Accept the Fuzz…

Hey. It’s Spring Break. I’m exhausted, overwhelmed, buried, and woke up sick this morning. That squirrel is back on the fence, running along…he hasn’t figured out how to get to the bird feeder yet (the Man moved it). I’m waiting for the Mark Rober adjustments to the feeder if he does figure it out (if you’ve never watched Rober design systems to foil squirrels, it’s definitely a squirrel hole to fall down some day.). I leave early Wednesday morning for Virginia, and every time I turn around, something else gets added to the to-do list. The oil light came on in my car yesterday after driving to Long Beach and back for an art meeting (hardly any traffic, luckily). Hoping I don’t get all those people sick. But I felt fine yesterday…just tired. And I’m always tired. Here’s to hoping my middle-school-teacher immune system kicks in (and my flu shot) to make this thing go away quickly. I don’t have time to be sick. I don’t want to be sick on a plane either. Sigh. OK. Need to buy/find masks now.

Did I finish my taxes on Saturday? Nope. Not even. I packed and shipped a quilt that will be at the New England Quilt Museum as part of the Soul Stories exhibit opening there around April 14. It will travel to Birmingham, UK, and then to International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas, in November. I can’t go to any of those shows, I think. Ah well. The quilts travel more than I do…always.

I have the closing reception for the Fantastic Stories exhibit at the Virginia Quilt Museum this coming weekend. We’re doing demos on Friday and then an artist talk on Saturday. If I had a car and more time, I’d then drive up to the Art Quilt Elements opening at the Wayne Art Center; I have a piece in that show as well. The opening is from 3-5 PM. It’s about a 4-hour drive from where I am in Virginia, I don’t have a car, and I’m planning on going to museums in DC on Monday. I’m not making it to the opening. I couldn’t do the 8-hour roundtrip drive plus rent the car. Money is tight. I’m appreciating the museum finding us a place to stay while we’re in Virginia and transporting us around. Saves me a bit of money I don’t actually have.

But this is the artist’s life…I could never afford to be a fulltime artist and feed my kids. The paychecks are not regular (or honestly big) enough. One quilt selling from this show would cover my expenses easily, but my stuff does not sell easily unfortunately. I probably don’t market well either. In my spare time! Anyway, if you are in Dayton, come see the show. If you miss it this week (it comes down Saturday night), I’ll have a piece in the No Boundaries exhibit that opens right afterward, on March 31.

I did finish the smallest of the dye paintings last night. On Friday, I finished all the embroidery so far and was considering threads for the hair.

Then Saturday night, I started working on the hair…

This is the smallest of the pieces I’m working on…

This one is about 20″ square…smaller than I usually do. And last night, I finished up the purple in the hair…

And sewed the sleeves down on the bottom edge (I waited to make sure the embroidery didn’t catch in the sleeves).

I don’t usually make pieces this small…trying to see if this is faster than the other way I make quilts. For something this size, it’s not.

Official photos will have to follow. I have a piece about this size that I did last year, in my normal technique, and it’s about the same number of hours. Interesting. It’s still a worthwhile process though, for a different type of image. I’m not giving up on it. Certainly, I make more work by adding the embroidery, but that was part of what I wanted to do. Moving on to the next one tonight. Might be some bedazzly stuff going on with that one.

I really wish they’d pay TSA. Getting on a plane and going to DC is somewhat nerve-wracking, now helped by long lines and ICE agents.

Such a frustrating system we have at the moment.

This was not surprising, unfortunately. Men in power. Strength and love to Dolores Huerta.

But true. I don’t want anyone in the Epstein Files to be in power anywhere. Don’t care who they are. That’s the difference.

Going back to the Dark Ages, y’all.

This is how men control the story. Take the meds away…I don’t see anyone removing Viagra or its equivalents. Of course not. Not making men responsible for their bodies and what they do with them. Birth control is mostly hormones…interestingly, hormones men have as well.

This is what I always feel like at the beginning of Spring Break. Except when I’m sick.

But it does feel like a good morning despite the headache and sore throat. I’ll try to stand outside in the sun for a bit. Just stand. Then go back to prepping for this trip, trying to grade stuff, trying to finish taxes, trying to keep up with all the stupid stuff I’m supposed to be doing in the next two days. I’d like to get to ceramics today too…maybe later. Brain is very fuzzy. Spring Break fuzzy? Sick fuzzy? General old age fuzzy? It probably doesn’t matter…accept the fuzz.

