Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Blizzard Warning
1 to 2 feet of snow is on the way and is starting to leave a light covering on the ground.
Up to 50 mph winds expected with the snow so it'll be drifting and power outages are also expected...ugh.
Snow ending sometime tomorrow by 6pm.
Looks like Tom will be home Monday...extra food is in the house and the Christmas lights are off the tree outside.
Food and water are on the front step for a new stray cat...no more room in this Inn, though, so it'll have to use the outdoor sheds and gypsy wagon.
It's winter!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Winter Solstice ~ Lunar Eclipse
HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE ~ UNDER A FULL MOON
TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
ENJOY THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON!
Memories of Rufus
The night of the concert I had 4 - one-time-use camcorders to create memories of Rufus Wainwright performing LIVE! After the clerk at CVS replaced the batteries in all camcorders, as I tested them before we left...good thing...they get reused...wonderful, I proceeded to use one of our ride to Storrs, then saved the other 3 for him.
Ran into trouble, of course, with developing/processing. My husband had to bring them to a CVS in MA near where he works as the local CVS had no clue what to do with them! We got one back that worked. It was the first I took - the drive to Storrs. They came up empty, as none of the others played anything. They gave us our $$$ back and sent them somewhere else to see if they can save the "chip?" and then process them. In one week I'll know if I captured any memories of Rufus LIVE or if I will just have to keep them in my heart and mind!
Lesson: don't buy anything made in China, and buy a reliable camera of your own so you don't go through what I just did. I may still get them and have them to enjoy for years, or I won't. There has been a lessen learned nevertheless. One of which is not to depend on any type of cameras and computerised gadgets. The day will come when we will be forced to go back to the basics and all the social networks and computers and related stuff will run amok and cause much trouble, or nothing will be safe. No information will be safe...no banking or purchases will be safe..I am looking forward to that day as I can see there is way too much dependency on the almighty computer and attachments.
This is the program insert from concert night and our ticket stubs. I watched the 1 DVD and it was really nice...a nice memory of our anniversary. I'll be watching in months to come where Rufus will be performing, and would love to see him again!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Anniversary Celebration Was Rufus Wainwright In Concert!
Friday, December 10th was our 44th wedding anniversary! I know... :) It so happened that Rufus Wainwright was playing an hour away from home that night (and the next night) at UCONN in Storrs, CT. Being that close, there was no way I would miss that opportunity, so the evening has come and gone. This was my Rufus experience!
We had taken a dry run 2 weeks before so we knew our way to the Jorgensen Center, but didn't know if my husband would be able to drop me off or if he would be able to park in the parking garage and find me inside the lobby...it was all new but it worked out very well.
Tom dropped me off in front of the Center and he proceeded to the parking garage. The lobby wasn't crowded, it was about 7:10. The concert was at 8:00. There was a bar there and a table set up with gay & lesbian literature and people sitting behind the table. There was a large sign announcing not to applaud during the 1st half of the show where Rufus performed "Songs for Lulu." We were asked to wait until he left the stage, then we could applaud. I sat and waited for Tom and in a few minutes he came in and was able to park on the main floor of the garage. We found the elevator to go to the basement level where the restrooms were. We got a couple bottles of water, Tom a coffee, and we found our table I reserved...number 17. In section A it was the left of the stage and on the outside aisle. The theater was smaller than I expected, so I was very comfortable. We were both surprised at the age of the crowd...we thought we might stand out in a sea of college students! Not the case. It was an older crowd with a splattering of young people.
Rufus came on stage at 8:10 and all went dark. There was a huge screen at the back of the stage where images of his "eye" really made up with dark makeup...sometimes there was one large eye that opened and closed, and sometimes there were 6 or 7 eyes of different sizes...this was from the cover of his last CD with the "songs for Lulu" that he sang the first half of the show.
Rufus entered the stage walking slowly toward the piano. He was wearing a long dress or gown in dark grey with a large poofy collar around his neck - I don't know what century that was from...Victorian? It had a long train...he sat at the piano...all was quiet and he started with his first song and continued with these rather odd songs and loud piano playing banging the keys as if possessed by dark spirit. I still am not sure who Lulu is or was...but my husband thought that "he WAS Lulu" the whole first set. What I do know from the comments I heard in the ladies room during intermission was everyone loved Rufus, but disliked this first set...no one liked "Songs for Lulu!" They were very disappointed. For me, his CD was my least favorite, as well. During the performance, Rufus forgot the lyrics to a song he was in the middle of, and he "la la la laed his way through the end of it. I wasn't that surprised because he forgets his lyrics almost chronically. At Carnegie Hall LIVE he did the same thing.
The 2nd half of the concert was wonderful as Rufus sang his popular songs which the audience appreciated so much...plenty of applause and laughter as he would stop and talk for a while...making light asking if the college had a football team, that he'd like the players to attend the next day's concert wearing their helmets! After a song was sung he stopped and went back to another scenario about maybe he should go into the locker room Saturday wearing his "Lulu" outfit! Being open about his being gay, no one was surprised at his comments. :) Rufus said he was comfortable "here" as it was close to his home in NY.
