Nasa at Redstone

I got up at 8. I brushed my teeth with chocolate. I checked e-mail. I put some cacao butter in a double boiler on the stove and looked for the recipe on my laptop. But I could not find it. So I had to turn to the internet to choose another one. When it melted, I added coconut butter and cacao. I wanted to add vanilla but it seems we never bought one since we got here. I also put in honey. I poured it in chocolate molds and made quite a mess. I put most of them in the freezer to harden. The last one got left out because it was silicon and I had nothing to support it with to pick it up.
Then I played an audio on Future Mapping while I strained the kefir grains out of a jar of fermented milk. It had been in the fridge quite some time and I was afraid it might be spoiled. I put the grains in a clean jar and covered them with goat milk. I tasted the first jar and decided it was ok. I drank the whole thing. I was afraid of hot flashes, but they did not start immediately.

Chris was going to pick me up about 11:15. So I got dressed for the restaurant and started unpacking boxes. I was unpacking a box of fabric packets when the door bell rang. It was the maintenance man with two guys from the glass company to fix the windows. I told him the switch in my sewing room wasn't working. But he checked the bulb and it was burnt out. He replaced it while the guys got to work on the windows in the bedroom. Chris arrived to pick me up for lunch. So we told the man to lock up when they left, and then we left.
We went to a restaurant just outside the check point of Gate 9. Each person in the group had to order ahead of time, so we were directed to pay and then be seated. Then our meals were brought out by the staff. I had the salmon with carrots, potatoes, corn and zucchini. A lot of vegetables but mostly starchy ones. Chris asked about the corn and I let him have it.
After lunch we boarded a bus. A NASA guy gave a talk on what we were going to see. Then we went to a building where three rocket engines were on display in the front yard. We remained on the bus while our guide talked about the engines: one was designed to fall into the ocean, another burns up in the atmosphere and the third one was supposed to be reusable. But apparently now it is cheaper to 3-D print disposable ones.
Then we went to a building where we got an in-depth presentation of the recycling of oxygen and water on the space station. We also got to see the facility for friction welding.
From there, we went to see the stand where the fuel tank for the next rocket will be stress-tested next spring. The cylinder will be brought by barge to Redstone and driven to the test site.

Finally we went to a training facility for the Houston control center people. Upstairs was a replica of the Houston control center and below it was a replica of a corridor of the space station. Actual astronauts use the facility in Houston. The replica was constructed by talented high school students in a kind of work-study program called HUNCH - High school students United with Nasa to Construct Hardware. But they don't just build hardware; culinary students had a contest to create spicy dishes for use in space.
I had to use the restroom and the tour guide took me. It was a long, convoluted path with multiple doors requiring special authorization. She said it was the easiest one to get to. I feel sorry for the people who work there.
Our time ran out and we were herded to the bus. They gave us handouts and drove us back to the restaurant. The org-day leader thanked us for coming and had a few announcements. Then we walked to our car and went back on post.
We used the normal route to get to the post office. But it was slow because of the road work. Chris was driving, so I ran in to check our box. There was a package from Swanson. I got back in the car and we went out gate 10 and in gate 8 to avoid the road work on post. But we still got hung up at the traffic light for some reason.
When we got home, I checked e-mail and had a bite of kimchi. I jotted notes for my blog before I forgot what I had heard.
I called Consumer Cellular to find out why I cannot send or receive pictures. They put me on a call back list. While waiting, I took the chance to move furniture around. I took the top two shelves off the set in the living room and put them in the guest room. I put each sewing machine on the second shelf and made sure it worked. Then I moved them out of the way. I switched the position of two chairs and then Chris helped me move the rest. He got my cutting table from the garage. I set it up. I cleared the nearby desk and went to wipe it. I found myself back in front of the computer. I cleared a few more e-mails. I made a large salad. Consumer Cellular called me back. It turns out that I did not have my data turned on. She also put us on a lower data plan since we used so little, saving us $30 a month.
I went back to eating my salad, and my Skype rang. It was my tapping buddy. I had totally forgotten for the moment. So we tapped together for over an hour.
After we hung up, I finished my salad. I made a cup of bone broth. Then we watched two episodes of Life on Mars. I drank a quart of water in that time. I started having a hot flash and used the spray Jennifer had given me. It stopped it. Then Chris went to bed. I finished the blog post I had started writing earlier. And I went to bed, too.