Hold up, that sounds like asking for trouble to me. You might dodge cracks but you're gonna warp the piece nine times out of ten, it just isn't worth the risk.

Wait, it only held three drops? That's not a spoon, it's a joke... You'd need to scoop for hours to finish a bowl of soup. Bamboo gear really does give up on life way too fast.

Mixing dry stuff first definitely helps, but the time save isn't just at the start. You end up working with a better mix that doesn't set up too fast, so you actually move quicker once you're laying brick. Total job time probably evens out or even gets faster with your new method.

Through a decent telescope, Jupiter looks like a mini solar system. You can see its bands and four biggest moons, which is wild for something so far away. Your sister probably gets hooked on that moment of clarity when everything snaps into focus. I borrowed a scope once and stayed out until sunrise (my coffee bill was brutal the next day). It's easy to lose track of time when you're seeing something that real.