The Wayfaring Wordhack

Ready to go home

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 09:53:43 GMT

Total knee arthroplasty happened on 4 June, and today I am ready to go home. Recovery is going to be a lot fun, I know, but "You are young!" everyone keeps telling me. So maybe it won't be as bad as if I had waited 20 years to do it. Here is to a better standard of life where I can go hiking and adventuring with my family.

Good sides:

Surgery went off without a hitch,
Staff was overall good and caring, just one dud of a nurse on my last day.

Bad sides:

Construction work in the hospital, which one of my nurses told me has been going on the for the entire 6 years she has been working here.
An awards ceremony in the hospital plaza for which they practiced lots of songs from the 80s for two days before the event. They actually made Hotel California sound super cheesy, and as a patient, I didn't really appreciate the whole "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave."
The hospital staff lost my glasses, my verrrrry expensive progressive glasses with top-of-the-line lenses. GAH. With one's knee operated on, it is not time to get one's eyes checked and get new glasses (my pair was two years old, so it makes sense to have another exam rather than getting the same prescription).

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Seize the days

Thu, 28 May 2026 15:59:41 GMT

Those lovely, special summer-like days gave way to a spate of wintry weather (Les Saints de Glace this period is called in France, wikipedia article in English, and anecdotal or not, we have had snow the 26 of May where we live), forcing us to light fires in the wood stoves to stay warm. However, we had temperatures up to 30C/86F the last couple of days before we left France, so it was back to rowing on the pond and reading on the lawn and sitting in the garden to write poetry. And setting up an outdoor work station to make oil sticks for those of us with the particular procrastinatory bent that manifests itself in Creative Projects.

Aren't these colors so gorgeous? Can't wait to use them when we get back to France.

I say back to France because we arrived in Lebanon last night. More than an hour late, but safe and sound nonetheless.

We hit the ground running this morning with unpacking, playdate with friends for the kids, a visit to our favorite pizzeria, and the a consultation with my surgeon this afternoon, while the boys had a second playdate. My surgery for total knee replacement is scheduled for next Thursday, and the insurance is going to cover pretty much all of it. I was supposed to be in a shared room to keep down costs, but my surgeon asked that they put me in a private room for no extra cost. Score. Especially since I have to stay 3 days. In the meantime, I need to get a hold of a walker and a knee immobilizer, see the anethesiologist, arrange for a cleaning lady to come, get the kids prepped to take care of themselves, and pack up house... Or at least sort things to be packed up by movers. THIS is a part of our lifestyle I do NOT like. Settling in is one thing, but sorting, trying to sell, and packing it all up is the pits.

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Pollen

Sun, 03 May 2026 15:34:45 GMT

The air is thick with it, the ponds covered in it.

In the dead calm, falling clumps of it have reminded me of jellyfish, gently drifting deeper in ocean waters.

The other day, when the wind was strong, it looked like a blizzard outside the kitchen window.

Today, when the breeze is soft and changeable, the pollen puts me more in the mind of an alien invasion. Small bits of fluff fly in every direction as if animated by intelligent life--left right up down swirling back forth--even switching direction and hovering. Their invasion looks rather chaotic, but I imagine they know what they are doing. Several times, I have seen particular bits doubling back to reassess something. Perhaps it is me, watching them through the window.

Seeing as how I don't feel willow pollen has a particular effect on my allergies, I observe them, too, amused and charmed, but not worried.

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Gratitude and the Poem Launch Party

Sat, 02 May 2026 13:42:05 GMT

These days in France are so precious. I feel like we are outside of time, in a way, outside of various spheres of madness laying hold to the world at large. Though my husband is in another country, through multiple video calls per day, the separation is not insurmountable or as difficult as it could otherwise be.

I don't know how--or if--they are being engraved in my children's memories, but I believe and like to think they are. Life feels so, so good with an amazing confluence of circumstances that make it so: beautiful weather, good reading material, fine health, spring's beauty, children's joy in what we are doing, kind friends...*

There have been lots of hard conversations about life, what is next, how the kids feel about that, sibling squabbles, potentially stressful logistics and so on, but it is just normal life. which I feel so grateful for when "normal" should not be applied to what other people are having to live through these days.

We just finished Swallows and Amazons, which my kids loved. Just ordered the 12 book series. They are older books, and my kids thrilled to the independence the kids had, the kindness, the morality, the imagination, the lack of modern-day drama and strife. Altogether wholesome.

