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Tootsie Yr2: STL part 3
Mar. 30th, 2023 08:57 amHere we are heading into our second week in St. Louis, starting it off with a Golden Day!
Before launching into that, an update on my banana trees and vanilla orchid!
Jameson sent me a new set of pics so I could see how things are progressing.
We now have bananas. The flowers at the tips have shriveled and died, so I think everyone is fertilized.
I count 24 of them. If half of them survive I'll be thrilled.
It hasn't rained much yet, so I'm a bit anxious...Jameson doesn't like to use the "paid water" on them, and I don't blame him.
Hopefully it rains soon.
The vanilla orchid buds are growing significantly.
As unrealistic as it is, I hope they will hold off blooming until I can get back there!!
Of course once everything is said and done I'll make a post with progressive photos from beginning to end, but for now, it's updates.
Everything looks good. I'm excited!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After breakfast I putzed around for a bit before getting dressed and walking to the dry cleaners for my peacoat.
From there I took an Uber to Gioia's Deli, a St. Louis staple since 1918.
Their specialty is their house-made hot salami, served with pepperoncini, spicy mustard, shaved onions, and provolone on fresh Italian bread. So of course that's what I got, though I added lettuce and tomato.
It was quite good, the meat was not nearly as salty as I expected and it was somehow light and tender, not hard and chewy like you'd expect from deli salami. It wasn't that spicy either, most of the spice came from the pepperoncini. I'd gotten a "small" which was I think an 8" sub, so felt full but not stuffed. Perfect for the long walk I was about to take.
( CLICK HERE for The Hill and Forest Park )
I Ubered home because I was TIRED, then ate dinner and typed this post up...and got some excellent news which I'll share in a Friends Only post but the rest of you will have to wait, sorry! It's not a "big deal" or anything, just something I can't talk extensively about yet.
Today was really lovely. St. Louis is really lovely.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, a nice slow morning of breakfast and cooking tilapia and bookmarking jobs.
I walked to a laundromat when it stopped raining.
I watched the premiere episode of Lackadaisy, which is one of my favorite WebToons that's now been animated (you can check it out HERE).
And we did a show in the evening that went just fine.
I got some good recordings of some slower numbers, because it occurred to me that I don't have a lot of "pretty" music in my portfolio.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday I got up a little early to Uber to Webster Park.
First stop was a hardware store for a 3.5mm cable. I've been borrowing one from Kevin (Head of Sound) to use with my video recorder, but I really need my own.
What I really came here for was lunch at Balkan Treat Box, but I was a bit early and the weather was nice so I strolled around and checked out lots of quaint, boutique shops that I couldn't afford.
The most interesting of these was The Annex, which was a coffee shop and cafe with a boutique grocery/gift area inside.
Lots of Mediterranean and Greek and Swedish foods alongside local products. Fancy things that I think normal people wouldn't normally have in their cupboards, like teal sprinkles and flower confit and smoked Alaskan octopus.
This duck fat caramel from TN was TWENTY DOLLARS for twelve pieces. No thanks but I'll bet it's good!
I did find some actual Swedish fish candies from Sweden, flavored blackcurrant and raspberry and shaped realistically like codfish.
They tasted amazing, pure and intense fruit flavors. Definitely worth the money.
I also got some either locally-made or house-made top round jerky (it was unclear who actually made it).
Then it was time for lunch at Balkan.
I popped in at 11:10 because Elliana (my circus friend who lives here) said it's best to go right when they open.
They have a beautiful copper-plated wood oven where all of the delicious pita breads and sandwiches are baked (could not photograph it because it was directly behind the register and partially obstructed).
The fish of the day was Mediterranean sea bass, so I got the sandwich featuring that.
It was a whole filet of bass, cooked perfectly with crispy skin, resting on a pillowy, fresh, warm, wood-fired flatbread straight out of the oven.
Topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, parsley, lemon, and a tangy aioli.
Simple, but all of the ingredients were INCREDIBLY fresh.
The fish was so tender it was falling apart, but the crispy skin helped hold it together.
And that flatbread, my goodness. It was super soft and just slightly chewy, like fresh-made bread is supposed to be.
This was supposed to come with chips but I'm not a chip person, so subbed some purple cabbage salad.
Even that was amazing...the amount of dressing was just right, enough to coat the cabbage without being soggy, and it was very tangy and peppery and I could have probably eaten a full bowl of it.
It was such a simple meal but the freshness of the ingredients, and the expert balancing of flavors, made it all exceptional.
Another bucket list restaurant that I'd visit every day if I lived here!
I was probably only there for about 30 minutes, but as I was leaving the line was starting to go out the door.
Elliana was right. Come early!
I walked a few blocks to a produce stand I'd seen on the way and picked up a few pieces of fruit for the rest of the week.
Then an Uber back and a cup of tea, job bookmarking, watching some anime, sorting and trimming my new Tootsie portfolio clips.
The show this evening went well, though I hear some disgruntlement.
We've just found out that Troika Entertainment will be merging with Crossroads Live...which is good news because it may open up more opportunities for performers. The bad news is that Tootsie was not listed among the show offerings.
Personally I'm not surprised at all. It's a comedy show that had a good two year run.
We haven't been getting huge overage pay, meaning ticket sales have probably been middling.
And anyway, I look for jobs regardless.
I decided that today will be my last day of recording as well, and got some nice usable clips, so that was good!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today is Thursday, it's a weekday matinee so we'll have two shows.
Between shows we are getting a tour of the Fabulous Fox!