Watching Squirrels Sleep…

Hey I usually do more of a countdown to Spring Break, but I haven’t even had the mental space for that…it starts today! At 3:30 PM…but it’s also Eid today, so I’m guessing I’ll have at least 40 students missing, just based on what got turned in yesterday. We normally miss a bunch the Friday before a break, but with a massive religious holiday…it’ll be a lot more. We all planned for it…easier to plan for it at the end of a unit, right before a break, than for the beginning of a unit, right after a break (that was last year). So I’m not expecting a lot of stupid shit today, luckily…hopefully quiet, watch Bill Nye while I grade, be quiet, turn your stuff in. Meanwhile, I made a grading list and it sucks. My fault of course, but whatever. I only have four days at home before I leave for Virginia, and about a million things to do, so that should be interesting.

Survived field trip…

Had to explain what the metal string things were for and that the seagull was not making a nest there and dropping its eggs into the water.

Meanwhile, embroidery takes forever. Wednesday night…I got the speech bubble etc on…

I may have embroidered more around the heart…and then last night, I did embroidery in the speech bubble and more around the heart.

Better. The heart itself needs more. Then the hair. Probably outline the speech bubble. Doesn’t sound like much but I probably won’t be done until next year. Ha! No…it won’t take THAT long.

My brain fuzzed out last night for a bit so I have a lot of memes expressing my frustration with the world. Well, this is not a meme…just a direction to the drones that are not really over California, looking for places to drop bombs.

I love California most of the time. Not all of it. But in general.

Keeping up with the political theme of Why TF are we at war and everything costs so much.

Plus deportations still happening, people dying in custody, little kids separated from their parents. People trying to be legal about immigration and that doesn’t matter. DACA recipients ffs. They pay taxes, you idiots.

The damn SAFE Act is just fucked up. I did check my passport last night, just for giggles (is it giggles when it’s necessary?). I never changed my name though…I also checked that I had my birth certificate, and I do. Thanks mom for smuggling those out of Alaska. I really do think we’re in an alien dystopian movie at the moment.

There’s also this though. I do this all the time.

That’s an anxiety thing. Fun. And this…

I know I’m going to have to be up early on Sunday to drive to an art meeting in freakin’ Long Beach. Ugh. I wouldn’t be going if it weren’t Spring Break, but even then, I don’t have much time before I leave and I WANT to: finish grading, have my taxes done, get a bunch of yard work done…and I NEED to: pack everything, set up demos to take with me, make sure I have food (we have a kitchen…I just found that out). So I’m doing all of that. OH. And get to ceramics on Tuesday or Monday so I’m not leaving my piece for too long. Plus get the damn toilet fixed. It’s been months.

This amuses me…because it is also true. But today is Hawaiian shirt day (for Spring Break), so I’m wearing a bulky men’s shirt that buttons on the wrong side and isn’t my thing at all.

Just like a middle-school teacher. I brought a shirt and flip flops to change into later for ceramics.

I need to grade all of Per 5 and 6’s Unit 5 packets, because I’m bringing home Unit 6 today. Sad but true. I also need to copy all the stuff for the first week back; I have the first day copied and that’s it. So that’s my goal for the school day. Plus be chill (my A/C sort of works?) and not go off on anyone (I already did last night, but it was semi-justified…maybe could have worded it as a suggestion instead of a rant, but I don’t have that in me right now). Do my afterschool duty in 97-degree heat (seriously?) and then go to clay and then go home and eat leftovers and maybe grade some shit because downtime is rare and I’m on a mission to clear the second week of break from school shit (ha!). SLEEP. Maybe. Because hot and the Man yelled out “Text him” the other night in his sleep. Plus a cat hit my head and I was bleeding…luckily under the hair and not on the face. I’m currently watching a squirrel run along the fence between my yard and my neighbors…thinking of getting a squirrel box and putting a camera inside so I can watch them sleep. Seriously. Google it. It’s funny.

What Is Normal?

Oof. It’s Friday, yes, short week, yes, but holy crap, these short weeks have packed a punch. It’s almost a relief to go back to a normal week (except next week is so not normal). What is normal anyway? Not sure. It’s rained on and off all week and been cold (hey it’s Southern California, but it was 40 degrees here when I woke up…yes that’s warm for a lot of the country, but I don’t have the clothing for that…well, I do, but not to leave the house). I busted out my Ugg boots last night. I got home in the rain, pulled the trashcans in, in the rain, got really wet, in the rain, peed the dog, still raining, and totally damp, I wanted to just put my pjs on and curl up on the couch. But no! A friend I haven’t seen in person for 22 years was in town, so I gladly drove through (guess what, the rain) not-so-bad traffic actually (considering the rain) to hang out with her, another friend, and another on Zoom for a few hours. I got some raccoon done…

These are super relaxing to work on.

So is binding. It’s just the same stitch around and around.

I got the binding done on Wednesday night and then both sleeves on last night…

Not really helpful cat.

