Hopefully on Time…

OK. I lost a week in my head. I seriously thought I needed to be done with these banned book pieces by next week, but I have a whole ‘nother week. Whew. Although it’s still a rush, it’s not an insane, probably can’t do anything else rush. The Man’s show isn’t until next week. I have a weekend coming up with two back-to-back meetings (difficult, but OK), but the rest is pretty clear. I got two more pages ironed (basically I’m getting through one a night). Here’s page 2…

The embroidery did really well with the dark background…it hides the tails even better than I’d hoped. Here’s page 3…

There’s one more…it’s got some complicated hair in it, but I’m hoping to start a little earlier tonight.

Last night, I worked on the sculpture…I had to fix some things again…the damn fingers on the left hand keep breaking off…

But I’ve started to build a head…not sure if it’s too big though. Hard to do it this way, for sure. I also added a bomb and an atomic explosion…

I think that arm might be officially done. The other arm needs some stuff though.

I think I’ll be cutting into this for the mouth. It is a removable head, so I can work on it separately from the torso. The torso really needs to get fired, but I need to underglaze it first…and I obviously haven’t even started. And the base needs to do something. Besides take up most of my shelf at the moment. Hard to get my head around the 3D stuff, but that’s good for me. My brain needs the artistic workout.

Oh hey, I got into another show, Sebastopol Center for the Arts’ International Fiber Arts XII exhibition. War Zone will be traveling there in June. The show opens June 21 and runs through August 3. I’m debating going up for the opening. We’ll see. It is summer break by then.

It’s not a huge piece, for once.

This is too true.

OK, school today is still chaos. We had a lockdown that fucked up classes last week for a shooting in the neighborhood, then a sex trafficking assembly that fucked up classes Monday and a little bit yesterday, and I’m still trying to get everyone on the same page for instruction. Hopefully by Friday, at the rate I’m going. I’m about 15 minutes off at the moment. Interestingly, the classes that have had the most time are the furthest behind and those with the least are the furthest ahead. The best-laid plans…are not laid at all. Then the human sexual health curriculum parent meeting is after school…no one showed up last year, but you never know. I have fewer kids opting out this year than ever, so either parents aren’t paying attention or they’re more accepting? That seems unlikely. But whatever. After that, I’m coming home and cooking dinner and making art…and maybe replacing the solenoid so the sprinklers can run. I’m so tired when I get home that I don’t want to start in case I fuck something up. Sigh. It’s fine. I’ll do it. And then iron things so I can do stitchdown tomorrow. Getting there. Hopefully on time.

Will They Want Mine…

It’s kind of amazing how much I think and dream and talk about sleep when you consider how bad I am at it. 1 AM, 2 AM, and 4:44 AM. All good. 4:44 was something scrabbling on the roof though…so that was a dog response and that woke me up. Not sure what the others were but I don’t appreciate them; don’t appreciate starting the work week on low energy. Not that I slept much this weekend either. It was a busy weekend; I need another day to just relax. And finish my book club book. Ha! That’s gonna be a miracle if it happens. Miracles do happen though.

So Friday, I went and spent over an hour putting shit back together that slipped/broke/fell on Tuesday when I was putting it back on the shelf. I felt some things go but I needed to get out of there.

I added another burnt out building and part of the head. Not sure what’s gonna happen with that. Just know that the head can’t bump into stuff on the shoulders, so I’m trying to figure out what that looks like. The base came out of the kiln. There’s a crack in the bottom that will be hidden. I’m trying to decide what to do next. The gray is stronger than I thought it would be…so I might do another layer? And oxide it? That’s not a verb.

Need to think about it.

I managed to cut out all the page pieces…with a little doggie help.

It didn’t take long to finish the last two pages.

There were a lot of things I should have done over the weekend. I did pick up a quilt from the photographer. Haven’t dealt with that yet. Plus went to one of two meetings I was supposed to go to (too late for the second one), but it was also SD Book Crawl, so Saturday afternoon, I went to four bookstores and Sunday, I went to one. Here’s the baby haul…

I say baby haul because my coteacher did this as well, but made it to all 14 stores and has a real haul. I tried to pick books I hadn’t heard of, although the bottom one is the second in the 3-body problem series and I have read the first. It was fun, but it does take a chunk of time to drive around and park and wait in lines. I thought it was well-managed though. I’d do it again…that said, it’s always this 4th weekend in April, when I have two other meetings. Ah well.

