Nuts and Pasta

Slept in again! Except it wasn't quite as weird hours... only 8 this time!
By the time I got up, it was more like time for lunch than breakfast.

We had to head out to go to the Nutcracker in Everett at the Performing Arts Center pretty much right afterwords. We were meeting my Aunt (who arranged it) and Grandma and a few of my Aunt's cousins. It was a "ladies night out". Both of my sisters were in the car with Mom and I and my niece... and there were a few flares of hot tempers (they're not known for getting along) because we weren't quite sure where it was held at :) We did make it to the place in plenty of time, but I was wondering if this was going to be any fun at all :(

I needn't have worried! The show was absolutely fabulous! It was a small-ish theater, but had plenty of seating for the full house. The cast was fewer than what you would see at a professional ballet, but they didn't let you notice. They were very talented! The costumes were well done, but not overly done. I loved the snowflake and flower costumes... simple, but very pretty. The snowflakes had loose, floppy-white netting with a close-fitting top of white and silvery-blue. The flowers had skirts in pieces that reminded you of flower petals. And they only had eight dancers for those dances! Wow! Good job! Good choreography! This was put on by the Olympic Ballet Theater based in Edmonds.

But the thing I liked best is their adaptation of the story. Clara never changed into a young woman: she stayed a kid the whole time and only observed everything that happened, occasionally being let in on the dance (like in the fight with the mouse). There was a snow king and queen... and there was a king and queen of the Kingdom of Sweets as well. The later were professional guest dancers that were, as Ted E. Peck would say, "Fantastic!". Drosselmeyer was there throughout it and he was the one who led Clara to the Kingdom... she never ran off and became romantic with the prince (I hate the ending when they do that). The version I am most familiar with is the 1977 adaptation by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland that we had taped off TV and watched a thousand times as kids... and of course, they did that in that one. So I had a wonderful time at the show today. It felt original and honest and it was a lot of fun to watch.

For dinner we drove south to Lynnwood and ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory. I had spinach and cheese ravioli and spaghetti with meat sauce in a half & half dish. Mmm. My niece was a darling the whole night long and it was a good time with everyone.

Tonight, however, is an all-night-long LAN party that my brother is having with seven of his friends... and it is *loud*. They're either loud in the garage, right below my room, or louder playing Guitar Hero in his room down the hall from the garage. I'm gonna try and sleep tonight.
:)

Jp