This weekend, I had to work Saturday morning, and had a performance Sunday Evening. After that though, Monday and Tuesday were free. But what was I going to do with this time? It would have been nice to go and stay with Pamela, in Köln, but what with the time it would take getting there, and getting back, and the time that she'd have to be at her work, We would have spent about five hours of my 48 hours free together, (and awake.) And for that, I would have been in trains for at least ten hours.

So, what I did instead, was go to her Mother's place, (Which is only three and a half to four hours away by train.) This wasn't just a whim: there were a number of things that got done during my two days of visit. One reason I went there was kindness; The poor dear mother broke part of her foot, falling down some stairs a few days ago. Her husband had to go back to work in Berlin, and her Daughter to Köln, and she's the hardy, determined type, who wouldn't let the pain of a broken, swollen foot keep her from getting things done around the house. (Another word for it might be stubbornness, but I wouldn't use that.) So, I went there and cooked for her, kept her company, and tried to do some shopping for her, (But she insisted that there was already enough food in the house, and that she didn't need anything special.)

Another reason I went, was to use her computer, -and internet connection. I STILL don't have internet in Lüneburg, and looked forward to the opportunity to talk on the webcam with my mother. I got her a webcam for Christmas, thinking that we could soon talk every week over the internet, face to face as well! It was very nice then, (After not seeing her in any way for the last year,) to see here there, on the computer screen, and have a talk.

There was also the Ballet training. I am still friendly with my old theater there in Detmold, and am welcome to come and take ballet class with them when I have the time. I personally feel that it's a good thing for a dancer to have a variety of teachers, so I enjoy doing training at other places on my days off. (Among other things, it lets me have a better idea of how my technique is improving.)

What else was there to do? Hmmm... I was helping Pamela with something she was trying to do, (Searching for some things on the internet,) as well as helping with the patterns for Porcelain painting. Pamela's Family enjoy having good ... plates, cups, bowls, and so on. Porcelain. And because their favorite makers charge up to 200 euros for one of their plates, they paint a fair amount of it themselves. And that's where I come into the picture. With my precise, mathematical measurements, my nearsightedness, my patience, my dedication to detail, and my enjoyment of working with my hands, the task has fallen to me to draw the patterns of leaves onto sticky-backed-paper, and then cut them out, making a stencil to paint with. (Paint Through? Paint Over? -to Stencil With.)

So, I spent a few hours of my time there measuring plates, and planning patterns.

The only other thing to say, is that it was a great pleasure, and an even greater surprise, when I saw, walking from the town to their house, first a rare fishing bird, (in German "Eisfögel",) and then a heron. I've never seen either of these birds in my two years in Detmold. I never saw any birds there at all which I would have thought of as special; Only ducks, pigeons, and various little song birds, -as well as the swans and geese which live in the central lake. Perhaps there was the occasional falcon high in the sky as well. But this little iridescent bird, and then a meter high heron, within a matter of minutes of each other, an both closer than 15 feet from me, (three meters,) was a great joy.