Variety Show

Today while Tombo was napping and John was at the Bronco game with Casey, Becky and I were treated to a special performance by the ultimate Mistress of Ceremonies, Anne Peyton Hofmeister. She set up a small theatre in the kitchen, using stepstools as audience seating, and she placed herself in a chair behind the "stage". Here is a sampling of the lineup:

- Several select readings from her collection, starting with "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". She "read" the entire book to us, and then took a moment to ask each of us, individually, to name the animals we saw on the pages. When we got it wrong, she very patiently & sweetly told us the correct answer. When we got it right, she was quick to praise us. Next she read from "So Many Bunnies"...

- An invisible dance troupe of "bootiful people" (oh dear; , is it starting already?) performed onstage for a few minutes. They received a standing ovation from us. Afterwards, she invited us each up to do some twirls and hops onstage, with her careful instruction.

- Delicious chocolate and vanilla candies were served at what had to have been an intermission. Ever the consummate host, she didn't bat an eyelash when we requested broccoli and beans instead, and served it right up

- At one point she requested that if we were to see a slug crawling on the stage, we should let her know immediately so she could take it outside. Eagle-eye Beck spotted one, and it was quickly ushered out as promised.

- During the show several animals sat quietly beside her: a sheep, a dog, a chicken, and a giraffe. In what seemed to be her grand finale, she asked each of us if we'd like to hold the animals. Of course we nodded enthusiastically, and she carefully handed each animal over to us, one at a time. Our time was limited and fully supervised. Becky & I both had problems handling the chicken - so flappy & squawky! When we asked for advice on handling him she very matter-of-factly and confidently explained that it was best to turn him over onto his stomach and push down on his back. It worked like a charm!

A Pee and Three Elk

John left for his deer hunting trip Thursday morning, and he missed out on two big events! First was that night, when Tombo was running around naked after his bath. He started peeing, and I exclaimed "Oh, Tommy, do you want to make your peepee go in the toilet?". "Uh-HUH", he nodded definitively, and followed me down the hall to the kiddie toilet (to my amazement, because typically the answer is "nooooooo". I helped him aim, and away he went! Sis was there to cheer him on. Then he stopped the flow, looked at me impishly, and exclaimed "Again!". The flow resumed, then stopped; the look, and "Again". Several times. It was a hoot. We gave him alot to be proud of but I'm not convinced this is the start of something big, just yet!

Then, Friday morning at breakfast I looked out the window and saw THREE ELK grazing in the open space behind our house! A bull and 2 cows. Fortunately they hung around long enough for me to fish out my zoom lens and snap some photos. We're not too far from the foothills so it's not that unusual to see them, but this was our first time in nearly 8 years of living here. Later that day they were bedded down by the creek between here & the lake. I called the DOW and learned that typically they make their way down & back via creek beds. I hope they do OK on the way back. They were majestic.