December 18th, 2017

Yesterday Tim and I celebrated our 24th Anniversary!  Today is the actual day that, nearly a quarter of a century ago, we vowed to love and cherish 'til death do we part. But yesterday was a weekend and a better choice for celebrating.  We are flexible if nothing else.

​Anyway, Tim likes to surprise me. He is the King of all surprisers.  I already knew that something was going to happen  because he wrote on my calendar, "Stuff All Day".  Which is vague but enough to know that I shouldn't plan anything else because that day was bespoken.  I asked for hints. No hints.  I asked what should I wear? He strongly suggested clothes but if I was more comfortable in pajamas, that was okay with him.  Even Sunday morning as we were sitting over breakfast at our favourite Breakfast restaurant, Flapjacks, asking for any teensy tiny little bitty glimmer of an idea, I got.....nothin'.  He can be stubborn.  He smiles just a tiny bit and proclaims that he has no idea what I could possibly be talking about.

But of course eventually, I always find out. And as always, his surprises are totally worth waiting for.  You saw the tickets.  Trans Siberian Orchestra, people!  Awesomely Awesome.  The best show ever!  I was so excited!!!!!

​Of course the performance was in Tampa so it's a little bit of a drive, but worth it.  We don't really know our way around Tampa except the airport but thank goodness for GPS.  Found the arena, found nearby parking, found our way in and our excellent seats.  Oddly enough, the lady sitting next to us also lives in Venice (though  not on the island) and arrived here by way of Connecticut!  That was "small world" serendipity for sure.  We passed the time until the show started talking about both Connecticut and Florida.

​And then.......the show.....began.........

​I cannot even describe Trans Siberian Orchestra to anyone who hasn't experienced it. They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  See if this helps at all:

It's music, kind of a mashup of classical and rock and blues and jazz, and it's a light show and a laser show.  It's pyrotechnics and it's a story and it's constant controlled chaos.  The performers are everywhere on the stage and then they are on a catwalk above the stage and then they are running up and down the aisles and then they are on platforms that move around.  It's crazy but it's wonderful.

​They do a long show, about two and a half straight hours!  But the time flies by and then suddenly it's over and we had to leave.  So with the music still in our heads, we stopped on the way home and had a lovely Anniversary Dinner (the desert for which is still in the 'fridge - just too full to eat it last night!).  And then, because it just wasn't enough, we listened to TSO CD's the rest of the way home.  Awesome.

​If you haven't yet had the opportunity to go to a show, I strongly suggest that you at least consider it the next time they play anywhere near where you live.  You will, like me, be surprised in a wonderful way.

​Happy Anniversary to us!  24 fabulous years together and plenty more to come.