Easter Sunday

I stayed up to watch April the giraffe give birth and went to bed after the little guy was on his feet. What a miracle!
I woke up hearing Chris get ready for church. I was slowly coming out of a dream where the same event happened over and over and I was trying to tell people it had happened before and we needed to play it out differently (because everyone died each time).
Chris left just as I got up. I drank a quart of water with the last of the citrus pectin. I checked e-mail and watched a video on how toxins (some of which are found in vaccines) affect children's neurological development.
I took my shower. I gave myself a haircut and saved the cuttings. I put on my Easter dress and earrings. I filled my new purple bag with stuff for church. Chris had just come home from chapel when I realized my slip was showing. So I put on a different slip.
Then Chris drove me to church. I sat in my usual pew and talked to the lady behind me, who I hadn't seen before. Then Chris came up to say he was leaving. I assumed he was going home. Ms. Pae came and sat beside me. She admired the fabric in my dress, so I told her about the trip to Daegu fabric market and she said she would take the day off to go.
Then the chaplain started the service. The praise team led three praise songs as usual. I had hoped for traditional hymns. The choir did sing an Easter hymn. There was communion. The new couple beside me went back to get their cracker and grape juice like everyone else but brought it back to their seat like last week. I gave them the nod to consume it now instead of waiting for the chaplain, who was not going to lead it. Then we had the reading from Luke about the two criminals crucified with Jesus. The sermon was called “The good, the bad and the ugly.”
After the sermon, I introduced myself to the couple and invited them to come with us to the Easter brunch at Turtle Cove. I called Chris to come get us. Then we went to the desk for tickets that the chapel was handing out to get the brunch for free. But the tickets were all gone. Chris showed up and we piled in the car. He drove us to Turtle Cove.
Ms. Song was there to record the names of people who came to church but did not have tickets. Chris already had a ticket for me. Then we went inside to eat. Chris said he had already eaten. I stood in line with our new friends.
Then Chris took me away to introduce me to someone else, who I had seen in church last week. She had admired my dress, too. I invited her to our sewing class, but she could not make it at the scheduled time. Then I got in line and filled my plate with what seemed safest.
I found the couple sitting with Chris and sat down. We had a nice lunch together. In fact, there was only one table of people remaining when we left. We dropped them off at their place. Then we came home and changed clothes to go to the commissary. We walked there. We shopped there. As we were leaving, Kim came out to talk to us, and the new couple was walking by. So I introduced her to Kim, since she had an interest in antique shops and Kim is good friends with the proprietor. We made a plan to go on Tuesday night. Then we walked home, Chris carrying the bulk of the groceries. When we got home, we put them away.
Chris got on his laptop and I listened to the next day of Truth About Vaccines.
In Japan, children are vaccinated only after the age of 2. Across first world nations, there is an association between infant mortality and number of vaccines given by the first birthday.
I paused it to watch two episodes with Chris. Then he walked into town to a restaurant called The Meat Kitchen to meet some guys from base. I ate some liver with onions and a raw clove of garlic. I watered the plants and swatted tiny fliers with the mosquito racket. I spread my hair cuttings along the flowerbed to deter nibblers.
I finished the vaccine video. I made and ate breakfast. I started a video on stretches for managing back and shoulder pain. Chris came home from the restaurant. He handed me a box of utensil rests that they had given each of the men.
We watched an episode of Once Upon a Time. Chris went to his laptop and I resumed my video. I signed up with the interviewers website and got a video on shoulder stretches. I wrote up my blog post and was ready for bed.
* The cherry trees with compound flowers are blooming now. *

