GHOSTS!

There's something about the ghostly look that my animal whistles have after I've glazed them but before  I have started the decorating.  They have a blank look with only the large gesture being apparent.  I find that this frees me to design as I wish without becoming a slave to the original image.

They change so much after I have done with decorating sometimes it's hard to realize that they are the same work.  This challenge is another part of what I love about majolica.

Yesterday was so humid that I spent the whole day waiting for the glaze to dry.  For me it is better to let the glaze dry slowly.  If I put object under a heat lamp I often get uneven drying.  It's most disconcerting to be working on a hard surface and then suddenly find it's not.

Everything has dried very nicely, so I get to spend studio time today.  I don't think it's going to rain until much later so I will also put some reprocessed clay out to dry a bit.  It's such a sloppy process that I like to do it outside.  I'm going to prepare for the winter winds this year and get ahead in my clay.

In spite of everything, I managed to stay busy.  Proge and I spent the morning readjusting the pond filter and pump.  He was the one wading around in thigh deep water, but I still managed to get soaked.  If you are going to have water features in your garden you have got to enjoy messing about in water.

I made buns so we could have hamburgers.  The bread is from the other half of the recipe.  It's just my plain old Cuban bread, but the loaf is so handsome that I have to show it off a little.  The recipe is quick and easy so I have been trying herb additions.  Rosemary & Dill is especially tasty.

I am a fool for love (of plants).  Our pond guy is selling most of his plants at 25% off.  I bought three day lilies.  This peachy pink is my favorite today.  I also got a small rosy pink and a deep purple and gold.

Of course I need more plants!  I like to keep adding them until winter (the season) stops me.

And lastly here is Winter, totally mystified by how she got herself into this tangle.  Most of the time she gets herself out of twists and turns, but she needed some help with this one.

After a day of hot-stickies we had a heavy thunder storm yesterday evening which dumped almost an inch of rain in about half an hour.  No complaints here!  It dropped the humidity and added water to pool, pond, and well.

This post can be seen at  Mud Colony and Artists In Blogland.  Everyone should drop by and see what is going on; there are lots of new people to discover, plus old friends.

Did anyone watch the opening of the Olympics?  I was absolutely thrilled when Sir Paul led Hey Jude ...and opened with...."And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." 

Have a bountiful, happy weekend, and, as always, thanks for stopping by..........*s*