Last night, I ironed the cover page together…

And then ironed it onto a background.

Seems relevant. They did say politics was OK, but IDK if they’ll want mine. We’ll see. I’ll turn it into a comic strip if it doesn’t get into the show. Like four panels in a row. In my spare time. Yeah. Right now, I’m kind of at a push to get this done. Wish me luck. Maybe I’ll blow off grading for a week and a half.

I’m hoping to get a page done a night, maybe more. This one took an hour. The others are more complicated. Although the next one has fewer pieces, so maybe it’s not more complicated. Hard to say. Then stitchdown Thursday, all of it, sandwich and quilt Friday…oh wait, the Man has a show Friday night. Fuck. Um. So Saturday/Sunday? Yikes. Deadline looms. I got this. Here’s the ex’s dog, complicating the couch…

Today though…today, I teach three classes…they’re finishing one thing and starting another. Hopefully. Then the other two classes are a mini-assembly about sex trafficking. Fun times. Then two staff meetings. More fun. Come home, finish reading book club book. Yup. Then iron. Maybe sleep. Big maybe on that one. The last 7 weeks of school are always a challenge. Nothing new this year.

A Bag of Rocks.

Well hey. I’ve taught two whole days and already feel like a semi truck has driven through me. I’ve got new shoes arriving Saturday. Kept thinking I would have the time (and mental space) to drive up to the shoe place and just buy them, but you know what? I didn’t. Let’s talk about my reality of time…there’s never enough. That’s it really.

So I got my titers tested for the measles vaccine, because I’m in the timeframe of ‘possibly not protected’, and sure enough, I’m probably not. We’ll see if that turns into needing a new vaccine. I’ll wait until school is out to do it, just because these days, about half of the vaccines cause me issues. Don’t need to deal with that during school, for sure.

In clay news, I finally (FINALLY!!!) got the base in the bisque kiln. It was a logistical thing, lifting her down in there. Certainly makes me wonder about the next layer, how it will sit in there. How the fuck I’ll get it IN there.

They’re just incredibly fragile at the greenware stage. As I realized AGAIN last night. I did more work on the upper torso…had to reattach the hand again because I think someone bumped it.

She doesn’t fit on my shelf, so she’s on the shared shelves, and covered, so people can’t see what they’re bumping. So I reattached the hand, but some stuff was slipping too…so I tried to fix everything I could, and then broke the damn coathanger for the 17th time, plus the two classes that come in Tuesday night were showing up, so I needed to get out of the way. I put some burnt out buildings on the left arm. Then went to move it to the shelf, and I don’t think I bumped anything, but I felt the guy with the gun fall off. Fuck me. I didn’t have time (or the mental space) to reattach at that point, so I’ll try to go in tomorrow and do that. This part is also at that incredibly fragile stage. Everything just breaks so easily. This is clay though. This is what it does. I did also start a neck…you can see it there. The plan is to have that piece harden slightly in place…the torso is hardened (mostly), so it’s done some of the shrinking it’s supposed to, but if I start the head there and let that piece harden up a bit, and then make it a support, I can build the head separately once this part is done. I think. I’m a little concerned about how the piece is going to balance. The bottom is super light because it’s empty. I might need to put a bag of rocks in it. Seriously. Problems for summer, I think. This piece is taking forever.

In quilt news, I finished ironing down page 2 (or page 1, depending on whether the cover is page 1 or not numbered).

I trimmed and ironed the first of the embroidery pieces. I tried to be super neat with the stitching, using very few carryovers, trimming all the knots, but there’s still stitching showing through. I’m OK with that. Really, I’d have to be because I don’t have time to start over. Black thread on white fabric was always going to be problematic.

Last night, I got a goodly chunk of page 4 done. Why did I skip page 3? Because I forgot to number that page consecutively, so it’s in a separate box, and half of page 4 was already laid out because when I realized I fucked up with page 3, I started page 4 from page 2. Got it? Hope so. Well, really, doesn’t matter if you do, because I do. As I’m ironing, I’m separating each page into its own box anyway at this point. It’s just easier.

