Not 200 Words

Sensible cities: Cancel the St. Patrick’s Day parade in this horrible weather!

Utica, NY: Hold my green beer.

That was a comment I made on a Facebook post by my husband. He was praising Utica for being bad-ass and holding their parade in a snow storm. We sat home and watched the coverage by WKTV News.

That is really pretty much all I have in the way of a Saturday blog post. And I am, in point of fact, making this post Sunday morning, an hour later than I feel it ought to be (I hate Daylight Savings Time). I think I will not even worry about getting to 200 words.

Doing the Doodah

We do the Doodah!

I open with a picture, because this post is going to be heavy on the illustrations,  light on words.  I am one tired blogger, but I hate to miss a day, so here we are on Slacker Saturday.  At least I didn’t slack out of being in the parade.  I did, however, slack to the extent of riding on the float instead of walking behind it.

For those of you just tuning in, the occasion was the Doodah Parade, part of the Ilion Days festivities.  I participated, as I have for the past three years, with Ilion Little Theatre.

Here’s a colorful pair.

I took all my pictures before the parade, as we milled around waiting to get started.  It was very warm and humid, but at least it had stopped raining.

My friend, Kim, looking gorgeous as usual.

Ilion Days’ theme this year was Clowning Around Ilion, so we had a circus-themed float.  However, we were invited to dress any way we liked.

We had a variety of get-ups.

I see now  I did not get as many pictures or as good pictures as I should have.  However, you’ll have that, especially when you’re dealing with me.

A lot of the kids had red noses.

A candid shot.

And another group shot.

I took this group shot, then the guy who drove the truck said I should be in the picture,  so he took the picture at the beginning of the post.

Ooh, look at this, I am over 200 words.  Maybe I’m not such a slacker after all.  Oh, I probably am.

 

LiFT at Little Falls

Regular readers may remember that I marched with LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, in the Little Falls Canal Celebration Parade on Friday.  I had a great time, but I did not bring my Tablet to take any pictures.  I thought it would be too awkward while walking.  Lucky for me, other people took pictures which I have conveniently downloaded from Facebook (with permission from the photographer).

A small but fun group!

This was later on in the parade, but I wanted to start with a picture of all of us.  As you can see, we had a variety of costumes.  LiFT is nothing if not eclectic.

This is community theatre: everybody lends a hand.

I don’t know if you could tell in the first shot that Matt had a little help holding up his end of the banner.

This was actually a pre-parade shot.

Batman made it all the way through the parade, but the Crayon fell asleep and was dropped off with his grandmother, who was a spectator.

Another pre-parade shot.

Here is a close up of the best Shakespearean costume of the night (I am the arbiter of the award).

This was a post-parade pic.

I could not find a good picture of this adorable fairy with her wings on, but when she posed with them in front,  I said it was a definite photo op.

You can see the shadows were getting long.

I close with another group shot.  I had meant to tell more about marching in the parade, but under the hope that a picture is worth a thousand words,  I shall close now.  It is, after all, Monday.  Not a Monstrous Monday, as you can see, but fun and make-believe.

 

A Lame Apology

How embarrassing is it to not post on Lame Post Friday?  For heaven’s sake, all I have to do is type in some nonsense and hit Publish (YES, that is what I do every day, what an obvious joke, you should be ashamed of yourself) (you know who you are).  Well, I just didn’t have time.

You see, I had to be in Little Falls early for the Canal Days Parade, and of course I did not have my costume together in advance (it’s been a bad week) (or I guess you could say I’ve been bad this week, but I would point out that that is an unkind remark).  No problem; I could post afterward.  Well, afterward, my friend Kim and I went to Asteroga Ale House, then to the End Zone Pub via Papaleo’s Wise Guys Pizzeria.  Yes, that is one community event and three local businesses I can write blog posts about.  However,  I am unlikely to do any such thing at 5:37 on Saturday morning (that is the time on the bottom of my computer as I type that sentence; no doubt it will be later by the time I hit Publish, but I can’t help that).

I know I have sipped and posted, and even sipped, eaten pizza, and posted, but last night I did not.  My only lame excuse is we had a kind of a domestic crisis when we got home.  The screws in our back door hinges are perpetually loose and this time we have neglected too long to tighten them.  We at least managed to get the damn thing closed and locked, but I just imagine our efforts to fix it will make another, possibly humorous blog post.

