Now that the girls have been back for a month, we are finally getting back to our usual activities. Pajama Night at Cochise Theater on Fridays. Arts & Crafts on Saturdays. And Bowling and errands on Sundays. Last week the girls wanted to drop by the Fort Huachuca Arts & Crafts Center to paint some more ceramics. Given that it is still a fun, cheap, and safe activity that provides hours of enjoyment, peace, and quiet, you know I was in.
Before the pandemic, the Arts & Crafts Center was always pretty busy, but it has obviously slowed down. Just like the movie theater, bowling alley, and every other activity in and around Fort Huachuca, the people have not really returned yet. But given that they are requiring everyone to wear masks and social distance (in accordance with the latest General Order), it is still one of the safest activities to do on post.
The girls wanted to drop by to see what new ceramics they had available and the center did not disappoint. They now have entire Star Wars (Yes!) and superhero sections. As much as I wanted to paint a Spiderman bust or a Death Star piggy bank, the girls ended up choosing a BB-8 cookie jar for me.
Elaina went with one of the new coffee mugs that they had on hand, which had the words “I Love Dad” etched into the side of it; I swear that I did not coerce or even suggest for her to choose that one (as I am kind of overloaded on coffee mugs at the moment).
Gabriella went with the classic “gift-wrapped” jewelry box, which we now have two of in our house. Because Elaina painted one the first time we were here, Gabriella just had to have one too. As much as Gabriella fights with her sister, she really does want to be exactly like her, which is just adorable.
While my project took a little longer than theirs (they always give me the hard ones to paint), they both finished their ceramics and got to choose another one.
Elaina chose an egg and painted “I Love You” on it (sensing a theme here) and Gabriella chose a bunny rabbit. They finished theirs around the same time that I finished mine, so the 2-to-1 ratio of their projects to mine continues to hold true.
After painting for about an hour and a half, our ceramics were done and we left them to get put into the kiln. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. And as we were leaving, the girls stopped by the bookshelf in the Arts & Crafts Center store to borrow a book (which unfortunately is still in my front seat, unreturned). Elaina chose one of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, but I am unsure how far she got through it.
Unfortunately, when we came back a week later, we found out that one of the kilns had malfunctioned. It thankfully did not ruin anybody’s projects, but it did delay pickup for another week. When we finally did, the girls absolutely loved how they turned out. Gabriella has a new animal protector guarding her bookshelf, Elaina has a new candy / cookie jar (we have not filled BB-8 up yet), and I have a new coffee mug; everybody won this time around. Just another great time at our friendly neighborhood arts & crafts center.
Thanks for checking in on us.
Cheers!
Adventures in Single Dadding 