Helenka, Queen of Outer Space

Well, being on a bus for sheer hours (return trip) and then plunked down in a theatre seat for a play would do that. No wonder I'm drinking a raspberry lemonade and bourbon (not quite the smoky bourbon peach lemonade that Montana's serves, but it's … booze!).

Back to the beginning. I escaped my stupid alarm by waking up at 5:58. Eek! Only two hours before church-John was to show up. Actually, he woke up really early and showed up at 7:30. I couldn't find my water bottle (I think I heard a thump in the middle of the night), so left without. But he stopped at a convenience store and got me one. We were early at the blind centre but getting us on a bus was like herding cats.

We had an absolute scream of a Polish driver who said he'd flown from Poland last night because the company had no drivers who could take us to Stratford. When he'd flown back, he "took" (not "stole") the Autopilot, so we could get to our destination while he served cocktails and suggested we dance on the terrace! He also played music softly, from classical to jazz to tango - lots of styles.

When we arrived at the theatre, I was topped up on Robax so could actually participate in the touch tour. I loved feeling the silks and fine wools, etc. of the clothes, or admiring the shoes, etc. We jad a filling lunch (turkey bacon club, large cookie, apple, water). I ate the sandwich and saved everything else. I'd had no idea that one of my fave actors was the male lead (Geraint Wyn Davies) so bemoaned our terrible seats (Row V) until it was announced his understudy would be performing. At that point, I didn't care. Though I could see the stage, I couldn't see a single actor on it. Sigh. But I did enjoy the witty dialogue.

Before the performance, c-J and I wasted time by going into the gift shop. I had him lead me around looking for unusual things. I originally chose a white swan figurine (so symbolic, not only of the Festival but also my years of living in Mimico). However, then I replaced it with a gorgeous snow globe, with a crowned black swan on a lake with silver sparkles! I also bought two hand soap pumps I'll use as shower gels in Papillon and Peacock scents.

After the show, it was time to herd us back onto the bus. By taking the toll highway, we got back to the centre around 7:15, so people could be ready for their transports home. C-J drove me home quickly and helped me indoors. I poured myself the drink and slumped down onto the bed to take pressure off my butt. Because OW. So, I can't wait to get some proper sleep.

I decompressed by watching Jeopardy! and my judge shows, because I'm too zonked to concentrate on my dramas. Until tomorrow, it's just zzzzzzzzzzzzz for me. Final word, I had terrific vision, not that it helped at the theatre, but it's wonderful for writing and reading!

As a matter of fact, I still can. Whoa! My face looks so tired. But I tried a drop of Atropine (the pupil dilator drug) in my minimally-sighted eye and it made a huge difference! I took it before church-John went to park the car, around 1:30 p.m. We met David outside as c-J had his ticket, but Ash was already inside the theatre. So the seats were on the extreme left and row K. Not only did I have the drug-enhancement, I used my monocular … and was able to see actors' heads (if not their faces), even though there was a blurry halo over their heads. But-but-but, I managed and it made everything so much more enjoyable. Mind you, I wouldn't object to seeing it again in better seats. [Working on it.]

Oh, for those unaware of my obsession, we saw the wildly popular "Come From Away", the 9/12 story about the hospitality of a small town in Newfoundland (pronounced Newfinland). When we left the theatre (after I purchased a souvenir program and a large fridge magnet which was a Canadian maple leaf with the show's logo superimposed in the centre), there were tons of tour buses parked outside the theatre. Everyone told me where they were from. I laughed when I saw "New York".

I had already decided I wanted to have Italian, so we went to the chain restaurant next door. I ordered lovely pan-fried salmon with fingerling potatoes, and veggies. To start I had a Royal Manhattan. The four of us had a jolly, often hilarious time. I was happy to be driven home - IN THE DAYLIGHT - knowing that I still had hours of light and life ahead of me. Well, perhaps not life as I kept conking out in front of the TV (even with spectacular colours). I managed to barely watch MacGyver and then conked out again.

