Sunday Happy

Yes I am alive as some of you have asked. And I swear I am not being lazy,I have just been super ass busy because you know life and all that.

So what have I been up to? Just a whole lot of clay business. Right after the crazy holiday rush in December I kinda crashed a little for a week or so and then signed up for another market that was just last week. If you do any type of ceramics, especially selling of ceramics, you know that a few weeks is not a whole lot of time to get a bunch of shit made so that is what I have been doing. Making shit. HA!

And ok, I did do some other stuff. There was more birthdays celebrated (the mr turned the big 40!), tattoos were gotten (by me and the mr.), family gatherings, sledding and snow ball fights with the littles. (Side note. They are not so little anymore. Judah is now officially taller then me and the mr. is teaching Miley to drive. Coco is Coco and has always been an old man, and So, well she started a book club at school and is bacsilly a cooler, younger version of me so yeah, they are all getting old and I can’t even.), the holiday madness of markets. It was a lot. Other than that, not to much else. I am still running through the woods every day and we go hiking or snowshoeing as much as we can. Has the winter weather been great for outdoor winter fun? Not really. It’s been way to freaking warm and there definitely has not been enough snow but what can I do besides bitch about it? Move to Alaska, that is what.

So yeah, hopefully now that this last market is behind me (it was a couple nights ago) I can slow down this week and gather my bearing before the madness of the spring and summer markets really hit. I am trying to be proactive and do more life planning, like garden planning stuff (is it really that time?) and have more pots made so I am not rushing like a mad lady in between markets. We will see how well I do, but first things first. Start the god damn taxes. Every freaking year.

Here are a few internet links from the week. And I don’t have many pictures that are not pots and you can just see those on my instagram (@stemandnode). I’l be better next week, maybe. And hopefully I’ll post a new recipe because I have been making some A+ shit. (SO much soup. Duh.)

-Take your date to the grocery store. This is 100% a great idea. The mr and I LOVE a new grocery store experience. Especially while traveling in other countries. Highly recommend.

-A Gua Sha Technique For Easing Jaw Tension In A Minute Or Less. Has anyone had luck with this? I need to do something because I am constantly clenching my teeth and my TMJ is killing me.

-A bit of a hoarder’: woodpeckers stash 700lbs of nuts in California home. That is a lot of nuts.

-Is Bathroom Carpet Due for a Comeback? Fuck no.

-C

Sunday Happy

First week into Daylight Savings and I got to tell you, I am so into it. I love when it gets dark out early. I love being able to see the sunrise when I got for runs in the morning. It works for me. What I do not love, better yet hate right now is how warm it has been. It is making me sad and cranky. Mind body and mind crave those crisp, cold, snow filled days where everything seems quiet and all the people are tucked away and the outside world seems to be all mine. I guess I am a true Ice Queen.

Besides shitty weather the past couple weeks things were good good. Lots of studio time. Lots. And a few nice hikes through the sticks. The mr, Judah, and I cleaned the yard and moved all the leaves to the garden beds. I made fire cider, the mr carved a many spoons. I picked up the first winter farm share, voted, watched the lunar eclipse and cleaned the car. Not like super exciting but exciting enough. That is my life. Ha!

Today the mr and I are going somewhere for a hike. Now that we aren’t camping every weekend we go for a good hike on Sundays instead. It is good to have something to look forward to. And if I have time I should probably go grocery shopping, I have a long list and a shit ton of bread I need to make…The family is descending on the house this weekend for our family Thanksgiving. 23-26 people. Yeah, I am in charge of all bread. We need lots of bread.

Oh and it’s Shannon’s birthday today so yeah, Happy Birthday!

A couple links from the internet.

- I use all my flours so fast that I just keep in in the pantry but this is good info. The Best Way to Store Flour Isn't What You Think.

-Christmas Weather Forecast (2022): Will It Be White, Or What? I sure hope this is wrong.

-Why Prehistoric Herders Didn’t Spit Out Their Watermelon Seeds. I don’t spit them out cause I like them plus they are super good for you.

-This is what’s happening to your brain in the middle of a conflict. I do not like conflict because most conflict could be solved if people just listened to everything I say. For real.

-The Age of Social Media Is Ending. Yeah, I kinda hope so.

Pictures from the weeks.

Sunday Happy

I am over it. It being summer. And don’t at me about it because I don’t care. I am over heated to the deepest parts of my soul and I just can’t even more. I’m done. And cranky as all hell.

