Hi Kiwi...what's cooking?

I am quiet because I have the flu. Sleeping most of the day. Hopfeully be back son.

Sorry to hear that Todd. Hope you feel better soon.

2much, nothing cooking. It's Saturday and at last a lovely summer day. I'll be out in the garden as soon as I've done some cleaning. No, I'll be out in the garden - forget about the cleaning.

Todd,
Sorry to hear you have the flu...I wouldn't recommend your routine RX...I think the sleeping is the best thing for it. Are you sure it's the flu...no signs of an infection or anything? Have any of the DS's checked on you yet? I hate being virtual friends...makes you feel useless...I'd be over there making sure you were hydrated and cleaning up the germs...sorry, just know that if I were there your entire house would smell of bleach or disinfectant...doorknobs, light switches, you name it, if it can carry a germ I would attack it...quietly though so you could sleep.

Be sure to drink plenty of liquids (all nonalcoholic of course). Hang in there.

Kiwi,

Sounds like you are going to have a lovely day...you are right to skip the cleaning...it will be waiting, don't worry. Get your hands dirty and have a summer cocktail for me. I have the fire going and am trying to sort through all my paperwork here...drinking a cup of joe, of course.

Kids have their last soccer games this w/e...I can hardly wait...it will be about 30-40 degrees when they play so I will be all wrapped up and you guessed it...drinking a cup a joe.

I'm trying to maintain sanity and remain focused on happy thoughts but am having a hard time. What can I say, it's been one of those years. I can't wait for 2007.

Hi All!

{{{{{Todd}}}}} Feel better soon. You'll notice you got the good hugs.

Thanks for the very nice comments on my work.

2much, you crack me up, you're "not a big pottery fan" I LOL & my middle son was standing near by & I told him that & he said "I like all kinds of art just not pottery." Funny. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

The one guy I dated since my D was not moved by my work. I think he made a comment about getting a bowl for less at WalMart. Never did give him a present of my work. That's OK, I don't expect everyone to like my work.

The black cylinder was just sold at a silent auction & the man who bought it told me he felt he got the best buy of the show. I was happy with the way that piece came out. The other one that people seem to like is the red, wide bowl. I actually made a couple of those for a woman who had contacted me through my web site. I made them, photographed them & sent her the pictures but she never got back to me. No big deal, I sold them at the gallery I'm in.

Beth, my site is up it's just not running. Most of my work sells in the $10 to $100 range. Pottery costs a lot to ship so the smaller less expensive pieces can add a significant portion of the purchase price to ship. I should use it as a means to show my work for people who request it. I'll put more time in one of these days...

Ah, if you want some heat, it's time to investigate Zinfandel, which is one of my favorite varietals. The good news is that it is not a popular varietal, so most prices are reasonable. Now when I say Zinfandel, I'm talking about the purplish stuff, not the pink stuff. I don't know where they get the pink stuff from. I don't drink the pink stuff, although I've heard that it's good with tacos. The Rancho Zabaco brand has some good Zins and is widely available (Gallo owns the brand, Gallo owns a lot of brands). I opened a Cline Ancient Vines, about $13.00 at Sam's Club, very good stuff. I always think of Zin being the perfect winter wine. One huge note of caution, if you are in some type of environment where multiple wines will be served, do not start with the Zin. It's best to finish with the Zin. Why, you ask? The Zin is a very powerful wine and will usually overpower/overshadow anything to follow. Trust me on this. The best Zin in my collection is a Louis Martini Gnarly Vine, it will blow your head clean off!


I've never really smoked cigarettes. An occasional cigar is possible, but I do not inhale. I did Skoal for about 15-years and quit cold-turkey. All of that is an aside. Thes best thing that I've found for stress and anxiety is excersize. I work-out for an hour every day. When I have anxiety outside of that, I take a brisk walk. Not in my bathrobe though. Now you might think, what does the old Booka know about this stuff. I've had the worst year of my life. I will never forget this year. I started exercising to combat the madness of my situation. I'm not a casual exerciser, when I'm done I'm a ball of sweat. A good start for me is 50-60 minutes on the elliptical. When I take an anxiety walk, I'm really walking. I imagine running around the outside of your house while naked might yield a neutral effect but have a positive effect on your neighbor! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

2muchhrtbrk,

May I ask in general where you live?

Todd,

What crummy timing for the flu. Now i've been of the opinion in the past that enough bourbon will kill the germs. It's a fun experience if nothing else. I picked up a Evan Williams barrel-select 10-year old the other day, nice stuff. Anyway, I hope you feel better and that the experience doesn't ruin your weekend.

My darling wife has a sinus infection and started on ABs yesterday. As you might imagine, she was less than charming this morning, but she clearly was not feeling well. I did have some sympathy and apologized for my attempt at lightening her day.

I visited the shrink today (she is super hot!) to talk about my meds. Things are going well in that department. I using Lexapro (10mg) for ADs after having a bad experience with Wellbutrin, and use Lunesta (3mg) to assist with sleep. I've come to the conclusion that the ADs really, really have helped me and that my depression is not just situational. I heartily recommend them if you're in need.

And I wish everyone on TKO a hearty MB weekend. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Nams,

That is too funny. My 2cnd fav was the red bowl!!! Pretty much the reason I'm not a pottery lover is that I have a tendancy to break things and I hate dusting. I try to avoid dust collectors and fragile items. I do have a collection of Hibel prints framed and Gustafson's for the kids.