While we don't have a sailboat or a giant lake at our disposal, we do have a kayak and lovely neighbors who let us have access to their pond. So the other night, we headed out at sunset so the kids could paddle around. I played around in a sketchbook with acrylics and colored pencils, enjoying the moment while the kids made believe and planned for life in a new locale where adventures seem highly possible.

The kids continue to enjoy poemcrazy, and last night we created an "event" as suggested in the practice section of chapter 12. While painting at the pond, I had the urge to make a found poem that I would release upon the waters. I didn't end up doing it but decided to invite the kids to do it with me and make a party of it. The Poem Launch Party was born, and shall--memory-willing--become an annual tradition. Let everyone else celebrate Labor Day.

Sprout and I made our poems using words clipped from the copious stash of The Guardian's "Review" journals left here by the previous homeowners. Farmer Boy created his own poem, based on "texel" (a breed of sheep), one of his words from the wordpool he made using the dictionary. Ti'Loup riffed off words found on the cover of poemcrazy itself. We also wrote down five things we hate about the world or dislike in ourselves with plans to immolate them.

I made egg salad and baked a cake using some of the preserved gooseberries from last year. I gathered candles and the boys their jet lighters, while Sprout packed drinks and gathered the poems. We went to a closer pond--one we don't have express permission to visit--for our party, so that we wouldn't run the chance of disturbing our neighbors if they had friends over for weekend fishing as they sometimes do. On the way down, thanks to the lowering sun, Sprout glimpsed wondrously crimson baby cones of what I think must be a Norway Spruce.

Our party was lowkey and fun, with one moment of hilarious excitement when we all hid in the tall grass after hearing a horn honking behind us (remember what I said about no express permission? 😜). We ate and launched our poems and immolated all The Bad.

I collected words for it all into my poem book while the boys played with wax and Sprout cloud gazed. There were mountains and valleys of cloud-dappled sky to behold.

On the way home, we were followed by a crone or a dwarf. One can never be sure in the gloaming.

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* Don't get the wrong idea of some quiet, tranquil flow of ever-and-always peaceful days. As I type this, the kitchen/dining area is in chaos, Farmer Boy stands on a bar stool being a (VERY LOUD) clown, while sister and brother play a counterpoint to his comedy. They are all a bit electric today, and sparks easily fly. And my own tongue can be razor sharp.

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Making lists and researching possiblities.

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:47:21 GMT

We are 98% sure of our next destination. If this next posting happens, my husband will start his new job Sept 1, leaving us less than a month at our home in France before moving again. Two international (or "overseas") moves in the space of a month. Call us masochists. I guess.

Anyhow. In preparation of the next step,* I have started making a packing list. I have also started researching things like how easy is it to acquire art supplies at the next locale. And to my great surprise, today I found that something shipped to me here in France cost 24 euro MORE than to our new address. Color me chuffed. I won't have to go crazy making sure I have every little thing before we leave.

I also researched taking our cat and found out that she will have to be given a monthly dose of medicine to keep her from contracting a disease from mosquito bites (that should give you a hint as to what kind of climate we will be dealing with).

In other packing and purchasing news, we successfully sold our pottery wheel, electric kiln, and raku kiln in Lebanon (YAY!), as well as lots of J's forging stuff.

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* and "final" step, we hope, to retirement for J.

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Wild, wild riversides and sharing poemcrazy

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:21:27 GMT

Now that the kids are a bit bigger (my youngest learned to walk at this house), we can finally take walks into more wild country along a local river, taking care, of course, of my knee. Therefore, we have been heading out in the afternoons with buckets and nets for catching minnows and crawdads. We also take along some cards and our book (Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome being the current one) so that we can enjoy our family game time along with a snack and read-aloud amidst starry carpets of anemones and primroses the color of fresh butter.

For our writing hour, I have been sharing Susan Goldsmith Woolridge's book poemcrazy with the kids. They absolute love it. Yesterday they browsed dictionaries, botanical guides, and their own crazy-sweet minds and inventive imaginations to start their "wordpools."

A glimpse of what they came up with:

fluctuous storm divine anger venomous life Britpop handbag zydeco withe
withering-floor smagle whip

strenuous sleep harmonious anarchy brown river babbler

profound celestial century honeycomb listening oak aslant diagonal zizag slopglop
lamp gamble camp

Today they will cut up words and label things around the house or make their own stash of words to play with later, the cuttings being taken from newspapers and discarded books, aka fire fodder..