I think I'd better have some mint lemonade, take my pills (oh, yeah, I guess the muscle relaxant is the real reason I was conking out), and go to bed. My spine is still screaming from too much unsupported (except for a cane) walking. Time to rest, baby.

No, I am not a happy camper. First, I woke up at 6:30 to book my rides for the mall next week. Didn't even try to return to bed. OTOH, I now had proof that even drinking an Iced Capp did nothing to reduce the quality of my sleep. ::pats self approvingly::

But then things began to fall apart. The signal on the computer is ... pathetic. Normally my colours are yellow font on pitch black background. Right now, I'm staring at fuzzy white on a snowy charcoal background. This is Not. Good.

I finally called the wigmaster around 11:40, but he said he was with a client and would return my call in an hour. Twelve hours later(!) and still no call. So I decided to put my request for an appointment in his online form (which was very efficient as I could explain what I was looking for and who'd recommended him). I keep checking my gmail account and no reply. Sigh. I guess I won't be booking any trips first thing tomorrow morning.

I was mostly zonking out in the evening (and have to rewatch tonight's Jeopardy! as I dozed through it. Then I decided to listen to the entire "Come From Away" soundtrack for something uplifting. After laughing and crying through it, I watched tonight's Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon season enders. I'm feeling a little meh about the wedding. Perhaps I'll like it better after a rewatch.

Anyway, I really should head to bed. The fuzziness is aggravating ... infuriating ... bloody ridiculous!

So not, Not, NOT!!!!!!! Alas, I was unable to sleep in until the alarm at 5:30 a.m. Arrgghh. Anyway, I got everything done, was dressed in my azalea, mango, and black top, under my new fall coat at 8:00 a.m. Church-John arrived soon after and we were off on our one-day adventure. Because we're on the cusp of Canadian Thanksgiving, the traffic was very light and we arrived soon after. We had a TV crew for the diversity & disability network trailing our bunch.

We arrived at Stratford in a couple of hours. Too bad the loading and unloading weren't ... logical because it took ages for people to get on and off the bus. Sigh. Plus there was the issue of the guide dogs. I was constantly worried I'd step on the one that kept sticking its head out into the aisle. Sigh.

When we arrived, we were served a picnic lunch. I'd made sure I had a turkey bacon club in my bag and church-John a gourmet egg sandwich, so we could each have two flavours. I swear people around us were amazed we'd done that. There was also a touch tour of costumes and props (swords, wigs) at the end of the lobby but I wasn't moving as I was protecting my miserable spine by sitting in my padded chair.

Things were a little disorganized getting into the theatre, an old building which c-J and I thought had been either an old movie or vaudeville theatre. But I had my headset to receive descriptive audio of "HMS Pinafore" as we were seated in Row R. Sigh. At least I was on the aisle with clear sightlines, though fuzzy view of the stage. It was hard work paying attention to the audio feed and hearing all the dialogue. But at least the music was familiar. The tenor had a lovely voice, so I must look up his stats.

After the end, we staggered onto the bus, relieved we were on our way home. Traffic was decent until we reached the city. Then the driver did some fancy moves that saw the bus end up on the toll highway. Obviously our Pres had made an executive decision that he needed to get us back to the blind centre sooner rather than later, as several people would be being picked up by their ride provider. Even so, we didn't get in until around 7:10 after which c-J still had to retrieve his car. Finally the two bedraggled pups (us) got to my place. So, all is well because I'm home. Ha! Of course not. When I was pulling the car door toward me to close it, I slammed it against my face. Thank goodness, it struck my right cheek (hurt like hell, but at least the boniness will mean no hematoma).

When I got in, I just had to watch tonight's Jeopardy! to see how Austin was doing. He won, even though the competition was tough. I still have more TV taped, but I'd leave it until tomorrow. For dinner, I had chicken noodle soup and finished the end of my White Zinfandel. Now, pills and sleep, please ::she begs the universe::