Well, Hell And So It Goes

If you are especially observant (and no one needs to be that observant), you may notice that this hibiscus-to-be is not the one I had drying from last week to hopefully go into the kiln this week. 
Sigh.
That hibiscus looked like this.

And THAT hibiscus which was the single most thing I've made in pottery ever that I felt truly, truly satisfied with and excited about. 

So of course I broke it this morning. 

I picked it up incorrectly by one of the petals and that was that. It fell apart totally and completely. I understand now that when clay gets to what they call bone dry, a stage of hardness before it goes into the kiln, it shatters like that. 
So I sure as shit learned a lesson and I shouldn't have picked it up like that anyway. 
But. What can one do? 
I started another one. I am not nearly as happy with it as I was with the first one. When I was making that one, I felt as if my hands had a mind of their own somehow. This time I felt awkward and incompetent. Everyone kept saying, "This one will be easier because you already made one," but it wasn't. 
I have finishing to do on it, including making the filament and related sexy parts. And then it will have to go into the kiln and if I'm lucky it'll only take a week to get it fired and then I'll glaze paint it and it will be fired again...
And so forth. 

Sigh. 

But you know- it was not the end of the world. It didn't even register in the "bad things that can happen" category. It was just a thing made out of clay and no one will go hungry or be injured because it broke. 
And I still enjoyed class a lot. It was another class where everyone concentrated on their projects but we chatted a lot, too. We laughed and we hugged. Lizzie was back from her journey and her gentleman caller stepped in to say hello. We all get a little tittery when he comes in. He's so handsome. 
Jessie is working on some amazing things and why I didn't get a picture of them is beyond me. I just sort of forget. Another class member is working on a beautiful vase and Lizzie is making the most precious little whippet dogs. And today there was an airedale, too. She has whippets and adores them although I'm not sure about who has the airedale. Gentleman caller? I know their first real meet-up was at the dog park. 
Our Shelly in the class went to a festival this weekend and we were all excited to hear about that. She is making exquisite bowls. And there is another woman in our class who also makes beautiful bowls. She is starting to struggle with memory but she has no problem remembering how to sit at the wheel and throw a bowl. 

After class, Jessie and I went to the Mediterranean restaurant which is always good and Lily, Lauren, and Gibson came in to sit with us and visit. They'd just had a big brunch so were not hungry. Gibson was out of school because he needed to get an ID today. The official kind that you get at the driver's license place. 

And the reason? Now that he is fourteen, he has gotten a job at Publix. He will start out as a bagger, as everyone seems to do. He is so excited. In his Gibson way, which is quiet but very smiley. He is one of those people who KNOW stuff. Like, facts. Like facts about presidents and scientific things and, oh hell, I don't know. But he does. He was explaining the presidency of John Quincy Adams to us today and all of us were rather astounded. He was so much more educated on how our government works than any of us adults that we were sort of ashamed. And then he told us about a duel that Andrew Jackson was in wherein he cheated and killed the other guy. 
We were not surprised about that.
As I said to my grandson, "He was a son of a bitch." 
I felt fairly sure of my facts in that statement. 

And so it went. I stopped by Costco on my way home for avocados and cherry tomatoes and a few other necessities including some face cream which is absolutely going to erase years from my skin. 
It will be a miracle! 
Of course I don't believe that but what the heck? You gotta put something on your face before you go to bed. A girl needs something fun like new face moisturizer now and then. 
Am I right? 

Glen's been having a time of it and I haven't even discussed the tooth that caused him pain all weekend and probably a lot longer than that. He does not bitch about pain so if he even mentions it, I know it must be pretty bad. He hasn't had a regular dentist in quite awhile so I sent him to my dentist, the young and lovely Dr. Jones who took over my old, longtime dentist's practice when he retired, and he liked her fine and today she pulled the tooth that hurt and so that was a relief. He is now on a journey to take better care of his teeth and I am very proud of him. He spent so much time in a dentist's chair as a child and in college that he has avoided dentists as much as possible but it's time to man-up and get this done. 
He decided that what he needed after the extraction was a little water therapy and so he is out on the St. Marks river, fishing for bass and loving his life. 
Here are two videos he sent me which absolutely belong in the OMGitswicks category of Only in Florida.

And this one has manatees in it. 

So I guess he's had about the perfect day. 
Well, except for having to get a tooth pulled. 

He just got home so I guess I'll go heat him up some soft food. 

And by the way- I did not get the kitchen mopped AGAIN! 
Tomorrow. I swear. Tomorrow. 

Love...Ms. Moon

And yet another P.S. 

The link to the video of the Oprah episode Hank was on can be found HERE. 

Oh my heart. 

Thank you, Anonymous. So much.