A Day with Kate

Yesterday Kate and I had an adventure! We needed to go and get copies of our house keys made. In Barrington this would merely require us to hop in the minivan and ride up to the Ace Hardware. Well, here keys are a bit more difficult as they are "registered" to the owner of record of the house and one must go to the actual locksmith who originally provided the keys.

This required a ride on the 189 bus down Abbey Road to Marylebone Road and then walk about four blocks to the locksmith. Unfortunately, our trip to get copies of the keys was a bust as the owner of record is a man I have never heard of - not our landlord and not Alan, our maintenance guy (see previous blog entry for further discussion on Alan), but rather a Mr. Allister McGlashan. Well, in order to get copies of our keys it seems I need to obtain a "Letter of Authorization" from Mr. McGlashan. Bugger.

Key debacle notwithstanding, the rest of our day was just as lovely as the weather, which was 50 and sunny by the way!

Kate and I boarded the 189 and off we went. Kate immediately received laughter and smiles from our fellow passengers by telling everyone, "hold on tight, here goes our bus!" After our failed mission to the locksmith we took a nice walk up and down Marylebone High Street, one of my favorite shopping areas. Good thing the shops were not open yet as that could have turned out to be an expensive day for Daddy.

After our short walk we hopped on the Jubilee Line - the "tube" - Kate's first tube ride! Again, Kate has a way with endearing herself to fellow passengers because she started singing, "All aboard the choo-choo train, all aboard the choo-choo train...." (Anyone familiar with Disney Playhouse will have this song stuck in their head after reading this!). Upon arriving back in our neighborhood we made a quick stop at Starbuck's so Mommy could have a fix and also buy ground coffee for home. As we walked in the direction of our house, I noticed a number of strollers parked nearby. We happened upon "Story Time" at the SJW (that is the cool way of referring to St. Johns Wood...I just picked it up) Library. Story Time is Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. and I think we will become regulars! Kate was in heaven surrounded by other 2 year olds all singing "wheels on the bus", "heads, shoulders, knees and toes" and other favorites. The children were also treated to three stories, which sound so much better and more interesting when read by a young lady with a proper English accent.... picture a much younger and more stylish Mary Poppins. At the conclusion of Story Time the kids were given orange juice and "biscuits" - tasty cookies that Little Miss Grabby Hands could not get enough of.

After Story time we walked home and called Alan about our keys...letter of authorization being worked on and sent "straight away." Ah yes, very good.

Kate woke from her nap a bit earlier than normal so we took advantage of the spring-like day and headed over to Violet Hill playground. After about 30 minutes it was time to collect the boys from school. After retrieving Jack and Owen we headed right back to the playground with some "mates" from the boys' classes and stayed right up until closing time, 4:30 p.m...basically when the sun starts to go down.

All in all, a great day with my most willing and faithful companion.

Cheers.