Jersey Boys Night Out

Walter and I have seen "Jersey Boys" at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center twice now.  The story is of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as they became popular musicians.

When we found out that the play had been made into a movie we wanted to go see it on the opening night.  We knew just the music alone would be wonderful and wondered how the storyline would be treated.  With Clint Eastwood involved in the production we were confident that we would be nicely entertained.

We decided to ask another couple who recently joined our Sunday School class to go with us.  We were delighted when Deanna and David agreed right away to get a babysitter and meet us Friday night at a mutually favorite Mexican restaurant, La Siesta.

Walter and I After Eating Our Mexican Meal

I waited eagerly all day for this outing.  Our supper was fantastic!  I ordered fajitas which proved to be enough food to put into a take home box for lunch the next day.

Afterward we went to the movie theatre.  The film was rated R.  We warned the couple and they said they would be willing to try it.  As it turned out the language was a little raw but not as much as I had feared.

Walter, Me, Deanna & David By The Fountain Prior to the Movie

I think everyone enjoyed the film.  David mentioned a few times that his father would really like it as he knew all their music.  Outside of the theater we chatted for a while, then said our goodbyes.

When we got into the car Walter and I both thought we wished the evening could continue because we were having so much fun.  So we texted them to see if they would like to meet at a place for a dessert.  We landed on Krispy Kreme Doughnuts!  After two sweet treats and much chatter, we called it a night. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Can you image the surprise when the following Sunday while Walter was filling in as Sunday School teacher, David put on a Krispy Kreme cap and totally blew Walter's presentation?  Tears filled my eyes.

I hope this couple is up to a rematch for another evening out soon.  God is good!

Move Live On Tour

Since the start of the TV show "Dancing With The Stars", I have been a fan.  I like the music, dancing and costumes.  Two of my favorites since the beginning are Julianne and Derek Hough.  She was 19 when she was first on the show.  He is 27 now and she is about 25.  He still calls her his little sister.  Sweet!

Ryman Stage

They now have a show tour called Move Live On Tour.  What a tremendous responsibility to have their own tour.  Everyone is expecting them to be able to sustain all that is needed to keep it on the road.  They came through Nashville, TN a few days ago.  I convinced Walter to go.  We went into town early so we could park right across from the Ryman Auditorium.  After a short walk to Demos Restaurant for steak and seafood we settled in for the performance.

First Act with Several Background Dancers

They performed for almost two hours - full out!  It was a great mixture of popular songs, interaction with the fans and singing and dancing.  A troupe of about 12 dancers are touring with them.

Julianne Has A Great Voice

We were impressed with the energy that each dancer gave to the show.  They had already had one show before we came for the night time show.  They danced with such movement that Walter had a time getting any action photos so most of them are of them singing.


The Ballard "Say Something" from Julianne

I was not aware that Derek also sings.  He has a good voice.  I am guessing that he probably had a lot to do with the choreography of the whole show too.  They worked so hard that sweat was popping out from the very first song.

Derek Adds His Voice to the Show

The styles of dance during this show ran the gamut. There was Tango and Paso, Quickstep and Contemporary, Rumba and Swing, Hip-Hop and so many others. And every emotion you can imagine came through onstage. It was light and fun, upbeat and energetic, soft and sultry, hot and sexy.  The songs were from all generes.  The Nashville audience appreciated the country songs offered.  They recognized another brother and girl act from Utah in their show by singing "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better" - remember Donnie and Marie Osmond?  I particularly liked the "Black Betty" song where Julianne and the girl dancers climbed a pole.  So Hot!

The Houghs Share a Song

Julianne was quick to point out that she had won two Mirror Ball Championships on DWTS.  Derek had won five of them!  She said that was because she left the show early on. 

I hope the show stays on tour for a long time, but not too long for Derek to get back on the cast of DWTS.  The night was a wonderful night out for us. 

Pillowcase Dresses

I heard that our church is planning on taking dresses to Haiti in the fall.  They made and gave out pillowcase dresses in years past but I did not participate since I was working full time then.

Size Five Ruffled Dress

Now that I have a new sewing machine, I decided to try my hand at making them.  I went to Goodwill and found some pretty pillowcases to practice on.  I liked a flowered one with ruffles because I did not have to add a hem or any embellishments.  A friend loaned me a pattern so I did not have to come up with the armhole cut of the dress myself.  I cut the pillowcase so that the seam became one of the side seams in the dress.

