Say What?
Ron & I went to Red Rocks last Friday to see Widespread Panic in concert again – Fun Show!
Not much happened in the studio this past week – though I do have an excuse. And no, my dog didn’t eat my car keys preventing me from driving to the CPG or anything…. The real reason? My in-laws were in town and we spent the week catching up, consuming great food & drink and even managed to remodel my daughter’s bedroom complete with new paint job including teenager like accessories. I have to say it looks good if you like gatorade green (you know that sort of effervescent glow in the dark green that looks like it could etch metal?)! What can I say, she picked the colors this time around and she’s infatuated with neon at the moment. To be honest, I rather like the color now that it’s on the wall and think I may use this color in my home somewhere in the future. 
I have a huge to-do list that I would like to accomplish before school starts again for me at the end of August. I wish time stood still like it did when I was a kid – endless summer…but alas, time seems to spend faster and faster these days. On my to-do list you ask? (in no particular order)
- Update the Colorado Potters Guild website with new photos from the spring show.
- Putz around with all the new software I learned in the past year including Illustrator, AutoCad, GIS etc so that I’m way more efficient next year.
- Work in the clay studio more.
- Landscape our garden.
- Run more.
- Clean up my website.
- Start a website for my landscape architecture portfolio.
- Read more.
- Start packing so that we can move next summer…. Say what?
Yep, my husband and I moved into our current house (which we had been renting out for the past 10 years) last summer with the goal of selling or staying. We’ve decided to sell because we miss our old hood and all the amenities and I hate taking the #15 bus to school (yes, I take public transportation ‘cuz it’s eco-friendly and a hassle to park downtown, not to mention expensive – more on the adventure filled #15 another day). Will it be a huge pain in the ass? YES! I admit to you here and now – I have been bribed.
Have I told you how much I miss my studio?
Week 2 in New House & School
Sub Alpine Pine – Echo Lake, CO
It’s been almost a full 2 weeks now since we moved into the new house which is still undergoing renovation construction. Needless to say, it’s a challenge to live without kitchen facilities – but we are oh so close. We now have counter tops, a sink with faucet, lights and our appliances will be delivered this Thursday which hopefully means that we will have a functional kitchen by next weekend. Yesterday, we also moved our daughter out of our bedroom into her own – whew – I no longer have to circumvent her mattress and myriad of stuffed animals and blankies to get to my side of the bed. (Yes – 11, almost 12 year olds still have lovies…Jasmine would be mortified if she knew I told anyone! ;D)
Meanwhile, Jasmine and I have both started school and are in full swing. She loves Japanese – though I can’t make heads or tails of the language myself. As long as she gets it, that’s all that is important. I have already been on 1 field trip into nature and am heading out this morning to Mt. Evans with my Landscape Ecology class. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Colorado, Mt. Evans is one of Colorado State’s ’14 rs’ – meaning that elevation at the summit is over 14,000′ above sea level. We have to leave early because weather normally sets in after 12pm making the visit very uncomfortable and also potentially dangerous. I personally have no desire to be up close and personal with lightening at 14,000′. We also have to visit this alpine/montane region now because the road to the summit closes next weekend due to snow. Yikes, did I say snow? I sure hope that I have enough clothing along today!
Hope everyone has a terrific week,
Cynthia
Moving Day
Today is the day! Well sort of…. A moving company is coming to take most of our stuff away today. We are actually going to camp in our house with the dogs over the weekend and will physically move into the new house on Monday. Why? The bathroom isn’t quite ready yet. And, while I tried to rally the troops to camp at the new house (with out-house in the alley, primitive water source at the outside faucet and all) the rest of my gang weren’t into it. Somehow it’s more romantic when camping in nature vs. urban setting.
Lucky me won’t be here when the movers arrive because I am attending part 2 of orientation at the College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Colorado Denver – but rest assured, I contributed to the moving/packing effort. I’ll return to an empty house around noon and can look forward to a leisurely weekend before school starts on Monday. I’ve mentioned before that I frequently fantasize about living minimally and now I’ll get my chance! ;D
Later,
Cynthia
Moving…
It looks like we will be moving out of our current home August 14th thanks to a newly signed rental application and that’s almost exactly 2 weeks from now in case you’re wondering whether I’ve done the math correctly or not. I’m not really too worried about moving our household contents since we’ve been purging on and off for the past few months and have even started packing and bringing stuff over to the new house.
Side one of garagio with wheel and "stuff" everywhere
I am worried about my “garagio” though…. One quick look at the photos and I can only exclaim in French (because it’s so much more dramatique), “Quelle horreur! Mon Dieu – q’est quon peut faire avec cette spectacle?”
Side 2 where I normally hand build
I had visions of cranking out a bit more work before the move, but alas, it is not to be so. Most likely I won’t return to the clay studio until September at the earliest. It’s a relief to have the house rented, but now comes the unglamorous part of serious packing, moving, cleaning etc. We are moving to a larger space which includes a oversized 2 car garagio – which translates to a more spacious area for me. I am also going to be selling an old make that ancient Paragon electric kiln (the same as this ebay listing) that still fires to cone 6 before the move – better write that Craigslist ad. My firings will be less frequent since it will take more time for me to fill the Skutt 1027, but it makes sense to downsize since I am no longer teaching and anticipate less studio time since I’m going back to school. First day of school for me is the 17th of August. Sometimes when it rains, it pours….
I have canceled my commitment to participate in the Farmer’s Market this coming weekend – I think my husband has visions of cleaning out the garage instead.
Meanwhile, we’ve picked out tile, bath fixtures for the bathroom and carpeting for the basement in the last couple of days. This was fairly easy since I already knew exactly what I envisioned for the house. It’s a 1911 vintage home and I’m going all white with subway tile for the shower surround and a octagon mosaic like style for the floor. Pretty traditional and a neutral backdrop for a vintage home.
I’m so trying not to stress right now,
Cynthia
