Cell phone Zombies

Tyler as a Zombie

Zombies gathered for the 1st Flash Zombie Walk at the Branson Landing-2009

This was something cooked up by JJ, the manager of the Fudgery at Tanger. His wife, Karey, did a great job turning many of them into Zombies. Maura did her own thing. The reactions they got were fun. The smaller kids were scared, some adults acted like there wasn't zombies walking past them, but, most everyone enjoyed got into the spirit of the event. Some wanted their picture taken with the zombies. Afterwards, we all went to Waxy O'sheas for dinner, a showing of Day of the Dead and costume awards. Everyone talked about how to make it even better next year.

Delaney is a teenager!

Happy Birthday to the baby of the family-

We are proud of all you do!

Bill Medley- half of the Righteous Brothers

Paul Revere (of the raider's fame)

So, we got in our way back machine and visited this concert last night at the Andy Williams Moonriver theatre. One of Steve's employees works at the theatre too so we got 2nd row seats, on the left. For the most part, this would appeal to somone older than us, but, as I've always maintained, you will be entertained in Branson, regardless of the jokes about it.

Paul Revere is a nut and I guess he always was one. I remember the lead singer being the "cute one" and he performs as part of a teen idol tour now. The singer who replaced him here was, of course, much younger and competant and, heck! Anyone who will wear those dumb tights and thigh boots at their age should get a lot of slack. It struck me as amazing how that band ever put out such a serious song as "Indian Reservation". It didn't seem to fit with the rest of their stuff.

The second half of the show was Bill Medley. The goofy "old" jokes disappeared and the music began. Here's a singer that has spent many years making great music and hasn't decided to stop now. Even though it is fairly mandatory he sing his hits, I got the real impression he hasn't decided to rest on his past accomplishments.

Performers can have charisma and a presence that seems to cross the barrier of the stage to the audience and I think Bill has that. My measurements are non-scientific, but it's just my oppinion. I recall reading about the Cuban musicians and how, even though they are past the "hot young stud" phase of their carreer, they are still able to put out music that is in demand. That the music is taken seriously and, I can think of only a few people in our culture that are afforded that generosity. (Johnny Cash for example) I felt last night as I listened to Bill Medley, that he still has a lot to contribute.

Eye of the Quilter-
It seemed that this might have been a "last minute" idea for the International Quilt Show, held in Houston every Fall. The idea was to "see" how quilters might view the world- but through Photographs, not fabric and thread. The entry proccess was pretty painless, just email up to 3 photos and decribe how you mainpulated them (if you did) or why it represented how you saw the world. The email proccess bogged down as the deadline neared and there was confusion about who got in and who didn't.
I was afraid I didn't get in, but it turned out the photo above was included. I received a nice note and 2 free passes to the quilt show. Luckily, I was able to pass those on to my sister who lives in Texas and would have a better chance of using them. ( or knowing someone who would)
For those of us not in attendence, we sat at home wondering what the exhibit would look like, how all the photos looked together and what the overall feel of the exhibit would be. For those who didn't get in, I'm sure they were anxious to see why. Although I sent 3 photos, I was only really proud of this one. For me, it was good to have that confirmed. (Dr. Silhan would be proud!)
Eventually, photos were posted on the web of the entire exhibit, just so we could get a general feel for it and, it never feels quite real until you can see evidence that it's really there. (silly, I know) You can see them here: http://www.quiltart.com/eob/
Personally, it was my one redeeming art moment for the year. Family issues got in the way of every quilt deadline this year. I decided to take it with a shrug, these things happen, and just regroup for next year. What worries me the most is momentum. If I list my accomplishments (resume') this year is a glaring hole. It might look like I wasn't accepted not that I couldn't enter.
How do people deal with these sorts of things?

Ozark Mountain Band Festival-
This is a festival our school hosts (second year of it's existence) and it's all hands on deck to make it work. The kids were working for more than 12 hours. Most of the parents too, although I didn't get there until about 11 (driving Tyler to work), Steve was there in the morning and left about noon. I worked the concession for about 6 hours and decided that was about it for me! I didn't see the bands perform until ours did, while the judges tallied the scores. This is a picture of the band taking the field, waiting to start. It's the only picture of Maura looking straight on.
Later, I did get to see two bands perform in the finals. It was kinda confusing to me because the pieces they played seemed more like Winter drumline pieces than field shows. For the most part, neither pieces were melodic, mostly featuring percussion, with the band playing atmospheric types of sounds. (I'm not describing it well and I'm feeling kinda old even saying this next part)
I thought field shows were to excite you and be a spectacle for the eyes. I am more familiar with batons than flags, and a drumbeat you want to groove to, rather than a cacophony of sounds that are discordant to the ears. I sometimes wonder if I could puck the band from my high school and time travel it to the present, what would be the reception?
I remember every game having a different half-time show, that only because a piece was requested to be seen again would it be repeated. The guillotine with the horn section was one I remember. I also remember the band playing at away games too.
This band plays the same pieces all season. I'd say same "3" pieces except they haven't got the 3rd piece yet. I can't imagine going into competition without having it ready and I can't understand why. Are the pieces too hard? Are the kids not working hard enough? Maura would say, "I have band practice after school" and then she would ride home on the bus saying it was cancelled for a solid week before the first competition. I'm confused.

My sister and her husband visited this week and we went to Eureka Springs for the day.

They are celebrating their anniversary, so we had to take a romantic picture!

My sister found some ribbon she liked in this needlework store. I loved the cabinet here. Each drawer was labeled with different supplies, and I liked all the old photos they had taped up. The cashier was really very pleasant. I think I took the picture when she was complaining how small the numbers were on the spools that she had to record for the sale. I really don't do needle work , so there wasn't anything here I was tempted by.

One of the side roads around the area leads you to the small town of Beaver, which really doesn't have a town, but does have a one lane bridge over an arm of Tablerock Lake. Even though you have to see if a car is coming before you get onto the bridge, there's a slight rise, so you can't really see if the bridge is all clear. You can see the other end, so you kinda wait and watch for awhile. It's not all that busy, so it's not all that hard.

The rest of the visit was spent shopping in Branson at thrift stores for wool items. My sister loves working with wool and felting, but it's hard to find old wool sweaters in Texas. I was hoping to find a long dress that would make a good start for Maura's Halloween costume. I was unsuccessful. Hopefully, I'll find something tomorrow at the church garage sale or we'll have to start from scratch and buy fabric when we go to Springfield.