Pentimento: Blogger's Ball

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Blogger's Ball

I had a dream last night that some of my favorite lady bloggers -- including Betty Duffy, Mrs. Darwin, Emily J, Sally Thomas, and Elena Maria Vidal -- and I were getting ready to attend a ball. We were pulling on fabulous clothes worthy of Elena's site Tea at Trianon, and Elena herself was escorted by a dashing genteman à la Mr. Darcy (though he hailed from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, and his name was Jim). The ball was being held at a very tony place on the east side of midtown Manhattan. Though I woke up before the dancing started, I was left with a pervasive sense of looking at the city where I had lived for most of my life through the eyes of one who has traveled away from it and will never live there again.

25 comments:

elena maria vidal said...: Sounds like a fabulous dream. I get to wear that yellow-gold dress in the picture. Maybe we should plan a party......; November 7, 2009 at 9:31 AM
Pentimento said...: And you were the one with the dashing gentleman!; November 7, 2009 at 9:39 AM
elena maria vidal said...: Oh, my.....;-); November 7, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Melanie Bettinelli said...: I've had dreams about meeting with my favorite bloggers too. Never at a ball though. The closest I've got to that was a fancy party that was being hosted by Jennifer of Conversion Diary. But I was distracted from the glittering conversation because I'd lost the baby. Ah well. I suspect those dreams are a foretaste of heaven, which I think will be the grandest party imaginable where you never run out of time, your glass never runs dry, and there is no meaningless small talk.; November 8, 2009 at 7:22 PM
Pentimento said...: We'll have to make a date to meet in heaven. :); November 8, 2009 at 8:11 PM
BettyDuffy said...: There is a pink silk shantung ballgown in my closet that has been waiting many years for your dream to come true.

And I think that if we ever do meet in real life, we should all wear our gowns, whether there is a ball or not.; November 8, 2009 at 8:18 PM
Pentimento said...: I have lots of gowns hanging in my closet from my active performing days, and some are rather fabulous. I'm not sure if I can fit into any of them anymore, though.; November 8, 2009 at 8:24 PM
Otepoti said...: I gave up deliberately adorning myself some years ago - silk purse, sow's ear - and now all my clothes are gardening clothes.

But I'll do the flowers for your ball, and they will be magnificent.; November 9, 2009 at 3:12 PM
mrsdarwin said...: Party!

I love formal dresses. I have more of them in my closet than regular, wear-around dresses.

You can actually see a photo of me in my latest fancy dress here, though I think that if that's what my face really looks like, I've been much deceived for most of my life.; November 9, 2009 at 3:37 PM
Pentimento said...: Otepoti, you were in my dream too. But I didn't link to your blog because you haven't updated it in about a year.

I bet there's a way to repurpose gardening clothes and make a ballgown out of them, though. That would be very cool. A year or two ago, a pianist made her Carnegie Hall debut wearing a gown made out of recycled kiddie juice pouches.; November 9, 2009 at 4:32 PM
Pentimento said...: Mrs. Darwin, you look elegant!; November 9, 2009 at 4:35 PM
Melanie Bettinelli said...: "I think that if that's what my face really looks like, I've been much deceived for most of my life."

Dear Mrs D. I thought when I saw that photo that it was not at all a good likeness of you.; November 9, 2009 at 5:50 PM
mrsdarwin said...: Melanie,

THANK YOU. I know people are always complaining about how they look in photographs, but good or bad, that just doesn't look like me at all. But the dress was pretty awesome.; November 10, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Pentimento said...: Well, Mrs. D, you do look like you could fit into my fabulous recital gowns.; November 10, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Emily J. said...: I love a good dance! Can I really come too?

We just returned home from a family wedding and had a wonderful time dancing - but no waltzes. The last ball I went to was the Seabee ball, and happily I was invited to raid my neighbor's closet, because my formals had all either been worn too many times or looked like they were made 10 yrs ago for a 25 yr old bridesmaid, which they were(one left over from Betty's wedding). So I gave them all to the thrift shop when we moved - can I play dress up in your closet - or help Otepoti with the flowers? (I'll pass on the juice box dress.)

Mrs. D, your dress does look absolutely elegant, and that's a great shade of lipstick, too!; November 10, 2009 at 2:21 PM
Pentimento said...: Sure, come on over, Em J.

I used to have this thing wearing a new gown every time I had a recital (I was a tryingly obnoxious prima donna). So I ended up with lots of gowns, though I never spent a lot of money for them. My friend who was a Russian-Jewish refugeee, doll-maker, and seamstress made a couple of things for me for free, I got great stuff at thrift stores, and there was this fabulous job lot dotted throughout midtown Manhattan called Weber's, where showroom samples would go (my wedding dress was a sample gotten from a thrift shop too -- an uncanny story which I blogged about here a while back). Before we moved, I gave away several gowns to the daughter of my Russian seamstress friend who had made them, who was starting her freshman year as a voice major.

Some of you have seen pictures of one of the gowns made by my Russian friend. It looks red in the photo, but it was actually pink. To the point that her husband called that gown "The Pink F---." It was just the sort of gown to wear when that was your onstage attitude. I no longer have that one. . .

I actually have gigs in 2010, so I'm going to have to see if anything is salvageable.; November 10, 2009 at 2:35 PM
mrsdarwin said...: If your gigs take you to Texas, let us know! I love your pink dress; it looks like it would instill all kinds of confidence.

Funny story about that lipstick, Emily J: I was keeping it in my purse to try and protect it from small curious hands, but two days ago my one-year-old toddles up to me smeared blood red. I found the lipstick all mashed up and had to throw it away, alas. A good scrubbing in the tub took it all off him, thankfully, and I even wiped it off his teeth. Then I nursed him down so I could wipe the living room floor (which mercifully came clean very easily). When I went upstairs to change my own shirt, I had a moment of shock as I thought my breast was bleeding. Then I thought baby had latched on in the wrong place. Then I realized that he'd still had lipstick on the roof of his mouth when he was nursing...; November 10, 2009 at 9:01 PM
Pentimento said...: LOL about the lipstick!

I won't be going west of the Mississippi or south of the Mason-Dixon line, alas.; November 10, 2009 at 9:18 PM
Melanie Bettinelli said...: Well, if not Texas, any chance you'll be headed to the Boston area?

Mrs D,

Too funny about the lipstick! I'd have been shocked too.; November 10, 2009 at 10:24 PM
Pentimento said...: Western Connecticut is as close as I'll get to Boston, Melanie - still kind of far for you.; November 10, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Melanie Bettinelli said...: Back in my pre-kid days I'd have done it in a heartbeat. But yeah these days even heading to the grocery store is a major expedition. Ben eats every two hours like clockwork during the daytime. Ah well...; November 10, 2009 at 11:02 PM
BettyDuffy said...: Hmm...I'm east of the Misssissippi, and north of the Mason Dixon--any chance you'll be in the Midwest?

Who knew ball gowns and bloggers could elicit such an enthusiastic response. I do think we should all get out more.; November 11, 2009 at 9:44 AM
Pentimento said...: No, B, I have three concerts, all in the Northeast, two in New York state (one in New York City), and that one in Connecticut. And yeah, we should all get out more. Too bad there's such a dearth of balls these days.; November 11, 2009 at 9:46 AM
TS said...: That picture does NOT do Mrs. D justice and reminds me of how pictures can lie.; November 11, 2009 at 1:19 PM
mrsdarwin said...: Thanks TS! You're a gent!; November 11, 2009 at 9:23 PM