Pork and cabbage on toast

I got up at 7:30, put the food waste in the cannister and tagged it. Chris took it out to the curb. I went back to bed. It was so nice to snuggle in without hot flashes. I got up again at 10. I put on the third day of the Truth About Vaccines series. I drank a quart of water. Before it was over, Myra called to invite us to go walking with them. Chris was ok with that. So Chris shaved and took a shower. I made and ate breakfast. We walked down to their parking lot. They arrived shortly from the commissary. After they put their groceries away, we walked out into town. Scott wanted to visit a sporting goods store. He thought it was by McDonalds, but when we got there, we could not find it. Then we went to the fabric booth since it was so close.
I got another yard of stabilizer using a scrap to show what I wanted, and a yard of red polka dot. Myra got yellow thread and a zipper, and 7 bobbins. As we headed out of the market, I bought some cucumbers. Then we walked to the sporting goods store that I knew about. On the way we passed the Issac toast place. Chris wanted to try one of their sandwiches on toast. While he was trying to figure out which one, not being able to read the sign, Scott and Myra decided they wanted one also. They watched other people's orders being made. Finally Chris ordered one and it turned out to be a pork patty with a slice of wrapped cheese, and mutilated cabbage on toast. He ate it immediately while the Slaydons ordered one. Theirs was fried baloney and mutilated cabbage and a pre-wrapped cheese slice on toast with a sweet sauce and fried egg. We walked down to the sporting goods store. Chris and Scott went in while Myra and I crossed the street to the little park. We sat on a bench and chatted while she ate part of the toast sandwich. Then the guys joined us and Scott finished the sandwich. We talked about the United Air fiasco. Then we walked back to base, going by the canal where the flower shop was. I was able to resist buying flowers because the base is handing out free flowers on Thursday. But when I saw the tomato plants, I had to get some. They were three for $2. He did not give me the best three and I tried to trade out, but he would not let me. Then Scott told Myra to get some. And the man gave her the smaller ones too. We walked back to base. Chris went to work so I walked back with the Slaydens as far as their place. Then I went home. I ate some pineapple and a banana while I finished the vaccine video. I learned that Dr. Wakefield's study showed that it was safer to take the MMR vaccines in separate doses rather than all in one. But the drug companies preferred to sell it in combination, so they removed all the single dose vials from the market. Then Dr. Wakefield got branded as anti-vaccine. A pediatrician talked about seeing a rise in autism in his patients. So he devised his own vaccine schedule, putting off vaccines until age 3 because all the onsets of autism he'd seen happened before the age of three. His patient load went up because of all the parents that wanted his new schedule. The video also talked about rubella and how it was only a problem for pregnant women, but the vaccine is given to everyone, regardless.
I had sewn halfsquare triangles yesterday, so today I sewed them into pinwheel blocks and trimmed them. I also cut up some scraps into 3 inch segments for a future project. Chris came home from work and made himself supper to eat as he played his game. I went outside to plant the tomatoes and water everything. Then I cleared a bunch of e-mail. I wrote about it to my tapping buddy so she would know our tapping worked. I tried on my Easter dress with the purple bag I made and it seemed too big. So I sewed corner folds in it to give a more streamlined shape. I slathered myself in magnesium oil. I practiced my trombone. Waiting for Chris, I folded laundry, and jotted notes for my blog.
We watched two episodes. Then we checked e-mail one more time. Someone posted a link of a giraffe on camera in labor. I watched, but labor seemed slow. I saw the numbers of viewers go up to over 1 million. I posted to my blog and watched some more.

Spraying for centipedes

I got up before 7:30. I drank a quart of lemon water. I deleted the first round of e-mail. I got dressed and lowered the shade behind my laptop. It got caught on a dead plant I had forgotten was there. I removed the plant and cleaned up the debris. I e-mailed my tapping buddy to see if she was ready. She texted me back. Then Myra called. She wanted me to come over and join her and two other ladies for sewing. But I had to decline. I called my tapping buddy and we chatted about her progress from last week. Then we tapped on having too much e-mail. At 10:20 we decided to table the issue for next week.
After the call, I listened to the second day of The Truth about Vaccines. What I remembered was hearing that the safe amount of aluminum is said to be 5/kg, but vaccines have 200 – 800 each. How can we give HIB to newborns knowing it has 14 times the safe limit of aluminum? Polio diagnosis was redefined more stringently when the vaccine came out so diagnoses declined regardless of whether the vaccine was effective. Polio diagnosis chart mimics the DDT usage chart with a 6-month lag. DDT can cause paralysis, too. (There was other stuff too, but I can't remember it all.)
During the video, I made and ate breakfast. I also finished a Sudoku puzzle. After the video, I mixed up two batches of cedarwood spray and sprayed it where I found the centipede and all around the outside of the house.
Chris came home for lunch. He said he would be home late because of Good Friday mass and maybe a movie afterward. I blended up some lemon peels and poured it near the peas. Two of them have been nibbled on. Then I watered the plants and fertilized them.
I took a shower and put on a nicer outfit. I walked out to the massage place. The massage was good except for the part where he dug his elbow into my right butt cheek. Thankfully that did not last long. Afterward, I told him I'd be back next week, and walked home,
I listened to a podcast on the four things that stand in the way of living your life. I was reading e-mail at the same time and paused it several times to concentrate on what I was reading. I fell asleep. When I woke up, the audio was over. I ate some cucumber kimchi and roasted cabbage. Chris called to say he was going to the movie and would be home late. I put on an interview and took my laptop to the sewing room. I sewed up holes in Chris' socks. I cut up some scraps for a future project. I sewed the leftover corner triangles from all the baskets. I ate an apple and read e-mail. Chris came back from the movie. He called the states again, this time getting a real person. But she couldn't help and said she would pass on the information to someone who could.
We watched two episodes. And then it was time for bed.
* The last of the cherry blossoms. *

And so it begins...

