Harriet

I hope so! With so many things going wrong it's hard to know what to prioritise, but helping poor women in post conflict areas makes things better in a wide variety of ways, not just for the individuals themselves. I also give to an environmental organisation because having a liveable planet is a necessary condition for every other good thing. I give a tiny bit to MSF, though I think they're really about charity rather than change so I don't know how optimistic to be about them. And I am thinking about giving a tiny bit to somewhere that publishes radical feminist writing because I think the backlash against women's rights is pretty much continuous, including on the left, though it takes different forms at different times. I might see if there are any useful groups I could volunteer with in Berlin. Maybe I should ask about the women's health organisation my mother in law works for. But my German is so bad, and I'm so shy, I might not be very useful.

Are you doing okay?

Also, I finally decided who I'm going to donate to. I found a nice looking organisation a couple of weeks ago, but didn't commit because Mr Harriet said I should do some background research to make sure they're everything the appear to be. Well, I didn't do it and I realised I don't even know how to do that kind of research and it was stopping me from picking anything. So I just decided to go for it. I'm going to set up monthly donations when I get back to Berlin and get a card. Anyway. They help women in some of the poorest and most violent places in the world, and it's not just inert handouts but rather long term, data driven support for sustainable & widespread effects on families and communities. They make a really good case for themselves so I allowed myself to be convinced.

WELL DONE!

I've no idea what model. I've decided to just use it to measure my weight. If I gain weight quickly, I should take a look at what I'm eating. That's all I need to know, I guess. Oh, thanks! That's good to know. I'm not sure if quarantining is obligatory, but if it's not I expect we'll do it anyway. Don't want to spread anything. I don't know how we're going to get food, though. Takeaway for 2 weeks? Xiao Long Bao for breakfast? Maybe they have grocery delivery, too. It's something I'll have to look into before we leave. Don't want to be hungry when we get home. KB rest day. 2 30 min walks. Did some lessons & painting. I'm just experimenting with brushwork and edge control here.

Yessssss.

I have a tiny mirror on a shelf opposite my main mirror. I couldn't do them half so easily without it. Good luck

Thank goodness. I hope the construction is not too disruptive. Actually, that's a very silly thing to hope for, given that it's construction. I hope you weather it with equanimity and that it is as speedy as can be.

EXCELLENT final-version-submission!!!! Champagne for everyone!

When I do it, I hold the bottom of the braid firm. Then with the other hand I pinch the outermost one-third or so of a section, and pull it out a little. I do all the sections from the bottom to the top, then re-do the bottom ones because the top ones have stolen some of their length.

Oh! Well, go ahead and learn them first before trying any complicated viking styles. Any tutorial will do, and you just have to practice a bit for your fingers to learn how to do it. A 3 strand braid is the standard plait. With dutch braids you cross the strands under instead of over, and get a different look. 4 strand is 4 strand. Rope and fishtail are both 2 strand braids, but with very different appearances. With any type of braid, you can either start with all the hair in a ponytail and just plait it--easy. OR you can start at the front of the scalp with only some of the hair, and add in pieces of hair from outside the braid every time that you cross the strands. That's how you get a french braid (the 3 strand variety), the lace braid (you add hair only to one side) and the waterfall braid (you add new hair to the strand on top, but drop and replace the strand on the bottom). ETA I would recommend learning the free hanging varieties first. The ones where you start at the scalp and add bits of hair require much more dexterity, and can be frustrating for beginners.

I went and watched Logan so I could watch this how it should have ended video. I'm not sure what was more disturbing; the head stabbing in the original or the singing in the how it should have ended video.

Not specifically, sorry! I just partition my hair in different ways with a comb and do different arrangements of tiny french braids, or large fat ones (and then pull on the segments to make them fatter). Dutch braids create an even better viking look but I haven't the dexterity. Another one I like is the waterfall braid. I don't have a specific tutorial but the name is standard. If you know the basic braids (french, dutch, lace, waterfall, 4-strand, rope) you can combine them in different ways.

IT IS! Let the rebellion begin!

Thankssss M, it got better with panadol. I feel lucky that I don't usually get them. It was more like an obligatory, fatigue-induced, coma than a nap, but it was fine I'm sad that the library waiting list is long because it's awesome and you will find it fascinating, but happy because that means lots of people are reading it. Unless the wait is long because the library didn't buy enough copies, in which case I'm sad again.