Mostly…

Back into the screaming fire that is school sometimes. Trying to keep the head above water. It’s three weeks. I can do that. Maybe. I mean, I don’t really have a choice…it’s just how much hair pulling and mental screaming I might do while I get there. All good. Deep breaths. My office calendar still says November. No worries.

I did get the office/studio managed enough to iron in here. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fucking disaster area in here, but I can iron. It’s genetic, by the way…the stacking of things in a studio. I saw my mom’s on Sunday and it was just as bad, although the boychild said hers was organized better than mine. Her studio is also 4 times the size of mine, so I don’t feel bad. I do need to do something about it over Winter Break though. I can’t breathe in here at the moment. Too much chaos.

I finished sorting fabric pieces on Monday night…

I had about 30 minutes of super tiny pieces to figure out, after matting and framing a couple pieces for my daughter. I miss Aaron Brothers for mat board, y’all. Had to wait forever in Michaels for a few beatup pieces. Annoying. Their fabric selection still sucks too. We asked about one that was on the website and said it was available here, and the staff was like, I dunno? It’s over there. People put fabric back wherever. Which is true, but hey, thanks for helping…we’ll go to an independent store (which unfortunately, they all have shitty hours if you work full time). And for those of us still using Alto mat cutters, the blades are hard to find. Too bad they went out of business…the cutters don’t die. I think I’ve solved that problem though. Maybe.

Then last night, while dinner was cooking, I sorted the studio (really I just made more bigger piles out of the way of the ironing board) and started ironing after dinner.

Still a week behind on this quilt, and at some point, I have to catch up. Don’t ask what that is. It’ll be clear later. Ironing like a beast each night from here on out. Maybe. Girlchild is still here. I love it. But I suspect more framing is in my future.

I made it to ceramics last night for a lovely 80 minutes of painting sgraffito. I think I finished the other one (mostly touchups) and it’s drying. This has an hour into the painting alone.

IDK how to make simple things y’all. But I love it.

Scribble missed me my first day back to work. It was her first experience with people leaving all day. That night, she curled up by my face and purred at me all night, occasionally reaching her paw out to pet my face. I didn’t sleep much. I’m not mad though.

She’s still really unsure of the dog, but is doing fine with everyone else. Last night, she settled on my lap while I was trying to grade, and in the way of most cat owners, I let her. Graded around her.

Here’s Simba letting you know how he feels about not being invited to the dinner table.

Yeah dude, whatever.

OK. My left eyelid has been twitching for a week now. Really driving me bonkers. I’m still teaching electricity, plus vocab and independent and dependent variables (sheesh) for a few days before going into magnets. I realized it’s a lot of direct instruction, so pretty exhausting and a lot of talking. I did spend all day yesterday rubbing a balloon on my hair and using it to make a soda can move. Like you do. As one student said, by the end of the day, “Ms. Nida, your hair is CRAAZY.” Well yeah. It does that. Things you do for learning. After school, I have a lovely pilates break, then book club, I think. And ironing. It’s a lot. I do love the artmaking. I don’t mind the teaching…I mind all the minutiae and the adult crap and the school board crap and the state school board crap (which is because of the local school board crap). Anyway, I need to go write a parent email and then go to a meeting with the principal (sigh) and then do the teaching thing. All good. It’s Wednesday and I mostly have a handle on things. Mostly.

Didn’t Finish…

I downloaded photos on Friday for a post, and that’s as far as I got. I think I briefly considered it on Saturday, but then got sucked into other things that needed doing and lost track of that thought. Last night, while I was trying to fall asleep, my ever-helpful (not) brain was trying to remember if I’d posted on Friday or not…not is the answer. So here we are, back to Mondays, back to school, three weeks of crazy to survive on many levels, not ready for any of it…except the next stage of the quilt. Oh wait. Not ready for that either. It’s chaos in here and I can’t iron a quilt together in chaos. So. Yeah. But I’m going to have to…and that might just be the best explanation of most of my adult life right there: can’t do it; gonna have to.

OK, quilt…the quilt that I’m a week behind on…easily. Here’s more cutting out, with Scribble.

And more cutting out…

with Scribble’s tail. And more cutting out with Scribble.

And the final push…

14 hours to do it all…

And I have a lap cat. Which is nice. She quickly learned to keep her paws out of the bins, until last night, when I started sorting…

She definitely wanted to be IN the bins. But wasn’t violent about it (unlike Bowie a year ago or so). I didn’t finish sorting last night…started late and then was tired and needed to go to bed to get up early this morning.