While we strolled along the river, balanced on moss-covered roots that made bridges over the eroded bank, straddled bramble tripwires, and avoided squashing violet oil beetles mating on the path (not my video but here is an example, only the male in our instance was even smaller youtu.be/LLgvblsPY58, I captured the outing in blue ink, ink that fades and blooms at the least touch of water. The words may blur, but capturing them, even for a little while, has written them in my brain ever deeper than the walk alone could have done. Deeper than the otter tracks we spied on a tiny sandbar in the middle of the river.

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A sense of peace

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 19:34:45 GMT

That is what I feel upon deciding with my husband that the kids and I will remain in France for 6 more weeks. We should have left yesterday for Lebanon, but everything felt too fragile, too up in the air, to go back. So, we pushed our return date as far as we could on these tickets, which is the end of May.

We are determined to enjoy our time here as much as possible and have been happily slipping into "doing life" at our home. We will most likely leave in September for another overseas posting, so we are taking all we can get and soaking up the gift of spring as much as we can.

I will see the surgeon* I have been in contact with on May 29, and he will likely operate on me around June 4, giving me ample time to heal before J's contract ends on 31 July and we leave Lebanon for good. Hallelujah for a new knee, although the surgeon said I won't be thanking him before 3 months most likely.🫣🥴

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* What a godsend medical practitioners are in Lebanon. I have never seen this surgeon before; he comes highly recommended (he operated on J's colleague and the ambassador's wife) and has a reputation as the foremost knee surgeon in the country. He has consulted my images (x-rays and MRI that J took to him), called me twice, and given me his private number and email address. In France, I can't get this surgery because of my age, but he sees the futility of making me wait--in pain and constantly degrading the state of both of my knees--until the State health system deems me old enough.

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You might think me sacreligious

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:09:39 GMT

For three days, I have been sorting books, books that were left to me by the previous owners of the house, books that have been taking up space both mental and physical here since 2017, and my task is not yet done. I have come to the conclusion I will not read many of them--have zero desire to, in fact--and some of the many are not fit to pass on to others. (rimturse actually knows of what I speak in this regard. )

Anyhow, they have burdened me for too long. Too, too long, and I am sick of it. The unfit have been sorted into the basket of fire-starter for our wood stove, and I have packed boxes and boxes and boxes of the rest to send to their new home on Sunday. A kind friend who likes to read has offered to take them off my hands and dispose of them herself if they don't interest her. I will finally have room to put my OWN stuff and will not have to deal with book clutter everywhere.

Of course it has been a horrendous job for my dust allergies, and my meds are not proving sufficient to the task. Still, I cannot wait for Sunday and will carry on cleaning until then! I can't load the car with them just yet, even though I badly want to, because my kids are in the south with their grandmother and I will pick them up on Saturday.

As of now, our plans are still to return to Lebanon on the 15th, but today was not a good day for that country, making our trip tenuous. But look what I found today, as I cleaned, one of my world atlases with a colored pencil used as a bookmark (*winces*):

The pencil must have been in there since 2021 when we were showing the kids where Lebanon was (Liban, since it is in French).

I don't know what is going to happen to our life there. Will it just end like this, with the kids and I unable to go back? Will I not be able to get my surgery? Our traveling shoes are in limbo. Too much to wonder and worry about, honestly. Off to bed I go. Tomorrow is another day, and I can only take them as they come.

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Adapting

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:59:30 GMT

With the continuing tensions (isn't that a nice way of stating things?) in Lebanon, the kids and I stayed in France, but J had to return on the 23 for work. It has been many a year since we have been home in this season, and I have taken the opportunity to expand my perennial plantings while I enjoy my tulips, daffodils, and grape hyacinths.

The kids and I have planted:
four cherry trees, three fruit (Van, Montmorency, and Géant d'Hedelfingen) and one Japanese flowering variety (Royal Burgundy);
one apricot tree (Harlayne);
three blueberry bushes (Duke, Elisabeth, and Reka);
a Centennial seedless grape vine (we have two types with seeds, but I want one to make raisins with in my dehydrator);
a self-pollinating Siberian kiwi--Issaï--because I had a male/female duo in which the male died and have not been able to have fruit;
15 asparagus crowns (Amaro Montina);
a Heptacodium miconioides Tianshan (A seven-son flowering tree)--hope it lives. It was NOT a nice specimen and I have lodged a complaint ETA: YAY! MY COMPLAINT WAS ANSWERED AND THEY WILL SEND ME A REPLACEMENT;
two perennial oriental poppies (Princess Victoria Louise and Royal Wedding) ;
and two daylilies -- Strawberry Candy variety.

I also put in some freesia bulbs because why not!? Oh, because they probably won't come back on their own. Oh well.😜

If all goes to plan, we will travel back to Lebanon on 15 April so I can help J with the move and get my knee surgery. I will return to France asap because we might be moving to a new post as early as September and the kids need all the time they can get at home.🙏

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Nick of Time

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 15:10:51 GMT

Got home safely just after midnight and woke to the news this morning that Air France has now suspended all flights to and from Lebanon. I am really glad we made it out because the house is in need of some love before we move back this summer. And it pleases me greatly to see my daffodils in bloom (I always miss my spring flowers because we don't typically come home during this season) and the grape hyacinths on the way.

I do hope we get to go back to Lebanon in three weeks time, though.

In the meantime, no rest for us; we head out tomorrow morning to visit J's family in the south for a couple of days. We will celebrate Farmer Boy's birthday with his grandparents. Already turning 12; my, how time flies.

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Leaving on a Jet Plane

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 13:28:03 GMT

...getting on the plane for France. Little vacation before the big move back. Lots of pottery in the luggage. Hope it survives!!!

ETA: One bowl broke, but I am sure it was my fault. I must have squeezed another object in too close. 😢 I loved that bowl (hence why I brought it back, obviously); the good news is if I could make something like it once I can do it again. Of course it won't be the same--that's the way of pottery--because it was made with Lebanese clay. Alas.

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Final Week of Class

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 18:46:32 GMT

...and we are supposed to paint two pictures from our own photographs. I have been doing this for a while, of course, but it feels more weighty now because someone called it "our graduation" painting. 🤪. I have done two, but I think I will do another to replace the olive trees that perhaps highlights more of the things this course was specifically about. I'll see if I have more time before the weekend.

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Barometric Brain

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 05:50:50 GMT

I suffer from migraines, trigged by a couple of things, but as a storm came in yesterday, I was painfully reminded of my sensitivity to barometric pressure. I know I exacerbated the migraine with my living room cleaning (allergy to dust mites), but the onset of the pain was ferocious and sudden, sending me to bed with painkillers. I fell into a fitful sleep where I dreamed of having a headache and needing to lie down. Dreams of being in a snow storm with risks of avalanches burying me where I was cowering with my headache were followed by me going from bed to bed in strange houses, seeking rest and relief.

I woke with the headache about an hour and a half later, long after the meds should have done something. Then, about 20 minutes later, the storm finally broke and the headache dissipated.

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* The avalanche fears were probably brought on by nearvy construction work and noisy neighbors, which made me think of the several buildings that have collapsed recently in Lebanon.

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Bombsite, No Visual Included

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 09:45:33 GMT

I'll leave it to your imagination to picture what our living room looks like as I sort through books, games, puzzles, cables, bric-a-brac... I wish I were the kind of person who could do this type of task neatly. But, no. It seems I have to have it all spread out in order put it in appropriate piles of giving (so many different categories here), taking back to France now, taking back to France later... Even the trash is not always straightforward.

I already threw away 4 sacks of art papers, things I had been hanging on to recycle, to use as collage, for nostalgia, but I have yet to go through all the supplies. I am sure I will have do a second pass, too, on things to keep or toss as time to go draws near and reality becomes sharper, cutting away the sentimental with the restrictions of space and weight. Many of my art supplies will go back this time in order to encourage me to finish what I have on hand and to paint things that are easily transportable.

I have hoarding tendencies which I excuse by spouting my philosophies of reuse and less waste. But the truth is that I have a lot of things I will never use. I was rather proud of myself yesterday and happy for a reason to get rid of a random object I had found and intended to keep, knowing full well I wouldn't actually do anything with: a discarded Lebanese license plate.

Out of the blue, a friend, who has returned to the States after many years of life in Lebanon, posted on one of our mutual WhatsApp groups that she was looking for a Lebanese license plate to put on her van. Someone from here is traveling to see her in a couple of weeks and could take the plate back, so could anyone on the group tell her where she could buy one? Voilà, I thought, perfect thing to do with my find. Pass it along! Now she is happy and I have less things to worry about and tote across the sea.