So the show went on as I went through 4 throw-away camcorders and have to bring them to be developed tomorrow. After that I'd like to make videos to post but don't know how yet. So I'll have something to replay on my dream come true night with Rufus Wainwright! Rufus played until 10:45 and left the stage with thunderous applause, and came back to sing 3 more songs before leaving for the night, smiling and waving to his faithful fans. I was elated.
I went to his Facebook page and left a nice comment about my experience, and today I checked to see if there were any videos from his performances at UCONN. There was one video, and I may post it here afterwards. He blundered again last night apparently, through "Hallelujah," forgetting the words...makes me wonder if he has a memory problem as it seems this happens often. So mistakes and all, I will post it if I can, but from Facebook to here, I'm not sure it'll work. For anyone interested, you can go to my Facebook page (Nancy Shewchuk) or go to Rufus's FB page under Rufus and Others and you'll find the video.
That's the end of my experience December 1oth at the Rufus Wainwright concert on my anniversary night! Love you, Rufus! :)
We had taken a dry run 2 weeks before so we knew our way to the Jorgensen Center, but didn't know if my husband would be able to drop me off or if he would be able to park in the parking garage and find me inside the lobby...it was all new but it worked out very well.
Tom dropped me off in front of the Center and he proceeded to the parking garage. The lobby wasn't crowded, it was about 7:10. The concert was at 8:00. There was a bar there and a table set up with gay & lesbian literature and people sitting behind the table. There was a large sign announcing not to applaud during the 1st half of the show where Rufus performed "Songs for Lulu." We were asked to wait until he left the stage, then we could applaud. I sat and waited for Tom and in a few minutes he came in and was able to park on the main floor of the garage. We found the elevator to go to the basement level where the restrooms were. We got a couple bottles of water, Tom a coffee, and we found our table I reserved...number 17. In section A it was the left of the stage and on the outside aisle. The theater was smaller than I expected, so I was very comfortable. We were both surprised at the age of the crowd...we thought we might stand out in a sea of college students! Not the case. It was an older crowd with a splattering of young people.
Rufus came on stage at 8:10 and all went dark. There was a huge screen at the back of the stage where images of his "eye" really made up with dark makeup...sometimes there was one large eye that opened and closed, and sometimes there were 6 or 7 eyes of different sizes...this was from the cover of his last CD with the "songs for Lulu" that he sang the first half of the show.
Rufus entered the stage walking slowly toward the piano. He was wearing a long dress or gown in dark grey with a large poofy collar around his neck - I don't know what century that was from...Victorian? It had a long train...he sat at the piano...all was quiet and he started with his first song and continued with these rather odd songs and loud piano playing banging the keys as if possessed by dark spirit. I still am not sure who Lulu is or was...but my husband thought that "he WAS Lulu" the whole first set. What I do know from the comments I heard in the ladies room during intermission was everyone loved Rufus, but disliked this first set...no one liked "Songs for Lulu!" They were very disappointed. For me, his CD was my least favorite, as well. During the performance, Rufus forgot the lyrics to a song he was in the middle of, and he "la la la laed his way through the end of it. I wasn't that surprised because he forgets his lyrics almost chronically. At Carnegie Hall LIVE he did the same thing.
The 2nd half of the concert was wonderful as Rufus sang his popular songs which the audience appreciated so much...plenty of applause and laughter as he would stop and talk for a while...making light asking if the college had a football team, that he'd like the players to attend the next day's concert wearing their helmets! After a song was sung he stopped and went back to another scenario about maybe he should go into the locker room Saturday wearing his "Lulu" outfit! Being open about his being gay, no one was surprised at his comments. :) Rufus said he was comfortable "here" as it was close to his home in NY.
So the show went on as I went through 4 throw-away camcorders and have to bring them to be developed tomorrow. After that I'd like to make videos to post but don't know how yet. So I'll have something to replay on my dream come true night with Rufus Wainwright! Rufus played until 10:45 and left the stage with thunderous applause, and came back to sing 3 more songs before leaving for the night, smiling and waving to his faithful fans. I was elated.
I went to his Facebook page and left a nice comment about my experience, and today I checked to see if there were any videos from his performances at UCONN. There was one video, and I may post it here afterwards. He blundered again last night apparently, through "Hallelujah," forgetting the words...makes me wonder if he has a memory problem as it seems this happens often. So mistakes and all, I will post it if I can, but from Facebook to here, I'm not sure it'll work. For anyone interested, you can go to my Facebook page (Nancy Shewchuk) or go to Rufus's FB page under Rufus and Others and you'll find the video.
That's the end of my experience December 1oth at the Rufus Wainwright concert on my anniversary night! Love you, Rufus! :)
Friday, December 10, 2010
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