That sounds like a classic case of "the bank thinks I'm a criminal" syndrome. My card once got flagged for a $4 coffee in a town I'd literally lived in for three years, so their fraud detection is about as smart as a screen door on a submarine. Take this with a grain of salt, but maybe call ahead next time or use a travel card that doesn't freak out like mine does.

Have you heard of just using action beats instead? I read that tip in some writing blog a few years back and it saved me. Instead of "murmured," just describe what the character does while talking, like "he looked down at his shoes" or something. @lilyb27 is right, the nature documentary comment is spot on.

That number would make me question my whole life tbh.

I ruined a leather journal in 2015 with that same mistake.

Honestly, you might be overthinking it. The paint was probably gonna peel anyway with that draft, so sanding it down and repainting is actually the cleanest fix. Scraping just makes a bigger mess, trust me I learned that the hard way too.