One Reading, One Tour, One Show

A dreary blustery day.  But nothing as bad as what hit Southern Alberta earlier in the week, that prevented one of Steph's authors from travelling here for a reading.  He asked Steph to step in for him.  So after my dentist appointment, I went to hear Steph read. 

Greenwoods was warm and dry.  Chairs clustered in the back around a microphone served as the stage for authors nominated from various categories in the 2010 Alberta Literary Award to showcase their pieces.  Steph had said she was nervous, but really she didn't need to be.  The passage from David A. Poulsen's Numbers (where the narrator describes himself, his friends, and their social standing in school), was funny and she delivered it well*. 

Kathy, Neil, Steph, and I hung around after all the readings and looked at books - it's a bookstore afterall!  Hm... Slow Death by Rubber Duck... the latest Post Secret collection... one day, I will read you all!  Now of course also on the list, Numbers. 

* Animated facial expressions and, wow, she can even do the swearing bits!
---------------------------------

It's a... bear?  It kind of looks like a lion to me... And this is a... wing-ed tiger? 

The tour guide explained to us just what was going on with these embroidered badges: Rank badges were supposed to feature the animal that corresponds with the department and rank of the person wearing it.  In the case of the bear, the wearer most-likely commissioned it to look more like another animal (again, my guess is lion) so that the casual observer would think he was of a higher rank (ah... so like my knock-off bag...). 

Paul and I giggled through a lot of the tour.  I'd been in to parts of the MacTaggart collection before, but this was a special tour for the exhibit and catalogue launch of Emblems of Empire: Selections from the Mactaggart Art Collection. With Paul there, I saw things from a slightly different perspective - where unfamiliar with the culture, a lot of the symbolism just seemed goofy / bizarre.  Such as the Bannerman portrait - notice the squirrel and grapes on the teacup?  The guide explained those were likely added as small fertility talismans. 

Not satisfied with just one event, Paul and I ambitiously headed next to the 2010 B. Design Graduate Show "Under Emigration".  As usual, there were some really fun pieces and others that just made me go "Huh?".  My favourites included a wooden chest of drawers that had an amazing organic wave and a set of note cards based around circles.  I might have to copy that last one... but I really should finish the yellow project first.

Wisdom of Whores - A Message from the Mafia

I rushed over to the library once Dr. Elizabeth Pisani had finished her talk.  

The first of the Distinguished Speakers Series (of HIV Edmonton's Legacy Project), Dr. Pisani is a vibrant and charismatic person who obviously knows what she talks about (being both an epidemologist and past journalist).  In Public Health Prostitution: The Mismatch Between Evidence & Policy in HIV, she told us about belonging to the AIDS Mafia - those involved in the business of AIDS - how she had collected data and found a way in the early days to spin it so that people would care. 

Unfortunately, she and others almost did it too well: In the attempt to de-stigmatise HIV and AIDS, people are being told anyone could be infected.  Policymakers took the "anyone can be affected" message and focus dollars in politically correct areas (e.g. proverty, women, children) rather than targeting the (politically unpopular) areas that really needed it most (e.g. sex workers, gay men, intravenous drug users).  There is so much money in they system now, but there aren't the results to show for it. 

On top of that, the face of AIDS has changed.  She's happy the quality of life of those HIV-positive have greatly improved, but the flipside is that without seeing how sick people are, young people are referring to it as a manageable state or chronic disease, and not being as careful in prevention and testing. 

She further challenged other common conceptions: AIDS and proverty, AIDS and gender inequality...

By the end of question period, many people seemed riled up to lobby for some real action.  I wish I felt that way, instead, I felt angry and powerless.  How could I make a difference in something so big?  I guess I'll just have to start with reading her book, Wisdom of Whores (once I manage to properly pronounce it and put it on library holds).  As heart-breaking as it sounded, I do look forward to reading it. 

Babies, Brunch, and Book Challenge

Two baby showers in one weekend!  Though both they celebrated babies, were exclusively female (well...  possibly with 1 exception), and had a lot of presents and food, they were still very different. 

The first, for Baby Sev (who was yet to arrive), involved a large group friends of the mom-to-be (Jazzy).  Together we played games and learned a little bit more about babies.

The second, for Rebecca (just a month old), was a larger party for all ages.  Women and girls from both sides of the family, along with friends, went over to Andrea and Bob's house for a meet and greet. Everyone got a chance to hold Rebecca and catch up a little with Andrea. 