More Scribble pix…she is allowed in the sewing room if I’m in here.

Although she has already found Kitten’s cave, where she hid on and off for the last 6 years of her life…

I mean, it’s full of batting. Why wouldn’t you want to hide there?

The girlchild is here; Scribble is friendly.

Which everyone appreciates.

She just settles in and lets the other three cats try to figure her out.

Even Bowie is starting to come around; he wants to play with her, but he’s not sure how.

Three cats vertically in a row. So it’s been a good transition so far. Of course, today is the first work day, when there’s no one around for most of the day. That will be different. But she seems very adaptable…

Strangely enough.

The Man and I hiked again on Friday, because…

we had my family’s Thanksgiving on Friday…

Both kids cooked…nice food choices.

My dad fell asleep on the couch with Annie…

I think he was in her seat.

Saturday night dinner’s drawing…

Not finished, but I only have the time from when we come in the restaurant until they serve the food.

I finished the pomegranate seeds on May’s Forest for the Trees block.

At the moment, all I can handle is the applique. I’ll get to the embroidery, but who knows when? Going back to school has sucked up any loose time I had.

I still think we’re not allowed…

But I appreciate the sentiment.

OK, there’s so much school stuff I didn’t finish over break. Always. I have seating charts written for 2 of my 6 classes. Today is chill, though…starting a new unit, so just vocab and cover page and a short lecture on how to bring your grade up and it doesn’t involve Google or AI. Then staff meeting(s?) and hopefully ceramics. I need a porcelain patch kit from Home Depot too…purposely didn’t go get it this weekend, but I still need it. I also need to finish the other sgraffito frame at the studio before it dries out. I had plans to go Saturday and Sunday, and both fell through. It’s fine; other things happened and it was good, but I need to go today. And tomorrow. And Thursday. Or something. Three weeks…I can do three weeks. I think.

People and Carbs…

This week is just never relaxing. I’ve been to the grocery store four or five times, the pet store twice (I know, that one is my fault for adopting a new kitten), plus trying to catch up on cleaning (ha!) and yardwork (double ha!), and to finish grading? (triple ha!) …nothing is happening the way I’d planned. What’s new? Nothing. It’s always like this. I try to steal moments for reading or artmaking, but there’s other stuff that snuck in…like all the emails about stuff I needed to do that I totally ignored for the last three weeks? Yeah, those. And the four things that need renewing, but now I can’t find the renewal emails. Ugh. And then being invited to be on a cool website…awesome, but it required an hour of photos with the boychild (thank goodness he has a clue, because I don’t) and I’m sure he spent a ton of time resizing, and then I had to find art photos too and send all of them, plus fill out three pages of forms. I appreciate the opportunity, but I don’t have extra time lying around for all of that. So the bathrooms are still dirty and so are the floors. Oh well.

The kitten is adjusting. She has a name finally…Scribble. She’s like a little ADHD and very balls to the wall with the other cats. Right now, she’s sleeping, after racing around for 5 hours this morning. She’s definitely a curious little thing and won’t let her inability to jump high enough stop her.

We started out with my hanging out with her in a room with no other cats, but once we let her out…man, she didn’t want to stay in.

That said, she’s not banging on the door to be let out when I do put her in the room, which is when I leave the house, because I don’t entirely trust the other cats with her yet.

This was a very tentative moment between Scribble and Nova. Both wanted my lap.

I think we’ll all be OK in the long run…it just might take a while. Certainly last night, when Scribble was all puffed up, jumping sideways, I’m Big! I’m Big! toward Bowie and he’s just staring at her like she’s the scariest thing in the world…I think Bowie is having the hardest time adjusting. But he does appreciate an animal that will run around and parkour like he does, so he’ll come around.

One of the boychild’s photos.

OK, so artwise, I’m mostly still cutting things out.

Which is not particularly fast…

I really wanted to be ironing things together by now. Oh well. I’ve got another 2-3 hours of trimming, I think. I’m going to go do some more in a bit. I might do some yardwork first, before it gets dark.

I also spent a couple of hours at ceramics on Monday…and did most of this. It’s very relaxing.

I need to fix the cloud and a couple of other spots, but I think otherwise it’s ready to fire. I was hoping to get there today as well, but so far, that hasn’t happened? Maybe in an hour. We’ll see.

Found this in the yard.

Such a perfect mushroom.

This…I know some people are leaving for legit reasons, like being afraid of deportation…that’s a real thing and I don’t blame people for leaving. Detention or deportation to Venezuela or whatever other psychotic thing this government has come up with are legitimate fears. Go. Be well. Come back when the crazy is over (knock on wood that this ends at some point).