Size Six Striped Dress

Another pillowcase that I found had a sweet rose patterned border that I used for the hem edge of the next dress.  This time I cut the pillowcase so that the seam could be used as a back seam in the dress.  That allowed me to have two identical armholes in the dress.  I think they came out really well and will be glad to give them to the Haiti mission.  I was surprised that even though they are called pillowcase dresses, most of the images I found on the Internet did not make them out of pillowcases.  They had several more steps to them, mostly side seams and hems.  The pillowcases I chose saved me those steps and I was able to make the two of them in an afternoon.  I asked my granddaughter to try them on and they both fit her very well so I am fairly certain the little girls in Haiti will like them.  They should give the girls plenty of room to run and play.

For the armholes on the ruffled dress I just turned in the fabric and did a sewing machine hem.  For the striped dress, I used bias tape to line the armholes.  I liked the look of that method best and will probably do the bias tape reinforcement for any additional dresses I make.

I may make a few more if the ladies in charge of the project like them.  It feels good to start a project and finish it with good results.  A bonus is someone in the world is going to be a joyful recipient of your efforts.

God is good!

Daddy's 100th Birthday

June 7, 1914 was my Daddy's birthday.  Had he lived, he would have been 100 years old Saturday.  He didn't.  He died in 1971 at a very young age.  My daughter, Patricia, was only a few weeks old when he died.  My sister Jean's daughter, Elizabeth, was born about 10 years later.

Me, Jean and Elizabeth

Jean's husband, Edd, had an idea of how to mark this family milestone.  He suggested to her that we get our families together for a weekend and tell Daddy stories.  So we got together on his birthday anniversary at my house.  Her family came from Sevierville, TN and Patricia came from across town.

We had each written down things we wanted to share about Daddy and about the household we grew up in.  Because of our girls being so young and their grandfather not being around, we had each not consciously shared many stories about our young family life.  It was funny to us that we each had many of the same incidents written down on our respective lists.

So we all gathered in the living room and took time about telling our version of the Daddy stories.  I am sure the girls had not heard of many of these things.  Even Jean and I were also hearing some new things.  It was great to hear each other's stories.

Mothers and Daughters - Patricia, Me, Jean & Elizabeth

We remembered when Daddy jumped into the pond to escape the bees.  He also loved to play the harmonica.  He loved his family and used to say, "I must be doing something right when two little girls faces are pressed to the window when I get home!"

His profession was plumbing and electrical work.  We both told about diagrams he would work on into the night in prep for the following days' work.  Many times we went with him on work trips.  We lived in the country and if a dairy cooler went out, he had to go without regard to the time of day or night.  The farmer's livelihood could not be compromised due to a milk cooler failure.  He was recognized around the community as quite bright and attracted many educated people to him, although he never finished eleventh grade himself.  He told me his last science book ended with a statement that someday scientists would split the atom!

We laughed over many stories and even sang two songs that were favorites of his - The Old Gospel Ship and In The Garden.  I played the piano and everyone sang. Though not too musical in the quality, the heart was truly there.  Yes, a few tears were shed as we sang together, remembering our own thoughts and as our young girls heard about some family memories for the first time.

Patricia, Walter, Jean, Elizabeth and Edd Share a Moment Together

Jean had several pages written down contrasted with a short page of bullet points that I had.  I teased her that I could go toe to toe with her on stories since I had two more years of knowing Daddy than her.  She is two years and nine months younger than me!  The husbands seemed to enjoy the sharing.  Though they were not in the family when Daddy died, they enjoyed seeing Jean and I so happy with our memories.

Even our food choices were selected with Daddy in mind.  I made homemade bread and coconut cake.  Both of these were some of his favorites that I had made for him as a teenager before I left for college.  We had homemade chicken pot pie.  Our family had chickens on the farm.  We grew green beans in the garden and ate corn from our fields.  Elizabeth made apple crisp from Mother's recipe. And of course we had gallons of sweet tea to go around for everyone.

It was an excellent idea that was executed simply and beautifully!  We are a little stronger as a family due to this time together.  God is good!