Michael over Burrard St.
After a full morning of
Thomas the Tank Engine, both on DVD and video, Maddy was so restless she became a whirling dervish and whirled right through my apartment with reckless abandon, leaving nothing standing in her wake. The only way to save the place from total destruction by a 2-year old was to vacate. Immediately. My rug already had pizza sauce ground into it, and she'd produced the foulest-smelling diaper EVER. The contents were beyond anything I was prepared to deal with today, so I left the job to Allan, who was folding laundry. I mean, I've been changing the Ms diapers since Melissa was born in 1999, but the stuff that Maddy generates defies all verbal description of grossness. I can't imagine the potty-training without noseplugs. What is this kid eating that the others are not??
Michael meets Tako.
Anyway... we went to Eliza's place so they could meet her parents and her two cats, Ebi & Tako. The last time the Ms were at Eliza's place was pre-Maddy/Whirling Dervish. Melissa was two, Michael was one, and Eliza had not yet acquired either cat. Her parents have met Maddy and Melissa before, last summer in Richmond, but not Michael. Maddy had fallen asleep in the three blocks we'd driven to get to Eliza's, and Allan was ready for a nap, so we left those two to snooze in the van.
Michael discussing something very important with Tako.
Michael burst in the front door, but as soon as he saw everybody, he sort of crouched and went quiet, like he had to go to the bathroom! I thought,
No, not that! But, I asked him if he wanted to see the cats, so he became very animated -- which made the cats take off like lightning to hide, of course. Far out of reach of little boy fingers. Michael then found a Swiss cowbell, which he found pretty fascinating. I tried to explain to him what the bell was for, but what
really fascinated him was the object in his right hand: the laser pen. The cats like to play with the light, but even with Michael waving it vigorously, they would not be coaxed out.
Where do wild horses fit into all this? -- you may be asking...
May and Claire
Well, this afternoon, my friend May rang up and asked if I wanted to come to a wild horse benefit at the Arts Club Lounge, on Granville Island. A local musician she'd done a documentary/trailer for last year,
Laura Doyle, was performing to raise money for the protection of wild horses in the BC Interior. How could I say no?? I couldn't, so I procrastinated again on my second paper for Advanced Writing and went to check it out in the evening.
Click here for more information about the loss of wildlife in the BC Interior on the website of Friends of Nemaiah Valley, a non-profit society promoting the protection of the environment of the Nemaiah Valley and area in the spirit of the Aboriginal Wilderness Preserve.May's friend Claire, from France, was waiting for us, and we ended up chatting through almost the entire documentary on wild horses. I was feeling a tad guilty about not paying attention, but the place was packed and our vantage point was extreme stage left, so it was difficult to see what was going on. But, we did pay the cover charge and participated in the 50/50 draw, which was won by a grizzled ol' cowboy who delivered a rousing talk and poem later on in the show. Laura Doyle performed, followed by other musicians, and we ended up closing the place -- not bad for a Sunday night!
