Tuesday, August 30, 2011

911

I feel like all I ever do is post doom and gloom and whine about it. I apologize, but I genuinely can't think of anything cheerful to write about at the moment. Since last posting I had dinner with my soon to be divorced friend and had to call 911 because he rushed out of the restaurant intent on doing himself harm. The police caught up with him and took him to the hospital, for which I am intensely grateful. I hope they keep him long enough to do some good. He's been talking about drowning and carbon monoxide poisoning and running his car into trees, among other things, for weeks now. I told him I wouldn't stand by and let it happen, that I'd have him committed. He can hate me for the rest of his long and normal life.

On a lighter note, here are some photos of Coral and I at our friend Laura's birthday party, and of the plate I made her:


Googly eyes rock.




Paging Nurse Simmons

I don't even know what to say about the last few weeks, but I'm tired out. Two things have been going on that independently would be manageable for me, but concurrently they are taxing my strength and sanity. Firstly, my beloved mother has been unwell. She had surgery yesterday and is now home. I've taken some time off work to care for her and am happy to be able to look after her. She's taken such good care of me over the years, it's nice to be able to return the favor in a small way :) But it is stressful. It's hard to see someone you love in pain, which brings me to the second thing.
My good friend is in the beginning stages of divorce and is relying heavily on me for emotional support. He is in the first, most agonizing part: the pain, the self doubt, the depression. And I am his only friend. And it's hard to see him suffering. And of course it reminds me of my own divorce.
Watching other people suffer is almost worse than suffering yourself. I am strong and am happy these people can lean on me for support, but I am tired. I hope I make it to the end of their trials without failing in some major way. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Freeze Frame

Here are some recent projects. The first two were birthday presents for my nieces. The third is a Christmas present for my mother, which she already knows she's getting because it was originally meant to be for one of my darling nieces and Mum saw it and drooled so excessively over it that it wasn't fit for consumption by anyone else... Not really. No actual drool was produced. She expressed a great liking for it, so I made another one for the girls. The last frame is for my lovely friend Lynda who doesn't read my blog so I can post without her knowing what she's getting :) Is it wrong that the one with my photo in it is my favorite?












Saturday, August 6, 2011

RIP part deux

So... my computer died. I had been telling myself since we got it 2 years ago that I needed to back up my photos and documents. Now they're ALL GONE!!!! WAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sniff sniff. I still haven't quite regained good relations with the beastly machine since the reboot. I hate Vista passionately. I blame all the quirks and crashes we suffer through hourly on Bill Gates personally.


On the up side, there's pie. Marionberry, mmmmmm......


As you know, I spend a great deal of time painting pottery, for my own amusement and for easy gifting. I rarely make anything for myself. In fact, in the history of my pottery painting I have only ever made one thing for myself, a gnome called Xenophilius, who I love.



I have many projects in progress and a shelf full of bisque waiting its turn. Among these items is another gnome, to be a friend for Xenophilius. I know exactly how I want to paint him and have been waiting to start him until I get a little further along with my Christmas projects. My friend Jonah has painted two gnomes for himself and has been eyeing my gnome for the last month with envy. He wants to make seven, all in Nascar uniforms, to be the pit crew for his favorite driver, Tony Stewart. (Does that make him Snow White?) He has been hinting broadly that I should let him have my gnome since I have so many other things to paint. They are apparently difficult for the shop to get and the next shipment won't arrive for another month, if ever. Jonah has other projects as well, but none he enjoys as much as gnomes and he has been making it known that he thinks I'm selfish for wanting to keep my gnome. I am feeling browbeaten into giving him the one thing from my shelf that is for me. Am I being selfish? Or is he being a jerk? Or both? I've told him no a dozen times and he keeps asking me. I gave in today and let him have it, not because I wanted to, but because I felt I had to in order to preserve good relations. But I resent it. What happened to no means no?