Changes In 2013

  March 23rd marked the opening day of C & M's 2013 season.  Opening on a weekend means early shows, of course and puts most everyone in an automatic 'full speed ahead' mode.  It was nice to have the evening off to be able to exhale after enduring the rain and wind in day one.  Although, the vast experience of most the crew and performers made the first day's set up, show time and tear down seem much like a mid-season circus day.  

  There are a few changes in this year's performance.  I am most excited about Georgia joining my family's unicycle act this season.  Her cousin, Noah, who is exactly one month older than Georgia, has been showing her the ropes on the unicycle for quite some time. Noah is long on patience and short & sweet on words.  Before too long, such memorable words of advice as, "Georgia, don't let your fear make you fall," helped see her through until she was peddling on her own.  A few more practices with the rest of the Arlise Troupe and she should be taking her spot in the 6 person routine before I know it. 

  Another change, about which I am also very excited, is the announcing duties I share with Simone.  As always, it is way too much fun to work with my 'announcing partner in crime.'  In the past, we have split ring master duties down the middle; Simone has taken care of the first portion of the show then I would finish part two.  Not long ago, Simone came up with the idea of opening and closing the performances together and switching places behind the announcer's stand at just the right spots in the show so the rundown remains smooth.  We think we have come up with just the right script and timing to pull it off and so far, the audiences agree.  The only problem I foresee, is more opportunities to exchange looks and lines that probably no one else would notice, that will test the other's abilities to keep a straight face. ;)

  We are happy to welcome the Ayala family for the new tour.  Jose Jr. and Elizabeth are contributing a multitude of outstanding traditional circus talents.    It is a pleasure to announce Elizabeth's lovely hair hang act which appears early in the show.  When I was a kid, Martguerita Michelle from back in the proverbial day was my favorite performer of all time.  I can still hear the theme to Hawaii 5-0 accompanying Ms. Michelle's graceful and daring moves.  It's a personal pleasure to bring on our own "lady with the tresses of steel," as my dad would say. :)  Foot juggling is also new this year.  Elizabeth sells her quick-paced twirling, turning and flipping of a barrel, a cylinder, flags and fire sticks with energy, ease and charm.  This act jump starts the second portion of the show perfectly.  Jose Jr. caps off our performance with his finely honed rola bola.  He does an excellent job of keeping the audience on the edge of their seats as he expertly balances on stacks and stacks of rola bola boards, a bowling ball and a multitude of cylinders. Seven, to be exact!  By the time he takes his final bow, you can hear the audience catch their collective breath, applaud and cheer all at the same time.  Did I mention his rola bola table is taller than I am??  

  C & M is featuring a pair of multi talented clowns this season.  Judy and Punchy make quick friends with the circus-goers as they mingle with and amuse the young and young at heart prior to show time.  They put smiles on the faces in the crowd as they duel with mops in an effort to clean up the ring, put their own silly spin on a magician's sword & trunk illusion and keep busy and funny with colorful hula hoops.  Bright cheery wardrobe and props, careful attention to detail and good timing keep the routines smooth and the laughs coming from the crowd. 

  This year I've lined up 6 dogs for my act.  Loosing  Pete several weeks back made it necessary to jump start Benji's circus career.  He shares the title of 'new comer' with his brother Freddie.  In an effort to make the addition of two new dogs a little easier for me, I temporarily pulled my veteran performer, Delta out of retirement.  She is one of those reliable performers who is ready on a second's notice to help me out if I need her to add a little something extra.  In a few weeks Otto's look alike, Lucky Ned Pepper will take Delta's place on the far right hand seat.  Then, she can go back to bossing our cat around the house. ;)

  Mel Ray Silverlake returns for his third consecutive season.  His western style whip cracking

adds an unexpected element to this year's line up. Simone gives him a hand as Mel Ray snaps, cracks and pops whips of all sizes.  His act well received and popular with kids of just about all ages.

  This will be the second year for Paulina's big and little act to perform.  Wyatt and Jasmine sweetly prance, waltz and march around during the second half of this season's show.  The sheer size of Wyatt catches the audience by surprise.  Little Jasmine's springy steps are met with a few good-natured giggles and lots of clapping as she takes direction from Paulina and keeps in time with Wyatt. 

  Simone's single trapeze is the aerial feature in the show's second portion.  She has added few new moves to her already solid routine.  Taking cues from traditional aerial acts, Simone works at a gentle smooth pace as each trick blends gracefully into the next.  Solid heel, toe and neck on the bar hangs keeps every audience member holding their breath.  A swinging satellite spin offers an exciting end to her expertly executed routine.

  The show's beautiful and rare tabby tigers, Solomon and Delilah and lovable black maned lion, Francis are put through their paces at the show's onset.  Trey interacts with the big cats with ease and has mixed in some humor with Francis that the audiences falls for every time.  The mere presence of these giant cats not only adds excitement but also offers an extreme sense of traditional circus which audiences appreciate. 
  April is doing triple duty this year. She is splitting her time between the unicycle act, her face painting stand and keeping all our appetites satisfied as she runs the cookhouse.  With meals pumpkin pancakes for brunch and hot borscht for dinner, cookhouse once again should find itself with a more than a few of us coming back for seconds.

