Betty -- fiercely independent

... the fine hooks of seeds tangled in this hair ...

I was in the yard, preparing for winter by raking leaves.


I was idly aware that Betty and Alice were climbing the ladder under the birch tree.


When I paid more attention, I could see Alice shaking the branches so that the little seed pods landed in Betty's hair.


Betty was enjoying the confetti.

"It feels fine grandmother."

What a mess!


All those fine ringlets now tangled with the little hooks that seeds have so that they can travel along on whatever brushes by them.


I had no idea how her hair would ever be the same again.

She was resistant to letting me detangle her hair.  She said she could do it on her own.

And that is her.


I couldn't get within three feet of her.



Fiercely independent.


When she went inside she tried to put on her pink jacket.


I could see that it had a giant twist in the back of the jacket.


But there was no way she was going to let me touch that jacket.

So she fought with it herself and finally got both arms in.


And she was so pleased with herself.


I couldn't help laughing for the back of the jacket now showed that twist and although it looks as though it could be a fashion point, it is not.


She just won't let anyone help her.


3 months past 3 years and ready to go it on her own.

Our Betty!

Before ... and after

... BEFORE HALLOWEENING ...
the pirate, the spider lady, Princes Leia, one eye-dragon

AFTER HALLOWEENING

 ... pure bliss....

Going in Character

Rosie who really pulled off Halloween
with costuming making
and make-up for all.

Miranda and I did some errands this morning, taking back items I didn’t need to Ikea and buying hooks for other projects from Michaels, as well as visiting Home Depot.

We really got around.

Miranda told me that the wonderful Princess Aleia costume Alice had worn to the ward party had come from Lurene and Miranda did not want Alice to wear it out Halloweening and risk getting it dirty.

An inside party, yes, but too much dirt walking up and down the city streets.

... face painted, ready for trick or treating ...

So Miranda picked up a red kerchief at Michaels, saying that she would make Alice into Rosie the Riveter tonight.

Everyone ready for the family
Halloween walk?

I thought that was a grand choice and would fit Alice’s character.

My arms are always getting pushed back when I go into help her.

Way back and far away.

That magic hour was coming, finally, the one just before it is dark enough to go out Halloweening.

That anticipation can only be matched by going to bed on Christmas Eve.

I had to slip next door.

I thought there would be utter chaos.

But no.

Everyone now had their make-up and they were patiently waiting, waiting, watching TV.

I didn’t have to ask how the Rosie the Riveter costume turned out, for it was Miranda who had on the costume now.

And Alice was waiting to be Princess Aleia.  Again.

I think the pleasure for Alice is the magnificent wig, the hair parted and two magnificent buns, one on each side of her head.

What a mark of beauty.

The family had plans to walk down 24th street to the green space, then curve around the crescent and walk back. I had my Halloween candy ready.

Not one person came to the door until 7:30 pm at which time Michael knocked. He was collecting candy for the girls as well, for they had had enough of walking the neighbourhood streets.

Sumin had pushed Sumarga along in a stroller with them and he was thrilled with the children running along, seeing who could be the first to knock on each door.

Sumin hadn’t ever seen Halloween done like this and she tasted her first mini Mars bar.

I told her to freeze a few and see if she liked them better than way tomorrow.

I did ask Richard what he was going to be for Halloween.

He said he was going to be a dad. He played his part well.

Before Halloween, in let kids lay all over him, as they watched TV together waiting for the bewitching hour. 

He came next door and unplugged a sink for me, and also did some electrical work.

 Then he Halloweened until the last person in the family was ready to go in.

"I am going as a pirate again, Grandmother!"

Yup. Good work, Dad.

As you said, going in character.

 And thus endeth Halloween 2018.

Arta

Under 40’s Halloween Evening

 ... a splendid variation of dunking for apples ....

I had studied the Bow Valley Ward bulletin for a number of weeks.

