Happy Saturday….not entirely sure why I’m up at 5:00 in the blessed am when it’s a Saturday and it’s my day to sleep in, but here we are!

I say I’m not entirely sure, but I might have some guesses! It’s the big wreath event today at 2:00 this afternoon. Lots of prepping yesterday, thankfully it was a teacher work day, so I was able to stay home due to the fact – indeed I am not a teacher…

I have so many dried flowers, I’m so excited to share them all with everyone coming today. 14 in all, I have the wreaths ready in their boxes, I’m a bit worried they are too small, and I’m charging too much, and things will not be good…but that’s just me, being me. The wreaths are 8 inches this year, last year they had choices of either a 12 or a 6, most people did both. The 12 inch ones were a bit pricy this year, so I opted for the 8s, I hope I don’t regret it! I have 3 of the smaller ones left, so I suppose people can always add one of those on if they want.

I was trying to figure out if I could only grow flowers that dried well – statice, strawflowers, amaranth, wheat, sweet Annie…they are all relatively low maintenance and easy to grow….but they wouldn’t fit into the simple garden I have planned, and they would be production, not beautification…you see where I’m heading with this don’t you? Because of course, can Jade do just a simple flower bed? I may have to make friends with the fact that these lovely people might have to find dried flowers elsewhere to play with, it might not be me next year that they are having a fun afternoon in the beautiful yard with.

I’ve had people asking me all summer long “when’s the wreath thing….I’ve been waiting all year for it”, they are coming with new ideas and great enthusiasm! So that makes things worth while for sure!

I’m thinking each of them will get a little jar to make their own little arrangements in, as well as a yummy snack, goodies and a little bag of candies if I get my things pulled together before they all arrive. I still want to find some floral wire so it might be a trip into our little town to see if anything fits the bill.

Unfortunately, I received disturbing news that indeed I did not pass my Braille test again. I was under great stress waiting for the results because the directions weren’t entirely clear about formatting, I contacted a few other Braillist and they were unsure also, so I just gave it a go. From the very beginning the administrator of the test has been very short, dismissive and aloof about the entire situation. At this point things are just a tad bit ridiculous, and have discovered from other Braillist that I’m not the only one that has been given the run around, so I will be pulling together my facts and concerns to pen an open letter to the president of the school for the blind and start a conversation about the process. I had considered doing that when I failed it the first time back in June, at which time I had four other people tell me that they would be willing to sign the letter and a fifth one tell me that she would sign it anonymously because she works directly with the lady in question, but she feared there might be repercussions if her name was on the letter.

Then of course there is still the ever looming upcoming drop dead deadline for my vaccine. Either get it, or no longer have a job after the 18th of October. Why must we live in a state where the governor thinks he needs to decide what is best for me? I could file for a religious exception, but honestly, why should it come to that, honestly they should be recognizing the natural immunity that occurs when people have had it, and do not want to put extra chemicals in their bodies that they think are not needed. Honestly, what is happening to our society these days – and now they are discovering those vaccines, are not as effective as they thought they were going to be, and now they want the at risk population to get a booster…why? Because people are dying? They are dying from heart attacks and lung cancer also, but they aren’t shutting down fast food places, or closing down cigarette factories…..but here they are insisting that everyone get an experimental drug that may or may not help the situation. Not to mention the adverse reactions they are covering up….so many red flags that I just cannot wrap my brain around. What happened to freedom of choice, what happened to let me die as I want? What happened to the governor not having the power to make such egregious demands, but yet here he is doing it and getting away with it?

A few weeks ago I asked Joe – “what did we used to talk about, before all this stuff about COVID?” Ah, last year it was Trump….everyone was so fussed up about that situation….because this one is such a better contrast? I’m not one to rant and rave about politics, so I will leave it at that. Hopefully this will pass quickly and we can get focused on a different topic – like the price of gas, the rising cost of health care, the supply shortage, the shortage of labor – those kinds of great grand things that we can drone on about endlessly, but never come to any conclusion or can make any difference about.

What I can do, what is in my power, where I can make a difference – is here at home with my kids, grandkids, my husband, my mom, my family, my friends, and most importantly, my maker. Asking him for guidance, listening to his word, finding peace with him and everything else will fall into place.

I can also clean up the garden, and prepare it for it’s winter slumber. I can look forward to starting seeds in not January or February this year, but March. Maybe an order to the wholesaler for some plugs and a few seeds from Johnny Seeds, but nothing too large and earth shattering. Something simple and easy.

I can also clean up and prepare for baby Skutt to arrive, my count down says 173 days. We shall see how all of that pans out, there is the little detail about the extra electrical and an actual room for the kiln….I wish I could say they are minor details, but they are kinda major things that I cannot take care of myself, so it will be a good way to work on my patience and trust in the process that is Joe. If it’s one thing I’ve learned in the four years of knowing this man, he has a plan, it comes together in it’s own time, and things always will work out. It will be ok.

I have plenty of sewing projects, clay projects and daily chores to keep me plenty busy if it comes down to me not having a job in a few weeks. It’s scary to think my 17 years in education might be coming to a close, but perhaps it’s not the end of the world, and perhaps something waits for me outside of those doors that will be more fulfilling, or not as aggravating perhaps? Only time will tell at this point.

Speaking of clay projects – just real quick like – I’ve discovered something interesting….from a very painfully educational standpoint – it turns out that indeed I mislabeled my bags of clay. I’ve been trying to throw pots with porcelain – which btw is not really used by newbies for throwing because it is very tricky to work with since it has no grog – ie not a lot of body or durability, its more like butter compared to peanut butter. Oh goodness, at least there’s that, at least I think maybe that might be the issue, but I haven’t been back on the wheel since I’ve made the discovery so I haven’t tried the stoneware yet to see if I can pull a cylinder. It’s not a complete waste, I certainly learned some very valuable lessons, and I got to try some Celadon glaze over the underglaze decals, so it certainly will be worth all the effort and fuss I hope. Joe often says “education can be painful and expensive” In this case it certainly was painful, all that time trying to throw a cylinder, failure after failure, paying deeply with my time and energy, but it certainly wasn’t for nothing. Crossing my fingers that my pots – because I couldn’t throw a cylinder to save my life- at least look like something to be proud of. Joe certainly is impressed with my little pots, and my family and friends have been very supportive and encouraging. I’m afraid my mud throwing days are over, the weather is turning so my little studio on the patio will have to be put away. Perhaps if I cleaned up some things in the garage I could throw for a few more weeks in there….? I can still play with clay throughout the winter at the kitchen table while the wind howls outside, the fire roars and the cinnamon rolls rise.

Thank you so much for stopping in to catch up, be sure to let me know you are well. I hope you have made peace with your heart, and things are setting well within you. Have a fabulous weekend, until next time my friends, hugs to you.