Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!

Happy Anniversary to Germany on this, the 20th anniversary of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.

These were courageous words spoken by then President Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Not even Reagan's own aides wanted him to utter that particular line, yet he did! Discussing the dismantling of the wall and the fall of communism, Reagan's biographer quotes Mikhail Gorbachev as saying, "I don't know if what happened would have happened if Reagan had not been there."

I remember the era and how fearful everyone was to elect Reagan, thinking for sure that he would cause nuclear holocaust. I wrote the president myself with my own concerns (I was about 16 at that time of writing that letter) as one of my brothers signed up for the Air Force during that time and was sent to West Germany, along with his young family, to serve his country and protect our allies as a Russian Linguist.

A small handful of friends and I got to visit Berlin, including East Berlin one weekend in the summer of 1984, while doing mission work there. My experiences can in no way be compared to those who lived through the time of occupation of parts of Eastern Europe by the Soviet Union. I am, however, very thankful to have been able to get to know a few people who lived that life, had family behind that wall. I am thankful to have been able to see some of Eastern Europe and East Berlin for myself. To witness a socialist holiday complete with goose-stepping soldiers and tanks, etc. It was a life-changing experience for this very-blessed American, then a college student seeking to live life with greater purpose.

Our very-long day of walking miles upon miles of exploring in East Berlin, without food until about ten at night when we finally found one of the few small taverns or restaurants in the city. Because it was Stalin's or Lenin's day, what services the city did have available were mostly closed. Lines of people wrapped around the one restaurant we saw after lunchtime, so we'd walk on to the next possible restaurant which we would not ever find.

We made it to Checkpoint Charlie in the late afternoon, with hopes of getting back into West Berlin through Checkpoint Charlie. We were so happy, thinking we could finally get something to eat just across the way! But it was not possible for us to do that.

The East German guards informed us that we could not under any circumstances re-enter the West through Checkpoint Charlie, because we had entered the city by train on another side of the city. As I look at the map of the city divided by the wall and the various checkpoints, we must have come in at Checkpoint Bravo, the only other checkpoint possible for non-Germans.

We drove from West Germany to an appartment of some church members in W. Berlin, but took a train in from West to East Berlin, from what I remember. We were told by our missionary friend that if we took cameras, there was a good chance that the guards would take our film on the way in or out, when they checked us in and out. How I wish I had photos of that weekend.

At that point, trying not to be discouraged, we bolstered ourselves and began the walk back to the other side of the city, hoping and praying for a place, any place, to eat. I cannot remember if and how we were able to find water or something to drink along the way. Convenience shops or kiosks that one would see in free Europe were pretty much non-existent. We probably found juice or some such thing somewhere, because we did spend our money. It was required of us by the guards that we convert a certain amount of Deutsch marks to East German Marks upon entering East Germany, and we were not supposed to take any of those marks out of the East with us when we left.

Sometime after dark, and I do not remember how many hours or miles, we finally found a small, hole-in-the-wall mom and pop place to eat. We were thankful when we were finally seated at a table. It took 45 minutes to an hour to be given a menu. It took up to another hour to be waited on. It was not because we were Americans, I truly believe. We were dressed as German as possible (though definitely Western) and we spoke in German. This place was simply almost out of food.

There were five dishes listed on the menu, but only two were still available. My team and I rallied each others' spirits my making funny references to things such as "now they're going to the barn to slaughter the bull for dinner," etc. I began writing a postcard to my parents while we continued to wait. Another hour after our order was taken, our food finally arrived; a small piece of meat, green peas, and boiled potatoes. It was one of the best meals I have had, simply because of need.

At some point during that weekend, we were able to visit the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, and spend time pouring somberly over the stories and artifacts of those who escaped or died trying to escape from East to West.

This was truly one of the top ten best times of my education. I came away from that experience more grateful for my blessings, and prompted me (still prompts me) to mourn the greed, waste, and indifference that I saw then and still see today. I am not perfect by any stretch in trying to live a less commercial lifestyle and to appreciate the simple things, but this helped to take stock of my life and my values and to live what I believe without apology or shame. I am not anti-capitalist, but, I am a fan of buying what you can afford or need, not being so indulgent.

This post is a perfect reminder of the attitude of gratitude that we should have as we soon celebrate Veterans Day, toward our military~our brothers, uncles, granfathers, sons, sisters, grandmothers, aunts, etc., who have served to protect us and our country through in the armed forces. We owe them more than we can give, and often, simply thanking them can really encourage them.

