Z and I went to Houston for a couple of days so I could take her to her doctor. She's basically had a chronic ear and sinus infection all winter, and the doc was concerned about a build up of icky, puss-y fluid in her ear. She needed to see if the fluid was still there, and if so, was going to send us to a specialist. The very good news was that the fluid was gone. But the poor kid has been through so many rounds of antibiotics. She's mostly pretty good about taking the medicine, though, and only sometimes runs away and lies down prone on the floor, face down, to hide her mouth from me. Sometimes she would just cover her mouth with her hands. Poor kid, but you know, I'm bigger and stronger than she is. It's not fun manhandling your child to force medicine down their throat.

The other fun thing I did was go see the last installment of Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre and Two Star Symphony's collaboration, Danse Macabre III. I've been lucky to see all three shows, just managing to come into town for the last two. They've all been amazing, but this last one was the best. Joel kept the puppetry to a minimum, allowing the music to be the anchor for the show. And the music was wonderfully, creepily melodic. Two Star is doing some amazing things.

The story was sparse: a man gets buried alive on the same night his grave neighbors rise up from their plots to tell their stories. The man tells his story in a series of occasional monologues, switching between the actor standing in an upright casket and a puppet in the background (also in a casket). The music would be accompanied by video, some of which incorporated ideas and imagery from the two previous shows. The dead told their stories, some of them funny, some of them sad, some of them just plain sick, in a series of disembodied voices, with the occasional dancer sneaking onstage to act out a particular death. As the music lead up to the last piece, Camille Saint-Saens symphonic piece "Danse Macabre," the dead finally get to do their dance. It's a powerful performance.

I enjoyed all the different media and art elements incorporated. Far, far more than just a puppet show, it was performance art. At first, I kept thinking, "where are the puppets?" But as the piece progressed, I forgot about it and just enjoyed the atmospheric music and the visuals, and let the whole of the experience take over. I'm really glad I got into town on the right night.

Oh, and here's the obligatory Texas kid bluebonnet picture, taken with my camera phone: