A New Way of Living

Coronavirus Covid-19

Last time I blogged the world was in a much different place, and life seemed somewhat "normal."  But since my last entry 2 months ago, Covid-19 has eerily crept into our communities, growing like an invisible wildfire, and has kept almost everyone on the planet a little preoccupied with the unknowns of this new virus. We are all trying our best to create a new sense of normalcy and well-being, but frankly I feel a little off-kilter.  I never would have thought in a million years, that life would be warped and twisted around in such a short time frame, as we all face this unsettling reality. New vocabulary has emerged as quickly as this pandemic that we find ourselves faced with. "Social Distancing, Coronavirus, Asymptomatic, Contact Tracing, Quarantine, Essential Workers," etc. have all become words we now hear with frequency. It's the new normal, and frankly, at times quite hard to deal with. 

But looking at the glass 1/2 full, I'd say we are fortunate to have our Studio connected to our place of residence, and there is no need to travel to our place of work.  Russ still has his day job, of which we are extremely grateful, even though it is quite tricky to learn and adapt from home. He is managing like he always does. We are not suffering anywhere near the amount others are during this strange and unusual time. We are certainly grateful for what we still have, and have stepped up to the plate to help others in need, when and where we can. After all, "We are all in this together." I feel it's our duty to help others less fortunate, especially in these troubling times. Helping others eases their burdens somewhat, and makes this trauma more bearable. Every little bit helps. 

Meanwhile, we have managed to complete many projects while observing the "Stay at Home" orders from our Governor. The Yellowstone glass orders will be wrapped up some time next week. And we got a new shipment of glass for more projects down the pipeline. The glass pictured below will most likely be turned into a set of Sushi plates.

New glass designs to play with in the kiln.

And the artistic piece below (Net Worth) is showing in a "Virtual" Juried National Art Show located in our City's downtown area, at the Willard Art Center. If restrictions are lifted later in May, we might just be able to see it and other great works of art before the show closes the end of May. 

"Net Worth"

And every now and then a customer needs a piece repaired. The piece below, coincides nicely with the Spring weather. It was repaired, reheated in the kiln, and returned to the customer right before the "Stay at Home" order was put in place. Whew!

"In the Garden"

We have had a little extra time on our hands during this lock down, and had already ordered the materials back in February, so we've built a High Tunnel over 1/2 of our garden to try and extend the short growing season in Idaho. (And keep the bunnies out of the garden goodies we grow.) It was designed and built by that "workhorse" husband of mine, with assistance from Yours Truly. 😊 We just finished planting all our seeds this week.

Our newly built high tunnel-greenhouse. 

Raised beds inside the high tunnel, ready to plant now.

And of course, everything needs to be cleaned and wiped down....so that includes a bath for the 3 little kittens. Not sure if it was really their thing, but they sure smell nice now, and their fur is shiny and soft to the touch. 

Ryder fresh out of the bath.

Annie is perturbed. 

Our cat Marshmellow is quite the character!

Lastly, here's a throwback picture of when our now full grown 2-year old chickens were just tiny chicks entering the new world. Well, the world has certainly changed since they were born. The picture is a reminder of Spring, new beginnings, and maybe a symbol of hope, hence the share. Trying to do our best over here to adjust to the new normal. Our thoughts are with those on the front lines fighting this unseen enemy. Nothing but admiration and mad respect for them. They prove our humanity is worth fighting for. A big thank you to all those giving us hope. We see you!

Signs of Spring, Glass Flowers

July Beauties and Babies

Trying to capture the natural beauty of various florals around our property with a version of  blown and sculpted glass.

This July was very full of family, flowers, and furry kittens. I'm sharing some of those pictures with you this month. Even though we are constantly working on new projects in the Studio, sometimes it's nice to take time to smell the flowers and enjoy a simple life now and then.  

Sculpted Rosebuds

A sampling of our wildlife sold in Yellowstone Park Stores

     We enjoyed the birth of our sixth grandchild and 2nd granddaughter at the beginning of the month.

Our brand new granddaughter born in July. 💖💖

The Kittens I talked about last month have kept us on our toes. So silly, naughty and cute, all wrapped up in little balls of fur. 

Our rescued kittens

The following pictures are my once-a-year share of  the flowers around our property, plus our garden and chickens. We like to quote Bilbo Baggins from the Hobbit...."It is not such a bad thing to enjoy a simple life". This month of July we are doing just that, by enjoying family reunions, babies, kittens, working on our yard and gardening. We hope you can take the time to slow down and enjoy the simple things too this summer. 

One of many flowers in the yard.

Many blooms going on in July

Our glass flowers try to blend in with the lilies.

Beautiful colors!

More pops of color

Pink Daisy

Pretty purples

Our garden sign highlighted with fused glass pieces.

More Daisies

Sunflowers are one of my favorite!

Some of our chickens

Hollyhocks galore!

Until next time, take the time to enjoy a tall cold beverage in the hot summer sun.  

Preoccupied in June

I realized it's been a while since I wrote a blog entry, so jotting down the latest before the month of June gets away from me, and we jump into July. We've been a little preoccupied lately, and putting some glass projects on hold. "Why" you may ask? The picture below should help explain where our attentiveness has gone lately. While on a family bike ride we found these abandoned kitties in some thistles and sticker bushes, meowing and crying for someone to take care of them. We couldn't find a mother, so we scooped them up and have been caring for them ever since. Our son and his wife are helping us out with the sweet little kittens. They are very entertaining at this young age. 😊

Our family rescued 3 little kittens in June.

Siblings

They are quite young, so need lots of attention. We're thinking after a Vet visit next week, we should know more about them and are pretty sure these rescues just might end up part of our families.  I'd say we were in the right place at the right time. So, as far as new glass works, not much to share this month, other than a few pieces: A blown glass Black Sheep nestled atop a nice piece of burl wood, which was commissioned recently, and another commission of  a blown glass solar system. 

Blown and Sculpted Black Sheep on Manzanita Burl wood.

A commission of the Solar System, (Not exactly to scale.) hand sculpted and Blown in the Lamp Work flames.

 We are also expecting our 6th grand baby and 2nd granddaughter any day now. She is a little overdue, so we are patiently waiting for this little baby bundle of joy to arrive any day now. I was busy making an old fashioned baby quilt for her this past month also, and got it done in the nick of time. Some months, other things just have to take priority over the glass. June would be one of those months. I can tell this summer is going to be gone in an instant. Goodbye June, hello July. Until next time, be safe with the fireworks, and have a happy 4th. 🎆🎇

I try to make each new grandchild their own unique blanket.