Great image, yeah? Well it goes to the photographer tomorrow…

Also a great photo. With my hand in it and a pile of trimmed ends of the threads from the stitching. But it’s done! The first quilt of 2026. With the next ones ready to go…a departure from what I normally do, but I’m excited about that. We’ll see how it goes, how long the excitement lasts before I want to do something different. Or the same. It’s hard when I’m teaching to find the brainpower to branch out into different techniques and processes. I spend so much of my creative energy at school trying to plan and solve problems, that sometimes I come home and there isn’t much left. There are things I can do without a lot of conscious thought, like trace, cut things out, even pick fabrics…but the original creation, the drawing, that requires more thought. And these next ones, however many I do (I have four ready to go) will be completely different…well, not the first stages. Those will be rote…stuff I know how to do…but the later stages will be very different from what I’ve been doing. Excitement? And anxiety. Woo! I don’t know that I need more anxiety at the moment, but it’s creation anxiety, and that’s not always a bad thing. I guess watch this space?

Here’s Nova giving me a judgy look because I yelled at her for eating the kitten’s food.

I did call her chonky. Rightly so.

Well no ceramics tonight unfortunately; this is my normal day though. I have a meeting during my prep (silly parents) and then I have a long meeting after school that will require brain power (make more tea) and will probably go for a couple of hours or longer (hopefully not longer). Then clean up that quilt tonight, iron it flat, get all the damn cat hair off of it. If there’s time, I’ll start the next thing, although I may just fix my pants. I’m hoping to go to a bunch of art shows tomorrow…I have three on my list; two while I’m delivering to the photographer (already almost there…might as well keep going) and one in the evening that I will drag the Man to…it’s fine. We’ll do dinner after. Plus I need to grade a million things again. We’re almost at the end of the trimester, which is stressful. And next week is a shitshow ending with eyeball dissections. Woo! But hopefully sleeping in tomorrow a little and doing some fun things to make up for all the work? That would be nice. And I’ll have some grading time on Wednesday and planning time on Monday to make up for the LACK of it at all other times. Yeah. It’s Friday. Let’s do this.

Light Waves…

I know, I forgot to write on Monday. It was a holiday, the septic tank guy showed up early, I graded almost all day, there was no realization of what I normally do on Mondays. So I did all this stuff Friday and Saturday that isn’t going to get on here today. Maybe later. Ha! If I remember.

So the quilt is almost done though. I quilted Saturday…

I finished quilting on Sunday…broke a foot.

This is a cheap, badly designed foot. I tried to get an official spring bouncy open toe foot like that for the machine, but it was not available, so I don’t think these are really designed for this machine, even though they say they are. They are also cheap. So that arm eventually gives way. I buy like four at a time. They last about 8 months, depending on how much I’m sewing…and honestly, how fast.

This was almost 10 hours of quilting.

I trimmed on Monday…had to move the boychild’s fire equipment and four pairs of boots out of the way. He went back to work this week.

There is a Scribble kitten in this photo. She’s playing with boot laces, but also spent some time sitting in the middle of the quilt, staring at me. I got the binding sewn on too…

And Monday night, started the handsewing.

Last night, Scribble kept flicking her tail into what I was sewing.

Almost sewed her tail into the binding about 5 times. She took off for a while and then came back…

Not the easiest sewing angle, but we made it work. Seconds before, she was reaching out to the needle with her paw. No sense of safety. I’ve made it around 2 1/2 sides. Got 1 1/2 to go, plus two sleeves. Photographer is getting it Saturday. Ready to ship to Massachusetts in March, then to Birmingham, England, then Houston.

I also made it to ceramics on Monday, in between rain bursts. Definitely heard those on the metal roof. I did some shaping on these…

And then added to them.

I was trying to make something that would fit on my shelf. Ha! Not happening. I am going to need to consider how to attach the owl, when I get to that point. I also put the bowl in for bisque fire. Finally! Can’t remember when I started it. Ah well. That’s what apps are for. I started the bowl December 8 and it has 10 hours of work in it. TEN HOURS. Can’t sell that for the time it took. And it will still need glaze after this. I haven’t decided what glaze yet. Something smooth on the inside. Hope there’s no cracks. I’m finding it hard to get to ceramics…the timing sucks right now. I’d normally go this Friday, but have to do a union thing. If it’s quick and I’m not exhausted, I’ll go over there, but I don’t think it’ll be quick, based on the last one.

I did walk on Saturday. I was going to hike, but the ex came over to help find the second lid on the septic (I didn’t realize/remember a second lid, but found the original drawing). So I had limited time before sunset. I drove down my hill, so I wouldn’t have to walk the scary busy road with no sidewalk in the dark, and took off from there, neighborhood hike.

