Thursday-11am

My Mother's Day present arrived yesterday! The Thermos hydration bottle on the right--which Dagan and Leah have been using for months for carrying around their water. When I saw the Sigg bottle online with the flip top I thought it would have a similar top to the hydration bottle that Dagan and Leah use.

Nope! It has this strange top that you have to press down on to get the water out...

...not a nice big spout like the hydration bottle. The Thermos bottle also has a button that pops the top off one-handed and the little lock that you see to secure the top in case the button is accidentally pushed if you are carrying it in a bag or something.

They both taste a lot better!! I didn't realize how much my water had that plastic taste until it was gone. For traveling in my bag--I will take the Thermos. Of course, it will keep the water colder for a long time also. Has an opening large enough to allow ice cubes, too.

The Sigg bottle does have another top you can buy that is a screw on plug with a hole on top for carrying on your finger, I guess. But that would be even less convenient to use I would think? I think the red bottle will stay by my bed. The Thermos bottle will be my constant companion. :)

It's a gorgeous, sunny day!

Through the EDM group I have located a Sumi-e painting group. Something else I have always wanted to learn but has been impossible to grasp (for me) with just books. Was planning on buying a DVD one day so I could actually watch somebody doing it. There is a very different way to hold the brushes--upright--and I knew that you needed to practice strokes repeatedly, etc. Well, from that group I was directed to YouTube--where they have lots of art demonstrations! And quite a few are the Chinese painting!! Makes a world of difference to actually see it done because it is nothing like any other painting I have ever seen. I have heard that it can take years to learn and gain the confidence in your brush strokes. I can certainly see why! Now I have another challenge--something else to experiment with and try to learn how to do decently. I am reading all the posts and learning a lot already about brushes and ink and paper and technique! A whole new world of painting!! :)

Well, they say learning helps keep the old brain in shape. At least maybe my brain will stay in shape--hehe!