work stuff and dinner

Monday I got all the rest of the frit in the big flower and ready for the background color which I still had not decided on. Sometime during the night I woke up with the the answer. I guess my mind had been noodling on it while I slept. I chose a color called olive smoke. I didn't want to use a blue which would have been my go to because the chemicals in some of the blues react with the chemicals in some of the yellows to produce a brown wherever they touch. I could have covered all the yellow with a thin layer of clear which would prevent that from happening but that would have been another whole day's work. Anyway, I think it will look fine with the color I chose.

Tuesday was grocery store and then back in the shop, got the background color in 

and then the rest of the glass, a clear layer and a final white layer. So now it's ready to go in the kiln.

Here's my work table.

Just some of my 355 color samples, these are mixed transparent colors. I also have mixed combinations of opaques, opaques and transparents (like the sand mixtures), pure color samples of all the transparents, opaques (frit and powder), and of the modeling glass.

All my frit and powder. There's also a table in the shop full of large containers of some of these colors. I will never use all this, I will never use most of this in what's left of my lifetime. I could probably winnow out at least a third of the transparent colors that I never or rarely use because they are so dense they just look black but I like having the option, a complete palette.

transparent colors on the right, opaque colors on the left

I checked with one of the metal shops here and got a sample of 1/8” aluminum and I think I like it with the feather pieces. I have to let the guy know so he can check and see if he has a drop off big enough to cut two 11” squares, otherwise I'd have to buy a whole sheet and that would be very expensive. So I'm waiting to hear about that.

And then I fixed dinner Tuesday night, tried my hand at another pastie only this time I did one big one instead of four little ones like last time. Same basic ingredients...shredded leftover roast and pork chop, onion, garlic, celery, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, potato...a little bit of everything cleaning out the crisper in the fridge. This one came out better. The first time the filling was a little dry so this time I added some of my frozen tomato juice cubes which was perfect. Sort of like a pot pie only without the pot. Small disaster though, once I spooned the filling onto the pie crust and folded it over it split along the fold so I cut a section off the other pie crust (I buy them ready made, 2 to a package) and patched the split.

More finish work on the drowned feather piece Wednesday while Marc made the other trumpet flower mold. Worked on the rocks with the fine polishing point, and the feather, and the edges. Hot and sweaty work but getting there. the gray powder I laid down first in the feather really doesn't show except in certain light and certain angle, neither does the gray I used in the quill. Though I supposed those shadows are really the gray powder, just not as apparent as I had intended. 

I'm pretty single minded right now, nothing else to post about besides work but that will change as soon as I get finished for the show. I'll still be working, just not to the exclusion of all else.

easing in

I finally shrugged off my lethargy this morning and mixed up 9 more colors in the modeling glass, all half batches because I'm still just planning more samples, and now have some mixed up for every color of opaque glass powder that I have, 18 in all. Tomorrow the plan is to make samples of all the new colors and then do some color blends. I'll probably finish the first feather that I started too.

I wrote that yesterday. After the first couple, I was squishing and kneading the ball of powder with just my left hand so as to keep one hand clean for opening the door, turning on the water, and handling the sprayer as I washed off the bowl and spoon (and hand) between colors. The last one or two I had a small pain in my left pinky finger which I ignored as it wasn't so bad and then about 8 PM last night it bloomed into a pain so bad at one point I was wondering if I had broken something in there. Couldn't straighten my pinky completely or curl it completely without extreme pain all the way down to the knuckle/joint in my palm and even motionless it hurt like hell. I finally got up just after I went to bed and taped my pinky and ring finger together which seemed to help. This morning it's much better though still some painful, mostly just an ache.

there's a dog in there somewhere

The dog is still a bit jittery from New Year's. The least little 'boom' noise, and often I can't even hear it, sets her off and if we are out on our walk she's straining at the leash to go go go home.

It finally cleared up yesterday and today is gorgeous too, on a warming trend though with nights in the 30s, which is how my lizard blood finally warmed up enough for me to move around some and get something accomplished.

have I mentioned how busy I am?

I should be writing a reply email to a man I have known for 50 years. I'm not, obviously, but I will. I'm sort of amazed that he has kept up with me all this time since he moved to Iowa and married only a few years after we met. We have had periods of time where we communicated fairly regularly to times when we communicated not at all. He was an object of romantic desire early on but that didn't pan out and yet he has not let me slip away into the past. I'm not really sure I understand why so I just accept this gift of connection and friendship. He's an interesting guy and a great story teller, a romantic whose greatest desire is to become a published writer. He visited us out here a year or so ago when he was closing up his deceased parents estate in the city and gave us an open invitation to join him and his other in Wisconsin where he now lives if we ever need a safe place. There's some real past life stuff going on here. That's the only explanation I can come up with.

