DP Progress Pics, I Baked Bread, Compliment Man

Ever so slowly, I am making my way to the eventual completion of “Bathroom in Paris” while still managing to avoid the temptation to order new kits from Diamond Art Club. When I changed back to working on BIP after I finished my friend’s custom turtle piece, I tore the clear cellophane covering off and started using something called “release paper.” These are squares of specially-treated paper that you place over the sticky (uncompleted) parts of the canvas. I highly prefer it over the cellophane. You don’t have to cut it or section it with washi tape, you need only place the squares on the canvas and peel one off to work on a section. It’s so much easier, and it doesn’t fray, rip, or curl up on the ends like the cellophane eventually does. I like the ease of simply peeling off a square of release paper, working on a section, then sticking it back when I’m done--or throwing it out in triumph if I finish the section. It’s a total game changer.

This is my progress so far:

Keep in mind that what you see pictured here is less than half of the actual painting. The rest of it is rolled up out of sight. I’m not as freaked out by its enormity as I was when I first started working on it, since I am seeing actual progress now, and I know that there is an end in sight. Besides, Diamond Art Club just released the largest kit in their history, almost six feet tall, and some fearless souls have already snapped it up, confident they can get to the finish. So I am taking inspiration from them.

I missed the whole bread-making craze during COVID because I was working on site, in-person, at a hospital, throughout the entire pandemic and I didn’t get to wallow in Door Dash and The Tiger King and trendy hobbies. I’m not bitter, I’m just saying, there was no staying home and Zooming for me. So I don’t really know how to make bread, but it just so happens that I got a bread-making kit for my birthday recently and today, I cracked the thing open and got to work baking my first loaf of bread in ages. Truth be told, it was incredibly easy. All I had to do was chop some olives and mix those and some club soda and olive oil into the bread mix, stir it up, pour into a bread pan, and leave it to bake for an hour. Nonetheless, I am quite proud of my humble little olive loaf:

Plus, it filled the entire apartment with the lovely aroma of yeast and Focaccia. This is the kind of bread-baking I can get behind—idiot-proof directions, simple ingredients, one tidy box.

I came across the most astonishing gentleman on YouTube this week named Troy Hawke. His entire shtick is dressing up in a ridiculously ornate suit, complete with an ascot, and walking around in public complimenting people. It’s really quite magical. I believe he is bestowed with a Godly gift. His compliments aren’t random or insincere, they are extremely incisive and show that he really sees the people that he compliments. In complimenting people, he shares a moment of joy and recognition with them. For example, he stops by a bench where two friends are chatting and says, “You look very comfortable in each other’s presence. It’s a lovely way to be with another human.” They light up with with delight at their friendship being seen and appreciated by another human being. I find his videos light and humorous, but also truly uplifting. And who doesn’t need some of that in the midst of what the world has become?

I still haven’t figured out why videos are not properly playing on this site, but for now, you will have to make do with a link. There are tons of videos on his channel, but this is the one that introduced me to him.

Have a compliment-filled week!

—Kristen McHenry