WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

I've had several inquiries the past day or two asking me "Where in the world are you, are you all right?" and all I can say is that I'm here, relatively healthy and just haven't been "computerizing" as much lately! When I was still affiliated with Canvas by Canvas, I spent the majority of my time on the computer and had little time left for anything else. Now that that burden has been lifted, I have other things to fill my days (not to mention my nights ;-) but I'm not sure what all I'm accomplishing!

Monday of last week we went to a party that our travel agent hosted in Fort Worth. She was celebrating 30 years in the travel business and it was a lovely gathering. Her name is Ruth Turpin, her company is Cruises, Etc., and I would highly recommend her if you need any assistance with your travels. She's the best of the best.

The next night we went to see the stage play "Steel Magnolias" which is part of the Broadway at the Bass series this year. We ate at our favorite restaurant, Caro's, on Bluebonnet Circle. Frank and I have been eating there for 52 years and it's as good as it was way back when. It's always a special occasion for us to eat there because we like it so much. The place still looks the same and the Mexican food is wonderful.

We purchased season tickets for this Broadway series and so far we have not been disappointed. For those of you not from Fort Worth, Bass Hall is a wonderful place and as residents of the Metroplex, we are so blessed to have this wonderful facility. The Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall complex is the crown jewel of Fort Worth which boasts the nation's third largest cultural district.

Built entirely with private funds, Bass Performance Hall is permanent home to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Texas Ballet Theater, Fort Worth Opera, and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and Cliburn Concerts. It also hosts special productions of Casa Manana Musicals and presents Performing Arts Fort Worth's "Hall Series," a popular array of eclectic entertainment.

The 2,056-seat multipurpose Hall is characteristic of the classic European opera house form. The Hall itself is renowned for its superb acoustics, exceptional sight lines and ambience on level with the great halls of the world.

It is, however, a very difficult structure to photograph. Because of the fact that it is located downtown and surrounded by tall buildings you can never get a good enough camera angle on it to due justice to the magnificent angels who are blowing gold trumpets that are on the front facade of the building. I have included a painting that a friend of mine painted. His interpretation of these angels is very dramatic and I like it very much.

This performance that we attended however, was not held at the Bass, but at Casa Manana, which is another theatre here in Fort Worth.

Steel Magnolias is actually a very sad play. What has made it so popular is the best collection of one-liners since Neil Simon in his prime. "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion," one character says and there's a lot of this in this play.

Casa Mañana assembled a stellar cast for its new production of this clouds-and-sunshine warhorse. Most of the performers have at least as much movie or TV as stage experience, but that doesn't mean close-up-to-the-camera subtlety. Most of the acting was stagy in the old-fashioned Broadway way.
The setting is the beauty shop that Truvy (Sally Struthers)

runs as a kind of clubhouse for the wealthy ladies of a small Louisiana city. The bighearted and buxom Truvy takes care of her new assistant, Annelle, as if she were a member of the family.
As the first client in the door, the late mayor's wife Clairee, played by a Fort Worth favorite, Ruta Lee, broke character immediately to acknowledge the audience's applause – as if she were back in the saddle as Mame or Mama Rose yet again. Fort Worth has always been her home away from home and she's delightful to watch.

With that purring baritone croak of hers, she delivers every speech as if it were the punch line of a stand-up joke, which most of them might just as well be. It was a delightful play but I think it would have worked better at the Bass as the acoustics are much better there.

Valentine's Day came and went and Frank and I got a new video camera to celebrate the occasion. It's no bigger than a package of cigarettes and takes marvelous images. It will come in very handy when we travel and it doesn't weigh much. That's the beauty of it! We're nearly half way through Lent now, and I have been busy studying, reading and doing a little painting.Unfortunately I had to miss my Bible/Book Study group last Monday as I have a cold and felt like the dickens. I have read my assignment, however, so I'm caught up. It's difficult for me to not move ahead as the book is so interesting and I want to keep going with the story line, but I'm trying to stay with the group and not get ahead.

We had a special presentation last Sunday afternoon at St. Alban's and I attended that. It was interesting, but not as informative as I had hoped it would be. We will have another presentation this coming Sunday by The Rev. Canon Charles Hough, the Canon to the Ordinary and assistant to the Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth and I'm really looking forward to it. He and Father Tom Hightower will explain the changes that are taking place in the Episcopal Church in the United States and how this effects the churches within the Anglican Communion.
Last night I attended Evening Prayer and the Holy Eucharist which was followed by a meatless Lenten supper. We had a guest speaker, the Rev'd Chuck Hough, Jr. who spoke on the road that led to the crucifixion. The topic was "Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me". Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all provide witness to the crucifixion, but each does so in a unique way that when put together provide a multifaceted view. First, Matthew's account of the time from when Pontius Pilate delivered Christ to the Roman troops, to the time that they cast lots for His clothing. Matthew's account of Simon, "this man they compelled to carry His cross" is direct and plain.

"Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium, and they gathered the whole battalion before Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe upon Him, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand. And kneeling before Him they mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they spat upon Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the robe, and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
As they went out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry His cross. Father Hough's presentation was excellent and well attended. We are having these meditations every Wednesday night during Lent. If you have anything like this at your churches, I would urge you to attend. These meditations help put the season of Lent into the proper perspective in our busy lives. I'm looking forward to the study next week.

I started taking private instruction today with a really good art teacher and I'm trying to stretch myself in a different direction. I've always been interested in landscapes and I'm attempting to paint in a more impressionistic style rather than painting with so much realism. We'll see what happens. Here's what I have painted in the last 24 hours. It was very interesting to work on. It's a copy of a painting that my teacher had done and I love it. I think I'll entitle mine "Reflections on a Golden Shore". It's a fairly large painting, 16 x 20 without a frame, so that in itself is a stretch for me!

This weekend will be a busy one. We will be keeping the boys and Harry overnight Saturday and then have a full day at church on Sunday. I'll try to get back to you soon and will hopefully have lots of interesting anticdotes to share.

Our evenings have been filled with American Idol and tonight we get to find out who gets eliminated this week. The voices this year seem to be much better than usual. The young man pictured is our favorite so far. His name is David Archuleta, he's 17 years old (I think) and is from Utah. He is adorable and he has a very strong voice. In my humble opinion, he has the best personality of the lot and he's so adorable looking.

Frank and I both love this show. We plan our evenings and meals around the television set during AI season. If you aren't a fan, stay tuned and I'll bring you up to date. If you are ... vote for David. We have and will :-)

XOXO, Pcasso