Cure for the Common Cold?

There is something magical about soup (or tea or hot chocolate...) from a mug I made myself. I've been feeling better since eating lunch from my latest creation. (Coincidence? Who cares?!)

I learned to do this at the NY/NJ Academy of Ceramic Art

I picked up my 15 pieces from pottery class last night. I will shoot them all (eventually) but I could not wait to use this one.

Corporate Cold

Day three of my cold.  I am whiny, contentious, and after all this coughing, I may be short a lung. Biggles and the other cats have been taking shifts keeping me warm and pinned under a Snuggie. Wookie bought me soup, lots of things to drink, and cold remedies.

The Pop Tarts are purely medicinal, I assure you.

The Big Picture

This is not a flag or the pattern for a patchwork quilt, it's a graphical representation of my hard drive.

Result from GrandPerspective 
(Thanks for the recommendation Brian!)

The big golden square is represents my iPhoto library. Many of the other sections are also photos.

I take a LOT of pictures. Years ago, before digital cameras were so accessible, I shot about 30 rolls of 35mm film on a single vacation. Since I went digital, I've been in photo taking heaven. At any given moment, I have between 3-5 cameras on my person. There are cameras in my phone, tablet, and laptop. I carry one or two small digital cameras with me everywhere.

And I very rarely delete anything.

I know people who cringe at my photo hoarding. "Why not edit some out?" is a frequently asked question, but I like to keep them all.* I reuse pictures in part or in whole all the time. Even a bad picture can often be cropped into something useful or interesting. I really prefer to use my own pictures whenever much as possible.

And it's not like the pictures are taking up room in photo albums and boxes--though I have plenty of those and should probably get to scanning them.

As long as there is external storage, I can take and keep as many pictures as I like. A one terabyte drive  holds years of photos in less physical space than a paperback book. So I think I can hoard photos a while longer.

*(I do often delete pictures that are very unflattering to the subject, but that usually happens on the camera.)

Holiday Cards for Sale

I opened a shop on Zazzle.com. I hope you will check out my new line of holiday cards.

www.zazzle.com/lifeat30feet

Reflections on 40

So next week is a big week. Celebrant classes start again, and I turn 41.

It’s been a very busy year.

• I turned 40 and we celebrated with ride in the country, then dinner, followed by helping a girl who was freaking out a bit fix a flat tire.

I took this picture the day I turned 40. It's been all twists and turns since then.

• That weekend, we had a huge party celebrating my and the Wookie’s birthdays.
• I saw my niece earn her black belt.
• I started pottery classes.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

• Wookie Graduated EMT school.

• I saw my Celebrancy practice grow to include Memorials and a rally for abused animals.
• I was investigated by police for bribary—I learned to check the marriage license envelope for my wedding fee before I mail it in.
• I lost my job; becoming unemployed after 15 years of continuous work.
• We found out that Frankie had cancer.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

• I learned to give subcutaneous fluids to a cat.
• I taught the Social Media course I developed for celebrants for the second year.
• I presented at the Celebrant Foundation Collective Wisdom conference and celebrated the 10^th Anniversary of the Celebrant Foundation and Institute.
• I watched my third class of Celebrants graduate.

©Paul Skehan 2011

• We had friends over from Canada for Graduation and I got a tiara.

• I celebrated my fifth year as a certified Life-Cycle Celebrant® by entering into the Master Celebrant course.
• I got henna for the first time.

• We had some SCUBA fun.
• I went to NYC to celebrate the start of Marriage Equality in NY.

• Frankie passed away.
• I attended a social media conference in NYC.
• We had an earthquake, and a hurricane, and our basement flooded, all in about a week.

• I tore my cornea and learned a few weeks later that I should stay away from over the counter eye drops because…
• They might trigger something called Aides Eye—which looks a lot like an aneurism.

• I learned that my EMT husband knows which local hospitals have fully staffed MRIs and the shortest routes to them. (I went to the eye doctor and it turned out not to be an aneurism, but it was good information to have.)
• I drove to Arizona with a friend.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

• While I was gone my house flooded.
• My awesome husband made it so that I could continue on the trip without coming home.
• When I got home I helped Wookie teach his Dive Squad CPR.
• I ran a successful online fundraiser for the Celebrant Institute.

• I learned that I need to improve my math skills before ordering at the all-you-can-eat sushi place again.