There was an announcement of a Halloween Party 5 pm, Monday, Oct 29th, for those under 40, with or without children, pot luck, games, fun.

I told Richard this was the party for his children.

Alice has been talking about being Princess Leia.

Betty wanted to be a pirate.

Miranda has been working on a costume for Michael for a few days, complete with a two-sided tails and spikes in travel from the top of his forehead, over the back of his head and down to the nap of his neck.

 She pulled out all of the stops on her design skills, ones that are combined with the sewing talent to actually make the product.

The one eyed dragon, Princess Leia and Little Red Riding Hood

I saw the ironing board out for a couple of days, black fabric triangles turned into dragon spikes and curved lines into a perfectly fitting hood for Michael.

When we got close to the church I began to wonder if the party had been cancelled.

Betty testing out the magic in Nathaniel Berg's hand

So did Richard.

We looked at each other, silent but questioningly.

One lone woman was taking a bag out of a car and I couldn’t tell if she was a left over volunteer from Wheels on Meals, or if she was the only other person who thought there would be a party.

She opened the door. We entered the cultural hall.

... whirling bowling pins ...

"You mean the weight is up here?"

There were long black strings hanging from the basketball hoop, black and orange balloons and streams along the side of the stage, a buffet table set up and game stations.

Richard’s 3 children presented nearly half of the under 8 population.

Sumin and Sumarga were there as well.

That makes four children.

Joining the 3 Johnsons was 3 year old Peter Murray, two year old Nolan Hinman and 18 month old Adria Lewington.

The rest of the party-goers were adults whose chief joy was sitting at round tables chatting and eating.

"Betty thinks she is juggling ..."

I spent some of my time trying to get acquainted with the rest of the under-40 crowd, suddenly realizing that even the under 60 crowd would have looked young to me.

I didn’t know the names of anyone, so I grabbed my pen and pencil and got to work introducing myself.

 In one group of young marrieds,I asked the women if they had their husband’s name or were carrying their maiden names. I was just trying to learn the first and last names of both parts of the couples.

I was surprised to learn that to some of them the difference between those who had their husbands names and those who carried their own family names was the difference between the words feminine and feminist.

That was probably my most important learning at the Halloween party.

For other fun and games, there was a nerf gun station, a bounce-the-ball-into-a-cup station, and a donut eating station, the donuts hanging from the long black threads that I had initially seen hanging from the top of the basketball hoop.

"I will eat one of the brownies now."

The chief joy of the under 3 crowd was just to run around in the cultural hall and make noise.

Teams were organized as the evening went on – you could choose anyone to be on your team and then all were tasked with finding pictures of Halloween figures that were hidden under tables, on walls by fire extinguishers or up on the stage, which is usually an off-limits play zone.

No one wants their child falling off of the stage.

The teams were made up of the families of all of this under 8 crowd.

Nobody else in the room wants to run around looking for pictures on a wall. So off we went to find cats, cauldrons, witches, dragons and to check them off of our list.

... Michael displaying the full magnificence of his costume ...

The best part of this activity was the strategy of the adults who were usually leading a group of one or more child.

They kept one eye out on other groups who were finding images, and then rushing over to that spot to check off the image off on their own checklist.

There was also a “suck-jello-up-througha straw” contest.

The mood felt somewhat like being at a cocktail party.

People standing, eating, people sitting, eating, and then Gilbert Lybert pulled out an orange yo-you and began playing with it, performing Sleeper, Elevator and Walk the Dog, Shockwave.

 Soon he was throwing the yo yo under his leg and behind his back.

I wondered if part of his youth had been spent in a teen-age yo-yo career, but he assured me this was just a hobby.

Before I describe the next event, I would like to say that I noticed Nathaniel Berg, partly because of how he was dress: mismatching socks, a horrible plaid shirt, knickers, just above his knees, and suspenders.

... chips in a black cat dish ...

I think he wore a bandana as well. During part of the evening he took time to talk to all of the children, whom, I might remind you, have about the average age of 4.