The week was busy busy. Sunday we went to a family birthday party (Happy 1st Birthday Tan!!) before camping. It was stupid hot, I was exhausted from the market, and I tripped and fell by the river directly onto my shoulder right before the party which when I look back at it was lucky for me because I was able to grab some ice from the cooler. I was that girl walking around with a melting bag of ice on her shoulder. It is a look. After the party we went back to the campground. We didn’t do much after that but it was still great, even if I thought I broke my shoulder (I didn’t but there is a nasty ass bruise). Anyway, we mulled around, ate, had a tiny little fire, then crawled into the tent early, watched the fire flies, passed out, woke up, and came home.

The rest of the week was more of the same as always. Lots of pots thrown, lots of veggies harvest from the garden, lots of me being super cranky because it is too damn hot. I dropped off a batch of mugs to an art gallery/shop!, cleaned the fridge out, and spent as much time as I could laying on the floor of the kitchen trying to save my soul. On one of the hot days the mr and I took the littles, Megan, and Barb to the pool. That was fun, even when they had to shut one of the pools down because of a dead animal. Yeah. But there are two pools so it was fine. After the pool it was our house for peanut butter sandwiches, chalk drawing, and coco walking around with one shoe because why not. The boys ended up sleeping over and the next morning was pancakes, more chalk, and playing with clay.

And that was it. I worked at the studio, sweated threw all of my clothes, ate lots of fresh tomatoes (only redeeming thing about summer) and slowly got my shoulder to stop hurting as much.

Another Sunday and the heat is worse. I am not exactly sure of the plan beside camping somewhere but as for activities go, I am not kayaking as we had planned because it is just to hot to be out during the day. A small hike maybe, but really if we just end up at a river for the day, well I am ok with that. Stupid summer….I am so cranky.😁

Internet from the week.

-I leave so much crap in library books (bills, money, rubber bans, pictures…)but I never return a book without shaking it out first. It’s a good habit. From Lists to Love Letters, What Do People Leave Behind in Library Books?

-Huh. Why do so many bikes end up underwater? The reasons can be weird and varied.

-Carnivalcore Has Arrived to Bring the Fun Back Into Our Homes.I am here for it, just not in my house.

-This is gross and I sure the hell hope I don’t spent that much time on apps. ( I definitely do not!) Study shows most of us spend more than 4 hours a day on apps

-I am exited for some good viewing! Get ready to look up in the night sky at all those meteor showers

-California: visitors to world’s tallest tree face $5,000 fine and possible jail time. I agree, stay away from the tree folks. Humans destroy enough as it is, just leave it alone.

-I don’t eat these but I know the littles do. Which Vegan Chicken Nuggets Actually Taste Good? A Blind Taste Test of Whole Foods, Impossible Foods, and More

-Working a Shitty Job Is Linked to Mental Decline When You're Old, Study Says. Yeah no shit.

Pictures from the week.

Sunday Happy

Is it really the last day of July? Are we happy about that? I know I am because it means August, then September and hopefully that means it will not be so hot. And also it means apples and pumpkins and sweaters and I will stop now because it is only the last day of July. HA!

The week. It was a weeeeek. In a good way, or mostly good but also kind of frantic and maybe a little bit stressful, but good. We started off camping and this time we brought the crew. Took them into the woods, rented there pampered little butts a lean-to (it was actually a good thing because it poured that night) and basically spent the entire day either in the water, on the water, eating, or playing with fire. All the exact things one should do will camping. And after a long day of all the fun that was had, they all conched out in the lean-to (the mr and I split in out tent outside the lean-to) and the sky opened up with thundered and lightning and poured all the water. A grand storm and boy were were glad for the kids being in the lean-to. I don’t think we would have made it through the night if they were in their tent. But they did and woke up rested, ate a extremely large amount of food, played in the rain, and then claimed exhaustion and needed to get home. Got them packed and home by late morning, the sky cleared, the sun came out, and it got hot. Blah.

Then the rest of the week was go go go. I loaded and unloaded like 3 kilns madly glazed more pot, threw a shit ton more, and tried on several different occasions (3 TIMES and all fails) to get shit my cards printed out at Staples. Basically running around with my head cut off but whats really new. The mr and I did manage a few minutes together at points, we even took Meg, Miley, and Bean to the farm to pick flowers, but mostly we were bot just busy busy.