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Knee update

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 20:20:56 GMT

Saw the surgeon this afternoon, and good news (at least to my mind), the angle of my bones does not merit an HTO. The angle is 0.8% past the allowed deviation, but still small enough for this surgeon to think it doesn't warrant that kind of correction. Instead, he thinks a partial knee joint prosthetic is the way to go. This seems less traumatic to me, has the same "life span" as the HTO, and has a much shorter recovery time. I will probably get the operation after we come back from France in March. Getting an estimate to run by insurance first. I am not sure I will get a second opinion on this one because, as the doctor said, I can get more injections, but they don't last long and do nothing to prevent further wear.

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An ever-present Should

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 09:57:38 GMT

I really should post more. I cannot count the times that I have thought it, intended it, started it, if only in my mind. This is not an obligation I sense from anyone, not even myself, just a desire to have a better record of thoughts and happenings at this time in my life.

When I finally sit down to do it, it all seems so big. Too much to share, too much to sift through, which means I inevitably end up with the Bullet Point Post.

It is what it is. Let's just do a big one for now, with visuals, and then I will perhaps do myself the honor of respecting my sense of Should in the future.

Pottery:
I have not been inclined to do pottery since before Christmas. It just "weighs" too much in many senses of the term, and I literally set a mental block on wanting to do it because of the logistics of our move this summer. I am ready to put the wheel and kiln up for sale (if we can get a good price, this will save us having to ship them back to France where we could probably buy new ones for cheaper than cost here plus the shipping); J, however, is going to do a terra sigilata training with an amazing ceramist come May, and he wants to keep the material to practice. I have been thinking I could throw a few small vessels for him to practice on, too. Just to keep my hands in the clay. A couple of weeks ago, I did throw a tumbler for a friend to practice sgrafitto on, and it was humbling how much I felt like a debutant again. Silly to say debutant when I did, indeed, start less than a year ago. I do intend to get back to it, but when? Too much uncertainty about the future to hazard a guess.

One of the last things I sold:

Kitty
Pearl is doing well, already an indispensable part of the family with her own quirky character. She is, unbeknownst to her, getting ready to travel with all her shots and tests. She does NOT like the carrier, so we have to get a good calming agent for her. Picture of Pearl a the painting below.

Art
I have been painting a lot. I am also retaking a course that I was trying to complete when the war broke out in 2023. Aside from my classwork, I did a series of paintings of the kiddos.

Health
Ugh. I have an appointment with a surgeon today to see if he thinks I need to have a High Tibial Osteotomy for my arthritic knee. He had me do the x-rays last Friday to see how I bear the weight in my legs and proposed this surgery to correct it if it is what is causing the compression in the inside of my knee. I went into the appointment thinking he would say something totally different, so his prognosis was a bit of a shock. I still don't know how I feel about the procedure. I will get a second opinion.

Move
J's contract ends in July, and the kids and I will move back to France in June. Where we will go from there? Who knows. So far, J has applied for jobs in various French Overseas Departments. He can apply for another embassy post, but that will certainly mean waiting another year before he is assigned, whereas these other jobs could see him leaving as soon as September of this year. We are once again in the uncomfortable position of "sitting between two chairs," to use the French expression.

We will see where we land!

Travel
We have prepaid tickets back to France at the end of the month. We'll stay for three weeks and get the house ready. J's cousin will come back and take care of Pearl while we are gone. We still don't have her rabies clearance, so she can't come with us this time. Today we went to get our photos and fingerprints taken for our last Lebanese visa cards. If we had left Lebanon in Dec as we were supposed to as per J's first contract, we would not have had to do this. It was a painless experience*, so all is good. The officials assured us the paperwork will be done before we fly out, which is going to save us 200USD in fines for expired visas.

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*This is my 5th time doing it, and I have had to wait an hour (instead of the five minutes it actually takes) before on two occasions because the lady taking care of my papers had to chat and chat and chat with friends, totally ignoring me in favor of her personal drama.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS

Thu, 25 Dec 2025 18:32:45 GMT

A heartfelt seasonal greeting from the depths of The Ick. All five of us are suffering from the virus that seems to have blighted Lebanon this Christmas. But we are so happy that we are all in the same country together this year. Yes, our neighbors to the south are still flying their drones, making sure to start them last night--they literally came into my hearing range when the church bells started chiming for the midnight mass--and keep up their flight this day; but there is no war at the moment to keep our family apart.

