New Tools! New Ideas!

So, I said I was going to post more pottery, and then I didn't because I was too worn out from work and other runnings-around this last week/weekend. So I will do that now, while I am resisting getting out of bed. Because I can.





It's not a very clear picture, but the pieces that I had ready for Tom's dishes set came out of the kiln right before spring break. I've been doing his stuff with my Tahquamenon glaze pattern, because he likes blue, and I totally dig all the drips and the Waterfall Brown glaze. They turned out quite pretty. He's just waiting on plates now (that little plate in the picture doesn't count. At all. It's crap.)

Garden Progress

Well, the snow and ice have been steadily melting, as temps are staying above freezing fairly often.





Bulbs are just starting to come up, and those weeds that look like violet leaves are all going full-force already.





Looks like I should be able to go out and dig the beds sometime very soon. Better go buy a garden fork. That was my big mistake last year - I didn't loosen everything up really well, and we got really crappy root crops.





I'm still waiting for this pile to go away, because I'm thinking that a couple "lasagna garden" no-dig beds might be acceptable there. And less mowing. I checked city ordinances, and the only thing they prohibit growing on the easement area is nuisance trees. I'm responsible for keeping it mowed, which rarely happens, so more food and flowers growing would be a huge improvement.
I'm also waiting for the pile of snow to melt down from the upper driveway so I can move the big van. I can get it *in* the driveway, but I'd have to move it again later to let anyone else get in, and I'd rather just do it all at once. Monday might work for that.





The growing spaces up at the back of the house are all uncovered. Again, just a bit of ice to go and I can start cleaning up that area and get stuff planted.
I still need to make seed mats and build the structure for the bean house.
I *think* I have a plan for my keyhole garden beds....but it's going to require me learning to use a circular saw and locating a power drill to do. So that'll be coming up. If all goes according to plan, they'll be walled with strawberries! Lots of 2x4s and chicken wire and hinges! (I want to be able to disassemble and move them if necessary.)

I got the last of my seeds ordered last night, and Emily and I bought some rubber stamps to use in making our plant marker stakes. Out of clay, of course. Holy cats, I'll be hand-building something instead of throwing on the wheel!!

So that's that for this week! Hopefully I'll have it all pretty by next week!
- Stell

Smoked Whitefish Cakes

This week at work, Matthew made whitefish cakes for the hot bar menu. They were REALLY GOOD, but I only got a bite to taste test, and then kept forgetting to buy some...and then they were gone. So tonight we made some for dinner!


I haven't got a clue how Matthew made the ones at The a Grain Train, 'cause I was furiously baking at the time, so I just made these up. Here's how.

Making Friends is Hard

So.....since I left Dagorhir and stopped talking to my best friend, I've been trying to figure out how the heck I'm supposed to branch out and make new friends.

IT IS HARD.

It's hard for me, anyway. I've discovered that I've kind of retreated back to that feeling that I'm intruding, in the way, and don't have anything to say that doesn't sound know-it-all-ish. It's a feeling that has followed me all the way from childhood, and for a while I seemed to bust free of it, but now it appears to have sat on me again.

It's hard to be open, even though I'm generally willing to talk to just about anyone about just about anything. I find that I deliberately close myself off when I'm in public places. Eye contact with anyone at all has always been difficult for me (feels intrusive) so I think I give off a "leave me alone" vibe to begin with. Even when I'm out with Dawn - she's got lots of friends that come by to say hi, and I'm always introduced....but I rarely say anything, or even attempt to include myself or engage in their conversation because, well, THEY are the friends talking to one another. It's that feeling of intrusion again.

I joined a couple forums recently, too - a pottery one, and an Iron Age historians one - in hopes that maybe I'd be able to make some new online friends that way. It worked brilliantly back when I was sewing baby things and had a forum for that, and when I was active in the Dagorhir forums....but again, this time around, I just feel intrusive and irrelevant. Nothing of any real import to say. No good ideas for opening conversation to get to know anyone.

I suppose it probably doesn't help that I don't take very good care of the friends I already have. I'm off of Facebook, I don't call anybody, half the time I don't have the energy for interaction anyway. But what it boils down to, I think, is that I just plain don't miss people, except for one. (I don't even miss my kids when I'm away from them, so please don't take it personally.) And I think that's what is missing. I feel like I need to find new friends because I'm still looking for someone that can fill that "I actually want to talk to you every single day, and see you whenever possible" spot. It might never happen. It took me 34 years to find the first one. It's a frustrating and saddening thought.

But....I'll keep trying. I'll keep taking classes, working, going out with Dawn. Maybe I'll try harder to get over my intrusive feelings and actually allow myself to participate in conversations happening next to me.

Do people get better at talking to relative strangers with practice? Do you have interesting conversation starters that you could share? What's your favorite way to meet new people? Any insight from my fellow introverts? I can use all the help I can get!


- Stell

Going to the Zoo

Mommy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow. Mommy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow and we can stay all day.
- Peter, Paul, and Mommy


As it is spring break this week, the kids and I decided that a trip to the zoo was in order. So early yesterday morning, we loaded up our van and headed off to Detroit!

