Ambidextrous

We were at Icing on the Cake, the best cupcake store in Bellingham, shortly after it opened at 11 a.m. today. Phil and I had given Z and B gift certificates for their favorite cupcakes some time ago, and they were eager to redeem them.

After Z and B enjoyed the first of their two cupcakes each in the shop, we were off to the Wednesday farmers' market in Fairhaven, where they examined all the wares on offer and chose Indian food for their lunch, as did Phil, who shared his with me. He then took them to Fairhaven Toy Garden, another longtime favorite, while I did a little shopping in Village Books.

Phil and I had a brief tea break at home, and Z and B saw off their second cupcakes with big glasses of milk, before they went their separate ways this afternoon -- B and Phil returned to the workshop for another afternoon of woodcraft and Z and I returned to Fairhaven for another creative adventure together. We had taken a quick look inside CreativiTea, a pottery painting studio and tea bar, on our way to earring-making yesterday morning, and were eager to try our hands at painting our own pottery this afternoon.

CreativiTea is beautifully organized and well-run, with very helpful staff, making the experience of trying something new much easier. Both Z and I chose small square dishes to decorate and the same daisy stencil for our design, and thoroughly enjoyed consulting with each other on colors and decorative elements. Doing something new together like this makes the 55 year difference between our ages disappear!

I've been sending text messages to her mother and her aunt over the past couple of days to keep them current with our activities, and both B and Z have texted them as well. Today's photo of Z with a paintbrush in one hand and my iPhone in the other, reading a response to one of her texts, caught my eye -- not only can her long fingers capably handle a paintbrush, they can also communicate in today's world!

(For quite a different look at the dynamic duo, check out Phil's blip!)