 I saw him run towards one, then slide on his knees up to the child so that when he reached him, the 2 of them were at the same height.

 They had a small conversation and then off Nathaniel went.

Just one of those moments when a lot is happening everywhere, but I see something that is a little odd.

Well, at this point in the evening, Nathaniel took over from the yo-yo expert, asking the older children if they had ever seen anyone juggle apples.

... steadying a donut ...

He then did the funny apple juggling trick with just two apples.

Soon he added a third, though, and then began to eat one of them while juggling all three, ending up with having eaten all of one apple and just the other two still in his hand.

It wasn’t only me who was mesmerized.

Now he had the attention of everyone at the party.

 When he said he wished he had brought his knives into the hall, his wife said, “I will run to the car and get them.”

... look at the hands on that dragon ....

But she brought in bowling pins, which he then began to juggle under his legs and around his back, ending with giving them to the children and showing them how they are weighted at the top of the pin and not at the bottom as one might expect.

He allowed Betty to try one. She stood on the edge of the stage for about 5 minutes, just holding the one pin in her hand, as he had shown her.

Then his knives appeared out of nowhere and the bowling pins were forgotten as he banged the blades together, scrapped them really, in pirate fashion as though he were sharpening them.

And then they began to fly through the air.

By this time I was cheering and waving my hands.

... examining the full sweep of the donut 
hanging from the basketball hoop ...

What Mormon ward has their very own busker!

I got to see him working his crowd of  youngsters long before he started busking.

In retrospect, that was the best part of the party!

Arta

Happy Halloween from the Camps Household

I present to you, the Commissar from Warhammer 40K.

Tattoo - the viewing

Edinburgh Castle Esplanade

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 

 I paid for my ticket and sat down in the movie theatre.

 I still was not sure I was going to like the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (2018), even hearing that they played to a sold-out crowd of 20,000 people in Edinburgh in August 2018. 

There is just something about me that holds back judgement until I can say for myself that seeing is believing. I was about 20 minutes into the tattoo’s performance when I noticed my toe was tapping. And when the US air force honour guard drill team sergeant walked through the bayonets on twirling 14-pound guns, that was it for me. I was all in. The Americans who watched the performance must be bursting with pride when they hear their Fife and Drum Band playing. The announcer says that the performances get better every year, but it would be hard to best this one.

A couple of times I wished that Greg Bates had been in town instead of in London, for I think his enjoyment on watching this would have equalled mine.

Thank you Ruth and Gene Bailey for speaking so highly of this event.

Arta

Tattoo - a virtual trip to Edinburgh

Edinburgh Military Tattoo Performer
Edinburgh Castle Battlements -
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2010
Photo Credit: Pinterest

My internet friend, Ruth Bailey, went to see The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo last year. 

I haven't ever thought of travelling to do such a thing. 

When I saw that a film about that tattoo was coming to the theatre, I decided to see it. 

Thus, this morning I have been doing some reading -- first the review and then going to find out the meaning of the word tattoo. 

Thank you Wiki.

And this afternoon? 

Tattoo here I come.

Arta

Online Sunday School - Week 44 of 2018

One of the few songs I learned at the feet of my father was “Young folks, old folks everybody come, join the Mormon Sunday School and have a lot of fun”…. I went looking for a good utube rendition of the song. Ha ha. Now to find the lyrics.

Online Sunday School – Week 44 
 I can see why people might not want to come to the Online Sunday School.

Not unless they are really ready to participate in acts of reconciliation. 

Mary, I don’t even know if you had time to sign up to the ongoing blog text I am reading and wanting to discuss.

This week there has been a discussion on “how racism has affected Indigenous peoples in a broader society sense that is not limited to the law”. That was made clear on Monday with a post entitled “In Light of the Hateful Letter to the Andersons”. The week‘s discussion then picked up on tuberculosis in Inguit, Nunangat; Indigenous Homelessness; Edmonton’s Own Hospital of Horrors (the Charles Camsell Indian Hospital) and a discussion about disturbing colonial attitudes which included threats of biological warfare against them.

