| Look What I Found! |
[Feb. 17th, 2008|07:13 am] |
Thank-you to Susan over at the ARDHGB for finding this for me! Here's Snape, our "Renaissance Man"!
What do you think! |
|
|
| Hot Guys From The Past! |
[Feb. 16th, 2008|10:42 am] |
For Catsplay, who couldn't find any cute,(but unfortunately dead), guys in the online art galleries. Here are a few of my favorites. I love the twinkle in the eye of Monsieur De La Tour's Self portrait. Isn't he cute? The other two by Titian just look intense and sexy to me! |
|
|
| Hans Gruber Look-Alike? |
[Feb. 16th, 2008|09:46 am] |
I have a reproduction of this portrait in my house. Does anyone else think it resembles Alan Rickman at around age 40? ( Die Hard era.)I'm looking for some more pictures for Catsplay to "morph" into Snape or AR portraits. Wish me luck! |
|
|
| Empty Nest |
[Feb. 3rd, 2008|02:30 pm] |
Well, I've started packing up Nick's old bedroom. It may take a while. It's an odd mixture of stuff. Film making, including the occasional prop he used in high school, sports stuff, trophies, team photos, lots of paperwork such as reports for science or history. I even found a few odd sheets of music from his orchestra days. It looks like our cat chewed up some of them! I'm sorting it all out and packing it away carefully. A few things for the thrift store but not much so far. I'm trying not to throw away anything he may want. The biggest surprise so far has been a complete set of prom photos. I've lot a long way to go. Has anyone else gone through this chore? It's not much fun and makes you feel really old!!! For fun I posted two photos of Nick from the shoot of his thesis film for NYU. He's the shaggy one on the left and the sunburned guy! It was freezing but sunny that weekend! This is a little payback for his posting a truly awful photo of me and his dad on his Facebook! |
|
|
| Los Angeles Magazine |
[Jan. 23rd, 2008|05:47 pm] |
|
There was a large manila envelope in my mailbox when I got home tonight, but unfortunately someone at "Los Angeles Magazine" sent me the Nov.'07 issue instead of Jan.'08. I called them and they are sending the correct issue right out. How disappointing! Anyone with questions check over at "Rickmanalysis" for all the info. |
|
|
| I Baked a "Sweeney" meat pie!! |
[Jan. 20th, 2008|06:42 pm] |
In an unexplained fit of domesticity I made chicken pot pies a'La "Sweeney Todd". To my surprise they turned out really well! My husband suggested I should serve them to friends once I have a copy of "Sweeney" on DVD. I'm not sure that would work out. Maybe at the very beginning of the movie! Hope the picture comes through. I can post the recipe if anyone wants to try it. I must tell you they were a lot of work!
Bye! |
|
|
| My new mug |
[Dec. 27th, 2007|02:46 pm] |
I wanted to post a picture of the mug I made for myself at "zazzle.com". You can make personalized one-of-a-kind items there. You can NOT, however, use copyrighted images on mugs etc.( Guess how I learned that, hmmm?) So anyway,here's my "Will Work For Lovely Cakes" mug for your amusement! I hope the picture comes out. It is my first try with a new camera, thanks to my generous daughter and son-in-law!
Merry Christmas!
Maryland |
|
|
| Alan Dream Last Night |
[Feb. 6th, 2007|07:22 am] |
It was bound to happen sooner or later! Last night I had a dream with Alan Rickman in it. I don't remember the whole dream but do remember that for some reason I was helping him take off some stage or movie makeup. He looked like Hans Gruber and had the dark beard. I was using Q-tips and 2" X 2" gauze sponges like I have at the dentist's office where I work as an assistant. I routinely blot patient's faces at work after dental procedures so this seemed very familiar. In the dream however, once I had the makeup off, which I remember to be eyeliner and that pancake face makeup, I put down the gauze and rubbed his face with both hands, like a massage. Alan was quiet during all of this. He didn't seem to mind me being in his "personal space" while I cleaned off the makeup. Once all that was done, for some reason we next were with a lot of other people getting lunch at a buffet table. Alan was teasing me because I was only getting salad and vegetables and leaving the fattening foods. ( Totally unlike me, the baker of the Lovely Cakes!) Unfortunately the rest of the dream is indistinct, involving my wanting to order something from a yellow brochure? Who knows? I wish I had woken up and written it all down right away! Suffice to say, I'm amazed this morning! What a way to start your day!
Maryland |
|
|
| "Fashion In Film" Exhibit |
[Jan. 7th, 2007|02:29 pm] |
I went to Winterthur Estate yesterday to see the "Fashion In Film" exhibit from Cosprop costume house, UK. It was absolutely stunning and I loved all of the costumes!