I saw a great painting called "Mediation"
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/r/richter/mediation.jpg

Kinda looks like how I feel!

Anyway, keep up the awesome work...

Glad I can entertain <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Booka,

I am a northeasterner. I did try Zin once and it was at a Florida restaurant...I have since relocated...obviously and have yet to be able to find one like it...I have no idea what the brand was so I have been searching. It was semidry with a hint of fruit, mildly oaky and had a clean finish. So, based on that what do you think?

Sorry this last year has been so bad for you too. I do exercise and am in the best shape I've been since before childbearing. It is a temporary fix...I'm just overall miserable. I'm sure it will pass but I am not identifying with my pain anymore, I'd just like it to go away...I've had enough fun on the rollercoaster...I'm on puke mode now. I can't look at anything or hear anything without wondering and that pure stinks.

Howdy folks - Just a drive by - We are going 4WD'ing today - it's Saturday here. Hope all are well.

In the absence of anything else happening on TKO, the English prof is going to post her favourite poem, now a cliche, but like all cliches, a cliche for a reason.

And, it is a beautiful summers day here.

Shall I compare thee to a summers day
Sonnet 18
William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Ok, next favourite one, Keats. And it's a METAPHOR. We haven't had a metaphor on TKO for ages.

La Belle Dame Sans Merci

I.

O WHAT can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has wither’d from the lake,
And no birds sing.

II.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms!
So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrel’s granary is full,
And the harvest’s done.

III.

I see a lily on thy brow
With anguish moist and fever dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.

IV.

I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful—a faery’s child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.

V.

I made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She look’d at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan.

VI.

I set her on my pacing steed,
And nothing else saw all day long,
For sidelong would she bend, and sing
A faery’s song.

VII.

She found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna dew,
And sure in language strange she said—
“I love thee true.”

VIII.

She took me to her elfin grot,
And there she wept, and sigh’d fill sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.

IX.

And there she lulled me asleep,
And there I dream’d—Ah! woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dream’d
On the cold hill’s side.

X.

I saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried—“La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!”

XI.

I saw their starved lips in the gloam,
With horrid warning gaped wide,
And I awoke and found me here,
On the cold hill’s side.

XII.

And this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is wither’d from the lake,
And no birds sing.

Do you mean on this thread?

I remember when DD1 was just a few months old and we went 4 wheeling in the desert dunes of Dubai with a group. I ripped my Davis Drive Right out of my Jeep so SLB couldn't download the data and off we went. Of course we had a car seat for DD1. I was a bit nervous how she would handle it but the 4 wheeling was far worse than I had imagined. Up and down. Side to side. Poor little DD1 was being tossed back and forth so much she looked like a muslim praying during Ramadan. She loved it. I don't think she has ever had a better time in her life.

(((Todd

Sorry about the flu.

I think I need to stay off other threads. I made an critical observation about an action of a poster and all I saw was indignant justification. Do you know what it reminded me of? A fogged out WS justifying an A. What occurred to me is that this justification fog doesn't apply only to affairs. Apparently it is a natural human response.

BTW BigK I do agree with you. While I will never agree with FC's actions, I always appreciated her honesty. At least she was honest about being dishonest. What I detest are hypocrites - those who pretend to be one thing but are really another. Those that put up a facade to make us believe they are something they are not. I have zero tolerance for that.

Oh did I mention I hate spth20? I hate it when people with good memories use my own words against me. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

But you are right stph20. Thanks for the admonishment.

Yes, you probably do need to stay off other threads. You upset enough people on this one. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

It's fireworks night tonight. Guy Fawkes night, Bonfire night. It's actually tomorrow but being a Saturday night everyone will be letting them off tonight.

When I was a kid, Guy Fawkes night was on the one night, November 5, and we had family fireworks.

Now, it's just another excuse to let off fireworks, make a freaking loud noise till 2 in the morning, scare all the animals and make sure the Fire Department has lot's of work. The neighbourhood kids have already started and it's not even dark yet.

Geez, I'm getting old.

Oooh, and a prize goes to the first correct explanation for Guy Fawkes night. But you're not allowed to be British or Australian to answer.

I just saw that you half hugged Todd, Pio. Do you WANT him to fall over.

The correct manly hug is [[ Todd ]]

It was really strange this last weekend. I don't know that the A ever crossed my mind. I had a little trouble with it Wednesday night and this was compounded by a very bad decision on my part to agree to look after and take DD1's friend home from soccer with us so friend's mom could go somewhere else. Huge mistake that ruined the rest of my evening. But Thursday and Friday were totally difference. Maybe because I stayed very busy. Don't know. But the A just seemed like ancient history for those two days. I think I have pushed myself back into semi-detachment which seems to be the safest place overall. I still know I can walk away from this deal with minimal pain and that is nice.

nams,

I was wondering if you might not be missing a great opportunity and WBBF (would be boyfriend) gave you the clue. What if instead of trying to spend so much time on unique and arty objects, you sacrificed quality a little so you could mass-produce a little bit more and sell your art at Walmart. Your sales margin per piece would drop significantly but your cash flow would go through the roof and you could still probably generate EBITA numbers in the 20+% range. And your work would reach more people! <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Is it possible for you to scratch in "made in China" into your pottery before you bake it? I think that might be a requirement. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Pio I was possibly too light with FC but she was a newbie. I really don't see how her situation can be dealt with in the same way as an oldtimer who KNOWS what she is doing. Suzet* or _ is just unbelievable.