I am glad all of this comes in small chunks each day – just enough to think about and not be overwhelmed.

Some years ago, when reflecting on my own life, I was wishing that I had spent less time studying my own religion and more time studying the history of Canada. For some reason, I can take that wish back, now, since I can see ahead of me, plenty of time to do the latter and I don’t regret anything I learned when I was fully immersed in doing the former.

Well, that is my summary about what I learned this week. As well, the following are three other places where I found interesting reading that I want to share, or perhaps that you saw as well.

I guess I will call these “option” readings from last week.

1. I liked the following piece in the Edmonton Journal: Opinion: Let’s not whitewash racism in the justice system

2. I went to Darcy Lin’s Facebook page – June 19th “I don’t believe in pointing to the parallels of separation of children from their parents in the US and the past and present ‘child-welfare” politics…”
 I thought this was a particularly beautiful literary piece of writing.

3. Again Darcy Lin's facebook page dated August 30 – “For Mom on her 64th”
 I have placed that choice here for people who like poetry.

4.   And of course, I can now substitute "online sunday school" for Mormon/Baptist Sunday School or whatever religion a person substitutes here.  Here is how it is sung in Glasgow.  Not with the same tune I remember, but then, no one ever said that Doral had the right tune.

Arta

Avatamsaka Sagely Monastery for Lunch

Selfie at the side door of the monastery

Some days are pretty perfect.

My friend, Fazeela, said that we should meet at the Buddhist Temple on 10th Street / Louise Bridge just at the Bow River.

I got there early enough to do some walking about the temple and found this interesting scultpure.  And then when I got home I just had to go find the video about how it was conceived and developed.

https://vimeo.com/199142164

Not that anyone else should click on this link.  I just can't help myself from looking around.

"Insects"

Fazeela said that they have a vegetarian buffet there every weekday from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.

$9.95.

What is not to like about that.  I would say that the $10 is worth the price of just the thin slices of sweet potato deep fried in a tempura batter.

Placque giving a name to the sculpture

I think I missed the most spectacular part of the temple by just going to the buffet.

When I go to the website it looks like the inside is well worth touring, if such a tour is possible.

As well, I felt a strong pull to just walk along the south shore of the Bow River which is just across the street.

Thanks, Fazeela, for introducing me to an fascinating site I would never have thought to enter.

Arta

Mauricette Atwood

Born: April 29, 1931
Passed Away: October 22, 2018

I met Mauricette Atwood when I was about 16.

She was a young French woman who had come to Canada to marry.

I think I first learned to love her because my mother loved her -- this brave young woman whose name we said in three syllables, Maur-i-cette.

I have known her over the years since then, watched her raise her family of three children with her husband Dwayne.

And she has watched me raise mine.

Dwayne predeceased her two years ago and ever since then, she has been waiting to join him.

Her biography was given by her son Denis.

He talked for a long time about her birth, her mother and father separating when she was very young, about how she was given to another woman to raise for many years, and how she and her older brother had to go to Algeria when the Germans were invading France.

We learned about how she joined the church and then followed a missionary here to be married to him a few months later.

Back of programme
Pictures of Mauricette

In those days, after missionaries were released from the missions, they sometimes toured the places they had been. Dwayne and Dale Davies toured together, and when they went back to Lile, Dwayne and Mauricette decided to get married.  Well, it wasn't really like that.  Mauricette asked him right out if he loved her.  He shyly said yes.  She said, then we should get married.

He went home and together they worked and saved for 3 months to get enough money to bring her here.  She arrived in Lethbridge without really knowing where she was going and without knowing  a word of English.  His large extended family accepted her with open arms and they were married 2 months later.