Onward into the now, the second set of three drowned feathers came out much better. Well, not better in how they cast but in how they look. I used brown and gray powders in the feathers before the white and it muted the white nicely. Need to use more powder though. Learning process and all. I think these three are my favorite and I think the rock will be the best, partly because it's so dimensional.

Next up is one of the 10” x 10”s. I've never done a piece quite this big. My mind is telling me to work out the colors for the big drowned feathers and order my glass or to start on the basic cold work for the six small ones today when my desire is to just continue for the next two days and get the rest of that part of the shop cleaned and hosed.

before:  

after (you can't really see how clean it is but trust me, compared to before, it's sparkling):

next:

work of one kind or another for the foreseeable future

The last three small drowned feathers are in the kiln. The first three came out well though I think the white sand on one of them was a mistake as well as that pale gray for two of the rocks and for some reason I was way off on the volume measure for another one and it's not thick enough to suit me (will probably re-fire that one) and the quills are way too prominent, may have to grind those down some. 

And at first glance, I'm not wowed. The white feathers are so 'white' and dense and 'flat' that it's hard to see the detail I think. May have to reconsider my approach though I'll withhold judgement til I get the finish work done. We'll see how the next three come out. If nothing else, they're good studies for the four large panels and Marc got one of those molds done today. I have six weeks left before the first weekend open house so I think I'm going to try and get the flower/bee piece model finished and cast that I had just started on before Harvey and the ensuing upheaval hahahahahahaha, I'm such a kidder.

Since I finished those molds on Tuesday I worked outside Wednesday moving and consolidating the pile of leftover lumber from fixing the structure of the house. Some of it will be used over at the shop whenever Rocky wends his way back here but I wanted it off the grass which has not fared well under all those building materials. Then I trimmed around the raised garden beds which was in desperate need and started around the bunker when the last of the trimmer string shot out, about 18”. This trimmer has issues and I don't have enough electric cords to reach everywhere anyway so I went to look at gas powered trimmers. The lightest one was just under 10 pounds. I didn't buy it then but I think I'm going to go back before the week is out and get it.

So then I spent some time in the shop moving more stuff around and setting up my cold work station and went and got some big plastic containers to hold the pool whose boxes got turned to mush when the shop flooded. So the pool and it's cover have been sitting there for 6 weeks untouched. Oh ick. Smelly and slimy, I had to unfold both items and spread them out and hose them down. Still need to wipe them down both sides and let them dry before I can fold them back up.

Today I worked over at the shop again. During the demolition stage I had Rocky tear out the four built in rooms in the shop. I had them tear it out down to the framing because one, it was old and nasty and two, we needed to see how much rotten wood there was before we could rebuild. 

The guys did a pretty good job cleaning up after themselves considering the amount of debris they were dealing with. I filled two large bags with as much debris of small sheetrock bits, insulation, rust, and just plain dirt as I could lift and then I used the shop vac. Next was nail pulling and hosing down and vac-ing up the water off the concrete floor. Tomorrow I'll start on the next room...getting up the last bits of sheetrock and insulation, nail pulling, vac-ing, and hosing down the concrete floor. That's about all the time I can spare for that right now since I need to get back to working on the cast glass and I need to order some frit in order to do that.

These days it's just whatever is demanding the most attention every morning is what gets done cause it all needs to get done.  

another day pretty much like the previous days

I've been filling molds. Three down and in the kiln, one done and two to go. I walked the perimeter of the house fluffing up the poor crushed ferns and picking up all the trash and debris left behind after Rocky and Manuel finished the exterior of the house on Thursday. It wasn't that much really, just bits and pieces of tar paper and old siding and some metal and the occasional nail, because they did a good job cleaning up after themselves. Next project is to knock out the brick planters, sheetrock the ceiling, and put up the birch bead board paneling in my studio room. He may not start on that til next week which is fine as it gives me time to finish these molds and put away my stuff. I'll have to move back out of the room while they're working on it.

Friday I went back to the Civic Center with my list of questions to meet with Katie the FEMA agent again. The rejection letter was issued on the 7^th, she says, and new supporting documents were shuttled to my file on the 11^th thus opening an appeal to my application and now I have to wait til the case agent reviews my file again. In the meantime maybe more of the supporting documents will make it into my file. Apparently, the agents in the field fax all the documents at the end of the day to central command but it may take a week or longer for them to migrate into the pertinent file. Be patient, she says, it will be resolved in your favor. OK, but I'm losing faith I told her. So I guess I'll not bother them again til at least next Monday.

Another puppy hanging around Sunday. 

Waited too late in the day to take a picture and contact SPOT. By the time they got back to me willing to take the pup, it was nowhere to be found.