The eating part of the weekend was further enhanced with the UADC Volunteer Brunch.

While  (Big) Dan told us what he shouldn't have said at the airport ("What can I do with nailclippers I can't do with my bare hands?"), the rest of us enjoyed the food available from the huge brunch buffet at the Radisson.  Before you knew it, we were talking about bras and other sizings, plus polygamist relationships...  Oh, my.  See what trouble we get into when we're not dancing?

Well, to mitigate some of the unruly behaviour, I thought I'd take my reading life to the next step - an official Book Challenge!  Twenty-five books in twelve months - doesn't sound too hard, but will I have time to read and write about them all?  Hm.... Here were go! 

Taking Over Danceland

Danceland was once a Chinese restaurant.  At some point it switched to being one of the cheapest (if not safest-looking) places for some dance practice downtown. 

Ryan booked the place to "commemorate" his birthday.  Perfect excuse for me to finally check it out. 

It was pretty much like I remembered it, smaller, with fewer tables, and no more dim sum (but awfully familar looking carpet...).  A small, but lovely hardwood dance floor took up the centre.  The bar worked nicely as a place to set food and drink. 

Plenty of past TAs and current Elite dancers came for the potluck and dance. Some brought their own music, plugged into the system, and  played DJ.

Ryan stood proudly and posing for cake cutting.  Hm... with his dance partner in white, they kind of look like they're getting married...

(Below: O.k. Ryan kiss the bride!)

(Left: Happy Nigel.)

Would have liked to stay longer to dance and chat with all these people I haven't seen in a while, and to indulge in more goodies... but it was getting late. 

Beth and I headed out to the bus stop - with one minor delay: Coat hangers.  They seemed too cool to not photograph... or at least they did at the time.  Beth was baffled; I must have really needed some sleep. 

Angela's Advice

Angela makes me laugh: She is Eliza Doolittle at the race tracks - awful stories of warning or horrible deeds graced with high class / refined accents.  She is the lilting, singing voice that drops the "F-bomb" (or the Chinese equivalent).  All this means I am paying attention to what she's saying, but probably not in the way she hopes. 

Tonight's topic - Why I should not buy a house, or a condo, or any property for that matter - was interesting even without the above because along with the rehash of old, there was some shocking new:

Old:
- She didn't think it was a good idea for me to buy a house because:
i) It wasn't safe for a single girl to be living in a house on her own
ii) I won't be able to handle a roommate (i.e. I'm anti-social, not good at sharing, and or would likely be taken advantage by someone else)
iii) All the houses I was looking at were old, and I'm not that handy and I would just be buying a huge headache (possibly true)

- She didn't think it was a good idea for me to buy a condo because:
i) Their prices are still over-inflated
ii) Resale is difficult
iii) I had too much stuff (probably also true)

New:
- She didn't think I should buy any property because:
i) I should be going out and enjoying life, travelling and seeing the world  (you live only once!) before I'm tied down to a place.

*Eyebrow* Where did that come from?  This was definitely not advice she's given to Jack or Jeff (who, admittedly, might have already done this... So "they should be" on the next step?).  Or rather... hm...

Anyway, not quite the support I was looking for.  However, on the (sort of) plus side, she finally believes Mom is as neurotic as I've tried to tell her.

Plaice Alternatives

"21:00 is no respectable time for any unrespectable fish and chip shop to close.  So maybe it's too respectable for British tastes."

Despite Paul's first impressions of Brits' Fish and Chips (the rather stereotyped decor, the un-unrepectable hours...), when the food arrived, he declared it authentic! 

Except... well... perhaps a little greasier than what you'd find there... (the wax paper wrapper here not as absorbent?). 

The menu had read rather strange to me (side dishes: mushy peas, bread and butter, pickled egg...), but I guess they were standard fare. 

Paul ordered sweet curry sauce - which ended up being my favourite part of the meal. 

As tasty as deep fried is, I couldn't keep out of my head someone else's review: "Fast food at resturant prices".  But!  It certainly filled a craving, and the trip was good intel for future schemes. 

To help work off some of the grease, we follow the meal with a walk around the neighbourhood. 

I found some fun (and fitting) graffiti:

Paul, later, did a public service. 

And then we call it a night. 

