"After all, the wool of a black sheep is just as warm." ~Ernest Lehman

I have been eating sheep salami:

sigh...
it tastes just as good...
 but I guess salami tastes like salami right?

Rosanne says it isn't even lamb... just old sheep (mutton? died of natural causes? That can't be healthy - maybe it isn't that old).  I guess that is why it was so cheap!

I don't understand why I am so weirded out by this... I eat lamb and have no problem with that...  I guess just because this was supposed to be something else.  And, now I am offended by the sneaky sheep.

"I get mail; therefor I am." ~ Scott Adams

Monday mornings are hard... I guess I should try not to sleep in so much on the weekend and keep my body programed to wake up at the same time... BUT weekends are made to sleep in!!!

I went to the cold shop this morning where I worked some more on the hand engraving.  It is amazingly hard! I worked on this figure of a man walking away from you, well me, or whoever is looking at it I suppose.  It was not a very exciting figure but Tove said I should start on something simple before I went straight to the back of the book again! I think she is catching on to my "skip the boring stuff - go straight to the really cool stuff that combines all the boring parts" philosophy in the cold shop.  It was OK though, the engraving room was warmer then the cold shop! I don't think there is heat in the building and the heat is generated by the glass furnace and glory holes... so it is usually pretty cold in the morning before school gets started.  

Here is what I worked on:

For some reason at lunch I was beyond starving! I even ate a normal breakfast this morning and didn't have to rush too much... At lunch I ate 3.5 sandwiches (open faced) and was still hungry so Rosanne gave me some of her leftover pasta she brought and then some coffee and saft.  Maybe I have a tapeworm... ew.

After a HUGE lunch I went to the hot shop where we were to work in groups of 4 to make bowls with 3 curly feet on the bottom.  One person made the bowl then the other people each brought some glass bits to make the curled feet.  Stig-Allan calls them pig feet because they look like curled pig tails.  It was very difficult to make the big bowls and also frustrating because I only got to make 3 bowls all afternoon! It took forever and having to take turns with 3 other people really slowed down the whole afternoon.  Rosanne and I worked with Martin and Kresten (Christian), the two Danish guys.  Hopefully tomorrow it will go better and maybe we can work faster as a team and not spend so much time waiting for one person to make a bowl.  

Here are the things I made on Friday!

 Long, skinny vases on parade!

 They are really glittering in the flash! Very pretty :)

And, yes that is a normal match box! I made a HUGE one! Hoooray!

After school I went to the evening session.  I popped the tops off all the whiskey glasses and other glasses that I had made at the beginning of last week.  It turned out to be a BILLION glasses! I think I have 8 big whiskey glasses, 6 water glasses and maybe 6 more small glasses.  I ground down the tops and rounded out the edges for 2 hours! My hands were a prune-y mess!

(I bet vampires never get prune-y hands!)

 I didn't get to polish the edges, I guess I will do that tomorrow.  But it was a good 2 hours of hanging out getting soaked by the grinding machines and jamming to the IPod, surprisingly very relaxing.  

BUT THE BIG NEWS ISSSSSSSS: I GOT A PACKAGE IN THE MAIL! HOORAY!

One of my bestest friends, Valerie (view her blog), sent me a great package! Perfect for Halloween :)

Sexy vampires on a magazine, Halloween card and chocolate! Perfect!!!

The Halloween card says:

"I think she had a little work done."

"What do you mean 'a little'?!?!"

(inside) "Happy Halloween from one natural beauty to another."

True Blood (the cover of the magazine) is one of my FAVORITE shows.  The magazine came out right after I left the states and I went into every press shop looking for a copy here but couldn't find it! I even sent my Aunt and Mom searching for it while they traveled around Sweden... no luck.  Val amazingly found this one at her friend's house in Colorado and sent it to me!! What great luck and really dedicated searching by my woooonderful friend!  

PS: The hot guy on the left is the Swedish actor named Alexander Skarsgård, son of Stellan Skarsgård.

"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." - Anonymous

For a few days I have been feeding Thomas' cat.  Her name is Mittens... yes, Mittens...  Apparently, Thomas thought that if he gave her a nice cat name maybe she would live up to it and not be mean or wild.  This didn't work so much.  She is very shy and really, really wants to be wild!   Oh well.  Thomas is in Paris for the weekend with a friend (it is a short trip from Copenhagen) and asked me to feed Mittens for a few days.  I live right next door and walk past his house on the way to school and apparently seem like a responsible person..?  I don't know how he decided this since we have only been together at parties... when we have been drinking... Maybe, I just exude responsible good person vibes?  Anyway, I went to meet Mittens and she sniffed my pants for a second and then Thomas said "Mittens, it is good bye Pappa, Hallo Theresa" and she ran away.  That did not leave me feeling  very confident about our relationship while "Pappa" was away.

So, Friday I went to feed Mittens who spent the entire time I was there hiding under the bed.  That is gratitude for you.  

Saturday morning I gave her some tuna that Thomas left for her.  This let me get close enough to touch her for about 2 seconds! Then she decided the tuna was not worth having to endure me petting her.  Uhg!

