2018-02-17 - Saturday - Thonotosassa

Saturday we hung out with my parents in Thonotosassa. We went to breakfast, did some shopping, and then sat out on the patio. My dad has been asking me to bring some pottery with me so I set up a four foot table with some work on it. I sold a few pieces to friends in the park and then I packed it up again as it was getting pretty breezy.

Sometimes it's just nice to kick back and just sit for a while.

Mom & Dad's golf cart.

Small display.

Sunset and moon rise.

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2018-01-09 - Tuesday - Around

Tuesday I started out with a late breakfast (that was actually lunch) of beans and rice. Since it was brunch I put a fried egg on top. It was good.

Yum.

Later, for supper, we went to Taipei South and I got another fortune. I have news for the fortune writers: I have already been called to the high honor of raising two wonderful daughters. I can't think of a higher one.

Fortunate.

After supper I went to Clayworks and trimmed my tea bowls.

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2017-01-10 - Tuesday - Breakfast with friends

Tuesday I had breakfast with some friends.

Bowl by me, mug by Jeff Pender, spoon rests
by Susan Hughes and Kit Mitra, salt shaker by Lisa Connell

Tuesday night I made a couple of garlic pots. These were the first pots I made in 2017 and the first in almost two months. It felt good to get my hands dirty again.

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2016-12-25 - Sunday - Merry Christmas!

For many years Christmas morning was about getting up early with the children and opening presents, making overnight cinnamon rolls, and going to a relative's house for Christmas dinner.

Now the two who enjoyed the cinnamon rolls the most are gluten free, the children are all over 21, the relatives have moved away, and the person who wakes us up early on Christmas spent it with her fiance's family this year.

We got up at a leisurely pace, opened our presents, I made a big (late) breakfast, and then I ripped the dashboard of the van apart.

I bought an auxiliary port to connect my iPod to the car stereo in 2013 and toyed with the idea of paying someone to install it. I decided for Christmas to do it myself (after watching a video on dismantling the dashboard on YouTube).

As usual, the hardest part was removing the clipped-in bezels without breaking them. Once that was done, it went pretty smoothly despite the photos of general destruction.

Gaping holes.

A huge mess.

Finished.

The 3.5 mm jack and the power switch in the re-purposed ashtray.

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2016-05-31 - Tuesday - Breakfast and beer

Tuesday I made a big breakfast (at about 1:30 pm) and thoroughly enjoyed it. I do like breakfast no matter what time of day or night.

Tuesday afternoon I was shopping for beer and found this. I will have to try it at some point, but I was making better use of my money that day. I bought a 12-pack for the same amount.

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2016-02-06 - Saturday - Glazing like a crazy man

Saturday was a marathon.

I started out with one of my new favorite breakfasts.

Took some photos of the flowers blooming in the front yard.

Went to the farmers market with Karen and Stephanie.

Went to Clayworks and helped Kimberly remove some stuck fuses from a misfiring kiln. Re-slaked some of my clay. Did a little housekeeping on my shelves. Talked to a few people for a while...

...and THEN the real day started.

Eggs and oatmeal and sriracha.

Daffodils.

Vinca Minor.

Remember all of those Empty Bowls I've been making? This year I decided to glaze them all at once instead of doing them in small batches.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I had to wax all the bottoms and after that I started experimenting with painting underglaze as a wash and using my squeeze bottle as a pen to fill in details. Suddenly I realized it was 7:00 pm. I dropped everything and ran to the grocery store. I bought some food for supper, went home and fed us, and then back to Clayworks to finish the glazing. I left Stephanie making a batch of fudge while her boyfriend, Brett was on Skype with her. Crazy kids.

Everything was where I left it (I left a note saying I'd be back after supper) and I was alone. I turned the music up and got back to it.

While I was having a lot of fun trying new things, I had to keep a pretty good amount of pressure on the squeeze bottle to keep the flow going and after a couple of hours of it I realized I was hunched over and my mid-back was killing me. I stretched my back out on one of the tables for a few minutes before continuing the process.

I finally got finished with the underglaze at about 11:00 pm. Next I had to paint clear over all the paintings. After that I painted wax resist over the clear. I dipped the bowls in the main color glaze for the non-painted areas. Finally, I wiped all the excess glaze off the feet of the bowls and took them to the kiln room.

By the time I finished cleaning up my mess it was almost 2:00 am and every joint hurt from standing on the concrete floors for so long. I'm almost 58 now, and these marathons are not getting easier.

Next year I'm going back to glazing small batches.

Stack 'o bowls.

Waxing the bottoms.

Having fun with underglazes. These are just some of them.

Stephanie making fudge with Brett's support.

Finished the underglaze.

Almost finished the glazing.
I still have to finish the six in the foreground.

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2015-08-02 - Sunday - Home made tortillas

Sunday morning I tried my hand at home made tortillas for breakfast. They weren't too bad, but I need to tweak the amount of flour I use to roll them out and the heat of the pan a bit. Always adjustments.

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2014-12-07 - Sunday - Stephanie's Birthday Part 2

On Sunday we left for home after taking Stephanie to breakfast at the school cafeteria.

Karen and Stephanie in a spirited conversation.

Mother and daughter.

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2014-03-02 - Sunday - Breakfast

Lately I've been eating eggs for breakfast more often.  I cook them lots of different ways, but recently I have found some great egg recipes on budgetbytes.com.

One of them is a new way of cooking soft-boiled eggs, which I had this morning.  I had no idea soft-boiled eggs and spinach would be such a good combination.

This morning's breakfast.  Recipe here.

Another recipe I've been enjoying is egg quesadillas.

Check out the website.  If you like food you won't be disappointed.


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June 29 - Uncle Bill's Pancake House

Friday was breakfast at Uncle Bill's, something we look forward to every year.  Uncle Bill sure knows how to make a great breakfast.

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Saturday Scramble

Saturday morning I made something my Mom frequently made when I was growing up (well, allegedly growing up...).  Scrambled eggs with mushrooms and baby peas.  Some salt, pepper, and occasionally a little Texas Pete and you've got a full-fledged breakfast happening.

I don't know how she came up with that combination so I'll have to ask her some time.  It's good and it holds those childhood memories that make it taste even better.  As everybody knows, "Nobody can cook like Mom."

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