Wordless Wednesday

 

CELEBRATE!

Wishing everyone a joyful Yuletide Christmas Holiday on this rainy, windy morning!

For the first time in many years we will be cooking inside. 

Snow is gone it’s going to be in the sixties today and twenties tomorrow!  Happy skating!

As always, stay safe, and thanks for stopping by.........*s*

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

JUST WHISTLE

 When I have been away from making whistles for a time I always need to make some throwaways to get back in practice.  

I usually make ‘bag whistles’. They are pinched from small balls of clay and end up looking like scrunched brown paper bags. Good for practice, but I generally wad them up and recycle once I can make a decent whistle.

This time looking at them I saw funny little scrunched up faces. So I added eyeballs and cleaned them up a bit.  I am not sure what will become of them, butI will glaze and once fire them.

We’ll see, grasshopper..........we’ll see...........

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

As always, stay safe, and thanks for stopping by...........*s*   

Wordless Wednesday

 

Memories

Remembering my mother, Doris Wright Gravenhorst Caswell. She died in 1975 at the age of sixty-five, five months.  Nanu to all her grandchildren.

It is odd to think that would be her One hundred and eleventh birthday.  To me she will be forever young.

 

She was probably in her late twenties when this picture was taken.

 

As always stay safe, and thanks for stopping by.................*s*
 

December 1, 2020

 I know bunnies are traditional for the first day of the month, but this gang of Santas and one Mage are wishing everyone a fortuitous and joyous Yuletide!

As always stay safe, and thanks for stopping by........*s*

Thankfullness

 I have had some pretty terrible years in my life but I have to say 2020 wins hands down as WORST YEAR EVER!  And yet, without being too corny, I find I have much to be thankful for.

I am most fortunate to have excellent doctors who caught my cancer in its early stage, so that all I needed was surgery to become cancer free.

I am thankful that Proge is willing to live with me and make it possible for me to continue to live in my own house.

I am thankful and relieved that we will have a new president and vice-president in 2021. We just have remember that we have not elected a combo of Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.  There is a long road of truth and healing ahead. But there is hope for a better future.

Wishing all good wishes to everyone.

As always, stay safe and healthy and thanks for stopping by...............*s*

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

Thankful Thursday

We had a very mixed up week so I spent yesterday thinking it was Tuesday...NOT!

 

In lieu of Wordless Wednesday here is a quick photo of my light amber Thanksgiving/Christmas cactus. I am thankful that it has recovered from its malaise.  Somehow its bloom has given me joy that it bloomed at the same time we have elected a new president.  I may even be able to take some cuttings when bloom is past.

What are you thankful for in what is a pretty bleak 2020?

We’ll see, grasshopper........we’ll see.

As always, stay safe and healthy, and thanks for stopping by........*s*

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Feathered Friends

I started putting out seed last week. Today the finches found the table and arrived in a mob. These are goldfinches in their winter coats.  Now I am hoping some house finches to show up.  We used to have mobs of them but not in the last five years or more.

I have had most of my plants in since our several frosty nights.  It wasn’t cold enough to kill the petunias so I may still bring a few more in. Most of them are reseeds and sort of a purple. Every once in a while there is a pretty sport.  I have a pink and a purple and white that should bloom in few weeks.

Things are loading oddly. Here are some Santas and a Wizard. These are handbuilt. Sometimes I throw a basic form. It all depends on what I am doing at the time. These are all whistles.

Here are some of the plants I mentioned earlier.

Stay safe in these fraught times.

As always, thanks for stopping by.........*s*
 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Here We Go Again

 I am indeed going through another bout of Lyme. Saw my doc yesterday for what was basically a follow up appointment.  Showed her a bite I got less than a week ago, which was already showing a ring. Immediately prescribed three weeks of antibiotics.

 At least I don’t have to worry about reaction to sun, but it’s still a drag.  I am more annoyed than anything.

GRRRRR!!!

We’ll see, grasshopper......we’ll see.......

As always, stay safe, enjoy the weekend, and, as always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Wordless Wednesday

Add caption

 

Fall Flowers

Thanks to our long autumn with no frost my morning glories are finally starting to bloom.  This is a shot I took with my iPad.  There will be better ones from my camera.

I planted them very late in July.  With any luck they will bloom for several more weeks.

This is outside my second story bedroom window. The idea was that I would have morning glories to look at when I woke up.