But if you’re a rich white American-born citizen and you’re leaving? You’re not staying and yelling with the rest of us? WTF. Seriously. I guess it’s easier than living here and being stressed about it, but those of us who don’t have tons of money and the ability to just up and go, we’re here and loud and not putting up with it, and y’all with money need to stay and be part of the fight…OR…take those fucking billionaires with you, the problematic ones, the racist misogynist ones. Take them. I mean, we can’t get rid of the ones who aren’t even here legally and have committed multiple financial crimes, but we’re trying to deport Native Americans. It’s just nuts. And if there’s no one with power and money left behind to yell louder than the rest of us, that’s on you, what happens next. You ran away? So stay away. Because you’re making it worse. You’re not helping.

Sigh. This is a frustrating world we live in. By the way, yes, we’re celebrating Thanksgiving, but there’s so many cultural things wrong with this holiday. So much that’s made up. So much violence toward the native cultures that was just shoved aside for the pilgrim story. So I’ll be thankful for a hike tomorrow, and thankful for spending time with family, and thankful for good food (although at the moment, the thought of people and lots of carbs is not really something I want…I’ll get there. But going to the store yet again today made me want to pillow fort for about a week), but remembering all along that we white people are appropriating disease-carrying xenophobes who don’t really belong here. Positive thoughts to all. It’s a rough week for a lot of people.

Best-Laid Plans and All…

Ah, the best-laid plans and all…I was doing so well. Graded all day Friday, cleaned Saturday, then got a kitten. Yeah, I know. I should’ve known! I’m not getting much of anything done except kittening. Which is fine…I’m a little stressed about some of the other stuff, but I’ll figure it out. Because Kitten! Except she doesn’t really have a name yet. We’re tentatively calling her Mouse, which is weird, because the kitten we didn’t take was actually called Mouse (and was very much more mousey than this one). Names are hard. Anyway, we took the older one because she seemed like she’d be better with our crew, more outgoing, less scared, more playful.

As I show you a picture of her hiding in a sink. Well, it’s all new so she’s a little nervous, but very people friendly and lovey. All the first few pictures of her were blurry because she wouldn’t stay still…

But people wanted to see her face.

Very people-oriented. Bonded very quickly, which is nice. She’s a dilute tortoiseshell. There’s a glut of them and dilute oranges locally. There was a house with a ton of babies all with similar coloring. The other cat we were looking at could have been her cousin. I’m less about what they look like and more about attitude, and she has that.

She hissed and blew herself up as big as she could for the dog and for Bowie, and a little for Nova. We let her wander the house this morning, and apparently it was so traumatizing to the big cats that they all hid under the bed. We’re bringing her out in short stints. She’s very growly about it, but also very curious about everything.

For now, she’s in the girlchild’s room, but the girlchild is here on Wednesday, so not sure what happens then. I do have a crate and other spaces, but I’m hoping she can be out during the day with us by then. We’ll see.

Until then, here was my makeshift cutting station last night. Yes, she wanted to sit in all the boxes and play with fabric pieces (who wouldn’t?), so I played with her until she was tired enough to settle and apparently watch TV.

So I’m not getting as much art stuff done as I’d like (or honestly, as I need to), but that’s where we’re at right now.

It’s not a bad thing to slow down a bit…although this quilt has to be done and photographed by the first week of January. Eek.

She’s similarly unhelpful with the grading. I think I got four graded and then had to go get the toy on the string again for her. It’s all good. She’s going to be my kitty (the others are the Man’s), which I realize is a strange distinction because we live together, but Kitten was definitely my baby and the others are definitely his. They love me and all, but daddy is first.

So. Today. I need to pick up meds and find green beans. I have no clue what’s going on with Thanksgiving dinner; not my problem apparently. I am going to ceramics today to work on my frame. I tried (notionally) to get there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and failed across the board, so today it is. It’s hard to make myself leave the house on break. I just want to stay in my pajamas and not even go outside…although the weather is quite nice out there. Not too hot, not too cold, a little cloudy. I should do some yardwork honestly. Or not. I should do a lot of things, and that is always the problem with this week off. There are worse problems to have, though, so I’ll stick with this one.