My synopsis of this wonderful story of two people who loved each other and helped each other for 60 some years can't really be captured here.  Her son, Denis, did her biography with such respect for her.  I hung on every word he spoke -- so beautifully chosen.

Mauricette had planned her funeral.  She wanted Shauna Murdock to play Debussy's "Claire de Lune" which might have captured the tone of the whole funeral.

As well she had Andrea Hudson and Shauna Murdock do a violin-piano duet called "Amazing Grace Medley".

I was sitting by Barbara Cassinette who leaned over to me and asked me the name of the other tune that was in the medley.  I could hum it, but I didn't have any words to go with the melody.  She was madly flipping through the hymn book, which I thought would be a lost cause.  I can never find a hymn I want to that way.  But then she pointed to Hymn #169, "As now we take the sacrament".

Success.

That is one of the hymns that was added after I quit memorizing every hymn in the book, so it was lovely to have Barbara beside me.

Arta

Giacomo Puccini's La Fanciulla del West

(Credit: Ken Howard / Metropolitan Opera)

I made it to La Fanciulla del West today.

What a show. 

A lot of suspension of disbelief.

 An Italian libretto based on a play by an America author, music by an Italian composer with a story about the American West.

I read the synopsis of the play early in the morning, since I wanted to find out, at the very least, the names of the characters.  And a couple of days ago I googled to find a few of the best known arias and listened to them. So I felt familiar with the baritone’s famous song in the last act.

Ahead of time,  I also learned that Andrew Lloyd Webber used a musical phrase from this opera in “The Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera – enough of the music that the Puccini estate sued Lloyd Webber over and an out of court settlement was made. The phrases are pretty apparent.

“Whoops,” I thought, “have we just slipped into Phantom?”, when I heard them.

The interviews at the intervals featured Eva-Maria Westbroek, Jonas Kaufmann and Ziljko Lucic, as well as the bartender, the Wells Fargo agent and some of the other cowboys. There was a charming interview with the fight director who taught us how to both act and direct fighting as two separate occupations in the same man.

When the conductor, Marco Armiliato, was interviewed and asked if it were true that he doesn’t use a score, that it is all in his head, he seemed to be totally modest about the fact, saying, well, it is true, but it gives him a chance to watch the singers and the orchestra to see if there is anything he can do to help them out.

 Just charming.

Puccini’s most famous works are Tosca, La Boheme, Turandot, Madame Butterfly and Manon Lescaut. Probably one or two of the above are familiar to most people.

The music of La Fanciulla del West is rich in the same symphonic textures and colours. Look for it when it comes as an Encore (Jan 5, 7, 9 and 20, 2019).

I wanted to say something about the costuming. Seeing so may men in the cowboy costumes was spectacular. Every cowboy stereotype seemed to be represented on stage: moustaches, beards, side burns, hats, shirts, vests, I have no idea where such an assortment of costumes came from. The obvious answer is from the costuming department. Faultless.  But this was more than just the costuming.  They seemed to have gathered in the stereotypes from every B-Western movie from the '50's.

The scene where Minnie plays Sherrif Rance a game of poker is so intimate. In the interval we see how that scene was set up, which in retrospect made what happened there while the singing was going on, even more interesting.

I walked the halls of the theatre during
the intermission, stopping only for this selfie.
Still I didn't get in my 10,000 steps today.

Minnie’s costuming was only a suede cowgirl outfit, and then a scene where she was in a flowing flannel nightgown, if flannel can flow.  Which it didn't.

The female character is an enigma: she reads the Bible to her customers at the salong, she holds back a lynching crowd with her gun, she runs the Polka Saloon with only the help of her bar tender, she guards the money that is to go to the bank, she has never been kissed, she lives in a cabin in the hills with two servants, she saves her man from being lyncjed, and she convinces the cowboys to all lay down their arms. A pretty big task for one women, but hey, it is just an opera.

One last word about the people who change the sets. At the first interval, did you see one of the workers fall from the top to the bottom of a porch with a big thud?