Of course I really went to see the wedding clothes from "Sense&Sensibility"! The red uniform tunic was truly a magnet for the exhibit! The red is so vibrant it practically glows! I was amazed to see the trim was deep green and not black as it seems on film! The impression given was that this was worn by a very tall, trim but strong person, with wide shoulders and skinny hips! The boots were elegant and not overly large for the height. Marianne's wedding dress was exquisitely embroidered, as were almost all the costumes shown. The exhibit was a treat for movie buffs like me! It was mobbed by people, (mostly women and a few good-sport spouses!) The men seemed particularily interested in Brandon's uniform, perhaps because it was the only thing there that they could remotely picture themselves wearing! I heard a guard tell the tour guide as late as 3:00PM, "They're STILL COMING!!!". And as I said to my girlfriend who went with me, " Never underestimate the attraction of Colonel Brandon's pants!" ( To paraphrase a line from "Dogma"!)
The other costumes were beautiful as well! I feel very fortunate to have seen them!
Maryland
 |
|
|
| I Saw Perfume!!!! |
[Jan. 5th, 2007|10:15 pm] |
Hey everyone,
Just to let you know hubby and I drove to the next town and saw " Perfume" today!!!!
We both liked it a lot, but don't know when or if it will play closer to where we live.
I recommend it to all. Ben Wishaw was amazing, Dustin Hoffman did OK but Alan was amazing and very intense! His character seemed to anchor the whole second half of the movie. For those reviews who say this character reminds them of Snape, I think it is because he us speaking in his "Posh-Perfect" voice, and is quite serious most of the time. Unlike Snape, however, this seriousness is broken by occasional sweet smiles at his daughter, Laura, and displays of fatherly affection. The sets, costumes and art direction are impressive and the music is good at creating tension. All in all, a well made film. I hope everyone gets to see it on the big screen!
Maryland |
|
|
| |
[Dec. 25th, 2006|07:38 am] |
Merry Christmas to All!
I've been up since six AM to put a 22lb. turkey in the oven. Coincidentally I could have as many as 22 people at my house today! ( My husband has a large family!) I have a batch of "Lovely Cakes" to put out with my other desserts. I can't wait to show my autographed photo to some family members who are AR fans. ( Mostly from Harry Potter.)
Singing in the choir at Midnight Mass went well last night. In other words, the songs went well and no one passed out from stress! I'm expecting my company to arrive starting at three this afternoon. Here's wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas! I'm looking to get some friends to go to Winterthur with me and see those costumes before the exhibit closes. Worst case scenario, my husband said he'd go! ( He's sweet but he sounded a bit like a martyr when he said it! Kind of like " Take one for the team"!)
Happy New Year to All!
Maryland |
|
|
| Sneak peek at Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix |
[Nov. 21st, 2006|05:47 pm] |
|
|
|
|
| Maryland and Kathy's New York Adventure! Day Four |
[Oct. 29th, 2006|08:49 pm] |
Monday, October 16, 2006
It's our last day. We've had a great time that's for sure. Today we only planned to re-visit the Angelika Film Center and see " The Queen" with Helen Mirren. After breakfast, took the most time-consuming park walk we could manage. Saw even more film equipment!(photo) Also, saw a NYU film student shooting a project in the park.(photo) Went to the earliest feature of "The Queen". As we expected it was great! (photo)Go and see it!! I behaved much better when the trailer for "Perfume" came on. Maybe it was all the AR "saturation", I'm becoming de-sensitized? ( I strongly doubt it!) After the movie we wandered around Greenwich Village and stopped to read a menu posted outside the "Le Figaro Cafe". A very cute and personable maitre'd came out and charmed us into coming inside, promising a fireplace!(photo) We were freezing so that worked out well. After eating, we dawdled our way back to the hotel. We had already checked out and our luggage was stored as before. We collected it and set off to the subway to go back to the bus station on Canal Street.(photo) We made it with no problem and had an hour to wait before departing. Kathy struck up a conversation with a friendly young man who just got his law degree, ( She's a lawyer,did I mention?), so they had a nice chat. Meanwhile I didn't run into any other dental assistants so I was out of luck on that score. No one to "talk-shop" with! ( You don't want to hear dental assistants "talking-shop" anyway! EEEEWWWWW!)
