Fantastic opening

Today was fantastic.

I completely forgot one of my friend’s birthdays because, you know, being RIF-ed and everything so I made up for it today with an attempt at a Portuguese/Mozambique feast, puppet show, and tour of Glen Echo park. I got pastel de natas, but I’ve been ruined forever. The unbelievable, incredible pastel de natas that amandoAlentejo introduced me to in Lisbon was four times better, was heaven concentrated. I will accept that as the pinnacle and never try again. 

BUT! I brought home two glorious cheeses, Sao Miguel and Sao Jorge, and we ate them with pineapple and jam. I have never had jam with cheese before Portugal. 

Then we went to the show and people started coming early. I played docent. Friends came. Neighbors came. Board members of the location came. I gave a speech. They liked it. The board knew I’ve been RIF-ed and quietly gave me sympathy. They love the vibrancy of the pictures. They very kindly love my pictures. 

Thanks to dreaming I was able to contribute to the food for the opening. Dreaming sent me an enormous box of Belgian chocolate cookies and they were absolutely perfect for this. 

“Germany is nearing an agreement to unlock €3 billion ($3.3 billion) of military aid for Ukraine, alongside a broader set of measures to revamp the country’s defense and infrastructure.
The authorization is likely to come in the weeks ahead as Germany seeks to change constitutional borrowing rules to boost its military spending. The additional funding would almost double aid this year to €7 billion.”

“French President Emmanuel Macron’s public standing has gotten a boost as he seeks to spearhead European efforts to bolster defense spending and provide support for Ukraine in the face of a US pullback….While France has faced pressure to cut its deficit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week the EU will propose giving member countries more fiscal space for defense investments.”

“Drones targeted the Kinef oil refinery in the Kirishi district of St. Petersburg, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of the Ukrainian border. The strike damaged the external structure of one of the tanks at the facility, local governor Alexander Drozdenk said…”