I know of no better way to leave you thinking about and pondering our blessings, and being thankful to God for them, and our military who have worked and fought to serve and protect us.


Chao for now,

Javamom

Do not be alarmed : -)

I was rifling through old photo files today, whilst choosing photographs for various contests, and found this photo of me with our favorite aunt. She was a national Girl Scout leadership trainer for decades upon decades, and she and Uncle Wally are a lot of fun to be around. We'll go on nature walks with them, any day!

I think this was the summer of 2003. We were exploring all over, including Native American cliff dwellings. This ponderosa pine was on the grounds surrounding the park.

The ponderosa pine smells like strawberry Nutri-grain bars. I am not kidding. We are seeing how large the tree is, and Aunt Sue was teaching me about its lovely smell at the same time.

Oh how I wish we could go visit them in the mountains of New Mexico again this summer!


Javamom ;-)

Going "Home" for a reunion pt. 1

Old Bible class bench that was old when we first moved into this town back in the summer of 1974. I believe a lot of notes were passed on these benches :-)

What does it mean to go "home" when you moved around a lot as a child? This past weekend, we got to go to one of my childhood homes in Missouri, even though the last house we lived in right beside the church building had to be torn down, it was so old and damaged. It was very strange not to see the old house and the new (at the time) two-car garage sitting on the property. Thankfully, I had been warned that it was gone ahead of time.



This is where our house once stood! It was a white, hundred-year-old, two-story house with a little balcony (sans railing however) out in front of my bedroom window on the second floor. Behind me (north) is a large hill that goes down to a major, four-lane divided highway. This being a small town, however, it does not see the traffic that I am used to driving in in our current city. So, the traffic noise was not that bad my sophomore through senior years when we lived there. Our church was growing so much that we had outgrown our small building in town, so we built this one on eight acres, next to an old farmhouse that we got to live in. It had a beautiful banister, was refurbished before we moved in, and Mom had it painted mostly blue on the inside! Upstairs, my room was peach and white, and it was lovely. This view (perhaps a little more to the left, though) was my favorite, as it overlooked the two ponds out back. I had north, east, and south-facing windows. This was basically my view of the church building, as well. The trees were smaller, of course.

Part of our garage would have been in this shot, the propane tank, as well.


Dad and one of my brothers

Greg lived in the house for his senior year. In this shot, they are standing right about where the kitchen table and bay window was, sipping their coffee. Hubby and one of our sons threw a football in our living room and entry way. LOL. I wish I had stopped what I was doing to take pictures of THAT. I was too busy catching up with friends, though. Maybe next time. I wasn't sure that there would be a next time. But everyone agreed that we need to do this again within the next five years.


Another of my brothers is leading singing in this shot. All the guys from our old youth group (circa 1977-1982) led Bible class, preached, prayed, or served at the communion table. My hubby got to be an honorary yg member and help out with these duties, as well. We went an hour overtime, but no one seemed to mind. They handled it well, if they did!




It was special to reconnect with old friends. We did a lot of singing on both Saturday and Sunday.


You can barely spot it, but behind my friend and my brother is a frappuccino bottle. I believe Jo is now hooked on these. I made sure she tried some and bought her her own bottle. She really likes Vanilla, so watch out, Papaw V! She's going to be asking for these regularly :-).

Sunday potluck lunch, filled with more catching up






The old neighborhood isn't quite complete without the old friends there sharing in the memories and reconnecting again.

Going home is as simple as going anywhere that old friends gather, friends who share many memories: educational, silly, fun, crazy, difficult, and now memories of togetherness once more. What made this "going home" more special was spending some time in the comfortable old town with these friends once again.

sunset view that is very similar to the one I used to have from my old house


Wishing you all a summer of safe travels and happy reunions,

Javamom

Moving Day for our Oldest

Moving Day has come and gone; just wanted to share a few photos!



J's four instruments and longboard

attaching a bike rack


I can't believe it all fit in his little car!

Hasta luego, mi hijo...

Preparing for a whirlwind trip

Amidst my week of various Spanish classes, I am preparing the family for a whirlwind trip to my high school Alma Mater for its 25th Class reunion. Whew and oh-my-goodness! To which my Calvinist friends would be quick to say, "But there is *no* goodness in you!" with a huge grin. Snicker, snicker. Yes. I know.

