Sunday, December 26, 2010

The Morning After

I wasn't going to post anything until the new year, but I read Jim Gottuso's post about Sophia and the princess syndrome, and I thought some of the potters that read my blog could appreciate what I got for Christmas, so a post it is. I woke up really early this morning, the snow is still coming down, I don't even know how many inches we have but it's a lot! We drove to Charlotte yesterday for dinner with Gerry's family, and drove home last night in pouring snow. It was really beautiful to see all of the houses along the roads with their Christmas lights and the snow in the fields. All is quiet in my house this morning. Gerry was sick all day yesterday, runny nose, cold ick, Wesley started running a fever and by the time we got home she was pretty sick too. The both of them are still in bed and probably will be all day. What a way to spend your Christams day, but the two of them made the best of it, although I know they didn't really feel good. It looks as though our dog may have had a stroke while we were gone. He is walking crooked and looks a bit confused, but seems happy, tail is wagging and he is eating, he is just crooked. I can't get the car out to get him to a vet, but I don't think he is in any pain, he is just getting very old.
So about the Christmas presents. We had a big fun Christmas morning. I got an air compressor so that I can spray my glazes on for Raku and I got a triple beam scale so I can finally measure my own chemicals and stop going up to the Artscenter every time I need to make a glaze. I had thought about getting a digital scale, but the triple beam is so old school and I like that, plus I don't trust anything with electronics these days, everything is being made to break so you have to buy another one. I think the triple beam will last a life time. I also got a photo cube so I can get my pictures right for Etsy now. I had quite the pottery Christmas. The backpack is Wesley's. Not exactly the most girly gifts, but gifts that both of us will use for a very long time. This leads me to the previous mention of Jim's post. Wesley went through the princess phase too, but we got her to snap out of it pretty fast and this Christmas she got a backpack and tent. We plan to take her out west and backpack when she graduates high school this year. My mom wanted me to be a girly girl and tried her best, but I was always climbing trees and skateboarding. My poor mom didn't get it at all yesterday when I told her I got an air compressor and a scale. Poor woman. When Wes was born, she tried to make her a girly girl too, that didn't work either. It's funny because my mom is the most girly girl I know, and Wes and I are having no part of it.
Santa pitched the tent in our living room and Wesley stayed in there all day. Those of you that have been to my house know how tiny my living room is, so you know that this tent took up the entire floor space. It was crazy trying to get around in there but a lot of fun to have a tent sitting in the middle of the room.
I hope all of you had a great time with your families. Yesterday was a bit rough, having to leave in the afternoon and travel for 2 1/2 hours, eat, open more gifts, drive back home in the snow, all the while with two of us sick. Today will be more restful, can't get out, and we have plenty of food, so I'm going to lay around and watch movies all day with a pot of soup on the stove.
Happy Holidays!!!

11 comments:

cookingwithgas said...

Merry day after- and I know about those girls who become their own- relax about it and enjoy because soon enough you wish for a day of princess!
We are having our own snow adventure!
And i have a couple of days of baby squeezing! OMG- she is really her own person at 7 months but that does not stop my sone's wife for getting her the best bright pink tutu with a bow!

Love your gifts- you are in business now!

Linda Starr said...

A scale, cool, the snow looks pretty.

Hollis Engley said...

Great stuff, Tracey. I do love the old school triple balance scale. Mine has a weight that keep falling off ... Snow just coming down here, with predictions all over the map for the next couple of days.

John Bauman said...

Love the triple balance scale. Mine is 33 years old and still going strong. No batteries (a little assault, when it once fell to the ground and bent the main platform).

The first thing you'll do with it...

...I mean, besides running around the house finding dinky things to weigh ("...hey, did you know that a dust bunny made entirely of dog hair still weighs more than a postage stamp?!")...

...the first thing you'll do is find a one gallon plastic bucket to put on the scale (because it will hold more powdered chemical than the scoop will) and spend a half hour making a counter balance for it (by wiring washers together and making a hook on one end).

You'll also make yourself a wooden stick with a hole in it so you can rap the bottom (I suggest using a nice latin rhythm) of that bucket (or the scoop) to get it to release the last of the chemicals from the bottom. The hole in the stick is so you can forever hang it by the scale so it's there when you need it. You should decorate the stick with magic marker....or a wood burner if you have one.

Come up with an incantation to write on the stick -- something about the whole of these glazes surpassing the sum of their parts would be good.

Oh yeah. Oops. This is your blog I've been rambling on. Heh.

Merry Christmas, and happy weighing and spraying

Tracey Broome said...

Hy guys and Merry Christmas to you early after Christmas bloggers! John! Use a stainless steel bowl and there is no need to rap on the plastic bucket, unless of course you just want to rap out a rhythm, then it's ok :) and yes, I already measured a tablespoon of salt, a coupon from the grocery store and a book of poetry. I have a tare balance so I think I'll be ok without the washer thingys, but good ideas, all of them!

John Bauman said...

"...and a book of poetry"

Oh! Oh! ...you can determine once and for all if e.e.cummings is truly lighter than John Donne! You can tell me if Joyce "I think that I shall never see..." Kilmer actually weighs anything, or if it requires moving the tare toward the book just to register any weight.

The metaphysical questions you could answer with that scale of yours would be staggering if they weren't so, you know, ethereal.

Tracey Broome said...

:)) :)) :))
So funny! I got Wesley an anthology of poetry and they are all in there. her favorite right now is William Carlos Williams, will have to see what we can weigh out for him!

andrea gardiner freeman said...

I hope you all feel better soon... just getting over a vicious cold that I had for 3 WEEKS!!! I thought it would never go away!!!

Peace to you and yours. I am so excited to get some testing going and getting some work I want to post ;o)

Lori Buff said...

I'm really enjoying John's comments. Thanks.

I hope you all feel better and have a great New Years

FetishGhost said...

The tried and true trusty triple beam in the studio. Life will never be the same... Now you'll start chemistry hoarding.

Anonymous said...

hi tracey, wes is definitely giving me hope. not only is she not a girly girl but she's a musician to boot. we got the bug an electronic piano... a not so subtle hint. nice compressor! i have a compressor but no place really to spray, i tried it out when i first got a sprayer and inhaled a cloud of copper carb glaze. as far as the scale i'm ambivalent. i have both triple beam and digital. i love the digital but it's max weight is 1 pound so making large batches with it is tedious to say the least.