I ironed everything except the hair, which is complicated as all hell. I’ll do that tonight and start page 3. Hopefully, I’ll finish ironing down tomorrow night and start trimming, which won’t take long. I’m hoping to be ironing this together over the weekend…although that’s busy too. AND grades are due. Fun times. I shouldn’t have to do progress report or report card grades over the weekend…and I always end up doing it…which sucks.

If I were teaching 7th-grade science next year, I’d totally use this in class…

I mean, the boys always ask if they can eat things in class (chemistry), and I always pick up the phone and say “Hang on, let me dial 911” and then give them a scary smile.

OK, today the kids are doing a mostly independent assignment. I can’t direct teach another day; my voice won’t handle it. I’m trying to plan out the rest of the unit, but people keep adding things, and there’s literally no time left. We have like next week. And then we go into state testing, which means shortened days, shortened classes, tired and cranky kids (well that’s nothing new). And then sex ed. And then they graduate and get out of here and we start over with the next group. At least we know we’re doing 8th grade; my brain is already planning next year, trying to find 5 weeks to teach the shit we missed. Ha! We’ll be meeting over the summer for sure. I really have no plans for the summer, pros and cons. I might do a self-created residency. Maybe. We’ll see. Money might be an issue. It often is. OK. School. Mutations. Looking forward to kids’ reports on that.

Ready or Not

Well there’s nothing like the shitty Sunday sleep that comes after two weeks off of work. I’ve got a few thousand things to do rattling around in my head for today, and sleep was not my friend last night. I mean, sleep is never really my friend, but sometimes it comes along for the ride. There are 41 days of school left. It feels doable until you consider the details. Grades are due next Tuesday. I was really good and didn’t grade until last Friday. I didn’t finish, but that’s OK. This is a progress report so I don’t have to be done. The texts are rolling in about how we have new projectors, but they’re not set up and our rooms are messed up. Fun times. School starts in less than 90 minutes and now we have to set up beforehand. Ah well. I’m not rushing to get there. I’m boggled the district doesn’t send an email out about having to set shit back up and how. I know they assume we all come in over break, but I stayed away and it was a good thing. I needed a serious reset.

I forgot to post on Friday…it was a busy day. I had to pick up art in the morning, long drive, then doctor appointment, then I graded all afternoon and did some yardwork, then we went to see Regency Girls at the Old Globe.

It was fun, a good women’s-rights-friendly musical. So no art happened on Friday though. Saturday, I made it to ceramics. I was supposed to load the base of this piece into the kiln, but it was too warm. I’m going back tomorrow. I did add some bullets and money to the upper torso…

I had to fix the flag and some fingers first.

Sculpting is definitely a skill that needs developing.

This thing is a little crazy at the moment.

I also worked on the new quilt, after delivering the last one to the photographer and picking up the one before it. This is Portrait of One Self.

She’s big. She took four months to finish. Crazy really. Thought I’d hit a deadline; didn’t even come close. Ah well.

Started ironing with the Statue of Liberty…

Second Statue of Liberty in one of my pieces.

Yesterday, I washed all the embroideries, then realized I’d missed a bit. I’ll fix that tonight hopefully. Then I started ironing page 2…or is it page 1? Because the statue is the cover page.

Easier for me to think of it as four pages. I didn’t finish. This one is more complicated. So hopefully by the end of the week, all the page pieces will be ironed to fabric and I can start trimming. There’s a super tight deadline on these guys.

This is a thing.

Real people helping real people. Seriously, if you think she’s a caricature, you should listen to Dolly Parton’s America, the podcast. She’s not who you think she is. And she’s better than those dingbats who went to space.

Simba agrees.

Wishful viewing of the bunnies in the front yard.

OK. School. Apparently need to put my room back together before kids get there. Nothing is set up, I think. Or did I do it before I left? I don’t think I did, because they were gonna do our floors. Deep breath. It’s fine. Today’s teaching is easy. Then a 2-hour staff meeting (ugh). Then errands, dinner, art. The Man is having dental surgery today and is on liquids and soft food for about a week…so my dinners are my own problem. Pros and cons to that. I’m expecting some exhaustion this week. Going back to school always does that, more so as I get older. But also, I’m reading two books, making some art, dealing with yard stuff. Nothing new. Grades. Damn. Grades already. OK. Well, that’s happening whether I’m ready for it or not.

