...from my computer for most of the weekend because I'll be selling at the Artist's Boutique in Kirkwood, MO (St. Louis suburb). If you're in the area, stop on by.
You will need:
You may not know this, but I have some OCD tendencies, and this is pretty big one for me. 
So, periodically I grab a chunk of silver and, much to N's dismay (who has to share a studio with my noise), I pound it into a spoon. 
I don't know what idea I'm trying to work through. I know I like to make them because they are the most "metal" thing I know how to do. I like working with the silver, which I rarely do in my other work and I like pushing the metal's malleability. It amazes me that a square piece of silver rod can be transformed into a predetermined shape based on the way I orient my hammer. It makes the metal seem fluid, or like clay, which it is, but I don't always think of it that way. 
I am pleased with the gesture of this spoon, which is deliberately 'swooshy.' What I do know about why I make spoons is that I'm trying to find my own voice with them. Not necessarily something to say about them, but just my style or point of view on spoons and the gesture is one of the things I am most enjoy about the spoons I've made so far. 
My kitchen table is actually a pretty good visual description of how I feel this week: cluttered and unorganized.
We have a lovely, solid oak, antique dining room table that my mother rescued from an elderly relatives basement when she was sixteen, then painstakingly refinished. Unfortunately, in our current apartment, the only place for the table is in front of the only window in the living room, which means it is impossible to keep the cats off it. 
And this drives me crazy! 
Another icy day outside. Who knew Southern Illinois would be so wintry? So I spent most of my time here, looking at this. Now you can, too. 
We had gorgeous weather for viewing the lunar eclipse last night. Try as it might, though, my poor little camera was completely inadequate for documentation. Those little specs aren't stars, just pixelation.
Reality:
The top photo shows my kitchen storage rack bathed in a dreamy, early morning light, that I thought sort of made it look ethereal and ghostly. 
I cannot begin to count the number of trips I have made to the post office in the last 6 months. The desk clerks know me by name.
These weren't given to me--they were left over in the produce department after Valentine's. I ditched the carnations and kept the daisies. 
Made my banana bread with chocolate chips this time. Pretty good. 
Thought I'd post about this sweet little jug from EmmaLitten's Etsy shop that I'm drooling over. Isn't is adorable? For a complete listing of all the things I'm pretty sure I can't live without on Etsy, click here. I'm sure you're all sooo interested! ;-)
Evidently one of the area residents took our recent ice storm as an opportunity to channel their inner Andy Goldsworthy. They made ice columns on either side of their driveway. I like 'em.
For Christmas this year, my sweet momma got me a subscription to my favorite magazine, Cabinet. It is "a quarterly (magazine) of art and culture" full of wide ranging articles, and no topic is off limits. Even their website is full of cool stuff, like this article on Sigmund Freud and porcupines (one of my favorites), and just look at the nice, heavy cardboard envelope it's delivered in! This is truly one of the luxuries of my life right now, and it's not even that expensive. 
My good friend from undergrad, Gail Ralston, has just started a blog. Gail makes amazing jewelry inspired by flowers and natural forms from rubber, monofilament, pearls and whatever she can think of! She has a great etsy shop too, and a website coming soon. Give 'er a look-see, I don't think you'll regret it!
Yeah, real cute as they're being used for medical experiments in the 1950's. PBS does not sugar-coat. 
Oh, the many hours of my recent life spent tangling and untangling this cord--the camera to computer cord.
While I'm on the subject of things that interest me, I'll take a moment to mention souvenirs. I am/have been very interested in souvenirs as a class of objects for a while now. I like them because they are objects of significance, and nothing else. They are not useful, nor were they ever intended to be. They are only meant to recall a past experience, a lost experience that cannot be repeated. Souvenirs are generally some of the least authentically made objects that are meant to authenticate life's experiences: they provide physical proof that something happened, or you did something, and amassing a collection of souvenirs means you've done a lot of things. I like the contradiction that something more or less materially worthless, like a cheap souvenir spoon, can be very emotionally valuable.
Some people really get into frames and framing. I'm not one of them. Too fussy for me and I always get hair or something on the inside of the glass.
Daily photo: 2/6/08
I will never accept, or understand, why once every month, I have to have a headache for 3 days. Some things just aren't fair. 
N. and I have been living a dream for the last six months with a cable package that included extended basic and Starz movies. Alas, it was a discounted deal and our time is up. Our previous cable company extended the deal or found us a new one when it ended, but not our current company. So it's back to basic cable for us.
What follows is the recipe for my family's favorite dessert, and my most signature recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 7 to 10 minutes-- (I like to bake for 8 min., then open the oven, close it, and bake for 2 more min. I've tried not doing this, and they end up burned. This may just be me, though...)
--until they look like this.
Enjoy. And you will.
