I took a personal day on Friday, so I wouldn’t have to rush out after school, and then drive into the late hours of the night to get there. I meandered down…stopping at the antique mall in Story City, and picking up a BOX of goodies from Jaarsma Bakery in Pella. LOVE that place! Here are my “goodies”...
The tulips and daffodils were in full bloom, so Pella was beautiful. Actually ALL of Iowa was beautiful! They are a few weeks ahead of us in their spring, so the redbud trees were blooming, flowers were up, trees were leafing out, and it was wonderful to see.
I got to Fairfield around 3:30, stopped at Hy-Vee (LOVE that place too!) to pick up a few things, then headed over to Tena’s house. We drank a glass of wine, then I headed over to Rob and Donna’s for…wine and cheese. I hadn’t seen Donna in a couple of years. We used to do shows together at the 16th Street Theater, which, to this day, remains one of my FAVORITE acting adventures…”The Ghost Train”, “An Ideal Husband”, “Mousetrap”, “Twelfth Night’…such FUN shows! I hadn’t met Rob before, but he was a GREAT guy, and I’m looking forward to more wine and cheese with them the next time I’m in town!
After time at Donna and Rob’s, I met my dear friend Carol for dinner. Carol is such a delight to “hang out with”. We hadn’t seen each other for AWHILE, but picked up right where we left off, and had a LOVELY dinner at Vivo. It was great to catch up, and, although it’s NOT Regina’s, Vivo was quite good!
After dropping Carol off, I headed back over to Tena’s and we stayed up chatting until about midnight…oy!
Saturday morning, we took our time getting ready, then headed to ANOTHER favorite Fairfield spot…REVELATIONS! We got coffee and scones, ate them there, then walked around and shopped the square. They’ve really done some nice renovations, and some interesting stores have filled the area. In what other small town in Iowa can you find an auyervedic health food store, a chocolate café, and Indian restaurant, a “church of the mother divine” (I don’t know what this is either…), and a hardware store? Fairfield is KOOKY, and I really LIKE kooky!
We drove around town for awhile, then headed to the country to walk part of the trail system. This has been built since I left town, and I REALLY wish it had been there when I lived there. It’s a great system of cinder path trails that loop around and through town, and you can either walk or bike them. We took the segment that went over the new bypass, and had a HUGE bridge that went over a creek near the wetlands south of town…very cool!
After our walk, we headed BACK to Revelations for lunch. Tena even suggested sitting outside! I had the Greek wood fired pizza (feta, artichokes, red pepper oil, and kalamata olives). Yum!
After lunch we went back to Tena’s to relax, then headed to the Sondheim to run through our song. We had a judges meeting at 4:00, went back home to get ready, then headed back for the show.
Many good friends came to see the show, so I was able to catch up with some of them before it all started. SO good to see everyone!!!
I had a REALLY good time judging the show. Having recently BEEN in one, I knew how nervous the contestants must have been, but they all did really well. The contestants ranged from 13 to 60, and covered everything from country to Broadway. It was hard to pick the winners (the audience had a part in that by voting with their ticket stub for their favorite…that combined with our choices, determined the winner).
I didn’t learn until earlier that afternoon that judges were supposed to make comments, so spent a little time trying to figure out “witty banter”…turned out I didn’t need it…what I mostly said (and the other judges as well) were positive comments. I DID insert a little humor when I said I thought I might have a little crush on the girl who ended up winning. She sang a 40's/50's style version of “Someone to Watch Over Me", and was REALLY GOOD!
After the contestants had sung, the cast of “Hair”, which is opening at the Sondheim this weekend, did a few numbers, and then Tena and I sang “The Song that Goes Like This” from SPAMALOT. We ROCKED! Usually I’m “okay” with my performances, and ALWAYS think I could have done better, but this performance was ABSOLUTELY what I wanted it to be. Tena and I NAILED it! The audience loved it, and it was really fun to perform. I’m STILL on a “high” from it!
After the show, we went to Torino’s for greasy pizza, then home for a glass of wine, then to bed. It was an EXHAUSTING day, but crammed with SO MANY FUN THINGS!!!
Sunday, I got up, got ready, loaded up the car, took a LOVELY walk around Chautauqua Park, then made a detour to Denyce and Eric’s to see their FABULOUS new remodel/expansion…which is COMPLETELY gorgeous, and to which Duane and I are TOTALLY going next time I’m in town for wood fired pizza in their new wood fire oven.
I was only able to stay for a brief visit, then met Tena at the “silver bullet” (Fairfield Family Diner) for our customary meal before driving back, then…drove back! The weather was lovely and there weren't too many stupid people on the roads, so, except for the spotty cruise control, the journey back was fine!
It was a LOVELY weekend at HOME, and, although I REALLY don’t think I could live in Fairfield again, LOVE LOVE LOVE visiting, and reconnecting, and remembering all the GREAT times I had growing up/living there.
Here’s hoping YOU have been able to reconnect with someone/somewhere/something you love!
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