Wednesday night, an hour and a half past both her and Lady’s bedtime, we picked up a tired (but crazy excited) Dotz at the airport. Thursday morning was very busy, as Lady and Dotz had LOTS on the agenda. They multi-tasked and got much of the updates and travel adventures discussed while making the garden tours. Then it was time to get down to the main business of the weekend... prepping for Lady’s first craft show! And thank Goodness Dotz was there to help, because Lady was near going crazy trying to figure it out herself. Mondo tried to help, of course, but sometimes a rocket scientist mind can’t quite fathom how to help an artist mind whose sanity is threatening to escape. He did what he could (which was a lot) and left the rest (which was also a lot) to Dotz.
She talked Lady through tablecloths and presentation plans while Lady frantically finished pieces of jewelry. There was sleep that night, and waking on Friday, but for some reason, especially since Lady took the day off from work, it all blended together… such is life in the late stages of planning.
And as Murphy would have it, we hit a few small snags in our planning. Snag number one: Lady’s sewing machine was dead. It had probably been dead for a while, in fact, our neighbor had left hers at our house once, because Lady couldn’t get her own to work. But this wasn’t really okay: Yes, sewing was possible, but a girl HAS to own a working sewing machine. We had to go shopping for more fabric and ribbon, anyway! This leads us to Snag number two: it was Friday the 13th! For those of you who don’t know, Lady’s family tends to be accident prone on Friday the thirteenth. One thirteenth Friday, Lady and her sister both got in car accidents in two different towns, at the exact same time! Every accident that Lady has been in has been on a thirteenth, so Mondo was a little leery of letting Lady AND her mom in the car that day. The original plan was that any shopping would have to be done on after this day had passed, but in the end, reason pushed through our superstitions and we piled into the car to go to JoAnn Fabrics.
First things first, Dotz bought Lady her early birthday present: a WORKING sewing machine! Then we ogled fabrics, findings, ribbons and clay. There was a fabulous sale going on… When we got through the register, we felt supremely smart at how much we had gotten for such a small fee. When we realized that the clay had been over half off, we even had to run back and buy more!
The great deals (and the prospect of playing with all that new clay) had Lady pretty high on the way home, and when Mondo turned off the car and sighed with relief, Lady had to be reminded that our safe return home was monumental, considering the date. This Friday the Thirteenth had been defeated.
First things first, Dotz bought Lady her early birthday present: a WORKING sewing machine! Then we ogled fabrics, findings, ribbons and clay. There was a fabulous sale going on… When we got through the register, we felt supremely smart at how much we had gotten for such a small fee. When we realized that the clay had been over half off, we even had to run back and buy more!
The great deals (and the prospect of playing with all that new clay) had Lady pretty high on the way home, and when Mondo turned off the car and sighed with relief, Lady had to be reminded that our safe return home was monumental, considering the date. This Friday the Thirteenth had been defeated.
Saturday morning, Lady went off to work, while Dotz and Mondo got to work cleaning the house and prepping the meatballs and lefse for the party. With a few rounds of Yahtzee thrown in for some relaxing at lunch time, we were good to go for the Lefse Party. Lady finished a harrowing day at work, and made it home a half an hour after the party started, and STILL beat the guests. She’s that good. The lefse was yummy, and the art gallery that Mondo and Dotz set up was impressive. Everyone enjoyed good food and fun, and soon it was time for bed.
Sunday morning came lazily in as we visited Galveston Bay. We wondered at the awesomeness of nature, the vastness of the ocean that holds so many tiny miracles… these perfect shells and sea beans are the inspiration as well as the medium for much of Lady’s artwork, so the trip was labeled as an “inventory run.” Dotz and Lady searched the beach, while Mondo kicked back in the lawn chair, read his book, and got pleasantly crispy.
Once we de-sandified and re-hydrated ourselves back at home, Mondo relaxed with a new game while Lady and Dotz delved back into the artwork. Much of the preparations were done, so Lady showed Dotz her newest discovery: the Mokume Gane technique. Dotz’s tentative attempts soon turned into confident rolls and slices, and by the end of the day, she was turning out beautiful pieces.
Once we de-sandified and re-hydrated ourselves back at home, Mondo relaxed with a new game while Lady and Dotz delved back into the artwork. Much of the preparations were done, so Lady showed Dotz her newest discovery: the Mokume Gane technique. Dotz’s tentative attempts soon turned into confident rolls and slices, and by the end of the day, she was turning out beautiful pieces.
Monday morning pounced on us before we expected it, and at oh-early-hundred we had to get Dotz to the airport for her trip back North. As always, it was a bitter-sweet goodbye. It’s so fun to have guests, but so nice to get back to our regular routine! Our Monday turned into a hum-drum Monday, and Mom arrived home safely and fell back into her own routine there. We had all had fun, but I hadn’t realized how much until I got a phone call a few nights later, “Lady… how do you tell when the clay is done baking? Should I take it out now?” Oh, my mother. I’d gotten her so hooked on clay that (under the guise of a library program) she had to go out and get some herself!
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