Pictures, Updated

We're home and I've finally got the pictures uploaded... so if you're interested in London scenery, go back and take a look. I thought one of the neatest things was to find the webcam of Trafalgar Square on the internet... if only I would have known that earlier we could have called the kids and told them where to look as we waved at them. Oh well... live and learn.

Wicked

Last April, our niece Kylie, went to New York City with her chorus and came home raving about the musical Wicked. It sounded somewhat strange to me - what's all this about the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) being a good person, a person who tried to stand up for what she believed in and make a difference?! But then we read the book by Gregory Maguire for book club and I, too, became a strong supporter of Elphaba. As we researched theatre productions in London's West End, I was thrilled to see Wicked on the list... and we managed to get 7 tickets for our last night in London. I built it up so much in my mind, and to the others, that I was afraid that it could never live up to our expectations. In fact, I told everyone that before they complained about it, they had to read the book and then, only then, would I accept complaining emails - one a day for the year.

But I was soooo wrong. During the first act, Lorraine looked over at me and gave me a thumbs up. At the intermission, Jonathan and Maureen loaded up on the soundtrack and t-shirts for their son David, and Brian even bought a t-shirt for Caroline (his 12 year old daughter). In the meantime, I loaded up on ice cream and couldn't wait for the second act to commence.

Although it did, at times, vary from the book, it was fabulously well done. The two leads were so well joined together - and yet so very different. The careful movements of Elphaba's hands to illustrate her passion versus the flighty hair "toss, toss"es of Galinda were in sharp contrast to one another. I will admit that after reading the book, I couldn't imagine where the music fit in - songs such as Popular and Defying Gravity... but they, too, were absolutely perfect. I went to sleep, long after Dave's snores started, thinking about Elphaba and her attemps at making things better for all... and thought, "If only we all could do the same..."

Wrinkly Carrots

Just when I have begun to have confidence in myself as a cook, things go wrong. Years ago Theresa provided me with a fail-proof recipe that tastes wonderful. It’s basically a 4-5 pound roaster chicken stuffed with 8-10 garlic cloves and a wedged lemon and baked for a few hours. With an hour left of cooking time, I add cut up potatoes and carrots and while the chicken is cooling enough to cut, I make gravy out of the drippings. It’s one of those meals that’s perfect for impressing friends and relatives… but not so Wednesday night. We wanted to eat by 5 pm so we could spend the rest of the evening attending Las Noches de las Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.

In preparation, I preheated the oven and stuffed the chicken by 2:15 and then went off to read a book. At 3:30 I put the vegetables in a different roasting pan and went back to my reading. At about 4:45 Bev alerted me that all was not well… that the chicken, in fact, was quite raw. It was then we all (by now it was quite the family affair) figured out it should have been cooked at 325 degrees rather than the 250 that I had set the oven. We turned up the heat, cooked the potatoes and carrots and the microwave, and waited to eat until 6. So much for an easy-to-prepare, delicious dinner.

Throughout dinner Bev exclaimed over and over again how wonderful the meal was, Sophie said her carrots tasted wrinkly, and I wanted to sink in my seat. Next time I think I’ll follow the recipe.

Over the hills and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go...

“Through the door and down the stairs, by the pool and across the parking lot, over the rocks and down the sidewalk, to Grandmother’s house we go”

When we visit Grandma Bev and Grandpa James in Arizona we stay at the “guest” condo a few blocks away from their house. Two years ago when we last visited at Christmastime we made up the above verse to the popular tune. Sophie and Lucy immediately memorized it and it helped give them landmarks to find their way. They still sing it whenever we head to Grandma and Grandpa’s and last year they taught it to John. Yesterday morning it was wonderful to hear him say, “Let’s do the Grandma thing!” and hear a chorus of “Through the door and down the stairs, by the pool…”

Christmas in Arizona

After 30 hours of straight through driving, we made it to Arizona by 10:30 Saturday night. I’m proud to say I accomplished 1/10 of the driving and 9/10 of the supervision. The kids did a fantastic job thanks to a lot of drawing paper, a new Playmobil Santa and his sleigh, and movies. Barnyard, a recommendation from Sophie’s 3rd grade teacher, was most definitely the biggest movie hit. The treats from Bridget and JR (Thank you, thank you, thank you!) helped provide a sugar high when the driving got to be too much. Grandpa James and Grandma Bev helped finish polishing them off and now we’re all looking for the recipe for the brownie cupcakes with the cream filling (hint, hint). We’re enjoying our time here – watching the Santa bikers, swimming, hottubbing, and drinking mighty strong coffee. We hope this finds you taking some time for yourself too.