Sunday morning (today) I gave her the rest of the tuna and then sat on the floor and read a book for about 30 minutes so maybe she could enjoy some company and maybe let me pet her... No such luck.  I feel so bad thinking of her all alone in that house and then when I am there she won't even let me touch her! Oh well, I guess if she really wanted company she would get over it and come to me.  

Here is the cutie:

 Hiding...

Thomas needs to clean under his bed... 

(did anyone else notice she is wider then she is tall when she is like this?)

 Sneaking past me towards the tuna...

 Investigating my boots (haha I accidently wrote boobs) while I read...

And here is the little flirt rolling around just out of reach while I read.  She looks like she wants to be rubbed but noooooooo... if you reach out she high-tails it back to under the bed.  What a tease!

Makes me miss my Tom (my wonderful cat currently living with my parents and younger sister) who would happily let you pet him all the time and would actually harass you until you pet him! 

“The quality of the imagination is to flow and not to freeze” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friday started bright and early, the snow had barely melted at all and it was REALLY COLD! I went to the hot shop in the morning where I worked with Nick (one of the other Americans).  I worked on making the long vases.  Stig-Allan kept walking by saying "Brraaaa (goooood)! Now BIGGER!" So, I kept having to gather more and more glass and try not to drop it all on the ground.  The point was to gather a bunch, blow a bubble in the top, near the pipe, then hold it down-ish, so that the weight of the glass at the end of the bubble pulls down the bubble streching it and making it longer and longer.  It was very hard to have it hot enough to stretch and cold enough to keep it from instantly dropping all the way to the floor.  I am not going to lie, several attempts ended up a pile on the floor.  I made some big ones and was actually for the first time impeded by the size of the glory hole! I was warming one vase and when I hit the back to the glory hole I was so surprised I almost dropped it! haha. (why does it have to be called a glory hole?!?!?)

In the afternoon I went to work in the cold shop.  Last time I was there Rebecca showed me some enamel pieces that they had for examples and suggested that I brain storm on some ideas for the enamel, slumping and fusing.  So, I had thought about layering some colors in the enamel and laid it out, but didn't get to put it in the kiln, or is it an oven... I have no idea, it looks like a kiln.  Here is what I did:

 I put white down and then blue (which looks purple before it melts) and then some green.

 They are supposed to be cool fish skeletons in water-y looking colors.

 I had to use these to block the blue and green from covering all the white.  They were suspended over the glass on those copper wires.

The whole process didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would so I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing the bottoms on some of my vases from the day before.  Here they are:

 These two are my favorite ones:

 

 Here is the rest of the snow outside! It even snowed some more during school but then turned to rain and left us with this patchy snow.

 During the afternoon Rosanne worked on making beads and here is a shot of that.  She is warming both a clear and a black stick of glass in the flame.  You have to wear these goofy glasses so you can look into that flame for extended periods of time.  I really suck at the beads but Rosanne is pretty damn good at it.

In the evening I went to a riding lesson where I got to jump Poseidon.  We did the same jumping exercise as I did on Wednesday which was fun to do on another horse.  We didn't make the jumps as high but Poseidon jumps way high over the jumps so it felt like they were just as high.  Pia said "sometimes he thinks there is a tiger under them" which is exactly true.  We did a good job, but it was interesting how different a ride he was. She said that when I canter to a single jump on him I push him too much with my body and we don't have the same rhythm.  I tried to be more still with my body but it was hard since he wants to stop before the jumps too.  Oh well, I guess that is what makes it interesting and challenging and fun!  I also broke out my long underwear and wool socks for this night lesson! I can't believe it is already sooo cold!

After riding I convinced Rosanne to go to Kalmar with me and get some sushi! There isn't much better for the soul on a cold Friday night then this:

 Miso soup and a nice warm drink in a ceramic cup followed by delicious sushi!

Then home to curl up on the couch with tons of blankets and watch movies and go to bed early. 

Saturday (today), Rosanne and I went to Nybro to get some knitting needles for her, but the store was closed, then we were on our way to Emma Boda to get her a second hand freezer but while we were driving there the guy called and said it had sold! Not a good day for Rosanne's shopping.  She was sad, and we both felt kind of stupid for driving all over and not getting anything but then I remembered that I wanted to go to Kalmar to go shopping for a big winter coat and a heating element for my apartment.  I heard from the other girls that the land lady still isn't turning on the heat until 9PM and until then it is FREEZING in the building.  So, I really needed one before I move back in and Sam comes to stay with me!  So, off we went o Kalmar.  We went to this big shopping mall and went to a few sporting good stores to look at jackets.  They all seem to be either black, white, red, pink or this cool light/bright blue.  I went straight for the red one but Rosanne steered me towards the blue ones and I was very pleasantly surprised with how they looked (even though I have a sweater in that exactly color and it's one of my favorites).  I finally found one in the 3rd store we went in, I think I am looking a little late in the season maybe, there weren't a lot of choices in sizes.  At the second store Rosanne suggested that we look in the men's section of the jackets as well as the women's and I told her that probably wouldn't work.  I tried on their smallest one and low and behold it was HUGE! Then I suggested I look at the children's since I was already wearing the extra small in the woman's... she seemed doubtful until I tried one on and IT FIT! haha.  So, here is the jacket  I ended up getting:

And, yes, it is a children's jacket but it fits and was cheaper then an adult! It even has a spot to write my name... in case I leave it at camp or school or somewhere kids leave jackets! :)  I won't be cold this winter in my new spiffy coat!

