Sunday with God

          Yesterday, Sunday, I was pretty tired in the morning because I had walked so much the day before.  I decided to skip church and spend some time in Bible study up on the roof.  Manda and Meghan have raved about how much they love the book of Isaiah, so I decided to start reading it.  I like it.  Not only is it well written from a literary standpoint, but I like seeing pieces of the Lutheran liturgy right in the book.  Pretty cool.
          I decided then to take a walk to see whether I could find this one piece of property that I really love.  It was much easier to find than I thought, and I walked in it and sat down on a brick wall toward the back.  I was just sitting there, looking at and dreaming about what the space could be.  A slight breeze blew through the trees.  I just sat lost in thought.  My thinking was interrupted by a young gentleman who opted to sit next to me.  We covered the familiar topics of name, family, how long I've been in Haiti, and then we switched to what I knew was coming: he was hungry.  His mother was hungry.  His family was hungry.  I waited for the next question: can you give me some money for food.  This time, though, that question didn't come.  He followed with a question that a Haitian has never asked before:

"What is your dream for Haiti?"

So I told him: for all Haitians to have a place to live, enough food to eat, plenty of clean drinking water, access to education, and independence from foreign aid.  He said those were good dreams.  Then he asked me another question that I've never been asked before:

"What is your dream for you in Haiti?"

So I told him: to buy that piece of property and turn it into a place where neighborhood people could hang out, play games, where children could be and be safe, maybe provide food, let it become a community center of sorts.

He said that was a good dream.

We continued to talk about our respective presidents, his hopes of visiting the States some day, the work I do in Haiti.  It was pretty easy.  He said that he lived nearby and asked if I would like to meet his mother.  Now, I never, I mean never, go to people's houses here and go inside.  But, I did yesterday.  For some reason it felt okay.  Right.  I met Cherlin's brother Son, but the mother wasn't home.  The two of us talked a bit, and then I said I had to go.  The house was small and neat and clean.  The brothers shared that nine people live in the house.  Blew me away because the entire house was about the size of 1/2 my house.  Cherlin and I walked outside, and he asked for money for food.  Again, I never, I mean never, give money to people on the street who ask for it.  But I did this time.  It felt right.

I was out today at the beach, so I didn't have time to visit Cherlin and his family, but I plan to do that tomorrow.  Maybe I'll go to his house.  Maybe I'll see him on the piece of property.  I don't know, but I'm curious to see what comes from meeting him.

Long Walk Down a Mountain

If you read yesterday's post, you know that today's agenda included running errands.  You also know that I said hanging out with kids is more fun than running errands.  It's way more fun.

I originally planned to head out right away in the morning, but then I though "No, stick around and help clean the therapy room."  Well, we decided to do therapy and then just clean the mats.  By the time all that was done, it was only noon, so I thought I had plenty of time to run all my errands:

1.  Print new pictures of all the kids
2.  Buy index cards
3.  Measure the table at Delmas 2000 to see whether it would work for Phonsley
4.  Buy Diet Coke
4.  Print more stuff for the therapy room
6.  Stop at the bookstore and just check it out.

I planned to start at the top and work my way down--literally.  I would start near the top of the mountain at Delmas 86 and start with #1 on the list.  After about an hour on the tap tap up to Delmas 86, I got off at Ga Ma, the photo place.  Walked up to the door and pulled.  Nothing.  Locked.  The very nice security guard stuck his head out of the side door and motioned me over.  He explained that they closed at noon on Saturdays.  Of course they do.  I was only 1 1/2 hours late.

As a sign of my growth and maturity (I'm being serious here), I didn't get angry or frustrated.  I just thought, well I'll start walking down toward the office supply store for the index cards.  I typically walk down a few blocks anyway, so this was no big deal.  I approached the office supply store.  Walked up the front steps.  Closed.  This nice security guard explained that they closed at 1:00 on Saturdays.  Of course they do.

I still didn't get angry or frustrated.  But, I did get stubborn.  I decided I was just going to keep walking down the mountain.  Don't know why, but I did.  Along the way I noticed Le Pappitry, a paper store.  I remembered that they, too, carried office/school supplies, so I crossed the street to check it out.  Closed.  Noon.  Saturday.  Of course.

Kept walking down the mountain.  Came to the Eagle Store and decided to check for the Diet Coke.  Wonder of wonders they had it!  Finally I could cross something off my list!