Real Life Adventures

"You're an idiot, and you're an idiot!" - Rem

Bella plays Bella, there was much awkwardness, and quite a bit of yelling.  Beth loved the soundtrack (though possibly not all the "Rock Me Amedaus" repeats). The coming of age story of the late 1980s, centered around the summer staff at an awful amusement park, made us laugh and frustrated at times.  But in the end, Adventureland got a thumbs up from everyone. (Good job Paul Matwychuk, and of course, Erik for playing it).

James Brennan: I think somebody was trying to write "Satan Lives" on that wall but they spelled it "Satin Lives".
Em Lewin: One of those textile worshiping cults no doubt.

Meanwhile, back in real life:

Steph's work drama continues and the key to her bicycle lock broke. Thankfully not in the lock.


Erik puts us to the test ("Find the Erik!") with elementary class photos. Per Steph, who got it right on the first guess, "Look for the meerkat!" (He did have impressively good posture.)


Steph and Rem test Erik's mapping program.  I, not being helpful in that front at all, end up using the scale.  In one day, I've used it more times than Erik in probably a year (he figures I'm addicted.)

Dinner and Taxes

Paul used his powerful computer program to calculate everything to (atleast?) 10 decimal places.  I had a calculator.  We got the same number (eventually). 

I didn't think doing taxes with Paul would be fun - me being a little anxious that the ITA might have changed so drastically from last year that I would, embarassingly, no longer know what to do.  But, it turned out, I was wrong on both counts. 

Eventhough I insisted certain areas didn't concern him, we took the scenic route and went through the related schedule - satisfied only when the schedule's carry-forward value was zero (as I had predicted).  O.k. that might not sound fun at all, but imagine both of us crunching these numbers and meticulously entering them onto the paper return - and then being completely sidetracked to talk about how they do it (not) over there in the U.K.  Um... yeah. 

With that out of the way - we made dinner.  The curry included much more coconut milk than the last time we tried to make it, but suprisingly tasted less of it... still - Yum.

(Right: An even classier wingback chair.  Possibly inspired by Sir Critter... or possibly not). 

Pool Party

Darren proposed this scene: You independently trekked to the top of a mountain - reaching the summit at the same time! Then, Paul cames to you and said, "Hello, my name is Paul and I'm from the U.K..."

"Actually, it was at astronaut training camp..." 

(Right: Manoj test-driving an even more intense version of the secret handshake.)

Anyway, it seemed "Our Story" just wasn't exciting enough for Manoj (even with Darren's help). 

He didn't press the point too much, instead flitted over to welcome more dancers and friends - people he'd invited to help celebrate his "signficant" (Fiftith? Fortieth? Erm, thirtieth?) birthday. 

Metro Billards had plenty of space to sit and chat, and plenty of pool tables for us to play.  Manoj, Darren, Jim and others were obviously experienced (some even bringing in their own cues), but were patient in coaching rookies like me and Judy. 

(Below: Rookies with plenty of flower power.)

(Right: Oops, a scratch on the break - guess I was a little too distracting)

The sphere-mixing experiment was working.  Slowly through the night, little details of Manoj's non-dance life were being revealed.  And then, when I finally got over the fact that one of his non-dance friends thought I was Judy's mom... we talked about/around photography.  He worked with film, but thought digital was great for capturing fun moments (which was my goal since the big guns - Allan, Jamie, and this guy - didn't bring their equipment).  He also mentioned Henri Cartier-Bresson - someone he thought I should look up (hm... interesting... the first portrait papparazzi artist?). 

(Above: A Natural - Judy's shots have "perfect weight")

Book Bingo

I felt a little overwhelmed (and questioned ever becoming a librarian).  After saying hi to Steph, we went inside.  There, the Edmonton Journal Raise a Reader book drive Trainer / Supervisor of Sorters (energetically) told us what we needed to do - Sort books! - while remembering one thing: Don't think too much about it. 

This last bit is not exactly a strength for me nor Paul, but we were game.  We'd quickly scanned the backs of books we didn't recognise and placed them in the proper labelled grid square on our respective tables.  What I thought was "quick" however, turned out to be too leisurely for the volume of books coming in.  They arrived in boxes and in bags, and before long, the pile of empties along with the full crowded behind my table.

Packers came by to take away my sorted books to pack them into boxes, but I still felt pretty fenced in.  And of course, books continued to flow in. 

