Well Dear Readers,
The most amazing thing happened the other night...
Patricia and I were working on the sets of "The Sound of Music" when our producer friend Lynn rushes up holding an autographed picture of the American Pickers he then says "You need to go to McBride's (stake house) Right Now, they are there!" The steak house is only a few blocks away from the theater, so Pat and I jump into the car (after much tripping over myself to get changed from painting cloths to street clothes) and we headed down the street.
(McBride's Steak House of Wichita Falls TX)
I was just about hysterical with the thought of meeting Mike and Frank, Patricia found me running around like a chicken with its head cut off. We run into the restaurant looking around wildly and after surveying the room I don't see them. It is about this time the hostess approaches us and the following conversation takes place.
Hostess: "How many?"
Me: " Just two, are Mike and Frank here?!"
Hostess: "Who?"
Me: "You know Mike and Frank, from the History channel?"
Hostess: "Ummmm...."
Me: "The American Pickers ?!"
Hostess: (In deep southern/concerning accent):"Honey can I Help you?"
Me:" Are you on the level with me? Are they here and have just asked not to be disturbed?"
Hostess: "Not that I know of..."
The Hostess seats us to our table and promises to go through the dinner tickets of the evening and see if anyone has signed "Mike or Frank", I'm feeling lower than a cellar because we missed them and then the door flies open and in walk a group of people and the hostess kiddingly says "Are you famous?" and when the head of the group replies "Me? No..." I nearly flipped over because it was Mike Wolfe!!!!!!!!
I didn't want to disturb him as Im sure he gets borderline stalked by fans everywhere, but as he passed our table I said "We love your show, and we've got a place for you to pick!" A little later he comes back over and I start telling him all about the Casablanca, and showing him pictures from the blog on my phone he said the Drive-In was "Really neat" and that the lawn chair collection was "Pretty Cool". After that he ate his dinner and promised to sign something for us afterward. After eating a hearty meal Patricia and I got him to sign the back of our dinner ticket,
(He drew a picture of a frog on the ticket because he had "Frog Legs" for dinner.)
He then took pictures with us before leaving for the night!
We must of shook hands six or seven times and then everyone finally left, Mike was super nice about everything and we enjoyed meeting him! We drove back to the theater (as we had more work to do) but I was so excited I couldn't even think straight, we showed all our friends the ticket they signed and retold the story I have just shared with you about 20 different times. I've got to get a frame for the ticket and I may print out one of the pictures to go with it, it was such a cool once in a life time meeting.
I only wish I had gotten an autograph for our friend Utah, he is the BIGGEST American pickers fan (and we had thought they were going to Pick his grandparents farm, but they did not) wish i'd gotten one for him!
Well dear readers, this year was without a doubt the BEST Spring Break season opener that the Casablanca has ever had! I left for the Casablanca on Wednesday evening and got things ready all day Thursday, that evening Patricia and friend Jenny came to help get things read for the big dance and spend the night.
(The draping streamers and lantern in the middle was my doing, it took forever but ended up looking great!)
The theme for the dance was "A 1940's Big Band Dance" so we gathered all my records and the player and hauled them down to the grand pavilion!
(Jenny has issues with saran wrap...)
We made a bevy of hors d'oeuvres and readied the punch before heading into town to pick up flowers and meet with the guests. Now before we continue, let me tell you how the dance sorta got out of hand... when we saw the Glenn Miller Big Band last month, we decided to make our party big band themed too we told everyone "to dress nice" well then people started asking about "simi -formal" and we theater people in a valiant effort to out do one another ended up turning this "simple gathering" into a full blown formal! When we met up everyone was looking pretty darn snazzy...
(Friends, Andrew, Ryan, Dillon, Joe & Patricia)
(Friends, Joe, Jenny, Pat, Caitlin, Kelcie, Lydia & Margaret)
Because it was a freakishly warm 90 degrees a few of us waited until later to change into formal attire, just before pictures and the dance, after everyone was assembled we headed out to the Casablanca. Upon arrival all the girls wanted to take pictures in their period clothes, in my period house, and that just makes me happy period!
(Kelcie, Lydia, Patricia, Caitlin, Jenny)
(The lovely Miss Mary)
(Sheldon & Terrace)
(Lydia, Kelcie, Patricia)
(Kelcie & Myself or rather Ilsa & Rick)
You might be wondering what the Guys were doing right about now, well...
(That's Confidential.)
* * *
A few more guests made their way to the Casablanca, and then it was time for the group picture and the dance to begin! Everyone had brough some kind of dessert or dish, so first order of business was refreshments.
Before we could start dancing, we got the "Guy & Gal" group pictures out of the way, here we have the girls with the flower basket...
The we let the needle drop and "swingin' spring break was underway!
(The Lake Diversion Rat Pack)
The just at the shank of the evening friend Savannah arrived in a glittering gown, just in time to catch the Limbo!
Limbo!