Nothing New

I read this terrifying article yesterday about the pronatalists…those who want more childbirths…some have some realistic concerns about decreasing birth rates, although their ideas about why that is happening are sometimes absolutely nuts. Honestly, there are too many people on the planet, so some restraint might be a good thing, but when you put their ideas together with some of the legislation that’s currently on the table, it does smack a bit too much of The Handmaid’s Tale. Why I would need to vote with a passport (those are expensive and difficult to get for many people) or a birth certificate (also sometimes difficult to get) IN PERSON, I do not know. I haven’t voted in person since before my kids were born. I know some people like to gather in groups and do tribal things, but I like to have all the stuff in front of me, read through it at my leisure, mark all the things, and then put it all in a freakin’ envelope to be delivered somewhere that I don’t have to talk to anyone or interact with humans. And I have transportation and the ability to move around without assistance. AND my birth certificate name matches my current name. Unlike many women. PLUS my job here on this planet is not to birth replacement workers.

But maybe that’s just me? Hard to say. By the way, burning the Teslas is not about the car, you dumbasses…it’s about the man. And we don’t just do it here…Germany and France and others are also protesting fascism. And oligarchs. Sometimes the far right’s take on things is just amazingly ignorant. I’m sure someone thinks the same of me. They can stay in the kitchen, giving birth, not allowed to vote apparently.

Sigh. Also, it’s not really ‘getting rid’ of the Department of Education if you farm out its responsibilities to departments that aren’t even related. Double sigh. I can’t NOT read the news. It’s impossible. So I keep making art.

Monday afternoon, I went to ceramics and worked on part two of the current sculpture. I built a tiny man with a gun.

He definitely needs a head, although he doesn’t have a brain. I also made a flagpole, but not the flag yet. I needed these to stiffen up a bit, so I just tucked them down in there, to be later attached to the arm. Hopefully Friday. Also pretty sure I broke one of her arms off again.

It’s my fault for not picking a bigger base and for making that arm lower than the base and then trying to transport shit. So IDK what the solution is, but I’ll deal with it on Friday.

Monday night, I did stitchdown…

Then last night, I finished it, washed the batting, cut a backing and ironed it, then remembered the floor where I pinbaste was horrendously dirty, so I mopped it at 9:30 at night. Hoping it would dry in time (it didn’t). So all that is ready for pinbasting…and then I started tracing the next one, the banned-book piece…

I also wrote out all the stuff I will need to hand embroider while we’re traveling. I’ll need to figure out how I’m transferring it to fabric and make copies of the drawings for travel purposes. I’ll be doing that probably tomorrow night. Tonight, I’ll pinbaste. After pilates and book club. Yeah. Long day.

We’re doing a teacher spirit thing all week where we all dress up and don’t tell the kids. Yesterday was dress like a kid (ah, those pimple patches) and Not a Cup (drink out of anything that is not actually a cup).

Today, we wear tiaras and sashes. That’ll be pretty noticeable. It’s just a way to help us survive that last few days until break. My boss came in my class yesterday while I was about to bang my head on the desk. Teaching Punnett squares isn’t hard, except for those few kids every period who don’t listen to instructions. Ever. They just want to copy, and they can’t. So they whine and tell me I’m not teaching them (read: I’m not giving them the answers) and by the end of the day, some figure it out eventually and some just don’t. But it can be frustrating for me. Plus with Eid, so many kids were still out yesterday, so they haven’t even started this thing that has to be done today. Fun times. I was hoping to grade homework papers all week, and I’ve gotten through three classes of one homework, and most of that was in my advisory class while we were listening to the book.

It’s fine. Really. It is. It’s nothing new anyway.

Not sure I believe that. Certainly. No. I don’t.

I do support this though.

I feel like all my fabric is emotional support fabric. And I support that choice.

OK. So more Punnett squares today…but it’s a test today, so that’ll be fun. I already have a plan for the one kid who never shuts up in class. The kids who come back today…well, I was going to make a video, but I don’t know if I’ll have time before school (meeting x2), and I think I need to use the phone because the doc cam won’t record unblurry, so that means I can’t post it until I get home anyway. Hmmm. Will think that over. Lots to do today. Gonna go do some of it.

