Tag: insomnia

Random

Has My Warranty Expired? or Now What!!??

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It’s 11:48 p.m. and I’m wearing my insomniac hat tonight. Now, it’s 11:49 p.m. which gives me about 11 minutes to have that last glass of water before midnight. If you’ve ever undergone a “procedure”, you’re familiar with the nothing to eat or drink after midnight rule. So, yes, there is a “procedure” in my near future. To be more specific, tomorrow at 11:30, I’m having oral surgery to extract three molars on the right and placement of two screws into my upper jawbone for eventual implants and a bridge. I admit that while I don’t have a phobia regarding dentists, I do get anxious a few days beforehand. I will be under heavy sedation so intellectually I know that it will be painless and quick, it’s just that my nervous stomach and jitters haven’t received the It’ll be OK memo.

This dental adventure on top of my broken arm and my subsequent ER visit, followed by a visit to a hand and arm specialist and the surgery to repair it using a steel fixator and let’s not forget about Covid-19 and it’s cousin, Quarantine, has me wondering what next!

I got a photo of my postop x-ray. BTW, if looking at stuff like this makes you feel woozy or sick I encourage you to skip over the low tolerance stuff.

This month’s Knit Crate carried a naked hank of yarn and enough kool-ade to dye it up right. Here’s how mine turned out using cherry on half and blue raspberry on the other half. I think it will knit up into a very interesting pair of socks.

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. Albert Einstein

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I’m Back!

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Hey everyone! Remember me? Well, here I am, still an insomniac and getting over a back issue.  Actually, I developed back pain about a week ago that kept me from wheel and kiln until yesterday. Anyhow, I’m much better and eager to get back in the studio. 🙂

Here’s a sneak peek at a couple of things I was able to finish before my back turned on me.

First up is a  medium sized sized, textured vase –

Next, a sweet little ring bowl –

I especially love the green shades inside this little bowl!

These will be going up in my Etsy shop,ClayDreamsPottery in the next few days, as soon as I can take a breather from playing pottery catch up!

Knowledge is addictive. Keep it up.  Teresa Sjoquist

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This Week’s Sneak Peek

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Here’s a look at a couple of projects I’ve been working on this past week………

 

I’ve added some high fire clay and glazes to my supply of low and mid fire glazes and such and am thoroughly enjoying playing around and experimenting with layering glazes. I think this little vase turned out really well, don’t you?

Miss Dixie got a shiny new bowl this past week, thanks to my glaze experiment.  I had marked the new bowl in my head as a new bowl for her, then, when I pulled it out of the kiln, I had second thoughts because of how pretty it was. In the end, though, I stuck to my original plan, and Dixie has a new, pretty bowl.

 

Meals are serious business in Dixieworld!

 

The pretty vase will be added to ClayDreamsPottery by the end of this week, along with some other beauties still in progress that I think will be a hit so keep an eye out for these newbies.

Nothing happens unless first a dream.  Carl Sandburg

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Everything Else

Well, It Held Together

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WHAT I DID TODAY

Quite a while ago, think years, I came into possession of an old Hoosier cabinet which was just sort of pushed back against the wall and forgotten about. When I decided to set up my studio and started cleaning, guess what I found!!!!  That’s right, the old Hoosier came out of hiding.  It was a bit dirtier than before – it’s been in the garage after all and the evidence of a failed attempt to antique it was still there.  Whoever painted it painted EVERYTHING, the hinges, the latches, everything within reach.  Anyhow, I’ve decided to clean it up, repaint it and use it in my studio.  It has at least 50 years of grime built up – seriously – that has to go before I can start it on it’s road to recovery.  First things first…..knock as much gunk off as I can.  So, out comes the pressure washer, off come the doors, out come the drawers and off come what looks like 20 years of kitchen grease and grime.  Yay!  My biggest fear that it would explode into a million toothpicks didn’t happen.  Everything withstood the pressure washing with no problem.   Great – half the first step – done.  One more wash with a bit of Mean Green detergent should do the trick and I’ll be on to the second step – paint – soon.

Here’s a before photo –

Sorry for the bad focus,  but you can see the shape it’s in. Yuck!

After first pressure wash.

ON THE WHEEL

This week I threw a couple test batter bowls, one of which I promptly broke off the handle, I tried something new I saw in  Pottery Making Illustrated, Throwing in Two Parts and threw a sweet little rounded pitcher.

Crap

I threw a flashlight!!🔦🤨

Sweet

Be a good listener.  Your ears will never get you into trouble. Frank Tyger

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Everything Else

Lather Rinse Repeat/4 a.m. Is Better Than 2 a.m.

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THURSDAY MORNING

So – it’s been a busy few weeks. I set up an Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery and have been putting a lot of hours writing and rewriting, tweaking and retweaking my shop stuff, working at getting more pots photographed and listed.  This is much harder than it should be since I’m a bit technophobic, computer illiterate and way out of my comfort zone when I encounter something unfamiliar computer wise. I have to reinvent the wheel over and over again. I’m figuring it out slowly but surely.

Today, I’m running a full bisque kiln this morning, then tomorrow or Saturday go into a glazing frenzy, then finally run a glaze kiln. I guess one good thing about insomnia is that I can start all this  2 a.m.

I’m anxious to see how the spiny things turn out.  I plan to stain them, fire them and then lace them back together with a thin leather thong.  I hope it’s going to match the picture I’ve been carrying around in my head for a long time.

FYI – The spiny things behaved exactly how I’d hoped (for once)!  The toothpicks burned away, leaving perfectly shaped holes for lacing them together later. I LOVE it when a plan comes together!

