Late and Short

Sorry this is late and short but as most of you know
Grandpa was in the hospital most of last week.  He
started with bronchitis and then it turned into pneumonia.
After one day short of a week he was dismissed.  (I think
they just got tired of him asking when he could go home:)
He is doing much better but since it has turned cold again
isn't supposed to go out much,

We have had some nice spring days lately.  On one of
those  we ventured to Cheney Lake to look for the Bald
Eagles that are supposedly there right now.  We saw a
few and I tried to get pictures but wasn't quick enough
to get good ones.  Maybe next time.

Snow along the lake shore.

One of the few birds we saw.

Update from the Kitchen

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the delay in this post.  Its been a hectic week between the opening of The Kitchen Witches at the Hutchinson Theatre Guild (first show of the season and first of four shows I'm directing this year), going to see high school musical productions for Music Theatre of Wichita and helping with family around town.

I'm happy to report that the production opened this weekend very successfully.  It has been a good run so far and I'm sure this afternoon will continue that trend.

I've been putting about 8 hours (although some days 14) a day for the past three weeks on the show.  Its been important to have a day off which I've been taking on Wednesday (although towards the end of the process here, it changed and unfortunately, sometimes, didn't happen).  But the show must go on.

For all of those who are unaware, Clara Marie, my Beagle and great companion died the last Sunday in January.  Her loss has been notable and I'm still struggling through the residual effects of not greeting her every morning when I wake up.  I miss her.  Very much.

Love to all and until next time.

Charles

Rimsky

As many of you know, the newest addition to the Tolleson apartment is a grey tabby kitten we've named Rimsky after the composer Rimsky-Korsakov. (If you haven't heard his "best of" in awhile, they are definitely worth another listen: Scheherazade, Flight of the Bumblebee, and Russian Easter Overture.) Truth be told - although Rimsky-Korsakov is a great composer - we just thought it was a cute kitty name.

Rimsky was originally named Arnold, so we decided to keep Arnold as his middle name; thus, the name used when he becomes mischievous is Rimsky Arnold Tolleson. He was in a foster home as part of the "no-kill" program in Austin called Austin Pets Alive. We found him on their website and set up a "meet and greet." Of course we fell in love and brought him home! He has won our hearts and continually makes us smile. He's an excellent pouncer, jumper, and fetcher of mice; he cuddles, purrs, meows, and follows us around the apartment. Here are a few of the millions of pictures we've taken so far :).

Meet Rimsky

He's content to lay in your arms like a baby.

He LOVES his bags!

Check out the markings on his face!

Our very own striped cuddle bug

Food seems to be the other big presence in our lives :-). Kinley gave Hannah an awesome cook book for Christmas, which has produced some yummy homemade foods like butternut squash soup, hummus, and toaster pastries! Next on the list is granola (thank you Kinley!)

James has been making lots of yummy foods too, mostly without recipes (Hannah is very impressed!) In addition to cooking, James keeps up with all of the local food blogs, which led us to find a food truck that serves amazing donuts! Oh, they're good :-).

In the midst of all this wintery weather, we have had two ice days! Crazy! We wish everyone warmth, health, and the chance to sit down with family and friends over a long delicious meal!

Love,
James and Hannah

Flexibility

With a new year well under way, I think it is safe to say that flexibility has become a key attitude at the Rutherford household.

We rang in the new year with friends and a day of laziness. Something that is rare at our house and was a great reminder of how much we enjoy spending time together. Then it was off to the races again!

Mary had a slower January after working her third year in a row with the Rockettes. She has been working with Jersey Boys for two and a half years and was delighted to be asked to join them for three of their eight shows a week permanently in the stage left women’s track. As of the 28^th, on both Tuesday and Wednesday Mary will be at home with the show on Broadway. There are many more possibilities lurking in the near future with a need for much patience in the wait to see how the puzzle will fall together.

Kurtis has had a significantly more exciting January with a preparation for an eight week tour, a fight with what we are fondling calling the plague, and a big shop move. Long story short, a few days before he was to go on tour, they informed him that he would be staying behind to move the shop and join the tour in a week. With an odd progression, he is still in town and it appears as though Mary’s small get away to meet Kurtis in Las Vegas and visit California has now become a small trip for both of s. If everything goes as it seems, Kurtis will stay in New York. This also seems to change daily.

The third interesting thing taking place at the Rutherford household is a long term guest, Liz. She has been staying with us for almost three weeks now. Our one bedroom apartment actually separates out well for a long term guest and Liz is a friend from K-State who has been living in Chicago, looking to move to NYC. It is nice to be able to pay back some of the kindness that friends showed us as we made this move.

Flexibility has become the word at our house. With jobs in flux, an extra person living in our space and a wait on the future, it is key to have the flexibility. That attitude has enabled us to enjoy hobbies on beer making, yoga, video games, music and so on. It has also made a couple of visits from dad simply delightful and very memorable.

No complaints, only hope for the future and flexibility for the present. Wishing you all the best! Much love!

Mary and Kurtis