Snow and......

IT'S C.C.C.COLD! 

We spent yesterday afternoon and this morning hanging curtains....well, long strips of fabric to block off most of my studio thus creating a small space that I can heat and work in this winter.  I'm am so over having to move stuff upstairs for the winter.  I decided that if I could make it work today.....hasn't gone above 20 F. all day.....it would work over the rest of the winter......which hasn't officially started yet!  The space has started warming up nicely....particularly after we fixed the latch on the window....3/4 of an inch gap open to cold air does not lead to warmth!

I even found room for my tile.  Proge's father gave it to me for my birthday back when I had just come back to clay and we were still together.  It was collected by his grandparents when they went on a grand tour of Europe and other parts of the world around the Mediterranean.  I know very little about it.  I think it's Persian.  Any way I enjoy looking at it.  It tells me stories.

This is Aloysius sitting on the back of the chair watching the birdies.  Kiki was with him until I picked up the camera.  She like to sit by the glass slider and occasionally try try to penetrate the force field that is keeping her from the deck.

Four o'clock and it's getting dark.  I hope no one is getting snowed in too badly or experiencing any of the fires on the west coast.

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

Time?

I just realized that I haven't done a real post in a week.  We've had a lot of heat with equally high humidity;  I have thought of myself as being exceptionally slothful and doing nothing but lying around or in the pool and drinking iced tea.

Then I started listing what I have done and I don't feel quite so bad.  (Puritan guilt can get you every time!)

Does anyone get the CAD daily postings on Ceramics Arts Daily?  There is a great post about a 30 Minute Teapot.  (Click on the photo of the teapot or scroll the links.)  I didn't have a hump mold so I used a bowl.  And, being me, I had to mess around a bit, screw up the lid and fix it to some extent.  Still I think i was done in an hour.  I love The possibilities of this.  They are fast enough to do, that I can do them between projects.  Teapots as test pots?!  Hmmmmm........we'll see, Grasshopper.......we'll see.

I did a variation on my Cuban Bread recipe.  I added a cup of uncooked oatmeal and one eighth cup of molasses.  I wanted something a little different so I decided to fool around with the basic recipe.  I've found that a good bread recipe can be very flexible.  It also made great hamburger buns!

This is KikiLaSois after an exhausting go at destroying a pile of mail which I had sorted.  She likes to sleep in this position.  She is turning into something that more resembles a meat loaf than a cat.  She loves to eat the leftovers and will even push Winter away from her own food.  Winter was smaller than the cats when we got her and easily intimidated.  This pride is the only one I have not been able to leave food out for.  I still think it's because they are all rescue cats and for a long time did not know where or when their next meal was coming from.  Bad habits die hard.

We are starting a thunderstorm....so I am going to post this over on Mud Colony while there is still time and do an edit later.

It looks like a day of rain is ahead......the gentle, soaking kind....not the wash away in floods kind.

Enjoy the day and the week ahead.  As always, thanks for stopping by..........*s*