Anyways, sorry my post is late and lame, but there it is.  We’ll see what I can come up with later today.

 

Another Parade! What to Wear?

Regular readers may recall that LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, is not doing a Shakespeare play this summer.  This has rendered the summer a less busy and a little sad.  This weekend is the Little Falls Canal Celebration,  one of the venues we perform at.  However, LiFT will have a presence at the parade on Friday, Aug. 10.

Last year I did not participate when LiFT marched.  I just felt too tired.  Of course I regretted it, because they had a fun time, and I do love a parade.  So when I received an email saying we were going to participate this year, I jumped at the chance! (Metaphorically speaking, of course.)

But what to wear?  I could NOT wear my wizard costume again!  I wore it for the Doodah Parade in Ilion.  It would be a faux pas to wear it again so soon, even if I switched back to the wizard hat I wore for the March of Dimes in May.

And, yes, I did pretty much have a silly expression on my face most of the time I wore the outfit.

I append a couple of pictures for those of you who missed my wizard-attired exploits (and to pep up the post, like I did yesterday).  The above was a rehearsal of the outfit for March of Dimes March for Babies.  I also made myself a wizard wand with a knitting needle, a few odds and ends, and a hot glue gun.  I can be dangerous with a hot glue gun. I modified the outfit slightly to march in the Ilion Days Doodah Parade.

I was a hit with the crowd, if I do say so.

I wore the witch’s hat, because it has a brim to offer shade from the sun.  I added the sunglasses for the same reason, and the necklace just because I liked it.  My dear friend, Kim, gave me the wooden wand.  I still had my homemade one, so I used both to cast spells on the crowd as I rode in the back of the pick-up truck.

But I need something different for Friday.  Something light, and light colored.  Maybe a set of wings from the dollar store.  Maybe a quick trip to the Thrift Store. What can I come up with? I spent most of the morning at work pondering options and formulating plans, while trying to stay hydrated and not get too far from a fan, because hot and humid seems to be a way of life these days.

Regarding the latter part of that last sentence, let’s just say I was not successful.  I am susceptible (wow! I spelled susceptible right on the first try!) to heat injuries.  I got too light-headed and nauseous (I had to google nauseous) to handle it, despite the perseverance that has seen me through many difficult runs.  I went home, ignobly calling my husband for a ride, because the nurse didn’t want me to drive and neither did I.

So I am really re-thinking this march through the heat in a costume idea.  However, I hate to let my LiFTer friends down, especially my friend Kim.  And I have lost a whole afternoon I could have been working on a costume, because I am still feeling like crap.  In fact, I wasn’t even going to make a blog post today.  I was going to take a blogger’s sick day.  But look at me, I am over 500 words with two pictures.  That’s one thing I did right today.  Let’s see how I do tomorrow, on Wuss-out Wednesday.

 

About That Parade…

As promised, here are a few pictures of the Doodah Parade, part of the Ilion Days festivities in Ilion, NY.  As a matter of fact, they are not of the whole parade but only of the Ilion Little Theatre contingent.  During the parade, I could not take a decent picture, because I was riding in the back of the pick-up truck.  I had enough to do to keep my own balance (with one epic fail).  Oh, I know, I could have sat quietly in the lawn chair, like I did last year.  But I was a wizard (in a witch hat).  It was more fun to wave my arms around casting spells on people.

The witch’s hat, sunglasses, necklace and bracelet were new additions to the costume since I wore it for the March of Dimes March for Babies.

The utterly fabulous red dress you can see in the background is my friend, Kim, who I stupidly did NOT get a picture of.  In my defense, it’s hard to take pictures with a Tablet in the bright sun;  I can barely see the screen.  But I got a few snaps.

Aar, mateys!

Alas, I don’t know how to crop, so the pirate family cannot be centered.  When I used to work for a newspaper, we cropped with an Exacto knife and a ruler.  That’s how old I am, in case you needed a reminder.

Luckily I got the shot before the balloon blew in front of her face.

I don’t know if you can tell how fabulous this costume was from the picture, but I liked it.  The lady wearing it said it was not too warm, despite being dark, because the fabric was lightweight.

Just a couple of candid shots.

