theater, snowflakes, graves, daffodils, babies, surprise parties...

how much bluster and hoopla can life whirl up?

first of all, we have three different friends in performing in plays over a couple weeks.

and honestly, what could be better!?

here we are going to see lesley in her school's production of The Odyssey.

i wish we had a picture of her as Athena; her acting and presence and energy and voice are absolutely stunning.

i also wish i could have taken a picture of the rad giant papier-mache Cyclops puppet head contraption the students built, with our friend Skip manning it, so amazing and fun to watch: my kind of circus!

stan did some recording of the performance, and there were rad live musicians playing violin and harp and singing melodies.

meanwhile, it rained, it poured, it thundered, and it snowed a little... 

i read tasha tudor's book in one sitting...

and two days later we saw another friend, Rachel, perform in our local theater's production of the musical Quilters.

in honor of this production, our town is proudly "quilt crazy" with quilts on display at shops along main street. i wrote about it over at our bookstore blog.

entering the theater through a covered wagon,

and of course...

i had to wear my new gunne from sara for the special occasion!

i'm kind of (obviously) a sucker for stories that include heartwrenching themes of quilts made with love and the legacy they pass through generations of women,

told through the true stories of pioneer women.

i hadn't been to a musical in so long; i'd forgotten what the experience is like and i wasn't quite mentally prepared for the emotional roller coaster. i giggled, i gasped, i shed tears.

musicals can be really over-the-top and dorky, but in this heartwarming way that my soul embraces.

especially proud of this little lady, my dear friend, who was also celebrating her 25th birthday that day!

 her mama and grandma greeted her after the performance and (gulp, sigh) her grandma presented her with this sunbonnet sue quilted patch that her own grandmother made long ago. this is a family of women who truly cherish the bonds through time. in fact i think i have mentioned before the insanely magical dresses rachel's grandmother has passed down to her.

meanwhile, um, boys can be pretty cute too.

nick has bought 8 tickets to see his lady's show, yes eight! i jokingly asked him during intermission (his third viewing so far) if it's getting boring yet. he replied quite earnestly: no, not at all. such a prince.

back at home, i got ready for abby's funeral. we always paint rocks to commemorate the cat spirit who has passed on. my marmy, pops, joey, emily and i all put her to rest softly in the earth where she is eternally now surrounded with three of her old cat friends: stormy, harvest, and little miss.

we want to make markers to honor our other two cats who disappeared, bandini and cleo.

under the plum tree, up beyond the little rocky wall, it is becoming a tiny sacred cat graveyard.

after the funeral,

it was straight over to nick and rachel's sweet apartment to await their arrival for her SURPRISE PARTY.

i haven't been to a real true surprise party in like fifteen years.

it was really fun gathering there and waiting in excitement...

and getting the party started with this dude!

rachel has pretty knick knacks in every corner, as you might expect...

after a while, we waited interminably in the dark, trying not to make a sound, except for the precious tiny sounds of contentment oliver was making while nursing, awwwwwww!

and then...

we threw balloons, we flung on the lights, we hooped and hollered, we covered oliver's ears...

for the much-anticipated arrival was upon us!

everybody had a blast.

had to get a family pic since father and son wore matching shirts.

(of course they're the most stylish fam in town!)

well i wore my new dress all day and night, but was so busy taking the pictures that i never got any more of me...so i'll include this for good measure. i reallllly loved wearing it. a young gal i had just met at the party good-naturedly asked me if i "dressed like that all the time"?

to which i replied, i wish! but i do as much as possible!

and to complete some ephemeral cycle in this random post, dear friends, as of yesterday the spring sun is out!

blossoms blooming and beez buzzin. i can't wait to see what comes next.