We boarded our deluxe "Motor Coach" and off we went, through the traffic, the Holland Tunnel, the Jersey Turnpike, onto the Eastern Shore of Delaware when... the bus rolled to a stop around 9:15 PM. And wouldn't start again! We and about 33 other passengers ended up waiting all night until vans came to get us at around 7:00AM Tuesday morning. I won't bore you with the details but it was not fun, as you may have surmised! Worst of all, we had to leave our luggage which contained our precious autographs and memoribillia of our trip! To be picked up later in Virginia Beach!! We had no choice but to leave the luggage, crawled into vans and were taken home the rest of the way. We got home around 9:30 AM.TUESDAY! Kathy's lovely daughter came and got us. They dropped me off around 10:15 AM. We were due to be back at 11:30 PM Monday night! We did get the luggage as promised with everything intact! We rushed to get our photos processed and made sets for each other! I now have copies of my photo with AR and Megan Dodds all over the house, including by the computer! I even took one to work for when patients ask about my trip.( I told everyone I was going!) My boss seems mildly jealous of my feelings for AR, even though I've stressed to him how devoted to Rima AR is! (Must be an Alpha-male thing!)
I wish I'd been able to take more photos of AR and Megan Dodds but after all the other wonderful experiences, I certainly can't complain! I'd go back to see AR at my next opportunity. I'd really like to see him onstage. I'm not so sure about the bus route, though! Thank-you to all who have read my rambling account and were kind enough to reply! Enjoy the photos!
 |
|
|
| |
[Oct. 29th, 2006|07:10 pm] |
"Maryland and Kathy's New York Adventure" Day three, Sunday October 15, 2006
Hello all, sorry the last entry was so long, this one may be long too, unless I am struck by "Old Timer's" or something. To guard against this I will be referring to the little scraps of paper I scribbled on while in NY because I knew I'd forget a lot. Well here goes again!
It's Premier Day!! Our plan is to go to the theatre tonight and try to see arriving celebrities and maybe even get a few pictures! Of course that's not until six o'clock so we have a whole day to fill! Here's what we did....
We decided we would like a change of pace for breakfast, for although the hotel's complimentary breakfast was very nice, there was no variety. Kathy wanted crepes. We had seen lots and lots of crepe specialty shops during all the many times we circuited Washington Square Park, usually when lost and trying to find the hotel. ( I told you before how pathetic we were!)
We also wanted to find a movie theatre that advertised it was showing not only "Driving Lessons" with Rupert Grint and Julie Walters, but "The Queen" with Helen Mirren. On our map it looked like an easy walk. It was not too far but of course there was not one single crepe restaurant to be seen on the way. We walked and walked before finally finding one. It was cozy and staffed by what we guessed were NYU students, all apparently on their first day of work. They were being supervised by a very patient lady who was walking them through their jobs. In any event the crepes were good! ( See Photo)
We walked to the Angelika Film Center on the corner of Houston and Mercer Streets. They seem to specialize in independent/art films that we often don't get here in our not-so-chic little city. If you go to NYC to see the play, try to catch a movie there! We saw "Driving Lessons" which starred Rupert Grint, Julie Walters and Laura Linney. It was sweet. As an added bonus, they showed the "Perfume" trailer and I mauled Kathy's arm in my surprise and excitement over that! Once we got out of the theatre, we walked back towards our hotel and cut through the park. I wanted to mention that there were several interesting things to be seen in the park. First there were the "chess hustlers" my son called them. Ready to bet you on a game of chess. They never lose! We watched them for a while and noticed one of them has a "pet" squirrel!
(See photo). No kidding, this squirrel was trained to take peanuts out of the guy's hand, while sitting on his shoulder! Remembering Catsplay's special affinity for all things "squirrely" I got his photo.( The squirrel, I mean)
There was also a growing collection of equipment from some movie company who will be filming a scene in the park. Every day more trucks, cables, lights, cranes, dollys,and other film making stuff appeared at all four sides of the park. We even saw fake trees about fifteen feet tall anchored to plywood
bases. We asked one of the grips who was assembling something the name of the movie, he said "I Am Legend". Sorry I didn't get more information such as who's in it. I guess we'll find out when it comes out!
