Good Night, America, Bye-Bye and Buy Bonds!

Hi, guys! Hope all is well. This weekend was filled with lots of emotion for me.  This Saturday was the last time my husband and Cranston & Spade Theatre Company performed at Partners & Crime Mystery Booksellers.  Partners & Crime will be closing on September 20th. It is so sad to see another independent bookstore go out of business. The company has been performing there for sixteen years and had a great run there.  The company does recreations of old-time radio shows. They are currently looking for a new venue and I know they will be in operation again soon.

For me, sentimental emotions took over on Saturday watching the final performance there.  I first went to see Alan perform there in December 2008. He invited me to see him in A Christmas Carol as he knew it was a favorite of mine.  He was playing the role of Scrooge.  This is significant to me as it was the beginning of me going out again socially after the loss of my husband Charlie.  After seeing the performance and quite a few more, we started dating and were married in 2010.  The members of the theatre company have come to mean a lot to me as well.  So, seeing this chapter come to a close was rather sad.  There was a happy moment during the performance, though. They had an audience member propose marriage! I love that there was a new beginning starting that night!   So I hope they will be as happy as my husband and I are.

Cranston & Spade Theatre Company

I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this great group of performers and, more importantly, great people!

Until next time!

Widowhood, Twenty Wishes and Bread

Hi, guys.  Hope you are having a great day.  I have been asked lately about my foray into bread baking. I thought I would share the why, when and how with you today.

I was widowed 6 years ago. During that time, my sister would supply me with TONS of books. Most of them had a young widow in the story (coincidence, I think not!). I fell in love with one of the books she gave me entitled TWENTY WISHES by Debbie Macomber. It focused on a widow group and an exercise they did where they each listed twenty wishes they had for themselves. At this point in my life, I found it very healing to sit and think about what I wanted in my life. The wishes in the story were not the usual "I want to win the lottery" type.  They were things you could do, work towards or places to visit, etc. - all obtainable with work. On my list was to learn to make good French bread.  Crusty, yummy bread. A good friend gave me a book for Christmas that was supposed to help me learn and, boy, did it ever. It is entitled ARTISAN BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY. I was skeptical, but I really wanted to learn. So, I dove right into the dough (and my fingers were NOT inky, but pristine!). The bread is delicious. I have been making the master recipe and will move on to the others eventually.  I just can't believe how easy -  and good - it is. Note: The title of the book may be a bit of a misnomer, as it refers to the mixing of the dough. You will need more time than 5 minutes to bake it off, but, boy, is it worth it.

I highly recommend you give it a try. The link above takes you to the authors' site where they will explain the science and the "how it works."

My personal list of wishes is 17 so far and growing. It is a great exercise for anyone, not just those who have been widowed.  What is life without having any wishes for yourself? I have been very fortunate in that I have had another wish come true.  I have found love again and have remarried! Can't wait to see what other wishes come true down the road!

Hope you have a great day and find a few moments in your day to do something you love, or maybe to try something new.   Maybe bake some bread?