End Result of Monday

Quiches from earlier today. Tea and pannetone right now. Show on Germany on the Travel Channel. I really really feel the wanderlust right now. France, Iceland...Germany.
I give Inglorious Basterds an A+ by the way, go watch it! And watch Kill Bill if you haven't already!


Ten days until my birthday and 27 days until snowshoeing in NH!

Garden in November

Listening to David Bowie on YouTube and making four quiches. Swiss chard and fennel quiches, that is. YUM. One to eat tonight and three to freeze for holiday purposes. Fennel is a very beautiful plant, I would recommended growing it to anyone. Swiss chard is great, as there is no time frame as to when you can eat it. Baby chard is great, and it's even outlasted the frost quite spectacularly here in central Connecticut. I had some great broccoli rabe, but you have to pick it after it buds and beofre it flowers, which is hard for people like me. Green onions and leeks came up great this year--very usable; also managed to grow some fantastic romaine lettuce--however you MUST eat that before it bolts because it gets terribly bitter. Very pest/disease resistant, the above mentioned items.

I killed my patchouli plant, and also the pineapple sage should have been re-planted at some point, but overall I'd say I grew some successful things this year.

Today, I have to get my necklaces onto my ETSY site, and ship a vase I sold to Texas. I have to really make some sales this year! Pictures of quiches coming soon!

Revelations

I had a discovery today, pretty mundane, yet crucial at the same time. I have been rolling clay that is way too wet. The dryer it is when you roll it out, the flatter it stays...I hate how little things escape me. This is probably in the Handmade Tiles book. I need to go back to school; study up on a few things. But I am overjoyed now that I have an answer to my problems!

I need to get those table tiles made very very soon soon. And some more trivets for Kristen and Max...oh so busy. I need a place to work with good ventilation. There's nothing like a day of utter waste to motivate.

I did visit the Escher exhibit today, before I got tired. It was pretty crowded, but I think his hyper-detail reminds me of Van Eyck and Gozzoli, and that is appealing to me.

On an Island

I've just cracked the lid of my kiln, and am waiting in suspense to see how my glazing came out. Praying to the fire gods that my pyramids fired white at cone 6. The entry for the juried show at the New Britain Museum is today, and I am so nervous about it. It comes down to: am I really good enough, or do I just get in because I submit sculpture? This year I am moving away from the high-detail work to my abstract trilateral-pyramid schemes. Should I call them schemes? Or sets? Arrangements?

I am probably going to put a halt on ceramics for the winter, due to the ventilation problems; I don't want to shred my lungs with glass any more than I already have, I can feel them aching right now. But now what else am I going to do? What can I focus on until the weather warms up? That's a really tough question.

I need a ball mill to mix my bulk glazes in, and desperatley need a pug mill to reclaim my clay. Unfortunately, these cost about the same as my CR-V. My option is to try and take a ceramics class at Central, and use their facilities, because that will cost significantly less. I need to get back into the academic side of the art world--I've been on my island too long.

Hangovers and Sad Monday

I'd say we had a good weekend, birthday party for Aaron on Friday before work, then I spent all day Saturday making my costume. We went out to a good Halloween party at a bar with no cover and decent beer AND a sober driver! To top it all off, I think I even comported myself well for being decently sloshed and I don't remember saying anything that might come back to haunt me. Meg did puke in the car on the way home.

Sunday I got to just chill and spend the entire day/night yesterday as if it was one big sleepover party with my boyfriend. Only because he was hungover--our one morning to sleep in together since our anniversary, and he spends it in agony. It wasn't so bad, I felt pretty much fine. I was drunk enough to sleep in my makeup and with un-brushed teeth, and a little dizzy in the morning. But it was really like a sleepover party, we got take-out pizza and ate Halloween candy and watched movies all day/night.

Today, however there was aggravation. I am sorry that the USPS is not doing so well and can't afford to pay their employees, but for the love of God the line of wackos at the post office was a nightmare. Get your shit together before you get to the counter. Check to make sure you have your wallet with you! That kind of thing. Arrg. The stupid car dealership fucked up the vin number on my car, so they have to take it through emissions again, which is totally an inconvenience for me. Fuckers. I tried to call to do it today, and I got put on hold for a good long time before they just picked up the line and hung up on me. I tried calling back, but the phone wasn't ringing which was really weird. So I have to call again on Wednesday and talk to the registration chick. Just fucking great. Since my cleaning schedule got all screwed up, I have to go straight from one job to another tomorrow. BOO.