Teacher Dreams

Wrong day. I’m all discombobulated. Usually I work Fridays. Well, I still worked Friday; I graded all day. But not at school and not with kids. I finished one big assignment; today, I started the second one and got side-tracked by the possibility of a new kitten tonight plus having to clean out the girlchild’s room for new kitten AND girlchild (not at the same time), and then took all those assignments (packets in plastic bags, cat toys!) back to school and went for a hike and then came back here and continued to try to organize quilts and the room. Didn’t finish. I can’t get a handle on storage at the moment. I have some ideas for boxing stuff up and putting it in the garage at this point. I don’t know that I still need all the books I used when I started teaching school. I don’t use them any more. Not quite ready to totally get rid of them, but close. Because I use the internet now instead of books. So much more. But organizing takes time and this week off never has enough time to do a lot. Too much family and other obligations. Plus grading is always an issue. It’s not enough time off for all of it.

Anyway, so I’m still in the stage of hoping to get a lot done but haven’t gotten a lot done. Fun times. I forgot to write yesterday because it didn’t seem like Friday. I don’t know what day it was, but it wasn’t Friday.

So Wednesday night, I ironed things down…

And didn’t freakin’ finish. So frustrating.

Thursday night, I finished.

18 hours and 54 minutes, 152 fabrics. That’s a lot. There were a lot of small detailed things in this quilt…stuff I love, but that is time-consuming on all levels.

Here’s everything that needs to be cut out.

And then I barely started cutting things out.

It never looks like much. Last night, I did some more…

We went out and watched friends of ours play in a different band, so we got home at 10:30, but I still had about an hour in me.

This is the Chameleons, which is really the lead guy and then whoever he decides he wants to play along with him…

But three of those people are in the Radio Thieves, so we got free tickets and hung out and watched them and talked to some friends, and then skipped the main band, because we’ve seen them before and we were both tired. The Man did actually go to work yesterday; and I am tired all the time, so there’s that. There will be no sleeping in during break. Cats don’t care that I need more sleep, and I stay up later, so I’m fucked. Ah well.

I did manage to gently chisel the base off the head; I used the base to hold up the head in the kiln and the clear glaze dripped down and attached them.

And managed to seat the head, although not quite how it originally fit.

There’s going to be acrylic paint on this thing. No way not too. And there’s a lower part too. Anyway, I’m hoping to epoxy these three pieces together, but also to get the tree for the top of the head into the glaze kiln too. And add the wire for the coathanger, and then design and make the little quilt that goes in the belly area. There’s so many hours in this thing, it’s insane. It’s definitely been a learning experience. So many things broke off so many times.

I did hike about 3 miles today to make up for not moving at all yesterday.

It was nice and cool out.

Threatening rain with no rain.

As I was walking, I thought I saw something up on the hillside, but it didn’t move. I even walked forward a little ways and then came back, decided it was a tree stump, then took a photo of it as far as my phone camera could zoom, and still couldn’t decide. It still hadn’t moved. I hiked on and figured I’d check the spot on the way back.

Of course, looking at it now, that’s a fucking coyote, but at the time, I really was seeing a tree stump. My eyes vs the camera’s eyes. It seemed too dark to be a coyote.

I got home to a beautiful sky.

We had a lovely cool, rainy in bits but not horrible, week. This coming week holds no rain, and then it comes back the following week. It’s pretty cold at night (for me)…definitely in my sweats and socks and slippers stage. I must be getting old, because my neck gets cold, but I hate turtlenecks. I have a couple of scarves, one a friend made and one the Man brought back from Denmark? I think? They are doing the trick.

I saw these on a friend’s reels and loved them.

Please pause. I shall return in a better place. I will be pillow-forting for a few days first. Don’t mind me.

Yup. That too. Bingewatching bad TV, reading books, and dreaming about all the things I could finish if I just stopped sleeping and eating and peeing. Really.

These sweet boos.

It must be cold for them to not be killing each other. And I’m about to shake up their existences with another cat. Woo!

This is too real.

Anyway. There’s no school all next week, and I am thankful for that. I am thankful for being done with the packets, and for getting a new furry baby tonight. Whichever one I pick. I was interested in one and then someone else had gotten in before me (this was the third time it had happened), and I’d been offered a slightly younger one, and figured it would be fine from the description, and then the 3rd one came back up as available, so I’m meeting both tonight and somehow I’m supposed to decide. Which is why there are two carriers in the back of the car right now, just in case. Then home to acclimatize whomever ends up coming home with us, some cutting stuff out, some kitten time, more cutting stuff out, more kitten time. You know how that goes. And grading. I should do more of that unfortunately. Ugh. But also relax and hike and read and pee when I want. Plus drinking my tea warm instead of cold. Teacher dreams.

