this touching play.  After a well-deserved standing ovation the cast left the stage, and Sal and I drove home -- very happy after another great night at Near West Theatre!  If you ever have the chance to see a show there, GO!

Sal Goes to the Beach

After most of my weekend was spent painting the dining room and half-bath (blech), this evening was frittered away at Huntington Beach with Sal.  If you know me, you are aware that I am not only obsessed with ukuleles -- I am also a bit nuts about Hello Kitty!  For a few weeks now I've been thinking about dressing my Hello Kitty doll in her bathing suit, and taking a picture of her with Sal at the beach.  Of course they would be sitting on a Hello Kitty beach towel!

Today was the first day of reasonably comfortable temperatures for a long time, so it was the perfect night to get out and enjoy the lake breezes!  Unfortunately, many other people had the same idea.  We arrived at Huntington to find a parking lot full of cars and lots of people everywhere.  I can't blame them -- it was a lovely evening -- but it was a challenge to take unpeopled shots.  The person who came with me -- who wishes to remain nameless to avoid being embarrassed by Hello Kitty's presence in this post -- said that people are part of the beach experience.  True, I suppose, but I still prefer photos that are not populated with random strangers.

I really like this photo, except for the water bottle at the bottom.  I didn't notice it when taking the picture, but now it sticks out like a sore thumb.  Argh!  (Several people have suggested that I crop the bottle out, but I wanted to show the whole lifeguard chair sticking out of the sand.)

I propped Sal on this tree to try to get a nice photo of her against the craggy bark with the Cleveland skyline (very faint, I know) in the background.  I got a couple of shots without people, and then turned the camera to get a landscape shot.  There was a guy in the middle of the beach taking photos!  To make a long story short, it turns out that I know him.  He and his wife work for the same library system I work for!  It was great to see them and meet their kids.  It's truly a small world!

I love the bark and the sand and the water...  

Here's the same view in landscape format.  See that guy walking toward us?  Hey, man, get out of my shot!  Oh wait a minute -- it's Dave!  (I actually prefer the other picture of this scene, but included this one because of this amazing coincidence.)

What a happy accident that we were all at the beach at the same time!

I saw two guys playing guitars on the beach, and asked them if they would pose for a photo with Sal.  They agreed, and here's the picture:

Maybe I'll be brave enough to go to the beach and play someday...  (I know -- it's a scary thought -- for me and for those who've heard me play my uke -- haha!)  Thanks, guys, for sharing your music with everyone!

The sun was starting to go down, so it was time to put Hello Kitty and Sal on their towel and take some pictures of them.

Hello Kitty and Sal enjoying the beach.

In this shot the light from the setting sun is the basis for the exposure.  It's hard to believe that this one was taken at the same time as the picture above, but in that shot the exposure is based on Hello Kitty and Sal.

Even though water was splashing around and over them, I had to put Sal on the giant rocks of the breakwall.  I think Sal looks so pretty against the rock with the waves behind and the neat sky and the faint city in the far distance.  Too bad that boat was parked right in the middle.  It stayed there the entire time we were at the beach.  Argh!   Just try to imagine the picture without that boat in the center!

Love the colors and textures.

The grand finale of the evening was an ice cream cone at Mitchell's.  I asked the young lady who waited on me if she would pose for a photo with Sal, and she said she would.  Why did we have ice cream?  Because today is National Ice Cream Day!

Delicious ice cream and a friendly smile!  Thanks!  (It was already getting pretty dark, so Sal is in shadow.  I thought the ice cream and the young lady serving it should be the focus here!  Sorry Sal.)

Sal at the Butler Institute of American Art

Sal enjoys visiting museums, so today she went to the Butler Institute of American Art with two friends and me.  Using my new GPS, we were able to navigate thither without a single wrong turn or missed exit.  (Hooray for the technology that will keep this directionally challenged blogger on the straight and narrow, so to speak.)