SATURDAY

Wow, I slept late this morning – til a whole 4 a.m.! If you guessed this week wasn’t exactly a good one sleepwise, in other ways it absolutely rocked. Let’s see. What happened this week? OK, got it.

  • Mr. Insomniac had cataract surgery on his right eye on Wednesday morning and is doing great! He is seeing better than he’s ever seen, 20/30 on the right about 24 hours after surgery.
  • I sold a pot in my Etsy shop, ClayDreamsPottery
  • I’ve had time to work on several knitting projects that have been languishing for what seems like forever. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I also have a knitting blog.  You can check out this particular alter ego at http://iknead2knit.net.
  • Filled a pew at Mass last Sunday with nearly the entire fam, three grands, a son, a daughter in law that I love, my bestie, who happens to be dear d-i- l’s mother, me and Mr. Insomniac.
  • Successful glaze firing of pots to restock my Etsy shop.  Shop update is tentatively scheduled for April 22.

I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on man unless they act. G. K. Chesterton

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Everything Else

True Confessions

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Happy 4:44 am! Sigh………….

I really do have a confession and here it is – I absolutely hate throwing mugs.  Hate it.  I hate it because I have trouble throwing such a small amount of clay, give me 2 pounds to start with and I’m good to go.I don’t enjoy pulling handles and attaching them, kinda fiddly and they never look quite the way they should. Yada Yada Yada as Seinfeld would say. 🙂 They’re not my thing I guess.

What brought this on?  I recently started an Etsy shop and have been working to get it stocked.  Well, I thought it needed a few mugs and spent most of a morning trying to get at least a couple to add.  That’s when it hit me – I don’t like throwing mugs, so why am I so bent on adding them to my inventory?  This is MY shop.  I provide the inventory – which really is a labor of love – so why can’t I fill my tiny corner of Etsy with things that fill me with happiness from beginning to end? Why can’t I fill it with bowls and plates, bottles and vases and anything else that catches my fancy?  It’s decided, no mugs for me. 👏👏👏

I have several pots in progress and my kiln (almost) runneth over this morning.  Be on the lookout for a shop update in the next week or so.

One more thing:  I’m thinking of changing my shop name.  Potshards just doesn’t seem fit.  A few I’m considering are:

I Dream of Pottery

Dream Come True Pottery

Happy Place Pottery

Any suggestions out there?  I’d love to hear them!

I’ll leave you with a peek at my “studio” also called a garage.🙂

Success is the maximum utilization of the ability you have. Zig Ziglar

Everything Else

When Good Pots Go Bad

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I’m back after being under the weather for the last week or so – nothing serious, just a lot of sneezing and coughing, nose blowing and just generalized crankiness.  But I’m back!

Ran a combined glaze/bisque kiln today with a so-so result.  One of the bisque pots was perfect.

The other pot, well,  not so much as you can see.

 

I take full credit for this mishap, I can see that I left the bottom thicker than it should have been, hiding just enough moisture for a blow out. 😩

When the bottom blew out, I guess the small bowl wanted to get into the act and ended up with a few stray shards fused to its inside.

Better luck next time, I guess.

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.  John F. Kennedy

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FYI – I’m slowly but surely stocking my Etsy shop, Potshards. Come have a look around! 👀

Everything Else

A Bit of Background and First Look

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Hello!  Yes, I am an insomniac and a potter.  I’m starting this blog to share some of my middle of the night projects and see what other middle of the nighters are working on.  Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy thia post.

Here’s what I pulled from the kiln this morning –

Bowl and tumbler set

Amaco White Clay

Duncan Blue Berry Spice Glaze

Mixed Clay pot

Low Fire Red Clay

Bisqueware

That wraps up this first post.  I hope you enjoyed it!

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Family

Misery, Thy Name is Insomnia

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Yeah, the little clock at the top of my screen says 4:24 am and I’m up, sitting at my kitchen table, drinking coffee out of my favorite cup, the one which says “Some days I am a princess, some days I am a warrior (choose wisely).  I think I’m a warrior, probably a very tired one later today.

 

 

 Thank you my sister of the heart, CeCe for the awesome mug!

FYI – I had a birthday last week

 Cece also gifted me a 12x magnifying mirror, which I love btw, I guess she got tired of listening to me fuss about how I can’t see much of anything close up, making any eyebrow maintenance nearly impossible.

My Bangkok Branch sent me beautiful tulips –

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making me wish for spring to hurry on up and get here!  Today’s Bangkok countdown: 25 days until departure!  Mr. Iknead and I are getting antsy…….we’re ready to be be there!!!

Oops!  Almost forgot this.  I want to recommend a book that I just read, The Year of Less, by Caitlin Flanders.

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In her late twenties, Cait Flanders found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat. Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again. When she realized that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy—only keeping her from meeting her goals—she decided to set herself a challenge: she would not shop for an entire year.

The Year of Less documents Cait’s life for twelve months during which she bought only consumables: groceries, toiletries, gas for her car. Along the way, she challenged herself to consume less of many other things besides shopping. She decluttered her apartment and got rid of 70 percent of her belongings; learned how to fix things rather than throw them away; researched the zero waste movement; and completed a television ban. At every stage, she learned that the less she consumed, the more fulfilled she felt.

I find that the older I get, the less is more concept is becoming more and more appealing.

This book is an easy read and provided me with lots of food for thought.  I don’t know if her technique would work as well if she had someone, a spouse or partner, sharing space, but the challenge is intriguing. 🤔

The trick is in what one emphasizes.  We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves happy.  The amount of work is the same.  Carlos Castaneda

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