A thoroughly enjoyable Easter

This is the third Easter since I moved into my own home. Yet again, the weeks fell in such a way that the kids were not here for the holiday. This seems to happen too often for the odds. In the past I have not anticipated any upset, but then found myself struggling - missing them very much indeed.

So I was a little nervous facing the 4 days of Easter. I needn't have been as I have had a simply lovely weekend.

Friday I was expecting guests in the evening but felt quite ill in the morning so it started very slowly while I waited to feel better. Eventually I just got up and got stuck into cleaning. Bathrooms, kids bedrooms, tidying up all my pottery bits. But I will be honest - I can't for the life of me remember what I did that used up all that time!

Let me think.......hmmm.... swept the veranda...ah.. who know?

The stitching ladies came after tea and the rest of my day was woven with Mark's.

Saturday was a lot more fun though. As soon as Mark fell asleep (which he did quite early as the poor lamb has had a very horrible cold) I leapt out of bed, and packed up my pottery bits, sorted - as in 'fed' - all the beasts (one dog, 6 canaries) and headed over to Watson.

I arrived to find the glazing shed locked. I trotted back to the gallery and asked the lady working there if she would be able to unlock it. She was a mixture of dubious and friendly but fortunately decided to act in my favour when I let her know I had done the safety course and had emailed the office but got no reply when I asked if the facilities would be available. She didn't like to send me all the way home (really not so far in my terms).

Poh with a missing hand

So once in the shed I got very happy. I lined up all my friends and tried to pick colours to finish them. Sometimes I stood and stared at them. Sometimes I stood and stared at all the sample colours. Thinking and imagining.

Chris came through, busy with his own work, and commented that it was good to see I was using my work health and safety lesson. He was lured closer. I suspect because I was standing still pondering Poh. What to do with him.

Chris offered the advice that I would probably do best if I sprayed him given the issues I had with uneven glaze application. I am too much of a  beginner. I have hardly glazed anything let alone sprayed anything. However he has offered to give me some tips on spraying when he has time. For a while I considered leaving Poh until I had more experience but finally decided to go ahead and finish him ala beginner. I may take Chris up on his kind offer when I build Better Poh.

I settled in an had a lot of fun. A load of little cups I filled with glaze, a string of creatures and I painted and fiddled for three hours. I chatted with Maryke who was wet-vaccing the classroom. I explain to the regulars that I am a boots and all beginner.

At the end of three hours I had a bunch of friends ready for firing.

Looking at the photo I can see things that bother me. The girls on the far right are white with glaze. The garden sprite is not white. They should be the same. If one is right another must therefore be wrong....eeek?

After all this fun, I headed to Fyshwick to buy Bill's birthday present. And some clothes from my favourite store (50% off) and new sheets and doona cover to celebrate Mark's imminent arrival.

What an excellent day????

Then Sunday. More fun! But I already wrote about that :)

 Then Monday!
I had a few things I wanted to do before I was going to allow myself fun. First I wanted to get John a desk so I measured the space in his bedroom. Not much space - but enough.
Then off to Officeworks. Surprisingly few desks to choose from. But I found one and carried it myself onto a trolley and finally into my car. Good thing I don't see myself as a wilting princess because there were no handsome princes offering to help carry it.

Then to Vinnies where I dropped off a large bag of old fat clothes.
Then to Gungahlin. A momentary break in the fun while I tried on trousers. 

I hate trouser shopping.

I am not a good shape. When I wear typical pants they fit my stomach and leave a big gap at the back. The more comfortable the fit over my thighs, the bigger the gape at the back. 

Sigh

Anyway, no need for sadness. The trousers were fitting and in fact I was down a size and found some 'short' ones (sigh again) so no hemming required.

Then into BigW to buy some odds and sods that had been plaguing me to be purchased even though they don't bring the adrenalin rush of a good fun spend. (Bird seed, light bulbs, stapler, pens, plastic box for pottering tools etc.)

And finally home to play with the pots I made on Sunday. The job this time was to carve the bottoms. This is a skill I didn't know I needed when I began pottery. It is a little tricky, made harder because I think my pots were just a little too dry. I killed one pot by carving a hole in it, carved another until it was a lovely round thing with no feet at all. And two successes. Given that I started with 6 balls of clay the success rate was low but enjoyment was high.

The pot that ended up with no foot is the one that is exciting me most. I have a wonderful plan for it!

This blog is too long so now I end it. I end it with a Mark reference because it is 2 days and 22 hours and 38 minutes until he gets here so it is no small wonder I am so happy!!!!