I crossed back over the street because I remembered seeing a place on my way up the mountain that advertised printing a bunch of stuff.  It was on the down hill side, so I wanted to be on the right side so that I didn't miss it.  I hadn't gone very far when I saw the Bon Jean grocery store.  I thought "Why not?  Give it a try.  Maybe they would have index cards."  I crossed back over the street and went in.  The first shelf I looked at had index cards.  Seriously.  500 of 'em.  They were packaged all together, so even though I only wanted about 200, I had to buy 500.  So what.  Another thing crossed off my list!

I went back to the other side of the street (by this point, I was pretty good at getting across Haitian streets, which can be a bit like playing Frogger because pedestrians DO NOT have the right a way in Haiti).  I started thinking about getting a moto taxi to take me the rest of the way--I thought I could keep an eye out for the photo place and save my feet some discomfort.  Could've done that.  I didn't.  Stubbornness kicked in (thanks Mom and Dad!) and I kept walking.  And walking.  All the way down to Delmas 33 and the Delmas 2000 grocery store.  For those of you who haven't been here, that may not mean much.  But, to walk from Delmas 86 to Delmas 33 meant I had just walked about 2.5 miles.  In sandals.  With little water.  In the Caribbean sun.  Who knew running errands would've required preparing for a wilderness trip!

But, just before I came across Delmas 2000, I saw the photo printing place!  And, it was still open.  And, they could print my pictures and the Word documents.  Two more things crossed off my list.  Of course, the Kodak printing machine ran out of paper.  And then ink.  And then had to be rebooted.  And the guys running the place were more concerned about getting printing done for one of the Delmas political candidates.  Printing 48 pictures took 90 minutes.  But it got done!

On to Delmas 2000.  Walked right in, measured, and left.  The table will work for Phonsley, one of our boys in a wheelchair.  I'm looking for a table that he can sit at in his chair and be at the right height so that he can work on coloring and playing with objects.

I continued down the mountain with only one more item on my list: stop at the bookstore by the Rebo Cafe just to check it out.  I grabbed a tap tap (finally) and sat down.  No way was Haiti going to fool me again.  I knew better than to get off and check to see whether the bookstore was open.  It was 4:15 on a Saturday.  Of course it would be closed!

I arrived home at 4:30 satisfied with my day--even though it started with little hope, I really did get a lot accomplished.

I still stand by my observation that hanging with kids is more fun than running errands, but at least errands in Haiti prove to be adventurous!

July 24, 2015

          There's nothing significant about today's date, yet I realized today that in two weeks or less, I will be back in the States.  I've been putting off buying my return ticket because I don't want to acknowledge that I have to leave.  My heart is here.  My passion is here.  I have felt no stress or anxiety or fatigue while I've been here (except for when I was sick, but that's normal).  Some of the lack of stress is probably because it is summer, but a big part of it is that I'm doing what I love.  I don't dread going back, but I fear heading back to what I know will be stress and anxiety brought on by a new school year.  Every year I say the same thing: this'll be the year that I really will exercise and eat well and make time for myself and not let work consume me and make Haiti a priority even though I'm not here.  I fear that on the first day of school all those good intentions will go by the wayside as they have always done in the past.  Suggestions?

Nathalie coloring

          Well, instead of thinking about two weeks or two months from now, I want to focus on what a great day I had!  It again started with therapy, not horse but regular.  I sent Manda and Meghan to horse therapy with Lauren so that I could work with Shirley again and acclimate her to the therapy room.  Our first child today was Nathalie.  For those of you who have Nathalie, you know what a handful she can be!  We started with her sitting and leaning back a bit so that she could lean on her arms, but she wanted none of that.  She resisted and thought it was a game and started flailing her arms and kicking her legs as only Nathalie can do.  We quickly switched to massage with Shirley working her legs and me working on her arms.  Within minutes Nathalie was a limp noodle barely able to keep her head up.  She relaxed even more when we put her on the therapy ball to relax her back.  By the time we got her sitting in a chair at a table so that she could color, she was so relaxed she could barely sit up!  A good time was had by all.

