12-11-18

I got a visit today from my student, his wife, and their baby. It was great fun to hold baby Jack.
I gave my final exam today from 6-8. Got some knitting done.

12-10-18

This is what I did this evening. No students came... so I worked and knitted.

12-9-18

Today we saw more houses on the tour and I really liked this window decoration and the below wreath.

I sold my first pottery to a stranger today! My Etsy shop is open and I'm selling lots of mugs.

12-8-18

 Saturday. Dan and I went on the Christmas house tour today with Gwennie. It was neat to see how people decorated their homes and made me feel a bit inspired. I'm busy busy on knitting Christmas gifts though... so decorating will have to wait.

12-7-18

We still have roses in the yard. This little vase turned out cute. The Nox on the top gives it the very blue, and the shinos underneath show at the bottom. I wonder how it would have been just Nox though.

Here you can see the Nox breaking up and the green shino showing through. This vase turned out so pretty.

Today is the official last day of classes.

12-6-18

It's Thursday. I had a hard week. I taught my last classes Monday and Tuesday nights, then went to do my observations on Wednesday and ended up with a migraine and could only see one student. I did limp over to the studio to do a bit of glazing though... since some of these mugs were destined for people giving them as gifts.

12-3-18

Monday.

I went to the pottery studio this morning and did some glazing.

Then I went to school and taught my last tech class of the semester.

This turned out gorgeous. 

These burned up in the bad kiln. They came out toasted bubbly brown.

This was pretty green when it was done even though blue was put on top.

This turned out really blue and pretty,

12-2-18

Sunday. I went to the IAMBK Gala this evening. It was fun seeing my afterschool students perform on stage. Here is one of my grad students in a skit-of-sorts.

12-1-18

Saturday.

Dan was at Best Robotics and I went to visit Doug and B. Doug is receiving hospice care at home now. The cancer has spread badly and he is in great pain. 

11-30-18

Today is our 33rd anniversary! 

This is our Japanese Maple Tree in full color.

It's Friday... I had my Healthy Tigers appointment today (quite healthy) and we went to dinner at Stinky's Fish Camp.

11-29-18

Another special order in progress.

This is how I feel most of the time.

Today I got an order from a stranger and it made me so happy temporarily, to feel validated. My head still hurts, I don't feel like working, and all I want to do it knit or work with clay.

What is wrong with me???

11-28-18

I went by the studio today with a migraine that had lingered since yesterday (could not teach last night) and picked up these beauties. I put them on Etsy. Man, they are really beautiful.

I'm also working on some special orders for people. My friend Dieter wants a blue rose, and my friend PJ wants a heart with wings in a bigger mug.

11-26-18

I taught tonight. These are the 3D things my students printed and brought to class to share.

My lesson plan did not go well and I left class feeling bad.

Earlier in the day I'd gone to the studio to drop these items off.

11-25-18

Two days later, I had my first sale.

11-22-18

Today I opened an Etsy shop.

I called it Earth to Space Pottery and listed my first items.

I doubted anything would sell, but it was so exciting to do this.

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/EarthToSpacePottery 

11-21-18

I couldn't wait to get home to work in the pottery studio. I spent a lot of time glazing and got back some of my stuff. So much stuff! 

11-20-18

We left our little pink house today and headed home through Fairhope, Alabama. I'd never been there and heard it was a nice town- an artists' community. My high school friend Happy Hippy lives there, so we decided to meet for coffee.

Fields of Cotton.

See... off in the distance.... more fields of cotton on the way to Fairhope.

11-19-18

We were walking in the Gulf Shores State Park when we found the butterfly garden. I don't think it had butterflies. It was not such a great walk-- something about my mood, I suppose.

11-11-18

11-18-18

Dan was on a bike ride this afternoon so I sat out by the water and knit and decided to upload photos to my blog after two months of hiatus.

This morning we kayaked around Little Lagoon and walked on a trail in the Bon Secours National Wildlife Refuge. 

This is our little pink house by the lagoon.

My absence from chrissysphotoaday has been because I have been in a depression for a while now. Coming down here to the water has helped me realize some things I need to do to find balance and find myself again.

I want to do pottery.

I want to teach.

I want to knit.

I want to watch TV.

Everything else is competing for my remaining enthusiasm. When I fill that space up with writing a grant, there is no room for other fun things that define me. I need to keep that space reserved for what I want to do. If it's a research project, then do it only if I want to. If it's volunteer work or outreach or service, do it only if I want to. 

11-17-18

We left early in the morning and made it to our cottage on Little Lagoon around noon. It's a cute pink cottage. Adorable. We went for a long hike around the lagoon to the beach. See the blue heron?

11-16-18

See this ugly bagel?

I made it.

It represents feeling better. I also made a "light" version of the pumpkin chocolate cheesecake too. It has 4 points instead of 16 per slice.

I just felt my mood lift today, as if I NEEDED to be sick for a week and just lay in bed and not work and not feel guilty for not working.

Tomorrow we leave for the beach. 

11-15-18

Well, I met my goal today!

It took 2.5 months but I lost 17 pounds.

:)

It feels really good. 

See that hump? That's the three pieces of pumpkin chocolate cheesecake.

11-13-18

I'm sick.

It's "just" a cold but I got a migraine with it and couldn't teach Monday night or Tuesday night or go to schools Wednesday. 

11-10-18

I went to a baby shower today for a former student and brought this sweater I made for her little girl.

Second set of mugs with nice handles are done! 

Third set is being made...

11-4-18

Look at this fire. This fine fire. See Teensie? I sat in front of this fine fire grading journals today. Dan orchestrated the whole thing- hiring a plumber to bring the gas line in, purchasing the set of logs, hooking it all up, ordering the black metal doors, installing them.... 

It's so cozy.