We went to colorful 6th Ave. for lunch and did some people watching. After killing more time, we went back to the hotel and got ready to go to gawk at the rich and famous! We arrived and the press photographers were already there. One small woman brought her own folding step-stool! ( I should try that !) We saw AR and Rima slip out of the theatre lobby and into the Bellavitae Restaurant next door. We could see AR's back, sitting at the bar, Rima and Dena Hammerstein. ( By the way, the bartender at that place is very good looking!) The play started an hour earlier being Sunday, so at about 6:15, Kathy says " He's just downed his drink!" Sure enough, moments later having fortified himself with chardonnay or whatever, AR came out of the restaurant and was immediately set upon by the photographers! He made his way over to the poster of the play displayed on the wall by the entrance and let them take photos to their heart's content! I took a couple but it was too dark for my puny little flash! After a decent interval, AR made his way in,paused at the door, ( see photo) and went inside. ( I'm sure he was glad THAT was over!) Soon cabs and cars for hire began arriving in a steady stream. To our delight and surprise, Laura Linney got out of one! She posed for some photos and unbelievably, stepped across the street and stood not more than ten feet away from us! Kathy didn't recognize her, but I did and told Kathy. We approached Ms.Linney and told her we'd seen her new film only hours before and how much we liked it etc, etc! She was very nice, and thanked us. Since she seemed so down to earth and friendly, we or rather I babbled on about going to go back tomorrow and see Helen Mirren in "The Queen". " Oh yes" , said Ms.Linney, "That's supposed to be really good, I really want to see it too!"
( or something to that effect) We said " Nice to see you!" and withdrew to our little observation post. Ms. Linney spotted a girlfriend and they went in to the theatre right about then.
Next we saw Sigourney Weaver with her husband get out and pose for tons of pictures. We heard of other celebrities but didn't see them ourselves. We also noticed two large, black Lincoln Navigators pulled up alongside the theatre onto the sidewalk. It turns out they were there to convey VIPs to the opening night party. I also failed to mention that the theatre had in residence every night a very large, very alert gentleman who kept his post by the doors going inside. On opening night he was joined by an even BIGGER gentleman. Both dressed very nicely by the way. I think you could have made three suits from the quantity of cloth I saw on each of them! I was grateful for the show of "muscle" as it seemed a little tense on Sunday night. There had always been a silent man with white hair handing out fliers on the previous two nights. Tonight he was joined by several well-dressed women handing out their own "rebuttal" fliers about the film. No one wanted any trouble!
Once it was curtain time, the press disbanded and Kathy and I decided we'd try our luck eating dinner at "Bellavitae". It was very pricey and the menu was kind of cryptic to us unsophisticated folk. We managed to order something and ate. I recognized CBS Anchorman Harry Smith at the next table. We wanted to be done before the play let out as this would be our last chance to see AR.
We took our usual post by the theatre door, the security man actually recognized us and waved! ( Maybe AR had taken out a restraining order against us?) People began to emerge from inside, at first Dena Hammerstein, with her arms full of bouquets of flowers. She put them inside one of the now-idling Lincolns. " Is it over?", I asked. " Not quite", she said. I then asked, " How did it go?" She said " Very well!" She seemed to faintly recognize us as well. Geeze was it any wonder after three days straight of seeing all involved? About that time, a female figure breezed by behind me, I heard her say something, and Kathy said," Oh ! That was Megan Dodds, she just said,'Hi guys!' to us!" Megan got into the first Navigator and it pulled away, with us waving at each other through the window! We saw Sigourney Weaver come out and be taken away in a car. We also noticed two lovely girls waiting, cameras in hand, like we were. Turns out it was "Chevelle" and friend from the night before. They crossed the street and we started talking about our interest in AR. They had been to the Tribeca Film Festival and had not been able to get AR's autograph or maybe his photo or both. She really wanted to talk to him tonight! Not long after AR and Rima came outside together. Chevelle and her friend went over to speak to him. I had my camera but didn't want to intrude on their chance to talk to him. Rima was right there too and didn't want to go flashing my camera in her face, knowing how AR is about her privacy. Kathy meanwhile, was not as tentative and took two pictures from a different angle, showing them all talking together. It came out great too! ( see photo).
They finished talking but before walking away, AR turned around a little, saw me, seemed to recognize me, so I waved cheerfully and said " Bye!!!" and he gave a big smile and waved back! Kathy snapped a picture as he and Rima headed towards 6th avenue to get a cab to the party. What a great way to end the day! We went back to the hotel, very excited about our evening!
 |
|
|
| Maryland and Kathy's New York Adventure! Day Two |
[Oct. 29th, 2006|06:08 pm] |
Saturday, October 14th, New York City
Sorry for the delay, but here finally is day two of our trip to see MNIRC.