• I learned I can’t eat squid ink.

• I took over 6000 pictures.
• I enjoyed another year with my Wookie, my family, and my friends.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

It’s been one hell of a year. 8 days to go.

Here’s hoping 41 is a good year.

Pottery Class Session 2 Results!

I am so very thrilled with the results of my second session of lessons at the New York/New Jersey Academy of Ceramic Art. I made nine pieces this session. Most of them are gifts so this first shot is the last time they were all together in one place.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

I made this one for my mother. (I need a better picture.) The dogwood flower was added as an applique. I applied latex to the flowers and stem before the initial glazing. Then I removed the latex and painted the flower and stem with glaze.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

This scoop missing from this bowl was unintentional. It broke off when the piece was leather hard. I like to roll with the "oopses." My niece says it makes the bowl easy to hold.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

I had a vision for the glaze on this one. I am thrilled with how it came out.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

A Tale in Seven Parts

Last week was one of busiest weeks in recent memory. Some events I could never have predicted.

©2011 Cristina Kollet

Monday my cat was diagnosed with Lymphoma. This was actually the better of possible diagnoses, as Lymphoma in cats can be treated with chemotherapy and there is hope that she may go into remission. (Fingers crossed.)

One of the things we need to watch her for is dehydration, which was a problem last week. To treat it, the vet taught me how to give her subcutaneous fluids and I performed that procedure at home Monday with Paul’s help.  It takes both of us and there was a false start, but we were ultimately successful.

©2011 Cristina Kollet

On Tuesday, I was the target of an under cover sting operation by police.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Wookie and I welcomed the new year on the banks of the Hudson. The first time we did this the night was clear enough to hear the cheers from Times Square. 

Tonight wasn't clear enough for that but it was nice to be out there with other people waiting for 2011 and to watch the fireworks over NYC after.  (I forgot my camera so these are from my phone. Please pardon the photo quality.)

©Cristina Kollet 2010

©Cristina Kollet 2011

©Cristina Kollet 2011

Thank you all for reading these last few months. I look forward to the adventures 2011 will bring and I wish you all a safe, healthy, prosperous new year filled with love, laughter, and celebration.

-Cris

Love Is...

©Cristina Kollet 2010

When in Doubt, Post a Photo

So in the last two weeks I turned 40 and my teaching season began again. So I haven't had much time to write, though lots to write about.

So, a picture being worth a thousand words, here are some photos that have captured my feelings of late.
(All photos © Cristina Kollet)

Life moves fast...

It's good to stop

and reflect.

Remember what's important

and the sweet things in life.

Get some perspective.

40's not that old compared to most things.

There's plenty of time to soar.

Smiley Face Lady Bug

©2010 Cristina Kollet

Life's a bit of a balancing act. There are a lot of things that are not going the way I'd like and a lot of things that I'd never imagined I'd be doing that are going very well. It helps to remember that there are smiles waiting in unexpected places.

I took this at Dutch Springs last weekend. I didn't see the smiley faces till I got home.

Only one Towel?

I've seen variations of this sign a lot lately and someone must be mass producing them because  the phrase "individual towel" is common. They go through the trouble of being so precise with the instructions, but I am pretty sure they mean to say "disposable" towel. At least I hope so--one paper towel never seems sufficient to me.

I Love a Diner

This week found us back in south Jersey to see Rich again. Paul and Rich went for a quick dive in Barnegat Lake and we ended the evening in this diner.

I love diners. They are the staples of dining out for me.  I love that you can get anything at any time of day and when it comes to the older, classic diners, I love the decor.

The Forked River Diner is one of those classic diners. Outside, it's clad in the prerequisite chrome. Inside, mirrors, chrome, teal vinyl, booths and bar stools complete the picture.

We arrived a little before closing on a weeknight. Paul and Rich ordered breakfast and I ordered a cheeseburger deluxe. There's a relaxed familiarity with diners in general that seems to settle in once you sit down. Maybe it's the expectation of comfort food or the timelessness atmosphere.

After we ordered, we settled in to discuss the afternoon and upcoming plans. I snapped a few pictures with my phone, trying  to capture the moment without disturbing it for the handful of other diners who were also enjoying the evening.

We were last out of the diner — a first for me; the diners near us are open 24/7.  After we dropped Rich off, Paul and I headed home. The parkway flashed by in a blur.