However, by the end of our shift, neither of us got a bingo.  Recall the category grid squares on the sorter tables?  It seemed the perfect set up for a bingo game.  So, Paul and I challenged each other - get through this box, and the next one might have the one to completely our collection.  (Hm... maybe I'm getting a little too competitive...)  Suprisingly (?) we both missed westerns and audio books (though... maybe if I looked closer at sci-fi, there might have been a space-western fusion?). 

Steph had managed to rope in a good number of Feasters and friends to volunteer for the same day, so after scrubbing the dust from our hands, we had some refreshments and caught up with some of them before heading out. 

The volunteer "bucks" (credits for books) are safely tucked in my backpack, ready for the actual sale:

Friday, 23 April at 4:30 PM to 8:00 PM

Saturday, 24 April at 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Sunday, 25 April at 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM

at

Aviation Museum Hangar
11410 Kingsway Ave, Edmonton

I'm excited for it.  Yay, books!

Pedo-Pet

Dinners out, ice cream cake, and no dance - begin the worry. 

I been thinking about pedometers again.  Sure, every one I've had has fallen to hard times (i.e. broken or lost), but I think I could take care of one better if it were... a pet. 

Think: a Tamagotchi-style pedometer pet!  Taking steps (or pretty much any moving around) would either feed it or play with it - the things needed to keep it healthy.  A beep or chirp (with added urgency if it's been a really long interval) would remind you to get up and move.  Exactly what I need from all the slouching in front of the computer screen I do every day.  A big bonus if I can even customise it to fit with my diet / lifestyle goals. 

So, to the internet!

Hm... not as frutiful as I'd though.  There seem to plenty of sites touting fabulous pet pedometers - yes, a pedometer for your over-weight pet - but not much for a pedometer pet. 

Is there something I'm missing?  Have you seen something that would be as fun and effective? 

Thirteen

The bad posture, the sour expression, the sarcasm... did all these things appear overnight?  Well, the now-officially-thirteen-Celina certainly has all these - a combination I consider the stereotypical teenager attitude.  She barely suffered through dinner with us fools, at Mirama, and later, (barely) put up with us through ice cream cake.  Though really, I think she might have enjoyed herself a little (even if it was at the annoyance of her parents).

I did catch her smiling a few times:

1. Play fighting with Kevin at the restaurant. 

2. The prediction from the birthday candles: No boyfriends! 

3. Opening my present: A moderate dose of chocolate and Hello Kitty (at least her love for those haven't changed). 

But almost immediately after (as if catching herself smiling) the "rest state" of bored indifference returned.  Annoying - but proably normal.  Fingers crossed that we all get through this quickly and sanely.  (Though Mom thinks I'm still in the same state.)

Not Late for a Date

Paul feigned a yawn and stretched his arm around me - Classic!  Our first cinema date was off to a good start:

1. Cheesy staged moves - check. 
2. Smuggled food (not really planned, rather dinner took longer than expected so we wrapped it all up to go) - check.
3. A very much anticipated movie, Alice in Wonderland (in 3D!) - check!

Now, Inkheart had some nice costumes, but it was nothing on Alice.  While I did have to suspend some disbelief (Why do her shoes fit when she grows and shrinks, but her other clothes didn't? ), the clothes were beautiful and interesting to look at*.  The other visuals were as one would expect from Tim Burton - nightmarish and fascinating at the same time.  The plot though... not quite what I expected.  I enjoyed the grown up slant (Alice returning to Wonderland, now an adult), but there were definitely parts that were a little melodramatic. 

All in a all though, a good date.  Maybe there'll be a second. 

In the meantime, need to re-read the books!

*Actually, a lot of the inspired-by-Alice collections from various designers have been pretty nice (hm... but wearable?)

Blood and Ink

Is that a kabasa you're hiding?

- Over-the-shoulder-read of Erik's facebook friend

Opened the Erik's door to sounds of yelling. I was late (more later), but had walked in for the last 30 minutes of Inkheart - Steph was exasperated: Why are the the fictional-fictional characters more on the ball than the fictional-real characters?!

After a quick pause and run through of the-plot-thus-far, I thought I understood what was going on... but there did seem to be a lot of logical inconsistencies going on.  It looked interesting though - Maybe I should read the book?  What it did have going for it (in the last 30 minutes): A very funny Helen Mirren, and great looking costumes.