   Since the performers all have much experience in the ring and around tent shows, it tends to make a new season settle in fairly quickly.  With just a few shows under our belts, things are already starting to have a feel of ease.  All of this combined with the exciting and historical locations this route promises should make for an extra special and memorable 2013 circus season.   

    

  

 

      

 

Happy 2013... From my family to yours!

 Photographer: Valerie Berta
Dec. 2012

Kids, Relatives and the Years to Come

  As my kids get older, and their personalities continue to develop, it's interesting and fun to see how much they are alike and how different they are from each other.  What's really neat is how much they are like relatives that have long since passed.  Interestingly, both girls are very much a mix of tomboy and 'girly girl.'  Georgia's 'tomboyish' traits tend to come out in her long-time interest of creepy crawling creatures.  Some with scales, some with 8 legs or more and some with no legs.  It's not unusual for her to come home with a collection of snails, a new pet toad and once, a new pet 5'' long snake.  Both kids enjoy being outside and needless to say, neither have a problem getting their hands dirty.  Tootie likes to help me train dogs and both girls have always enjoyed 'gardening.'  Which really involves using their kiddie gardening tools and digging holes, piling mounds of dirt and planting acorns or pebbles in hopes of getting flowers or vegetables.  (That rates way high on the cuteness meter.)

  Toot has always loved music.  She loves to make music, she loves to pretend to make music and she loves to dance.  She has a couple toy guitars.  Her hand-me-down toy keyboards get some use, but it's the drums that Tootie is enamored with. Her drumming isn't at all limited to her Elmo drum set.  She has used everything from Georgia's chop sticks to straws, twigs and icicles for drum sticks and has tapped on everything from toilet seat lids to lamp shades.  She pretends to pat a kick drum pedal with her little foot and often wants to wear her tennis shoes so she can accurately imitate her role model, Marina from The Fresh Beat Band. 

  Tootie isn't afraid of much.  It's nothing for her to sit through an episode or two of Goosebumps alongside Georgia, one or more cousins and myself.  Not even the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz ruffle her feathers.  Her strong will has landed her in time-out and helped her overcome a challenge or two.  Georgia is a bit more on the cautious side.  Although she has no fear of climbing a web or swinging extra high on a park swing and like me, enjoys a good mystery, she's less likely walk into a dark room without knowing where the light switch is.  

  Both girls like to dress up.  Toot is going through the dress phase at the same age Georgia did.  They both enjoy hair do-dads, perfume, make up, flowers, nail polish and shopping.  Both girls like to help me bake and cook from time to time.  Georgia tends to lose interest after the first 15 minutes or so, but Toot hangs in there till it is just about time to hang up the oven mitt.  

  Some of Georgia's interests are uncannily like my dad's.  From western movies to magic, they'd have been best buddies   I am quite sure she'd have been chomping at the bit to box jump in and out of a crystal casket or a Hindu basket.  I see a lot of my great aunt Eileen in Tootie.  Already showing an interest in books, I foresee memberships to book clubs and/or regular visits to Barnes & Nobles in her future.  Since artists run in both sides of their family, it's no surprise they both have tried to draw since their fine motor skills developed enough to hold a crayon.  Georgia is, without question, a talented artist.  She has inherited an eye for color and perspective and has always drawn on just about anything from receipts to pieces of cardboard.  Tootie also thoroughly enjoys drawing, but not quite as much as Georgia did at her age.  Truly, her interests lie more in the music and culinary departments.  I can see her in the kitchen with my grandmother twisting taffy and rolling out peanut butter dough in preparation of devouring our family's coveted peanut butter balls.  I can also see her spending countless hours in my grandfather's music room poring over records and resisting the urge to manhandle the knobs and dials on his enormous hi-fi in order to get an over the top animated air guitar fix.

  It will continue to be interesting and fun to see how my girls will grow and change over the years.  It's already been a hugely rewarding experience keeping up with their phases, growth spurts and interests.  Before I know it, the dolls will be traded in for driver's licenses.  Boys and a broken heart or two lie in the road ahead somewhere.  And one day, Eloise and The Fresh Beat Band won't show up anywhere on the DVR list.  

  I sometimes think about these traits, habits, hobbies and interests of theirs and wonder which will fade and which will not.  Time will tell...but as I see it now, Georgia may one day be signing her name on the bottom right hand corner of a piece of canvas and Tootie may be autographing cookbooks.  Or, throwing drum sticks into a crowd...hard.  

Front Window

  Sitting at our family's computer desk in my living room, I have perfect view of my snow laden front yard.  The blue & white glow from the snow flake lights draped over the bushes out front add to the charm of the Christmas atmosphere.  In the window I can see the reflection of my over sized reading chair tucked in the opposite corner near a floor lamp and a footstool.  I have looked out of my front window at this scene several times in the last few days, and it has become a picture I have fondly painted in my memory bank.  As my kids both lie sleeping on the sofas, the cat is curled up on the entryway bench, purring away. Five of my dogs are protecting the yard from what canine terror lurks in the snowy branches lining the ranch across the street.  Add to all of this, the gentle hum of the furnace and somehow, it all seems so very Norman Rockwell-ish.   To me, this is one step away from heaven. 