I did this daily during COVID, and was always fascinated by all the different plants my neighbors had.

Valentine’s Day kitties…Luna and Scribble. Not quite curled up together.

I saw this. And then started Googling. And this is what everyone needs to do these days. Because if he said it, it’s not documented anywhere.

Also, the comment amuses me. Yeah, I’m not sure the bodycam footage would show you what you want to see…and I don’t really see the purpose unless it’s to show the parents of THOSE children what their sweethearts are really like in the classroom. Fun times. Research, people. Don’t assume the stuff is correct.

That said, that damn SAVE Act is totally fucked up.

Poll tax anyone? But only for married women. And trans folx. And a few others? People who changed their names to escape abuse? Yeah, it seems fair. WTF it does not. Seriously. What assholes in the House voted for this? ID? Sure. Fine. Make them free and easy to get. Or we’re back to where this country was in the early days, when only rich white guys could vote. I guess that’s what they want? Fucking assholes. The Man says the Senate won’t pass it. Sigh. It never should have been considered at all. So prejudiced. So misogynist. So unAmerican.

OK. Sigh. Where we at today? Ah yes, the effects of light waves on materials. Lab and simulation that takes two days to get through with my full-on support. Then pilates. Then handsewing binding. I can look forward to that for sure.

Went to a Show…

I have three things already on my to-do list for before school starts, and none of them is write this blog, take my insulin, take my meds, or drive to school. They are all things that happened after 7 PM last night that need to be dealt with today (or things that happened during the day that I only remembered after 7 PM and then didn’t deal with…actually one was a midnight rememory…annoying). And somehow I have a bug bite more than 36 hours after being outside doing yardwork and a paper cut that I don’t remember getting at all but is on the verge of infection. My left inner elbow is itching like crazy and my right pointer finger just hurts. And I’m trying to concentrate. It’s obviously not working.

Quilt. Start there. I’m quilting. This is Sunday night, lots of tiny corporate climate-destroying details.

Last night, it was freeway interchanges, an arm, and the face…

Oh, and an owl.

I’m actually almost done with the outlining; I’ve got about 20-30 minutes left of an arm and some smoke clouds. Then into the background. I’d really like to get it done and to the photographer in the next week. We’ll see how that goes. I did already buy the binding…thought ahead for once.

I did not make it to ceramics last night or the night before. Finally got my car back and there was nothing. The metallic screech that sent it in was no longer there once they got all the wheels off and brakes checked. Which is good…but annoying. Ah well. Moving on. I might try to go to the studio after the union meeting tonight; we’ll see what my energy is like. Bringing the equipment just in case.

I did go to the Viewpoints exhibit at the Hyde Gallery at Grossmont College last night. Some very cool stuff there.

My Dad’s Gun Collection (2023 Excerpt), Susan Graham. Yup, that’s clay. Crazy, eh?

Screaming in Silence – Rabbit, Candi Blox. The title certainly is interesting, but also the texture. Plus its cute little screaming face.

Body Prison: Womb, Leena Janmohamed. Beautiful piece, lovely glaze.

City, Gail Schneider. I’m always fascinated by the bricks she makes.

Levee and Gush, Joseph Heffernan. Love the colors with the shapes on these pieces. Nothing I glaze ever turns out this perfect.

Everything But the Executive Function, Lindsay Lauters Miller. OK, this is exactly where my brain is right now. Love this tiny thing with the head right there in the middle of the chaos. Honestly, I took this picture for my coteacher.

I totally didn’t get a title or artist for this…I was surrounded by people and just trying to focus on the FINGERS at the ends of the braids. WAIT. I found it. Unsettling, Sarah Garcia.

And unsettling it is.

These were in the outside window part of the gallery, so they’re taken through a window.

Volcano, Lee Puffer. It’s possible the neon attracted me.

Hysterectomy, also Lee Puffer. Shiny and glowing, as a hysterectomy should be.

And Saraswati, by Cheryl Tall. I do always love her pieces. This is a good show to go check out. Open for a month? Maybe longer. I am a font of information. I’m trying to get done so I can get to school and bang through that stupid to-do list.

Driving to pick up my car yesterday afternoon…I really want to believe this is an Emo Sewer.

Also says they bought their Tesla before Elon went crazy, but also has a Raiders sticker. Ugh. Intriguing though. OK, I Googled it and it is just ‘awesome’ backwards. Not as interesting. Or interested. Rolling my eyes a bit. Moving on.

Scribble tries to help with the grading.

To be clear, she is not helping at all.

This…is a great Vday card.

And this is a great thing the US should consider…other countries are acting like normal human beings and locking up criminals…why can’t we?

