Painting Ouside The Lines And The Secret Life Of My Backyard

I know you were all just dying to see a picture of the shrimp salad and there it is. And it was good. We will be having leftovers tonight. I want to tell you that the avocado you see there has been in my refrigerator for probably a month. Not a speck of brown in it. Discovering that avocados can be kept in the refrigerator for at least a month without any spoilage is not exactly what I'd call a life-changer but it's close. You just can't let them get very ripe before settling them to sleep in the vegetable bin until you are ready to wake them up, slice them up, eat them up.

Pottery today was very enjoyable for me, despite the fact that I accidentally broke the tip off of one of the petals in my latest flower bowl before it was even fired. And a tiny part of the tip of another flower had come off on its own. 
Well tarnation! 

Lizzie suggested that I could sand the tips down so that they didn't look broken and our teacher said that was a good idea but also, there's something called bisque fix which is a sort of glue made from clay slurry which is a mixture of clay and water, shredded toilet paper, and vinegar. Both of these remedies require the piece to be fired first so I put the bowl and the tip-pieces on the shelf with all of the things waiting to go into the kiln. So all may not be lost. 

I then proceeded to work on glazing my newest fish spoon rest. I worked on that the entire two and a half hour class and still didn't finish it. I'm trying to paint the underglaze I'm using on it with a small brush but either the brush sucks or I have zero eye-hand coordination because the scales I painted today are all over the place. Just...really. Oh well. I have decided that I will call myself an "outsider potter," just as there are outsider artists. Or perhaps, simply a folk potter. Whatever and however I define myself, being outside of the lines is pretty much who I am. Or who I think I am. 
I also realized today that although I went into pottery thinking that I wanted to throw bowls on the wheel, I'm not sure I would be so happy with that. Also, I simply cannot get as excited about glazes and which ones were used on this piece or that piece as almost everyone else seems to be. I mean, I really like glaze, but debating the pros and cons of speckled glazes does nothing at all for me on a personal level. 
This is obviously a case of not knowing enough to know what I don't know. 
While I was painting outside the lines and whispering, "Shit, shit, shit," Jessie was creating a work of damn art, decorating a very fine bowl she made with carvings and the painting of different types of citrus on it. She is the sort of artist who makes things come alive right before your eyes. I am astonished at what she brings forth. 

As always in pottery, I enjoyed talking with the other women and also, listening to a conversation between two table mates, one of whom is always very, very quiet and who seems to withdraw into total concentration of what she's doing and she is a very fine artist. She and another woman got to talking today, though, and they realized they were in related fields of work, although the quiet lady has retired. I was amazed to hear that she'd been in the military before she started working for the state. 
It was such an eye-opener to hear this woman discuss subjects with the other woman which I would never in this lifetime have associated with her. And yet- that was her life's work! 
Last week, I told Jessie as we were chatting that I needed to go to Michael's as I wanted more embroidery floss. The woman spoke right up and said she had so much at home that she would never use and could she bring me some? 
Of course! 
And today she brought in a box with I don't know how many seemingly brand-new skeins of the thread in gorgeous colors. 
"Take as many as you want," she said. I was overwhelmed. How very kind of her it was to not only offer to give me that thread, but also to remember to bring it. I doubt I picked out a tenth of what she had but that will be plenty to add to my pleasure in my visible mending and whatever else may strike my fancy to do. 

So class was a good thing and I got to talk to Ms. Lizzie whom I now realize gives absolutely terrific hugs. It's always good to see her. 

After Jessie and I ate lunch, I dropped her off at her house and got a picture of her with Miss Sophie who really is, as Jessie says, a pretty, good dog. 
She is both pretty and good. 

You could not ask for a dog with a sweeter or better temperament. And she is amazingly soft and lets me pet her for as long as I want to and I know doing that lowers my blood pressure. I have no doubt. I wish I could bring her with me to doctor's appointments. 

I stopped at Publix and got my turkey which I have put in the freezer in the garage in hopes that it will thaw before Thanksgiving so I can stuff it and roast it. Tomorrow I plan to knock out a few of the things I'm going to make for the dinner. 

I've been meaning to show y'all two pictures that Glen got from a trail cam he set up in our back yard.

Now that, my friends, is a fairly healthy mature buck. And there he is, right here, not a hundred yards from our house. Why he and his friends and family have not eaten everything in my garden I do not know. Perhaps arugula is a natural deer repellent. 

And then we have this.

It's the second photo he's gotten of a well-fed looking fox. What do you think, Steve Reed? How does a Lloyd backyard fox compare to a London backyard garden fox? 
Knowing that we absolutely do have at least one fox, if not more, on the property dashes my desire to get more chickens. 
DAMMIT!

This is what I had feared. 

And as usual in this point in the evening, I will say, that is enough of that except to add that Mr. Moon's return has been smoother than it sometimes has been. 
"I want to go back to Roseland," I just told him when he came to give me a kiss. 
"Let's go then," he said. 
I think we still like each other. 

Love...Ms. Moon