I hope you are all having a healthy, joyous day with those you care about.

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Nap Like an Egyptian

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 11:34:01 GMT

My latest art endeavor has been painting. Oh, wait, I don't think I shared our last artful prompting challenge, did I? I will rectify that later.

I painted this from a photo we* took when we lived in Egypt. J has always loved the image and wanted me to paint it for him. So, two years later from when I said I would do it, here it is, 80x80cm (31x31in) in acrylics (a medium I rarely use).

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*I say "we" because we can't precisely remember who took it. I thought J did; he thought I did. After further reflection, I think he is probably right because he is more careful when setting up his shots of people, whereas I panic and snap the photo as quickly as possible for fear of getting caught. Since the image could have been framed better, etc., I am pretty sure it was on me. To make up for my mistakes, in painted form, I took time to compose it a bit better. The "props"--as in the obviously-indoor trashcan, the mop bucket, and mop--were already there, but there were at least 3 more squeegees, too; I moved them around a bit to give more focus to our napper.

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A bit of personal waffle

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 19:34:28 GMT

OK, nevermind. But I will post this to say: Miq was here.

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I don't know how long it will last

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 11:42:25 GMT

...but following the advice of my pottery teacher, my husband and I created an instagram page to post our work on. We did it for the pottery fair that we attended this weekend--our first time showing our work to the public--and I think it paid off. We did not make a ton of sales (no one did, really; there is a lot of uncertainty in Lebanon right now), but it gave us a lot of exposure and nice validation that we aren't just clay hacks. 😜

Someone told me about cara, so I set up an account there, too, and will probably move the Instagram stuff over if I can get around to it. In any case, it is a family account and you can find us here: https://www.instagram.com/wayfaring_makers/ and/or here: cara.app/wayfaringmakers

The fair was, overall, a very nice experience, and we are happy we went. We met a lot of fun, creative people.

This piece did not go to the fair because I intend to keep it as a souvenir of our time in this country. I carved it all over with flowers found in Lebanon:

I had a lot of fun carving it and can't wait to try another form with a similar motif.
( and a montage of it outside so you can get the full experience: )

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Meet Pearl

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 10:11:04 GMT

I shall preface my kitty introduction with the reason we adopted her:

Our kids have been overall good sports at the international living, but for various reasons, proper to each child, life abroad is wearing thin for at least two of the three. This is problematic because J and I are not quite ready to return longterm to France. In talking things through with the kids, we discovered that one of the chafing points of not settling back down in France is that we can't have animals. Well, J and I have made several international moves with cats and know what it entails, so we decided that we could get a kitten. For the kiddos, this means another another point of stability in their lives, another loved being, to make any subsequent moves with us.

One of J colleagues showed him a photo back in March of her pretty (pregnant) cat, who happened to look a lot like a cat his mother once had (with the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen). After talking it over, we decided we would adopt one of the kittens when it was weaned and surprise the kids. The kitten was old enough (by Lebanese standards) to get before we left for France this summer, but a) we thought her still too young, and b) we didn't want to cause her trauma by bringing her home for a week and then having to find someone to look out for her for a month while we were on vacation. Happily, the cat owner was willing to keep her for us until we returned. We didn't breathe a word of it to the kids.

For weeks before we traveled and during the whole month of July, the kids, especially Farmer Boy, kept on and on about how he wanted a pet. He was researching sugar gliders of all things. Everyday, "I want a pet. I need a pet." To which I took to answering with, "When we get back to Lebanon I will pet you." Of course this (mildly) irritated him because he thought I was merely making a word play.

The first day back, I bought all the supplies for the kitten and hid, and that night Julien brought the kitten home after work. We snuck her inside and then opened the cat carrier. Soon, strident meows were heard throughout the house. However we are blessed (yes, that is sarcasm) with a plethora of feral cats that visit our garden and circle our building, so at first, no one batted an eye. But finally, Sprout, the most observant of the bunch realized the sound could not be coming from outside and she dashed up from the couch and set off to find out what was going on. She discovered a beautiful white kitten exploring the craft room.

Sprout scooped her up, and it was love at first sight. After being repeatedly assured that it was their cat and no mistake had been made, the kiddos decided to name her Pearl. They call her their little sister. And the funniest thing is, when we were pregnant with Ti'Loup, the name we had picked out for a girl was Inji*, a name that means "pearl."

