Shrinemont redux

When we signed off last time, I was in Kansas City juggling a rainy day, little Miss Veeka and an assignment to cover a pro-immigration demonstration. The first photo is of Veeka pushing a toy vacuum cleaner at the coolest kids' furniture store. She stayed amused for awhile, which was fortunate as it was raining a lot. Then she napped, the babysitter arrived on time (I found her through the hotel) and I wended my way through southern Kansas City to arrive at this demonstration near one of the main freeways. Other than the fact I was quite cold, it was all quite interesting and a great way to finish up my trip.
We are now back here although this past weekend I went on a church retreat to a lovely Episcopal place called Shrinemont, located in Orkney Springs in the mountains just before the West Virginia state line. Veeka charmed everyone and, after her nap, I thought I'd take her partway up the nearby mountain, thinking she would want to walk a little bit on the path up. The path ran through the Stations of the Cross and by the second station, our little princess decided she could care less about the acorns and the birds; she just wanted to be carried. So I lugged my 22-pound bundle all the way to the summit. So the next photo is of a very sweaty me with a relaxed Veeka. Lastly, Veeka is one for grabbing the spotlight whenever she can. She also loves music so when she saw this kid playing the piano, she ran up, sat on the bench beside him whether he wanted her there or not and started "helping" him to play. So, yes, music lessons are in her future.
As for me, I have a book manuscript deadline this week - three-quarters of it needs to be handed in by Wednesday so I am signing off so I can work!