I got up about quarter after 8. I drank a quart of water and deleted the first round of e-mail. I listened to some audios, one on chronic pain. He recommended rolling around on the floor, using different arms or legs each time. I made breakfast but left out the chia and flax seeds. That greatly reduced the bulk in the bowl. Chris came home for lunch. He brought two boxes from Swansons, one of which contained the cacao nibs I ran out of. There was an Easter card from Maryann. Chris told me he made the interview list for Fort Hood. I opened the boxes and made up a batch of supplements for the next 12 days. I finished the audio.
I got ready for my massage. On my way out, I noticed the peas and lettuce needed watering. So I quickly did that. Then I headed out to town. But when I got there, the man was busy. The lady at the front desk said that I had to wait 40 minutes (using her translator). So I decided to come back tomorrow. She asked me to make an appointment. So I said 3 o'clock. I walked into the every day market, but decided not to get anything. On the way home, I set my phone alarm for 2:25 so I would not forget my massage appointment. Going up the hill toward home, I saw Danielle and Terri on the playground with their dogs. I went down to greet them. After a nice chat, Terri went home and Danielle showed me her gardens; all around the building and by the sheds.
Then I went home. I ate some liver and onions. I looked for more onion soup but could not find any. I started eating a pineapple yesterday and had more today. I planted the top, which had been soaking in water since yesterday.
I started listening to Day 1 of The Truth about Vaccines. But 90 minutes later I had to pause it. I put on my shoes and went out to knock on Dynee's door. We walked to the chapel for the FRG meeting. The Catholics were already there (including Chris) for the Maundy Thursday mass. So we had to be quiet. We found 4 ladies already there. Dynee and I sat down. She put a plate of cookies on the table. Chief Hewett came in and ate about half. Amber started the meeting by saying how well the baby shower went. Then she discussed baked goods for command quarters (on the same day as the bus trip to Daegu fabric market). Then we discussed election of officers. She asked for nominations for president, vice-president and secretary. No one raised a hand. We discussed the funds, which are still in a box since no one wanted to give up their social security number to get an EIN to open a bank account. Myra had said I should volunteer for president, but with the funds still in a box, I just don't feel comfortable. So Amber said she would send a post asking for nominations and we would have an election on May 1st (if there were more than one per position.)
After the meeting, I saw Chris who said he had to go back to the office. I went to the FFTC to pay for the fabric trip. This time he was able to take my money and give me a receipt. Then I walked home.
I finished the Vaccine video. I listened to Day 2 of Oprah's series. I wrote up my day for my blog. I thought about eating supper, but my stomach was so bloated. And I couldn't figure out why. I practiced my trombone.
Coming out of the guest room, I spied something on the floor. A large centipede. I watched it for awhile and it didn't move. I had things to do, but did not want it to get away. I called Chris' office, but there was no answer. I called his cell phone, but did not get him. I watched it some more, then took it's picture. I wondered if there were any more I didn't know about. I called Chris' cell again. Still not getting an answer, I called Dynee. She had just answered the phone and listened to my tale of a centipede, when Chris arrived. Chris stomped on it, leaving a trail of innards. Ick!
Chris plugged my laptop up to the TV. I washed an apple and put it in the Magic Bullet with coconut water. I also added some cubes of frozen ginger tea. I ate that and we sat down to watch two episodes of Once Upon A Time. Chris scooped up the carcass and threw it away. I finished typing up my blog and went to bed.
* I can't believe centipedes are in season already. *

