Long Time Recovery

This Whipple procedure was a real ordeal and the recovery process is so slow...sometimes the days just drag by for me and I'm sure they do for him as well. It feels like years since life has been normal - normal, hmmm, not sure what that is really! It all started 10 February and hasn't stopped, normal is now different for us. I am gaining weight while he lost nearly 25 pounds in the hospital for a month....the nursery rhyme about Jack Spratt keeps surfacing.

I do, however, have high points and the gas kiln firing was one of them - although it occurs to me to make something more than dragonflies....

Coleman Red Serving Bowl

ReductionfiringMay08 044
Originally uploaded by sheilasthings

The last firing was a good one for me, not only did I get the nice Groeger dragonfly serving dish but the Coleman red glaze on this bowl also turned out great. It isn't a deep, dark red and a few people were disappointed (did the reduction take place too early or too late or wasn't it a heavy enough reduction?), I don't know and don't really care because this is the red I like. I've seen the Coleman Red become almost maroon and that's not the color I'm after.
The rim on this bowl was very, very thin and I like to have a heavier rim for a variety of reasons. I ended up manipulating it and I'm happy with the graceful curves I got. Guess I like it, huh??? Well, yes, I do even though it's just a serving bowl with one glaze.

Dragonfly Serving Dish

Just wanted to post the photo of my dragonfly bowl! It turned out just the way I hoped it would. Cone 10, reduction firing.

I made this for Dr. Eugene Groeger and when the kiln was opened - ta-daaa...I was so happy that it turned out! This summer I'll attempt to make another one or two....and if they turn out like this one - well, I'll be one happy potter!

Our Prestigious Degrees Grant You the Legal Right to be called Doctor

So, I was wondering about the nature of faith and what not having faith must be like. I know that I am always going to be OK no matter what happens in life, that feels right and good to me, I rest in that faith. Then there are others I know that see life as a big fat struggle that they have to "soldier" through, just keep pulling themselves up by those bootstraps, they just hang in there and advise others to hang in there too. Not that I am against hanging in there!
Hmmm, so, if people without faith in anything beyond themselves think that life is great and this world is so great....worldworld, not that world within, if it's all just one big accident, then what makes it so great and why should anyone care about it? If it blows up tomorrow, oh, well, there will be another accident someday, won't there? If there isn't, who cares, it's all just random anyway. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around some things.
If you thought your child was going to die soon (even if that wasn't true) what kinds of things might you do? Would you call them and say I love you, I am praying for your peace, happiness and well being or would you advise them to hang in there?? Both?
I just finished reading the Mitch Ablom book, For One More Day. He writes a lot about death and what it's about for him. I guess it gives a person different ways of looking at it....I wonder was he a good son/father/person in his personal life? Are his books penance? I like reading them, well, I have just read 2 so I'm no expert...
Another thing I am wondering about is the term "Reverend". Who is a Reverend? Are they supposed to be Ph D's, or graduates of theological school? Or can it be just someone that is real holy and revered...
I started reading 3 Cups of Tea today and it's hard to not rush through it, I had to put it away for a while and wonder about "stuff".