BUT it is really hard to believe that my 25th high school class reunion has arrived! I truly hope some of my best hs friends are going to make it! Some I have not seen since 1982. Others I have not seen since 1987. I'd love to hug their necks and catch up with them. So please forgive me for the walk down memory lane, which could come across as blatant bragging. It was simply a very full but also a tremendously fun year. I will try to find my old yearbook and post scans from it. I recently found one of my Prom pictures, even. THAT should be enlightening!


In my Senior Year in High School I was:

Spanish Club President, studying my fourth year of Spanish. The exchange student at our school that year became my sister-from-Mexico City. My best friend in this town was a Puerto Rican national. Spanish students (myself included) competed at state and I came home with three medals for sight-reading, poetry memorization, and prose reading in Spanish. (two gold, one bronze)

Student ex-officio member of the city's Library Board (the monthly meetings were so exciting, let me tell you!) This incredible old library with its original creeking, wooden floors, must be the atmosphere that prepared me for my interest in vintage book repair and conservation that I just began studying in 2001 or 2002.

Very involved with music: voted Best all-around musician (I think there must have been a shortage of musicians in our little town!). I played a couple of instruments in the band during marching season and concert season. We competed at state level and our wind symphony got a 1. I was in music theory and music appreciation all year, as well. Learning to play the bassoon really is one of my favorite accomplishments! I was able to carry it into my college years, until I got too busy there to keep it up.

Vocally, I gained a lot of confidence in our music group by my senior year and did a couple of solos, but the most fun we had was traveling and competing as a group and singing at Silver Dollar City in Branson and World's of Fun in Kansas City! Our group's versatility was amazing to me. That same year, we also competed at state level sight-reading, singing girls trios and a Capella madrigals. Woo and also hoo! We got a lot of 1's, I remember.

I was also a Thespian...or is it "once a Thespian, always a Thespian?" Whatever the case, I have long since lost my official card. So while I might still be an official member, I am not the card-carrying kind. Heh heh. Offers of recruitment to our church drama team were just made to me in the last week...does that count?? I must still be official, somewhere. It is probably the one avenue I am pursuing the least of all I was doing then.

I loved writing and art history and music appreciation. I studied Psychology and Social Work with the goal of pursuing it in college.

I "lettered" in many of the above things (except maybe the library board membership, LOL). That was important to some of us, since sports were so important at our school, and other venues (in which I was more involved ;) competed with that high school status hierarchy scale, or so it seemed. It turned out to be a VERY good year, anyway.

And now I return along with other friends and school mates, to see how well we have all aged :-0.

'Tis funny that I am still heavily involved with Spanish, though teaching now, not just learning (which always happens, since I'm not with native speakers every day like I was back in high school).
I still love music and am co-teaching the Junior High performance Ensemble class, of which our youngest son is a big part (Hey, he also loves improv!)

My most recent CD purchase reflects two of my then and now interests: Gloria Estefan's "Noventa Millas," and album of 'música Cubana tradicional.'

We are regulars to the symphony and all my kids play several stringed instruments, along with their father who also builds stringed instruments. He has a "luthiers" club that meets once a week, where he is now teaching some of his friends and Real Chile Men (t) the craft. The man writes me poetry and music. Does it get much better than that, I ask you??

As for old library books: I now restore and conserve them!

I still love writing, so I blog when I am able. Still appreciate Art History but have added photography to my list of joys, with two official Art gallery showings under my belt; one in Yucatan, Mexico, and one here closer to home. I did pursue Psychology in college but burned out on it 3.5 years into it. I DO use it *and* counseling, now that we have three (almost four) teens (and their plethora of friends). The Lord wastes nothing. The more common way to say this is: The Lord is sovereign.

See, I still love the things I used to love, and the Lord blessed me to bring me full circle and make those things a big part of my adult life. I had a decent long and simple singing career which I've partially set aside for now, since our teens are beginning to do a similar thing with their (I should say "God's") own Folksy - Indie twist to it! I just love watching them.

The one thing I do much better as an adult than I ever did in school is reading and book clubs. I was not a reader in school by most standards b/c of various reading issues from early childhood.
I could put up with non-fiction somewhat, but that is pretty much it. Finding C. S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer in college, then reading all these years (more than 15) of Home schooling helped me make up for that weakness and the loss of time not having read the classics, historical fiction or biographies.

