It's way too early for me... just five more minutes.

*hits the snooze bar, but turns off the alarm instead*

Ugh.... what time is it? OMG! I'm late! How can it be Monday morning already?!!! You ever have one of those days, one of those weekends, where you wake up to find that everything is later than you thought, and nothing has been accomplished? Yeah, it was one of those weekends. LOL

I packed up a few pieces of greenware to drop off at Mishy's. I don't know how many, maybe 17 or 18? They took up two boxes. I felt really dumb though because I kept asking Mishy for my pieces I had to pick up. Turns out I already picked them up and/or never dropped them off in the first place. Those 17-18 pieces, half of them were from the week prior. I never got around to dropping them off.

D'oh!

Yeah, that about sums it up. Being that I didn't have anything 'NEW' to add, I added some of the stuff that has just been lying around to my Etsy account. I added 'The Watermelon Bowl', small beaded mame bonsai pot, and some ficus

'The Watermelon Bowl' is a piece that was born from the bits and pieces of other pieces. Strictly speaking, I never set out to make this bowl, yet it is. I was throwing the slab, creating bonsai pots and feet, and I had already put away my clay. I found this bit of leftover clay. I didn't want it to go waste, so I just started smashing it, squishing it in my hands, adding a bit more water and just enjoying the feel of the clay in my hands. I started zoning out, watching 'My Neighbor Totoro', as I slowly rolled the clay in my hands. Before I knew it and not realizing it, I had created this bowl. My one conscious act was to flatten the bottom so it could sit properly. I kept it as greenware for a couple weeks before finally bisque firing it. The bowl then sat by as I glazed different pieces. The Woodland Fantasy glaze was applied because I had some leftover while glazing other pieces. It then sat for another week before I glazed the inside with dragon red glaze, leftover from doing my red dragon trays and bonsai pot. Even after I finished it, it remained by my side until I finally listed it on Etsy. I was expecting the red to be a deeper shade, more maroonish, with lighter shading in parts. I was expecting the woodland fantasy on the outside to be a more chocolate brown. I was expecting it to be brown, with shades of red brown on the inside, more expressive of autumn than the peak of summer that I find myself in. Instead, the red came out true, rich and RED. The outside finished in a lighter than expected shade, with subtle greens coming through and the browns being less dominant. The end result has a more organic feel to it. It is very expressive of the peak of summer that I find myself in, and in which it was created. I had a nice bit of early summer watermelon earlier in the season and I haven't had peak summer SANDIA this season, but the end result of this bowl just reminded me of hot summer days, enjoying the sweet, refreshing taste of watermelon. Don't get me started on watermelon! Quick flashes come to mind: eating watermelon on my Aunt's ranch, feeding the rinds to the goats, camping trips with my family to Viejas Indian Reservation (before it became a casino), AGUAS FRESCAS- Mexican drinks, made from fresh fruit, I'm just gonna stop there.

Tropical Feathers Beaded Mame Bonsai pot-

What did I use to form this pot, I forget. I think I used this egg shaped candle that I bought because I liked the shape. I do know that I used these Mardi Gras beads from my kids to impress the outside. I used bubble feet on this piece, and finished with a tropical feathers crystal glaze. The finished result is a very cute little mame bonsai pot. In this instance, the crystal glaze did not come out as rich as other pieces. It's very green with subtle color variations. The bead impressions allowed the glaze to pool, forming dark spots. The overall shape is conical, the feet sticking out in a non-symetrical fashion. It's not forced into a perfect shape, it's just standing in its own fashion. Perhaps it's waiting, or maybe it is contemplating its next move before pouncing.

Ficus bonsai cuttings-

The cuttings are from my own ficus bonsai trees. I've applied wired to some of the cuttings, and I'm allowing others to just sort of develop without interference on my part. Some of the cuttings are hardwood cuttings, so these have a more developed look. What can I say about the cuttings that I haven't already said in a previous post? I really like the cuttings and how they're developing. They are fattening up rather quickly. It is my opinion that they will develop into very nice bonsai in a very short time. The question then becomes 'how long until this tree becomes a decent bonsai?'

Lots of caveats involved, and this question is not as easy to answer as it is to ask. You have to define what is meant by bonsai and what end results are you shooting for?

Allow me to expand this further by describing my cuttings. Some are hardwood cuttings, taken from wood that is several seasons old. Most of the cuttings are softwood cuttings, taken from wood that is this season's growth. There are lots of things to differentiate between the two, but what I want to look at is the fact that softwood cuttings are almost starting as matchstick thin. The hardwood cuttings have some girth to them. How much depends on how old the wood is. And therein lies the answer.

I took a hardwood cutting earlier this season. I got really lucky and this cutting took. This cutting had plenty of branching already, so once it started to leaf out, I took as as and planted in a small mame bonsai pot. The results are nice: I have a small mame ficus bonsai, which was created by me. The tree was grown by me, and the pot was created by me. I wouldn't call it a 'spectacular' bonsai, however. Heck, some bonsai purists wouldn't even call it a bonsai, as it's the result of a single season of growth.

I'm going to allow some of the cuttings to grow tall. I will prune back severely, and in a few short years, I should have some very nice looking bigger bonsai. when it comes time to prune back, I can use the cuttings to create multiple potential bonsai cuttings.

Adeniums-

Blah blah blah, blurb blurb, yada yada yada. Pfft.

Yeah, more of the same, they're growing like gangbuster, still waiting for my nursery pots to arrive so I can pot the seedlings. Phone call to Bernie:

Hello?

It's me!

Waddaya want? I'm busy doing [insert laundry list of busy house work]

I just called to see if there's any packa-

No Victor! They're not here.

What?

Your pots haven't arrived.

But... how.... oh... okay then. Thanks!

Of course this is a phone call, so I cannot say for sure, but I'm positive that Bernie rolls her eyes at this point, then hangs up in disgust.