Happy Birthday David, Pottery & Other Loose Bits

Headaches have been okay this week, despite feeling exhausted after a long international conference my company hosted this week, and all the house-buying bureaucracy. I've sorta forgotten to take my elavil several nights in a row, so at bedtime I would take 10-20mg. Much easier to wake up in the morning, but I can feel the headaches waiting to roar.

I started my pottery class this morning at 9:30am. It was amazing - held at a wonderful community arts center devoted to clay. It's housed in an old school, so there are wonderful great windows and the space is light and airy and historical and there are tons of wheels and kilns and a "member's only" studio, where once you get good, you can buy time. Bob is teaching me again. He's a great older potter who wears woolly sweaters and teaches by "feel". My engineer brain had difficulty with this last time (about 2 yrs ago at my last class), but this time, I realize I finally have the "feel" for the clay he was talking about. If not "the" feel, at least some feel. I am beginning to understand why it moves as it does, what my fingers need to really do. The process all came back to me. My pots still have issues and centering is still a challenge, but I felt quite relaxed this morning, content to have wet clay in my hands, and being careful not to judge myself. This time, I am striving to make some decent mugs. It takes hours and hours over years and years to get good at this. My former 2 classes were at the Gardiner Ceramic Art Museum, a wickedly great museum in Toronto, where I was taught by a lady from Rhodes who was very rule-based and methodical. Bob's organic approach is a little more challenging, but let me tell you, it is so bloody nice to get out of my brain for a while.

Then I came home and slept all afternoon and now have a killer headache. My body is finally giving up after the week of late nights and heavy days. David is at a football game this afternoon, watching his favorite team kick Toronto's butt, or he hopes. Tonight, I'm making linguine with clam sauce for dinner. It's the only pasta dish (other than my puttanesca) that he will eat. I, on the other hand, adore pasta. So it will be a rare treat for both of us since we don't have it often.

Anyway, just some thoughts. My arms are aching from the wheel. And I fell in the shower yesterday and my ribs are really aching after I crashed straight onto my side. Oww. I need a rest, but tomorrow will be busy with David's birthday fetes. We're meeting for lunch at his Grandma's at 11am, where we'll visit some of the family including his Mom and brother Steve. Later that night, we're seeing his Dad, who is in town, for dinner. I haven't met his Dad yet, so it will be interesting and fun and weird after being with David for almost 2 years and not having met his papa.

I made a birthday cake for David Thursday night (chocolate layer with chocolate butter cream) and it was killer good. Maybe we will take some to Grandma's tomorrow for sampling. The recipe was from Oprah, from some guy who has a chocolate shop in Manhattan. Definitely the best layer cake and frosting I've ever made. I made a ganache last year, but the butter frosting is obscenely, decadently leagues above, if less sophisticated. If you want the recipe, it is one damned good chocolate cake. In theory, I am the baker and David's the cook, but in reality, I bake about 5 times a year.

Anyway, enough scattered musings. Headache is settling to a low hum. The window is open, letting in the autumn air, Bruce Springsteen is on the stereo, Biscuit is running around happy that mummy is up.

I am tired but life is good. Happy Birthday David, my love!! You're my hero and my well-spring of contentment...have a wonderful day love.