I'm excited to learn some history and see this whole beautiful theatre :)
Before launching into that, an update on my banana trees and vanilla orchid!
Jameson sent me a new set of pics so I could see how things are progressing.
We now have bananas. The flowers at the tips have shriveled and died, so I think everyone is fertilized.
I count 24 of them. If half of them survive I'll be thrilled.
It hasn't rained much yet, so I'm a bit anxious...Jameson doesn't like to use the "paid water" on them, and I don't blame him.
Hopefully it rains soon.
The vanilla orchid buds are growing significantly.
As unrealistic as it is, I hope they will hold off blooming until I can get back there!!
Of course once everything is said and done I'll make a post with progressive photos from beginning to end, but for now, it's updates.
Everything looks good. I'm excited!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After breakfast I putzed around for a bit before getting dressed and walking to the dry cleaners for my peacoat.
From there I took an Uber to Gioia's Deli, a St. Louis staple since 1918.
Their specialty is their house-made hot salami, served with pepperoncini, spicy mustard, shaved onions, and provolone on fresh Italian bread. So of course that's what I got, though I added lettuce and tomato.
It was quite good, the meat was not nearly as salty as I expected and it was somehow light and tender, not hard and chewy like you'd expect from deli salami. It wasn't that spicy either, most of the spice came from the pepperoncini. I'd gotten a "small" which was I think an 8" sub, so felt full but not stuffed. Perfect for the long walk I was about to take.
( CLICK HERE for The Hill and Forest Park )
I Ubered home because I was TIRED, then ate dinner and typed this post up...and got some excellent news which I'll share in a Friends Only post but the rest of you will have to wait, sorry! It's not a "big deal" or anything, just something I can't talk extensively about yet.
Today was really lovely. St. Louis is really lovely.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, a nice slow morning of breakfast and cooking tilapia and bookmarking jobs.
I walked to a laundromat when it stopped raining.
I watched the premiere episode of Lackadaisy, which is one of my favorite WebToons that's now been animated (you can check it out HERE).
And we did a show in the evening that went just fine.
I got some good recordings of some slower numbers, because it occurred to me that I don't have a lot of "pretty" music in my portfolio.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday I got up a little early to Uber to Webster Park.
First stop was a hardware store for a 3.5mm cable. I've been borrowing one from Kevin (Head of Sound) to use with my video recorder, but I really need my own.
What I really came here for was lunch at Balkan Treat Box, but I was a bit early and the weather was nice so I strolled around and checked out lots of quaint, boutique shops that I couldn't afford.
The most interesting of these was The Annex, which was a coffee shop and cafe with a boutique grocery/gift area inside.
Lots of Mediterranean and Greek and Swedish foods alongside local products. Fancy things that I think normal people wouldn't normally have in their cupboards, like teal sprinkles and flower confit and smoked Alaskan octopus.
This duck fat caramel from TN was TWENTY DOLLARS for twelve pieces. No thanks but I'll bet it's good!
I did find some actual Swedish fish candies from Sweden, flavored blackcurrant and raspberry and shaped realistically like codfish.
They tasted amazing, pure and intense fruit flavors. Definitely worth the money.
I also got some either locally-made or house-made top round jerky (it was unclear who actually made it).
Then it was time for lunch at Balkan.
I popped in at 11:10 because Elliana (my circus friend who lives here) said it's best to go right when they open.
They have a beautiful copper-plated wood oven where all of the delicious pita breads and sandwiches are baked (could not photograph it because it was directly behind the register and partially obstructed).
The fish of the day was Mediterranean sea bass, so I got the sandwich featuring that.
It was a whole filet of bass, cooked perfectly with crispy skin, resting on a pillowy, fresh, warm, wood-fired flatbread straight out of the oven.
Topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, parsley, lemon, and a tangy aioli.
Simple, but all of the ingredients were INCREDIBLY fresh.
The fish was so tender it was falling apart, but the crispy skin helped hold it together.
And that flatbread, my goodness. It was super soft and just slightly chewy, like fresh-made bread is supposed to be.
This was supposed to come with chips but I'm not a chip person, so subbed some purple cabbage salad.
Even that was amazing...the amount of dressing was just right, enough to coat the cabbage without being soggy, and it was very tangy and peppery and I could have probably eaten a full bowl of it.
It was such a simple meal but the freshness of the ingredients, and the expert balancing of flavors, made it all exceptional.
Another bucket list restaurant that I'd visit every day if I lived here!
I was probably only there for about 30 minutes, but as I was leaving the line was starting to go out the door.
Elliana was right. Come early!
I walked a few blocks to a produce stand I'd seen on the way and picked up a few pieces of fruit for the rest of the week.
Then an Uber back and a cup of tea, job bookmarking, watching some anime, sorting and trimming my new Tootsie portfolio clips.
The show this evening went well, though I hear some disgruntlement.
We've just found out that Troika Entertainment will be merging with Crossroads Live...which is good news because it may open up more opportunities for performers. The bad news is that Tootsie was not listed among the show offerings.
Personally I'm not surprised at all. It's a comedy show that had a good two year run.
We haven't been getting huge overage pay, meaning ticket sales have probably been middling.
And anyway, I look for jobs regardless.
I decided that today will be my last day of recording as well, and got some nice usable clips, so that was good!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Today is Thursday, it's a weekday matinee so we'll have two shows.
Between shows we are getting a tour of the Fabulous Fox!
I'm excited to learn some history and see this whole beautiful theatre :)
