• Piles on Piles

    I’ve been working my way through the house attempting to put it back on its feet after several years of toddlerdom and a lifelong habit of saving every little thing. There’s a front room in the house that has amazing potential yet it often finds itself in the cross hairs of multiple hobbies, a litter box and hoards of preschool projects. It is the first room people see when they walk in the door and it currently looks like it…

  • Throwing Big

    Last week I drove to Durham and returned with supplies and 150 pounds of clay in three different shades. I have torn through two bags of Little Loafers and have been making large 12″ and up bowls. I’ve scrapped some of the work and have been reusing the clay for plates. I don’t have the best plate skills. It seems that maybe 30% of the ones I throw make it through the whole process. My biggest struggle is getting the…

  • Out of clay!

    Oh no! I’m out of clay. I used up my bag at Pullen, and the last of my bag at home. While cleaning out the garage this weekend, I found several bags of moldy and rock hard clay. It’s a sign of having taken some time off. I need to drive out to Durham for more clay, but I’m not about to make that drive in rush hour traffic. Besides, with as low as the temperature will be dropping tomorrow,…

  • Working from Home with Kids Part 2

    In the last post, I described my journey to being a work-from-home mom. In this post I’ll share some of the struggles. To give reference, I have two boys – one is now in preschool four mornings a week, and one is in first grade. I’m a part-time temporary hire, which in fancy terms is adjunct professor. I’ve been doing this work since I was first pregnant and have taught every spring and fall semester the past seven years. I currently teach…

  • Working from Home with Kids Part 1

    In the final stretch of my PhD program, I traveled to Portland for an annual conference. I’d been married just under three years, and earlier in the week, Joe and I rafted down the White Salmon River, during which I had a near death experience. It was an anxiety ridden week, because on top of almost dying, I had applied for tenure-track positions in my department and at another university, and everyone who had anything to do with my potentially being hired…

  • Feeder

    Just before Christmas, I put out birdseed. When we returned home from Tennessee, the birds had discovered it, and they are now hanging out on the deck taking turns at the feeders. “Taking turns” may be a generous phrase for what really goes down. It’s more of a crowd of feathers hopping back and forth from deck railing to feeder to chair to nearby tree. Some seem to wait off to the side for an opening, some make an opening.…