cook + clay: corned beef + cone 10 glazing

T'was a weekend for not doing clay and putting my partner's needs ahead of mine. My father-in-law died, and our dog almost died or so my husband thought when he called me, almost in tears--too much was happening to him at once. I said, I'll be home soon and then we'll decide if our girl needs to go to the emergency pet hospital. I arrived home, and she was fine and even tried to get me to chase her. And so I stayed home to give moral support as well as be with Sadie. I'm still waiting for my husband to have a good cleansing cry, but I think he's too busy with selling a home for a client and looking for a home for another client in order to grieve. I just wanted to lessen his load, so I took off from Saturday Clay too in order to take care of the dogs. After stopping at the ceramics community studio and picking up a box of pottery for an Empty Bowls event, I let them wander at their leisure in Central Park.

  

They wandered toward the pumphouse where the Arboretum Society is located and even let me explore their plant sale.

 

Both the boy and girl were into sniffing a boxwood hedge at the Rose Garden.

  

We finally made our way back to my car past the Japanese Garden.

I saved this pic of a breakfast treat as a reminder to stop at my favorite bakery the next time I'm downtown.

I may have forgotten to stop at Backhaus, but I did remember to go to my favorite Japanese grocery, Suruki to pick up poke and sushi.

And then it was Sunday. The dogs and I got soaked while walking, and so I hurried them back home, toweled them dry and let them nap.

 

Too wet to garden, but the flower bed was nonetheless lovely.

I had managed to pick up the corned beef on sale after my swim on Saturday and decided a boiled meal was to be Sunday supper. Luckily, I found Mexican beer in which to boil the beef. Stout would've made it too bitter. I had intended to roast the vegetables, but it was just easier to add them to the boiling pot although I did go to the trouble of mashing and lashing the potatoes with butter, cream, and chives.

 

I also made a creamy horseradish sauce.

I bought a less fattier brisket, which made for me a less tender protein that needed longer boiling. It'll be fine though as leftovers.

And then it was Monday and a very limited amount of time for clay club because I needed to swim too after school. I glazed two dinner plates during a class period. Black Mountain dinner plates in Marshmallow and Coleman Porcelain in Coleman Red. I accidenatlly locked myself in the kiln room (luckily a class was next door to let me back in) after peering into the gas kiln outside--plenty of room for my plates. 

 

I will try to use up the last of my Black Mountain to make a couple salad plates later this week in clay club maybe. And then it was off to the pool for my mile swim. For dinner, I still had leftover ingredients from hotpot a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, I had to throw away the tofu, but I'd still had spinach noodles and Napa cabbage and beech mushrooms and leftover miso and had since replenished the Chinese sausage and shabu shabu lamb. I finally cooked the noodles al dente.

 

Patrick ate lasagna, and there's still leftover corned beef and boiled vegetables and roasted turkey and mashed potatoes. I'll be cooking shepherd's pie on Saturday, but maybe this Friday I'll make BLTs or fajitas. I like options. 

My art instructor also posted class notes on our next unit on color and illuminated texts as well as the next assignment of an illuminated character (or letter). Some student examples included a Chinese character and even a sign from American Sign Language. We're supposed to also integrate light-dark and warm-cool color contrasts. This Starbucks gift card made me think of our last collage assignment, and now I'm thinking inspo for the next assignment if I paint the letter P.

I also noticed this business logo on the back of a pickup truck, which makes me want to illustrate the letter A for architecture or H for home.      

I would love to design something reminiscent of midcentury modern. I'll ponder which letter and how to illuminate/illustrate today after I teach.

I've been eating bananas because I've been getting foot cramps when I swim, but thankfully no leg cramps when I sleep. And so I've been making banana splits to get that potassium intake.

Last night was the last of the ice cream, and so do I get more ice cream for my banana serving or just eat the banana with my coffee in the mornings? Or maybe another dessert like Bananas Foster? Research time!