Set Them…

OK. Five days. Anyone can do five days. Tomorrow will be the longest day, because apparently Tuesdays are now the longest days instead of Wednesdays. Not sure why. A 2024 school year thing? Who knows. I feel pretty good about the weekend; I got the things done that I planned to get done. I could have done more, but that is always the case. I feel prepared going into this week (well, mostly), unlike almost every other week since Winter Break. I’ve taught this before; I know what it looks like. It’s not all direct instruction. I get time to grade the two weeks of homework I haven’t gotten to yet. All good. Plus the quilt progress is ahead of where I thought I’d be, so that’s awesome.

I ironed on Friday night…

Got a good chunk of the second figure done. Saturday, I finished her…

And Sunday, I had picked a background fabric that was big enough, but when I unfolded it to iron everything down, there was a square chunk out of it in exactly the wrong place…it wasn’t going to be big enough (it was just big enough in the first place), so I picked a different one. And then ironed it down…

I’m glad I had another one that was big enough…although this isn’t a huge quilt really.

Then I started stitchdown…

I got a good solid start…did all of the torso on the more complicated figure. I should be able to finish tonight or come close to it, then pinbaste and sandwich tomorrow night and start quilting. This one is on a deadline. Hell, everything I’m working on right now is on a deadline. I need to prep the embroidery I’m taking with us on our trip too. No worries. Just got two Zoom meetings at night this week and packing to do, plus keep up with school stuff. Although I’m mostly caught up (breathe…knock on wood).

I also went to the ceramics studio on Friday. It was delightfully empty. A bunch of people are at a ceramics convention, but Fridays have been empty lately. I finished (for reals this time) the underglazing on the base…

It’s currently drying. It’ll get bisque fired soon. When I think it’s dry. I started the base on November 4. I wasn’t working on it all that time…I needed it to put the next level on to make sure they’d fit and work together. I should have underglazed it sooner, but I was distracted.

The back is not as exciting.

This is the second level in progress…

I think I started it in January. It’s solidified nicely, but is still pliable enough to attach more things. And attach more things I am doing. Probably for a while. Yes, there will be a head…haven’t figured that out yet.

Still horrified by the stupid shit my government is doing. Everything they do hurts almost everyone but rich white boys.

I’m amused that they’re butthurt about Tesla protests, but not about the racist/sexist protests of the Proud Boys and their ilk. Their protests where people died. I still see people claiming January 6 was Antifa. My lord, people. Read. Please. I’m just waiting for more of those pardoned assholes to commit more crimes. They’re ‘good people’, my ass. I had to shop once this month with Amazon (wedding registry…no way I could deal with it otherwise)…but I’ve been avoiding any brand with MAGA ties. I can’t say it’s easy. My local quilt store. Target. Staples. Honestly, I just don’t buy things that normally I would buy. I guess that’s another way of saving.

I spent 7 hours on Saturday doing my taxes. I wish I could say I’ll be better this year and document things as they happen, but I know I won’t. After doing all of it, I remember what the notes meant that I took last year. Maybe I’ll be proactive this year and set it up properly for next year. Maybe. Maybe not. Hopefully.

I’m with you, spoon. Got your back.

The Man took this picture of his three cats all in the same place and not moving (a miracle that)…

Luna, Nova, and Bowie. He’s a big boy. Almost a year old now. Still cross-eyed.

OK. School. Punnett square project. It’s Eid, so a bunch of kids will be absent (end of Ramadan). Pro: they will be eating normally again. Con: I’ll have to get them all caught up tomorrow or Wednesday. Pain in the butt, but can’t stop teaching right now. Too close to the end of the year and testing. Then staff meeting, possibly another meeting, then hopefully clay. We’ll see. I need to start going to the gym again…so I’m trying to save Tuesday for that. Progress on the quilt…maybe finish stitchdown. That’s the goal anyway. Set them, meet them or break them…it doesn’t matter as long as you set them.

