Blue Hare's Fur

That's the name of my favorite glaze we used in pottery class. The name sounds antique and rural, two things that I happen to love. It's also a great blue-green color that I adore. Pottery was really wonderful. I'm a tactile person, so pottery was very satisfying, especially the feel of the smooth, cool clay spinning between my palms. Everything about it involves being able to feel what is right or wrong with the clay. It felt very odd for me to be in a class setting where I had to try and be creative and use my hands to create decent pieces that were functional and sound. If felt like I was trying to write with my left hand. I did very little on my own. The teacher modeled a lot for me, which I found really helpful. Of course my fingers were itching to make everything, and my pride pushed me to want to do it all on my own, but I'm glad that this first time around I just got to be guided very slowly in how clay works. Always a pair of hands to help me center the clay, pull it up, and finish it off. Everyone said I would become addicted, but I can't say I feel that way. I will be taking the class in the fall, but not with the hopes of becoming great at pottery, but to quench the need to be something other than a teacher, use my mind in a different way and to get my hands dirty. I like the feeling of trying to write with the wrong hand. Being ambidextrous is a valuable thing.

Rain + Sun = Grow

It's hard to believe that after 6 weeks the garden has grown and flourished into beautiful plants, each with their own characteristics and charm. It seemed like for the longest time I cared for the tiniest two-leaved plants that I sometimes would mistake for weeds. Did you know those first two leaves to pop out of the dirt are called feeder leaves? I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw green tomatoes on the vines. Small green tomatoes that will turn into ruby red wonders of summer, with a taste so succulent that you can't forget it, not even in the dead of winter. It's why people are obsessed with finding just the right plant and forsaking all other plants if they must, but never their tomato plants. It's why I dream about slices of tomates drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with fresh basil. We currently have: 3 brandywine, 1 beef steak, 2 romas, 1 cherry, 1 cherokee purple, 1 mexico midget, and two better girls. A few other things I've learned: The top part of the tomato plant is called the crown, and you only want one crown. If you accidently snap it off then two might grow. Always pull off the suckers that grow in between your larger stalks, keeping the plant mostly growing up. Next week we'll stake the plants.

We had an odd plant sprout up that was suppose to be cilantro. Anyone know what this is? We've ruled out broccoli though it smells faintly of it.
We have a new member of our family. Matt and I adopted a kitten from the shelter a week ago. Her name is Olive and she's so precious. We were overwhelmed the first few days with getting used to a litter box and skittish kitty, but she has really come out of her shell and is great. She looks like an opossum, which is actually kind of wonderful.



Signs of summer: a hummingbird buzzing around the back porch, a lightening bug in the parking lot, blackberries starting to bud, fleas, strawberries baked in everything, radishes, and THREE and a HALF more weeks until SCHOOL is over!!!!

Next post: I'll summarize my pottery classes and what I learned and made.