HAPPY EASTER!!!!

It's turning into a lovely Easter Sunday - the sun is out and the winds have finally started to die down. It's still not warm enough (at least for me) to work in the yard, though.

I'm hoping that we'll finally get some more warm weather - and afraid that my rhubarb and the flowers that were starting to bloom will not be able to revive themselves. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

Last week-end I worked outside in 60-70 degree weather - the first part of the week, Mother Nature threw is a curve ball and dropped the temperatures down into the 20's and 30's. Out came the winter coats again and gloves and heavy socks and layers of clothes.........

Keep warm everyone - be well.


"Life is a work of art, created by the one who lives it."

The Remedy...

It's been over a month since I last posted anything here - I mentioned then that I had found a 'remedy' for my lack of time and such - I do! Two weeks ago, I gave my boss notice of my 'retirement'. On August 9, 2007, I will no longer be a full-time employee at the college.

I felt as if 2 tons had been lifted off my shoulders - it's been very stressful in a different way, though. All of a sudden, I've become invisible by the other members of the department - the staff that I'm supposed to supervise. I have some very strong emotions about this, but it will work itself out. A couple of very dear friends have been reminding me non-stop that in 4 months and one week, it will no longer be my problem and that I need to remember this little prayer:

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Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

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Amazing how well it works - especially when you save it in small poster form and display it above your monitor as suggested.

That's it for today, folks - I'll be back later in the week.

Take care, everyone, and remember -

"Some people are like Slinkies...not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs."

Seaweed! Peeeeeeuuuuw!!!!

I've never really had much to do with seaweed - swimming in the lakes around this area, it's a nuisance. I never really thought much about gathering it for any good reason, so just never thought much about it - until recently.

Because a couple of us from the college are preparing for a children's pottery workshop, I've been gathering 'stuff' to use for firing. Tools can be made from just about anything laying around, ice cream buckets make great storage and working containers, I have lots of newspapers for the tepee kilns and plenty of scrap clay to make slip to seal the newpapers, Denise has a source for wood to build the frames and for firing, a huge plastic container in my shop is filled with dried walnut and hickory husks and we'll no doubt have a good supply of used coffee grounds and orange peels and banana skins and all sorts of other 'stuff'. But, because seaweed can also produce some wonderful results (I'm told), I contacted a friend from the east coast. He graciously picked about 10 pounds of fresh Cape Cod Canal seaweed and sent it. It arrived in today's mail.

Are you with me so far??

Instead of drying this stuff, he sent it fresh - yep, I paid to ship water - but, because it hadn't been dried and traveled in plastic bags, when I opened it I almost fell over from the smell. Whoa!!!!!! EEEEUUUUW!! Blech!! Ptooey! Ack-ack-yuck. I should have known what to expect, because the box had a slight off odor to it - smelled like cooked peas gone bad. Each successive layer of plastic that I unwrapped allowed the stench to become stronger. Euw. Good thing I didn't open it in the house - the cats would never have forgiven me.

I guess the plan of attack is going to be to get a couple of the scrounged styrofoam produce flats down from the 'loft' in my shop and spread this stuff out in them (going to use rubber gloves for this part, I think) and set them outside where it will, hopefully, freeze dry enough that it won't cause a lot of stomach-churning when we add it to the combustibles while we're load the children's wares to the kilns.

If anyone has any better suggestions, send them on - I'm open to just about any solution at this point.

You see, we're trying to ENCOURAGE participation, not send them running home with stories of 'icky stuff'.

Wish me luck! I normally have a strong stomach, but this was an unexpected surprise. Whew!!

I think I've recovered enough from the surprise that I can get out there and get that seaweed taken care of - wish me luck!!

;-)

Robins???

The date is February 10th. I've been hearing reports of robin sightings all week long. I didn't expect to see the two trees in my back yard, however, filled with robins and starlings this morning.

I have two lovely flowering crab trees in the back - each spring, they wear heavy cloaks of white and deep pink that leave behind multitudes of berries. As the seasons progress from summer to fall to winter these small, red delicacies provide food for the birds and squirrels that have no choice but to remain in our frozen Midwest.

The best view of these trees is from my kitchen window - I was filling the coffee pot with water for a fresh carafe of my favorite brew and noticed a couple of robins picking what was left of the berries. Soon, a couple more robins arrived to join in the feast. Suddenly, the tree was invaded by so many birds that I couldn't keep count.

