NEW YEAR, NEW BLOG FORMAT

As one of my goals for the new year, I aspire to write one blog post per week (Unless I start back to school, get sick, deam any other excuse worthy, or just don’t feel like it 😝). I’ve come up with 4 categories that my blog subjects will fall under: 

1) Hobby Happenings

2) Passion for Repurpose  

 3) Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Healthiness

4) Oh My Garden. 

There may be a 5th or 6th category at some point but these are the only ones I am certain about. This will give you an idea of the content and you can decide if you want to follow or skip a particular subject. If you skip one though, you’ll be missing a good time. Guaranteed. 

Today’s topic will be Hobby Happenings! I got to go visit the art studio with my friend Chris this week. I learned all about the process for throwing clay, drying, green firing, glazing, and bisque firing. They have some really beautiful glazes there! Chris had a guest pass so I was able to use a pottery wheel and practice. And practice is exactly what I need tons more of because all I made was a mess and food for the failure bucket. The studio is being renovated and there was a man there painting, who came into clean his brush once every five minutes. I’m going to blame him being a distraction on my inability to center my clay, and also for the destruction of every piece I took over after Chris centered it for me. Yesterday, Philip and I were talking about getting out the wheel so we watched a video on YouTube where the guy was teaching how to practice pulling walls on a cylinder and his motto was to “pull it til you wreck it” so that you can learn, and not worry about making anything. I am advanced in the “pull it til you wreck it” department. I have that part DOWN. I need a lesson on “stop touching it or you will ruin it.” Guess I’ll just keep practicing. It was nice throwing at the art center, making a mess somewhere other than my kitchen, even though I still had to clean it up. Their clean up supplies are more readily accessible than mine. Even though I wore an apron, I still managed to cover my jeans in clay 🤷🏻‍♀️. When I’m at home I have an ugly orange towel that I use to cover my pants but I recently bought this super cool apron to wear also. 

Not only is it adorable, my purchase provided 17 bowls of food to shelter dogs, making it even cooler! If you love paw prints, check out www.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com 

They have lots of cute items! 

Once Chris dropped me off at my car, where I met her to ride down together, I was driving home and heard the worst radio commercial I’ve heard in a while. It’s a Charmin jingle that goes, “My hiney, so Charmin shiny”……….seriously? Is having a shiny hiney an admirable quality these days? I have never been shopping for toilet paper and thought, “I wonder which brand can get my hiney shiny?” The thought has just never crossed my mind. Now I’m afraid I’m behind the times. I didn’t know I should be opting to buy a bathroom tissue that strives for luster. If Charmin actually achieves this feat, I believe they are selling themselves short!

Another radio commercial that I absolutely detest, and not because it speaks of insurmountable acts, is the Xtreme Yamaha, Suzuki, Polaris, Can-Am commercials. Every time I hear, “It’s time for your Xtreme bike break of the day…” I say, out loud, to just myself usually, “NO IT’S NOT!” and change the station. Every. Time. Those commercials have been on the air for over a decade. I can’t take listening to them. They make my ears want to bleed. Or rather, they make me want to stab myself in the ears, which will make them bleed. Same thing. 

From thinking about those two commercials I started wondering about commercials during my childhood, if they were any better or, at least, more creative back then. I thought of a few, like the Folger’s jingle, and the Doublemint one. Neither of which was mind-blowing but they didn’t talk about shining butts either, so there’s that. Smokey the Bear was popular back then, teaching us to prevent forest fires—pretty important stuff. Nowadays we just have to be continually reminded not to eat Tide laundry pods. I googled some older commercial jingles and I came across the Oscar Meyer and Armour hot dog ones. Both of these were a little before my time but I do know them because we sang them during a choir performance when I was in third grade. Your guess is as good as mine as to why. It was part of a mash-up that included parts about the Hatfields and McCoys (with a pretend feud) , “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” and Johnny Cash’s “Daddy Sang Bass,” among others. Thinking of that now, I realize that’s an odd assortment. At the time I was just excited to be on the McCoy’s side during the “feud” because my Nother Nan’s grandma’s last name was McCoy so it only seemed right 🤷🏻‍♀️😂. In sixth grade choir we sang a song about a whale that consisted of three words: “Oh,” “Whale,” and “Blub.” Philip loves when I sing that one to him 😉. I quit choir after sixth grade, which is unfortunate because I have a feeling I would  have even more strange anecdotes to share, had I not. Oh wait, I do have one more. I had the greatest music teacher, Mr. Ensinger, and he had a great song about where to put the trash. It went, “The trash goes in the trash can. The trash goes in the trash can. The trash goes in the trash can. The trash. goes. in the. trash. can.,” with the last line being more pointed than the others. I’m not sure that he actually had to finish the whole song, typically. We usually got the hint when  he started singing it. This song commonly accompanied Music Bingo, where winners got to choose Jolly Ranchers from a gallon ice cream bucket. He was a brilliant teacher, and super funny, obviously.

Speaking of teachers, last month I was unloading things in my trunk to donate to the FRN for the free community distribution and someone said hello to me and called me by name. That person was Mr. Smittle, a teacher who subbed when I was in elementary school and who taught a class at the community college that I took over ten years ago. I was truly honored that he remembered my name, when I know he has taught hundreds, maybe thousands of students in his lifetime. He is such a sweet man. He even helped me carry my boxes into the building, making two trips, and it was like 10 degrees outside. You never know when a small act like that will really warm someone’s heart so always do the kind thing, even if you think they won’t care ❤️. 

Anyway, this post got VERY off topic 😂. This is what you’re in for with a weekly post. Less content, more babbling. But hey, you get what you pay for 😉. 

I made a few new necklaces this week. I have a hard time listing them for sale because I love every one that I make! 😂 I bought a set of alphabet stamps to use on my clay pendants so I will now be able to personalize them with an initial. I’m excited to try them out. Although, I’m slightly concerned because the font is American Typewriter and I had a hard time deciphering whether one was a Z or a K (I’m aware that they look nothing alike), so hopefully they turn out recognizable. 

The lighting in my house is terrible so these pictures don’t do them justice. Should’ve used my light box! 😡

That’s all the Hobby Happenings I can give you right now so here’s a pic of Sansa, to wish you a good night. May you sleep as peacefully as this dog, but in a different position so that your arm doesn’t go to sleep.