For Which We Are Thankful

Happy Belated Thanksgiving, everyone!  Sergio sent us a gorgeous basket of fruit and pastry to celebrate the season - I may or may not have eaten more than half of the cherries.  I also ate this:

Sergio did not send us cucumbers... they're my snack of choice to avoid eating too many devil M&M's:

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Company Management provided us with a Thanksgiving feast on Thursday afternoon.  Even though I missed my family something fierce, it was nice to have a "family dinner" of sorts.

The desserts were sub-par, and I'm not just picky.  We all agreed the pumpkin pie was crap.  Luckily the butternut squash and sweet potato mash was DELICIOUS, so I stuck to the main courses and salad.

There was also a puff pastry full of roasted veggies.  This should be a new Thanksgiving staple - so good.

Sam and I full of turkey:

My darling, Chris (pianist extraordinaire):

With Alex, or Peanut:

LOVING THEM (Josh, Robbie, and Robbie's hubby):

After "dinner" at 1pm, we ran to catch the next showing of THE MUPPETS.  Outside the theatre was a set up for the new Tin Tin film - pretty excited about it.

And of course, no Thanksgiving would be complete without Sam's mole.  I painted it to look like those hand-print turkeys we all made in grade school:

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The next morning, we had a brush-up dance rehearsal.  Here's Sam experimenting with "levels":

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Funny thing how bar fights happen.  Or rather, how people you know can get hit over the head with a clipboard for absolutely no reason.  This happened to one of our company members (he's fine, the case is pending).  In honor of this occasion, I give you Sam's mole:

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Wait... 

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Friends, let's just say I'm happy to be leaving Canada tomorrow morning (at 7:30am, ugh).  November has almost reached its close, and with that we will have to say a fond farewell to the Duke and all of the moustaches this Mo'vember brought into our lives:

Don't despair.  The Duke is always but a week away.

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I'm sorry this post is so choppy.  I'm not feeling altogether inspired in this city - maybe due to the fact that I haven't been on stage in two weeks.  My brain is elsewhere.  I'll leave you with a musical clip that's been playing over and over in my head:  Thanks to The Mirror Has Two Faces (courtesy of Toronto's crappy cable options), I've been humming Turnadot for the better part of an hour.  Enjoy the divine Luciano Pavarotti, and I'll see you in Schenectady (or Buffalo, if I'm lazy).

The Oatmeal

Sometimes I think if I'd had these cartoons, I would have faired better in English class.  Not that I ever failed, mind you, but it all makes much more sense after reading these.  Bonus: they're hilarious.

http://theoatmeal.com/tag/grammar

I especially like the Misspelling and Semicolon sections.  I'll probably be referring to them for the rest of this blog's life.

Toronto, week 2.

First of all, please look at Netflix's suggestions after watching Hostel II:

Not entirely inaccurate, is it?

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Secondly - there's a new Legend of Zelda game on the market:

Photo with favorite game characters?  Crossed of the bucket list.

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Lets play a game called "Stupid Ideas."

The subway cards for Canada have big yellow stickers on them that you have to peel off to make the card valid:

DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH THAT STICKER is a transparent sticker that says "Do Not Remove."

Stupid.  

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Our stage manager, Dan, keeps M&M's in his office at all times.  You never know when you may need a drop of chocolate in the middle of a split.

Just don't eat too many, or you'll lose your teeth.

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There's no way to prepare you for this:

And there are no words to excuse it.

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Today, Sam took a few of us girls to a chocolate shop in Yorkville called MoRoCo: 

It was a high tea lunch with beautiful, hand-painted china:

And something truly decadent called "drinking chocolate:"

Each serving of tea came with a french macaroon.  The flavors we had were salted caramel, coffee, chocolate cherry, and coconut creme:

Here's my gorgeous tea set - I ordered the prickly pear rooibos.  Lovely.

Truffle mac-and-cheese for the table:

A view of the table from my seat:  I forget what Christie's sandwich was called, but it involved ham and melted cheese.  Delish.

My order: Strawberry/Fig salad with candied walnuts and a sweet lemon drizzle.  Heaven.

 A view of the macaroon display:

WILL POWER:  I did NOT buy peppermint bark.  Mark this date in history.

Truffle display.  Also devilishly tempting:

A short walk through the shopping district took us to the ROM - a wild looking museum featuring a Mayan exhibit.  I love the architecture - it looks as though a building erupted from the original structure:

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On my way home from our lunch, I finally bought the leather jacket I've wanted forever.  It has the perfect asymmetrical neckline and just enough detail... I'm in love:

All in all, a very successful day in Toronto!

I'M ALIVE

I PROMISE.  I DID NOT FALL OFF A CLIFF.

I am simply in Canada, land of no cellphone access.  At least they have excellent taste in street names:

Thirsty for culture, Christy and I spent our first day off touring the city and its sights.  Our big accomplishment:  Casa Loma!

Formerly the home of Sir Henry Mill Pellatt, it is now a museum of its time.   Pellatt was a romantic who dreamed of building a 'medieval' castle looking over Toronto - with the help of 300 men in nearly three years, he realized that dream for roughly $3,500,00.  Unfortunately, he lost his fortune and had to abandon his home... but it survived a hundred years beyond.  Here are some snapshots: 

The Great Hall: A classic organ, oversized Christmas tree, and crossbow/armor wall decor.

The Oak Room:  Aptly named.

The Library:  Note the detailed plaster of the ceiling.

View from the gardens:

Conservatory stained glass ceiling:  Complete with hanging bunches of glass grapes.

Serving room:

Sir Pellatt's study: Also, the secret staircase hidden behind his fireplace.

Lady Pellatt's suite:

Apparently this furniture was the absolute height of fashion in 1911:

Sir Pellatt's bathroom:  Very advanced plumbing for the times.

The Windsor Room: Pellatt always hoped royalty would stay at his home.

The Round Room: A circle.  Really.

Stairway to the towers:  Also, the view of Toronto and our signatures on the wall.

Christy "Morty" Morton (top) and me (bottom):

Secret tunnel to the stables and potting shed:

The names of Pellatt's horses!

Toronto is an expensive city.  Taxes are high, shopping is unlimited, and food choices are innumerable.  I was thrilled this this little gem and this veggie options:

But not as thrilled as I was about the free mulled cider in the lobby of our hotel!!

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Sushi has been outstanding in Canada.  It comes with instructions for a better life:

As well as its own floatation device:

We were very, VERY happy campers.

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November is apparently Mo'vember - 

Here's Ted and his contribution, The Duke:

Here is my Duke impression:

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Toronto has certainly been full of surprises.  The trains (known as The Rocket) are epic:

The buildings are full of cars:

And the window shopping has a whole other set of surprises:

The chilly air has brought out our best hats:

And gotten us excited for the holiday season:

I hope you're all staying warm and enjoying a little extra family time.  I miss mine, but at least I've got these kids to keep me company:

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!  May your pies be made of pumpkin, and your smiles be ever wide!