I was wondering if he were going to be on his way to a hospital, since that fall came with flailing arms and legs.

For a review that can't say enough good about the tenor, go see this review in OperaWire.

Arta

Happy 74th birthday

From Arta
When I went to see Zoe today, she was wearing this hat.
I asked what that was all about.
She said, "It is Wyona's birthday and Art,
my brother-in-law's birthday.

Well, why not wear a hat to celebrate their birthdays?

From Wyona:

My birthday was pretty quiet. I went to get tickets for Matilda on Sunday for Marcia and Zach. Greg and Marcia went to get tickets for The Book of Mormon: the musical and Les Miserables.

I only got Les Miserables for Marcia and Zach today.

I wanted to go to Costco so Greg and I headed off there. We went two stops past where we got off at the wrong place, Moiya, and then he and I took the bus back one stop.

I found a quicker way to get home also. Greg bought a filler jacker for under his coat for my birthday.

It is really cold here now.

Wyona

Waiting for 42nd Street

From Marcia:

I am waiting for 42nd Street to start.

I was there for my first time but Wyona, Greg and Zach were there for their 2nd time this week.

The show was so great.

Marcia

Funny Girl - I just about didn't get there

I have been waiting for this event with great anticipation. Sheridan Smith had such great reviews that I was waiting to watch her every move, and to keep in mind her crystal clear voice. Her timing was exquisite, as a comedians should be.

Sheridan Smith in Funny Girl

Having all of this anticipation is why I had some anxiety when I found myself on the C-train going down to Eau Clair Centre, doing a final check on what was in my backpack, and realized I had left my wallet at home.

 Good that 3 cans of Coke were there and a tin box full of fruit candies to suck on in case I got tired. But no money to use at the box office.

I have often wondered if I found myself in this situation, if they would take my wedding ring as collateral, and I could come back later. I didn’t want to test this o ut so I got off at the next stop, ran across the tracks and took the train going back home. I used the fast walk there and back to get my wallet as just another moment of exercise. I was filled with the memory of I was in London and got to Les Miserables late. They wouldn’t let us in for 20 minutes. I can still remember sitting there in the lobby, looking at the monitors, which just wasn’t the same.

Being late was different in Calgary. I was only held back, when I finally got to the theatre, by the long line at the candy counter which is where to buy tickets as well. Everyone else was lined up for popcorn.

I have been resisting using the patron-operated machines that give out tickets, but I gave up on that and pulled out a credit card. I am not that good, and did something wrong enough that my credit card was declined. Yikes. Pay back for not learning how to use the machine earlier.

I came into the darkened theatre when Fanny Brice was doing her first audition – it is OK, I missed a bit of the opening. I made up for it by staying in the theatre until the orchestra had finished playing the postlude. What a show. I would love to see it again. Thank you Wyona for developing a taste for musicals in me. And Happy Birthday to you as well.

Arta

Chasing cow elk

From Richard:

Check out this beautiful Alberta sky. 

Blessings and more blessings.

How about this one. 

Mountain, fence post.  

Ya, we were chasing cow elk all morning. 

Frankenstein for the third time

Photo Credit: NT Live Website

I did the seeming impossible yesterday.  I saw the NT live production of Nick Dear's novel which  retells Frankenstein, from the point of view of the creature.

I went this third time because I wanted towatch Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature.

As was promised by Emma Freud in the introduction to the show, two different interpretations of the creature and of Frankenstein, both brilliant.

I will be willing to go again.

One last idea from me, having seen both interpretations.  I liked Johnny Lee Miller as Frankenstein.  I felt that his Frankenstein gave the character more or an intellectual framework.  And the size of Cumberbatch made his creature more frightening. 

At least, my thoughts.

Arta

Lost in London!

Photo Credit: Zach Treleaven

From Wyona:

Lost in London!

That is the name for this post.

When Zack got up Monday morning he said his legs felt like 'jelly'.