Hopefully Finishing

I’m two long days away from 10 days off. We’ve had enough days off this month, and I’ve just had two days when I didn’t have to grade very much and I was able to catch up in class, so it doesn’t feel horrible right now…not like a couple of weeks ago. That 4-day weekend was a nice recharge. Which is why it’s annoying that they tagged the other ‘free’ day onto an existing holiday instead of giving us another 3-day weekend. Apparently it’s all what the parents want, but since they take any days off as a reason to take MORE days off, I guess it doesn’t really matter. I’m doing a makeup test today and another tomorrow. Then I’ll have a shit ton of work to grade over break (like always) and I’ll use the extra day they gave us on Friday to hopefully do a huge chunk of it. Knock on wood. Shit always happens when I plan, so who knows if I’ll get to do what I want or need to do.

I’ve spent the last two days carving the two ceramic frames I made.

This was originally going to be a sun, but it looks more like leaves now. Might need to change my color scheme.

I put a sun on this one to make up for it.

It’s been a while since I’ve used the squeeze bottles with underglaze in them, so the yellow was completely glued in. I’m going to have to bring pliers next time and see if I can get the needle out. This is relaxing…this is also about 2 1/2 hours of work, just in the carving. So not fast. Nothing in clay is fast except those people on the wheel maybe. Even then, there are so many steps that it isn’t fast.

Ironing is progressing. It’s taking longer than I thought it would, but some of that is me, I think. Slow. Tired at night. Trying to get other stuff done before I start and then starting late. Here’s Monday night…

And last night…

All I have left is a bunch of little tiny objects on the rug, so each one needs to be considered within the whole, and then colors chosen for just that object. Then I do it again with the next object. So it takes longer than say the water, where I pick four fabrics and then find all the pieces that are those four colors and then iron them all down. Bigger space covered with less thought, although it may take a while to iron all the pieces. It’s not the same as having to consider all the colors around it and make sure it works. I ironed a snake, a plant in a pot, and a cat. That was it, I think. I really am almost done. About 100 pieces left. I don’t have to cook tonight, but I do have pilates and the trash needs to go out, so those are time suckers. But not huge ones. I’m looking forward to being done with the ironing and onto the lovely meditative process of sitting on the couch with an animal or two and cutting out a thousand pieces. It sounds delightful. Then I can go back to standing and ironing after that.

Things that are stressing me out: not having a table of contents for the unit packet after break; losing my prep period today to a parent meeting when I need to be working on said TOC; my car brakes squeaking; the leaky sprinkler; the pool vacuum not moving; whatever I haven’t done that I’ve forgotten I haven’t done. Yeah. That’s a silly one.

OK. Today I am giving a writing test. It’s not easy. Yesterday one kid said, “I watched all the videos but the answer isn’t in there.” Oh my. Yes, my dear. You will need to use your brains this time. Thinking. Hard. The worst part is having to monitor their access to the internet and AI and their older brothers and sisters. Like do your own work, please. I am also trying to get them all organized to turn in these giant packets, plus finish all their work, and that’s frustrating. But ultimately, their problem, not mine. Pilates after school. Probably some lesson planning. Then ironing. Hopefully finishing tonight. Please. It’s time.

Muttering

OK, it’s another short week. Political stuff sucks, but hey, tariffs on things I don’t buy are going down. Hope it helps someone. Maybe stop deporting people who are trying to follow the rules and deport some of those white guys who don’t follow rules back to wherever they came from. I was efficient at grading this weekend and got the academic assignment completely graded, but then spent probably 90 minutes obsessing over how to let kids make it up instead of sleeping. Good times. The shutdown is over…pro, people get paid. Con…nothing changed. Bring on the Epstein files! We’re ready!

Yeah, whatever.

I did iron a decent amount this weekend. Friday night…

I started late because I was grading, and then got all the water laid out for the second bathtub, but also needed to go to bed, because I needed to be up early. So I left part of it for Saturday.

Saturday, I finished the water and did all the fleshy bits of the figure in the second bathtub.

And last night, I did all the non-fleshy bits of the main figure: eyeball, heart, lungs, etc. I’m about halfway through the 800s, maybe a little less than that…so 200 or fewer pieces to go. Mostly her hair and everything on the last rug, plus a plant or two. Probably two more nights, maybe three, depending on how late I start. I’m mostly caught up on grading, though, so that’s a plus. I won’t be after Wednesday, but we get Friday off (really stupid if you ask me; just gives parents more of an excuse to pull them out even earlier) and I plan to grade all Friday so hopefully I won’t have a lot of school stuff to do over break.

