Refugee of the Month Club

trapped in the side of the a rental car,
legs too twisted to run...

I told you I had some fun writing news to share, & I do.

Years ago, when I lived in Minnesota, the Rochester Repertory Theater (aka, the Rep) held a series of 10-minute play contests. Each of them had a theme. The first was actually performed at a new Saturn dealership in town & all the plays had to center around cars. The one I wrote (all of the ones I wrote for the contests were chosen & produced) was called "Life, Love & Highway Safety" & one of the main (non-speaking) characters was an inflatable safety man. (Actually, it was a blow-up adult toy & I had to paint a mask to go over his face.) Another time they were set at the Goodhue County Historical Society & I set "An Apple from the Teacher" in their one-room school display. (I attended a one-room school in Montana for elementary school, with one teacher for eight grades & 12 to 25 students in the whole school.) "The Carrie Casanova Memorial Coat Tree" required the use of a coat rack, and had two living characters, plus a ghost, and a narrator. Another had to center around a trunk, and for that I wrote "Refugee of the Month Club," which made me laugh out loud when I reread it a few months ago.

Apparently, the folks at the Rep had the same reaction, because this summer they're doing 10 of their favorite plays from all the competitions & "Refugee of the Month Club" will be one of them. So, if you're going to be in Minnesota, check out TREASURES in TEN July 11 - 12, 17-19, and 24 -26 at the Rochester Repertory Theater (103 7th St NE, Rochester, MN 55906. 507.289.7800) & enjoy the show.

I also found out that "Even Cowgirls Spread the News," a poem I had published in The Magazine of Speculative Poetry, was nominated for a Rhysling Award.

I'm sure I have more to tell you. Thunderstorms. All sorts of classes I took during Asheville Small Business Week, including one on 3D printing. I could etcetera all day, but then I wouldn't get to my day, would I? Grin.

So, catch you on the flip-flop.

Blog alternative:
284. Dust off something you created months or years ago, whether it's a story, a drawing, a recipe, a photo of a particularly beautiful floral arrangement. Enjoy the heck out of it. See what happens then...

Cloudy, with a chance of dishes

Derrick, hugging a tree.

Oh, April. It's one of the cruelest months for blogging, because it's so fun & busy, what with birthdays & all. Plus I've been doing a lot of dishes.

Don't laugh! Derrick has been (slowly) acquiring a house that is in the family & has a clouded title. Now it's mostly sunny, only partly cloudy, & we can start cleaning it up. For a while, it had no water, so a bunch of dirty dishes piled up on the counters & table & I have just about finished washing them. The water hasn't been turned on yet, although we did get the electricity turned on, so we hauled water over & I warmed water in my electric kettle to make effective dishwater. It's been an adventure. I enjoyed every minute of it, except when I splashed a little extra hot water on my hand.

Did some outside, too. Derrick mowed & I raked the lawn. I didn't want to get all the same muscles stiff, so I experimented with form -- just call me "Dances With Rake."

Tomorrow should be very fun, because this week there are a bunch of free classes & I signed up to see one on 3D printing. I'm fascinated by the Santa Claus machines, as they are sometimes called.

It's late-ish & I should go to bed. I mainly just wanted to blog before my birthday.

In the next installment, I'll tell you some more fun writing news.

Blog alternative:
283. Dance with a rake. Or a broom.