When Life Gives you Lemons....Make Lemonade!!!

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

43 List # 30 Glass Blowing.

My Journey on a Break from Ironman. Sometimes, life just tells you, you need a break. So this year. After a long year of training in 2016. I’ve given myself permission to not do an Ironman for 2017. It was a tough decision. Because I think I have been using Ironman training as a way to cope and avoid a lot of other things in my life. I used it as a way to not fully engage in life, and the things that I’ve not allowed myself to think about because I’ve been to scared to admit them to myself. So this year, is my “Year of Taking Control of the Basics”. My Health, My Wealth, and my Happiness.

43 List #30 Take a Glass Blowing Class.

So one of the things I've always wanted to try for years, is a glass blowing class. When I lived back in AZ, I always thought it would be fun to try. Of course, my amazing time training from Ironman prevented me from thinking about doing it. So, I added it to my 43 List immediately.

I had learned that there was a glass blowing place in Reno a few months ago, so I looked it up and contacted them about a month and a half ago. But no response. Then, my friend Jen and I went to the Sculpture Festival in May, we ran into an artist named Peter Hazel who happen to be familiar with Burnt Knuckle Glass, who offers classes. He had on display a really cool "jellyfish" sculpture that once we learned more, was actually one of the main pieces to be displayed for Burning Man in 2017, this September. So then after further discussion we found out, if we did the class, then we would have an opportunity to help make some of the pieces for his sculpture, BLOOM, which will be about 4 stories tall. So....here were are, on a Tuesday night, getting the chance to learn about glass work, helping create some of the pieces to put the sculpture together, some crazy number like over 800 pieces will need to be completed, and then we got the chance to make a piece for ourselves. Those pieces are currently cooling down for the night and we will be able to pick them up tomorrow. In the mean time, here is some photos of the fun we had. They are holding a fund raiser this week to help continue to pay for all the pieces. How exciting is it, to get the chance to actually do some glass work, and then have the knowledge that you helped make pieces that will go on a Burning Man Sculpture. I'm looking forward to hopefully helping out a few more times for the fun of it. There is more to this story.... To be Continued!

BLOOM, by artist Peter Hazel

The small "person" at the bottom represents the scale of Bloom.

Fundraiser this Friday the 16th.

Apparently they trusted me pretty quick, I was off and adding glass to my first piece

Jen cutting the glass off the steel rod

Smashing the glass

Smashed and ready to mold

Fire, Heat, molding the glass.

Cooling off...

Put in the "bin" for overnight cooling. Couldn't remember the actually name.

Getting the chance to dip the steel rod in the vat of hot glass, I had to look for the "refection of the rod" off the hot glass. Crazy cool.

Practicing shaping my piece.

Heating up my piece in the oven.

More shapping of my piece.

Can't wait to see what it really looks like tomorrow, It is actually Blue!!

So Hot!, the color I choose was a ultramarine blue.

Blowing it to shape it and seal it.

The amazing glass blowers at Burnt Knuckle Glass, with myself, Jen and Erin.

Building the piece of the Jelly fish, this is one side of it.

He also made this octopus.

When the artist says, please feel free to climb on it. One cannot resist sitting on it.

One of my favorite moments so far of my 43 List.

Our final products, the "jellyfish" for Peter Hazel

Each one of us made a small souvenir

I made a beautiful travel friendly wavy, watery, blue/green paperweight,

orb, giant marble, "something".

I LOVE IT!!

Saturday, May 27, 2017

43 List # 34- Michigan to see Nephews Graduate.

#34 Make it home to Michigan for my twin nephews high school graduation. (and my honoray niece). I also had another niece and nephew with birthday's. I almost got to see everyone, but time was just too short.

It was so good to see the family again. It's the first time I took and Uber (to and from) the airport. Was actually not bad at all. I do like the benefit of being 15 minutes away from the airport... I thank my amazing current roommate for watching my boys so I could head home for a week to visit family. I haven't flown in over 3 years, since being a traveling therapist, I just drive everywhere I need to go, and I have everything I need with me. Was nice to just have a backpack and a small suitcase for the week. And I got a nice dose of May rain all week.

It was a good trip home. I have to admit it was pretty sureal to sit up in the stands as I watched my nephews graduate from high school where I graduated from. Such a huge amount of mixed emotions. I was feeling my age and a bit sad, knowing that I will never probably get this opportunity to watch my own child graduate. I'm so grateful that I have loving brothers and sister in laws that blessed me at least with nephews and nieces to spoil and love. Listening to the graduation speeches, I also sit and wonder, what have I really accomplished in my last 25 years since graduating from high school? Was I so full of those moments thinking I would change the world? I just knew I wanted to help people in some form of health care background. Man, has it really been that long? 25 years? I ponder what I have done to help change the world and make the world a better place. I ponder where life and the good and bad experiences has taken me. I thought I would be married with my own kids now, and yet, here I sit, alone and single with my family. Feeling slightly out of place, yet feeling it's where I belong and where I don't belong. And seeing my parents getting older, and starting to need more help, I start to wonder where my life will be in the next 5-10 years.

I'm in a melancholy mood tonight..... So, I think I'll stop my pity party ramblings, and just post my photos from my trip home.