Some Miscellaneous Stuff

I did manage to sneak a few extra pieces into the kiln when I fired student work during my recently completed class session.

This is to remind you (and maybe me!) of what I do for a living.  I've activated my Etsy Shop again and I'm hoping for some sales. It always perks me up to see that email from Etsy saying "Congratulations!".

I think I have my house pretty much back in order. I brought home some things from my Dad's apartment - not too much, as I'd already filled up this place with family things when we cleaned out the house after my Mom died. But there were still a few boxes of stuff that had to find a place to be. While I was doing that I went through a couple of closets and re-packed those boxes with things to go to charity. Stuff in, stuff out! This house is too small to accumulate too much. And, I've even managed to do a little cleaning. Lola is shedding like crazy right now! It's amazing how, when I feel like I have a heavy load on me, that getting my home in order can make me feel better.

I've gone a week without watching news. Well, a little sneaks in here and there like the tornadoes last week, but I mute the TV or turn it off so that I don't get caught up in the drama of what all those poor people are going through. I think it's helping.

I did watch the Royal Wedding yesterday. That was a happy event and I very much enjoyed all the pomp and ceremony that the British are so good at. The hats, the morning coats, the glimpse at royalty... I suppose I get this from my mother, because she loved anything British, especially the royalty. When I was growing up she (jokingly) told me that I should marry Prince Charles. I think she was a little disappointed when he married Diana because the joke was over, but she collected all the memorabilia from their wedding that she could find here in the US. The fact that William married a "commoner" would have enamored her to no end and I'm sure she, too, would have been glued to the TV yesterday. I thought about Mom a lot while I was watching. I was also remembering when I visited Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace when I was in London the last time and that brought back some good memories for me.

Hives? Aw, geez, that's still the bane of my existence. It's looking like the antihistamines that I've been on are not working as well as they used to, so I have a few miserable hours every day before I can take the next dose. I've been on zinc supplements for suspected copper poisioning for a month. The Doctor said I might have been a little sensitive to copper, but that's obviously not what's causing these hives. That's good news and bad news. Good news that I can continue to work with copper, but bad news because that would have been a simple solution to these hives. Now I'm seeing an Acupuncturist with no change yet. But it's only been one visit. I found an online forum for Chronic Urticaria (the fancy name for what I have) and see that people's hives have gone away after treatment for other things like the bacteria that causes ulcers (H. Pylori), Candida, Thyroid issues and intestinal parasites. Tests for those things may be the next step.

I'm by no means out of the woods yet, but I can feel some of the profound sadness over my father's death subsiding a little and I'm looking forward to the day these hives clear up. Hopefully the slides backward will be smaller than the strides forward. I'm working on it. Thanks for visiting and blessings to you all.