In other news, I spent the day putting drums on Ebay and Etsy. Hopefully I will make a couple sales to pay for my romantical New Hampshire weekend in December. Aaron and her BF might rent the other room in bed and breakfast. That way we can do things together some of the time if we want. Well, I should try to get some sleep for now.

There is no gift like the present?

This is the view from my window right now. The camera did a decent job of capturing the colors accurately. It's turned out to be a very lovely fall.
So, "there's no gift like the present," Sure, I'll buy that one off the tea bag. I tried to go back to sleep after everyone left this morning, but it totally didn't happen. So here I am, gonna be a sleepy girl tonight at work! But it's OK because I have a lot to do. I need to get some snowflakes on Ebay, go through my junk pile from my old car, and put some things in my new car. I was very productive yesterday, I made many little vases and even started some of the new kitchen-table tiles. I just bought a couple more wooden stamps from some seller in Chicago. $26 for two is a little steep, but they should work out well--have a good history to them I hope.

Snowflakes!

Here at work, bored and eating almost an entire bag of Salt and Vinegar chips. I am going to have to eat nothing but vegetables for the rest of the day. I might make some lentils when I get back home. I was supposed to go pick up the car today, but we moved it to tomorrow instead because they can't do the registration until then. Which I am fine with. But now I have to see if Danielle's ex Jeff can come and remove my remote starter. Then we can have it put back on the CR-V whenever. I am slightly nervous about that, but hopefully it will work out.

Pilates tonight, going to go get beat up in the abs. Yoga was great last night, wish I could do it twice a week. I should have plenty of time to put together my vases today and start rolling tiles for the table. I just need a good 6"x6" pattern to follow. It's going to take a long time to glaze them all--I would buy a tile rack, but I would need one that was flat on the bottom of each slot, instead of little pegs, because the clay I use will slump if suspended like that.

And now to deal with the sparkly white fluffy mould that grew out of my plaster mold.

Saturday at a grocery store?

Today was such a drag. But at least it went by faster than yesterday. Yesterday I was stationed next to a rotisserie case and was nice and toasty warm. Today, I froze my butt off listening to a signing lobster at a grocery store in Danbury. The traffic in Danbury was awful--totally a bunch of inconsiderate and unconscionable people. Yes, I am backing my car SLOWLY out from behind a gigantic truck where my only option is to go slow, or I' never leave, so why not just lay on your horn instead of stopping your car and letting me get out? And inside the grocery store it's much better to be completely ignorant to anyone else around you, and let your wild brats get run over by someone's shopping cart. (And that part was funny). Oh...I am never having children. I would have been taken out and beaten in the parking lot if I acted that way, but that was back in 1985. I don't necessarily disagree with actually cracking the kids a good one every now and again, but there's still ways of raising well-disciplined children without physical abuse.

Do it now!

Wow, so a lot went down yesterday and today. I get all packed up and ready with my BF's birthday presents and cake, and 1/3 of the way there I get this violent shaking and screeching from my front passenger tire. It was so scary that I contemplated pulling over right on 84, but instead I got off the next exit and into a gas station. I thought I probably had another flat-as-a-pancake tire just like last time--but nothing looked wrong! So I started up and got back along my merry way, and NO sound/shaking! WTF. So I get to John's place and we take off for his Mexican birthday party. Which was lots of fun. I mentioned my experience at dinner, and Chad offered to look at my car this morning. So I gratefully accepted his offer.

John was so cute opening his presents, he loved the brown Sharpie marker I got him as a gag. Apparently he really needed one. Then I had a dream about something significant happening on the 15th. Which is tomorrow. Something about love and happiness. My dreams are never anything to do with reality--excepting for the occasional bad-waitressing nightmare. So we shall see.

