August 13-24, 2020 Fort Collins, Colorado

 In the high 90's this week. 

I went to Denver today to shop at the glass wholesale store and visit with friends. The wild fires have turned the sky orange. On my drive back the sun was an opaque red orange. Of course my camera could not capture it. I took this photo blindly pointing the camera as I was driving and watching the road. It was beautiful my whole drive. Today the smoke cloud over Fort Collins. It was like sunset all day, the light is orange.

And the sun is red through the smoke. I finished this bear. The mold said to draw around the base of the mold for the shape of the glass. The last two I drew around the hole in the center of the mold. I think I like this one better. It has been fired 4 times. After the first firing there was a huge bubble. So I broke the bubble and refired. Then I had to cover up the debris left from the bubble, it was scummy, so I had to change the design and add the green and blue around the heart line on the bear and the border around the edge. It came out very nice. It is 7 x 10 inches and an inch deep. 

Finally two tomatoes from our plants. This particular plant has about 10 ripening tomatoes and not much else, for some reason the plant has stopped growing. It is very smoky today from the forest fires in the mountains to the west. Friday I had 3 vaccinations, Tetanus/diphtheria, shingles and pneumovax. I was sicker than a dog ,from reactions to the shots, for the weekend. Mostly severe muscle aches, so I stayed home in bed. Won't try to exercise outdoors till the smoke clears. but by Monday I am recovered. 

Sunset the other night. We met with John's friend Val, from when he lived in Eagle 28 years ago. Her son Gunner is going to college in Fort Collins so they met us for dinner. Andrew also joined us. He is a friend from way back. They invited him and we knew him. Andrew, Shay, John, Me, Val and Gunner. It was fun to met them and dinner was lovely.

Sunset from dinner. Who could not buy this-Bliss 20 plant based pills for happiness?

Pendants I made this week. Trying to fill in the jewelry that I ran out over the winter. I made 7 of these beveled and polished jewels today.  I like the organic shapes better than trying to make  a perfect shape to fit in a setting. . Much easier. I moved my flat lap grinder to where the old kiln was that I sold and have a lot more room now. 

The Three Bears.  Experimenting with the bear mold. We have been having high temperatures. They are saying the temps are in the high 90's but in gets pretty hot in our backyard. The smoke is very bad. I can not tell the difference from clouds and the smoke. It is either dreary gray and hazy or the light is orange and hazy. 

 Here is the latest mask I made-currency. Way before sunset we get colors. I am not sure if it the clouds or smoke. 

The sun dropped below either clouds or thicker smoke into orange smoke. We get sunset colors much of the day. This is actual sunset over McMurray pond. I can't decide which is worse. Staying inside and being fat and depressed or going outside and exercising in the bad quality air. The eastern front range of the Rockies is kind of on a wind shadow from the mountains. The winds blow over the mountains and don't come down till farther east, so everything in the air just stays here .The ozone and particulates have been in the unhealthy for sensitive individual and almost in to the unhealthy for everyone. 

A buck seen on my bike ride. 

August 6-12, 2020 Fort Collins, Colorado

 In the high 90's for a few days. Not too bad, mostly we stayed inside.

We were going to eat dinner outside tonight, but it was raining with the sun out. It was very pretty, but we ate inside. Sunset on my bike ride tonight.

Sunset last night was orange with smoke for a fire somewhere in Colorado. We have a tree right between us and the setting sun when we eat dinner on the deck. There were not a lot of clouds, but straight up was a nice one. 

Sunset to the north on the other side of the tree was even nice. 

I refired the little critters made with glass from a couple wine bottles. I had a new firing schedule and they full fused this time. They are so thick they look black. I may paint them or leave them as they are. Top and bottom of them n the photo.

I am behind on posting photos.  A couple of old sunsets. The smoke from the wildfires is turning our sunsets orange. Another sunset.

Sunsets seen riding my bike to Laporte. 

Had a sack lunch at CSU Annual Trial gardens today. It is one of 4 in the country. They test seeds at different altitudes to see which ones are best. It is a really beautiful garden. 

CSU annual trial gardens. Hop flowered oregano, petunias, a fuzzy plant, black eyed susans and a sign in the tomato garden. This is a research garden, do not pick the tomatoes. 

I got this great snake for our bus. We had one that we kept under the step to discourage burglars, but it disappeared when we were on the Navajo reservation, so I got this new on today. It is pictured in my birthday cactus. Still working on this bear. The first firing had a big bubble in it, so I broke it out and fired it again. Where the bubbles were always look scruffy, so I had to change the design to cover it and I came up with this. It is now slumping into a bear shaped mold. 

The rainbow tonight landed on our house! We got this much sunset then the sun went behind the cloud layer on the horizon.

John outdid himself with dinner tonight. Butterfly pork chop, grilled onion blossom and grilled peaches stuffed with mashed sweet potatoes and topped with goat cheese and pinion nuts. It tasted as good as it looks. 

July 30-August 6, 2020 Fort Collins Colorado

Sunset last night. John took me out to dinner at Jay's for my birthday. We are eating the complementary Chocolate Decadence birthday cake here. Thanks Darling. 

One pound of basil from the garden. Or 16 packed cups. I made the first batch of pesto tonight. John plate, he likes a lot of pesto on his pasta.  Sunset tonight from the deck during dinner.

The rain from the big cloud going south of us. This bear is in the kiln, as soon as I get a couple other things in there with it I will fire it. It will be slumped into the bear mold after it has fused. 

  

Sunset tonight. I peeked at the bear in the kiln at 1100 degrees, it is now fused and cooling down. The  reds are black and the yellows orange. The normal color will return when it is room temp. 

The black bear in the sun. You can see the dichroic and iridized glass better. Beginning of sunset last night.

Sunset over McMurry pond and a rainbow.

The finished clear bear. It has iridized glass on the back, but you have to see the piece moving around to really see it. 

Sunset tonight. Right after I fell off my bike. My shifters badly need adjusting, I shifted, the chain locked up, the wheels quit turning and I was down in a pile of big rocks. Ouch. Just bruised up tho, still able to ride home. I made these little guys out of glass from a wine bottle. I need to fire them at a  higher temp to get a full fuse. But the bumpiness looks ok on a pickle, turtle and toad. 

Not many clouds last night, these sunset clouds were overhead. My sister sent me a giant blow  up cactus for my birthday. It takes a lot of air. We tried the vacuum, the bike pump and settled on this air mattress pump. John thinks it is an accordion.

I am one with my new cactus my sister sent me for my birthday. 

It is huge.