Then Saturday was market day. I (and the mr) unpacked, set up and I slung those pots. Saw a ton of people, sold a bunch of my favorites, and handed out the flowers. There was music, free ice cream, and people riding around on bikes dresses as unicorns. All I call, another fantastic successful market. And then we came home, unpacked the pots and stuff, repacked the camping stuff, and crashed.

Sunday. Well I am beat ass tired but no problem because CAMPING and even in y worst state, camping always is the answer. But first we are going to a 1 year olds birthday party which should be fun, if not a little more tiring. I think I will make it. (I just hope no one expects much more then my presence because my brain is mushy and I’ll be moving around like a sloth). So party frst, then camping, and then hopefully a chill evening of sitting by the fire reading followed by an uninterrupted 5-6 hours of deep sleep in the fresh air under a sky of stars. But before any of this can happen today I need to drink the entirety of a pot of coffee so that is what I am going to do.

Internet from the week.

-Something you didn’t know you wanted to know. Why Are My Trees Dropping Acorns Like Crazy?

-How Caffeine Became the World’s Favorite Drug. I am and will forever be an addict. I cannot live without coffee.

-Fucking instagram. 4 steps you can take right now to improve your Instagram feed

-Why some people find pimple popping so grossly satisfying. I am not one of these people.

-The mysterious inner life of the octopus. Octopus intrigue and freak me out. So many tentacles.

-Ok, sure sure. Live Out Your Gardening Dreams in This $770K Greenhouse Home in Sweden

-”A Bike Ride Is Far Better Than Yoga, or Wine, or Weed.”. I completely concur.

Pictures from the week.

Sunday Happy

This is the time of summer that hate or strongly dislike. The heat and humidity. All a bunch of bullshit. 😬

We went on our first camp of our camp season and I give it an A (not A+). Everything was perfect except that it was hot, like mother freaking stupid hot. So hot that when I made dinner (soup as always and forever) the mr refused to eat it .Me, well I ate it and dropped more sweat then I thought possible, So yeah it was stupid hot and yes we did go out in the kayaks at exactly the hottest part of the day (really bad choice) and sure I might have died a little but it was still all good. The stroll through the woods. The tiny little fire that I sat far far away from. My hot soup. All the stuff. And when we woke up the next morning the temperature had dropped enough to be a bit chilled, I made the coffee in a long sleeved shirt, walked to the pond for sunrise then packed up camp and home we headed.

Then the rest of the week. I blinked and it was over. First thing back I went to the dentist and had my teeth cleaned all nice and shit. Then I basically spent the rest of the days running around with my head chopped off. I was in the studio almost everyday loading and unload kilns, glazing all the stuff, and helping transition the new studio manager to the place. Wasn’t so bad given the air condition and all because, as you might also be dealing with, a stupid ass heat wave. Whenever I was home I was miserable and bitchy and cursing the sun back to hell. The house felt like a furnace and I did not deal with it well. Not my finest moments as a human but I didn’t literally kill anyone so I consider that a victory.

Sunday! Not only ar we going camping but we are bringing the crew with us. The 3 littles, Barb, and the mr and I are heading out to the woods this morning to do what we do best. We will hike and swim. They will fish and I will read (or run around with Coco). Got the frisbee and nerf ball and playing cards. And we packed a ton of food (healthy and junk). There will be fire and s’mores and when the wake up the get the full on meal along with breakfast hot chocolate. Sure there is a chance it gonna rain all night but I really don’t care because summer camping rain is just fine by me. We won’t melt, I hope anyway.

Some internet reads from my week.

-The Era of Climate Change Has Created a New Emotion . I feel the “eco-anxiety.” every damn day.

-Glamorous and unafraid are not the two words I think of when I here this design trend but hey, it’s actually pretty awesome. Not for me but I love to see it! Barbiecore Is the New Design Trend to Completely Obsess Over.

-This Is The Most Common Weather-Related Phobia. Can you guess my weather phobia? Yeah it’s definitely 100% thermophobia.

-Do cats and dogs remember their past? Obviously.

-I don’t got to restaurants but if I did I would want to know every single detail of what I was ordering. Is the Minimalist Restaurant Menu Over?

-Sad. Beloved monarch butterflies are now listed as endangered

-Crazy. This goat is all ears. REALLY! They may be the longest in goat history

-The case for caring less. All about caring less or as I like to say, not giving two fucks.

Pictures from the week.