WHAT A WEEK

Forever is composed of nows.

Emily Dickinson

And there have been lots of nows.

I’ve been busy.

Sunday was the closing of our show so I decided to attend. Seeing the show from the audience perspective and being a part of their reactions was enlightening. The audience often laughed where I wasn’t expecting it. You just never know how an audience will react. Isn’t that usually the way. After the show the theatre sponsored a cast and crew party in the theatre’s lobby. How sweet was that!

One thing that was a new experience for me was the director emailed us a YouTube link to the shows. They had recorded each of the three shows. Now I know why movie actors often say they don’t watch their own movies. Haha. Hard to watch myself and not be extremely critical.

March is a different month. Trying to do all those missed things on our list. Saying goodbye to various friends who are returning to their homes, as we will be at the end of the month. Who knows what next year will bring. We’re booked to return next winter although March isn’t available from our owner. We think it’s because more money can be made renting to March Spring Breakers instead of Snowbirds. We’re hearing a lot of places are even discontinuing renting to Snowbirds. More money to be made just renting out weekends. We’ll see what the future holds.

Monday saw us heading to the Orthopedist for a checkup on Richard’s sore knee. It’s improving but Richard is extremely careful with it. Then we had friends Joanne and Jeanne from Michigan, over for supper. (It was supposed to be Sunday but I switched it to attend the show and party.) Great meal and great company. Loved our weekly dinners. I was ecstatic with how the meal turned out. You just never know do you. Appetizers were hummus, veggies, grapes, rice crackers and two special jams we bought at Marshall’s. Richard did a fabulous job of the entree: Coronation Chicken on a bed of greens with sliced mango. Richard makes his own variation.

A bit of Coronation Chicken history.

Constance Spry, an English food writer and flower arranger, and Rosemary Hume, a chef, both principals of the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London, are credited with the invention of coronation chicken. Preparing the food for the banquet of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, Spry proposed the recipe of cold chicken, curry cream sauce and dressing that would later become known as coronation chicken. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_chicken

My contribution to the entree was smashed potatoes. My daughter gave me the recipe she uses. Thanks Kathryn. You’re always such a great recipe resource. Dessert was a miss mash. We’re trying to use up what we have so they had choices: ice cream, carrot cake, Twix ice cream bars, and chocolates. It all worked. They loved the Coronation Chicken so much they wanted the recipe. Great compliment. Wonderful to get together but sad at the same time. Their time in Gulf Shores this year is at an end. On the plus side they’ll be renting closer to us next year.

Tuesday and Wednesday being beautiful sunny days were enjoyed (after yoga and gym) by relaxing on the deck reading and gazing at the calm water. Hard life.

Thursday was a rainy day but we had things to do as our friends, Caroline and Steve from Minnesota, were coming for supper. Monday’s supper went so well we decided to create basically the same meal. Minus dessert as they don’t eat dessert. What will power. We just served some chocolates. What a great evening. And again they loved the Coronation Chicken and wanted the recipe. Two in one week. Good feeling. We’re so blessed to have made such wonderful friends. But as per usual I forgot to take photos.

Friday was another gym and yoga day plus we planned on a new experience. The local brewery, Big Beach Brewing https://www.bigbeachbrewing.com/copy-of-home was having a special event. The Cordial Brothers Band, Future Astronaut Production Company, and Big Beach Brewing Company were teamed up to bring the biggest celebration of Pink Floyd‘s music that Gulf Shores had ever seen. The Dark Side of the Moon album was to be played in its entirety to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its release, as well as a couple more hours of material, exploring favorite Floyd albums. Sadly we didn’t attend. 🥲 This was an outdoor event. When you watch the following video you’ll understand why we didn’t go. Even the sand was blowing. Reminded me of a windy PEI day at the beach. We’d have been blown away at that outdoor concert. People out walking had to tightly hold onto their hats. Some with two hands. What a wind.

Saturday it was off to the Ballyhoo Festival, https://ballyhoofestival.org/ a fine arts festival and cultural exchange here in Gulf Shores. Ballyhoo is an event of the Gulf Coast Arts Alliance, whose mission is the development and promotion of the arts on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Richard was still on the hunt for some art. We had gone in previous years and enjoyed viewing the various booths. And did today too. Lots of prints, paintings, pottery, woodworking, and jewelry. Richard almost purchased a heron painting done on two old boards. Here’s just a few pics.

While writing this post the old song Windy came to mind. Who remembers it?

Windy – The Association

And today you get a bonus song because every time I see Ballyhoo my mind immediately thinks Bali Ha’i. And even though I realize what I’m doing I can’t stop myself. Just always see it as Bali Ha’i. And when I do say Ballyhoo, in my head I’m singing Bali Ha’i. Yup. That’s me. There’s usually a song happening up there. Richard will often ask if I heard something on the radio or the TV and I’ll have been oblivious. Not listening. Singing in my head. And my daughter teases me that I always sing what I say. 😊 But how lucky was I to see a performance of this musical in Toronto 12 or 13 years ago during one of my many fabulous visits with my daughter and son-in-law. Loved visiting them.

Bali Ha’i – South Pacific

Take care and stay healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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