But I'll close my story here. I do look forward to seeing old friends. I hope many of them return. I'll have my camera ready.

Our 7-ish hour road trip should be an adventure. There are some neat historic things to see in this town to show the family, not to mention the three houses in which my family lived while we were there from my fifth to my twelfth grade years. There is a lot to pack into a very short weekend.

Pray for safe travels for all, and I'll see some of you next week!

Boomer Sooner!

And

Go, Cowboys!

Javamom

End of summer update

Well, we at the Booksnkaffehaus find ourselves squeezing the last bit of life out of summer.

Some of the things we've been doing this week:


Our oldest has been getting back into our time zone and into his usual routine of work, band gigs, and now is having to reconsider his level of involvement in high school youth group. He is a high school graduate, now, applying to a local community college so that he can seek scholarships as a transfer student within two years to a bigger college or university in his field of photojournalism, and political science, theory or economics.

Here are some of the small souvenirs he brought home from the UK for the school room:
The miniature phone booth and postal tower are pencil sharpeners. Aren't they cute? I love red accessories, and these happen to work very well.



He has also been getting his new-to-him car (below) inspected and licensed this week.




Our middle two, ages 16 and 14, are gearing up for classes. Dd's World views of the Western World (year II) class begins in one week, and she has homework to do before class begins. She has been working a lot lately, and has to fit it in between work schedules. She is learning how to juggle.


14 yo son has been keeping up with our lawn work and trying to gear himself up for high school algebra.

Youngest son is traveling to Minnesota with friends for about two weeks. This is the longest he has ever been away from us. He is twelve. He probably remembers very little math at this point in the summer, but his interest in reading about history has jumped exponentially this week. Motivation is halfway to victory in any subject!

I'm preparing for Spanish classes, some at co-op and some from home. I'll be teaching a younger age group twice a month, two Junior High groups, and two senior high groups.
The group from home will have two students, one of them, my own.

I'm using Ven Conmigo! for high school Spanish and a variety of other resources for the Jr. High and younger groups.

I'll also be teaching a book club class titled "From Page to Knight," and as you can tell by the title, we will be reading and discussing/narrating two books that take place in the middle ages.

My Charlotte Mason book club is still in full swing, meeting once a month and discussing CM's original writings.

Hubby has one more trip coming up with his guy friends to get New Mexico Green Chile. This always happens just after school gets underway, but he only misses one or two schooldays.

My 25th high school class reunion is on the third weekend in September...a most inconvenient time for a road trip. Would that they would have considered the wisdom of having it in the summer when more folks could plan summer vacations around the reunion parties. It's going to be hard to miss Friday co-op class and for dh to miss another day of classes. I don't know if we'll be going or not. It's barely worth it, to see a couple of my old best friends. But that's about it.

The kitties continue to play and lounge around. What else is new.

Off to do some more planning!

He's home!

NOTE to the Final family, if you are reading this!

We deeply appreciate your hospitality toward J during the England leg of his trip. It is such a tremendous blessing that the Lord connected your lives this summer. He speaks very highly of you all and of your cooking!! We are eternally grateful for all that you did for him. I hope we can meet someday this side of Heaven. If you or your kiddos are ever in Texas, you know whom to call!

Siblings back together again.


Andrewcles gave J the biggest, longest hug ever, that my in-laws captured the photo--I was not quick enough. It was more like an infield tackle, actually!

Photos from Scotland

The village of Largs



Giant (I say!) rhubarb



These are pictures from the climb our son took that I posted about several days back. These cliffs are the ones he free climbed barefooted :-).

They are gorgeous, aren't they?




Buildings in Edinburgh, just before a bad storm

Sparsebeard is home!

Home from the Solar Car Challenge!

He took these shots on his camera phone ~ sunset over Lake Erie

Photos from camp in Scotland

Our dd noted how J's face has changed. He is looking more like my brothers and a nephew in the photo above. Notice the tartan scarf, lol.







He e-mailed earlier (our time) and said:

"Today I climbed the prettiest set of bouldered foothills and freeclimbed a series of sheer cliffs and rock faces (barefoot). I sat at the top of a thousand-foot peak overlooking the sea and a vast expanse of farmland, and remembered that this is the most ideal 'vacation' a boy could ask for. I ran around and played with a park ranger's dog, took pictures, hung my feet over the edge of a cliff and yelled at the clouds like a madman. It was fantastic. I felt so accomplished when I got to the top. Before I climbed I kept thinking, 'if I don't do this, I am not a man. Am I a man? Yes. Then why am I stiting here? So then I did it. It was fantastic.'"