Saturday morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we walked around Washington Square Park and side streets. We managed to get turned around every time we did this and concluded that between the two of us, we had less than one person's sense of direction. Fortunately I kept a map handy. We discovered a street market that ran for blocks along one side of the park and beyond. We bought some tee shirts and saw some we would have liked to buy but would be deemed illegal in Virginia Beach. ( They have no sense of humor here!)Needless to say they were over-the-top naughty-but-funny. Kathy bought some divine-smelling soap as a gift for her daughter. Speaking of offspring, I forgot to mention that the day before we took a self-guided tour of my son's alma-mater, the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, which has as alums Ang Lee, Spike Lee ( No relation!)(Ha!Ha!), Chris Columbus, Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Jerry Bruckhimer, The Coen Brothers, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, and Billy Crystal to name a few. I had been there a few times and showed Kathy the equipment where students learn to edit their movies, sync the sound, learn television production etc. The walls are covered with movie posters. It's a neat place and it hums with creativity. The actors, dancers and singers train in a different building but are under the umbrella of the Tisch school. Woody Allen says he flunked/dropped out, and he's made good natured jokes about NYU in his films ever since.
We met up with my son at the famous arch of Washington Square Park. We went to lunch at an Ethiopian Restaurant on MacDougal St. ( Very near the Minetta Tavern). We found out that you don't get eating utensils in Ethiopian restaurants, and they don't really speak english either, at least no one did at this particular one. We decided to be good sports and made the best of it. I can't say it was the best meal we had on the trip but it was edible and we felt OK afterward so that's something at least! After leaving the restaurant, we let my son give us a walking tour of " dorms I've lived in " and walked and walked. We passed the now closed club, "CBGB" that he lived next to. We passed a street performance by mimes ( my son said that goes on all the time) We knew we weren't in Kansas anymore! Greenwich Village does have an OZ-like feeling!
We took him to our hotel where we had a nice "spot of tea" in a little tea room. My son declined my proffered dozen cookie bars, apparently I had confused him with his brother who loves them. I didn't mind his rejection of them, I instead said, "That's OK because I happen to know someone who LOVES them!!
Our next plan was to dress for the theatre and try to get half-price tickets one hour before the performance. Cookie bars in tow, we did get seats for $25. each, and once again were in the theatre to see the play again! We were on the extreme right looking at the stage. As soon as we sat down, Eagle-Eye-Kathy pokes me and said, "Look over at the open doors to the lobby", guess who happened to be standing in full view, chatting away totally oblivious to our observation? Of course, it was Teh Man! From our safe distance we could stare without fear of detection so stare we did! It was fun to observe what others had noticed previously. The gesturing was non-stop. Faces to go with the gestures! Good grief, how does he manage to be so still when he's acting? It was an experience to watch! After many minutes the lobby lights were blinking and we saw him walk off, we thought to go upstairs to observe. Again Kathy says, "Now he's behind us!". Sure enough, at the doorway behind our section, there he was, peering over the house, I think he checked his watch, and as the lights went down, pulled over a chair and sat down, no longer in our line of sight. Again, I can't tell you too many times how wonderful Megan Dodds was in her portrayal. By the end of the play you could hear a pin drop! It's a somber crowd as everyone leaves the theatre. With cookie bars in a plain bag, we decided to keep to the lobby, it's colder out than the night before. Again AR is surrounded by lots of people. He finally makes a break for the door leading out, and we stepped forward a little, and I remember calling out like I did the night before, " Mr Rickman?". Bless him he stopped in his tracks and looked at us without seeming to recognize us, which I wasn't expecting anyway. I asked if he had eaten all the cakes? In that instant, recognition hit him and we were again given the ear-to-ear dazzling smile! I think he said, "Yes! We've been enjoying them!" Now I hold out my little plastic grocery bag, and said," I happen to have another dozen left over and wondered if you'd like them, I really don't want to take them back to Virginia!"
Friends, what he did next was so adorable that I'd give anything to have had it on video! Still looking at us, he got this look on his face, a mixture of temptation and guilt, like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar! On top of that expression, he was still smiling, and said something like,"I'm trying to be good" or something like that. The reason I'm fuzzy about what he said is that at the same time, to my astonishment, he was PATTING his lil'pudge and demonstrating to us how hard it was to close his jacket! Goodness knows what I looked like. I hope I wasn't standing there with my mouth hanging open! I'm pretty sure I was grinning at how cute it was that he can poke fun at himself! I must have said something like "Are you sure you don't want to take these?" because he did take them and handed them to one of the theatre employees, telling him to put them in a room somewhere.