I Am Neither

There’s a very vocal crow up early this morning. I don’t usually hear them in the morning at all. It’s close to dark and I can even see one of the crows (there must be more than one) on an electrical line out my window. The other one, the loud one, is in one of my trees…cawing away. It’s usually super quiet here in the morning…the occasional trash truck or neighbor slamming a car door, but the lower neighbor doesn’t seem to go to a job anymore (on his motorcycle, which was fun at 4 AM). Quiet is nice.

There are 8 days of school before Spring Break. I’m trying to get everything copied and planned for next week and the week we come back, so I don’t have to worry about it. Grades are due right after we come back (of course they are), so I’m also trying to make that an easy thing too. Normally I’d collect packets before we go on break, because kids lose them or parents throw them out, and I’m not doing that. I’m not even done grading the last packet (it takes a while…I stayed late after school the last two days to get two classes done; I’ll probably do the same tomorrow and Friday). I know I’ll have two academic things next week that I won’t be able to finish before break…ah well. They will survive. Because you should always get your oxygen first before getting oxygen for the people around you. I need to take care of myself to take care of the kids around me.

With that, I’m trying to get this ceramics piece done…I think it actually is done. I’m trying to deal with some persistent cracks, but I think the underglazing is done.

Don’t worry about the inside. A quilt is going in there. I darkened the peach up a bit. Or brightened it. I’m probably going to use some oxides on it later. I think this one will go in a glaze fire as well as a bisque. We’ll see. I’m going to have to get through the other two parts first before I figure that out. Anyway, I covered it up and I shouldn’t have…it needs to fully dry so I can stick it in the kiln. So Friday, I’ll start working on the upper torso again…see how the arms are literally holding up. No head yet. Not sure how I’m gonna do that. I started this base on November 4.

In quilting, I was really feeling behind, like I was never gonna finish, and then all of a sudden, staying up 20 minutes late, I was done trimming pieces…

That’s 7 hours and 55 minutes. Last night, I sorted them…

Luna watched…

Tonight I’ll start ironing them together. I need this thing fully ironed together by the end of the weekend. Then stitchdown early next week, and sandwich it before I go on Spring Break. When I come back, quilt and bind it. Start the next one. I know, I packed some deadlines…and hopefully I can pull both of them off. We’ll see. I also need to get my taxes done in the same time frame. That’s harder. I spent another hour last night going through charges on the credit card and Amazon invoices for art, copyediting, and school stuff. Collecting the info takes longer than putting it in. Pro: this year, I seem to be on the refund side instead of the payment side. Con: that’s because I didn’t sell as many quilts last year. Ah well. It happens. I feel like I’m barely making anything lately (I know, the last one was big and took a long time). Sigh. School. There are less than 50 days left of school. It’s still a lot, but that’s usually when I start counting. Honestly, I’m counting less these days…not because it’s easier…because I can’t look that far ahead without panicking.

We are going camping over break…although honestly, mostly we’re NOT camping…

And that story is way too true. A whole family of them.

Because of when we’re leaving, I can’t march in this…

And I would. In case you’re wondering. I haven’t been using Amazon (except to print last-year’s invoices and to buy one video I showed my students). I’ve been trying to shop independent stores. I’ve watched the dismantling of everything with a sense of dystopian horror. My retirement funds have crashed (ah well, that happens). The next four years of school will probably be problematic. My partner is depending on social security for his retirement and is currently dependent on federal and state funds for his healthcare. I can’t afford to take care of him AND me. I may not be able to retire in four years, or I may get fired before that. Eggs are still expensive. Avian flu is out there and we’re hearing nothing from the people who are supposed to inform us. The idiots are trying to start wars with some of the most peaceful countries out there while allying us with one of the most dictatorial countries. I’ve signed up with a few groups that protest, although I haven’t gotten to one yet (that whole day job thing). I’ve sent money to funds that will hopefully protect the people who need it most. I’ve watched some people spew some of the most idiotic stuff; I guess they don’t realize it will affect them in the long run. It’s not going well. It’s stressful to read about it and watch it, and it’s hard to know what to do. So I’m buying some postcards and writing some letters. I have an app that helps me call my representatives and let them know they need to be louder. I won’t be marching on the 5th because I’ll be driving, but I’m hoping to find a way to protest anyway.