Yes, adventuring is the right word for it!

Javamom

Scotland update

The Royal Mile and John Knox house

This early morning I find myself with a bit of insomnia. I have decluttered rooms and swept down cobwebs both inside and out for days, now. I am beginning to slow down, yet I still need to cull through my wardrobe.

On to the Scotland news:

Dear son is adventuring now. He found himself a youth hostel in the heart of Edinburgh to stay in this week. He visited with the 70 yo missionary at his church in Paisley, just outside of Glasgow. He is beginning to understand the "alright-ness" of old wine in old wineskins vs. the equally valid new wine in new wineskins, and is able to appreciate the beauty and strengths of both. This is one thing that I have prayed for.

He has gotten hooked on bicycling (yes!) as he had the chance to take a ten or twelve mile short tour last week of the Isle of Cumbrae, in the Firth of Clyde off the coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. Reminds me of my bicycle tour of Heidelberg, Germany in 1984 by a friend who lived there and attended a tiny branch of Pepperdine U. J, so very much like it was for his father and me, wants to buy a bike rack for his car when he returns home, and wants to bicycle to work as much as possible.

He says of this day trip:

"...you and dad would have died. It was SO, SO pretty. at one point riding back into town a marching band of bagpipers crossed the street in front of us playing a Scottish tune! it was breathtaking. I got a video of them doing that, and then video of them playing Amazing Grace. SO cool."

Wrapping up camp last weekend was emotional for J. He said he really invested, got hurt, was listened to, stayed up all night, and was able to lead some kids to Christ. He also said it was so worth it. He's made new friends, some of whom he is touring with here and there about Edinburgh and London.

Upon getting settled in at his youth hostel then meeting up with his friends he writes:

"We went over to Edinburgh castle, and visited some other crazy places. This Christian guy attacked us and told us that we needed to be soul-winners, and he asked me what the significance of "Jesus+Nothing" meant. He said that tracts were the secret to living a moral life. But it was a really neat thing, because Craig and I stood up to him and told him we thought he was wrong in grabbing people and yelling in their faces. Incidentally, the man is from Texas."

Prayers for his continued safety and goodwill are very welcome!

Javamom

surprise visit

This is what Dread Pirate Sparsebeard is involved with these days. Today, he surprised me by coming home for a few hours before the team leaves for their long journey toward two great lakes and New York State. The cars are looking better each year! (click to enlarge)
Hubster is seated beside the guy in the red shirt.

Sparsebeard had to bring home a student who was not doing well, so he called from the school to inform me of his whereabouts :-). This is one of the "judge-mobiles" as I call it.



I wish our oldest son could have gone on this trip again, as he has in years past helping with photography and videography. BUT I am confident that Scotland is exactly where he is supposed to be this summer!

Today's Scotland update

...plus a few memories that his adventures bring to my mind.

Our dear boy (who is not a boy anymore) e-mailed his update today. Things seem to be smoothing out at camp for him, and he is excited about the teen camp starting today. He is in charge of his own cabin of three boys and asks that we be praying for them--Ian, Euan, and Jack--as they settle in together and get to know each other.

I asked him how the food is and he replied, "The food is funny, but some of it is good :-)." His tale comes on the heals of my long lunch and cappuccino with Queen Shenaynay from the Beehive Clan. What a lovely time we had while we shared stories. She asked about J and then told me about her first introduction to the food in Scotland when her family traveled there last year. She shared about their long flight with no sleep, a feverish child, and how the cold weather when they arrived just added to the difficulty of their first hours there. Food items in the first shop she and her family visited in Scotland were unrecognizable, especially by the packaging.

That reminded me of my first trip to live in Germany for the summer of '83. The new and different food was interesting. Sometimes it was really delicious - Some favorites were hafer flocken, muesli, and vollkorn bread. German and Swiss butter, cheese, and yogurts were (and still are) fantastic! Other times we ate things that were not very healthy or filling, so the body had to get used to the new cuisine and meal routine, for example, leberwurst for a type of "light" open-face sandwich for dinner. Their main meal is lunch, and of course, I was used to big suppers. When I'd visit a bakery, general store or shop, I had to learn what was in all that packaging, which was either a lot or just a little different from the products here in the states. One snack example: a Milky Way and a Mars bar were in fact just the opposite of each other in Germany in the 80's.