I've found that the lighting in museums is not conducive to a project like mine.  The paintings are well lit, but the lighting in the center of the galleries is dimmer.  This means that when I place Sal on one of the benches in the center and take a picture of her with a painting in the background, there is going to be an exposure problem.  If the painting is properly exposed, Sal will be too dark.  If Sal is properly exposed, the painting will be overexposed.  That being said, I am including two such exposure-challenged shots, because these paintings are so awesome.  (Of course I always choose to properly expose Sal in situations like these.  She's the star here, after all!)

This Norman Rockwell painting is called "Lincoln the Railsplitter."  Rockwell wrote "I hope this painting might inspire the youth of this land to appreciate this man who believed so much in the value of education."

John Singer Sargent painted the portrait behind Sal.  It is so lovely -- and my librarian self loves that it shows a mother reading to her children.

When the bench is right in front of the painting, the resulting photos are much better.  :)

This gorgeous painting by Robert William Vonnoh is titled "In Flanders Field -- Where Soldiers Sleep & Poppies Grow".

Love the colors and textures in this sculpture.  When I was down on the floor taking pictures of it, I'm pretty sure the guard sitting nearby thought I was a looney.

This is a small portion of a sculpture by Viola Frey.  I couldn't get more in because I was trying to avoid including the ropes surrounding the art.

My friend Tom had the idea to hold Sal in front of this painting to make it look like Sal was on the table.  Brilliant!  I hope that George Mauersberger -- the artist who painted the original work -- will not be upset by the addition of a uke to his creation.

On the little camera screen this looked perfect, but unfortunately Sal is a titch above the tabletop.  I still think it's a cool picture anyway! 

This is how we did it.  Thanks, Tom, for the idea and for holding Sal so steadily for these shots.  :)

We entered a dark room and saw some amazing things.  Here are just two of them.

A plaque on the base of the aptly named "Harmonic Sculpture #10" instructed us to clap near it to make the little discs move and go around.  We tried it and it was fun, so I decided to ask David to strum Sal and see if this would make the sculpture do its thing.  It did!  This cool sculpture was created by Wen-Ying Tsai.

I loved how "Cantabile" by Stephen Knapp spread colored light all around it.

There was also a room full of sculptures like this one.  A light shining from above made the twisty wires reflect on the wall and create shadow pictures.

These shadow-casting sculptures were so amazing.  I'm not sure if this one -- or the one of George Washington's head -- was my favorite...  The artist is Larry Kagan.

This way-cool work "...is an array of 121 mirror faced blocks.  The faces of the blocks are inclined at the precise angles necessary to direct all of the mirror faces to the focal point, 8 feet in front of the center of the array."  Of course I had to try to get a picture of Sal in all of those mirrors.  My friends and I tried standing various ways holding Sal to try to get a good shot.  Here are three of the coolest ones we took.

I asked my friends to pick their favorite paintings in the museum so I could take pictures of these handsome friends (and Sal, of course) in front of said paintings.  Here are the paintings they chose -- and my favorite, too.

This is the painting Tom chose.  I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the little sign by it so I could tell you its title and who painted it.  Oops!

David chose to be photographed with Sal in front of "Phenomena Ridge of Fire" by Paul Jenkins.

"Seize the Day" by Robert Natkin may have been my favorite painting today.  I loved the warm and joyous colors the artist used, and seeing the textures and shapes up close made me think of a cozy quilt.

Sal Receives a Delivery

Sal and I have been having a good time traveling around, but, as you will see from the pictures in this post, we won't be going anywhere for a while.  How long this will be depends on how much time it takes me to place 600 bricks around the flower beds in the front yard.  My plan is to dig a small trench, put some sand in the bottom to make a level base, and place the bricks so that they become a nice border between the beds and the grass.  Since I have over 200 feet of edge to do, and each brick is four inches wide, I will be placing a lot of bricks.  (The 600 that were delivered today may not be enough!)

I ordered the bricks on Monday, and was glad that the very helpful folks at Westview Concrete were able to deliver them today.  Since tomorrow is a holiday, I will have the whole day to get a good start on the project.  (No Fourth of July cook-out for me!)