Beautiful weather today though. Another cool front blew in and this one is supposed to last more than two days. Perfect for working outside but my priority is to get these last three now two molds filled.

finally fall, for a few days anyway

Tuesday (with edits)...There's a cool front blowing in and it's raining leaves. I had just swept the concrete apron of the driveway clear of leaves a week ago and already yesterday it was nearly covered again. Even though the days are still humid and climbing into the low 90s, the trees know when to shed their tired dingy leaves. The oaks and the maple and the crepe myrtles and the tallows have been dropping their brown and dried up finery for weeks. Now this cool dry air blowing in will encourage them to release more. The oaks are starting to drop acorns as well and the pecans, well, the pecans have been dropping in their husks for months. Though I have been picking up nuts free of their husks for about a week they are as dried up inside as the leaves falling on the ground. I doubt we'll get many good ones this year.

While the new color samples will come out of the kiln later today and I will be filling the ready molds this week, today I am going to take advantage of this cool weather blowing in to dig out all the nut grass from one of the raised beds (done!) and repair the weed cloth between the beds where the flood lifted it up and moved it around (not done), something I've been putting off because it has been so hot and humid. Not that that has kept me from working outside during this weather but I do try to work in the shade. No shade over there where the gardens are.

Rocky is still getting the hardy board up around the outside of the house. He could finish today but probably won't. He's got his crew split up working on at least one other house and maybe another (as it was, he didn't show up, had been sick all weekend and was feeling pretty terrible when he worked on Monday). My poor ginger and ferns and mock dogwood and hummingbird bush are taking a beating growing right next to the house as they are. I had to move one small azalea before he trampled it to death. It seems to be recovering in it's new location.

Today...It's so nice and cool outside, a relief from the oppressive heat and humidity of this long summer. We even pulled up the quilt and slept under it last night. I turned off the AC and opened some windows and doors yesterday and didn't even break a sweat clearing out the nut grass in the garden in which I have several volunteer tomatoes that are blooming!

Well the samples came out and I numbered them and cleaned them up and I'm pretty pleased with them. Have one more combination I want to try when the first three drowned feather molds go in the kiln later this week.

So yesterday I had just enough time to get to the library and was ready to head out the door when I couldn't find my phone. Well, poop. I put it down somewhere. “Call me” I told Marc. Silence. Hmm, it's not in the house. Walked over to the shop where I had been working earlier. Not there either. It doesn't sit very deep in the rear pocket of the shorts I had been wearing so I looked around outside trying to remember where all I had been in the yard or on the street or around the shop. Still no phone. Finally I remembered that I had been playing chase with Minnie, who was loving the cool and not humid air and was feeling very energetic all day, at the back edge of the property beyond the mini wildflower meadow (which is now just a big weedy spot) and the compost pile and there it was, laying on the ground.

work commences

Finally sat down yesterday and made a list of 'formulas' for my color samples for the drowned feathers and rocks and just now realized I didn't do any for the sand. I have 24 opportunities, which I thought would be plenty, and quickly realized that wasn't enough. I could cut out more fiber blanket forms but I don't know where my template is or if I even kept it. I think I did. I'm pretty sure I did but what box it is in I have no idea. I haven't found it in the places I thought it might be. I could make a new template but all the cardboard from which I make such things drowned in the flood. So I guess I'm going to have to reconsider some of my formulas.

Work on the house commenced Monday and continued yesterday. Poor Rocky. He's got too much work and he's doing his best to get them all moving forward. I understand. I understand because I have been in that situation. Not fun. Makes you not want to answer the phone. He's been here with a helper he is training the past two days. Rocky's a good man. I haven't heard him raise his voice once with his helper, just explaining what he wants.

that's Rocky on the ground, he's spent most of the last two days under the house replacing the seals and floor joists

The other thing I did yesterday was finally take the long handled nippers and the stump killer and cut down and treat the stumps of all the trees growing along the fence line in front of the shop yard on the ditch side just on one side of the driveway. Minimum 15 trees...hackberries, pecans, and a tallow. Mostly hackberries. I avoided the poison ivy which has taken hold in the ditch and on the fence as best I could, used gojo hand cleaner with cold water, then soap with cold water and I hope like hell I don't get a rash. I still have to do the fence on the other ditch side of the driveway and the shop side of both sides of the driveway but I need more stump killer. Maintaining that ditch would not be such a chore or downright impossible if it wasn't so deep and so steep and now still lots of debris from the flood.

just some of the trees

FEMA has not called. It's been two weeks since I went to the convention center and conferred with the representatives there and they told me my inspector would call within one week to set up an appointment so I guess I'll be back today to find out what's going on. Several of my neighbors have already gotten their grants. Paltry amounts, really, considering how much damage but none of us had flood insurance and while technically we are in the 1,000 year flood plain and no one living here can remember when or if it ever flooded, that makes a big difference with FEMA. Have flood insurance? You get the big bucks. Don't have flood insurance because no one ever thought it would flood here? Too fucking bad. The two awards given people that I know of whose whole house flooded got $13,000 and $12,000.  And if you don't have flood insurance and you get money from FEMA and then don't get flood insurance, if it happens again, they won't help you.  

