The Pottery Results are In! or What I Made on My Mental Vacation

Ten weeks, three hours a week (some weeks more) and fourteen pieces to show for it!

©2011 Cristina Kollet

In the end glazing turned out to be the most difficult thing. Most of the mugs are decorative rather than food-safe because of spots inside where the glaze didn't cover. But I am thrilled with the results.

It is amazing to be able to start with this

©2011 Cristina Kollet

and turn it into this

©2011 Cristina Kollet

and wind up with this!

©2011 Cristina Kollet

Tea tastes better in a mug I made myself. Cheers!

©2011 Cristina Kollet

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.

Stress

It's been a long month.

I lost my job. Paul and I waited for weeks for an urgent package that seems to have vanished somewhere between Ireland and New Jersey.

Today, I found out that my Frankie is very sick and may have lymphoma, which the vet tells us is the most common form of cancer in cats. She's lost a lot of weight and has not been herself.

Most of today has revolved around a visit to the vet. I sat parked outside with Frankie before they even opened. I sat and waited while they took blood and x-rays and was sent home to wait while they arranged for an ultra sound and biopsy. I went back with Paul and we discussed options and I learned how to give Frankie IV fluids to keep her hydrated.

There was a lot of waiting and I kept glancing down at my phone and seeing this.

Its an app that's supposed to tell me the safety status of other apps I've downloaded to my phone, but today I hoped it was a personal assurance that "everything is OK."

Tea Time

©Cristina Kollet 2011

Writer for Hire

Life in over my head has gotten a bit deeper.

As of February 5, I am (for the first time in 15 years) without a "day" job. The contract I was working ended and was not renewed.

It's been nine years since I've been actively engaged in scouring the want ads. (My last job found me.) I know my skills are needed, though finding a job in the niche I am best experienced at may be a challenge.

Still, even the ads for jobs I'm not qualified for show that my skill set is needed. Take this one for instance. I don't have experience with HTML or "marketing automation skills" but I do have a well developed sense of irony.

My New Super Power

I've been taking pottery classes--a gift from my wonderful husband and well timed. The classes were to get me out of the house and to relieve stress. There is something about getting one's hands dirty that is very therapeutic. This is the one scheduled activity I have where I'm not shooting for perfection, as I do with the day job and the ceremonies I write for my clients, and when I'm teaching.

It's good to be a student for a change. When I'm at the wheel it's about fun and learning. When a piece collapses on the wheel it's all part of the fun.

This week I made a break through. I created three pieces and two actually came out more or less as I had intended. (My previous attempts can be best described with the words "let's see what happens this time.")

And so, my new super power is revealed. I can turn this

into this

and this

into this.

Of course sometimes things still go a bit wonky.  This

was headed towards becoming a nice cylinder when it collapsed.

But I still had clay to play with on the wheel and, while unstable and unpredictable, I was still happy with the results, so I kept it.

More Pics from Ice World

I had some fun with cropping. I think these tell a story.

All images in this post ©Cristina Kollet 2011.

Ice Henge: Brought to You by Rubber Pants

I bought a set of rain gear (pants and jacket) for my Whale Watching excursion in San Francisco back in August.  It’s been one of my better purchases. In addition to keeping me dry at sea, I’ve realized that it’s also pretty good in the snow—the pants especially.

Thanks to the added waterproofing I was able to kneel and lay in the snow for about 40 minutes fooling around with my camera and some icicles. Originally I was hoping to do a Superman, Fortress of Solitude thing, but the ice wasn’t the right shape, so instead I created Ice Henge.

© Cristina Kollet 2011

© Cristina Kollet 2011

© Cristina Kollet 2011

© Cristina Kollet 2011

© Cristina Kollet 2011

© Cristina Kollet 2011

Got milk?

©Cristina Kollet 2011

I'm Published!

Celebrant Foundation and Institute Association members are contributing weekly articles to Spirituality and Health Magazine's weekly newsletter. I've been helping organize the submission schedule in my role as the Foundation's Head of New Media.

I also had the opportunity to write one myself. You can read it here: Replenishing the Well: Sustenance Rituals to Get You Through the Winter

This was a lot of fun. I look forward to doing more things like this in the future.

I Made This!

Things have gotten very busy since the holidays.  I have lots of things I want to post about, but no time to write. Hopefully I'll get caught up soon.

In the mean time, I wanted to show (ok, show off) some of the fruits of my labor. I've been taking a pottery class. Last weekend I made these!

©2011 Cristina Kollet

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

Photo Fun

I am on vacation and snowed in. On top of that I have the flu--which really cuts down on my ability to write anything coherent. So instead of writing the posts I had planned to write, I am entertaining myself with my camera. Here are the best of the shots I took today.

Both are lovely ornaments that my in-laws sent from Ireland a few years ago. The lighting comes from the lights on the tree.

©2010 Cristina Kollet

©2010 Cristina Kollet

A Winter Tradition

This morning we were supposed to drive down to south Jersey for brunch with our friend Richie.  I admit that in my holiday haze I had not checked the weather. Thankfully, I checked Facebook before getting out of bed this morning; because it was posts about snow storms and changing travel plans that made me check the forecast.