We’ll see, grasshopper.........we’ll see.......

As always, stay safe and thanks for stopping by.............*s*

 

Remember?

Wordless Wednesday

 

It’s Always Sumthin’: Part ???

 Woke up this morning with weird pain under my arm, spreading across chest. First half asleep thought was “OMG! Heart attack!”

NO!  A deer tick! Embedded in my armpit, hitting a nerve. Got it off. Will keep an eye out. I have a feeling this might be a bad one.

Watch out for them. 

Just when you thought it was safe to go in the woods......

We’ll see, grasshopper........we’ll see.............

As always, stay safe, and  thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Bread

I have become very lazy about my bread baking lately. I have grown too dependent on my Cuban Bread Recipe.  It’s quick and tasty, but gets a little boring after a while.

Yesterday while going through one of my pottery books I found my old recipe for Oatmeal Bread.  I don’t know how it got into a book on teapots, probably as a book mark.

This is a tasty, only slightly sweet loaf.  I made some of it into hamburger buns, which were very tasty. I haven’t toasted it yet, but I think it will work well.

I baked it in a large, free form loaf, which it isn’t really designed for.  It spread a bit more than I wanted, so I future I will probably bake it in loaf pans.

Meanwhile we are getting ready for the coming winter. Wood has been delivered. I am beginning to bring plants in. Somewhere I mentioned that I am rearranging the sunroom. I spend a lot of time in there in cold weather.

As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

 

Rain, Rain Stay A Day

 We need days of slow persistent rain, but this will probably end by tomorrow.

Meanwhile our leaves are turning, probably due to stress since we have not had anything near a freezing temp.  And my morning glories which were planted very late in the summer have tons of buds. If we get a few more weeks of the present weather we may have a blue Halloween!

Blogger and I are not agreeing today, so I will wish all a good week. 

As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Who’s The Culprit?

Yet another one bites the dust!

Walked into my bedroom yesterday and found Kiki, Peach, and Grayby all asleep on my bed and my earbuds in pieces.

 Why on earth would you think we would do such a thing?

Stay well and safe.

As always, thanks for stopping by.......*s*

Trials and All

 My this is fun!  I am learning to use the *new* *improved* Blogger!  I find it difficult to think about new  methods while I am trying to type comprehendable sentences.

ANYWAY:

I have been thinking a lot about glazing and why so many potters appear to loathe the process.  I have feeling part of it is due to the thrill of hands in clay and making something vs. the mechanics needed to learn glazing. I am not talking chemistry here, but the methods of applying and combining glazes.  

Below are two tea canisters glazed in Spectrun #799 Majolica White. The designs are Mason Stains. The luna moths are my own mix.  The interesting thing is that this green on Linda Arbuckle’s majolica white is exactly the color of a luna moth. The difference is most likely in the glaze recipes.

Speaking of luna moths I have only seen a few at the beginning of the summer. Our lack of rain and hot weather may have something to do with that.

The fish canister was more successful.  I like the way the blues and the movement of the fish works with the shape of the pot. Not so thrilled with the other side.           Yellow fish needs more movement.

As I said I have thinking about glazes a lot, but I will go ahead and try to post this is the “new & improved” Blogger will let me.  Yes, there is a tiny bit of snark there.

Toes crossed that all are staying well, both mentally and physically.

As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Mermaid

I haven't done a lot of clay this summer, but I have enjoyed messing around with some paper clay I made.  I added a bunch of mushed up and wrung out toilet paper to some recycled white earth. I beat the whole thing with an immersion blender until it was a smooth consistency, and let it dry to a workable body.

She is actually an awkward size, too big to comfortably hold, too small to work on easily on my stand.  Live and learn!

She is pinched and hollow.  One very nice thing about paper clay is that I can go back to it when it's too dry, moisten it, and continue to work.

The top photo is her more or less finished state.  In the bottom photo I have begun to add various coats of slip.  There's still a lot more to do.

We drained the pool and have been madly scrubbing.  Toes crossed we get water next week so we can enjoy a bit of swimming.  It's been time consuming as I am still building up my stamina but totally worth it.

It doesn't seem possible that we are in the last week of July.  Summer is passing way too quickly.

I do hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for stopping by.............*s*

Hello? July?

But where did June go?

Finally the daylillies are starting to bloom.  They are a few weeks late this year which is not surprising considering how cold our spring was.  It didn't start to get warm until the middle of June.
Now everything is going like gangbusters to make up for lost time.

