More nature with Finn and hanging with Reese

Finn and Reese came over for a while Thursday morning.  Here Reese does her kewpie doll impression.

Finn and I came across a little snake in the woods.  A very little snake.

And Reese "enjoyed" a lunch of grated cheese, blueberries, and goldfish.

A short walk for Reese; a wildlife encounter; and dinner with the Raymers

Reese and Finn came over for a while yesterday to play.

Here is Reese dressed in school picture finery.

 

Here is a short walk by Reese, really short.

We headed out for a nature walk.  Well, as natural as the sidewalk on the other side of the street can be.

Wildlife was roaming the neighborhood.

We stopped for a closer look.  Reese held onto Finnley's hair, apparently to enhance her balance.

In the evening, we went to the Raymers' home for dinner with Wahn, Gloria, and Adrian.   

At 19 1/2 months, he is active, mobile, and precious

Gloria looked glamorous with her newly short hair and a lovely little baby bump.

On a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Mike and I are home doing homely things, purporting to get ready for the beach in two weeks.  The morning was more fun with a trip to Finnley's soccer game.  He has come a long way in this season, playing much of the game.

Here Finn fends off a defender as he drives for the goal.

Note the intense focus on the ball.
Rebecca enjoys Reese's enjoyment of her brother's game.
Finn breaks past the defense and heads for goal again.
And he scores!

Thursday -- more pottery.

As our current pottery class draws to a finish, we are concentrating on glazing for a few days. Here Mike sprays glaze onto a vessel she threw and carved.

This teapot has had a yellow glaze sprayed on it.  I first brushed a green glaze on the handle and feet and the handle of the lid, then covered them with wax to repel the sprayed glaze.  

Pottery class today

Here is Mike outside the studio sanding a piece in preparation for it being fired the first time.  The sanding needs to be done outdoors, and the sander needs to wear a mask, because the very fine clay dust is hazardous to lungs.

Here is a piece with the glaze on it, waiting to be fired.  This piece was thrown as a bowl, then altered to have corners.  It was dipped in one glaze, then had a pattern painted on in wax, then was sprayed with a second glaze which was wiped off the wax.

This bowl was carved after it was partially dry.  It was sprayed with a single glaze.  At this point, every piece we glaze is a test piece and we are anxious to see the results of our experiments.

Our last assignment in this class was to create a set of something with four parts.  I made two teacups and saucers in a flower design to match a teapot I made that is made like a gourd.

This shelf of work is waiting for glazing.  The orange stuff is a wax which keeps the glaze off the bottom of the pots.  Any glaze that is on the bottom or that runs down the piece onto the shelf of the kiln will attach the pot to the shelf -- bad for the pot, bad for the shelf.  In the center is the teapot that goes with the two cups and saucers.  Although they are presently different colors, they are made with the same clay and the cups and saucers will be as white as the teapot after their first firing.

After pottery class, we came home for baked chicken, pesto couscous, and a salad, eaten at the table on the porch.

The centerpiece of our lunch table was this set of wooden fruit which long graced the McCluskey's dining room table.

A picture of Finn and of pottery in progress

After his soccer game Saturday, we took Finn to the park for a while.

Here is Mike today at the community center studio where we take classes.  She is working on one of a set of four plates.

And this object, the purpose of which has yet to be determined, is ready for a final smoothing before its first firing.

Max at work

Here is Max, apparently working with a spreadsheet.

photo credit:  Ben

All pretense of maintaining a chronological record of eventual archeological importance is hereby abandoned in favor of hit and miss ramblings. 

Here is Reese on the little bench on our porch one day this past week.

GOAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!

Finnley at his soccer game this morning.