Despite appearances, she did not float away.

This was after the parade, when we took all the balloons off the truck.  Last year, the girls got into letting them float away in memory of loved ones who passed.  I did not like to discourage them at the time, because it obviously meant a lot to them to do so. However, this year before anybody got that idea, I pointed out that it is very bad for wildlife and the environment.  So this sweet young lady ended up with all of them.

Of course we were properly identified.

This is last year’s banner, but it worked perfectly well.  It is a little wrinkly, because it was in the backseat of Kim’s vehicle as we drove to the parade grounds, and I could not keep from leaning against it.  Her car was a bit crowded, but I was grateful for the ride.

So one more Doodah Parade is in the books for Ilion Little Theatre.  I hope some of the people who enjoyed our “float” come to see some of our shows.

 

We Do the Doodah!

I’ve always been kind of fascinated by the Doodah Parade, which is part of the Ilion Days festivities.   For one reason, what a great name.  The Doodah Parade.  I keep finding excuses to say it.  When some members of Ilion Little Theatre signed up to march, I was happy to join them.

One member allowed us to use his pick-up truck (full disclosure: he was kind of strong-armed into it).  The plan was for most of us to walk, but marchers could take a break in the truck.  It would be a handy place to put things like bottles of water or stuff we were handing out.  We met in the theatre parking lot to decorate the truck.  We had a minor setback when we discovered the brand new helium tank was empty, but we made do with lung power.  Balloons, ribbons and shiny hangings soon adorned the vehicle as participants continued to show up.

We had a sizable contingent from the Young Actors Workshop (YAW) as well as adults.  Some people wore t-shirts from plays they’d been in; some were in costume.  I dressed as a pirate myself.  We also had a couple of ladies in historical costume, a few princesses, one fabulously dressed diva, and Tierney, the mysterious neighbor from the ILT production The Birds.  The last two were the most impressive costumes to me, the diva because she walked the entire route in high-heeled sandals, and Tierney because his costume included a black canvas poncho with hood.  It was a sunny, hot  evening.  Those are some dedicated parade people right there.

We were a little late getting to the staging area, although it was fun riding in the back of the pick-up truck along part of the parade route, which was already filled with people.  We all waved, shouting that we were a preview.  We were in fact a preview of the end of the parade, because that is where you end up marching when you show up late to the staging area.  It seemed to take a long time to get started but at last we were headed down the street, waving at spectators and spreading the word about Ilion Little Theatre.  Some of the kids had candy to throw.  Others handed out pens and fliers.  I asked that a pen be saved for me, so I could write a play with it.  I’m sure I will feel very inspired to write a good play using a pen that has “Ilion Little Theatre” printed on it.

My husband Steven had to work till six so did not try to join us in the marching.  He waited for us at the end, where he joined us.  He was wearing his t-shirt from Roxy, a play which I may have mentioned in a few blog posts last summer.  We all walked up the hill to the theatre parking lot, where most of us had left our cars.  We were full of plans for next year’s Doodah Parade.  I think everybody had a splendid time, although I’d just like to mention, I’m still waiting for my pen.

 

Yay! The Parade!

So there I was, no idea what to write a blog post about, and I was in a pretty poopy mood, because I wanted to go out somewhere and it didn’t happen. Maybe it was post-scene letdown, but let’s not talk about Macbeth and the witches AGAIN. Anyways, we suddenly heard loud drumming.

What was that? Nobody on this block has taken up drums, have they? Steven went to the door and looked. It was the parade! Every fall Herkimer High School does this little parade. We never know when it’s coming, but one night we’ll suddenly hear drums and there it is!

There was one year when I was already in bed. I was on overtime and turned in really early. I wrapped an afghan around myself and watched from the front door. The next year I thought I heard drums in the distance and threw on sweats. This year I was nicely sitting in our living room. I was barefoot but respectable enough to stand on the porch. I ran and got Tabby’s leash, just to be sure my little dog was safe.

The parade isn’t so long. The band, a few floats pulled by pick-up trucks, and a few pick-up trucks filled with football players and cheerleaders. But I love it.

Needless to say, I am no longer in a poopy mood (incidentally, it is poopy or poopie? My computer says both are wrong). And perhaps this was not the best blog post, but for Non-Sequitur Thursday, it’ll do.