Earth Day

Over the past several years I have been doing what I can to cut back on my waste and to help the environment. Each year I try to cut back more and more. Last week as I reached up for a roll of paper towels it hit me. I thought about the amount of waste I use each year with paper towels. Why waste the paper? And more important why waste the money in buying paper towels. It is all foolish, if you ask me. My Mother has supplied me with enough dish rags and towels to last a life time. So no more paper towels for me. And before you say it, I will not be washing any additional loads of laundry to wash the dish towels. I will just throw in the dish towels in with my regular laundry and use no additional water. It all seems very simple and everyone should try to do it. And in addition, I have started using cloth napkins as well. It looks like my Mom has set me up with lots of cloth napkins as well. Go Green!

Plumbing

So over the holiday weekend my plumbing started acting up. I tried fixing it myself with out any luck what so ever. So this morning I called a plumber. I was expecting the normal crap you have to deal with here in Charleston. With plumbers, contractors and such, you normally have a really hard time getting someone to show up. I can not tell you how many times I have had someone make an appointment with me and then they don’t show up.

This morning the first company I called told me they could have someone out to my house in eight minutes. I was floored. This has never happened. I guessing it is because of the economic bad times. They must not have any work so they jumped at the chance to fix my plumbing.

Now he is working away to fix my problem. Let’s just hope this gets done fast. They charge $100.00 an hour. I need to go back to school to become a plumber.

Rosebank Farms

I have joined a CSA, which is a community supported agriculture program or in this case a vegetable and herb share. Each week I receive a delivery of locally grown herbs and vegetables straight off the farm. I am really exited about this program. It is a great way for me to get fresh vegetables. It is much cheaper than buying from a grocery store. And I am able to support my local farm community. What a great program.

The CSA that I joined is Rosebank Farms, which is a traditional southern farm located just outside of Charleston on John’s Island. Along with the vegetable and herb share, they also offer a cheese and flower share. I did not purchase the cheese and flower share but I am able to add items from their store to be added to my box each week if I wish.

This first week’s delivery consisted of mesclun, arugula, turnips, onions, spinach, and strawberries and as a bonus a couple of eggs and a sample of goat cheese. Along with the vegetables each week I will receive recipes to give me ideas of what to cook.

I am really excited about this. I have been talking about this for weeks now and it is finally here. I am running around like a kid in a candy shop.

The Next Chapter

Looking back over my blog over the past year has really allowed me to see how much I have grown with my glass work. I am amazed at how far I have come with this artistic journey in my life. From the classes I have taken or just trial and error (and there have been many errors), I have really learned a lot.

For me it is never easy to settle on one thing for very long. I am very hyper and my mind wanders and jumps from thing to thing. Maybe it is because I am getting older or maybe it is just because I found something that suits me, but I really like working with glass and I see myself doing this for a very long time to come. I am glad I have stuck with it. I really am starting more and more to feel like an artist each and every day.

One thing that really fascinates me about this past year is the changes I have seen in my thought patterns. I have started thinking differently. I literally walk around and see patterns that I want to reproduce in glass. Often there are times where an idea haunts me till I jot it down on paper or reproduce it in glass. All of this is very exciting and some time irritating because I am not able to cut it off.

Tomorrow night I start a new class at Blue Heron and I will be making some type of glass sculpture. Already I have all kinds of ideas in my head about what I want to make. I am very excited to see where this new chapter will take me.

The Vet

Today I had to take my dog Gypsy to the vet for her annual check up. I arrived early so that I could beat the crowds and sign in first. There is nothing worse then sitting in a waiting room full of people and their pets, while my dog barks and causes trouble at every move and sound that is made.

Shortly after I settled into the waiting room three more people arrived with their pets. The first was a lady with a very cute and hyper long haired dachshund. She was a very nice lady who kept asking me all kinds of questions about Gypsy, also being a dachshund, while her little dog kept running all over the waiting room trying to get Gypsy’s attention. The entire time I kept Gypsy in my hands to prevent her from attacking the dog. Gypsy did not find that little dog cute at all. She kept looking up at me and telling me that she really wanted to get down so she could beat that dog up and show him who really was the cutest one here.

The second person to arrive was a very quiet young lady with a dog that was just a big white ball of hair. She sat quietly in the far corner of the room holding her dog in her lap. Her dog must have been suffering from some type of allergy, because it just constantly made this snorting and sniffling sound that I could hear all the way over on my side of the room.

The third person to arrive was an elderly lady with great big bushy red and gray hair sticking out all over her head. Her hair was held back from her face by these large plastic 1960’s looking framed glasses. When she entered she made a big entrance that got everyone’s attention. In one hand she held a cane and the other a small pet carrier that held a sick cat. With out a free hand she had some trouble getting in the door and banged herself, the cat, and the cane around in making her entrance.

After talking with the ladies at the counter for some time, the red haired lady sat down just across from me and placed her cat, still in its carrier, to her side. She never really spoke to me but looked up often and smiled.

As I sat in my chair struggling to keep Gypsy under control and trying to prevent her from attacking the hyper little dachshund, the red haired lady began to laugh at me. There I sat saying over and over, “Gypsy behave, and be a good girl!” The red haired lady continued to laugh and at one point called out, “Gypsy get him, get him Gypsy.” I looked up and smiled but secretly was thinking that this was great, all I needed was some one to encourage Gypsy’s bad behavior.

A short time later the doctor came out and spoke to the red haired lady. I over heard him tell her that there was nothing more he could do for her cat and that it was his time to go. It would seem that over the last week she had made several trips to the vet to try to get her cat healthy, but he was old and very sick. The red haired lady looked up at the doctor and shook her head and said, “Yes it is his time.” The Doctor asked if she would like to come back to the room with her cat. She declined and said she could not handle that. She handed over her cat to the doctor and watched him leave the room. She sat very quite and poised for a few seconds and then broke down in tears as she buried her face into her hands.

All went quiet and still in that waiting room. You could hear every heart, pet and human, break at that very moment. After a few seconds the red haired lady stood up and straightened her dress. She removed her glasses from the top of her head and her hair went flying all over the place. Glancing over at me one last time, she smiled and then left the room.

I looked over at the two other people in the waiting room and saw them sobbing from this sad moment. I hugged Gypsy tight and kissed her on her head as I glanced out the window and saw the red haired lady drive off. At that very moment the veterinarian assistant called my name to come back. As I walked over, I wiped the tears from my face and said to the veterinarian assistant, “You have perfect timing.”