Come on Cool Weather

 I would like to promise that I will blog more - post more art, etc. but it is just not in me these days. It is like exercising. I want to do more, but when it comes down to it, I would rather do something else. 

Several people have asked me to teach pottery. Another thing for me to procrastinate on. But I did start with one student. A lady that I knew by name, but not by site, called and told me that throwing pots on a wheel was one of her desires - bucket list type thing. So, I figured out a price and started teaching her about clay and throwing on a wheel. The problem is that pottery is an expensive habit to get into with the cost of a wheel, kiln, clay, etc. It is also time consuming and difficult to keep clay usable - I like the word regurgitate, but that is not quite right. Recycle might be a better word, but not the word I was looking for. A big part of working in clay is constantly wetting and drying clay that is either too hard or too soft and wedging/working it to a usable state. There is always leftover clay that has to be dealt with. Of course, a person could buy a pugger to rework the clay, if one were a millionaire.  Then there is the problem of practice. It's not like a beginner has a wheel at home to practice throwing pots. And it takes LOTS of practice. When you watch a video of someone throwing on a wheel, it looks so easy and calming, and satisfying. Reality is that ease comes with hours and hours spent at the wheel and lots of booboos and lots of regurgitating the clay. Oh well, I have started teaching again.

My sister in Amarillo has a pet project - The San Jacinto Neighborhood Association  - that she has been working on for the last few years. This group is revamping their neighborhood which includes parts of historical Route 66. In a week or so, they are having an art show/contest where artist were encouraged to paint business (old and new) on Route 66. So I painted a little watercolor of the old fire station, which means I will be going to Amarillo next week for the art show.  I am going to try to do another painting to go with this one - might as well take two. I'd really like to go on up to the mountains after the art show. I am in dire need of mountains and cool weather. 

This past weekend was spent fixing a water leak. We knew we had a slow leak when our water bill doubled. For the past couple of weeks, we have been looking for the leak. Saturday morning we got up and got the 4-wheeler to ride up and down the waterline looking for the leak. It is actually a fairly long waterline from the paved road to our house. We were heading back to the house after not finding the leak, when I got off the scooter to close a gate. Our new puppy found the leak when he found some water to cool off in. The water had run further away from the line than we had figured. Anyway, we spent the rest of the day in the hot September sun digging, fixing, digging fixing, etc. I am now sore, sunburned, and my hands are covered in ant bites. I'm getting too old for leaks.

Ants - I hate them. We have had lots of ants for the past couple of summers. Many times their hills are not visible until you are covered in ants. Now they have been getting into my house - a big no-no! I understand their being in the kitchen, but they have been in the closet and other places. Why the closet? there is no food there! But they climbed up the shelves in the closet and got into Toby's clothes hanging on a peg - the clothes he puts on every morning. He came out of the clothes pretty quick. Dang ants! You know it is bad when you have had more ant bites than mosquito bites in one summer. I don't like spiders either. 

 I am so ready for this summer heat to be over.