This gentleman brought my bricks on this giant truck.  He was able to back into my driveway without incident.  This impressed me, as I can't even back my car up the driveway without weaving all over the place!  When I told him about this blog, and asked him to pose with Sal, I'm sure he thought I was a bit nutty.  He kindly agreed to pose anyway!

Sal and I retreated to the front porch to watch the action.  It was amazing to watch the bricks lifted off the truck by the giant boom thingy and placed gently on the driveway.  The guy who did this (didn't get his name) is great at his job!

After the truck was gone, I let Mrs. Chippy come outside with me.  She was walking around the pallet, so I decided to try to get a picture of her and Sal on top of the bricks.  She decided that she didn't want to pose -- she wanted to get down!  It was too high, though, so she just kept walking to the edge and looking down and then walking to the other side and looking down.  There was no easy escape!

As Mrs. Chippy walked around on top, I kept going over and trying to gently convince her to sit (or stand or lie down) by Sal.  This is the best shot I was able to get of the two of them.  Then I gave up and put her down on the driveway.  She will never be a successful model if she refuses to comply with the wishes of the photographer!  Sal is a much more cooperative subject!

The bricks are unwrapped.  Time to get to work!

One last picture of Sal with the bricks.  Next time I take a picture of Sal with them, they will be in their places along the edges of the flower beds.  (I think you understand -- after seeing this post -- why Sal and I will be taking a little break from our travels.)

Sal Goes to Public Square to See the Fleas on the Big Screen

Tonight was the night!  The Cleveland Jumping Fleas would be seen by thousands of people on a Jumbotron on Public Square before the Cleveland Orchestra's annual free concert to celebrate Independence Day!  (See the post from May 31st if you don't know the back story.)  A bunch of Fleas talked about meeting on the Square by the Moses Cleaveland statue to watch the Jumbotron together.  The rest of the Fleas were alerted through postings on Facebook and Meetup.  The Jumbotron video was to be shown from 5:00-5:30 p.m.  Sal and I were anticipating a really fun evening with a bunch of cool people...

The day began with ominously cloudy skies and the forecast was for possible thunderstorms, but I kept hoping the evening would be dry.  As a pessimist (or a person who has been in Ohio for the past couple of weeks) might expect, it began to rain just as Sal and I were setting off!  As I drove to the Rapid Transit station, the downpour was so hard that I had my wipers on full speed.  I began to doubt that any other Fleas would be crazy enough to show up, but I had said I was coming, and I'm a woman of my word, so I kept on driving.  It was raining as I went from the parking lot to the train station, and it was raining as the train was traveling downtown.  When I emerged onto Public Square, it was no longer raining -- Yay!  And as I turned a corner and saw a couple of Fleas by the statue, I heard a familiar voice coming from the Jumbotron nearby -- the voice of Melissa -- our fearless Flea leader!  I quickly got out my camera and took some shots of the Fleas on the Jumbotron.  There was no time to find a way to include Sal in a picture -- the Fleas were only doing one song in the video!  I was very happy to see that I was not the only intrepid Flea who braved the rain to see our awesome group on the really big screen.  Unfortunately, because of the weather, there were not thousands of other people watching the Fleas -- or the other local musical groups featured on the Jumbotron.  For some reason (the torrential downpour perhaps), there were very few people on the Square.  

Luckily, because of the magic of technology, you can watch the video (minus Melissa's introduction) here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY13gdQsOPk

The Fleas are on the Jumbotron!

A close-up of the Fleas in musical action.

After the Fleas performance it was time to get a photo of Sal with Moses Cleaveland.  Of course we had to include the other Fleas who made the trip downtown in such horrible weather!  I think everybody had fun despite the rain -- I know Sal and I did!

Not afraid of a little rain!  Amy, Tom, Melissa and Sal, Lynn, and Moses Cleaveland.

Melissa helping me get a shot of the statue without an orange cone in front of it. :)

Sal and Moses

Everybody taking pictures of Sal.  (Full Disclosure: When I saw one person doing this I asked everybody to do it.  I thought it would be a fun photo -- and it is!)