Sweet Nahomie

          Next came Nahomie and Sarah, two little girls who spend pretty much their entire day in their wheelchairs.  I love working with this two precious little kids.  They are so delicate and tiny that I am forced to slow down, be gentle and quiet, and just be with them.  Nahomie hasn't had her meds for a couple of days, so she was pretty unresponsive to therapy, but we both enjoyed just sitting and cuddling.  By the end she was asleep, so we just let her keep sleeping while we moved on to Alain and Woodmayer.

Fort building

          I spent the late afternoon hours with Chedner's kids.  They have been hanging out here because we have a summer camp going on.  Well, once the camp part is over, they just get to play, but sometimes tempers flare between our kids and them.  I thought it would be perfect to bring them up to the roof and have them read and color the books that I had translated into Creole (don't start thinking I'm all that with the language skills--these books are like at the pre-pre school level).  The kids did enjoy the coloring.  For a bit.  The reading not so much.  Soon they were much more interested in building forts and climbing on the kitchen roof top that extends about the rest of the roof.  Oh well.   I tried to be educational.

Even the interns climbed!

          They climbing and sliding caused them to work up hunger and thirst, so I went to my room and grabbed the cheddar cheese flavored Hanover Pretzel Bits that I bought at the store yesterday.  They weren't so sure about them at first, Lourdesmilla especially.  I wish I could have got a picture of her face when she bit into the first one!  But, they adjusted and soon wolfed down the entire bag!

Another good day.  Tomorrow will be filled with running errands, so I'm glad I got hang with kids today.  They are so much more fun than errands.

General Updates

My day was filled with a variety of activities, none more important than the other, just a wide variety.  As usual, I started on the roof with my morning caffeine (Diet Coke this morning since I made it to the market yesterday) and a good book.  Then breakfast.  After I ate, I headed downstairs to watch the nannies scoop up the first morning of scrambled eggs with onions, tomatoes, and green pepper.  We have just implemented a nutrition program by switching out breakfast with something more nutritious, and this is our first week.  Yesterday's oatmeal when over better than the eggs today.  The nannies were not impressed with the amount per child.  At least two of them said to me that it would not be enough, and the nanny scooping it out had a continual look of disgust on her face while giving a running commentary about how the kids were not getting enough to eat.  I assured them all it would be enough because it was good protein that would stick with the kids.  

Christine wasn't so sure about the eggs

Sandra loved the eggs!

 What I wanted to say was that I ate a scrambled egg and a piece of fruit for breakfast, and look at me!  It's more than enough!  They were a bit mollified when I told them that Brunel was coming back with a banana for each child as well.

Bananas for the morning snack

The kids enjoyed it, and feeding went much faster because there was a fraction of the food to shove down the kids's throats to feed them.  A few of the kids who have issues swallowing weren't quite sure what to do with textured food that they had to chew or move around their mouths, but the figured it out.  I just recently learned that textured food actually helps kids with tongue thrusting issues learn to swallow appropriately.  So there, you doubters!  It's actually a part of the therapy!

Next came therapy.  While Meghan and Mandy continued to share with our visitor how to do therapy, I organized the shoes from yesterday.  Once that was done, I went through the gifts bags that the Soles4Souls group had left for the nannies and made some extras so that every female staff member had a gift.  Then, I got to deliver them!  Sweet.

Madame Robert and her gift

Lunch consisted of my standard crusty, slightly stale roll with Laughing Cow cheese.  It's not much, but it's tasty.  And, the stale bread means it takes longer to chew, which means that lunch lasts a bit longer than if I had fresh bread.  

Manda and Meghan and I needed to replenish our lunch stash, so we headed up to the Star 2000.  Shirley came with us.  I don't care how often I do it, I love taking moto taxis and tap taps!  Haitians think I'm crazy, but I don't care.  Love it.

Shirley and Rosaline during therapy

Upon our return I took some time to relax on the roof, but I soon headed downstairs and outback to hang out with the kids.  I even took a turn at jumping rope!  Haven't totally lost it, but the girls are way better than I.  That's okay--they're like 8 or 10.  They should be better than I.  It was fun hanging out until I had to start disciplining.  I realized today that that is the turning point for me.  I've often wondered why I can only handle hanging out with the kids for so long, and I figured it out today.  Once I have to start mediating or disciplining, it's no longer fun for me.  I love just being with the kids, playing with them, goofing with them; but after too long, the kids start misbehaving and I have to become the disciplinarian.  The key in the future is to stop the fun before I have to switch roles

Tomorrow will probably be another typical day.  I hope so.  I like 'em like that.