I think I bought the double yellow below when my pond guy was going out of business.  Our caterpillar infestation of a few years ago almost did it in.  I am delighted at how well it has come back.

The dark red is one I bought for Proge, again from the pond guy. This one is on the edge of the pond.

And last, one of our many frogs.  Because what is a pond without frogs?  We have at least seven; the croak all night.  It's one of the comforting sounds of summer.

I have been getting back into my studio now and them.  I am trying out paper clay.

We'll see, grasshopper........we'll see....





As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

June

Hares and Rabbits

Happy June1, 2020

Friendly Kitty

Our very dear kitty Friendly Kitty died last night of renal failure.  She had been diagnosed several months ago, so her death was not unexpected.  She was also known as Queen Cat because of her black crown and the way she would would sit on a shelf and watch the other animals.

We adopted her around 2008 in an ice storm.  She had been hanging around Proge’s studio door all fall.  He didn’t want to bring her in as she was wearing a collar and he did not want to take someone’s pet.  He did put out food and a shelter for her.  Until one very icy night she showed up with ice covering her with a block of ice at the tip of her tail.  That was when she got her name, which is slightly ironic as she loved people but had little or no use for cats.

She died quietly beside me as I was brushing her.  We buried her in our animal graveyard with her dish, her ball, and flowers.  I always do this with our pets. I think I must have some Egyptian genes in me.

As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Birthday Treat

Four views of the Dick Lehman Oni Shino Cups I purchased from him as my birthday treat.  For several years now I have bought myself a birthday treat with money as receive.  This is one time I don't feel I have to pay bills or buy household necessities.

 My birthday is actually in April, but things were delayed due to getting out of the hospital, Covid 19, auto in for repairs (catalytic converters replaced.  OUCH!).  At any rate I finally got down to the post office on Friday to pick them up.

I am thrilled with them. The pictures do not show the subtlety and depth of the glazes.

 It's finally warm enough to start cleaning the pool. I just have a bit more to drain then can start cleaning.  I have found that if I go slow I can get quite a bit done.  I've become a tortoise...slow and steady wins the race.
We will be spending the weekend at home enjoying the sun in the woods.
Have a safe and healthy holiday.
As always, thanks for stopping by...............*s*

Spring

Bunny bottoms.  I bisqued these before I went into the hospital in March.  I am trying a slightly different method of glazing. Spectrum #251, Satin White. Once they are dry I will dab a thin coat of Spectrum #250, Satin Clear over.  Once that coat is dry I will wax resist over the entire area so I don’t rub everything off in the process of painting the actual bunnies.

We have been enjoying some spring weather these last few days.  My columbine by the house is starting to bloom also bleeding heart.  I will photograph them when the sun moves around the house a bit.

AT some point I will visit a nursery to buy some spring plants. Don’t know about places like Walmart and Home Depot, but the independent places have some pretty good rules in place.

Of course here in RI masks are mandatory in any public/retail venue.

We’ll see, grasshopper.......we’ll see.........

As always thanks for stopping by...........*s*

At Last!

What I call the ARRRGH FACTOR!!!  Safari, for reasons known only to itself decided to log me out of here and give me a runaround when signing in.  Finally remembered that when this happened on my MacBook I went through Chrome.  

In retrospect I don’t think it’s Safari but Chrome changing stuff.

Enough said! I’m baaaaaaack!!!

The little trees were part of a Christmas challenge that Caroline Gault did on FaceBook.  Of course I only got them fired in March. I like the way they turned out, but think I will do some with openings so they can hold a tea light.

Terra cotta with Spectrum #799, Majolica White with Mason stain, single fired to ^05+.

Yet another amaryllis is going to bloom in the next day or two.  I didn’t have any blooms at Christmas which is sort of the traditional time for them to bloom indoors.  (I bought a new one so I would have a bit of color)  However, they have been blooming steadily since March.  My Christmas cactus are also budding up.  Go figure, Mother Nature keeps her own calendar.

I am recovering from my surgery quite steadily.  I am still not doing heavy lifting or huge exercise.  I am walking around the yard on good days.  I missed so much of spring daffodils that it is a joy to see things flowering.  White bleeding heart is lovely.  The columbine is ready to burst.

