A quiet June at Maisonvogue

A quiet June at Maisonvogue 

It's been such a quiet time at Maisonvogue ..so far this June.
We have had such high temperatures every day in the 90f degrees then most days a heavy rain shower full of lightening and thunder

We have lost our Electrical power at least 4 times in the last 4 weeks ...I hate the power going off with no notice just whoosh and your life comes to a halt ...We are far too reliant on electricity ...I have been putting battery 'push' lights up (around $6 at Walmart, two LED lights easily installed in seconds) all over the house under cupboards etc...so when the power goes off we will have some kind of light and not have to walk around with candles or gas camping lamps ....the worry of the two freezers full of food ....it's so annoying and most times it comes back on at 2am and you wake with a start as the lights turns on ...radio starts playing ...the fan of the air con. kicks in ...so you get up and turn everything off and reset the clocks in every room ...crazy ...ha! ha! 

I have been super busy at Pottery ....one of my dear friends at Pottery  ...Betty gave me this gorgeous concrete cat ....she no longer wanted it ....I am delighted with it and it makes me smile every time I look out the window or go out in the garden ....it seems perfect there and is the full size of a cat ...so realistic.

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This cat is so life like ....one of our cats sat on the front porch staring at it for a very long time then decided to creep along on her tummy to the cat then with one large swoop slapped the sandcast cat happily realizing it was not real so she sat by it ...ha! ha! too funny to watch ..unfortunately it didn't deter the Squirrels from still coming and eat the seed next to it !!

I have in the last few weeks made this Kitchen Paper towel holder ....it has already been in the kiln for a bisque firing ...now I have to glaze it and then have it put in the kiln again and hopefully bring it home ...I am super pleased with it ....I will place it in our kitchen to replace our 19 year old, old fashioned paper towel holder.

I very happily drive a Ford Ranger Pickup Truck with an added on 'camper shell' put on so that the bed of the truck is fully enclosed and waterproof ...
I never thought I would drive a truck ...but I never want to loose it ..it's getting really old but still looks great with a shiny, very pretty Jade Green paint ..
It's manual , no electric windows, bells or whistles ..and I just love it 
It has been very reliable with nothing really going wrong with it 
But this month it had a large tear in the front driver's side tire ...discovered by my friend Faith's husband ...I was so lucky that he found it as it was about to burst ...the tire was not old at all but the State are resurfacing the interstates around here and the roads are full of pot holes and now grooves where they are repairing it so I am guessing that is what caused the tear in it ...an easy fix 
Then last week on the way to my doctor's my truck it started to steam under the hood and I had to stop ...massive plumes of steam ...I had to phone Danny and he came out and put water in it then followed me to my appointment ..then spend a few hours getting it road worthy with the help of some special metal epoxy ...to mend the crack in the pipe feeding the radiator with water ...then fully repaired it with a brand new pipe at the weekend ...

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I am going to screw a wooden pole dowel in to the center once it is finished and glazed.

I also made a very large bowl for our bathroom ....I made the shape so that it would represent the wave of the sea....Then I made a Starfish crawling down or is it up the bowl ...I intend to make a massive statement with the glaze ...I love the little 'ball' feet I put on it ..it was fun to make ..
It is now out of the kiln ready to glaze and I am so happy that it stands beautifully with no wobbles etc...
If I like it I am going to make all sorts of items for the guest bathroom ...including drinks tumblers, toothbrush and soap holders etc ..each featuring a starfish climbing on the outside or trying to climb out of the piece I make.

I have not had the best week with my arthritis that goes down my Spine, across my shoulders, neck and down my arms in to my hands ..I have been doing too much out in the garden etc ...so at pottery this week I made some pieces of jewelry and I made this quick plate ...I am pleased how cute it turned out ...I scalloped the edges and hand carved a Wisteria Vine in the middle ...

I intend to just glaze the Wisteria vine and leave the back ground just raw clay ..then the lip around the plate will be in a purple colour ...made from Mayco's Obsidian glaze X 3 layers then on the top of it glaze 3 layers of Smoky Merlot also by Mayco ...
Below you will see that I put many 'daisy' designs on the under side ...

I am looking forward to celebrating my birthday next month July 11th ...I am going to spend the day with my dear friend Heather ....Danny is going to take me to the beach at the Gulf of Mexico for a few days the weekend following my birthday ...
Even at 63 years old I still look forward to the day and always enjoy the day being spoilt of course by my boys   Hubby Danny , Son's Jaime,Ryan & Wayne

I was shocked whilst shopping yesterday ..I popped in to Hobby Lobby just to look and enjoy the items they have for sale ..I often am inspired by the items they have for sale and try to create the same idea at my home ...
They were frantically stocking the shelves with Christmas Items !!!!
Yes Christmas items in June 
I love Christmas and love to look at the beautiful Christmas items for sale but really ...!!
I refuse to look at them till late October
I think it makes Christmas just a sad , sorry money grabbing time ...such a shame ...bring back the old times ..

I am OLD !!!   Ha! ha! 

Our garden looks stunning ...with large downpours of rain most days ...the flowers and lawn grass are loving it ....no need to even feed them at the moment.
Everything is luscious and wonderful ...I know it won't last all summer, not in Alabama 
The flowers will 'bake' in the hot sun of the day 
But for now they look splendid and are giving us so much joy 
The garden is a wash with color and so many honey bees and humming birds are being well fed

Summer started two days ago  ... June 21st

I hope that your Summer days are filled with lots of Joy 

Thanks for popping by in your busy day 

Much appreciated 

Happy Days 

Janet