Thankfully, the German family that I lived with introduced me to some really good products and would keep their tiny fridge stocked with coffee yogurt and other yummy things I'd never had before but came to love. About three weeks into my first summer I had a vision (LOL for lack of a better term). While resting with our mission team up at a gorgeous and remote campground eating Nutella on Kaiser rolls, or Nutella on bananas with peanut butter that a German church member had gotten from an American military family just for us, a very overwhelming feeling came over me.

I was just homesick for Mom's homemade biscuits and gravy. It was such a strong wave of emotion, enhanced by a dreary, rainy day, that I wrote a long letter home. It was a wave of "culture shock" that I'd been ignoring, I suppose. Things got better after that, but I still remember desiring biscuits...fluffy American biscuits-complete-with-bacon-gravy (don'tchaknow!). It was so clear in my heart and mind that I almost couldn't stand it. I went for a long walk after that among the hills, where I could view all the distant, tiny villages from afar, as the clouds moved away and the sun burned through.

The feeling passed on and I never had to pray about and deal with such a strong reaction to the cuisine (while in another country) again after that point that summer - and only once the summer after that (in what used to be East Berlin, a story of endurance for another time!!). I was able to completely enjoy the interesting qualities of flavors and meals of international cuisine of all sorts after that. In fact, I fell madly for Greek food that year, and great coffee and cheeses that I'd never heard of before.

Well, there you have it, another flashback from my young adult life, as I now hear of my own child experiencing some of the same challenges and adventures!

Javamom

Update from Scotland~Son already home sick

Maybe sooner is better than three weeks from now? He can get it out of the way and be able to enjoy his time better...Last time he was out of the country, he was on a photography and humanitarian trip with me along. Having a family member or good friend along makes being gone from home (especially internationally) a lot easier.

Pray that he is able to adapt and let the little cultural or small wrong things be easily learned and gotten over, and that others are able to give grace! He was asked to help write a camp volunteers manual when he gets back to the states. I told him to write things down as he goes, so that he can spare someone else all the "little things" that he wrote about in his e-mail to us today.

J writes:

"I just wanted to let you all know

that both bags arrived safely, and

all is going splendidly. I keep getting

in trouble for little things that I don't know

about before I do them, but aside from that

everything is perfect. Thanks for your prayers

and your splendidness. I miss you all very very

much and I'm ready to come home, now. See

you soon.

The weather is amazing. Today, we

went horseback riding. It was gross and boring,

but we made it fun I suppose. We played

a wicked game of capture the flag, and everybody

spends a lot of time making fun of "the American",

and it is pretty funny. So far all the kids are good at

imitating my Texas accent, which is amusing."

Thanks for continuing to keep J in your prayers!

Javamom

News from Scotland

Word is that J awoke this morning to find that one of his two bags arrived in Glasgow. He was happy to have another change of clothes :-).

He writes,

"this huge feeling of dread that i did have (and was causing me to lose perspective) has now turned to relief, so that's good. i'm thinking now about how it felt like i was relying more on my luggage than i was on the Lord... i'm just really happy to be wearing my own clothes and deodorant. there's something about being in a foreign country and forgetting how you used to smell. ugh."

Camp officially starts today. J will work with Junior High boys the first week, and is in charge of worship, horseback riding (!) and sword fighting! Is that not a guy's idea of fun? Sword fighting on the family land of William Wallace. Jolly good sport, that!

Thank you for prayers and kind words on his and our behalf!

Javamom

Kids' band on the Fourth

Dear Daughter on the bass :-)





Our oldest son didn't get to join in the fun as he was having his own adventures on the way to London and Glasgow...more on that, later! Pray that he gets his luggage today. A bag and a backpack got held up for inspections in London. Security is a little hyper over there...but understandably so.

Maybe they blew up his granola bars for being too suspicious!! He did not dress up for the flight in the least, so who knows what they thought. Maybe they had to check him out since he was not with a group and so as not to look like they were profiling passengers.

~ But I digress ~

Back to the city's celebration, it was a nice event with a variety of local talent. We left before dark to avoid the traffic nightmare. Our daughter spent the evening with her friends and co-workers from another church group, but the rest of us went home to watch fireworks in the neighborhood. We climbed onto the roof for a better view, and got to see the city show, afterall!

Javamom