A tisket, a tasket, no more stabilizer for the basket

I got up before 8 to collate the recyclables. I put them by the door and Chris took them out when he left for work. I rinsed my broccoli seeds but they didn't look good. So I poured them out on the flower bed, hoping some would root. I cleaned the container. Yesterday I had put totally limp celery in a jar of water. This morning it was almost totally revived, but out of water. I poured in more. I also harvested three more containers of water from the shower filter. I drank a quart of lemon water and took some magnesium powder and citrus pectin.
I listened to an audio about the autoimmune paleo diet. I figured I could follow it for a day or two: no nuts, seeds, beans, tomatoes, rice, oatmeal, dairy, eggs, and some other things. I made a fabric egg up to the step just before turning it inside out.
Myra called to ask if I could sign Chantal onto post because she had a meeting at 1. I agreed. It was 11, so I finished cutting some stabilizer and took a shower. I collected scraps for class, and put the 15” ruler in my market bag. I walked down to the front gate where Chantal was waiting with her little one. I signed her on post and we walked to the chapel, she pushing the stroller uphill.
Some ladies were already there, setting up in Classroom 2. But I said I had been told someone had reserved classroom 2 so we moved to classroom 1. (That someone never showed up.) Myra came and so did Lacee, So Young, Dynee, Anna and Chong. Irene came for a short while. Most of them wanted to make baskets, but I only had enough for three. The others had to make eggs, as advertised on the community Facebook page. And Chong made a lot! I cut squares of fabric for the lucky three who were making the baskets. I played with Lydia so her mother could sew. Myra left early for her meeting. Dynee made another basket and helped Chantal with hers. But when Anna gave up on her dress and wanted to make a basket, Dynee gave her hers. Lacee worked on a dress she had a picture of. She brought an extra sewing machine and said we could keep it for classes. She said she had taught classes before (and I think she is willing to take over for Myra and me when we leave.) Chantal wanted to make a second basket for her other daughter. I told her all I had left were some scraps of stabilizer. She accepted and made them work. We packed up while she was still preparing the second basket. Then we waited for Anna to come get her stuff. When she did, we all left. I walked Chantal down to the front gate to sign her out.
I came home and ate the rest of the jar of onion soup. I also had some fresh coconut meat. I practiced napping for 22 minutes. Later, I practiced my trombone. Then I worked on my Easter dress. I hemmed it and tried it on. It was a little tight in the bust. Trying to let it out a litte, I noticed that the darts were only hand-basted. I ironed them, pinned them, removed the basting and sewed them. I laid down again, but only for a short while. Then I looked for something to eat. I had already had liver and onions, kimchi, cabbage pulp, celery, pineapple and onion soup. So I found something to drink; coconut water. I listened to Day One of Oprah's newest 21 day meditation.
I checked e-mail and saw that Tammy had messaged me on Facebook (2 hours ago). She thought her sewing machine was badly broken but wanted a second opinion. So I told her to come over. When she said she'd be here in half an hour, I rushed around cleaning the place up. Chris came home from work and made himself supper. I said a prayer, hoping that it was easy to fix and she could go home happy. I was cleaning up my sewing table when she arrived with her machine. We took it in my sewing room. She explained the problem. I took the bobbin area apart just as she had. I examined all the parts with my lighted magnifying lamp, but did not see any damage. I did see some lint so I pulled it out with the locking forceps Faye gave me a long time ago. Then I took off the needle plate and cleaned under there. I put the machine back together and she threaded it. I ran the hand wheel through a few stitches and it was fine. She plugged it up and sewed a line of stitches and they were fine. She was very happy. After she left, I told Chris I was ready to watch TV. But he was waiting for 9pm so he could call someplace in the states. So I read e-mail for a bit. I heard him go through a long line of “Press 1 now”, “Choose from the following menu:...” The last thing I heard was “We're sorry. This department is closed until 11:30am.” I could tell Chris was not happy. But he was right; customer service was not their strong point. He sat down and we watched one episode. It must have been the start of season 3. Then he went to bed and I wrote up my blog, wondering if my tapping buddy was going to show up tonight.
* Wish I had a 'before' pic. The difference from yesterday is dramatic. *

Egg-sample of our next project

Last night I was in bed when I suddenly realized I had forgotten to soak my broccoli sprouts. I rushed to the kitchen to handle that, then saw the food waste. I put it all in the container, some of it covered in mold. I put the tag in the slot and put it by the front door. Then I went back to bed. I realized that I had not had any hot flashes today or this evening.

