The bestest things happen while I'm away!

We've been back since Tuesday evening but it feels like so far away. Once again, I've almost no photos to show for our trip to Wisconsin. But I think that has more to do with being there with Peter's family and affirming all of that family love. Cameras really have no place for me when you are loving up the people you haven't see for a long time, some of them years. It was a beautiful trip and I do so so love those people! That photo up there taken from the wind screen of our car pretty much sums up where we were. Deep woods, family roots. Just incredible!

And here's where I am at today. My son phoned while we were in Wisconsin. He and his fiance are getting married when he's home on mid deployment leave. I am over the moon happy!!!!! But so much to do. October, a beautiful month, but only a wee while away. So off I am to phone Tammy and start the arrangements. The first of my children married! Oh I just can not wait. Happy!

Where did the week go?

This week flew by with me in bed most of the time with allergy related migraines. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, I am completely useless. Yesterday, I spent a little time transferring some drawings to copper and brass in an ugly process I will never use again. But I did get to try out the etchant formula that Barbara Lewis posted on her blog some time ago. Its great stuff and I think I like it even better than the Radio Shack  environmentally nasty stuff. Best thing about this formula is it is easy to get the ingredients and easy to store.

We are off to the wilds of far far north Wisconsin tomorrow. Did I really think that a 6 am flight to Minneapolis was a good idea?  It's a quick weekend trip for a family reunion and a memorial service for my husband's uncle. He died some months ago but the family decided to do the memorial service this summer up where he grew up and where they have a cabin. It's kind of a bittersweet trip. We'll see family that we haven't seen for a long time but saying good bye to Uncle Stan is a little hard. On the other hand I can't think of a more special place to celebrate his life. So many beautiful family memories have been gathered up at that cabin on the lake.

We'll be back early Tuesday. See you then!

The Good, the Bad, and the Down Right Ugly

Good

Bad

Ugly

I've been working with some new glazes and for the most part, I am happy. But you know, sometimes no matter how much testing you do things just don't come out right. For example look at those nasty glaze drips up there. Might be somewhat interesting on the rim of a pot but not on the bottom of these pendants. And then there is the just plain ugly, what was I thinking, kind of glazing. Oh, well live and learn. There is always another kiln load to look forward to.

Now lets talk about down right ugly. I live in West Texas. July is hot, dry, sunny, and arid. What's up with the 75% humidity, gray skies, thunderstorms, and intermittent rain? This is market weekend. Oh wait, I live in West Texas. The weather is unpredictable. Whew, I'm glad I got that one figured out.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Look what happened while I was away!

I had such a wonderful time in Portland with my friend Susan and her partner! Not one picture to show for it. Too busy catching up and being together. I've come home to such happy news.

My daughter is engaged!

The story goes like this. They were getting ready to go hiking and Derek heads to the basement to get some gear. He comes back up a few minutes later with his camera case and hands it to my daughter. She opens it and inside is a camera. Not just any camera, but the camera that Sarah has been wanting. She is puzzeled...he says it's an early birthday present. Let me show you a cool feature that it has. And there it is...a photograph of his hand written proposal.  Down on one knee, out comes the ring.

I am over the moon happy for them!!!!!

Quietly soothing

I find wire wrapping quietly soothing. Each wrap, tight against the next, three times, three layers of wrapping. Quietly thinking about what the pieces might become. It's a little like meditation. I can empty my mind just by focussing on my hands. It is soothing.

I woke up to the pleasure of an email from my son. His package arrived! Only 12 days. There was a photo of a ring he is having made for his girl friend, an engagement ring. I am smiling.

There are few words in this email about what is happening in his life. Just facts really. Two more soldiers gone this week. One a medic like my son, caught in small arms fire on the FOB, a 'safe' place. Eight gone in five weeks. It's getting hard to stay positive. I don't listen to the news anymore. It all seems so impersonal. I go back to wire wrapping.

I'll be on a bit of break from my blog over the next week. I'm leaving for Portland in the middle of the week to visit with one of my dearest friends. The timing couldn't be better. Except that I have my monthly market 3 days after I come back. Lots to do before leaving. So I'll be a busy girl all week. That's good, keeps me from thinking too much about things I can not change.

Have a lovely week end and a great week. 

Letting Go

I like to be in control. I like perfect circles. I like things all lined up neat and orderly. I compulsively straighten pictures on the wall. I'll even do it on your walls. Just not when you are looking.

Yesterday, I was making bronze components for a necklace I wanted to make. I wanted something other than jumprings to connect chain to a strung portion. The clay wouldn't behave. And then I looked at what I thought was a perfect mess and said to myself, it's OK to let go of perfection. Perfectly, imperfect. Isn't that really how life is?

Obviously, I haven't let go of symetrical. There's always tomorrow for that.

Thanks, everyone for your warm thoughts and support while I find my way through my son's deployment. So many lovely kind people I have gotten to know through this blog and yours.

Small Things, Tiny Moments

I worked a lot this weekend. I etched, cut, domed, drilled and made many small things. Work is what I do when I have things that I need to work out in my mind. If my hands are busy I don't become overwhelmed with difficult things.

A couple of weeks ago, the FRG from Fort Cambell called, really just to let me know they are there if I had questions. They also told me that the 5 soldiers who died when their truck was hit by an IED were not from my son's unit. He was OK. I knew he was OK because one of the things you get used to when you have a family member deployed is that the first people to know about death of a soldier is the immediate next of kin. And you know that between 10pm and 6am, there will be no knock on the door. So you can relax then.

I'm always relieved when I know my son is alright but at the same time I have terrible feelings of guilt that he is alright but a mother, wife, child is greiving the loss of their loved one. I know this is normal. I work through it. I've been through this before, many times.

My son phoned early Saturday morning. I had only just gotten out of bed. We chatted about normal mundane daily life. How's the chow? How are the dogs? What's your new duty assignment? He's a medic and does evacuation. I'm relieved at this point that he's not doing dismounted patrol this time around. I mentioned the call from the FRG and that we knew the 5 soldiers were not from his unit. It's so hard to get news out of Afghanistan. But it's not true. My son evacuated the bodies and they lost another soldier last week.

One month on the ground in Kunar province and they've lost 6 already. As a family we've been through this before. You cope. You live with the fear. You look forward to those few precious moments when you can chat. I know the toll being a medic in a war zone took on my son. I also know how strong he is and that he will get through this time too.

But as I got off the phone, all I could think of was the last time I saw my son. He said, Mummy, let me give you a hug in case I don't see you again. He meant before I left for home early the next day. But still, that hug lingers there in my memory. I cherish it.

As I worked through my thoughts and emotions this weekend, it became important to me to make some sort of sense out of the little scraps of metal in my tray. I started making smaller and smaller pendants with tiny little glass beads. I was making order out of a chaos of conflicting thoughts and emotions. I saw life as a series of moments and the little pieces I made were a tiny testimonial to how special those moments are. Each moment is unique but added together they make a life.

This one is on a silver chain around my neck right now. A reminder to embrace the tiny moments that are life.