Sometimes it's all about the presentation

For the past couple of weeks, I've been working on a commission for gifts for a delegation from China.  The pieces that we made are exquisite and meticulously crafted. After all, that's what we do at Siyeh Studio. But for this particular commission, the packaging matters as much as the object. So I find myself, on this beautiful Sunday morning, finishing gluing satin lining on the inside of boxes, and handmade Mulberry paper on the outside. The pieces themselves, glass paperweights in swirling shades of green with dichroic dragonflies and ginkgo leaves dancing above, were also sandblast etched with the logo of the hosting organization. The paperweights, carefully nested in their custom-made boxes, will be picked up today. The delegation arrives Tuesday.

The rest of this fine chilly Sunday is going to be spent gardening. Last night, in the midst of sandblasting logos and gluing boxes, I planted tomatoes, basil, marjoram, chives, and tarragon. Today I have all the flowers to put in in the pots in the front yard. Then it's time to put the child to use. After all, why have children, If not to use them as yard labor?

______________________________________

Sunday is over, and it was wonderful. Now it's Monday and, surprisingly, still wonderful! I didn't finish the post yesterday as I was writing it with Dragon Dictate to practice with it, and I was too self conscious to keep going while Dave was cooking breakfast--overhearing everything I was saying. Especially since he asked if I was paused because he wanted to play something for me. The something turned out to be the Georgia Satellite song "I Love You Period" (not surprising since one of the hardest parts of writing with Dragon is remembering to say the punctuation):

"I love you period
Do you love me question mark
Please, please exclamation point
I want to hold you in parentheses
I love you period
Do you love me question mark
Please, please exclamation point
I want to hold you in parentheses"

 

After finishing the boxes for the paperweights and doing the last quality control with Mom and Dee, I did, indeed, get to garden for the rest of the day. I had such a glow of accomplishment at the end of the day for completing not one but TWO projects that I am rip rarin' to start something new today! Guess I'll just have to be satisfied with putting together the new classroom chairs for the studio and getting a kiln load in. Maybe I'll end the day by getting the rest of the plants in pots--I ran out of dirt yesterday and had to get more this morning. And speaking of dirt, the chickens have decided that the absolute bestest place to indulge in a group dust bath is in the corner of my vegetable garden... Need to break them of that habit before they tear up all the new tomato plants I put in yesterday!