Not sure if this was an intentional trick and I am just slow.... but in step 2 of the "getting started" it shows the following -
"2. Run m8tricxks. This will check whether if you have a SenseHAT attached to your Raspberry Pi. If not, it will ask if you want to run the emulator instead."
This should be m8tricks. I think the trick is on me for posting this... :-)
Also - how can you add this to the programming menu or desktop short cut. I know - not related and a newbie questions. But any advice appreciated.
Lastly - thank you for this. My kids and are are going to make some pixel pets and have fun with this. We appreciate your work on this very much.