I got up before 8 and saw that Chris had taken the food waste out. I cut up some lemon peel. I started an audio on how vaccines grown on animal cells contain retroviruses, which are not able to replicate, but when injected as part of a vaccine, they can be activated. Perfectly healthy people can keep them inactive, but when immunocompromised, they can get sick. These retroviruses transmit DNA codings from the animal DNA to human DNA. The retrovirus transcriptase has been noted in saliva of infected persons and can be aerosolized, infecting the people around them. Once infected, a person will pass these new DNA codings on to all their progeny for generations.
I rinsed my broccoli sprouts. Seems like they should have been bigger by now. I brushed my teeth with baking soda and then swished with vinegar. Then I swished with coconut oil for 20 minutes. I exercised, drybrushed and rebounded. I made coffee and tea. I drank a quart of water. I tapped and meditated. Then I cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen. I got dressed. Chris came home for lunch. He handed me a package and said the address fell off but the post office thought it was mine. There was a pattern inside. I looked at it. It did not seem familiar in any way. It had a USPS tracking number so Chris looked it up, but it did not say who was supposed to get it. I called Myra but it wasn't hers. I facebooked Lacee and she responded with a Yes! I was going to give it to her in class tomorrow, but Chris said it had to go back to the post office. So I gave it to him and he took it back along with her name so they could deliver it properly. I checked e-mail. I pulled up a pattern for a fabric egg online. I traced it off the screen. I made two cardboard templates, which I took to my fabric room to make an egg. I traced one on a scrap. Then my phone rang. Myra was ready to go. I called Dynee and she agreed to meet me outside. I put on my shoes and met her. We walked down to Myra's parking lot. Heading downhill, we ran into some other ladies and talked about the Beauty and the Beast party that we wanted to have but MWR hadn't planned.
We walked to the jewelry store. The lady did not have her tape measure and I did not have mine. So she used a piece of string. I put a $20 down payment on it. Myra bought three pairs of earrings there.
We walked back down the canal. Most of the cherry blossoms were gone. I thought we were going back to base, but we ended up in the market. We looked at store-fronts, seeing jewelry and headbands, clothing, crocheted animals, etc. We went to the fabric booth for stabilizer, but she didn't have it. Either sold out or she didn't understand what we wanted. I went to a nearby place to get apples. She also had small watermelons for $3. Dynee and I both got one.
Then on the way back, we stopped at the little market on the main street. Their strawberries were on sale so Dynee and I got some. I wondered what I was going to do with all this food. When we got to the corner market, Myra looked for tomatoes, and Dynee put her watermelon in my bag and carried it for me. Myra left us at the school.
Dynee and I went home. I put my berries in the freezer. I shoved the melon and apples wherever they would fit in the fridge. I took the lemon peels outside to spread in the front lawn. Dynee was out with her dog. We talked a bit longer. Then I went in. I pulled out a coconut, cracked it, and pried the meat out. I put that in the fridge. I ate some of the fermented cabbage pulp.
I finished the fabric egg and photographed it. I read some e-mail. I posted a pic of the egg to the Facebook page along with an announcement of tomorrow's class. I jotted notes for my blog. I made and ate breakfast. I read e-mail until Chris came home. I listened to one more video. Then we watched two episodes before going to bed. I stayed up long enough to blog my day.