Activity from the back porch area scares them off, so I decided not to try and take a picture of them (I'm not the best photographer anyway, so it really isn't a great loss.)

It was wonderful watching my feathered friends after our intense cold spell! Gives me hope that warmer weather will be here soon.

The yellow kitty I took pity on went back outside this morning, too. Oh, I guess I didn't tell you about this lovely guy.

Since mid-summer this mature, yellow cat has been hanging around - very friendly, has a lot to say and is very affectionate. He's apparently familiar with indoor living, because he always tried to dart into the house whenever he was around. I have had no luck in finding his family. If you'll remember, the last couple of weeks, it's been dangerously cold. He showed up on Sunday evening, howling and crying and tearing at the screen on the outside door because he wanted in - imagine that!

So, I opened the door. I had been expecting this - had worried about what would happen to him in that weather, so borrowed a large cage from a friend and gotten it set up - just in case..... Around this house, he's known as Morris - looks just like the original. And, he's been sharing our house for the last week. Today, he decided he wanted to go outside - so, I let him out of the cage and he literally ran to the back door. I'm not sure where he went to after I let him out, but I would bet good money that he'll be back.

Yes, I'm a softie for little animals - can't stand to see these creatures hurt or hungry, so I provide for them whenever I can.

It's been a month since I posted last. I'm back to work, but got very spoiled while I was on leave. Things haven't changed at the college, and in fact, seem to be busier than before.

Because it's been so busy, I haven't really had much of a chance to just stop and think - a problem that I'm going to remedy soon. But, I'll tell you more about that remedy another time.

Stay warm - be well!

Later!!!

It's been a few days -

Bet y'all thought I'd fallen off the face of the earth didn't ya? No such luck... I've just been a little pre-occupied is all. Can't wait to be able to sit at my wheel or even just wedge some clay to work with.

In the meantime, I've rummaged around and found my nostepinne (Norwegian for 'nest stick') to wind some of the beautiful merino yarn I've acquired into balls to work with instead of those hard-to-deal-with hanks. It's been a while since I've used it and it shows. Instead of ending up with a center-pull ball of yarn, it more closely resembles a football - but, it works just the same! My next two looked a whole lot better!!!

The nicest yarn I've found so far is hand-painted and hand-spun by an Asian couple from (of all places) New Hampshire - it's so soft and the colors are consistent and lively. It's a chunkier weight than what I've worked with before, but it knits up beautifully and felts even better. Sorry, it FULLS even better. I've been corrected before about my use of these two terms. Felting is done with the fiber or roving - a finished knitted or crocheted piece is fulled - two different processes.

I'll try and get a couple of pictures up later today - felting is really kind of fun, but the preparation and testing is tedious. I enjoy testing clays and glazes for my pots, but knitting the test swatches for the different yarns is different, although a very important step in determining the shrink rate for the finished object - just like with clay.

I guess the difference in the process is that testing clays and glazes is more mind-bending - testing the yarns only takes a little bit of manual labor - over and over and over.

I've also been scouring the internet for sales venues - etsy.com, yessy.com, eBay - and am seeing some interesting work, both in fiber arts and pottery. I think I can pull off a few good sales. After seeing some of the work offered, I'm both impressed and curious, and in some cases, outraged and disappointed.

Impressed at the level of skill in some areas and that the work is offered at such a reasonable price. Curious about the techniques used and want to know more about the artist. Outraged and disapppointed at the offerings that are clearly the work of someone who needs more practice and a higher skill level. This work is offered for huge prices and it SELLS!!! And the buyers LOVE it. I just don't get it. I don't have to understand it, I guess - I just have to hope (make sure) that MY work doesn't fall into that last category.

Enough for now - gotta go take those pictures so I can show you my feeble attempts at a new direction in my life.

Take care y'all - catch ya on the flip-flop!!

Oh, forgot to tell you about my new, custom-made warping board so I can set up my loom again - pictures later after I get it mounted on the wall......

Too much time on my hands!!!!!

I've had many friends that have asked when I'm finally going to put a up a website. Since I'm at home for the duration of a medical leave, I thought maybe I'd try and do something productive and create this blog - not a website, but it'll do in the interim.

I'll get some pictures up someday - maybe sooner, maybe later - but for now, I've at least taken the first step.

This is my first attempt at blogging, so be patient - it'll probably go a bit slow for now.

Oh, just realized that a website was one of my New Year's resolutions a couple of years ago - well, it's a start.

Later!!