So meet the newest member of the family:

She is a Turkish Angora (or a mix; she doesn't have papers). True to the breed characteristics, she is super friendly, outgoing with strangers (didn't even take a moment to hide and get her bearings when we brought her home), extremely playful. And Vocal. She is a looker, but her voice! It cracks me up. 🤣 I have a knack for creating with my hands, but a singer I am not. And for that, Pearl takes after her "momma."** But she is thinking about taking up pottery, or at least playing with the potters' things.😝

The cat owner wasn't very knowledgable about Pearl's exact birth date. The vet agreed with me that it was--if not on, then very close to--April 21. So 21 April it is, so she can share a birthday with another special someone in my life.🥰

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*We had a lovely Egyptian friend named Inji and she told me it was Turkish for "pearl."

** I don't actually call myself her mom or her my daughter.😜

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Artful Prompting, 10 - Cubism

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 15:19:38 GMT

So. Cubism. Apparently a major movement and instrumental in ushering in Abstract art, despite the fact that the two founders, Picasso and Braque, never painted what could be considered abstract art despite continuing their careers well beyond Cubism's start. Will I offend anyone if I say that neither my kids nor I were tickled to tackle the topic? But I put "Cubism" into the draw for a reason: Stretching ourselves and learning about things that don't grab our interest right away are both part of what these prompts are all about.

The accompanying prompt was "landscape," leaving my youngest far from thrilled. Therefore, we picked again to give another option, which serendipitously turned out to be "ninja." 😂🥷🏻

Colored pencils probably weren't what Braque and Picasso used, but that is what I opted for because I am a tightwad and didn't want to use my oils for something I am not that excited about.

Behold, the "Garden Gazebo and Fountain"

Color me bemused, but I kinda think it works for something that took a grand total of 15 minutes.

My daughter is really into digital art but not at all into Cubism, so to ease the pain of the prompt, I let her use her iPad:

My son, K, took his landscape to a more abstract level, but small victories (we parents take them where we can, right?):

And finally, youngest son's ninja. He was "inspired" by Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, inspired in quotes because he said the painting was too hideous to look at.

His ninja is much cuter than the demoiselles.

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Artful Prompting, 9

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 15:16:21 GMT

(I could have sworn I already posted this!)

My youngest son's favorite bedtime story is Goldilocks and the Three Bears, so when it came time to renew our art prompt challenge, I suggested we each illustrate a scene from the story. We decided to do collages with freehand-cutting. The youngest was very excited until I told him that he actually had to "re-do" his preliminary drawing with cut paper. At that point, he lost interest and just copycatted his brother's design. 😂

So the finished artwork, from the youngest's to the oldest's--the "oldest's" meaning mine, since my husband is giving a pass on doing the challenge this time around. He says he has too much to do what with surfing, pottery, knife-making, spearfishing, oh, and work.😝

My daughter (her art is above) fell completely in love with this method of art making, and I think she did such a fabulous job. I can easily see this as a book illustration. Of course she is the oldest by 3.5 years, so I am not comparing her work to her brothers', more commenting on how much she fell in love with the process and result when she never suspected she could like it so much. Similar to the way I feel about pottery after spending decades thinking I couldn't sculpt or make 3D art.

And now my battery is almost dead. Next up, Cubism!

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Art on Pottery

Sun, 31 Aug 2025 21:04:27 GMT

(reposted from an art forum so as not to keep all my eggs in one basket)

I wanted to have a painting to share, but the brushes and oils are still gathering dust on the shelf. Instead, I did a bit of scraffito on some tumbers that I really liked.

Since it was so much fun, I made a couple more in local clay and then covered them in stoneware slip. They haven't been bisque-fired yet, though.

I also successfully made another "sea bowl" after my first one fused to the kiln shelf and cracked. So glad this one made it.

My next post will involve more "traditional" art, but still illustrative because the kiddos and I have restarted our Art Prompts again (at the kids' request, which feels great!).

(For some strange reason, there was a glitch when I posted this that put the date at Aug 1 instead of Sept 1. Has that happened to anyone else?)

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The pottery hole is deep

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 07:57:37 GMT

...apparently a three-month, one-day deep hole, according to my last post. Momma mia, has a lot happened in those three months. Seriously, where has the majority of 2025 gone?

