back to my fall routine

What a tiring weekend! I don't know why I was so tired. Maybe it was the emotional stresses. And, frankly, as I get older, I find that even having company for a few days is tiring. Andy, bless him, decided to leave yesterday AM. This was a good thing, as I was exhausted by noon and would not have had the energy to go any place or do anything the rest of the day. I had various committments at church (coffee hour, Sunday School, choir) and when I finished the coffee hour cleanup, I just came home and crashed. I even took a nap, which I rarely do. Didn't try to accomplish anything with the rest of the afternoon, except putting the basement room back in order. (The basement rec room/library is my guest room for people who are too large to sleep on the 3/4 bed in the upstairs guest room. Andy is 6'3" and weighs over 200 pounds, so he always sleeps on the queen sized futon down in the basement.) Luckily, he helped me put the futon back into a couch before he left. It's heavy and I have great difficulty opening it or closing it by myself.


We had a beautiful day yesterday. It was sunny but not too hot - just right for sitting out on my deck. I ate dinner out there. Today will be hotter, I think. This week promises to be the kind of weather I would like to have all summer. Of course, here in the 'upper South' we don't get that kind of summer. Our summers are very hot and humid. We are grateful for a taste of really nice weather each fall.


My 'Jack and the beanstalk' gourd vine has now reached the landing on the deck stairs. Obviously, it loves the hot weather! I think it's debating whether or not to come on up to the deck itself. I will have to stop it. I don't want to be able to smell that vine when I sit outside on the deck. I never realized that gourd vines (probably squash and pumpkin too) have a very distinctive, unpleasant odor. Of course, I never grew anything as large as this one before! I have picked one gourd off it, so far. There are several others not quite ready for picking. It's fun having my own source of gourds, even if they all look very much alike! I like the morning glories better.














This week I will be back into my regular fall routine. I've signed up for a ceramics class at the Montpelier Art Center - Raku fire. This is really fun. We made whatever we want and at the end of the class, we fire everything. I usually make masks, but perhaps I will try a pot or two this year. I also signed up for a one-day class in making collages. I've never actually done that kind of art, but it looks interesting. It's a bit like doing ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) or fabric postcards, but on a larger scale. That class isn't until November. And, of course, I'm also back to the ceramics class at the senior center in Columbia. I've been in that class for a couple of years now. It's good for me because I can learn new and better techniques of handbuilding from the teacher and then turn around and teach them to the ceramics class I lead at another senior center. As you can see, I'm up to my elbows in clay this fall! You can tell that I enjoy getting my hands into dirt.