What Jessie Did

You will never guess what I did today but that picture may give you a hint. 

Jessie's been taking pottery classes at the local arts and crafts center for awhile and she has been urging me to go with her. I've been intrigued by the idea of pottery-making ever since I went to a camp when I was about sixteen that had a wheel and a teacher who showed me a few things and it's always been at the back of my mind that I would like to learn more.
But, but, but...
I mean, I'd have to GO there and I'd have to talk to people and I'd have to disturb my routine and that is just all a lot for me. Also, the class starts at 9:30 in the morning which is about the time I am generally having my second cup of coffee. In Lloyd. Which is at least a half hour away from where the classes are in Tallahassee.
So I kept hemming and hawing and finally, when a new season of classes began, Jessie just signed me up, paid for it, and then told me about it. 
That child. 
She is the boss of me.  
But who isn't?
Sigh.

So this morning I got up at 7:30 and you know what? It's not even light at that ungodly hour. It is dark. You have to turn the light on to brush your teeth. Who voluntarily DOES this? 
You? Well. Good for you. I don't. 

But I did today. And I got to Jessie's house a few minutes late which was fine. She has told me repeatedly that this class is really laid back and that most of the people in it are around my age and I know she was far more interested in getting me out and into some sort of socialization than she was in me learning how to make a bowl. She made it all so easy though, that I really had no choice but to go to the class with her. And she was so sweet to me, showing me where things were, how to do certain things and she'd bought the clay and a set of tools for me. I wasn't nervous in the least and felt comfortable right away. The teacher intimidated me a little bit but overall, she's cool. Two of the other members of the class were new too, so we were all learning together. 
I can't say I'm any damn good at throwing clay onto a wheel and whether or not I'll ever make anything that resembles a decorative or utilitarian item is yet to be seen. Out of three tries, I got one small bowl that I would not use to put cat food in. Gayle, the teacher, told me that it was a fine bowl for my first try but then I pointed out that she'd made most of it. And she had, while demonstrating for me. 
Meanwhile, Jessie made three bowls that I'd be proud to call mine and I think this was her first work on the wheel. She did free-form things during the last session. 
It's too early to tell if I can feel an affinity for the other women but I can't see why not. We didn't really talk much about anything but clay and clay-related issues. But a few comments were made that led me to believe we are not that different, especially the older ladies and me, including Gayle. We appear to all be old hippies and the younger women seem to be on a similar philosophical level but I could be wrong about that. 

So I did that today and of course Jessie and I had to go get lunch and then I took her to go pick up her car which had been serviced and I came on home where I made a soup with many, many vegetables in it.

 

And a little beef. There are tomatoes, cabbage, green beans, carrots, onions, peas, corn, celery...what else? Maybe that's all. Oh! Potatoes, of course. Also some left over salad and cauliflower. 
Let us just call it Peter Rabbit's Favorite Vegetables Soup. 
Despite not wanting to make a huge pot of the stuff, you know I kept adding things until there was no more room to add anything. 

I am so grateful to Jessie for getting me out of the house today and knowing what would make it worthwhile for me to do so. It's funny. I have taken all my children at one time or another for summer day camps or art classes at that Arts and Crafts center. When I met Glen, he was playing volleyball there. Levon and August go to after-school there where I have picked them up many times.
And yet today was the first time I ever participated in one of their offered activities. 
That's pretty crazy. 

Well, so is life. 
And I learned a few things today, mainly that you need to use your body for strength instead of your wrists, sometimes the wheel does not need to spin so fast, and that after you play with clay, you need to clean up your space. Already- good rules for life, too. 

Love...Ms. Moon