Blueberry juice in the sauna

I got up about 7:20. I harvested water from the shower filter. I made up bottles with vitamin C and sea salt for the sauna. I started making breakfast while I drank my quart of water. I had to refill several containers. Chris called to make sure I was up. He said he needed bread. So I started a loaf of bread in the machine. I ate breakfast while listening to an audio. Then I got dressed and packed my sauna bag.
As I was walking towards Myra's place, she and Sue and Chong drove by and picked me up. Chong drove us to the charcoal sauna place. We put our shoes in lockers downstairs, then paid the entrance fee and received keys for the lockers upstairs, as well as towels and an outfit. We all trooped up to the ladies changing room. We changed into the red outfits and left everything but the water bottles in the lockers. Then we went back downstairs.
First we sat in the charcoal room. There was only a man in there. He told Chong we should not have water bottles in there – something about germs. So she and I took our bottles out and left them in the resting hallway. I call it a resting hallway because it is wide and has mats people lay on to rest between sweats. When I sensed that Myra was pretty uncomfortable there, I suggested we go into another room that was not so hot. Actually, the charcoal room is a myriad of temperatures, ranging from normal room temp to extremely hot, depending how close you sit to the fire pit. The other rooms are evenly heated. So we sat in the other room for awhile.
Then Sue and Chong popped their heads in to find us. They wanted to go to the salt room. So we did. No one was in there so we laid down on the salt stones. Half of the room was really hot, and that is where I laid down. I had to put my towel under my calves to protect them from the heat. The outfit protected the rest. It got very quiet in there and I could imagine all of us falling asleep. But eventually I had a feeling I should get up. I can't quite explain it. So I got up and left.
I sat in the hallway and drank water for awhile, then found another hot room to sit in. This one was empty. When I thought I heard English spoken in the hallway, I came out. But my friends were still in the salt room. I went into the charcoal room, but soon a man herded us all out so he could replace the charcoal. I went in another closer room. When they came out, they said we should break for lunch at noon. We sat in the medium heat room for half an hour. We all did stretches.
Then we went to lunch. The restaurant was built into the same edifice. We all had the seaweed soup. I had decided this morning to skip grains for a period of time, so I did not eat the rice. There were plenty of little side dishes, and a big bowl of soup. When I pulled the money out of my pocket, it was drenched in sweat. I apologized to the cashier. She gave me $6 in change since I paid for both Myra and myself. Then we wanted to soak our feet in the charcoal water, but the man drained it and said only on Sunday, Wednesday and Fridays. We sat in the medium heat room again, digesting lunch. Then we laid down in the salt room. I lasted longer this time. In fact, I was the last one to leave.
A lady popped her head in to say that there was going to be a presentation and whomever listened to it would get a $9 package of wet wipes. I did not care about that, but once all my friends were gone, I wanted to join them. Sue told me that the man was selling individual packets of pure concentrated blueberry juice. At the end, he passed out packets and I drank one. It was pretty good. I am guessing there was about 2 T in there. He claimed health benefits for those who drank one every day, twice a day for sick people. AND, for those who bought today, he would give three months supply for the one month price. It worked out to be about $2 a packet.
We sat in the medium heat room again. Then Myra and Sue went out. When Chong and I came out, Myra and Sue were there to tell us they had been in the heart room. They showed it to us – it had a hot tile floor and people were laying on it. There was a metal cylinder of aromatic herbs simmering. So Chong and I laid down for a bit.
But then we decided it was time to go. We went upstairs to the changing room. We took our showers and got dressed. We threw our outfits and towels in the large bins. I watched Myra twist her hair into a hairdo that looked like it was braided. Then we went down to get our shoes. Then we got in Chong's car and drove away.
But just as we got near the interstate, Myra asked if I had enough money for the jewelry and then I remembered the $6 in the pocket of my outfit. I wasn't sure it was worth it for a sweaty $6, but they went back. I hunted through the wet clothes and towels in the bin until I found mine and pulled the money out. And finally, we really were on our way back. Dynee texted me to go for a walk, but I had to say I wasn't home. Chong dropped Myra and me off at the Eco Park. We walked to the jewelry place, but the artist was not there. The lady in charge said to come back tomorrow. So we headed to base. We passed a place selling coconuts. Since it was the last day of the festival and many vendors had left, and not many people were walking around, I asked for a discount. The original price was $5 each. He lowered it to $4 and I tried to come up with a better offer. Myra suggested three for $10. He reluctantly accepted. He pulled out a cooler and selected three coconuts from it, put them in a bag and threw in some ice. I was surprised because I was expecting coconuts from the pile on the table in front of him. Anyway, I paid him and we parted happily. Myra and I looked at jewelry at one more place. We found our way back to post. But she went to the Nex while I went home.
I put down my three coconuts, which had gotten heavier on the way home. I heated a bowl of onion soup and made a green smoothie. Then I put on an old shirt and pants. Myra came to get me.
She drove us to Turtle Cove for the Corks and Canvas class. Dynee and Anna were already there. Some people had drinks. The small tables were set with canvasses and paints and brushes. Brittany showed us the target picture. I did not particularly care for it, but I had already paid for the class. She told us to spread orange paint over all the canvas except generally where the peacock should go. I watched people do this, but could not bring myself to dabble so. I got a pencil and sketched the peacock. THEN I started painting the background. I did not like the bright orange background because orange just never seems to go with anything decorative. So I mixed the red and orange together. In fact, I did a lot of color-mixing because I wanted more colors than she gave us. Not all the mixes turned out well. And I had trouble getting the colors in the right place because it seemed so free-form and yet my free-form did not look like the picture. In the end, I decided I would be happy if only I could make the black lines thinner on the crown. I tried to cover them with orange, but the black wasn't dry yet so it smeared. Brittany gave me some orange to take home. She took a picture of all of us showing off our work.
Then Myra and I went to her car. Anna and Mai and another lady got in the back. Myra took all of us home. I showed my picture to Chris and he said it was good. Then I cut up a piece of sugar cane while Chris hooked up my laptop. Then he showed me how he thought it should be cut up. We sat down to watch two episodes while I chewed the chunks of cane. He went to bed and I stayed up, hoping I could remember everything that happened today.