Fred and Ginger watching

I have two new additions to my family. Two squirrels that have taken up residence in the oak tree in my front yard. Over the seven years that I have lived here many squirrels have hung around my yard and in the park across the street from my house, but none have been so friendly and brave as these two squirrels. I have named them Fred and Ginger. They will run right up to you with no fear in them at all. I think they are very cute and they are so so frisky. All day long they run and play. It is a trip how fast they circle the tree as the chase each other. I love to sit and watch them. I even don't mind that they are eating out of my bird feeder. I hope these guys stick around for a while.

k

Lesson Learned!

OK so I have been doing my apple cider vinegar rinses and I will say it does work. My condition has been improving. I am sold that this will be a good thing. I had a busy weekend so I did not get my rinse done on Sunday as planned. This morning I got up early and decided I would do it before work. I had read that once your hair dries you will not have a problem with the smell. So I was not concerned. And all during work I did not have any problems at all. At one point I even asked people if they could smell anything and everyone said no. After work I came home feed the dogs and then went straight to the gym. That is where it happened, once I started working up a sweat I could taste the vinegar on my face and then the smell hit. It was not long before Michael who I work out with could smell it as well. He told me I smelled like I was dyeing Easter eggs. So lesson learned......don't work up a sweat until you have washed your hair with a good shampoo when you have done an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse. It was not a good thing.

My Body PH

Some how during the course of my hectic life I have thrown my body chemistry a little off whack. Yesterday was an indicator of how bad my body chemistry has gotten. Over the last couple of weeks I have developed a bad case of dandruff. Yesterday my head was just one big itch. It was driving me crazy. It was not an itch like I had stuff crawling around up there, it was more internal.

I started doing some research on line and discovered that dandruff can be caused by a series of issues. The main one being stress. Stress can really kill you. Bacteria is another cause of dandruff. Who knew that we have a fungus among us on our heads that was caused by bacteria? Another cause was simply our body pH is off balance.

From the research I found that Apple Cider Vinegar is the cure for all my troubles. It seems that the vinegar can help correct my body pH and if it is a bacteria problem it can correct that as well. Last night I went to the store and purchased some Apple Cider Vinegar. I made an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse and after washing my hair I slowly pour the rinse over my head and messaged it in. After letting it sit for five minutes I washed out my hair. This morning, I am feeling much better. I still have a slight itch but it is so much better than yesterday. I am going to repeat the treatment tonight and see where that goes.

I will keep you posted to how things go. Right now I am loving some Apple Cider Vinegar.

k

Enchanted April

I Just finished reading the book Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim for my book club. When Joe selected this book for the club I was very excited. I thought it would take me back to my vacation in Italy. It is almost two years ago that I left for Rome. For fifteen days it was a non stop adventure exploring the beautiful cities and villages of Italy.

I simply fell in love with Italy and its people. Even though my trip was non stop I found a sense of peace and calmness. I can see why so many people have written about escaping to Italy. If I could, I would pick up and move there in a flash.

The book Enchanted April is all about four women who answer and add in the paper to rent a villa in Italy for a month. The women are strangers and all have one thing in common. Along the way in their life they have lost themselves and have lost love in their lives. I love the cattiness and bitchiness of the women as their personalities clash at first. Then it happens, Italy takes over and their lives change forever. With out a doubt, this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I recommend it, you should read it.

While reading the book some interesting things happened. First I found out that the author once lived here in Charleston. In fact she spent her last days in "The Holy City," this is where she died. In addition, we just found out that the Village Theater is doing the play version of the book at the end of the month. I have already purchased my tickets. It is interesting how the universe works sometimes. There are just so many connections in life, often you just have to look for them. I wonder what my enchanted April holds for me?

k

The After

I got the call from Blue Heron Studio today about my last two pieces I dropped off last week. This was a call of mixed blessings. I was told that one piece was ready while the other they wanted me to look at, there had been some trouble with it. I am still in the learning stages so I expect to make some mistakes. That is all a part of growing and learning something new. Both pieces had some issues with them. The yellow piece looks great but it has some glue marks on it. I got a little heavy handed with the glue and it did not completely burn off. It still is a great looking platter.

As for the White piece, something I used in the cleaning processes left a residue on the glass. They are going to sand blast it to see if that will correct the problem. The design of this one is my favorite so far. I can not wait to pick it up. Wish me luck!

Here's to the learning process

k

The Before

Yesterday I felt pretty creative so I worked with my glass. Before all was done, I had created two pieces. I really enjoy this process of being creative. I walk around during the course of my day and images pop into my head of the patterns and designs I would like to create. I need to start walking around with a pad so I can sketch out my designs so I do not forget them.

After work tomorrow I will take the two pieces by the glass studio to be fused. What happens is I create the design and then pay the glass studio to fire the pieces in the kiln for me. The glass goes through two firings. The first firing is the fusing of the glass. There are also two types of fusings. You have tack fusing where you will end up with a bumpy glass. The two pieces do not completely melt into each other. The other type of fusing is called full fusing where you heat the glass up enough so that they melt into one sheet of glass. After that has been done and the glass cools down you go through the slumping phase. This is second firing where you take your glass and place it on top of a mold. It is then heated again in the kiln long enough so that it takes the shape of the mold.

I am slowly learning and getting more and more creative with each piece I create. The two photos shown in this blog show how the two pieces I have made look before I have sent them to be fired. I will do a full fuse on these and slump them into a small platter. Glass is not always predictable, a lot of variation can occur. And glass can change color once it is heated up, so the color you start off with could end up being something else.

Once I pick up the pieces from the studio I will show you what the end result turned out to be.

k

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday and what a good Friday it is. I did not have to go into work. I slept till 9:00 am. It is spring, sunny, and absolutely beautiful outside. The temperature is supposed to get up to 71 degrees today. What a great day!

I feel very rested this morning. I needed that extra sleep. I want to work outside today in my garden if I get the chance. Yesterday when I got home from work I started in the back yard, but I have a lot of work. There are weeds every where. I was lazy last year and let things go and I guess I will pay for it this year. Spring has sprung around my neighborhood. The Azaleas are in full bloom and all the trees are budding. Color is popping up every where.

My Plum tree is absolutely incredible looking. It is simply full of flowers. I think this year I might try to make plum jams and preserves. Not sure exactly what the difference is between jam, jellies, and preserves but I plan I making one or some of them. I will have to ask my grandmother for her recipes when I see her this Sunday for Easter.

Well I am off to start the day. Have a great Good Friday!