I did make it to ceramics on Friday. Mostly I tried to underglaze this well…

It will be much darker when it fires. I’m planning on doing some sgraffito on these. We’ll see how it goes. I haven’t figured out how to make them stand up yet. Or hang. I should do that. I’ll be back there today after school, after a 2-hour staff meeting about stuff I am totally not engaged in. So there’s that.

I caught two photos of my piece The Way Out at MOCA in Westport, CT, part of the Enough Already exhibit of Sara and Michelle Vance Waddell’s work.

It’s looking good.

I appreciate it being able to show in so many places with so much other very cool work.

I took a demo class on Saturday about building figures with a local artist, Moni Bloom.

It was cool to watch; would have been cooler to do as well, but I had misunderstood the type of class it was. It’s OK; the hands-on workshop will be in 2026. I might do it; I might not. Either way, I did learn some stuff about construction that is useful. It makes me want to ditch the frames and build something new. Maybe not as big as the last one. I’m waiting on bisque fix to fix the tree, then I’ll try to make it all go together. Hoping I can get the base to detach from the head; otherwise, I might need to build a new head.

The Man has been tired at night and going to bed earlier than me, which is different. I came to bed Saturday night and saw everyone in there…

Although I put the dog up and then Nova left. Too bad. She’s a sweetheart. Often Bowie doesn’t allow others in there either. He’s kind of a dick. And we may be adding to the menagerie this weekend. I have a hold on a kitten. We’ll see. I’m ready. I think.

I do this all the time. And certainly, I spent a bunch of time this weekend muttering to myself about kids not listening and not reading instructions. It’s fine. Really.

OK, today, I have set up independent work for students to complete. Tomorrow, we start the academic assignment with some background research. Then test Wednesday. I feel like I’m going to need a filler assignment, at least for a couple classes, but I don’t have an idea for that yet. I don’t want more work, so I’m playing it by ear, but maybe a preview of the next unit. I can probably put that together today while designing a google form for redoing the other assignment so I don’t have to give up yet another lunch to makeups, but there’s kids going to away soccer games who miss my 6th period and then miss the makeup. Sigh. I can’t fix all the things. And I’m frustrated by the system that equates grades with the right to be on the stage. I think they should let each teacher pick one kid for the stage. And not have it be grade related. Because I still wouldn’t pick the kid that’s bugging me about his grades. Sigh. Anyway, hopefully it’s a chill day, but we know how that goes. It’s supposed to rain again, although not as much…enough that I should bring my raincoat again though. Just in case. Ceramics after school, some carving I hope, and then home to NOT grade? I might be able to pull that off tonight. And then ironing. Reading my book! I’d like to do that too, although this is a book club book and I’m not entirely sold on it. I don’t care yet. Maybe I will, but not yet. Not enough.

Glom On…

Short week, felt long, rain’s coming, another lab today. Collisions. And at least 5 kids per class period who didn’t show up yesterday and have to take the test today. Fun times. I have two kids who I think went home on purpose so they wouldn’t have to take the test. Ah well, they can miss the lab today. And the three kids who showed up yesterday for the first time in the last two weeks? Shocker for them. I read all these things and watch videos where they talk about treating each child individually, giving them what they need, but realistically, with 33 kids in the classroom and very little support, with 5 absent and a lab going, there’s very little giving kids what they need. I’m just hoping both my paraeducators are here today. And there’s an issue with a kid who didn’t finish after more than 90 minutes, with paraeducator support, plus tutorial, and there’s signs of cheating in the past (someone else is doing it for him), and our new anti-AI approach means he didn’t turn it in in time. So yeah. What do I do with that? I’m not sure. We’ll see. Today. If he’s here. Rain is going to scare some of our kids off. It’s not even supposed to be that bad today…it’s mostly tomorrow, but you know how that goes. Just easier to let them stay home? Meanwhile, my coteacher and I are planning our post-school duty post outfits (raincoats, boots, and umbrellas) because we’re responsible adults who do our jobs. Maybe too responsible. I rewrote an assignment last night, plus emailed parents (who responded right away, bless their hearts…some kid hates me today), and then dreamed vividly about a school reunion I didn’t go to and didn’t have anyone I recognized.

Thank you, brain. I see you.

OK, I did iron over an hour the last two nights though. Yay me! Here’s Wednesday night…

And Thursday…

Sometimes it looks like I just move the bins around and don’t actually do anything. I’m in the mid 500s, but I’ve ironed a few 800s. So I’m halfway, at least. So I should finish ironing down probably early next week, then start trimming. My hope is to get it all ironed down over Thanksgiving break. Which they’re now calling Fall Break.

