Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner.

I used to love Halloween and dressing up and the candy. I still have fun with Halloween.

I usually have a selection of pins that I wear leading up to Halloween. And sometimes I will dress up. Most of the time it might just be a cape or something, but I enjoy it.

When growing up we had a trunk that was full of costumes, most had been from ballet recitals, but others were made for Halloween specifically. We would mix & match and find something to suit our needs that year. It was fun. And with 6 of us, it was never dull.

We used to also grow pumpkins in our vegetable garden. One year in particular, we had lots & lots of pumpkins of all sizes & shapes. We carved a few and had those mainly by the front door, but we also painted a bunch of them and had them scattered throughout the rock garden along the front sidewalk.

I love Fall, with it's colorful leaves and the smells of apple or pumpkin pie (or Derby Pie...). But, then again, I love Winter, Spring & Summer too... all for their own unique reasons.

Right now, the thoughts of sitting snuggled inside a cozy mountain cabin with a roaring fire and plenty of food supplies sounds like a nice retreat.

But I have shows to prepare for. I need to get pottery to the Clemson Arts Center for their Holiday Show & Sale, I need to get pottery to the Blue Ridge Art Center for their show & sale, and I also need to finish pottery and cards for the Mistletoe market at the Anderson County Museum on November 14 & 15.

Now, if only we can find a replacement breaker so I can start firing the pottery in my new kiln!

The Rewards of Teaching

While growing up, I never recall considering teaching as a career.

The first time I remember teaching was long-long ago at the Allegany County Fair in western NY state. I had a booth demonstrating and teaching woodburning. I was nervous as all get-out and shaking like a leaf in a wind storm.

Other than teaching someone on the job, I didn't teach again until joining the family here. When I arrived, my sister Terri was pregnant with DragonBen. She was the teacher at the store, offering classes in rubber stamping. Then DragonBen was born. Instead of putting all classes on hold while she was out on maternity leave, I was asked to step in and begin teaching. I agreed.

That first class in Basic Rubber Stamping was an evening filled with fear and nervousness. This time, people were paying for me to teach them! We all survived and the students were very supportive during my first class. They even returned to take more classes...

These days I am teaching all the time. Terri and I can offer up to 9 or 10 classes each week. We share the load.

One of my new favorite classes to teach is Wire Wrapping Basics. The photo above is one that one of my students made in class. M loves angels and saw an angel in the wire as she was bending and curling it. She was so proud of herself. She actually did not plan to wire wrap anything, she had wanted me to help her make a wire angel. But when she saw the beautiful Sodalite stone, she changed her mind. Last I knew, she wanted to make some more.

That is why I love to teach. Yes, I sometimes still get nervous, especially when I am teaching a new project. But the rewards are worth it.

Columbus Day

I don't have any photos today, but I want to let you all know about a new blog my youngest sister has, along with her husband and our nephew. It is called Any Ideas for Dinner? So far they have had recipes for dinners as well as desserts and spice mixes.

If you are thinking of trying something new, or a new twist on an old favorite, check them out to see what ideas they have.

Happy October

I am back from a whirlwind business trip to Orlando. We left Saturday morning, drove 10 hours straight through, spent Sunday at a trade show, and then drove back on Monday.

The most amazing sight on the trip was as we were loading the car for the trip home. We walked out of the hotel and heard this loud squawk, it was a Great Blue Heron. This was not uncommon, as we saw them from our room at the small lake in front of the hotel. What was amazing was that this Heron was perched on top of a street light! After he (for some reason I always call them 'he') caught our attention, he stretched his wings out and looked almost like he was showing off his beautiful wings and graceful neck. My camera was in the car. As I hurridly got the camera, I turned around and he was gone. Mom and Terri saw him up there too, so they can vouch for my sighting.
Unfortunately, we were unable to stay in Orlando to visit with our friends at Bead Dreams on Sand Lake Road, it was raining and we wanted to get on the road home, they were not open yet. We wanted to visit with Demi & Ursula and also check out what wonderful goodies they have in their store. Maybe next time.