A few of you might not agree. Some of you are probably even related to me. Ah well. I guess I’ve read too many dystopian novels to see this working out well for any of us except the supremely rich and arrogant. And I am neither.

Same As Always…

I know it’s not uncommon for teachers to not be able to sleep well on a Sunday night. It’s just annoying. I know it’s a busy week, probably a stressful week, based on the last few, and I need all the sleep I can get, but no, brain…no, you won’t let me sleep. Up three times in the night, awake well before the alarm. Not appreciated. I had to be up early for a parent meeting today anyway, so I think that’s a total of three meetings before and after school today. A few more hours of sleep would have been nice.

I did manage to get some things done this weekend…we figured out that our tent was moldy as hell (I suspected that) from the last trip, I got some of the bulbs planted, I dropped that last big quilt off with my photographer finally, and I got some ceramics time in. I was supposed to go Friday, but I was still fighting that halfassed cold that seems to have wandered mostly off now (knock on wood), plus I forgot to bring my glaze box, and the whole point was to get the base glazed so I could get it in the kiln fire before anything else cracked or broke. So I went yesterday instead, on the way back from the photographer…

Almost done. I want another layer on the flesh…I want it a bit darker. Then I can work on the upper torso for a bit. I started this in November…it’s taking forever. I did do some other stuff in the middle though.

I also cut things out for three nights, although I didn’t get as far as I wanted…never do.

Let’s see if we can see the progress…this is after Friday night…top left is cut out, top right is trash leftover trimmed pieces, bottom is what’s left to cut.

Here’s Saturday night…

All those flesh pieces ready to be cut out now…and after Sunday night…

Definite progress. I’m still in the fleshy bits, but the grays of the other figure are showing up and the box is noticeably emptier. Still got two to three nights though, unless I get some extra time in. Unlikely, because I’m really trying to grade all the things now. I don’t want to grade over break. I’ll have to, but I’m trying to keep it minimal. Best I can. Even rewriting one academic thing to make it more obvious…easier on my end.

Hoping to get to the ironing together part before the weekend. We’ll see how that goes. I’m behind on my original plan. No shocker there. I do have two Zoom meetings this week; I’ll be cutting things out then. I also have a book I’m about 85% done with, and I’d really like to finish it too. I didn’t get to hike this weekend, but I did a bunch of yardwork. Still trying to clean out the outside entryway from the flooding last year. I have a broken sprinkler that I don’t know how to fix. There’s about 3000 weeds in the yard that need pulling. I did some of the entryway…it’s mostly filling up a bucket with dead leaves and/or dirt and walking it down the stairs about 4 thousand times, maybe more. The dirt gets to go in the wheelbarrow and get dumped in the front yard. The leaves go in the greenery trashcan. Fun times. Then I need some gravel and a new replanting plan. I started some of that. I also started my taxes, which is a lot of work and time and needs to be done before we leave on Spring Break. I’m looking forward to getting the fuck out of here though, because I didn’t do it last year and I paid for it later. It’s a mental break that’s necessary to get through the rest of the school year. Looking forward to it. Need a plan for somewhere cool to stop between here and Humboldt though…we have hotel rooms for the drive up. Just want somewhere to go see, walk around, that might be cool. I know there’s some flower fields north of LA that I want to try to find. We’ll see. Anything better than Dateland (on the way to Phoenix).

Here’s Nova the other night…cuddling with me as I cut shit out.

And here’s some owls…

At some point, one of the owls has an animal on top of the box and then almost drops it.

Pretty sure they get it into the box later. We don’t hear babies yet…but this is a pretty good sign that mom is sitting on at least one egg. Fascinating stuff.

OK. School. Parent meeting in the morning. Teaching DNA and chromosomes. Two staff meetings after. Book club tonight (yes, I read the book). Lots of cutting things out. Finish that damn book. Grade some stuff. Same as always.

Ride It Out…

Ah yes, finally typing this on a computer. Not everything is fixed and back to normal, but I am no longer fighting a 10-year-old computer that is slowly (very slowly, because it’s the only speed it had) dying. Yes, it’s taken like three weeks to get functional again. There are some things that I just can’t easily do on a phone or an aging iPad (also needs replacing this year). The boychild was a massive help, although in the end, we didn’t use the backup service I’ve been paying for for years…so fun that.