I went to the Mesa College opening of Reimagining La Linea, an exhibit about immigration of all types. My piece is about forced climate migration…

It’s the purple quilt on the right, with Anna Stump’s pinata/balloons flying over the border wall paintings to the left.

Cupcake Over Trump’s Wall, Pink Pony Over Trump’s Wall, and Sheriff Over Trump’s Wall.

Gail Schneider’s migrating butterflies were all over…

Great use of materials…ceramic bodies and private property/no trespassing signs for wings.

Here’s the whole wall…

I was intrigued by Steve Harlow’s paintings…this is DEMOGRAPHICS 28 (Tijuana Kids with Bug).

And this large graphic painting, Isa Ybarra’s Water-bearer.

I have more photos from the show, but need to go to school before the rain pops off again. Like I said, lab today about collisions. Then hopefully not too rainy to do duty, then ceramics. I’m taking a full day ceramics class tomorrow, which I’m alternately totally excited about and completely exhausted for. It’ll be fine. More ironing tonight, hopefully less collapse than the last two nights. Wishing good thoughts for surviving today. For me. I’m wishing for me, to be clear. Also anyone else who needs it can glom onto my wishes. Here. Have them. They’re yours too.

Feeling Frictiony

Back to it. Back to school. Lab today. Might be a mistake, but the calendar is short before the Thanksgiving break, so what has to be done…has to be done. So I will do it. That sprinkler is still not fixed, although I spent more money at Home Depot to hopefully fix it in the future. I filled two trashcans with trimmings from trees and bushes, but not the third. I did not get to cleaning the floors or the bathrooms. I made choices. I did not completely finish grading stuff. I left the homework for this week, figuring kids would be calm enough tomorrow during their test for me to get through those. I should be able to grade in class sometimes. I realize if you’re not a teacher, you think we should always be teaching, always on, but that’s unsustainable, and honestly, not what’s best for kids. They need to work independently at times, so in their futures, they can do that at their actual jobs. It’s been rough getting these kids there, but they are getting there. We are one third of the way through the school year. We are behind in curriculum, and we will get more behind, thanks to the state and my stupid school board. But it’s OK! the district says it’s only going to fuck up the schedule for THIS year. Well, this is the year I’m managing right now, thank you very much. So I’d like it NOT to be fucked up because of something my school board did.

Anyway. It was nice to have two extra days off. I think we’ll be lucky to have good attendance this week unfortunately, but we’ll see. I’ll be happily surprised if we do.

I did iron both nights, although not really more than usual. I had other stuff I was working on this weekend. Here’s Monday night’s ironing…

Ironed a torn-up flag. About the only one we have at the moment.

Then last night…

Finished everything on that piece of the rug and did the edges of the second bathtub.

I also had signed up for the Forbidden Words National Quilt Project, where we make blocks with the words/phrases that the current government is either removing from use or questioning any work that uses those words. I had three phrases I picked probably back in August (my August self has great hopes for Fall self that are often somewhat nuts). And I was determined to get them done or mostly done this weekend. I traced all the letters, using the stencil we were supposed to use, and then cut them out during book club Monday night, and ironed them down to the white fabric at some point (not sure where in the continuum that happened).

I was trying to save space, so an ‘H’ wandered up. I got those all cut out using my ancient scissors that cut zigzags that…pinking shears! See, if I talk it out, my brain will find the words. And then ironed them down to the backgrounds.

We needs to use old shirts, so I had previously gone to the thrift shop to find shirts that would work. I just need to stitch them down, which won’t take long, but probably won’t happen until Thanksgiving break, honestly.

Nice to have progress on that though.

Also, we have squirrels. They might be ground squirrels. That go in trees. Hard to say. San Diego has multiple types of squirrels.

Although it was on the ground, it was just eating bugs or something (do squirrels eat bugs?) and then going to the next tree. Down one, across, up another. So who knows. If I see it again, I’ll see if the Seek app can identify it. Didn’t think of that at the time. Plus it doesn’t work well through window screens.

This might be what gets me through the week…

Or this…

Sometimes I think my blog is a place I store memes I want to reread next year. I do read the previous years of the month I’m in…it’s kind of a survival thing, like this month fucking sucks. Did it suck last year? Oh yeah, it did. I mean there’s pros to November in days off, but cons in kids being checked out due to said days off. So yeah. Two short weeks of school, pros and cons right there. This is where I’m at…

Too many adult things to do. Including leaving here and setting up the rest of the lab at school, and trying to remember how to actually DO this lab (can’t remember what the piece of wood is for; hopefully I made a video last year. Of COURSE I made a video last year…they’re not just for the absent kids!). And then an art opening after school at Mesa College; I have one piece in their current show. Then home to plan some more and read and iron. And sleep. And repeat.