He thanked us for coming to see the play for a second time, and we offered our compliments on Megan's performance. Then, off he went outside. This time we were smart and kept him and his friends in sight, trailing behind a little but able to see they went into Minetta Tavern. We hadn't had dinner, so we went in too. It was as if they had disappeared, not a sign of them! A waiter showed us into a back section, hidden by a curtain and seated us at a table for two. We settled in and looked around. OH MY GOD!! There were two long tables set up at right angles for over twenty people and we were situated between both of them. On our left we saw Megan Dodds, Dena Hammerstein, Mr.and Mrs. Corrie and others.Directly in front of us, facing us, were AR and Rima! If we looked up they were only slightly to the right of us. Kathy and I just looked at each other and said,"This is actually too close, now we can't look over without the possibility of being caught staring at them!" So, we tried not to look except for very quick, discreet peeks. We could hear the famous "rumble" of AR's voice carrying over to us, but for the most part couldn't understand what he was saying. Our dinner came and we were thankful to have something to do besides "not looking!" So there we were "not looking" and so naturally never noticed AR getting up. I had just popped a piece of Italian bread in my mouth, when I looked up and there's AR walking purposefully straight towards our table!
( Kind of like that calamari episode I read about!) Kathy swears he addressed me as "Maryland" as he walked up but I honestly have no recollection of that!
( I am still sorry about that!) He came to a stop a few feet away and launched into an elaborate speech, " Thank-you for the beeeaaauuutifuull book", he gave that word the "full-treatment-drawl". Still stunned that he came over tell us this, I remember stammering out a "You're welcome", still acutely aware that some of the Italian bread had plastered itself to the inside of my left cheek. I could not swallow it as my mouth was totally dry! I got my voice back and asked if he had happened to find the tape of my son's student films from NYU? "Oh yes" he said. " I will watch them, but it will have to be when I get home a month from now, I don't have a machine here, is that alright?" Of course I thanked him and added that I hoped it wasn't too forward of me to give them to him. He said not at all. He next asked what my son was doing currently, and I told him he worked at a TV station in New York, but that wasn't what he wanted to do. I explained very briefly ( the bread was still stuck in my cheek!)how determined my son was to attend the NYU film school, and how badly he wants to be a filmmaker. AR smiled at all this and asked "How old is he?" I answered "Twenty-three". AR gave a combination laugh/snort on learning my son's age as if the say, " I hadn't even gone to drama school at age twenty-three, he's just a baby." He repeated his firm intention to watch the movies once he was back home.(This was before the month's extension was announced. I don't know AR will stay the extra month or not.) Before leaving us he held up his left hand and ticked off on his fingers " Book, cakes, movies" and thanked us again very charmingly, topped of by another "Thank-you for coming to see the play." We stammered out responses to all this and he walked back to sit at Rima's left hand. Kathy said he seemed to be telling her about our gifts etc.
We finished our dinner and noticed that his large party hadn't been served dinner yet while we were almost done! They had appetizers though, and Kathy glanced over to see AR gesturing with a shish-ke-bob! He was speaking to two girls seated to his left who listened raptly. I also noticed lots of affectionate looks at him from Rima and he frequently bent down to speak near her ear. They seemed very close and very happy.
All too soon we really were finished eating. We decided that to linger and sneak peeks would be intrusive and after our very own "table visit" we should be more than satisfied! We left quietly without trying to catch his eye, say goodbye etc. As Kathy put it," It couldn't get any better than this!" and I agreed!
If Kathy has more to add to this account, or if I find out I am dead wrong about what was said by whom I'll post it later!
Maryland
PS We learned the next night that "Chevelle" and her friend were also following AR but did not go inside the restaurant.
 |
|
|
| Recipe details |
[Oct. 24th, 2006|09:03 pm] |
To all who asked about the ingredients in the "Lovely Cakes" recipe:
Once again Kathy saved the day and suggested I look online. Sure enough both of the hard to get ingredients have web sites. Kathy suggested ordering from them or email them for availability in whatever country you're in.
First, the Toffee chips:
www.hersheys.com
click on recipes ( I made the Rich Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars)
click on Toffee chips
They also have contact information.
Second, the Sweetened Condensed milk.( May use lo-fat, I did)
www.eaglebrand.com
They also have contact information
Remember, DO NOT SUBSTITUTE EVAPORATED MILK FOR SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK!!!
I hope this is helpful to all the aspiring bakers out there! If anyone takes some to AR, tell him you got the recipe from me! On the other hand, he is trying to " be good ", he told me so! ( That's a story for next time!)
 |
|
|
| The "Lovely Cakes" Recipe |
[Oct. 24th, 2006|03:49 pm] |
Dear Friends,
I thought I'd post the recipe for what AR called the "Lovely Cakes" given to him on my trip to NYC. Warning: These pastries have been known to contribute to an individual's pudge! They are definitely habit-forming as you will see in future posts about my encounters with AR! Bake these at your own risk!
I"m sorry I don't know how to convert the measurements into metric!