And Trump is basically telling the Puerto Ricans 'fuck you' cause you aren't real Americans and there's a big ocean and you're in heavy debt to Wall Street because I welshed on our deal.  Such a guy, that Trump.

A few random photos...

pampas grass blooming

squirrel in the magnolia tree with one of my pecans

sparkly totems

big garden spider

re-entry

Well, I've been back almost 2 weeks and I have supervised the installation of the residential job that's been waiting for a couple of months and still did not get the door panel in because of damage to the molding caused by the contractor's people who removed the existing glass. So now I'm waiting to hear when they get that repaired.

I finished the second full size drawing and started on the third for the A&M job and ordered the glass.

And I had an appointment in the city this week for a new job (two shower enclosures and a toilet enclosure) and they want it in the fall.

I've also spent a considerable amount of time watering the yard. It is so hot and dry. We've had no rain since a week before I left. And I've set up the pool but haven't been in it yet.

So I'm back to the real world and my real life, keeping the bird feeder and bird baths full, watering the yard, walking the dog, going to yoga, and working. This will be my life for the next several months.

Before I left, I did a post of things that were blooming during the first half of June which was supposed to self publish while I was gone. It didn't so here it is.

-----------

Today, Friday the 17^th, is 5 days in a row without rain. Three days after the last rain the ground looked like this...

Unreal, right?  It's even worse after 5 days.  Everyone around here is noticing the same thing. Already having to water. The pots certainly as they dry out fast but the stuff in the ground as well. You'd think all that water over the last two months would still be evident.

Well, the altheas (rose of sharon) 

and day lilies are just about done 

while the red crinums 

and white spider lilies are coming into bloom. 

The butterfly weed is robust waiting for the monarchs return in the fall. 

The gingers 

and plumerias are coming into bloom from all the rain and makes it smell sweet at night 

and the star of india that was struggling in the ground for years has quadrupled in size since being put in a pot and is blooming for the first time since it froze to the ground 3 years ago. 

My rangoon creeper is also blooming for the first time after being in the ground for 3 years.

There's more, the plumbago, the roses looking scraggly, the yellow angel trumpet, the orange cosmos which previously has only bloomed in the late summer/fall and this year started blooming almost immediately and have continued as they have grown tall, the yellow bells, the black eyed susans.

wherein I don't talk about the yard except maybe just a little

After a day in the city doing work stuff and BSing for a couple of hours with an artist friend I don't see often, last Wednesday both our jobs told us to hold up there Nellie, not so fast. I was set to finish the door panel and had the installation set tentatively for this week when the designer told us to hold off on the install for two or three weeks. Not ready for the glass so of course I didn't do the final day of work on the door panel. The same day, the art consultant asked me to put my progress on pause until she got some feedback from the client on the compositional sketches I had sent in. Well, alrighty then. At this rate it may be fall before we finish the A&M job.

Actually, it was a good thing because now that I have started on these two jobs, I was reminded that I volunteered to do the art work and ordering for the postcard for the open house a group of us have all agreed to do the first weekend of June at our glass blowing friends' studio, similar to the one we do in December but this time, it is not just glass. I should have been working on that while I was waiting for The Job. This is my life. Dick around until I see the deadline looming, so I spent the rest of last week working on that.

What else. The turtle pond is finally clearing up again I'm glad to see. I guess it's been about 6 weeks since I upset the balance in the filter.

And I got the azaleas in on Sunday.

Just in time because Sunday night the heavens opened and it rained all night and all day yesterday. We got between 3.5” - 5” depending on which rain gauge I looked at. Houston got 16” and is once again flooded. We had water standing in the side yard but that's pretty standard after a hard rain. Water was all the way up to my daughter's house in the city though and she did get a little in the house, the low room that is the converted garage. Fortunately they were awake from the storm and moved the furniture out and got the cars all up on the lawn.

So, I was sitting here at my computer with the dog laying in my lap when all of a sudden she was up, alert, jumped down, started barking as she ran over to the door. I followed and saw this which had come in the back door with the screen propped open so the dog can come and go as she pleases. Seems something else tried to come in out of the rain. It's a young rat snake about 2 feet long, harmless to humans and dogs. I used the broom to sweep it back outside and the screen door is now firmly shut. It didn't try to strike me, just seemed annoyed that I was trying to get it out of the house.

Just another day in paradise.