I know what he meant because mine had been overused and abused for three days, I just did not know to call them 'jelly legs'.

We spent the weekend doing Portobello, Petticoat Lane, Covent Garden, Spitafields and anything in between.

Monday we changed hotels, I got tickets for Zach and I to go to School of Rock. 

That show was so full of energy running back between the audience and the actors.

The children in that show are children prodigy. Completely mind boggling.

Photo Credit: Zach Treleaven

Yesterday Greg and Zack went to Greenwich, peaceful Greenwich Park, the Royal Observatory is the site of the Greenwich meridian line.

Greg asked Zack if he wanted to rent ear phones.

 Zack declined because he did not want earphones when he had the best guide beside him.

Coming back they took the boat down the Thames. Greg really enjoyed the view, the Shard, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, etc.

Last night Zack and I went to Aladdin.

The genie steals the show every time.

Leaving the theatre it was crowded.

I tapped into the metro and headed down the escalator at Tottenham Court Road Station which was closed for two years while we were here while it was being renovated.

Photo Credit: Zach Treleaven

Got to the bottom of the escalator and took 2 quick turns on the subway and turned around to see if Zack was following me. No Zack!

What, no Zack!

I retraced my steps, people were coming down the long escalator in groups and 3, it was crowded. No Zack. Went to the top of the escalator, no Zack. Who was lost, Zack or Wyona? We do have two burner phones, I had one and Zack had one but at the beginning of the show I asked Zack to turn my phone off. While doing it, he told me that I had no more minutes on my phone...and I know I had talked no more that 15 minutes of my 500 minutes. Guess I do not know how to turn the phone off. In any case, Zack was carrying the bag with my phone in it.

Photo Credit: Zach Treleaven

So I just thought I should carry on home and hope Zack could make it on his own.

We had talked about getting lost and what to do if that occurred.

When I got into the Central Line Subway stop it was crowded, 3-5 people deep.

I kept looking for Zach and low and behold I saw his light purple hoody up ahead.

That was a miracle! Zack was headed back to the flat but I had the key in my pocket. So when we got to the flat, I made Zack practice getting into the flat without a key. We called from the first gate outside and Greg did answer but he sounded panicked. By time we got to the second call gate, Greg did not answer the phone, he showed up at the door to see what was wrong. So we all had a chance on how it works when a person gets lost and has no key.

Greg left to get tickets for tonight and pump up my burner phone. I came into the living room, Zack's bedroom, opened the curtain, flew open the window, made noise, etc. to wake Zack up.

Zack rolled over, tried to keep the light out of his eyes and said, "Why do we have to go to bed so late? "

"20 hours sleep is enough," I said!

Life is good here in London.

Zach and his grandparents in London

From Wyona:

Zach just told me I made him sound like a brat that I have to drag around.

Not the case.

But I do get in his face when he is doing Pokémon.

Yesterday when I was trying to feed him information and he was doing Pokémon he told me he just had to finish this Pokémon because it was a rare one that you can only get in London.

When competing with the Pokémon, I lose. I keep asking him how much battery he has left on his phone and I hope it dies soon.

Tonight we went to 42nd Street.

The first number is spectacular.

I love watching Zach.

We were sitting in third row in sort of the middle.

After the number finished, Zach just turned to me with his eyes wide and his mouth agape!

The show is spectacular all the way through.

We can hit it next Saturday with Marcia and Gabe if she wants to drag him around with her.

But under no circumstances is someone under 14 years of age to come to London.

We got stuck on a bus on Oxford Street, it rarely moved an inch.

So we got the bus driver to let us off after half a block and one half hour.

I asked him what was wrong and he replied that there was a Eu’rope’ean demonstration going on.

There are many signs around asking for a new vote on Brexit.

Zach passed on the schnitzel from the German booth at Portabello.

He just could not do it.

Zach and Greg saw a magician at Covent Garden.

My London legs are a little old and really tired today.

Wyona