Alan Rickman's "Lovely Cakes" Recipe:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit)
Grease cake pan 13" X 9"X 2"
2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup ( 1 1/2 sticks ) butter or margarine (I used butter)
1 egg slightly beaten
2 cups ( 12 ounces ) semi-sweet chocolate chips--divided
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts ( I used pecans )
1 can ( 14 ounces ) Sweetened condensed milk,( NOT Evaporated milk!!!)
1 3/4 cup ( 10 ounces) English Toffee chips--divided, ( Can break up toffee candy if bagged chips are not available) (Best not to use chocolate-covered toffee bits but you may do so in a pinch!)
Stir together flour and brown sugar.
Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs
Mix in egg
Stir in 1 1/2 cups chocolate and all of the nuts
Set aside 1 1/2 cups of this mixture
Press remaining mixture into bottom of prepared baking pan
Bake 10 minutes Remove from oven
While crust is hot, pour all of the Sweetened Condensed Milk evenly over top.
Sprinkle evenly 1 1/2 cup toffee bits
Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture evenly over toffee layer
Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over crumb layer
Bake 350 degrees (F) for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned
Remove from oven
Sprinkle reserved toffee bits while still hot
Cool completely on wire rack before cutting
Makes 48 square cookie bars or "Lovely Cakes"
May be frozen! |
|
|
| New York |
[Oct. 24th, 2006|03:41 pm] |
The photo above is of Maryland, AR and Megan Dodds after the Oct.13th performance of "My Name Is Rachel Corrie". They had just thanked us for their gifts. AR was especially happy about his "Lovely Cakes". I forgot to mention that he also said he hadn't gotten to the bottom of the gift bag. Megan Dodds was very nice and said she'd never received anything like the gift we gave her from Colonial Williamsburg. The photo below is of Kathy and AR!
 |
|
|
| Photos from Oct.13, 2006 |
[Oct. 24th, 2006|03:36 pm] |
 |
|
|
| Maryland and Kathy's New York Adventure! Day One |
[Oct. 24th, 2006|12:22 pm] |
Finally I'm getting around to posting the account of my trip to see "My Name Is Rachel Corrie" from October 13th!
We were dropped off by Kathy's husband at the bus depot around 11:00PM for our bus that departed at 12:30 AM! This is an express bus that goes up the Eastern Shore of Virginia. We couldn't really sleep on the bus and it arrived in NYC at 7:15AM. We got out on Canal St. in Chinatown. After walking up and down Canal Street in the pre-dawn darkness, we finally found the subway station we wanted called East Broadway. We dragged out suitcases down several flights and took the F train four stops to 4th Street. Next we lugged the suitcases up three levels to the street and found ourselves in the heart of Greenwich Village. We walked around , consulting my map and finally arrived at our hotel, The Washington Square Hotel, on Waverly Place, at the corner of Washington Square Park. ( Bye the way, I heartily recommend this hotel to anyone going to the play, it is about four blocks from the Minetta Lane Theatre.) The hotel staff secured our luggage for us, and offered us the hotel's complimentary continental breakfast, although we weren't due to check in until 3:00PM. This was a nice surprise, and turned out to be a sit down meal with servers etc.
After eating breakfast, we got the maps out again and started learning our way around Greenwich Village. We found the Minetta Lane Theatre and of course had to take photos of ourselves in front of the poster etc.etc....
Next Kathy said we needed to find a McDonald's restaurant so she could get her usual morning Diet Coke! ( Diet Coke is unusually hard to find in Greenwich Village, FYI they seem to prefer Pepsi products???) We snagged a copy of "The Village Voice" from a stand and perused it.We found a listing of MNIRC and also under movies, found "Driving Lessons" with Rupert Grint and Julie Walters and "The Queen" with Helen Mirren, both playing in a theatre in the area! We resolved to see them both while there! We wandered up and down the streets, checking out some of the more "unusual" (cough!) shops in "The Village".
