It's snowing!

I've been dealing with computer and printer problems all day and still don't have it all figured out; but I did get my desktop to stop freezing after a few hours of cleanup and setting changes. It took about an hour to get the printer to stop a "no paper" error message. The only fix was to unplug the printer from the computer.

Now I have to see if I can find a way, by using the printer computer settings, to stop it from printing backgrounds, so I can make copies of Jim's new book. At the moment, he's transcribing it by hand! :-(

So much for my intended studio day! Since I have the sausage,bean,potato,escarole soup made and just have to heat it and make parmesan toast, I'll continue this computer work for another hour and enjoy the vision of the falling snow from my office window.

Beatrice Wood luster bowl

Here's a green luster bowl by the late Beatrice Wood. I wish we had bought one of her whimsical pieces which represent the best of her work; but this bowl was pricy enough and those were three times the cost. You have to exercise some restraint periodically!

Beato, as she was called by friends, would hold court in her showroom, reclining on her sofa and flirting with male visitors. At that time her memory was sometimes fading and on one of our visits I asked if she remembered us and she replied, with a twinkle in her eye "I always remember the men!" She was a hoot!

We had dinner at her home one night along with the Heinos and Tashiko. The table was set with all her beautiful lead glazed luster dinner ware. Beato had made a pecan pie and forgot to put in the eggs or something to thicken it. Vivika, who was a good cook saved the day, removed the filling and served it on top of ice cream! I've since taken that idea and use those pecan pie filling ingredients the same way as an ice cream topping. It's delicious! Beato also burned the paneer but Vivika again, came to the rescue and added sugar to the dish. Sugar can mask the burned taste of food. Who knew!

Beato would pot in her beautiful saris wearing all her silver jewelry. I have a photo of her getting a throwing lesson from Tashiko Takaezu, during a Tashiko workshop I was attending at the Happy Valley School in Ojai. I'll have to scan it and post it one of these days.

Congratulations to the UNC tarheels for winning the 2009 NCAA championship. We stayed up late to watch the game. They kept a healthy lead throughout the game - a well deserved win!

I didn't get much studio time yesterday - just enough time to trim and wax a couple of bowls and and throw a platter. The rock crew showed up and I was keeping an eye on them and good thing I did, since they started laying stones up the walkway which was definitely not in the plan. They worked a few hours but the bad weather sent them packing early.

Well, time for breakfast and then I have to make the Tuscan bean,kale and potato soup for dinner. I also have some sour dough starter that's been sitting for weeks without feeding. I hope it's still good. I want to use it to proof some pizza dough. Then I'll head for the studio.. If I have energy after dinner, there are seedlings that need transplanting.

Till later,
June