Of course, our plans changed.  Instead of driving to Hazlet, we drove to ShopRite.

I admit that I don't know how far this phenomenon extends. But here in New Jersey, if so much as a dusting of snow is expected, people will rush to the supermarket for bread and milk. If you are expecting a blizzard, you get this...

At 10:44 AM, the parking lot was packed. Note that, at this time, there are only a few flakes on the ground.

© 2010 Cristina Kollet

Of course, we went straight for the milk, knowing that's the first thing to go.

© 2010 Cristina Kollet

And to All a Good Night

I'm sitting here with the hiccups winding down from a great evening with family and friends.

I plugged in our tree. It's been up all year, but not re-lit till tonight.

I wrapped the presents and completed a personal tradition. Every year I make ornaments for my nieces. Some years I get very busy and come close to forgetting. This was one of those years. But between remembering on the way to dinner and getting home some hours later, I had a vision.  Some wire and an hour later, I was done.

We'll be up early tomorrow to participate in what has become known as The Festival of Greed.  Mainly we watch the kids open presents and have a huge breakfast. The adults have switched to doing Secret Santa via Elfster.com--which is fun, but I'm not clear on the timing of the exchange this year.

Now, there are some out there who won't like the whole "Festival of Greed" concept, but to each their own. I'll say here that I'm not traditionally religious. Christmas in my family has been secular for years. Personally, I look toward the common theme being celebrated by many religions and cultures this time of year--the theme of light in the darkness--be that light from a person, a flame, or the ever lengthening days after the solstice.

I'm also celebrating my anniversary. It is 7 years now since I first met my husband face-to-face. Our first date was on Christmas and so I celebrate the day the light of Love came into my life.

And so I wish you all a happy holiday-whether it's a holiday of faith or just a day off work. I hope you all find something or someone to make you happy. My happiness is asleep upstairs. It's time to turn this good day into a good night.

My New Toy: Neat Receipts for Mac

This is my new toy and it's great!

I've lusted after this for about a year now, hoping it would do everything it said it would, but too skeptical to buy it. Finally, faced with the year-end task of getting together receipts to file for my flexible spending account claim and tax season around the corner (the horror!), I took the plunge.

It's not a very expensive gadget, the portable model that I got was on sale for about $130.  (It's usually about $180 and the desktop scanner is over $300.)


Setup was easy. One CD and the usual bit of clicking next when prompted. The scanner uses a USB cable and comes with a pouch for storage.  I'm still a little confused by the software. I was able to get it to do everything I wanted in the end, but I can't say exactly how and I am sure there is a better way. (I could have used a manual.)

What I was able to do--scan a pile of receipts, which the Neat Receipts software then read and categorized and created PDFs.  I was also able to import PDFs I had of online receipts into the software.

In the end I was able to create one PDF with all of my receipts in it which is so much easier to deal with than having to deal with lots of attachments.

Neat Receipts is supposed to be compatible with Turbo Tax and QuickBooks. So hopefully it will make tax season easier.  But I feel like just having it for the Flexible Spending Account receipts made it pay for itself.

I think my next step will be one of those Android apps that turns the Droidx into a scanner and makes PDFs. That way I can capture my receipts right away before they end up a crumpled mess in my pocket.

Tis the Season for Giving! May I Suggest the Gift of Clean Water?

Have you ever been inconvenienced by a water main break or just felt disappointed when the store didn't have your favorite brand of bottled water?

Imagine never having clean water you can count on--to drink, to cook with, or bathe in. Face it, if you're reading this in a warm home, with running water, you've got it relatively easy.

This is the time of year when we turn our thoughts to giving--to our friends and loved ones and to worthy causes.

So if you're looking for a cause to support, and whether you're giving out of the goodness of your heart, or for that last minute tax deduction, or a little bit of both, I suggest you check out Our Glimmer of Hope's Water is Hope campaign to raise funds for a well in Tercha, Ethiopia.

Tercha is a village near where my friend's daughter was born. My friend's adoptive family travel group is trying to raise $4750 to install one clean water source in Tercha. 100% of donations go to the well.

Please take a moment to learn more about it here. Water is Hope | Our Glimmer of Hope

Calling in Tech Support

I'll admit it. The heavy posting tonight has been due to my attempts to get Blogger, Twitter, and Facebook to play nice.

Since I'm not having great luck, I've brought in some tech support. If this post shows up in all three places, Biggles will have been successful.

©Cristina Kollet 2010

Biggles has his own fan page. I lean on him for technical expertise when the Wookie is not around.

When I Was a Kid...

When I was a kid, I loved putting up the Christmas tree. I loved lights, the decorations with all their memories attached, and even that empty space beneath it holding the promise of little dreams that might come true come Christmas morning.

I wanted to keep the tree up all year. This year, I did.

©Cristina Kollet 2009

I'm happy every time I look at it. With all the responsibilities of adulthood, how many times to we think back to being a kid and actually DO some of the things we said we would when we grew up?

If you get the opportunity, I highly recommend it.

That Most Wonderful Time of the Year

©Cristina Kollet 2010

This morning I saw the first snow flakes of the holiday season. Happily, it didn't stick. But here, the snow is fluffy white and no one has to dig out their car.