He was up a little before 6. When I came down a bit later he was watching Pink Panther. Carly got him some bread and apples. She went outside to read and I typed on the couch next to him. He wanted to play Dragonbox Big Numbers with Carly but she was doing laundry. So I read Percy Plays It Safe from Skybrary to him. He then went over to Gramma, who was sitting on one of the chairs used for his fort from last night. He got a stool for her for a table for her tea, then a pillow for under her feet. He told her about the book we just read: “Skybrary…You should try it. There’s lots of books…about good things that happen and bad things…like, there’s a pirate one, so maybe bad things…”
He then said he was one of their cats that they accidentally brought with them. He was Cindy or Iris on and off for the day. He then wanted to play with the guitar and so I went upstairs and we played with that. He brought Gramma up to show her. They then discussed cutting their hair and he said, “Mama is the best hair cutter I’ve ever seen.”
Back downstairs he read a Bob Book to her and then I gave him some iced tea. He likes the idea of iced tea more than the iced tea itself, as he only had a drink and left the rest. He was using the kitchen scale to weigh things when I went up for a shower. When I came down he was sitting next to Gramma, using Voice Memos to record himself singing. He got the kaleidoscope cards out and was playing with them with people. We got ready to head to Apollonia and left at 10:30.
Waze took us on a backroads route, despite having ‘Avoid dirt roads’ turned on, it led us across a few kilometers of dirt roads at the end. It was nice, as it took us past the sculpture area just west of 2 that we’ve always seen from the highway. We liked that, then saw three gazelle in a field to the right of the road. We finally came out right next to Apollonia.
Very busy there. Apparently lots of people have the Election Day off. But we had fun and August did much, much, much better than the first time we took him. A fair amount cooler, too. We saw a kid in a stroller lose a balloon that then floated out over the sea. Then, on the walk north, August really liked the lime kiln and just kept staring and staring at it. We walked to just north of the castle and looked at the siege engines and discussed how they worked, then went to the castle itself. He and Carly sat on a bench area while the rest of us looked around. They were being archeologists and he called her “Archeologist Mama” a few times.
From there we drove over to Cafe Ameli in Nof Yam. We got a green shakshuka, as did my dad, while mom got a toast sandwich with tuna. The shakshukas came with wonderful bread and a salad, so it was just enough food for us. I had a Turkish coffee and Carly and mom got iced lattes. August chose a grapefruit and apple juice, which the woman was reluctant to make at first, but then Carly and I really liked. August was less impressed.
We ate, and we saw some cats. Up to 134. August saw someone and said, “I see someone that looks like Ms. Amelia.” And turned it into a song. He dropped his bread and caught it on the table and said “Good catch” to himself.
We then changed into our long pants and went over to the Sidna Ali Mosque. Mom and Carly used scarves and sweatshirts to cover their heads. We went in and looked around. One man came over and talked to us a bit. I asked him a little about the village that had been here and he pointed in the direction of the houses that still exist but are owned by Jews. I need to work on my interviewing skills, as I think he would have been willing to talk a lot more, and tell us about how the Nakba affected the village.
When August saw gramma with her scarf over her head he told her, “You’re so pretty!” We hadn’t put pants on him, but he wanted them on as well, since we all had on long pants to go in, so I changed him as well.
We went and saw the view from the roof. August played with a grill and a plastic piece he found up there. We then left before 3.
Back in the car he told me “Hey Ryan, I want the shortest way.”
At home he did stop motion with Carly. They made a video, then added to the Big Fish one. I made a mushroom and broccoli quiche and mom helped. Carly made a mango smoothie and August and I drank ours as we watched the Apple event. Lana del Rey performed on it, and as August listened he said, “The iPad said stupid!” The word was actually ‘stoop’, and that became the word of the day.
He then just cuddled with grampa for quite awhile. That was very cool to see. To keep Gramma from moving her chair at the table he put something behind it. This turned into a big game where he made a big mess of stuff on the floor.
I got the quiche out. It was finished, but kind of soft. I had already dished up August’s, so while I put the rest of it back in, he ate most of a big piece. The rest of us ate, and he played Khan Kids or World School while we ate.
He then wanted to go outside with the flashlights. And he had me get Cheerios as well. He invited Grampa out with us. As we went he asked, “Hey, Grampa. How much times in your life have you gone to the doctor?” We all sat out on the bench together. I have no idea where he got the idea, but he asked me, “Could I have an app on my iPad so I can find news and find new words of the day?”
We went in at 6:50 and I put News-O-Matic on his iPad. We watched a video about making a Halloween costume for a dog, then watched the video and read part of the article about a wind and ocean current satellite that was launched. But mainly we looked at the map that went along with it. We discussed how Grampa has now almost been around the entire world, as he had gone as far west as the Straight of Hormuz when in the Navy.
He got a Jolly Rancher as his Halloween treat for today. He said, “Good. Crunchy. Hard.” But then decided it was too sticky so I got the rest. Carly put cream on him, as the back of his left hand has gotten really dry, and now the top of his thighs and the back of his knees as well were looking dry. We also skipped a bath because of it tonight. Anyway, there was a lot of screaming over a little cream.
He didn’t want to go downstairs to say good night, so I said it for hm, then I went for a run. He went to sleep with Carly, and I think he was asleep around 8.
Reading to Gramma:
Seige weapons at Apollonia:
Rocks down the cistern at Apollonia:
Putting Gramma and Grampa to sleep:
His big mess:
His shadows song:
His AAA song:
Reading to Gramma and Grampa:
Entranced by the cistern
Playing with sticks while we waited for food
Lunch
At the mosque
Cuddling with Grampa
His mess
On the swing again
Reading to Gramma and Grampa