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2014
While I’d love to get all reflective about 2013 and wax eloquent on the coming year, my brain just isn’t going there. Here goes the Engineer’s version of the first blog post of the year. Engineers like lists and bullet points. Changes ahead this year: Adding a new class to my spring semester schedule Scaling back on the pottery hobby due to time constraints and other commitments The “baby” no longer naps Started a Facebook group for Raleigh growers to…
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Making a Bead Tree for the Kiln Part Two
I posted “Making a Bead Tree for the Kiln” back in March. It worked pretty wonderfully until my three year old broke it, twice over, by knocking it off the table and onto the garage floor. It is still usable, but with that long span between the remaining supports, the nichrome wire tends to sag. I decided to build a new one, and it’s currently waiting to be fired. One of the troubles with the last design was that it required loading…
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Footprint
My footprint is out of control. I’m not talking about this in the ecological sense, though I’m sure that simply being an American makes mine too large. I’m talking about the way I live in and expand in my house. We have tried to keep my hobbies and work contained. I work with clay in one quadrant of the garage. I garden within the perimeters of the fence and inside the brick boundaries. I keep my textbooks in the office with…
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Clay and poop
A note flashed up on the screen saying I had a request for a custom order on Etsy. I sighed and determined that I probably could do the order but really didn’t want to do that many ornaments on top of an ornament class. I walked out to the garage and rolled out a small slab of white clay and cut two stars. The requested word just barely fit with my Stymie Light 36pt vintage letterpress. As I began to…
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School Jitters
Every couple weeks or so, I get the school jitters. Last night it came of the tail of showing up early in the carpool line as a special treat (usually I roll up just as the line starts moving), waiting 30 minutes for my kindergartener and then getting spoken to with an attitude that I’m sure he never gives his teacher or any of the school staff. My child is sweet and smart and I know after being on his…
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A family hike at Umstead and discussion of shoes and health
After visiting Umstead on Friday morning, I was determined that we would go as a family the next morning. As I was browsing Umstead’s Facebook page, “Photos of my friends at William B. Umstead State Park” was at the head of the wall feed, and I saw a lovely spot. I posted a comment asking for the location, and a sister of another friend told me the trail and how far the hike would be. It’s so very odd the…
