boots an' jeans an' opera

Can Saturday be my own personal Groundhog Day??

I wouldn't mind re-living yesterday a few thousand more times.

Woke up. Went to the gym and spun my legs off with my fitness buds. While riding nowhere fast, I racked up 25 miles and got the heart rate up. I'm grateful for the imperfect ticker...it's workin' pretty good lately!

Went to the horse barn to work with my horse trainers, Doug and Patti Pratt. My western footwear of choice:

Rode with my horse-buddy, Helen. We're both mature ladies who are trying to improve our riding and killer horsemanship skillz. Helen always has a beaming smile and a contagious laugh. I like being around Helen cuz she's a 'glass half full' kinda person. We both attempted riding our western horses in perfectly round circles.  Patti declared 'you can't ride a good straight line until you can ride a perfect circle'. We circled and circled with Patti's encouragement.
The 'best old-lady horse in the world!' was his usual easy-going self. After riding him, he kissed me and sneezed on me...then the wind kicked up and my face was streaked with dusty horse snot. Patti was astride my big English horse and she asked if I'd like to climb up. Moi?? Now, this horse is a WHOLE different ballgame....tall...lanky...big-strided...thoroughbred...and did I mention TALL? I stuttered 'sure' and I tortured my inner thighs getting Big Guy around the pen. With Patti and Doug's directions, I was able to guide him around the pen. Pure exhiliration for me getting to spend time with quality horses and friendly people.

Came home and headed for the shower.  It was soooo windy....how windy was it??....my face was streaked with dirt, you coulda planted a California redwood in my ear, my normally red hair was an earthy, dull brown and my nose was filled with massive, crusty dirt-boogers. Is this the perfect day, or what!?


My perfect day was about to get perfect-er. 
You'll never guess what I did next.....I went to the OPERA. Opera in Amarillo, Texas you ask? Most certainly! We have our own reknowned Opera Company....Amarillo Opera. I cleaned up and made the Texan take a picture to commemorate the rare occasion of my cleanliness.

You know I went solo. The Texan doesn't 'do' opera. Roxy Doxy adores opera and was ticked at the 'no wiener dog' policy.

My foundational garments were so tight, I popped a massive vein in my temple....covered the gruesomeness up with my bangs.

Anyhoo, back to the Opera. Here's the low-down:  they performed (flawlessly) the Italian Straw Hat. It's a farcical comedy and the performers sang in English. 

Now, I could get arrested for showing you this next photo....I'm not usually such a brazen rule-breaker...but I wanted my fellow chicken-wingers to see the glorious art deco set. Uh, maybe I didn't really take this unauthorized photo at all....maybe my neighbor did and gave it to me. Yeah, he gave it to me! Here's a glimpse of the colorful stage in our first-class performing arts center.

used by persmission of person who gave me this photo

The Italian Straw Hat was entertaining, colorful, and contemporary-this coming from a person who doesn't know her Puccini from her panini! I enjoyed it.  All the singers were stellar, but a special shout-out to my friend and opera-diva, Sarah Beckham. A home-town girl turned opera's next superstar. Sarah, you were divine!!!!.... 'toy, toy, toy' or whatever!!  I'll cover all my bases by shouting,  bravo, brava, bravi, and bra-ssiere!

I pondered, as I crawled into my bed finally free from clamping undergarments ....where else in the world could I have spent the morning smiling atop great horses, and then dress up for an op-er-a gala in the evening?

Do ya see why Saturday gets my vote for groundhog day? You with me?

Hope your weekend was uplifting.

Big, bright musical love to all this week.