In true my-kid form, we were all equally as enthralled by animals not meant to be on exhibit as we were with the exhibited ones. Happy minutes were spent watching a teeny tiny snail slime its way over a turtle's chin, or a spider make its way over a sign, or observing the just molted, white, twice-as-big-as-his-shell cockroach.


After lunch, a friendly and handsome peacock took us for a stroll, showing us much of the outdoor primate exhibit before guiding us to the primate house, where he left so he could go help other patrons.


The primate house (and every other building in the zoo, really) was quite fascinating. The Detroit zoo has a very healthy volunteer force, and most of the volunteers that we talked to had spent enough time in their respective areas that they had LOADS to tell us about the personalities, preferences, and habits of the animals. So it was a lot of fun just chatting and watching, and learning things.


It was just warm enough for the giraffes to be in and out of their house, and the male seemed to be enjoying the outdoors. But the female mostly stayed inside, so we spent a bit of quiet time warming up and resting with her.

The lions, tiger, rhinos, and anteaters were all active and exciting to watch, as were the zebras. A pair of them were....rather frisky. "And thus begins the circle of life," I said in my best nature documentary narrator voice, to be answered with cries of "MOOOOMMMMMMMM!" from my slightly shocked children. The lemurs also decided to come out and play, and there seemed to be enough to have a dance party. So I started doing my best lemur-dance, and sure enough, they joined in! A hopping good time, let me tell you! The kids were thrilled.

The seal pictured up at the top was a real showman, despite being blind. He spent the whole time we were in the underwater tunnel swimming upside-down toward the tunnel, then swooping around in a flip to swim the other way. There was another one nearly twice his size that swam right over our heads a couple of times!

We did make sure to visit everything, but didn't take too many pictures. Penguins were delightful, as usual, and we learned that they will be building the biggest penguinarium in the country for them soon. We sat carefully and watched quietly in the butterfly house (and showed random small children how to do the same,) looked carefully for birds in the aviary (and pointed them out to random small children,) and had a fantastic time in the amphibian house....again pointing out creatures to random small children. I think my whole family likes telling random small children about animals. It's a thing.


We finished up at the reptile house, where Amber had to take photos of every visible snake, and we all had a grand time asking random small children if they could see the display animals. I got a good lesson on how to identify a viper from a particularly enthusiastic pair of young snake fanciers.

By three, we'd all had enough of walking around, so we bought our obligatory souvenir t-shirts and headed off to my grandparents' house for a quick visit before driving home.

We stayed all day and I'm getting sleepy. Sitting in the car getting sleep sleep sleepy. Home already and I'm sleep sleep sleepy 'cause we have stayed all day.

- Stell

Aaaaand Breathe!

Finally, a day to just sit and chill!

My week has been full of work training and utter exhaustion, plus sick children and appointments.

Then spring break started yesterday, with me up at 7 AM to get the baking and cooking going for Emily's lunchtime birthday party. I got it all done JUST in time....to dash off to take Davey & Bub to my boss's son's birthday party! By the time boys were retrieved and teenagers went home, I was exhausted again.

I did manage to fit in a quick run to the Arts Center to see how my last batch of glazed ware turned out. I had a couple failures - that darn Stone White glaze!! - and plenty of success. Jim likes us to leave our stuff there until everyone in our class has seen it, but I couldn't help myself and brought this mug home with me.


It's very big and I LOVE IT.

Another quick update

Let's see. The weather here sucks. Temps in the teens to zero in the mornings, and not even breaking above freezing most days. I'm really tired of it.

I applied for a job, and got it - I'm the new weekend baker for The Grain Train deli. I started training yesterday, and have been enjoying it so far, even though I have to be there at 5 AM. The only downside to the early start has been the aforementioned cold, as the kids have to walk to school no matter what, and the fact that my younger boys have been sick this week. Bub has been pukey since Friday night, and David has been having panic attacks since last week, plus not feeling good on top of that. So my assurances to my boss that there would be no problem having my training this week were HIGHLY over optimistic, which is disappointing. He was very understanding, though, as was the girl that is training me.

I got another round of flowers sewn onto my quilt, and have been getting the next round prepared, while keeping myself entertained with a constant stream of South Park. I'll probably do a bit of that this afternoon, since I had to head home early to be home with the boys while Ian went to school.

Pottery club is started back up again. It was nice only having about a week's break from the last session. We glazed enough last night to get a kiln load going, so I should have some more completed pieces to show soon. Next bisque load won't be fired until after spring break, though, so no more 'till mid-April. I'll just keep throwing until then.

Gotta get the house cleaned up this week, as Emily is having friends over for her 15th birthday. So I'll work tomorrow, baking all day, and then Friday morning I'll get up and....bake all day!

Body pain is coming back hardcore. I'm hoping that my new job will help me stay on track with my food, since I'll be at a natural foods grocery every weekend, and get a discount on what I buy as well. What I DO know for sure is that eating egg/pepper/potato breakfast burritos for breakfast is a moronic idea that I should be kicked for, and that I deserve an extra kick for the chocolate chunk scone eaten later.

Emily goes in for a job interview at Julienne Tomatoes today after school, so wish her luck and keep her in your thoughts this afternoon! I'm excited for her - this will be her first job, if she gets it!

I think that's it! Off to sew for a little bit!


- Stell