So, yes, I was late.  Silly me had thought I'd be able to donate blood and still make Movie Night in time.  It's been done before, but this time after waiting an hour to get into a chair (the longest I've waited without an appointment), my body decided it didn't want to cooperate (you'd think it would just give in after 29 other times) - I spent 20 minutes hooked up (the maximum), when the nurse pulled the needle (still not a full bag, but enough for it be useful). 

Still, it was somewhat an educational visit:

1. Make an appointment! 
2. Cookies are still delicious even after a frustrating donation.
3. Before I go to China (yes, really I am going) I should try to pack in some more donations (Guangdong is a malaria risk and there'll be a ineligible period of 6 months after I return). 
4. I should maybe think twice before going to Mexico or South America (chagas is scary).

A Bit of Quiet

Wow, it's all over.  No more dance... (for this term). 

Without it, the weekend seemed almost eerily quiet.  Celina and Kevin came for a short visit, and I got a mangled / short review of Celina's trip to China (yay for acrobats, nay for traffic jams).  Picked up groceries with Mom.  Did quite a bit of cooking with Paul.  (Well, quite a bit for me - two dinners in two nights.)  And a little bit of reading (Hitchhiker update: Page 128!). 

Quiet can be so nice. 

House Hippo and Coconut are vigilant (mostly), but the bunnies are still multiplying...

All THAT and Then Some

plus _Feathers, Fringe, and a Hint of Lace_

A little while back, Paul played for me an episode of "The Unbelievable Truth" where one contestant claimed:

... Passersby panicked at the sight and ran in terror. Several women fainted, children screamed, dogs yelped, and an errand boy’s arm was broken when he was trampled by the mob...  Hetherington was hauled into court for wearing "a tall structure having a shining luster calculated to frighten timid people." 

What were they talking about?  Well of course: The top hat!  While apocryphal, it certainly is fun to repeat. (Exact quote taken from http://strix.org.uk/posts/top-hats-frightening-to-timid-people) 

Paul was extremely dapper in his borrowed top hat.  No one was hurt or frightened as I could tell - though I certainly looked extra short next to him! 

Darren, Beth, Ken, and Giselle were at our table along with a few other familiar faces (but I couldn't remember their names). 

Dinner was delicious, and I probably could have eaten more, except for nerves.  Paul helped with what I couldn't finish and dutifully shared desserts. 

(Left: Creme brulee)

(Right: Chocolate cherry cheesecake)

After the first waltz, the Formation team rushed to the dressing rooms to get ready. 

Meanwhile, people danced. 

And then, we performed! 
(Video from Olena's camera - Perfomance for the first 3:28 minutes - far from flawless [ack! the jive portion], but fabulously fun.) 

Roses and speeches followed with TA awards. Don picked up "Most Congenial", while Dan B ("Medium Dan") won "Most Improved".  Neither of which were surprises.  

After many photos - it was finally time to relax.  To dance! 

It was a really fun night, I was both keyed up but also exausted.  Now that it's the morning after, I certainly feel relieved to have the performance completed.  Lots of good responses - even from Monica and Na (who I didn't know would be there). 

Now that it's no longer a surprise, I can finally post the "Behind the Scenes" for all the work that went into the performance.  Here it is: Charleston Butterfly. 

Oh, for those who loved the song, it's Parov Stelar's Charleston Butterfly. 

April Flurries

Only a week ago there were highs of 17 degrees during the day.  Yesterday: Rain, snow, and gusting winds up to 90 km/h.  If you're like me, 90 km/h winds are difficult to imagine.  The reality of it was, while trying to get to the bus stop, I had to turn around and walk backwards against the wind (else, be knocked over since my body doesn't bend the other way [that much]).

Top Hat and Tails is tonight!  Hm... didn't we have a storm the last big UADC event?  Inconvenient, but at least understandable (that was December!).  Ballgowns and snowboots, I guess, are just part of Edmonton chic.  Fingers crossed for a good performance tonight.  O.k. back to the programme: First hair, then dress rehearsal... eek!

Bye-Bye, Brucie

Simon: What is this? Could only afford half a jacket?
What I should have said: I don’t need a full length jacket because I’m so hot.

There are still a couple of days to Year End, probably the worst time for people to be leaving... But, Simon Brucie is going back home: Leicester ("Lester"), UK. 

