Fruit Bombes

It was the weirdest sound; as I was sitting at the table having a coffee break, there was the strangest noise.  A bit like paper ripping, but not quite, a bit like something soft and slushy letting go.  Nothing seemed amiss so I finished reading the paper.  Getting up there was liquid on the floor, with a very peculiar odor and it had flooded the kitchen counter to drip off and form a huge puddle.  My favorite summer cookbook laid open with tonight's supper inspiration had acted as a blotter and was swollen with sticky fluid, the cover and pages completely stuck in one soggy mass.  The culprit was a watermelon I'd just brought home the day before, it had split along the entire bottom and an amazingly large amount of the water had gushed forth to make a mess.  I've never had this happen before, it was thumping solid when I checked at the grocery, so what gives with this?

 So after an unexpected kitchen cleaning, it was time to get on with the day.  There is a load of bisque waiting to be glazed and fired in the kiln.  This is the part of ceramics I like the least, it is sometimes a moment of paralyzing angst over which glazes to use and how to go about it.  Much time was lost in contemplation before going to the oracle, as The Spousal Unit calls google, and of course Pinterest - the black hole of time - was researched as well.  A week later!!  I am finally ready to begin, the bottoms are waxed to repel glaze so they don't become a permanent attachment to the kiln shelves, and the glazes are stirred and ready to dip.  Truly, for those of us who struggle to deny the hobgoblin of perfection control of our lives, it is hard work to just DO.

There are 10 batches of soap curing and waiting for wrapping and labels before my next sale.  The mingling of fragrances is not overwhelming, but lovely and fresh and lightens the spirit.

This rainy weather isn't the best inspiration to work, ennui has taken hold of my ambition and there is a growing stack of books calling to be read.  There is an online subscription service that offers free or greatly reduced ebooks every day, let me tell you it is really the Gateway to Total Sloth.  My reading que grows with each dawn, I am beginning to consider permanently giving up sleep to get through this bounty.

• The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell
• Until The Sun Falls by Cecelia Holland
• Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West by Daniel Ladinsky
• The Pearl that Broke It's Shell by Nadia Hashimi
• The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan
• Longitude by Dava Sobel

As my son would gently chide, "Mother, that is such a First World problem".  He's so very right.  I am grateful for the gift of leisure, for the company of friends, my everyday jobs and hobbies that bring me pleasure.  Joy can be found even in the mundane, if we open ourselves up to the task.  I am grateful for the bounty of our food, even for leaky melons destined for compost.

Namaste