This weekend was another in a series where I don’t get 1/10th of the stuff done that I wanted or needed to. It’s just my life, maybe? Hard to say. I did some grading and some school stuff but mostly didn’t. I spent time in Home Depot (must be spring) and digging a hole that probably isn’t big enough. I finished one book (actually two) and started another. I made some art and went for a hike. I don’t feel ready for the week. I’m fighting a cold…I’m hoping I can hold the worst of it off, because we have a field trip this week. I’ve drunk a lot of Vitamin C this weekend in hopes it would boost things enough to kick this thing that’s trying to sneak in. Who knows.

OK, art…I ironed a lot this weekend…

I did like three sessions on Saturday…there’s the setup with one computer backing up, one being set up, and the one I was actually watching stuff on…

Too many computers…there’s the beginning of the flesh fabrics, which I spent most of Saturday ironing.

Got through the whole pile…they were interspersed between the 200s all the way to the 600s, so I officially have no clue how far I am in the ironing. But I got the actual flesh done and then still need to do all the eyeballs and the heart and lungs and all those fussy bits that aren’t flesh colored.

I really wanted to be done Sunday, but that didn’t happen. It took too long to do everything on Sunday. I don’t even think I got an hour in, unfortunately.

More of the bits and pieces though. I suspect I’ve got another three nights before I’m done. We’ll see. I have a ton of schoolwork to do as well. As always.

I’m underglazing the base in clay…with Bart’s help (not really…he was wet from outdoors and tried to headbutt the part of this that keeps breaking off).

It just takes forever to do this stuff.

Coral is done, some other bits and pieces in that color range. I’ll be back at it tonight.

We hiked Saturday…got the full 3 miles in this time.

With two coyote sightings…

Broad daylight…

Went out for dinner…

I did draw…just totally forgot to photograph it.

Ah, falcon payments. This lasagna thing was from the book for The Electric State, which was very different than what the movie seems to be.

But lasagna…

The next puppy I get…

This is maybe too real and also applies to my quilts…

Lastly, in cleaning up hard drives all over my office, found this from around 2001 (not 1994 like the time stamp says)…

One of the best pictures I’ve ever taken of the kids.

OK. School today…with an impending incipient cold. And still tired. But hopefully a chill day. Turn the things in, y’all. Then staff meeting (ugh but short) and ceramics (yay). Then home, grading, and ironing (more yay!). Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all who celebrate (most of whom aren’t Irish in the slightest). And may the government fall into a deep hole it can’t get out of (we’re close, but not quite). I checked my retirement funds over the weekend. Thanks to the billionaires in charge, I’m now down a significant amount…well, we’re gonna ride it out y’all…just let me retire when I need to.

How to Get There

Yo ho yo ho a pirate’s life…wait. No. I’m teaching gravity today…not going to Disneyland. Seems like a questionable life decision. Computer is still not restored. The internet is intermittent. So frustrating. I just need it to finish ffs. I’m tired of trying to do things on the phone or this ancient iPad. Ah well…at least I have that option.

Artwise…I finished trimming Wonder Under…

And last night, I sorted them…

Ready to iron to fabric. Unfortunately, my studio is not ready for that. I’d like to be ironing tonight, but realistically, I will probably be cleaning and putting fabric away after a long long day, so wish me luck on actually ironing. Definitely tomorrow night though.

Someone needs to change all the clocks in the house. I don’t know why I am in charge of clock changes. I have changed two…well three if you count my school clock. I’m sure the men would argue that I’m the only one who cares about the other two…possibly true.

I started underglazing (finally!) the base to the newest piece…someone bumped it (again) and broke two things off. Community shelves sometimes suck.

Super pale at the moment with 2 coats…got one more coat and then all the details. I’ll be here a while.

The current government just needs to die. I’m done with the stupidity. The illogical bullshit that puts Teslas on the White House lawn and claims we can’t speak our minds. At least some of us have minds…

Gonna end with that. Too much in my head right now between the Orange Dumbass pissing off Canada and the crazy demands of the day job…gonna demo some gravitational force today and get through a union meeting and go to Pilates and then clean the studio so I can make art. Sleep if I’m lucky (not last night). Dream of a better world and how to get there.