PS: The other weekend I went by a horse riding store and they were having a sale on kids gloves and I got a great. really warm pair... now I can use my kid gloves with my kid jacket! hahahahahaha oh, why am I so small?!?!  I can't decide how to feel about that... I guess I should just accept that I am 25 and still wearing kids clothes.

"Genius is an African who dreams up snow." ~ Vladimir Nabokov

So, this morning I woke up snow... A lot of snow! It was very surprising... weirdly I woke up at like 5 AM and without looking out the window thought to myself "Oh! It snowed! School will be delayed, go back to sleep."  Apparently, I am psychic AND thought I was back home in VA or NC... not here in Sweden "the land of the ice and snow."   

And, how ironic is this daily comic I got today (luckily I didn't have any nightmares of cannibals!):

Here is what it looked like when I went to school this morning at 8:30:

 ^ Right outside the front door.

 ^ Out my bedroom window, or maybe bathroom...

 ^ Yes, this one is bedroom window view.

 Towards the school.  That is the blue car I am using for the month (thanks again Eva & Anders!)

 ^ the deep-ness of the snow on top of the car (I think 2-3 inches, I have long fingers).

 ^ A very Swedish scene, red house, snow and flag-a-flyin'.

 ^ The student housing apartment.

 ^ Orrefors Riksglasskolan in the SNOW!!!

 ^ This is walking towards the factory, I love this little building for some reason.

^ So pretty!!

During the morning class I was working in the hot shop with Malin, who I haven't worked with for a long time.  She wanted to make vases and I hadn't really tried that so we started and were not working with the glass hot enough for the first few.  Then we got sent up to work at the factory! I love working there, so much is happening, the Masters were working today, the more advanced students are around (some being snobs and giving us stupid looks but they suck anyway) and in general LOTS of energy.  Micke showed us how to make the vases properly and then we got to use some color too! Of course, as usual, my best, biggest piece went flying onto the floor! Oh well, I got to work on it all afternoon too!  

These are pictures of my walk back to the factory in the afternoon.  The snow was barely melting at all (it was "no degrees" outside)!

 ^ This is what it looks like when it snows and it is still supposed to be autumn!

 Snow and colored leaves... in the trees,

 and on the ground... not normal!

In the afternoon I worked with Maja in the factory.  She does not seem to enjoy working in the factory, makes her all disoriented she says.  Which of course, makes her more frantic... fun.  She had never made the vases either and I tried to show her, but that wasn't good enough.  She just couldn't see how to do it or picture the finished product we were going for... I DON'T KNOW HOW!!! I made a perfectly good example for her and still she had to go ask Micke to show a few examples.  Then she just talked and talked and talked.  I don't know how many times I had to interrupt to ask for a punty and then stand around and wait for them to stop talking and tell her it was her turn to get started.  I think she would just sit there and talk all day.  And then she tries to talk to me NORWEGIAN!!! sheesh.  I guess we just have completely different interests.  She spends lots of time looking at colors, talking to the teachers, I just want to blow and blow and then take some time to watch the Masters blow and then go back... and she wants to look more at colors and talk to the teacher some more about blowing... Oh well.  We can't all be the same, then life would be boring.

Here are some shots of my glass from this week:

  Water glasses and other tumblers from yesterday.

 Whiskey glasses from the day before that I think.

 Sugar (or salt) bowl.

 Sugar pig!

 Pig foot!

 Google-y pig eyes!

 Two pigs... sharing a small space.. looks kind of naughty over there...

Two normal sugar bowls.

 I noticed these walking home after school.

 Frozen roses... wow!

 These poor things are outside the student home (next to the mail box).

So sad looking!

Then home for a little nap, the off to the stables for a potential riding lesson.  I got an email from Pia that I thought said I had a lesson today as well as yesterday, but then when I read it again today I wasn't so sure.  So, I decided to show up at the barn and if my name wasn't on the list with a horse then I would keep going to Nybro and do my grocery shopping (since I couldn't yesterday).  I took some pictures on the way (not while driving I promise):

 The moon is almost full! 

 It is hard to see but this is at the stables.  I wish I could take better pictures of the snow in the dark... it is so beautiful! 

Nothing like a little stone wall in the snow!

Anyway, it turned out I didn't have a riding lesson.  But I did get to pat Poseidon which was nice :)  Then off to the grocery store for some shopping.  When I got home the car thermometer said it was -2 degrees Celsius (28F)! HOLY COW THAT IS COLD!  Now, time to bed and lots of heavy blankets!
"Baby it's cold outside!"