My coteacher sent me this but I had already screenshot it.

I’d love to make my students explain this, but realize only 10% of them could. Which is frustrating.

This is also a good goal for today.

One can dream.

My daughter, who is ADD (which is now all ADHD), says I am also AD(H)D…and this might be the best proof.

That is exactly how my brain works during conversation. EXACTLY. Undiagnosed brain divergence here.

Oh. This is wonderful. And so true. Although my partner could now be amused by it…

Only because I made him watch the South Park 6 7 episode and then tried to explain the stupidity of it all. Hey, in my classes, the drama over 6 7 is almost gone. I think 42 has more staying power, but only with the older geek/nerd/dork population. My dad wouldn’t get that one either.

OK. Gonna go spray the bite with something cool and refreshing. Then take my meds (I did the insulin already) and go to school, where I’m doing a refraction lab today. I also realized…just now…that I need to find and post a simulation we need to walk through. Fuck. See this is how I get to school and am already overwhelmed and freaking out. Sigh. Plus answer two parents, a union exec board person, set up that meeting because none of my other reps take initiative, and then go to a rep meeting after school. MAYBE go to ceramics afterwards? For a short time? And then home for dinner, grading, and quilting. Plus purring cats. And probably a dog. Maybe see if I can persuade the boychild to dig out the lid for the septic tank? Otherwise, I might be doing that in pouring rain this weekend, which seems problematic. Yeah. Good times.

I Don’t Remember Saturday…

Hey, yes it’s Monday, but I have the day off, but my car has an issue that makes it undriveable, so I’m up early (not a fan) so I can get it to the mechanic so hopefully they can fix it today. Ha! Gotta call a tow truck in a little bit and then hope it doesn’t totally fuck up my day. Getting an assist from the parents with a pickup and an extra car for the day, but I’m back at work tomorrow and it gets complicated after today. Today is complicated enough, because I scheduled my standard teeth cleaning and I don’t want to try to reschedule that onto a Saturday. So up too early, tired (this has not been a weekend of sleeping in, thank you very much Scribble for playing with the strings of the blinds, which I distinctly remember Bowie doing about a year and a half ago, driving us crazy then too). I have way too much still to do today, although I filled two greenery bins yesterday; the pool guy will be very pleased, but that’s about it. I did get a pot for the plant that was falling over, but didn’t do much time on putting the deck back together because I was doing the other things.

Quiltwise, I did stitchdown Friday night…

Finished that on Saturday, washed the batting, cleaned the floor, and pieced a backing, and then pinbasted it at like 11 PM

Not entirely sure why I didn’t get to it earlier. I don’t remember Saturday except for trying to deal with the car and buying some pots and cat food. Exciting day.

Scribble was very annoying…kept trying to bite safety pins (bad plan), brought her string in so she could play with it on the quilt, kept skidding into it.

Still love her, but holey hell, it was a challenge to pin it.

Started quilting yesterday…

Got about two hours in…thought I would get more. Maybe today? But I have a solid chunk of grading I need to get through as well. I did that for about 5 hours yesterday. Have at least 2-3 to go today, and not sure I will be able to fit it in around the other stuff. Ugh.

Hiked Saturday, three miles, barely in before sunset.

Borrowed the Man’s car. Hard to drive that thing…like zero visibility, worse if you’re short like me. But it was better than nothing.

Saw these flowers dressing up the weird metal guy we have in the yard.

I do love plants…they just take over things so easily and then I get overwhelmed.

Sleepy kitten with her auntie.

She’s been playing with the two older girls as Bowie gets over whatever he had; he’s still pretty antisocial, but has been coming out and sleeping in places he used to sleep. Still jumpy as hell though.

This is very disturbing.

I noted that I couldn’t hear the boos well enough. So I guess there’s that. I did watch some of the US Olympic competitors talk about how it is problematic or difficult to say you are representing the US right now, and I’m glad they said that, even if the orange puff freaked out over it. Those amazing athletes can represent me; I’m good. I am one of those weirdos who isn’t watching the Olympics AND didn’t watch the Super Bowl either. Go Bad Bunny, though, a true American.

This is too true.

I watch them try to figure it out as I’m walking around the room, doling out our team’s ‘cash’ (they can use to buy water or granola bars or pencils). I always tell them they don’t get As when they speed through it like that. I listened to one kid berate the kid next to him who was trying to do it before I got to their table. “Bruh, it doesn’t even take 10 minutes. Why don’t you do it in Advisory like the rest of us do?” Damn good question. Ah well.

