Change in plans

Sunday night I got a frantic phone call from my sister-in-law, Shay.  I barely heard her ask me to come home in between the sobbing.  My dad has taken another turn for the worse. 

After I left this summer and came back to Nantucket, Dad was moved to a rehabilitation home where they could monitor him.  But 2 weeks ago his insurance ran out.  So he went home to the ranch in Malad.  He was extremely happy to begin with, as you can imagine, but unfortunately was rushed to the hospital again Sunday. 

So, I am now headed directly to Idaho tomorrow.  I'm going to feel things out and give my family a break.  I think it's just been too much for them to handle.  If things are serious we may bring Michael to Idaho sooner.  But hopefully that won't be the case and hopefully I'll be able to fly up to Seattle/Leavenworth at some point.  We shall see!

Thank you for all your support!  I will keep you posted. 

Cheers,
Ernest

We clicked the button and purchased our tickets

This week we finally solidified our travel plans for the holidays and purchased our airplane tickets home. We will be leaving Nantucket and flying straight to Seattle on November 3rd. We will be spending most of our time in Leavenworth helping out our favorite business, The Gingerbread Factory, during their busiest time of the year. We'll also be bouncing back and forth to Seattle several times. Hopefully we can spend Thanksgiving with Michael's brother Chris and family. We both have doctors appointments to make. AND we have tickets to SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE at Comcast Arena in Everett on November 21st. Woohoo! (Guilty Pleasure)

We'll be flying to Idaho on December 18th to spend Christmas with my family. On January 5th, we will be flying to Alabama to spend a month with Anne, Scott, & Tyler. Then in February, it is back to Nantucket.

What else happened this week? I threw my back out on Saturday and spent much of the week in a haze of muscle relaxers and pain killers. Michael transformed the large bedroom into a gym. He moved the treadmill in there and set up the Wii Fit, so it's all ready to go. And...get this...he actually worked out! Isn't that awesome? He almost inspired me to work out. Almost.

Also, my dear friend Kathryn announced that she is traveling to Johannesburg, South Africa this winter with a nonprofit group called, "Artists Striving To End Poverty." This group serves a severely disadvantaged community heavily affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, limited education, unemployment, lack of skills and poor housing. Along with several other artists, she will be providing basic dance, drama, music, poetry and playwriting workshops for the children during their holiday break. Basically, she will be bringing joy to kids who need it. What could be a better Christmas present?!? I've known Kathryn for several years. She is giving and supremely talented. We have acted together in many, many shows. I've shared some of my most memorable and fun moments with her and also some of my most personal and devastating moments. If you feel you can donate to her cause, please consider it. I can't think of a better person or cause. Here is a link to her website: http://www.firstgiving.com/kathrynvanmeter

That's all for now!

Cheers,
Ernest

Holy Red Cranberries, Batman!!

For some reason Michael and I were talking about cranberries this morning.  I believe I had mentioned that I wanted to go see one of the cranberry bogs here on the island -- something I had never seen before -- and then he mentioned that Nantucket has an annual cranberry festival.  So, I jumped online and...lo and behold...today was Cranberry Fest 2009!

We jumped in the car and headed out to Milestone Cranberry Bog, 193 acres of currently cultivated cranberry bog.  Prior to 1959, this bog was 234 acres, making it the largest contiguous natural cranberry bog in the world.  Since that time the bog has been divided up to make it more water-efficient.  Together, the Milestone Cranberry Bog and the other commercial bogs on Nantucket produce 2 million pounds of cranberries each year.

Cranberry Fest 2009 featured a cranberry harvest, bog tours, hay rides, sheep shearing demonstrations, live music, kid's events, food, fresh berries and other cranberry products, although we missed much of that since we were so late in arriving.

We saw a woman spinning freshly sheared wool into yarn:

A woman weaving beautiful rugs:

And an old-fashioned cranberry separator:

Fun facts about cranberries:

1. John Webb, one of the first growers, was the first person to notice that good cranberries bounce.   Because he had a wooden leg, John couldn't carry his cranberries down the stairs, so he dropped them instead.  He soon noticed that the firmest berries bounced to the bottom but the rotten ones stayed on the steps.  This discovery eventually led to the cranberry separator pictured above.
2. Small pockets of air inside the berry cause the cranberry to bounce.  Air also causes the berries to float in water. 
3. The cranberry is one of only three fruits native to North America.  The other two are the Concord grape and the blueberry.
4. The cranberry was so named because its pink blossoms resemble the head of a crane ("Craneberry" as it was originally called).

I did get to taste a few things.  Walking by one booth, I spied a yummy looking cracker slathered with cranberry jam.  I quickly grabbed one, shoved the whole thing in my mouth....and it nearly burned my tongue off!  Turns out it was curry cranberry jam.  Who would have thought?  I guess it tasted good...just eat it in small portions.

Show closes and Fall TV Season begins!

Sooooo, we closed the show Saturday night to a house so full we had to add extra seats.  What a thrill!  It's been really nice to do a "straight" show as we call it -- a play that is not a musical.  And, best of all, I have made several cool new friends.  I love actors.  They are so full of energy and come prepackaged with lots of crazy stories.

 

Now that the show is over, I can finally make room to watch all the new fall TV shows that have just started.  Whew!  Here's a list of the best we are watching:

   mondays... 
Castle

   tuesdays...

Hells Kitchen
NCIS
Biggest Loser

   wednesdays...

So You Think You Can Dance
Glee

   thursdays...

Flashforward
Police Women of Broward County
Greys Anatomy
Project Runway

   fridays...

Ghost Whisperer
Dollhouse
Stargate Universe

   saturdays...

Divine Design
Color Splash

   sundays...

Drop Dead Diva
The Amazing Race

My favorite of the season so far is GLEE!  It is freaking awesome.

Cheers,

E