work, dogs, and cats

Another rainy day and another small bowl mold to fill. This one is the sea fan/coral design.

While I am waiting for Marc to get the molds ready and I am not working in the antique store (which I am doing more this week taking some of my sister's days while she is out of town), I have been grinding excess glass off the bottom of several castings. Ideally, I would use a motorized loose grit flat lap, also called a slurry grinder, but I don't have one. In the past I have used the one at my friends the glassblowers' shop in Houston but now, that is harder to arrange. I want to buy one, and with the sale of the city property last summer I have the money, but the 30” diameter one I want is $8,000. So far I haven't been able to bring myself to spend that much money on one tool.

Here's my gerry-rigged slurry grinder.

A piece of 1/2” glass, 60 mesh aluminum oxide, and water.

I have to remove and replace the grit when the sludge of the ground off glass builds up too much.

It actually works well even if it does take longer.

As mentioned above, I worked in the shop yesterday and will again tomorrow. The pups are being good little dogs.

Merlin and Morgan le Fay

This ain't their first rodeo here as they have been coming to stay with us three or four times a year, whenever my sister goes to visit her out of town family, for the last three years which is why we were so surprised when Merlin peed on the box. Her cats stay at home and I go by every day to care for them and pet on them. Well, except for yesterday. I cared for them but did not pet them long as usually after my sister has been gone for a few days they get a little pissy. Pissed off that she has gone off and left them again and they take it out on me. Sunday Piewacket climbed in my lap and purred while I petted him. Yesterday he bit me. Nova usually greets me at the door purring. Yesterday he sullenly avoided me and looked like he was going to bite me when I tried to pet him.

OK. Fine. I won't pet you.

Well, I was going to get pics of the cats before I posted but I forgot my camera. They were much nicer today, purring and sitting in my lap again. And I didn't get the mold filled after all, too many other work related things that needed taking care of, but I did get all the preliminary work done, trimming the mold, doing the volume measure, and the frit measured out so I can jump on it Thursday. The oleander bowl comes out of the kiln tomorrow.