February 7, 2025

I had another great day. I had the wonderful gift of chatting with Kathy Walter. We discussed the problems of the world, and probably solved many of them. We also talked a lot about AI and what gifts it brings. I have found myself using it many times a day. I love it. I can only hope that our better angels will be able to guide us to make the right choices with regard to using it. Right now, I feel that things are shaky with Musk in charge. He claims to be doing these things for humankind, but I know from his biography by Walter Isaacson that he does not contribute any of his personal wealth to any organization that does not directly benefit him. He has contributed to some schools, but only because his children attended. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I think he has flunked.

So, not going to talk about politics. I spent another chunk of my day walking into town. On the way, I stopped at Myra Cleveland’s house. Myra is a new friend (met her last year), who does clay art. I asked her if she could cover the little wooden block I use to hold my “dinky dip” ink wells for calligraphy. Right now, it is a mess, completely covered with ink stains. Barbara said she liked it that way. She sees the human messiness of it. Me, not so much. I want to see Myra’s clay art on it. Today she asked me what colors I wanted. I said, “The Panamanian Green.” I love that color. I have it in my house at home as well. It’s not called Panamanian Green, of course, but that’s a feeling for me. It also reminds me of Mary Pat.

After Myra’s, I walked into town to pick up my parcels from RedNBlue. This delivery (always a fun day because you have to wait a while here like the olden days to receive your order) was the exquisite set of Faber-Castelle colored pencils and a blending tool, which I absolutely had to have because I wanted to make this:

The teacher is Annie Reizer. She is a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) and a botanical illustrator. The first time I saw these blueberries I had to make them. So I ordered the Faber-Castell pencils, and I picked them up today and dove in. They were well worth the wait. Annie Reizer stresses the importance of layering colors. These blueberries have four layers of color, and then you blend them with a special alcohol-tip pen. Exquisite experience.

Thursday Game Night is an official success. Hope we can do it for the remainder of my stay.

Here’s one of the things I love about this experience. It is a reminder at this present tumultuous poliical time that we can still choose to love each other. This group is a mix of conservatives and liberals, and I love them all. I feel so fortunate to have landed here. Amazing.

So, calligraphy, of course. I’ve begun working on the final project to qualify for the Certificate of Merit. We are going to have to pen our own certificate. This is my first draft, just getting a feel for the script. Next, I will plan the spacing and format. I can’t do the final project until I get home because I just can’t get the paper here.

I was looking at the IAMPETH website, which is the international calligraphy group. I am thinking of working on achieving their Certificate of Proficiency and then the Certificate of Excellence (you never know). I can get the first one with what I already know from the class I’m in now. The latter requires an additional script and illuminations. That really excites me. Here’s an example of an illumination:

Can you imagine?! I know I can do it because I have discovered that I am a really good copycat (I remember looking over Mark Topczeski’s shoulder in third grade because I couldn’t remember how to spell “type.” I knew he would have it right. He was one of the “smart ones”). I can follow directions on the YouTube videos, which are amazing. So many people sharing their joy! I’m following Heather Cox Richardson’s advice and focusing on my joy. Thanks, Heather!