OK, calling the tow truck, meeting Dad over there, borrowing his car, going to the dentist, grading, hopefully going to pilates, hopefully picking up my car, grading some more, quilting, maybe working on the deck. Folding my laundry! Totally need to do that. Sending the school weekly email! Forgot to do that yesterday. Three-day weekends are nice, but it doesn’t mean I’m more efficient. At all. Busy day, but it’s not at school? Still working for the school. I didn’t on Saturday, so that was a plus. Gotta buy fabric for binding today too! Forgot about that too. Ugh. Gonna go write myself a note right now. While I consider the need to detain and deport people who went through the legal process to be here, who need to be here so they don’t starve or die, people who keep our economy going, which it’s really not at the moment. When those people have not committed crimes, or the crimes are so minor that all of us have committed them. Putting untrained thugs in charge of detainment. Reeks of past history that did not turn out so well for anyone. Happy Monday though.

This Job…

I’m not sure why this week seems so long and exhausting. I mean, I’m glad it’s Friday, but I thought/felt like the last two days were also Friday. And tomorrow morning, I will wake up panicked, thinking it’s Friday again and I forgot to set my alarm. All silly brain stuff.

Glad it’s Friday anyway. Finally. For real. I started stitchdown on Wednesday night…

Didn’t get super far…but last night, I did better…

I’m probably halfway done with it? Could finish it tonight or tomorrow, sandwich, pinbaste, start quilting. My plan is to finish the quilting by Monday (?) and buy the binding then. I’ll have to make sure the quilt store is open Monday. Their hours are annoying for those of us who work a day job. The other local sewing store is carrying less and less fabric, so there aren’t a lot of options. Too hard to mail order something that needs to match in a timely fashion. I don’t usually have big enough pieces in my stash to do a whole binding. Anyway.

We photographed it in daylight, which is more accurate color…

Meanwhile, the other show I was panicking about, because the deadline had moved up a month…it moved back a month to June again, so I have a little breathing room, but I’m still going through with bordering the dye paintings and working with those for that show. I already had my next quilt drawing copied when this piece had to shove in, so I have a plan for after…it’s not political, but I kind of need a break from those. I may feel differently when I get there, but my brain gets overloaded if I’m always working on a piece that is a mental challenge. Yes, the world is a mental challenge right now, but I also have a pretty challenging day job and I need to make sure my brain has some outlets that are safe. Besides reading…

Oh wait, that’s me trying to grade with a laptop while another ‘laptop’ sits upon my lap. Top. Scribble is not very patient with my need for my lap sometimes. She believes it is hers.

So does Simba, so sometimes there is competition. The boychild is gone for a few days, so here is Simba’s bedtime sad face.

He only barked once at the neighbors’ pulling their trashcans in and once at the coyotes. By ‘once’ I mean he barked a bunch of times at each of those. After about midnight, he was quiet. Although the competition for lying on me was tense last night (3 of them, sandwiching the shit out of me).

I love this idea but want to know why they are all the same size.

That’s just weird. Then again, so is this, but in a very different way.

Why aren’t they all in jail yet? I don’t get it. Take them all. Lock them up. Throw away the keys (the abusers, not the immigrants). I don’t care who they are or how rich they are or what side of the political argument they are on; get them in jail.

Yeah. Like I said, sometimes the brain needs a break. I probably won’t get that today. I’m teaching light wave behavior, very much on the whole day, I think. It’s been pretty chill the last couple days, even though kids won’t get work done for science sometimes without calling them out. Stop rushing ahead to games and/or stuff for another class that you think is easier. Stop rushing through assignments just to get them done (hence your F). Lots of sitting down with kids and my computer and having discussions about the consequences of your actions, or what I see for reading ability, or how to get better at it and why you might care about that. I actually had a kid Googling yesterday if a teacher could say no to him wanting to go to the bathroom literally 5 minutes after he came in from a 30-minute lunch break. Sigh. Yes dear, I can. Plus a crazy email from a parent using Chatgpt and maybe a paralegal or a really bad lawyer. Fun day. At least it’s Friday and I can go to ceramics this afternoon, then come home and read a bit and stitch a lot and sleep in tomorrow if the animals let me. Three-day weekend (which is already filling up)…which is nice. But grading, yes, that. Unfortunately. Ah well. This job.

Hot and Crispy

So for the last week, WordPress has been using a tiny ugly font on the posts on MY end, but the posts you see are the same. This seems like a little thing, and it’s strangely happened before, more than once, and then eventually goes back to something bigger than 9-pt type. It’s weird and it bugs me, but it is possible that everything bugs me at the moment. Today, we’ve got what looks like Santa Ana winds (wind advisory, plus it’s going to be 90 degrees…in February), which notoriously messes with my head and my hair and my sinuses. Super dry, too warm, pressure changes in the atmosphere. Makes for a head that doesn’t function normally. For some definition of normal. It’ll be gone by tomorrow (the weird weather, not the general malaise).

