alonewiththemoon | green things

The thought of going to the plant nursery and picking up herbs and annuals is far more enticing than the thought of going to the laundromat and watching our comforter spin in circles. Leaving the comforter at the laundromat while buying plants isn't really an option, unfortunately--maybe if I had a car, but not when traveling by bus. Decisions, decisions. I have to do some housecleaning today too, as we're having my parents over tomorrow for a belated mother's day dinner. Oh! I should go to the plant nursery, because then I could get my mom a planty present! All I could get her at the laundromat would be boxes of cheap detergent. Then again, if that's my plan, then perhaps I should go to the nursery tomorrow so whatever I get for her is nice and fresh. Plus, there's the Preakness to factor in.*

I picked up my new costume from the post office yesterday and it is stunning. The photos at the website didn't begin to do it justice; there's fiery green metallic foil throughout the fabric and it sparkles even when you walk by it in regular lighting. It will be dramatic under stage lights. It is as expected a couple of inches too long, so I think I will have our local tailor's shop do the hemming for me. I want to roll up the excess material rather than cut it, and I think doing that with slippery stretchy fabric is beyond me and my sewing machine's abilities. There's also a couple of rhinestones missing, which I think is inexcusable for expensive costumes, but I've got an email into the Belly Dance Shop to see if they have any extras. If they don't, Playtime is a Swarovski dealer so I'm sure I can find something close enough there. For some reason the waist strap is enormously long, it goes around me one and a half times, enough to make me think that perhaps part of it is supposed to go somewhere else, but I can't figure out where. But all these things are trivial--I'm enormously pleased and can't wait to wear it!

Thursday at the Athenian Corner made me realize how much I really, really miss performing regularly. I don't think I can reasonably commit myself to more performances yet (and I promised myself not to take on more obligations before a show at the end of June), but I'll be raring to go once my foot is under control!

*an autopsy was completed on Eight Belles, btw. There were absolutely no pre-existing conditions or any discernible factors that could have led to her fatal accident. The owners and trainers are sensitive enough to public opinion that they ordered complete drug screens, etc on her. The article I read mentioned that horses with her long, low running style have a tendency to trip over or knock together their own feet, and it's thought that this is what happened to her, combined with extremely bad luck in how each foot landed as she tripped. So, while there are lots of reasons to criticize horse racing, her death is really not a rallying point for that, and I plan to watch the Preakness. Think about this--the more people who watch racing, the greater the public scrutiny of the sport, and that's a good thing.