This morning bright and early Chad checked out my wheels, and then just told me straight out that I should just buy another car and sell this one now and get it over and done with. I took heed and went straight to the auto place across the street before I even went home. To make a long, stressful day short: I put a deposit on a black CR-V. Impulsive? Probably. But you know what--my time is money. Big money. So all the hemming and hawing and shopping around could maybe have saved me a few hundred, but all the agrivation and wasted time would have prevented me from making a few hundred at this time of year. I called Chad and told him what I did--he was so psyched for me. "That's awesome, you had something to do and you went out and got it done, good for you!" I think Johnny was a little put out by my impulsiveness and how I used Aaron's bf to do the "guy" job for me, but hey he was at work, and then again he never quite stepped to the plate and told me straight out what his opinion was. But that is OK, because it's hard to tell the people closest to you that kind of thing. Someone a little further removed with a more objective view is best for that I think. So hopefully all will be well.

Welcome to another marathon "weekend."

In Bed

I really should have done a trial run for the mandolin cake--it's not terrible, but maybe would have been much better if I'd sacrificed cake, frosting and time to make two. It's mostly the Gumby-colored "Happy Birthday" that looks like crap. I should have stuck with a classic cake. I'll have to refer back to this next time I do an instrument cake:

-use larger writing tip for outlines
-leave neck "bare" of fill-ins
-don't even try to write "happy birthday" on it :)
-green frosting is difficult to make blue (=Gumby)

I've done the math, and I think I can afford to move into an apartment...Johnny seemed interested actually. I think between the two of us that we could afford some kind of decent rental house. I might actually give that subject a try. If my parents are leaving us the house anyways, why not get out and be away from them/it as soon as I can? I need to get out now, and preserve a decent relationship with them and be on my own. And now I have to make myself go to bed...is it bad that I am looking forward to caramel coffee tomorrow?

Cake Night!

The mandolin cake is in the oven...time to make some gluten-free cupcakes for the glu-tards. I shipped my vase today, I have actually been pretty accurate as far as the shipping prices. At work today I started off with SUCH a migraine throbbing in my right temple. But the sinus drainage meds combined with yoga and three cups of coffee took care of it fairly quickly.

There is a carriage-house apartment in Naugatuck where Travis and Krysta live, it's 550/month and I believe utilities are included. I need to check it out and then maybe move into it. It would be a risk with the car problems, but I might need to just make that move in life. Then, it's puppy time. Especially living alone I would need a dog to keep me company. I wonder if they sell Maine Coons to people with studio apartments. It would be so nice to be on my own by Christmas.

Monday Love

I sold another vase on Etsy! Whoo hoo! Yesterday went well, I got to go on a hayride and pick pumpkins with my boyfriend and his family. Jones Farm in Shelton has a really great variety of squashes of all different kinds, I wanted to go nuts and buy them all to cook and love. But, being broke as hell because I spent my entire Friday night's pay on clay and glazes...no squash for me! Even more depressing, Saturday night's pay has gone into my gas tank and bills. BOO.

But, I just need to get more things on Etsy and Ebay and hope for the best. People still buy Christmas presents. I am thinking that since my birthday is on Thanksgiving, which means my family gets away with celebrating it then...that I can get my mom to maybe buy me a new pair of boots or something. I could also really use a soda-club machine so I can make my own seltzers. I am addicted to fizzy water.

For the much more imminent Halloween I am going to go as myself in 1998. It's both cost-effective and hilarious. I just need to locate my JNCO jeans and my old Doors shirts. Digging through all my stuff in the basement, is a truly terrifying thought.

Waitress Rants.

Toasting up a vegan corn-dog for 2:30 snack time...it's kind of an oxy-moron, as my friend Sarah once said in college "aren't corn-dogs what turn people vegan in the first place?" What makes that story extra funny, is that the revelation occurred when she received a box of vegan corn-dogs from her father as a birthday present. At this stage in my life, I would be happy with any kind of present from any one. I think it would be so cool to do Christmas in the style of the fugitive family from the classic 80's movie Running On Empty--where any present has to be something you either make or find, no purchasing can take place.

Today I worked on re-claiming Raku clay and making some vases and bells. The wind chime logistics are still getting worked out, but I made some smaller instrumental bells for my friends. I need to take one of my last Udu drums out to the show Friday night as see if I can sell it. It worked last time...

