COFFEE!

I love coffee. My daughter likes coffee. Coffee is a wonderful thing. Did I already tell you I love coffee?

Coffee is everything to me. Coffee comes in all forms mochas, latte's, iced, and just a plain old cup of joe. There are many places you can go to get coffee. You can make your own coffee. And best of all coffee is every where.

Coffee is also very complex. Not only are there different forms, there are also different beans. From Columbian to Kona there are ALOT of different beans. Each one has a distinct taste. And each one has a distinct effect also. And to beable to tell the difference takes experience.

I did not know until recently there are people who professionally taste coffee. YES! They are called cuppers. These people can tastes up to hundreds of different cups of coffees. Can you believe that? That is the job for me.

If you can't tell yet I love coffee. I start most mornings with a cup of coffee. Most afternoons I keep my day going with a cup of coffee. The best days are when I get to enjoy a cup of coffee from Starbucks or Insomania, which I know for some should not be compared in a sentence. And yes, one is better then the other. I will leave that choice up to you.

I raise my cup to you. Enjoy your day, and most of all enjoy a GOOD cup of coffee

A little break from the norm

I felt very blessed this weekend. I was treated, by my husband, with a weekend away with my mom. We were able to go down to the Willamete Art Center in Salem and take glass blowing class. The best thing I have done yet!

We got to learn all about glass blowing and experience making our own projects. The first thing we made were little clear snowman.(they looked more like blobs, then snowman) We also found out that the pipe or rod you use to collect your glass with is called a pony rod. You can see at the picture above I am molding the "blob" snowman on my pony rod. The tool I am using s called a the twisser, that is the tool you use to place water on the glass so it can be broken off the rod.

The second project to learn was flowers. This was fun! So you gather the glass just like we gathered the glass for the snowman blobs. In the picture you see me placing the pony rod into the furnace where there is a large ceramic bowl full of liquid clear glass. This part of the process is very hot. After gathering the glass we placed the hot glass into the color. You can see me in the picture to the right as I am gathering my color. Then we took it back to the "glory hole" where you reheat your glass and combined the color. After the glass to a certain temperature or "look" to it you sit down at the bench and shape your flower by using twissers or what they call Jacks. After you have shaped your flower you take another tool called Combination clippers, and lengthen your flower. From there you cut off the end of the stem while your partner catches the flower. In this picture you can see me strengthing my flower to make the stem. My partner Lucy, who was one of the teachers, caught my flower after we cut off the stem. I have to tell you it is alot harder then it looks.

We next made ornaments, both clear and colored. You gather the glass like always but the difference is you use a blow pipe instead of a pony rod. After gathering your glass you blow down the pipe to create a bubble. After creating your bubble you start to shape your glass, and your partner then blows down the pipe to enlarge the bubble.

Here you see the birth of a bubble. The first bubble is the hardest part of the project!

In the picture to the right you see mom shaping her ornament with wooden block. The gentleman helping her is Matt the other teacher of the class.

We also got a chance to make vessels, like bowls and cups. We made one bowl and one tumbler.

In this picture you see mom expanding her bubble into a bowl. In the next picture you see her swinging her pony rod to extend out the glass to make a tubbler or glass.

I could go on and on about what we did this last weekend. It was wonderful, tiring, and enlighting. This is one art I could do just for the enjoyment of it. I am thankful for the two teachers who were there, and the knowledge they were willing to share with us. Here is the link to Willamette Art Center http://willametteartcenter.com/. I hope all of you take the time to check out the site.

Been awhile

It has been awhile since I have been able to sit down and actually write in my blog. Our adventures have been overwhelming and time consuming. All I can say, it is good to beable to sit down and write.

The newest adventure we have added to our house is the walk that Grace and I are training for. I think quite a few of you have heard about the fact Grace and I are training for the Helvatia half marathon. It was a good friend of mine, Jennifer, who put the bug in my ear about doing the half marathon. The choice to do this was the best thing I could have done.

Knowing I have to train at least every other day and that there are two people training with me has given me focus. I cannot get up one morning and say not today. Each day I have to make a concious effort to get out there and walk my miles with Grace.

Right now Grace and I are up to quite a few miles. Two days a week we walk 3 miles, and then run six sets of stairs at the Aloha stadium. Two days a week we walk 5 to 6 miles depending on our route. Then one day a week we are suppose to walk a long distance with Jennifer. Unfortunately our schedules have not been meeting so we are walking our long distance on our own.

This has been a good challenge for all of us. It is getting us off our bottoms and moving. The final date is June 12th. I will keep everyone updated on our progress as we "walk" up to our final destination.