  Going full tilt on the circus for 8 1/2 months, you need a balance.  You need a place to exhale for a while.  I am a believer in life is what you make it, and the days are what you make them, and I have finally learned to apply those beliefs mostly everyday.  It's one thing to know, it's another thing to practice what we know.  It's not always easy when kids fight, dogs run off for days on end and high winds blow the back screen door half off, leaving yet another project on my to-do list.  But, not letting life's little trials and spills ruin my whole day has taken practice. It has been well worth the effort as I have tried to cultivate a relaxed environment for the kids and me here.  I've learned that not only is tomorrow a new day and a new chance to start over, but the next hour is a new hour and new chance to start over...talk about 'serenity now.'  Since kids are like sponges, it's important that they soak up good habits and lessons that will stick with them their whole lives. 

  Last year I said I was going to enjoy my 40's.  With that I realized I had to look at things differently.  In reprogramming my mindset, regrets became valuable lessons learned that I would not trade.  Memories have become more precious than just about any material possession.  And many material possessions have made their way to the Goodwill.  More time has been spent watching Goosebumps with the kids and less time has been taken up concerning myself over diesel prices and how many trips to town I'm going to make in the week.  That whole 'living in the moment' phrase I was kind of tired of hearing has hit home and feels pretty good. 

 I was thinking not long ago, that I have all the ingredients for a happy life.  Broken screen doors, runaway dogs, head-butting kids, errands and to-do lists are all a part of the recipe.  Add, new perspectives, lessons learned, cherished memories, exhaling, playing with kids, a cozy little house in the woods and mix well.  

More Winter Pictures

Backyard tree

Snowy Sui...I love this picture.

One kid's icicle chop sticks...

...are another kid's icicle drum sticks.

Snowy Otto.  :))

Christmas day.  Love this picture.

Funny face. Proper pose. This picture defines both girls nicely. ;)

This is Ned licking the snow off of Sui's face.  Look closely and you can see Ned's tiny tongue.

And of course, winter would not be complete without snow angels.

Not Pleasant Valley

   I grew up in suburban Ohio and Florida.  Farr Hills Avenue, Maiden Lane and Madruga Avenue were Brady Bunchesque, to say the least.  They were indeed neighborhoods, "where everybody knows your name."  Bike riders, barbecue grills and school bus stops. No complaints here. I thoroughly enjoyed growing up in "Pleasant Valley Sunday."

  When we bought our place here in the country in 2002, there was a slight feeling of isolation at first.  Town is 13 miles away either way you go.  I can barely see my neighbor's house to the right and I can't see my neighbor's house on the left.  Our close friends live two houses down and I have to dial our area code to call them. It all took a little getting used to back then.  By Christmas of our first winter break I started to appreciate country life and consider this place home. 

  Because our time here is limited, it has taken me many years to get the inside and the outside of our house to match our environment.  The country is serene. It gives me a feeling of comfort that, for me, is matchless.  As Georgia says, it rates high on the 'cozy meter.'  Sometimes a woodpecker's labor breaks the day's silence. An occasional passing car or a far off siren from the Faught firehouse may also cause one of us to look out our front picture window.  Late night silence is sometimes interrupted by the baying hunting dogs that live in the houses on the other side of the lake behind us.  More often, it's the singing coyotes that get our attention long after we've left the dinner table. When we come home in October the leaves are already starting to litter the soon-to-turn-brown grass.  Autumn around here is not quite as lush as our neighbors tell us the spring and summer months are.  I've never seen our rose bushes in full bloom and have only seen the grapes on our vine in a picture that our friends took.  But, I don't mind. I love it. It's pretty to me. 

  Now, it's full blown winter.  Snow came around 3:00pm yesterday which brought a perfect Christmas day over the top.  Since the snow around here goes as quickly as it comes, I went a little camera crazy.  Georgia and I agree that the snow can make almost anything pretty or prettier. 

  We hope you enjoy the pictures that follow.

We see this huge tree going to and coming from town.

Today at the back of the pasture.

Sui and Kip

My dog practice area.

Icicles and blue Christmas lights on a bush in my front yard.

Faught Union Church. 

My kids' trapeze.  Compliments of my friend, Sara Greene.

This nest has been on my porch for years.  It's been a long time since we've seen the yellow & gray bird that built it.

Paulina's horse, Wyatt.  He is as gentle as a lamb despite his almost 2,000 pounds.

Another critter that is as gentle as a lamb.

The side yard.

Ready to make snow angels.  And throw snowballs.

Near the pond.  I will put this picture in a frame someday soon.

Mo and me in the back door at Culpepper. Late 2012

Because mustaches are a requirement in my house. So is peace.

Meeting one of my heroes, Dr. Charles Stanley was a longtime dream.

Tootie's movie star face. 

She's an old school map reader. He's checking for directions on his Google map app.

Lana, me dogs

Mo, April, me

Nap time

Annual pumpkin carving circle.

This was taken in the wee hours of the morning when I felt a kick in my side. She is really sound asleep.