Politics? Still suck.

I’ve got some ideas as to what should go in.

OK. Work. Tired. Always. Still? Friction lab. Feeling frictiony. No staff meeting this week though. That’s a plus. And it’s short. Go on, get outta here.

A Day Off…

Late start on this. And if you’re gonna tell me about how YOU don’t have the day off, well, you probably didn’t work through the last three weekends, did you? So there’s that. I did a bunch of things this morning, because I have the day off, yay brain. I went to the doctor, I went to Fed Ex and copied a drawing for the next quilt, plus shipped a quilt to a traveling show that is opening somewhere, but I don’t remember where, ah well. I’ll figure that out. I got dog food (for the dog), plastic wrap (for Wednesday’s lab…forgot to get it at the grocery store yesterday), a new sprinkler head (that seems to be problematic and probably won’t fix the problem; might need to consult with my sprinkler guy, who happens to be my ex husband), plus more glazes/clay tools (local clay place is only open M-F 9-4, so they get very little of my business honestly), and the ceramics studio, where I did things that I forgot to photograph. Like a ditz. Seriously. My head is still in the glaze kiln and my tree is still waiting to be bisqued…probably that will all happen tomorrow and I’ll see stuff on Friday. OR I have a ceramics class next Saturday and I’ll see it then.

Came home, tried to fix the sprinkler, failed, ate lunch, started the dishwasher, made a mammogram appointment (they are scheduling 6 freakin’ months out ffs), read a chapter of my book, and am now trying to get my head straight. It’s OK. I need to do yardwork, but it’s like 90 degrees out there. It’s freakin’ November. Too damn hot. And mosquitoes. Sheesh.

OK. So quilt progress. I’m ironing bugs Friday night

Purple and green bugs. Then Saturday night, I did the body bag and some other stuff, like faucets.

And last night, I did the water. A satisfying grayish brown color. Or is it a greyish brown? Hard to say.

I’m in the 200s, I think. But nearly done with them. I’m ironing stuff on a rug next. Or a darts target. Something like that.

Friday, I added these shapes to one of the frames.

Today, I underglazed this one in black and will start sgraffito on it on Friday probably. I added some shapes to the other frame and didn’t take pictures of either of them. Good times.

I allowed myself a little stitching on Friday night…

Almost done stitching everything down on this one…then embroidery. I’ve had so little time for embroidery or any handwork lately. I’m struggling to get the time to do any art. School is just such a timesuck. I graded all day Saturday, then finished the major assignment last night. I’m not doing school today, except for posting a video I took on Friday for the absent kids.

I’m Floating in a Most Peculiar Way is traveling with Fierce Planets. It’s currently at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center in Stamford, CT.

I’m hoping to see this show when it wanders west.

It looks nice.

I didn’t have time to put all the planets in my quilt…maybe need to do a bigger one?

That piece on the right is fascinating: Jennifer C. Solon’s Untamed Fury.

I have another piece traveling to Connecticut…The Way Out is part of Enough Already, work from the Sara M. +Michelle Vance Waddell collection. It’ll be at the MOCA in Westport, CT, opening November 13. I’m excited about how much it’s traveling with this exhibit.

Speaking of traveling, Simba and I went for a hike on Saturday.

He can’t go as far as he used to, but we did a solid 2 miles. He needed a bath after due to the unfortunate genetics of his butt fur.

Check Bowie out, sleeping like a normal cat. Not parkouring across the coffee table.

Not body slamming my teacup. He must be growing up. Might be time for a new kitten. He’s reached 18 months. Might be out of the velociraptor stage.

This is me always.

The night is better.

I did read the article. And sigh. But the comment above it is the best.

Because we all wanna know.

Anyway. I am not grading today or tomorrow. I have fabric to iron, a political project I joined that I need to do something for, lots of yardwork, some housework, books to read, always books to read, maybe some actual sewing. We’ll see. Short week of school. Nice. Chaos though, because I planned two labs. Like a fucktard. It’ll be fine. I’ll get in fast, won’t kill anyone, get out and take a day off. Sounds perfect. I think I’m giving them a test in between too. So that’ll be exciting. But for now, breathe deeply and wonder where winter…or even fall…is.