THE Update

Yes, it has been…. half a year since I last posted? So if anyone of you are still listening, or occasionally check here to see how I’m doing, I want to confirm that no, no I’m not dead.

BUT I have a reason why I haven’t been posting, and why I’m unlikely to be posting in the near future. And it’s actually a happy reason! I finally quit a job that had been making me miserable, and I got accepted to grad school! As a matter of fact, NYU! And so, I’ve been working several odd jobs, freelancing, traveling, making pottery, doing craft shows and getting ready to move to New York City in the very not too distant future. In fact, I’m probably busier now than I ever was when I had a “real job.”

I will be keeping my Etsy shop open through the next holiday season, or until I run out of stock. But I will not be able to take custom orders, as I probably won’t be able to afford studio space in New York for the next two years on my grad student budget.

Anyways, that’s the update. I’ve had a lot of fun keeping this blog, and maybe I’ll return to it sometime. In the meantime, love you all and looking forward to the future!

Update

Just to let everyone know that I’m still doing okay. The doc gave me some prescription strength painkillers and a script for xrays if the pain doesn’t subside before next week. I already feel like it’s a little bit better, but I have to be careful about sitting still for too long and getting stiff!

Ouch!

Man, as if my week wasn’t exciting enough, I had to go and slip on an icy sidewalk this weekend! I landed smack on the corner of a frozen planter box – right between the ribs! I was gasping for breath as D. rushed to my rescue and helped me up.

I managed a day at the studio, then a full day at the newspaper, while the bruise crept up on me. By the end of work today, I was almost doubled over with a stabbing pain shooting between my ribs and my back muscles. It would be hard to explain the feeling without using the kind of words that would probably get me on a WordPress “bad blog” list somewhere.

Suffice to say, I’ve made an appointment with the doctor. Although I’m not looking forward to a Tuesday spent on my back, getting x-rays. Still, it’s better than a rib through a lung, or any of the other doomsday scenarios my coworkers enjoyed describing to me today!

While you are wishing me luck, check out this adorably morbid ceramic magnet from L’esperance Tile (above).  Love it!

Changes

Wow, has it been a couple of weeks? It feels like YEARS!

I am at the precipice of some big changes, and I’ve just got my fingers crossed and I’m going for it. This Monday I gave two-week’s notice at my newspaper job. I finally decided that I had had enough. I won’t go into all the reasons why I’m leaving, but suffice to say that it is a very emotionally draining job.

I picked up part-time work in a little gourmet cheese shop and cafe, walking distance from my apartment and nearly across the street from my studio. My goal is to spend this spring and summer walking outside, rejuvenating and making enough pottery to participate in some of the local art fairs. All my applications for grad school are finished, so hopefully I will be accepted somewhere and can start school in September with new energy and a fresh attitude.

Of course, we’ll be poor – poorer than we are even are now – but I know that D. cooks up some mean rice and bean burritos. We’re not going to starve.

The gorgeous little dandelion pendants above are by Beth Cyr, a wonderful Etsy artist who made the silver dandelion ring I wear every day. I bought the ring a couple years ago, to remind me why I was making some difficult choices at the time. Now I’m thinking about that again, looking at her work and realizing that every one of those decisions were good ones. Hopefully this will turn out just as well!

Goodies and goodies

Thanks for everyone weighing in on my bathroom wall decorations! I realized I meant to say blank wall instead of black wall, but even with my obvious need for a copy editor in the early morning, the advice I got was spot on! I purchased a couple of frames and we just need to print out the photos and see what’s going to work for us! I’ll have to post a shot when it’s done.

In the meantime, I spotted these amazing hand carved stamps from India over at Amanda James’ shop! I realized that I had a little bit of pottery sales money lingering in my paypal account…. so yup, I went ahead and bought myself a couple little presents! Can’t wait to try them out on some new pieces!

Redesign

One of the nicest things about coming home from Puerto Rico was that I had convinced my landlord to (finally!) take care of a lot of the problems with our bathroom while we were gone. In fact, he hired contractors to give us a complete renovation. We got a new bathtub, sink, toilet, lights….plus they had to tear apart and repair half the wall and reconstruct the floor. I’m so happy to go in there and use it now!

Now that the renovation is almost complete (just a little more paint and a couple of tiles to go), I’m thinking about how I’m going to decorate the new black wall in there. D. suggested framing some of my black and white photos, so I’m working on some from our trip and trying to decide.

Any ideas which I might use?

Haiti

If you are like me, you are completely heartbroken by the recent disaster in Haiti.

You are probably hearing requests for donations from every direction, as well. But if you still are looking for a place where your contribution is really going to mean a lot, please check out Partners in Health. They have been providing health care clinics to the poor in Haiti for a long time, they already have doctors on the ground there and (of course) they have been overwhelmed by dire need for assistance this week.

On a more personal note, I have a friend who works for PIH, who is at a clinic in Nepal but is working tirelessly to try to help coordinate the response in Haiti by email and phone. He asked me to please pass along this information to anyone I could!

100 Sales

Wow, a landmark 100 sales! I don’t even know what to say about this, expect to thank everyone who has been so supportive of my business!

This calls for….more pictures of beautiful tropical beaches! (Wish I was back there…)

Sunny Skies

Have I been out of touch? Maybe just a bit! But in my defense, I’ve been zooming about in planes and boats and automobiles (no trains….yet….)

I hope everyone had a fabulous holidays! I know I did. They were plenty busy, and included lots of covering awkward shifts at work, but that’s what you get being the junior person on the totem pole. But all was well on New Year’s Day, when D. and I boarded an airplane and made off to sunny Puerto Rico! We got tans, ate lots of fish and plantains, visited an awesome old fort and even got to swim with phosphorescent plankton!

I’ll try to post pictures throughout the week as we settle back into our routines…oh, plus I’ve got some great holiday craft gifts to share (couldn’t talk about those until the giving).

Did anybody else go anywhere fun over the past few weeks? Do share!

Need snow? We’ve got you covered!

Gotta love that snow! D. and I took off for a hike mid-blizzard on Saturday. We were nearly alone in our four-mile hike through the city, and it was great. We stopped at a great Jewish deli for hot soup and potato knishes, slid around on the metal sidewalk grates and got thoroughly soaked.

This morning we woke up to my car completely buried and the city at a standstill. D. dug out our front walk and then the steps for the elderly folks on either side of us (what a nice guy!). Settling in for a quiet day of cleaning and writing from home…

Anybody else do something fun in the snow this weekend?