We ate lunch at a Greek restaurant, which was very good. After lunch we went back to the hotel. It was 1:00PM and they had a room for us, two hours early! We gratefully got our luggage and went to our very nice twin room. It was spotlessly clean and had what looked like brand new snow-white bedding and matching shower curtain. We took out the gifts we had brought to send backstage and fixed our gift bags. Don't laugh, this proved to be one of the best ideas I've ever had! Two days before leaving for NYC, I had baked a batch of four dozen English Toffee cookie bars and packed them in plastic freezer containers, one dozen each. In one smaller bag, I put the dozen cookie bars, decorated with a bow and a card attached, "For the Crew of My Name Is Rachel Corrie from Maryland and Kathy, Virginia Beach, VA" ( After all, the crews never get any recognition.) In the second bag, provided by Kathy, all girly-looking and pastel, also went a dozen cookie bars and a bottle of "Lavender Water" from the shops of Colonial Williamsburg, Va. plus a lovely card congratulating her on the show. This was packed with lots of pastel print tissue and looked lovely. For AR, a BIG bag, in a bold, black and white antique-looking print. In the bottom, I placed a video tape of my son's student films from NYU film school along with a letter to AR and some background on my son's hope to be a filmmaker. This was accompanied by a postcard with a "Far Side" cartoon that I thought was very funny! Next, I had two books on historic Virginia, one a hard cover book on Thomas Jefferson's estate at Monticello, with gorgeous photos and interesting architectural drawings that I felt would appeal to AR's artists' background. A second soft-cover book was of photos of the buildings of Colonial Williamsburg, also a unique place to see. I also had a card signed by many fellow fans from here who knew I was going to the play. I wrapped the books in white-on-white heavy paper and tied a bow of wide cloth gros-grain ribbon in black. It did look very elegant if I say so myself. On top of it all, went a dozen cookie bars, with a ribbon bow and attached was a funny postcard of a Charlie Chaplin movie. I wrote a funny note on the postcard and signed it Maryland and Kathy from Virginia. Lots of black and silver tissue all around to finish the gift bag. We also tied a cute postcard to Megan Dodd's box of cookie bars.
After we finished the gift bags, we took a much needed nap, fearing we'd fall asleep in the play! ( How awful would that be!!)
We got up around 5:00PM and got ready for the theatre. It was cold so we were forced to wear coats and jackets over our dressy evening clothes, but there was no way to do without! We went to the theatre around 6:30PM and took the gifts into the entry by the ticket window. We gave our bags to the nice man at the window who promised they would get safely to Megan and AR. I got the feeling ours were not the first gifts sent backstage since the play started running! We went back outside and stood by the entrance to Bellavitae restaurant and Kathy said quietly, " Turn around he's right behind you". I turned just in time to see AR open the theatre door and slip inside! Kathy and I just grinned at each other! It was definitely a good omen! We went inside Bellavitae, sat at the bar and had something to drink, keeping a discreet eye on the front door. Unfortunately, no more appearances by AR. At 7:30 we went back out to go into the theatre. We took our seats, third row center. The play started about fifteen minutes late. It was terrific! I had decided not to read the play in advance, even though I had a copy for weeks. I brought it with me hoping for an autograph.
After the play ended we waited outside the door and spied on the lobby through a narrow crack in the curtains. Mostly our view was obscured by a large security guard in a jacket and tie. Once in awhile we could see AR in the lobby, Megan Dodds was trying to get him out of the theatre by the arm but many people wanted to speak to him and he was very gracious to them all. Finally they both slipped out onto the sidewalk. It was now or never, we stepped up to them and something like, "Mr.Rickman?" He looked inquiringly at us, and we complimented him on the play. Next I think we asked for his autograph on my book and Kathy's Playbill. As he signed one of them I blurted out, " Did you happen to get a gift bag that we sent backstage earlier? We're the crazy ladies from Virginia who sent it!" After a moment's pause, to our astonishment, his face lit up with a huge ear-to-ear smile! ( My higher brain functions ceased at this point, everything after this is Kathy's recollection!)
He brought both hands up at waist height, and mimed holding something in them, and in his deepest drawl said, " I opened up all those lovely cakes and my first thought was, are they poisoned?" (Said dramatically sounding a lot like Snape!)He started smiling again and said,"And then I read the card and I knew they were not!"
At this point Kathy saved the day and asked politely if he minded if we took a photos and he said "No, I don't mind.". I took Kathy's with AR first, not thinking to include Megan, but when I passed the camera to Kathy, she motioned Megan into the picture. Kathy wanted me to get between them but I was so dazed I didn't pick up on that and instead stood on AR's right side. Photos taken, they went off to dinner, after some more "Thank-yous " on our part and "Thank-you for the gifts" from them. We lost track of where they went to eat and we found a restaurant on MacDougal St. Over dinner we relived our wonderful experience! After dinner it was back to the hotel and we slept like logs! I have since found out from other fans that they were in fact in the back room of the Minetta Tavern Restaurant. Little did we know, another amazing encounter awaited us! I will try to post our after-theatre photos here. No promises! Maryland
Kathy may post her own account, as I said before, she was much better under pressure and will probably remember lots of things I've forgotten or were too besotted to notice! |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
mnoga's journal