We, Lidia, Wendy, Lorena, TipTip, and I - also known as his favourite people - along with his girlfriend and Paul, had a mini-farewell lunch today at a Chinese restaurant nearby.  A rather strange choice in my mind, but it's what he wanted.  We ate "Chinese" food (not as bad as the old stand-by, Pearl Jade) and chatted about future plans. 

Our office couldn't offer him a permanent position despite being one of our brightest temp staff, and us having quite a few vacancies... And I know he wouldn't have wanted to stay with us permanently (he studied Phys Ed, and doesn't like Edmonton's cold).  Lidia, however, still hopes his Permanent Residency goes through soon then at least he'll likely be back in the city with the potential to temp with us again. 

Simon doesn't visit me as much as he did when he first started (close to 11 months ago) for answers or sweets, but I could always count on him if I needed some verification of something Paul did / said / expressed that seemed ridiculous, but was probably just British.  And it was sad that he couldn't stay when he wanted to. 

Back at the office - a little parting gift: He passed me his working stapler. 

Long Weekend

The weekend didn't slow down. 

Sunday:  My wind-up alarm clock died (given into my over enthusiastic winding?).  I wanted to take it apart, but there's so much other stuff to do.  Picked up groceries with Mom - a straight ahead, no strategem food run. Then it was the Formation dress rehearsal.  (Yikes! Less than a week to go!)  Then at some point I went to sleep, fitfully (I think I need hear the ticking clock).

Monday: Met up with Paul and went over to Erik's to take advantage of the bread machine check on it, while he's away on vacation.  On our way back from Head Case (a fun visit where we found fascinators are not for Paul) we saw this:

Watched Amelie and got teary in all the right places. And we ate another bunny...

At some other point, I go to sleep.  I know it happened, but still very, very tired. 

Year End doesn't help. 

A Visit to the Farm and the Room At The Top

Paul reminded me to have my camera for the weekend.  I reminded myself to charge the batteries for the camera.  Still, the photo count was low for yesterday because charged batteries are not very useful when forgotten in the charger.  Dang. 

To conserve the limited battery power, decided not to take the camera on our impromptu afternoon walk.  But it was a shame: Paul took me to the University Farm and it was beautiful.  The sky would cloud over only to be swept clean and become mottled again in minutes. The wind also whipped the dry grasses around, making me think of Van Gogh's Wheatfield with Crows - of course, with no actual wheat in sight (there wasn't anything really growing in the garden part yet).  It was strange to realise there were no people around, yet just on the other side of a small fence of trees was a busy road.  We had to ourselves a little pocket of quiet in the middle of city.   

Then we decided to visit something almost completely opposite: Southgate Mall.  On the way there we made a small detour to play in a school playground.  The camera would have been really nice here too. 

However, Paul's big planned suprirse for me and my camera was for dinner.  We rushed back home, dressed up, got in the car, and he directed me downtown.  Though I had an itch as to where we were going, it was still pretty exciting when we finally arrived: We had reservations for La Ronde! 

"What is a loin?"

The menu was pretty fancy, and as usual it took a long time for me to make a decision.  It didn't seem unjustified this time, just look at the view! 

I never gave much thought to how this turning restaurant worked, but now I know: The tables are set on a rotating track, while the elevator, kitchen, bar, and washroom were all in the stationary core.  (More than once I walked around the entire track - what happens when one doesn't quite realise how far one's table has moved when one went to the washroom.)

Paul made our reservation so that I would be able to catch the sunset.  The same buildings shimmered in the orangey light (on our second time around), and looked completely different in the dark. 

 

The food was tasty.  (Easter) Rabbit loin appetizer (left), was followed by entrees (right - his: a fancy steak, mine: a Mexican / American fusion dish with "Johnny Cakes"). 

 

I took my eyes away from the windows to eat.  When I looked up again, it seemed to me that a lot of Edmonton downtown looked alike - Paul put me straight: It's the same street.  I should have known that there wouldn't be that big of change from moment to moment (it takes 90 minutes to make a full rotation) but really, the same street?  (Below).  It is rather a long one...

We watched an older couple dance to the two piece band before making their exit, and a whole new crop of people in fancy clothes come in as it got later (birthday celebration?  prom night?). 

(Above: Purple carets = Muttart Conservatory)

I stretched out our stay, eating the cherry cheesecake dessert slowly, and even managed to make the complementary chocolate last.  It was a lovely evening to cap off pretty nice day - I sure felt spoiled. 

Thank you, Bou!