It was so hot in the "dance hall" that we overflowed onto the 'terrace' of the 'Grand Pavilion', some sat out on the dock and sang to the full moon.
After cooling off we all headed back up to the house to watch the first Drive-In Movie of the season, our feature presentation "Flipped".
A really sweet movie about middle school love set from 1958-1963 everyone seemed to enjoy it!
("It's Drive-In Time here at Mick's!")
Once the credits had flickered off the screen, we all moved back into the house for a card game of apples to apples...
Some singing in the louge, the "Hoop-Dee-Doo Polka: as well as other favorites!
And of course general evening conversation & gossip.
We laughed and talked, and ate until someone looked up at the cat clock and exclaimed "Oh Crap its 2:45A.M.!" I think its safe to say a good time was had by all, and we are considering making the dance an annual event. After everyone said their goodbyes and headed off back to town, well almost everyone friends Caitlin and Savannah stayed the night.
* * *
The next morning we had a hearty breakfast of French toast and eggs.
Its amazing how much faster decorations come down than being laboriously put up...
After the clean up was complete Patricia, Caitlin & I went for a walk to kill time before dinner.
We were joined for dinner by friends Sheldon and Terrace this time in much more comfortable clothes. Sharing a feast of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, garlic bread, green beans with a peach and cherry cobbler for dessert, a perfect closing dinner, to a wonderful opening weekend!
As I said in my opening statment, this year is hands down the best spring break we've ever had, (personally it beat the heck out of my equally as formal senior prom three years ago.) I hope it is an indicator to the excitment and attendance of all the other parties and events this year! A big thank you to everyone who came out to have a dance with us, and to all those who brought food and drink! A special thanks to Mary McKinnon, Oliva Sterling, Patricia Biera, (for party planning) & Holly McKinnon for the group photo and this wonderful piece below.
We went to the Bowie Texas Flea Market on Sunday before the last performance of Tom Sawyer wrapped up. I ended up dragging home this...
The largest sized suitcase in the Samsonite family, I really like the two tone blue and white. It might end up being the next suitcase we put pictures in at the lake, or i may use it for actually traveling! I kinda wish I could find the matching "hat box" because that for sure would be the place we stored all our photos from the Casablanca! After that we did this...
Then headed back to Wichita for Tom Sawyer!
Pretty Crazy week coming up, the first social event of the year Spring "Break On The Lake" we'll have picture and stories next week, its cooking up to quite the season opener!
I know i'm a week or so late on this topic, and before your all collectively roll your eyes and mutter "Showoff" let me take you back five years, before I'd ever even thought about what the backyard and house could turn into.
The first two years I had the house not much happened, to be honest I REALLY didn't want a yard. So I put up a makeshift fence, I used lattice fence panels to split the yard in half and where I didnt have lattice I painted pieces of plywood to look like old billboards.
(Be nice, I was 15 when I first decided to become the "Master Landscaper" for the Casablanca)
At this point the yard was split into three sections. and I only cared for 1/3rd of it. I loaded the fenced off portion of the yard with tables and chairs there were three... all of them impractical for the outdoors.
(This was called "The Fiesta Table" wooden chairs and super exclusive)
(Next was "The Hollywood" Table, named for the the makers stamp "Hollywood 1939" on the bottom)
(Last was "The Cabana" Table)
I would literally haul all of this junk in and out of the house EVERY weekend.Then I decided to clear out some grass and revive the old ruins of a fire pit that had come with the house. After much hard work, plastic laying and gravel hauling this was the result.
It wasn't to long after this my Grandma Jordan informed me about a pair of old beat up lawn chairs out in the barn that she said I could take and fix up... I don't think she knew what she was enabling haha!
These three pieces have now grown into the 34 piece collection I have now! My next lawn furniture purchase was my FAVORITE turquoise bench I dragged all the way back from Kansas.
(Modeled here by the Lovely Brandi)
(One of our very first Postcards)
After finishing up the gravel pit, is when we put in the early stages of the Flamingo Drive-In, it also ushered in the era of "gravel patios" and I kinda got a little crazy with them...
(Altogether the backyard looked like this....)
At this point the backyard had shaped up into a hot mess... to much going on in to little a space, then one September evening a few neighbors that came to watch and Drive-In movie in their go-cart did me a "favor" of sorts. when the movie was over, and they got ready to leave the go-cart got stuck in reverse and they ran over the fence knocking a huge hole in it. I had planned to replace the lattice dividing fence with an iron fence, but whit the divider gone for a few weeks I really like how much bigger the yard looked.
And luckily the gravel pit craze kinda worked out and "flowed" with each other. As time went on I replaced the tables one by one with vintage metal tables and chairs (so I wouldn't have to drag them in and out of the house but once a year)
The connecting walkway is now gone as is the Cabana table, but this is my paradise. I dream about being there all the time, and after working so hard on the Sets of Tom Sawyer I can''t wait to get back out there. As of the last two years its sort of bloomed into party/event central for friends and theatrical folk! I've loved every minuet of its evolution.
