Chim chimeney
I saw Mary Poppins at PPAC last night and I have to say that I was very impressed. I had known that it was a well staged performance, but I don't think I realized quite how well staged it was. Scene changes occurred invisibly and flawlessly. From a drab garden to a vibrant fantasy world in the blink of an eye. The music was familiar and very well performed. The dancing made you want to start clapping along. And the wire work made beautiful sense. In fact, you never saw the character hooked into or out of the wires, but somehow that occurred more than once on stage. If you had been thinking about seeing Mary Poppins and wondered if it was worthwhile, wonder no more! It was, of course, slightly hokey Disney, but the vibrant costumes only livened up the stage, especially when set against drab England sets. I was singing "Chim chimeney chim chimeney chim chim charoo" all the way home. My only complaint was that there were a couple of people who wished to sing along around me and I rather wanted to hear the performers than the random audience members. But perfectly amazing! I am still smiling this morning. And of course, the company of conspiratrix didn't hurt!
This past weekend, we also enjoyed the company of tragic_culture and xephz at the Newport Storm Brewery and Thomas Tew Distillery. Unfortunately, we did have to pay for the tastings of beer and/or rum, but they made up for that with the pours which were rather large. It was an excellent start to the day. From there, we had a delightful meal at Tallulah on Thames which, despite some slow service, gave us an extremely tasty meal. The food there is always unique and out of the ordinary, making it one of my favorite restaurants in Newport. But this is not the spot for my restaurant reviews. I will leave that to my G+ account and if you're interested in reading those, let me know and I'll add you to my foodie circle. We did have a truly excellent evening with truly excellent people whom we see far too little. I fear that I have been rather unsocial as of late due to Cotton's ill health and a preponderance of work. Really, it all just makes me consistently exhausted.
We also managed to have dinner with my sister and brother-in-law on Sunday night at DeWolf Tavern in Bristol. The ambiance and company was excellent. It is rare these days that I get to spend time with my sister without the constant demands of her boys. Sure, I love them to death, but sometimes it is nice to simply get to finish a sentence. I think I may try to arrange this sort of dinner a bit more often with her.
I also managed to have a completely delightful Valentine's Day with my sweet husband. He cooked up some steak and I baked some root veggies with balsamic vinegar and it was super tasty. I think the bottle of wine split between the two of us probably helped as well. It was a relaxing night at home, but that's exactly what both of us wanted. Sometimes Valentine's Day can be a bit too crazy for dining out. So, yes, things are generally very good!
This past weekend, we also enjoyed the company of tragic_culture and xephz at the Newport Storm Brewery and Thomas Tew Distillery. Unfortunately, we did have to pay for the tastings of beer and/or rum, but they made up for that with the pours which were rather large. It was an excellent start to the day. From there, we had a delightful meal at Tallulah on Thames which, despite some slow service, gave us an extremely tasty meal. The food there is always unique and out of the ordinary, making it one of my favorite restaurants in Newport. But this is not the spot for my restaurant reviews. I will leave that to my G+ account and if you're interested in reading those, let me know and I'll add you to my foodie circle. We did have a truly excellent evening with truly excellent people whom we see far too little. I fear that I have been rather unsocial as of late due to Cotton's ill health and a preponderance of work. Really, it all just makes me consistently exhausted.
We also managed to have dinner with my sister and brother-in-law on Sunday night at DeWolf Tavern in Bristol. The ambiance and company was excellent. It is rare these days that I get to spend time with my sister without the constant demands of her boys. Sure, I love them to death, but sometimes it is nice to simply get to finish a sentence. I think I may try to arrange this sort of dinner a bit more often with her.
I also managed to have a completely delightful Valentine's Day with my sweet husband. He cooked up some steak and I baked some root veggies with balsamic vinegar and it was super tasty. I think the bottle of wine split between the two of us probably helped as well. It was a relaxing night at home, but that's exactly what both of us wanted. Sometimes Valentine's Day can be a bit too crazy for dining out. So, yes, things are generally very good!