You better Belize It !

Welcome to my world...

I have no words because I am yakking them up for NaNoWriMo

(20, 082!!) That means I'm caught up.

Belize=Fabulous, pictures only. Enjoy.

A Pictorial Review of October 2009

It was really dry until September rains so the Sunflower flurry was a little sparse...

Then there was Tosca, poor Mario... hell, poor Floria.

A couple of weeks later, Dr K took me to the the shooting range to teach me the fine art of shooting a powerful self defense weapon (as research for my books).

These are "cartridges" the smallest is probably a 22 caliber and the largest, maybe a 45 caliber or maybe the shot gun shell.

I had to use ear plugs because it was amazingly loud, even outdoors. You can tell how quickly I picked it up, my form was excellent. I Even hit the target most of the time. Yes, I can shoot with either hand.

I was using a Glock 19.

Yeah, that's what I'm talkin'bout! You best not mess with Doris!

I loaded it, snapped that magazine back in there and ...

*POW* *POW* *POW*

Now, there are also some might fine sunsets in the fall.

And on the 18th was the Duke City Marathon (Doris Rose doesn't run, she spectates and cheers her friensds loudly)

Then drives the 30 miles back to her secret Manor in the desert.

Three days later...Winter!

It gets sunny and warm and Jack Frost returns. Sunrise on the prairie. By mid afternoon, the snow was history.

Life in the High Desert is always changing, always Enchanting.

Next stop...Belize, for a week. Later, peeps.

P.S.

Wednesday morning 32 degrees and snowing like curazy.
Temp dropped from 50 degrees at midnight. I'm gonna hafta get the Christmas tree ready!

La Tosca

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of driving into Albuquerque to attend the screening of the live Metropolitan Opera production of Tosca via satellite. This year they're also beaming live performances to 42 other countries. It’s incredibly exciting to be watching a live presentation that I could only dream about seeing in real life. Sadly, producing great opera is very expensive – hence the tickets are very expensive. So the opportunity to drive to a local theater after purchasing my ticket online is irresistible.

For the first time in 25 years, the Met prepared a new production of Tosca after using Franco Zeffirelli’s production for so long. There were certainly critics, especially opening night, but I thought the cast was excellent the performances were believable and sets and costumes realistic. The intermission interviews are always enjoyable and this time they were conducted by the delightful Susan Graham.

I’m not an expert on opera but I know enough to know what I like. Tosca, is one of my favorite stories and I love Puccini’s music; it’s dramatic action and it's romantic. I’m familiar with the story and still found myself with my fists balled up during some very dramatic scenes. Karita Matilla did a wonderful job as the diva and along with her Argentine tenor provided a very believable chemistry. The evil Scarpia was lecherous, diabolical and oily.

The new production has several changes that old timers will notice but I don’t think the heart of the story or the composer’s intentions were harmed in any way.

I will miss seeing Aida and Turandot but there will be six others to choose from in the coming months and I can’t wait.

Check your local theatres for a real treat or check: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events_current.aspx