Meanwhile, I got the whole image ironed together on Monday night…

Which took a little over 11 hours…and then last night, I ironed it to the background (which I had sewn together the night before).

Note Scribble. She posed with it. Sat right down next to it for the photo opp. Now this is at night, with me standing on the fireplace hearth again (I’m short). There’s a ton of details that will get quilted in and that don’t necessarily show up in a photo like this. I guess, that’s normal for me. I will start stitchdown tonight and hopefully get it sandwiched and quilted this weekend. This will most likely be at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA, in April…and then will travel to a few shows. Which is cool…more about that later, when it’s actually done.

I started a new artsy ceramic piece on Monday. I had a vision (very vague) of what I wanted to do back in December, but was trying to get the bowl done first…there’s only so much room on my shelf for building. And the studio drying shelves were super full; it was hard to find a place to put the bowl last week, so I waited until Monday and found a spot. This is not a very exciting start, but it’s a start…

Hopefully it won’t take a year to finish.

I need to get past some of these quilt deadlines so I can finish the last ceramic piece (which needs a tiny quilt). Not sure when the deadlines will chill the fuck out. The Man will say I need to say NO more often, but that’s hard to do when exhibition opportunities come up. Pros and cons: I love to have my work exhibiting, but it becomes a pressure that sometimes makes it difficult to work on what I want to work on.

Scribble is still adjusting to the nearness of a dog. Simba doesn’t freakin’ care…he wants to be next to me.

I try to come home from work and read for a bit every day. I usually get some sort of fluff to sit with me.

This is Nova while I’m trying to grade.

She was on my leg earlier (when I was reading). She sticks a single claw into my leg over and over again. Makes it difficult to concentrate.

OK. Union meeting this morning, finishing up the EM spectrum in class (hopefully all on task and focused, although one class…ugh…there’s always one class). Then pilates…I got in even though I only signed up two nights ago (I had to wait for the 3rd to be allowed to…did I sign up at 1:30 AM? I did.). Then book club…boom…boom…I finished the book last night at the gym. I finally made it back to the gym, where they have new equipment…took me 10 minutes to figure out how to get to the programs. The screens are sliding by; one of them could have instructions. Really. Yes, I’m old. I do read instructions. Gen X thing. Then grading in there somewhere, hopefully also at school; I’m behind again. Then stitching stuff down and going to bed and not having to get up early tomorrow. Inevitably Scribble will start playing with the strings on the blinds at 6 AM anyway. It’s funny how she’s matching Bowie’s kitten energy, the things he did that he grew out of. Poor Bowie…still freaked out about coming out of the room when anyone but his dad is around. Not sure why, but it makes me sad not to see him stomping around the house like normal. Hopefully he’ll come out soon. Weird times. OK, off to school. Hot and crispy day.

A Better Place…

Hey. Early Monday, too many things going on, too many things need to happen. I need to come up with a title for the piece I’m working on, and I don’t even have an inkling (no, I don’t want help…I just need headspace). Usually I stare at the picture, read some online stuff about the topic, stare at it again, go heat up my tea, stare at it some more, look up quotes, shake my head, go out and plant something or sweep something, pretend it’s a normal day, go to bed, and just as I’m falling asleep, it comes to me, and hopefully I’m smart enough to document it somewhere. But often not. And then I have to wait for it to wander back into my head.

Yeah. Fun times. OK, fast and furious here. I didn’t iron Friday night because we went to watch a co-teacher dance in a local performance.

I got home super late and went straight to bed, pretty much…and then spent 22 minutes finishing my book. It was good. What can I say? The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. Because this…

Too true. Saturday, I ironed for about 4 hours…avoiding most other tasks. Dude, I’m on a deadline.

There’s a certain stage when you’re ironing tree parts and freeway interchange parts when it is pure overlapping chaos.

Scribble in the room! Also, all those random things piled on the ironing board are weights to keep the rest of the piece from sliding off.

It’s heavy at this point. And still chaotic.

But getting there.

Then last night, I almost finished.

I just have the owl on the top right and then need to iron it onto the background. And come up with a title. No, I still don’t want your help. Thanks.

Sigh.

I hiked Saturday; the wildflowers are starting to bloom.

It was nice, except for the ebikes.

Annoying. No engines in nature, y’all. Unless they’re rescuing someone or something.

I think I need more hikes. I used to hike after school…ok, not in winter. It gets dark too early.

OK, I scrolled a lot in between grading and ironing.

Not surprising. And here’s Charlie Kirk on it all.

We’re there. The tyrannical part.

Humanity is the least humane thing out there in the US right now.

