Wow what a weekend!

My sole remaining molly had a bunch of babies. The male died last week, so I suppose he did his life work before finally expiring. Looks like the angelfish have reconsidered their pairing; the breeding trio is no longer a trio. And it looks like one of the smaller angelfish who was previously left out of the spawning dance is now paired up with the large female. I have to watch them, but that's a bit difficult with my schedule. Too many projects going on for me to just sit in front of a fish tank.

Pfft. Anyone buying this line of bullshit- that I'm just *so* busy? HA!

Life is going at a full-tilt boogie, and I'm revelling in it. This is my house! I'm in my natural environment. Fishies are breeding cause they're just being natural. And I'm stopping right there before I go off on a tangent. Too early in the morning to dive into six inches of water, aka the deep end.

I didn't get a chance to do much with my clay over the long weekend. Let's be frank here; I did what I could with the glazes I have, but I'm running low on some glazes, ran out of a couple. I'm just waiting on my paycheck so I can buy more glazes. I did some study work on some bisque seashell impressions and my 'primitive' rolled impression. I used semi-transparent cocoa bean as a first layer. I then took a semi-moist sponge and removed most of the glaze, leaving the brown glaze in the nooks and crannies. I then used the semi-moist sponge to apply semi-transparent dragon red. Mostly on the raised portions. Finally, I highlighted with Sassy Yellow. Okay, maybe I did more than just highlight. I might have gotten a bit heavy handed with the yellow, but hey, this is why I'm calling it 'study work'. I can't wait to get this fired. I want to see how they turn out and if I can use this technique on other pieces. I did get a chance to glaze a few pots. Not many, but better than nothing.

Speaking of nothing, there was nothing holding me back from doing bisque work. I just didn't have it in me to do any clay work. Maybe I was a little down because I didn't have glazes. Perhaps I really was busy with other projects. Or perhaps I didn't have the energy. I have been really tired these last few days. My back is really hurting and I'm stiff everywhere. Yep, I haven't been working out. Need to get back into my workouts.

I did some work on my seedlings and cuttings. There were a few more Adeniums that sprouted so I potted them up. Also did some work on my pomegranate seedlings. Did I already mention that my ficus microcarpa have been doing very well? While doing some work on the pomegranates I had the water going. I noticed the Adenium seedlings are getting flooded. I also noticed that they don't seem to mind the flooding! Perhaps this is why they're getting so fat. Perhaps they're getting fat despite my overwatering. Perhaps they really shouldn't be watered so much, but the fact that they're thriving is testimony to their tenacity.

Bernie is never long on the compliments. If she likes something, she'll tell you it was 'okay', and then only if you prod her. If she really likes something, she'll suggest it as in 'maybe you could make that dinner tonight' or 'if you want, we could go there...'. I've never heard her say 'Victor, that dinner was fantastic' or 'I really enjoyed that show'. That's just her way. She considers it unnecessary to voice a compliment. Rather, if she likes something, she will show it through her actions. At least, that's how she explains it to me. Me, I can live for a week on a single compliment. I'm a sucker for flattery, and I live to serve. So when my pal, Lisa, invited us over for dinner on Sunday, I decided to bring her a bonsai. I grabbed one of my Fukien tea trees out of my garden and repotted it in my largest handmade pot. It was an egg shaped pot with bubble feet. The body was Blue Caprice crystal glaze and the feet were mosaic blue and dragon red, semi-transparent. I finished repotting, soaked it in, then showed my finished bonsai to Bernie. Her reaction: OH WOW!

Bernie's reaction took me by surprise. She wanted to keep it! I suppose she hadn't visualized my quirky little pots with bonsais. She thought they were a bit small, too lumpy and not very 'professional looking'. When she finally saw that brightly colored, quirky pot with the bonsai potted in it, she saw it. The lumps were personality, the quirkyness was expressiveness. The diminuative size of the pots exagerated the size of the bonsai itself. The funky, brightly colored bubble feet complimented the bright green colors of the tree. This was not a 'professionally' made pot, created in some factory. This was a single, expressive pot, created by an individual to be an individual. I took some pictures of the finished bonsai. I might post them later.

Fourth of July! We went to Glendale Community College to watch the fireworks display. It was over 110+, even after 8pm, and my back was hurting, so I was grumpy as all hell. There was a storm to the north and high winds, so there was talk about cancelling the fireworks display. Bernie finally had enough of my crap and told me she was just going home. I don't like seeing Bernie upset like that, so I had to talk her down. Hunter was getting hungry, so I suggested she park the car and feed Hunter. Then we could go home. She parked it and started feeding him. Me and the boys got out of the car and sat on the pavement. It was just too hot in the car, I explained. I got out the cooler, sat on the cooler, and drank some water that Bernie had packed for us. The wind blew hard enough to cool it down to about 90. 'At least it's cooling down a bit', I explained to Bernie. I sat there, watching the light show that nature was putting on. The storm to the north was producing some spectacular thunderheads with lots of lightning. I could see that it was raining about 12 miles away. I could faintly smell the rain, but I could also sense that rain was not heading our way. The sound of the outdoor concert being put on by GCC could be heard from our position in the parking lot. There was a grassy area to the north of us where TONS of people had assembled to watch the fireworks and enjoy this summer night. The smell of grilled meats mixed with the distant smell of rain. The parking lot was not crowded, but there was a number of people tailgating and hanging out as well. It was a hot, sultry, Arizona night. 'This beats sitting at home, doing nothing', Bernie called out from inside the car. She had finished feeding Hunter, and was bouncing him, trying to burp him. Suddenly, the lights in the grassy area went out. A cheer erupted from the gathered crowd. Our collective patience was about to be rewarded. I called out to Bernie, to come out and join us. I had not realized it, but the fireworks were going off in the field adjacent to the parking lot we were in. We were really really close to the fireworks, so they were bigger than life when they went off. The very first firework of the night was a great big one. We could feel the concussion of the explosives as each one went off. The display seemed to go on and on... and on. Bernie complained that her neck was hurting from looking up, so I got up and propped myself up behind her, cradling her neck in my arm so she could look up. It was definitely one of the better fireworks displays I have witnessed. Granted, it was nowhere near what I imagine goes on in New York , or the east coast, but I'll bet they don't have the lightning in the background that we had. And I'm positive that NOBODY in the USA has to brave such hostile heat as what you find in Arizona for the 4th of July.

Honestly, I would have preferred to be at home, doing nothing. My kids get older with each passing day, week, month, year. Sooner than I would prefer, they'll be done growing and they'll be leaving my house. I'll have lots of fourth of July's, where I'll be sitting at home, doing nothing. No, I'm not being melodramatic, nor is this thought necessarily depressing. Simply, I'm just stating the obvious: things are dynamic. Everything changes. What I'm trying to say is that you should enjoy the moment.