Working with Others

In my time working in Haiti over the past few years, I have had the privilege of working with numerous organizations.  From each of them I have learned much and gained insight into how and why they serve and how those reasons influence my own serving.  Today's privilege was working with a group from Soles4Souls.  This connection was set up by one of our Council members, and I have been e-mailing back and forth for months with one of Soles4Souls staff members about getting the kids's shoe sizes and their needs so that stateside staff members and MANY volunteers could organize shoe donations and/or purchase the shoes that our children needed.

Christina

Jacky

Well, today all that planning and e-mailing came to fruition.  A huge bus rolled into our compound this afternoon, and group of the 19 calmest, most giving people I have met descended.  We had a simple lunch upstairs before they set up, and they had distribution down to a science.  We brought kids in in small groups, they measured the feet, and then they found shoes in the kids's sizes.  Because we had sent a list of our kids, their gender, and shoe sizes to Soles4Souls back in June, many of the kids already had shoes picked out for them with their names on them.  If shoes didn't fit (some of the kids had already grown since we measured back in early June!), a group member climbed into the back of the bus, dug around in big boxes/bins of shoes, and pretty much always came up with what the child needed!  Every child who needed new school shoes, received a pair, and many of them also received a "fun" pair of shoes.  The other children all received a pair of new shoes, and I'm talking cool new shoes--the kind you would pick out for your own child or grandchild or niece or nephew.

Lovely getting her shoes

Shoes galore!

When they left, they kept thanking me for letting them come.  Thanking me?  I couldn't thank them enough for the gift they had given our children.  Please check out their website to learn more about them; they are worth knowing--soles4souls.org.

Soles4Souls is just the most recent in a long list of organizations that I have had the privilege of working with over the years.  I would love to give detailed accounts of all of them, but I will simply list their web addresses and share a bit of their connection with Notre Maison:

Haiti Mission Project--I first came to Haiti with them in 2009.  They have partnered with Notre Maison for the last decade.

Healing Haiti--They often bring groups in to play with our kids and provide other needed items such as lotion, diapers, and wipes.  They were also instrumental in keeping our water therapy program going for over a year.

Rays of Hope--They regularly bring groups to stay at the guesthouse onsite with their group members often interacting with the kids.

American World Adoption--They have provided needed food over the years and work with orphanage director Gertrude on many of our adoptions.

Reese's Rainbow--A number of our children our listed on their site that raises funds to help defray the costs of adoption.

Healing Hands for Haiti--This organization regularly sends teams of physical/occupational therapists to evaluate our children, to provide training for our staff, and to provide much-needed wheelchairs and other therapy equipment.

On Living in Haiti

         I often think about moving to Haiti and working here (Haiti, Notre Maison, etc.) full time.  It has always seemed like a dream that was "out there" somewhere in the future.  More and more, though, I'm thinking what if the future is really now?  What does it really mean to move to and live in Haiti?  Am I ready for it?  Can I do it financially?  What would my life be like living in Haiti?
          Where would I live?  If I wanted to work at Notre Maison/St. Joe's, would I live onsite?  I don't know that that would be feasible because groups are in and out, and I'm not sure that I want to live out of a suitcase forever.  In fact, I couldn't.  I would want/need to establish my own space--make it mine--and the orphanage just doesn't have that kind of space.  If Notre Maison is not an option, then what?  Do I live in the neighborhood?  If I did that, then I would need to really fix up a house, wire it for electricity, buy a generator, etc.  Would it be safe?  Women living alone just doesn't happen very often here.  Would I need to hire someone to be the "guard" on the property?
           Maybe living up in Petionville would be a better option in terms of a house that is livable, closer to more conveniences, maybe safer.  Then how do I get to work?  I could buy a car, but that means more money for upkeep.  Tap tap and motos are an option, but that takes a long time.  And, I would want the freedom that comes with owning a car.  Do houses in Haiti come with washers/dryers, refrigerators, freezers, etc.?  Could I do my laundry by hand every week?  Cooking here at the orphanage is a bit old school, but is that what it looks like in a typical Haitian home?  I'm not sure I even know what a typical Haitian home looks like.
         How would I handle finances?  How do I open up a bank account?  What about a driver's license?  Navigating the legal system might be beyond me.  It would be a steep learning curve to figure it all out.  How would I make friends?  I meet a ton of people who come through the guest house, and relationships develop, but only a few have developed into friendships.  Living in Haiti could be very lonely without real friends.  Making friends is hard for me, and doing it in a foreign language seems daunting.  What about entertainment?  Books in English could be hard to come by.  Go to the movies is out of the question.  Running and biking for exercise and entertainment aren't going to happen.  A gym membership would probably be out of the question simply due to cost, and even though I know Haiti does have gyms, I have no idea what they look like or what they offer.
          And there are the medical issues.  Who becomes my primary care physician?  What about a dentist?  Prescription medications?
          Do I sell everything in the States--the house, the car, the furniture?  If I do that, then I am totally committed to living in Haiti.  If I don't, how can I ever financially afford to support two households?  What about Boo?  He would never make it in this climate, and I would miss him terribly to say nothing of missing my family and friends.  To do this all alone seems too overwhelming.
          My heart wants to do it and be here.  My head wants to want to do it, but practicality rears its ugly head and smacks the heart down.  Today, for some reason, living and working in Haiti seems like nothing but wishful thinking.  Glad I don't have to make a decision now.  But soon I will.