Please…arrest more people so we don’t notice how many rich white males are on the Epstein list. Take them all! Jail them all! I don’t care about their politics or what they do for a living. They belong in jail.

Yeah. I’ve been saying white men are the problem for years.

Sigh. So if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may have noticed we’ve got some family stuff going on, trying to find the Man’s sister. She’s in danger. If you live locally and you see her, please call 911 and reach out to us if you can. I know it’s unlikely most of you will see her, but just in case…you never know.

I have an early meeting (hate Monday meetings), then I’m teaching the electromagnetic spectrum, and going to a physical therapy evaluation for my very cranky knees. Then hopefully to ceramics, but also have to pick up a handle arm thing for the toilet that broke last night (couldn’t break Saturday so I could go to Home Depot over the weekend, could you?), plus pick up meds that got sent to a local pharmacy instead of ordered online like I asked, then not sure what else. Maybe grading, definitely reading to dissociate, then ironing an owl. Good times. May the world be a better place by the time I get there…or at least not a worse one.

At Least It’s Friday…

Today is the shutdown. I’m with you in spirit, but as a public middle-school teacher in a Title I school, I’m going to be at school with my students. Also, Friday subs are the hardest to get for anyone, and we’re doing a lab, so I would have had to make up some filler assignment, because you don’t leave a lab with a sub unless you want no materials at the end of the day. And a friend is performing tonight, opening night, and we’re not blowing that off either. Need to support teachers in their life-affirming activities, like dance and art. But do we need to hit them where it hurts? Yes. Absolutely. Target sent me yet another “we’ll cancel your Target card” letter (the third so far, each with a 2-month deadline, which I ignore). I’m just avoiding them, Amazon as much as I can, anything else that seems dodgy or billionairy. Not a word, I know. But there are small, independently owned businesses going under right now due to tariffs and people just not having as much money (um, the grocery bill is still bad, y’all…it’s not great here), and it’s not OK that the tariffs are singling them out. Just trying to get art quilts to shows here from out of the country or vice versa has gotten so much more complicated.

Sigh. Things aren’t changing in the right direction fast enough.

In quilt news, the ironing is going well…

Well, as long as you don’t mind a kitten climbing on it (I do)…

She also tried to run off with the safety pins, so those are closed up again. I keep this door closed most of the time right now, because I don’t really trust her in here. It’s chaos and thread and pins and tiny pieces and not very cat friendly.

So that was Wednesday’s progress…looks slower because it’s a lot of smaller pieces.

And here’s last night’s progress…

I’m in the low 300s at this point…the body parts are next and that’s complicated. I have a thing tonight so odds are I won’t be ironing until tomorrow, but I’m hoping to spend a few hours tomorrow. The deadline looms.

I also went to ceramics last night and put the last two colors on the bowl, underglaze anyway.

I also did the fingernails and filled in the mouth areas.

That looks better.

Right now, it’s drying so I can put it in the bisque fire. I’ll clear glaze the outside and then find some shiny glaze for the inside. Realistically, I can never make anything in clay to sell…this already has over 10 hours in and it’s not done. It’s a good thing I’m not doing it for the money.

There’s competition some nights for my lap.

Simba was hesitant, but submitted that belly rubs made it OK. Scribble is unsure…

Really unsure.

The crazy shit that comes out of the government’s mouth is sometimes mind-boggling.

That and Kyle Rittenhouse and that crazy fucking couple with the guns. Like it’s a different story every time. And some people are excusing it every time. I’m hoping the reps start to stand up and yell more, prosecute, fire people, refuse to pass bills, demand for change, quite honestly, get that dumbass tested publicly, transparently, because no way he’s competent to be president right now. That said, neither is Couch Vance. I’d love to hear some of the conversations he and his wife of color have about some of the shit he says.

I read this and went, huh. Yeah. Ugh.

And then I read this one.

OMG yes. I guess that’s too much to ask? Certainly it doesn’t make as much money for the already rich.

Sigh. All I do is sigh and try to hide in books these days. Can’t hide unfortunately. My co-teacher and I had a short discussion of what to do if ICE shows up at school if we’re on duty (grab all the kids and throw them behind the gates). We can’t call our local police; they’ve been told by the mayor to support ICE, to help them. Fuck that. You’re not dragging middle-school kids out of here. Or their parents. Not OK. We are not OK.

Today. We’re doing a lab about light, mostly UV to start, just an exploration. Then duty (no ICE hopefully) and going to watch a friend dance with a bunch of people, then probably home to sleep honestly. It’ll be late. Then art tomorrow, and a hike, to try to get this blood sugar under control. It’s still whack and I still don’t know why. Sigh. SIGH. At least it’s Friday and more art time is near. I can do that.