And Now For Something Completely Different

April 13 - The studio has been closed for two weeks now I think.  It's weird.  I go every couple of days to check on things.  I'll confess that I do a little clay work while I'm there.  I'm the only one there, so my being in the studio versus at home makes little difference.  I'm still struggling with motivation and focus, so I don't do a whole lot while I'm there.  Plus being Uptown right now feels weird.  It is way too quiet.

I do, however, recognize how lucky I am to have a safe place that I can go during this difficult time.  The days that I have stayed at home are good days.  I have enjoyed working in the yard when it is pretty.  I've given myself permission to be lazy and spend a couple of days napping and being a slug while I do absolutely nothing.  But it is also REALLY nice to be able to jump in the car with Dixie and go to town.  Here are some of the yard pretties...

These azaleas are so pretty this year!

Blue bells and azaleas.

Dixie is finally getting more comfortable being outside.

It's been so fun to watch her snuffle around.  She LOVES monkey grass.

(Note: Dixie is inside right now whining to go outside.  Jeff caught her trying to knock the wood in the wood rack over.  We think a mouse or chipmunk or something must have run in there. In an attempt to not have our sweetie crushed by firewood, we are making her stay inside. We are so mean!)

When I initially closed the studio, I thought that I would use some of the time to do some deep cleaning.  Shop vac the heck out of things and maybe even mop.  I need to grind the kiln shelves and start over with kiln wash.  Know how much of this I've done?  NOTHING. NADA. ZERO. It turns out, that I do not like to clean.  It's not fun.  Oh well.  It's a pottery studio.  If I cleaned it, it would just get dirty again. 

I talked about my new apron a few weeks ago.  Here is a side by side shot of the new and the old.  See how much longer the new one is?  Well, after I complained about that here, I got an email from my friend Gloria offering to fix my apron.  She stopped by one afternoon, picked up the two, and was back in maybe an hour with my newly shortened new apron.  She also shortened the ties for me so that they tie in the back.  Gloria is such a nice person!  Her daughter Stephanie is too.  Thank you!

I've been eating a lot of eggs lately. These are my favorite.

It is a good thing they are not available all year round because I can eat a whole bag of these in a day.  Easy.  Allen liked them too.  He and I polished off a few bags together over the years.  He'd be on once side of the table and I'd be on the other.  Both of us working.  Bag of Cadbury's in the middle.  Good times. 

I've not shared much pottery today.  I'm working on a few things now that I will share.  I've got to get a few more pictures of next steps before I can explain what I've been working on.  Be on the lookout for that soon.  

Before I go, one more thing.  Pictured below is my friend David Bryson.  David teaches at Shelby High School.  When they transitioned to teaching remotely, he put a piece of shower board on the side of his barn, propped his phone up in the bed of his truck, and proceeded to record an AP Government and Economics lesson.  Riker the dog totally stole the show.  One of his students sent him this screen shot.  I can not stop laughing!  He has since banished Riker from the classroom and that makes me, and possibly his students, a little sad.  

Stay safe, my friends.  If possible, enjoy life like Riker does.