Rejection

          Christine and I go way back, all the way to when she first arrived in November 2012.  She was just 1 ½ at the time, and she didn’t interact with anyone, didn’t smile, didn’t cry.  My niece Michaela, who was with me on that trip, simply held her during the day and loved on her.  When Michaela wasn’t holding her, I was.  I sang Christine to sleep in my arms pretty much every day.

            I then returned in January 2013 for my five-month leave of absence, and Christine and I continued to bond.  She wanted me to hold her.  She started to smile.  She played with me.  I continued to hold her and sing her to sleep.  Over the years we have become very close.  She remembers me and has always run to me when I arrive, and I look for her first so that I can swing her up into my arms. 

            The trip was no different.  At first.  We played.  We went to the beach together and had a great time.  Then I got sick and had to return unexpectedly to the States for two weeks.   I came back ten days ago, and, like always, looked for Christine first when I arrived at the orphanage. 

            She wouldn’t look at me.  I picked her up to kiss her hello, and she screamed and cried.  She only stopped when I passed her off to someone else.  That behavior has not changed since that first day back.  Every time I picked her up, she screamed and cried until I put her down.  She won’t even look at me.  I have been shocked at how much her rejection has hurt.  I miss hanging out with her.  I miss sitting and holding her.  I miss her smile and her laugh.  I have no idea what happened or why she doesn’t trust me or feel safe with me anymore, and it breaks my heart.

            I don’t know what to do to get her to trust/care for me again.  I seriously thought about winning back her affections with treats, walks, and trinkets; but that isn’t right.  I’ve given up trying to engage her, and I just watch from afar.  If she ever does make eye contact, I smile.  I don’t push anything.  The other day when I had to take some rattle balls down to the therapy room, I had more than I could carry in my hands, so I tossed her one.  Yesterday when a visiting group was handing out squishy balls to play with, I made she got one first. 

            I pray that God will heal our relationship before I leave, but I fear I will run out of time.  I fear that I will have to leave before we reconnect, and then the next time I come she will remember that she doesn’t trust me and we may never reconnect.  I am jealous of the folks that she lets hold her because I don’t get to do that anymore.  I am jealous of the folks who get to play with her and swing with her because I just get to watch. 

            This past week has given me the teeniest, tiniest glimpse into what a parent must feel when a child doesn’t want to be held or pushes away.  If I feel this amount of hurt, what must a parent feel?  What must it feel like when one’s own flesh and blood can’t or won’t allow you to connect with them?  Too hard to imagine.

A Week with Friends

          The past week has been so much fun.  My friends Susan and Donna came back with me on July 7, and it was great to share Haiti with them.  It was Donna’s first visit, and she was awesome!  She asked great questions, took it all in, made great observations, and may decide to come back!

            We spent the bulk of our time working at Chedner’s orphanage (Divine Family) with his 13 kids.  Our first day we took to drive all over creation looking for dirt to buy and seedlings to plant for a roof top garden at Divine Family.  It was a pain in the butt, and we ended up with no soil and sad looking vegetable seedlings.  The only good thing about the day was that we found some pretty flowers. 