First of all: Going downtown to a studio to take pottery lessons (mostly for things I can and have learned by myself, thanks to YouTube) and to transport all our greenware there to be fired was not sustainable. SO: We bought our own firing baby; yep, we are the proud owners of our own kiln. Thank God for J's salary in Lebanon.🙏 And while it is a learning curve to use one (especially here in Lebanon with Electricity Issues™), it is such a joy to have control over the process. We have many lovely pieces now and plan to keep making more, more, MORE!

Which we actually need to do because J and I will be participating in a pottery fair a month from now. Here are the pieces I shared for the fair's promotional use:

The above are made using local clay (part of the 50kg I mentioned the post linked below). As you might be able to deduce, I absolutely love carving and sculpting with clay. You might recognize this next piece from my last post:

The color on the top of the frills is a bit darker than I wanted, but it is still OK. Glaze and learn; glaze and learn. "Make and accept there will be breaks" is another mantra. Oh the beautiful pieces I have lost. Even the one above piece is slightly damaged at the base of one of the frills because of a glazing accident, preventing me from selling it in good conscience.

As you can imagine, with the purchase of a kiln and a pottery fair to produce for, there was a lot of making going on in June. In July, the family and I traveled to France for a brief stay to visit home, family, and friends. It was difficult going back for a "short" time because many tasks on a homestead need more than a few weeks of sustained labor. Only one more year to go on the Lebanon contract. What's next? Only the Lord knows. The kids want to stay in France, but with J's job, that might not be a possibility just yet.¹

As soon as we got back from France, we welcomed home a kitten we had anticipated adopting before she was born. I will give her her own intro post.😻. And I'll get to start using my "kitty" tag again.

The pottery hole is deep, yes, but wide as well; it needs SPACE. Therefore, we did the logical thing and sold our salon furniture to make room for crafting. 🤣. We were throwing pottery on our terrace, but what with all the leaves and bugs getting into our clay, we decided it would be better to work inside. Many Lebanese homes have a "formal" reception area in addition to a family living room/den (or they have a very large room divided into two spaces: Fancy receiving side and comfy, everyday side. We didn't get much use out of the fancier stuff and figured it was better to offload it now and use the space to our liking rather than having "extra" furniture to get rid of before our move next year. And with a kitten in the house, the sooner the better for the state of the merchandise. 😜

The same morning the buyer came to pick up the furniture, we packed up the kitty and went to resort for the weekend with friends. Whoosh, there went most of the money we got from the furniture sale. I don't feel like getting myself into a bad mood right now, so I won't talk about the quality vs price disconnect that exists here. Suffice it to say, it was waaaaaay overpriced for what it was. Not all was bad, though. We had a great time with the kids and friends, and (cue a tiny bit of sarcasm) thanks to Farmer Boy losing his glasses, I was on the beach early morning and saw a baby sea turtle making its way to the water.

Despite the verrrrry early hour, I called J and had him bring down the kiddos for their first-ever sighting of a baby sea turtle. This wee one was apparently the last to make it out of the nest, so we were very fortunate I happened upon it when I did.

(yes, my boys have long hair)

This species of sea turtle is black as a baby, unlike the ones we saw hatching in Mayotte. I went back through my entries tagged "Mayotte" but didn't find any that showed the baby sea turtles we saw hatching there, but I know they were much lighter in coloring, like this one here (not my photo).

This is our little guy after I rinsed him with some sea water because he (or she. LOL) was so covered in sand, he was having a hard time moving:

As soon as we got back home, it was, yep, you guessed it: Pottery time. But last night, after doing scraffito on my latest tumblers, I declared I wouldn't do anything pottery-related (besides unloading the kiln this afternoon as soon as it has cooled enough) until I have A) finished (not to mention started) the sermon I have to preach this Sunday, and B) done the latest art prompt the kids and I are working on. We have missed the art prompts, which fell by the wayside last summer when we were stuck in France and couldn't come back to Lebanon. So, at the kids' request, we have begun again. Can't wait to start sharing our makings.

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1) We have started the What's Next? process, which entails perusing and evaluating J's options. Mayotte is possibly on the table again. I had a lots of ups and downs there, and it is not my first choice. I would, as I told J, prefer to discover some place different. However, he loved Mayotte, and I am willing to go back if it makes him happy; I only asked that it be a last resort. As always, we can orient ourselves towards certain options, but like with any job, we aren't the only ones deciding where he will be assigned/what post he will get.

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