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I unloaded the glaze firing that included my Mississippi River clay inlay experiment.  thrilled with 2:3.  Inlay is better than brushing it on as a slip.

One of my baby chickens is a cockerel.  Confirmed by my own chicken experience (the tail feathers are curving downward), experience of other friends who have been equally unhappily surprised when their pullets turned out to be not so, and, possibly most damning, by a farmer friend who saw a photo and asked how "that baby rooster is doing".  Looking for a new home for it.  (also looking for a new home for my old volvo sedan, um, if you're interested).

One more week of school.  A week of decompression after that, then a week at the beach.  So so looking forward to that, and even more so now that I know that there is an excellent grocery store in the town.  Not having to worry about packing groceries for a week is a blessing.

Alrighty.  See y'all later.

April

 

 good morning.

Y'all, I feel like April just almost did me in.  It was truly the month in which I could not, did not, keep up.  Didn't keep up with my daily drawings (I stopped mid-month).  Didn't keep up with pottery (tried to, but).  Didn't keep up with friends.  Retreated and got frustrated and angry and had to have a big fat time out.  Last week we had a large discussion around the dinner table about taking ownership of your decisions and their outcomes and just making the best of what you're left with in the aftermath of your decisions, good or bad.  No whining, no blaming, just taking what's in front of you and making the best you/life/decision you can with what you have.  Ownership.   So I'm moving on from April because it's the second week of May.  No more dwelling on failed pots or plans or anything else that happened that I can't do anything about.  Moving on.  I'm able to move forward in part because of the support and encouragement of so many of y'all- two emails over the weekend, in particular, were especially encouraging when I was ready to just throw in the towel.  So thank you, especially, Richard and Gail.  And you countless other friends who have been thinking good thoughts and sending me well wishes and saying nice things when I whine in public forums.  It means a lot.

I did have a long long chat this morning with the technician at Standard Ceramics company, one of the largest clay manufacturers in the country and the maker of most of the clay bodies I use, including my favorite that suddenly seemed to go haywire on me.  Julie was wonderful.  She is sending me a new clay to test and is testing my old favorite with the glazes that had been giving me the most problems.  I can't even tell you how grateful I am that she took my questions seriously and is helping me to find solutions to either making my old clay and glazes work or finding a new go-to clay body.  

Today it is raining and I am glazing and firing a little load of herb markers and those pieces I made with Mississippi river clay inlay.  

Hope your week is off to a good start.