Agricultural School).  We visited the Iron Market, mostly for the cultural experience.  After that we headed up to Delmas 75 to the Apparent Project.  This is an organization that was begun in 2009 by an American couple, and it has grown by leaps and bounds.  The whole goal of the business is to employ Haitian parents so that they have enough money to keep their kids and not have to give them up to orphanages.   We were able to take a tour and see how things are made—all by hand!  I encourage you to check out their website and learn more about what they do:

            Brunel did not find dirt that day, but he did the next.  We took kids to horse therapy Friday morning, and Brunel again headed to the Agricultural School for dirt.  He did find it.  He bought it for us.  Donna about cried when she saw it.  They were not tears of joy.  The bags that he had delivered to Chedner’s was the poorest looking “soil” that I had ever seen. 

            The next day on our way to Chedner’s to start the kids on planting, Donna had has picking up greens and browns to mix in with the soil to try to add nutrients.  We also took the coffee grounds from our kitchen.  We picked up small chunks of cement to put in the bottom of the pots.  We even asked a lady at the market if we could have her pea shells!  She thought we were nuts, but I find that I often have that affect on Haitians.  The lady whom we asked for her egg shells was very dismissive of us.  However, she did let us have them, but she waved us away with a flip of her hand. 

            I loved watching Donna in action as she taught the kids how to mix all the “stuff” together and then add it to the soil.  Both the kids and I learned a ton about soil and planting and seeds.  She truly is a master teacher.  The kids loved working with her.  I understand why because even though she doesn’t speak Creole, she was able to get her point across and help every child feel a part of the process and make each of them feel as if his/her contribution was vital to the success of the garden. 

            Sunday was church and lunch at Kokoye and another trip to the store to buy needed and not-so-needed items.  I finally listened to Chedner about where to buy actual soil and other seedlings, and Monday I went with him to do that while Donna and Susan braved working with the kids on making T-shirts (no small feat when they don’t speak Creole and the kids don’t speak English).  Chedner is the one to go to when in need.  We returned with great soil and much better looking flowers.  Then began the frantic process of re-planting what we had done on Saturday and planting all the new flowers and vegetable seeds.  The kids could actually have vegetables to eat in a month or two!  Sweet!

            Tuesday was bubbles and good byes.  I had it easy because I knew I would see them again.  Susan and Donna not so much.   Yesterday they returned to the States, and I remain in Haiti.  

Back in the Saddle!

Yes, I am back in Haiti after a 2.5 week hiatus.  I was on an emotional roller coaster those last days here in June and for the three days I spent in the Miami hospital fighting a MRSA infection.  Thanks to God and some good American medicine, I have healed well and am back in the place I love with the children I love and with good friends (whom I love, too!).

I love sharing Haiti with friends, especially with first timers because it gives me a chance to see the country with fresh eyes once again.  Not only do I see the poverty anew and am reminded of how blessed I have it, but I also see the beauty, joy, and determination of the people of Haiti.

Today was a mish mash of activity.  We first walked to Chedner's to get an idea of the space we had to work with for the roof garden we're going to put in with the kids's help, and then we came back to see the opening ceremony for VBS.  We then thought we could leave right away to go buy plants, but, of course, that didn't happen because we are in Haiti!  While we waited for two hours, we played with the kids in the kiddie pools and then had our lunch.

About 12:30 we headed out to Double Harvest past Croix-de-Bouquet.  Double Harvest was not what I was expecting.  At all.  First of all, I don't speak enough gardening Creole to do this well.  Secondly, we were in the middle of nowhere.  Thirdly, we got there by driving on muddy, rutted roads in the middle of nowhere!  Then, when we finally arrive, the vegetable plants they had for sale were tiny and Charlie Brown like.  They didn't sell potting dirt.  They didn't sell pots.  They pretty much just sold tiny plants.  We bought what we could, but then they pulled the starter plants out of the containers (the containers were not a part of the sale!).  So, we put all the plants in some old things we found lying around.  It was a very frustrating day.  And, on the way back I really had to pee, so Aniel, the driver, had to stop so that I could run into a field and pee.

We had much more success at the MSC hardware store later in the afternoon, and we found what we needed at the Giant Supermarket across from the MSC store.

Some good news?  I found my camera and my external hard drive!  Now I can take pictures of tomorrow's adventures to the Iron Market and the Apparent Project.