My ballot is in the mail today. My husband and I sat down and went through our ballots together, as we do each time we vote.  We have already spent time going through the various propositions on the ballot and discussing them – sometimes changing each other’s mind on whether to vote yes or no;…

Ricardo Mesa (1931-2000) was originally from Chile.  He was a communist militant and active leader of university reform and was exiled to Spain in 1974.  With that kind of background, I have to wonder at the creative source for his “Las Gordas” (the fat ladies) series in porcelain bisque.  I would love to know, but…

You know those warning labels on wood finish? The ones about properly disposing of the rags you used to apply the stuff to the wood? Well, they mean it. I had an unfinished bedroom set and I wanted to finish it – not stain it – finish it. So I got the stuff and applied…

As before, this is not political. This is about rules and consequences. I tried watching the Harris/Pence debate. I really tried. I just couldn’t. At the bottom of my fat old lady heart, I believe in rules. Just tell me what the rules are and then we go from there. At the beginning of the…

First, I really, really hate when someone suggest you should give 110%, or anything above 100%.  All that means is you don’t understand math and percentages.  An actor’s aim should be to give 100% – that’s everything. If you give 100%, there is nothing left to give.  If you tell me that you are giving…

This is when I miss my Mom the most. I am not feeling well today. When my Mom was alive and I just wasn’t feeling well or something went wrong, I would call her up and ask her to just tell me, “Poor baby.” And she would.  No questions asked. And it always made me…

I could find precious little about the artist Des Brophy on the internet. Des Brophy is a wonderful artist, whose art celebrates the joys of growing fat and old together.  Obviously two things that I very much appreciate. I was able to find out that Mr. Brophy was a policeman in Sheffield (UK) for 22…

Mrs. Westover was a great math teacher at John Glenn High School. She was also a fascinating person.  In class she would, from time to time, drop little stories about her life outside the classroom. She had a sister who was a nun.  When the Catholic church allowed nuns to show their hair, Mrs. Westover’s…

Believe it or not, this is not a political complaint. This is a complaint about behavior.  Pure and simple. I wasn’t sure that I could stand to listen to the first Presidential debate. I was right.  I got through maybe 10 minutes before I took my book and my fat old lady ass into the…

What do you do when you are injured or ill and you have no understudy? In community theater this issue comes up. If you are in the ensemble, chances are they can reblock around you or adjust what you are doing to accommodate your injury or illness. And if you’re a lead?  I have only…