all that's past is prologue...

People keep on asking me if I am glad and relieved about healthcare reform, and if this means that everything is now fine with Beatrix. The truth is, yes and no. The bill is not perfect, though it's a start. Most importantly, though, after delays in government and then insurance companies, it would not affect us for about a year. So I am in the middle of filling out new applications to 2 major insurance companies, asking them to reconsider accepting us as a family (Beatrix's rates will go up another $40 a month next month on her plan). To do so, I have spent close to two hours just filling out forms. Along with that, I have spent another 2-3 hours total I have had to get the dates and medical record information from all doctor's visits within the last 2 years, which has taken multiple calls to clinics, and calls back, and waits. I have had to look up address information for all the other healthcare services we have had in the last five years. I have had to call (again...

Went to see Alan Berk's show Music Lovers by Workhaus Theatre at the Playwrights Center on Friday night. It was great to get out and see a show, just like a normal person without a ton of piled up work and a guilt complex for making her husband handle solo child care (so obviously I did not succeed in normalcy...) It was definitely worth it, though. Fantastic performances, and of course a great soundtrack. But it's always Alan's writing that grabs me by the throat. Strangely, it's not because it's perfectly wrought; in fact, in every one of his shows that I've seen I have moments where I think "well, THIS is unnecessary" and other times when I am just over-my-head-struggling-in-dark-quicksand lost as to what I am supposed to be understanding. It's like being hot with instant stupidity. But for all of those moments, there are beautifully written, I'll even say perfectly crafted, sections, and things I think about for days/weeks/months/e...

Because I am far less minimal than my husband, I bring you... Unhappy Hipsters

In addition to painting the guest room, we put a chair rail in the dining room, which I love: Meanwhile, Patrick is hard at work painting the front bedroom, pictures to come! We also had the "Energy Squad" come in and do some small changes (like industrial weatherstripping on the doors), which should help some. We're in the midst of getting roofing bids (badly need a new roof), which is painful. And I signed up for "The Cure" with Apartment Therapy. In the midst of all that, we looked at a bank-owned house on Holly today which is lovely and large, but strangely characterless and incredibly expensive for the condition it's in. Made me appreciate this place all the more.

The incredibly luminous actress Camille D’Ambrose passed away due to cancer on Sunday, and I am still in shock. Camille was one of the first professional actors I worked with, starting back in 1985 at the Cricket Theatre. I have vivid memories of hanging out in the dressing room with Camille and Shirley, as they laughed about convincing the production manager, Brian, to provide a bottle of champagne every Sunday night as part of their contract. I remember her calmly passing a flaming trash can offstage for me to extinguish, and how she agreed to adopt the stage dog TC, who got bigger and bigger over the 8 weeks of the production (that puppy had the biggest paws I have ever seen, and grew into them!) I probably wouldn’t be in theatre today of it wasn’t for Camille. She, along with a group of others — Allen Hamilton, Shirley Venard, Sally Wingert, Barbra Kingsley, Steven D’Ambrose — showed me it was possible to have a profession in the theater while also having a family and a life. ...

Part One of our recent home fix-up projects is the guest room. This is the before picture (luckily the photo is not so detailed that you can see all the grime, etc.): This is the guest room after: A few disclaimers: - We didn't paint the walls, the tv crew did for for a website video for the DIY Network. But we picked out the color (it's not too purple, is it?), and I painted the trim, which is harder anyway. - The blinds are temporary, I have to make some curtains. - We still need to hang some art, but I dropped one of the framed pieces yesterday and smashed the glass, so that's going to have to wait until I have more time and money. Still, we are pretty happy with it. Want to come and visit?

I don't often write in this blog about Beatrix; there are plenty of other places to do that. But this weekend she has learned how to smile. She knew how to laugh before, and to giggle, and to express delight in a hundred different ways. But yesterday, sitting at her play table with her Dora doll and doll high chair, with her hair up in two pigtails, she smiled. And kept on smiling, and it was the most beautiful sight in the world.