Kitten, hyacinths, other stuff totally unrelated to ceramics

             I'm still here, honest! Maybe I need to institute a yearly blog hiatus every spring to take a break, since it seems to happen naturally anyway. I'm sure I'll post some more about ceramic-y things later this week, but for now, here is some fluff for your enjoyment.

             Warbear is about six months old now. Here she is pictured with some of her favorite toys - my boots. The laces are of particular interest: 

            She is a master at untying them now. When I purchased these boots and put them on for the first time in 2007, I tied those laces up with double-knotted bows. They remained tied for the next six years, despite slogging through snow and slush and mud every day. But Warbear would not take no for an answer, and one day recently I discovered that I had to re-tie my boots for the first time since I bought them. 

            She also has a strange affinity for grocery bags, which are apparently great to jump up and down on (with supervision). In fact, the list of Things Which Don't Appear to be Toys But Actually Are According to Warbear has gotten quite long. Some, but not all, of the things included are: walnuts (still in the shell so she can roll them across the floor), gloves, sponges of any kind (which are mercilessly shredded to bits), socks, paintbrushes, clay tools that are shiny (i.e. the metal ones), and porcelain. Yes, she tries to help me make pots. She's still working out what wedging is for, but it sure looks like fun! The result is usually that she gets clay on her nose and paws. So far, no pots have been harmed. Yet. 

            I've been having a new gardening adventure this year as well as a new kitten adventure. I am forcing hyacinth bulbs! Aren't they cute?

            One of the bulbs is in a vase - rather bulbous itself - that I made at Simon's Rock and fired in the wood kiln there.

            (Note: kittens/cats should not be allowed to hang out around bulbs unsupervised; they are very poisonous.)

            In late January or early February I took this picture... from inside the house. This is just the window of a stormdoor, though. Don't worry too much, the inside door keeps the frost out just fine. 

            You can see why the bulbs with their little green points make me happy! And, of course, the kitten. It's hard to beat having a fuzzy cuddlebeast around.