A Whirlwind Week!

Barb, Sonya and Stephanie -- Cheers!

What can I say? What a terrific time! Where does the time go? My word a week can go by fast! Suffice to say -- I failed at posting play-by-play pix again -- Argh! But we ate, we laughed, we "art-ed" and we had a super visit! I've almost lost my voice and my appetite -- I think I'll be full for a very long time! Between eating out at the various bodacious Boise restaurants and Sonya's amazing cooking, we were well packed full of good food. Plus, Stephanie brought three bags of fresh squeaky cheese kurds and Hubby was in heaven! He's from Wisconsin and speaks of such things in hushed tones. He was so happy! Thanks Stephanie!

Anyhoo, we ventured down to the huge art supply warehouse, Quality Art, and stocked up on needed supplies. It's so easy to spend a whole day in there exploring all these weird contraptions, gizmos and enticing new media! Barb was able to join us for a quick visit on Thursday to help celebrate Sonya's Birthday which we commemorated at the Melting Pot. We had two cheese fondues and two chocolate fondues. Oy. Suffice to say, we needed to walk around downtown a bit afterwards! The next day, we played in the studio working on greenware and cold-painting. Sonya helped me clean 20 RESS slip-cast plaques for an upcoming RESS glazing exhibition (we cleaned the bisque version of that plaque) - phew! I also was able to work on a claybody Bjorn, start glazing a bisque Bjorn, and continue work on a very late Mother's Day gift (sorry, Mom! It's coming!). I'll post pix of them all when they're done.

Friday morning, we all met Lynn Fraley at Goldy's for breakfast (a fabulous breakfast place in downtown Boise) and wallowed in "Goldy Goodness." I was stupid and forgot to get a picture of all of us though! Doh! Then we sauntered down to Sa-wad-dee, our favorite Thai place, for lunch. I have been ruined to all other Thai places thanks to Sa-wad-dee. Terrific food! Again, I forgot to get a photo! Blast!

Barb had to return home Friday (great to see you, Barb!), so Saturday morning we ventured down to the Farmer's Market, which is a very good one even if I do say so myself. We didn't come back empty handed, either! We also checked out the local used book store and picked up some awesome books. I really like getting the old horse books, like from the 50s, since the older archetypes of many breeds are so lovely and inspiring.

A real highlight on Saturday was venturing into the Lisk Gallery downtown...and finding the artist, Jerri Lisk, at work right there! She is my favorite landscape painter and I am enthralled by her unique and colorful view of the world. Absolutely incredible! If I could, I'd line all my walls with her work! They're like jewels you hang on your wall. Whenever you're in Boise, take some time to treat yourself to a visit to the gallery and enjoy! Her work really has to be seen in person, but you get the idea from the Lisk website. Jerri was so personable and friendly, too, so it was a real treat to watch her work and chat with her.

Jerri Lisk at work on a fabulous new painting!

Stephanie had to leave on Sunday, so Sonya made her awesome homemade mac n' cheese (that was out of this world) for Saturday's dinner. Hubby mixed up lemon drop martinis, and we wallowed in good times well into the night. We also watched some Mystery Science Theater with Angel's Revenge -- Horrid and hilarious. "Send acting coach," "This movie is a shrine to 7th grade boys!," and "I buffed my love once, but I never shined my love." Priceless.

Hooray for lemon drop martinis! Good work Hubby!

Before going into the oven -- look at that glory! It was quickly devoured, lemme tell ya.
The white sauce alone was heavenly.

Sonya also made lots of her homemade bread, and I was able to snag
a loaf for Lynn Fraley before Hubby pounced on it!

After we dropped Stephanie off at the airport (sniff!), we ventured down to Cabela's. Why? Sonya found out I didn't have a cast iron skillet -- for shame! What kitchen doesn't have a cast iron skillet!?? (wink) It's "a must" for cornbread, frittatas and various other delicacies. What can I say? -- I may love good food, but that doesn't mean I know what I'm doing! ha ha! I've burned so many things. So we picked up a brand spankin' new skillet and checked out the fish tanks and taxidermy animals in the store while we were at it. It's good to know that I have a handy local place for quickie reference for other animals I want to sculpt, like elk, deer, caribou and bighorn sheep! I certainly got the desperate clarification on caribou antlers I was needin' for my Christmas ornament this year! Yay!

Frittata fantasia!

So to break in this new skillet, Sonya made a spectacular frittata on Monday morning with carmel-ized onions, spinach, bacon and cheese. Hubby's big thing is "a good breakfast" -- he's definitely a breakfast kinda guy. He went bananas. It was truly fabulous! Wow! Such flavor and so fluffy! For dinner, Sonya made some awesome homemade pizzas, with homemade pizza dough. Yummay! She even made me my coveted anchovy pizza, and it was awesome, especially with the spinach and pine nuts! It's so hard to find an anchovy pizza nowadays! Thanks Sonya!

After all the good eatin' throughout the week,
Hubby was stuffed silly! His belly was taut.

We watched more Mystery Science Theater that night with Space Mutiny. Oh. My. Gawd. There are no words other than, "A lobotomized turtle with a camera strapped to his back could make a better movie." Sonya was aptly horrified and busting up. Sonya also liked to play with the Charmkins, especially the Three Amigos, and it was fun to hear her coo, "Little Dudes!" as she oozed their goo.

She also was able to finish her bisque "Reflective" warmblood plaque she started last year -- her first underglaze piece! We pulled it out of the kiln this morning. Sorry for the lousy photo, but we didn't have time to take a proper shoot since her flight was at 10:55 am this morning! But you get the idea....

That's a pretty impressive first piece! The eye was beautifully shaded, but I couldn't capture it well enough with my camera. Dang. But go go Gadget Sonya! Next year, we'll finish more of her Bjorns and other stuff. We just ran outta time!

Speaking of which, I have to hop on a plane Thursday morning and I won't be back until Monday night. Off to visit Stephani, Kay and Laurie Jo in Philadelphia! I should be able to post pix when I return. I swear -- I'll be ready to get back into the studio and hole up with work when I get back! Yow! The Hafie mare is nearly done....so hopefully I'll be able to get her to Barry by the end of this month! Fingers crossed!

Anyway -- there ya have it. June Juju was a blast! Hazzah! Thanks Stephanie, Sonya, Barb and Lynn...and most of all...thank you Hubby for being such a great co-host for Mayhem and June Juju!

"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends." ~Richard Bach