I haven’t done any clay at all.  I am waiting for the right time.  I may glaze some bisque this afternoon.   It’s fairly mindless and needs to be completely dry before I start painting, so it’s a good way to start.

I am still staying at home in self quarantine.   It’s very strange to think of myself as being in the high risk group, but there you are! Proge does all the shopping; I drive but don’t get out of the car.

I hope all are safe and well.

As always, thanks for stopping by.............*s*

Sunshine

Happy Easter to all who celebrate the day.

My amaryllis have been blooming since early March.  I am not sure why but their blooms have been welcome in these dreary times.  The lighter, orange flower is a baby from one of my older bulbs. I just noticed last night that there is another bud stalk on its way.

About two years ago I jammed all my bulbs into a planter I had made and wasn’t using.  The idea was to summer them over and replant into more pots in the fall.  They did so well that I left them in the planter.  Since then I have been rewarded with many blooms both big and small.  I do need to get more bulb fertilizer though.

On the health front I am making progress.  Pain is much less and controlled with Tylenol.  Stamina is something that I need to build slowly.  I find that one ‘chore’ a day is my limit. Today it’s laundry.  will not be carrying anything, but I will be able to do the rest.

It’s a beautiful, sunny day with temps expected to get into the high fifties.  I am looking forward to a little walk around the yard and a visit to the fish pond.

As always, thanks for stopping by...............*s*

And So It Goes.

We live in a ruralish area and don’t do a lot of going out in the world.
Prior to going into the hospital and before Crovid I was doing reasonably well, even though surgery was in the offing.
I fired Big Mama pretty successfully.  I was planning on cleaning and changing my studio a bit, which is something I like to do every spring.  I was even thinking about being able to do some selling at Christmas!
Now that I am home I am realizing that recovery is going to be a long, hopefully steady, process. I just have to take it on a day by day basis.
The most difficult thing has been to try to accept that I am almost seventy-seven and recent cancer surgery survivor.  I will make it a point to avoid people when I am able to drive. Others can do my errands; there is no need for me to go into places.
Doc follow-up appt tomorrow.........we’ll see, grasshopper......we’ll see.
As always, thanks for stopping by......*s*

Sumthin'

The kiln goddess was good. 

I managed to finally fire my kiln before going into the hospital.  (More about that later.)

I have had many conversations about glazing and firing purchased terra cotta pots.  Here is proof that it can be done.
However, there are caveats:  1. Pots from Italy seem to be more successful.  Examine them carefully for hairline cracks. I spray mist to bring out any hidden problems.   2. I have used studio glazes
successfully, but there is a greater chance of crawling and bubbling so I am sticking with Spectrum
Majolica White #799.
This will be great outside over the summer but I will put it in a safe dry place before there is any chance of frost.

Now for the not so fun part.  I may get fairly graphic so if talk of bowels and such turns you off stop reading.
:
:
:
:
In late January I saw my primary care doc for my annual checkup.  She did not like the looks of hemorrhoids so recommended I see my gastroenterologist ASAP.  A week and a half later I was having a colonoscopy (which I was due for anyway).  Hemorrhoids taken care of but discovered a one and a half centimeter polyp which she removed and biopsied.  Came back cancerous, so within three weeksI was scheduled for upper bowel surgery. Went into the hospital March 24, had surgery, was well enough  to come home yesterday, Friday.

I seem to be recovering well.  But I am still trying to get used to thinking of myself as ‘at risk’. I guess at 76 and cancer survivor those are the breaks.  Staying away from people out here in the woods and enjoying early spring.

The good news is that a CT Scan showed no others problems.

Stay well and safe.  Get that colonoscopy; the prep is worse than the procedure.

As always, thanks for stopping by...............*s*

















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Goonie Variations

I have been looking at the original Goonie Birds (shown below on my New Year’s Day Post) and thinking about how I could come up with variations.

These first efforts came from the pinch chickens and ducks that I make.  Obviously they need a lot of work with wing, feet, etc., but they are a beginning.

We’ll see, grasshopper........we’ll see........

As always, thanks for stopping by.......*s*

Twelfth Night

Old Christmas is past,

Twelfth tide is the last,

And we bid you adieu.

Great health in the new.

Wishing everyone a Happy Twelfth Night.

As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Happy Birthday, Mother Earth

Never a Christmas Morning
Never the Old Year ends
But Someone thinks of Someone
Old Days,  Old Times, Old friends