In other news, I split my pants a bit getting into my car on the way to work tonight; it was only in the upper-thigh area, so nothing to drive home and change about. There were some very stupid people out tonight; much more so than usual. "Oh, I don't know who that girl was who ordered that drink, I don't know why she was sitting here before and calling me her sister..." Sorry to assume that everyone who ordered together while all sitting together actually knew each other. If you people want free shit, stay home and drink. Or here's a concept: Being NICE to the people who make your coffee and fetch your grape vodkas = FREE SHIT. If you're always nice, no one would ever let you have anything sub-standard, and you get the occasional handout/discount. But if you are that douche-bag with the bluetooth headset and bad attitude, you can be sure that you will always be paying full price.

No Rest for the Wicked

Who the fuck has loud phone conversations at 9:00am on a Saturday? Well thanks a lot, stupid people I live with. The past two weekends I have been continuously woken up by people who cant speak without yelling, people who feel the need to pound on the opposite sides of my bedrooms walls. For whatever reason, I have become a light sleeper in my old age and I am hating it. The worst part being that I am a bad napper and can't make up for it later in the day. I just should have gotten up and pounded a gin and tonic and gone back to bed. I might try to do that this afternoon.

Garlic, Mandolins and Cupcakes

Today I made roasted garlic-bulbs to go with the French bread from yesterday; since the garlic was neigh caramelized, I thought it would affect me less, but I still exhibit the symptoms of having eaten an entire head of garlic. My day consisted of waking up from a horrible nightmare about lost luggage, cleaning my one account, and making dinner. Work wasn't so bad, easy easy money. The crowds seem to be picking up with the cold weather. Gone are the day when men pushed $20 bills into my hand and begged me to come to their table.

Emily shot down my peanut-butter decorator's frosting idea...I should just give up and use the canned frosting on the main body of the cake and let everyone deal with the usual icky decorations. I have high hopes for this mandolin cake. I am going to have to make it Tuesday night so I don't have to rush after work on Wednesday. My major dilemma now is whether to make the whole cake gluten-free, or to make a few gluten-free cupcakes on the side...I am still not sure which would be more work in the long run.

I think I have a very good shot at getting Friday night off this coming week so that I can go to my boyfriend's birthday gig...I hate missing that kind of thing. I should be doing two demos that week anyways, so having Friday night off would really work out to my advantage. And now amongst all of this I have to get my act together and get Kristen her wedding present. I need to drive up north and get some blue glazes, as they have absolutely none at the local store. Time is running out for me to make as many short vases as I possibly can, and start making those damn ginger-bread cookie ornaments. I have a possible show opening on November 1st, 2 craft fairs in November, retail venues at four locations: my day job, a place in Torrington, a new food store, and at my friends music shop in Collinsville. I really need to make (or possibly buy) very rounded vases for my necklace displays. Nothing shows off a stunning necklace like an Udu drum.
So that shall be my Saturday plans: vases vases vases, and stopping by Aaron's bonfire before I head to work. I should message Joel on FB and invite him over for clay things tomorrow. And I think now is the time for me to take a shower and try to get to bed. I keep staying up late reading Maeve Binchy novels. They make very good bedtime stories.

The Well-Fed Artist

I have never studied French. This is my "anonymous" blog, the first of which I have had in many many years. I forgot how much easier things are when you catalog your days in this way, especially for someone like me who needs time to filter fairly often.

I like art and food. Right now I am waiting for my french bread to finish in the bread machine, so I can go put in an appearance at a friends birthday party downtown. I don't want to put on actual clothes, and I think that's where the real reluctance comes in. Today I slept until 9:30 in my boyfriends bed, ate a load of sugar from Dunkin Donuts on the way to drop a banner I painted off at work. I spent the rest of the day on Ebay, taking pictures of work, and returning emails. That sort of thing is very productive, but feels the opposite.

I donated a $90 vase to some sort of fundraiser auction. I really need to get out there and make more snowflakes and small vases for my upcoming shows. I was surprised how many snowflakes sold. And even now I am remembering that I have to try and see about being a guest vendor at the Coventry farmers market sometime soon, there are probably only a couple left in the season.

I am listening to the Cranberries Ode to My Family; I have owned this CD for about 15 years and it is still speaking to me. I have the urge to lay on my stomach on a living room floor and do Josephine Wall jigsaw puzzles and drink beer, so it really must be getting colder. And wow, I just realized that I totally forgot, October 4th went right by me...12 years ago was the fall I met Cory. October 4th was our anniversary. Fleece jackets and bare branches, and low light in woods. Clear moons through dark skies.