New things, New goals

Bowl, front view with new stains and old glazes.

Over the last week I have made pottery in a half new, half old style. I still haven't gotten my new glazes mixed so I used some of my old glazes to play a little and see what I could do with my new stains.

Back view

I'm pretty excited about the new work, even though it still isn't what I was planning on doing. That is still coming and I will be doing that as well.

Another bowl, I'm playing with patterns.

I have also been training for a long distance hike. I don't know when I will actually get to do this hike since my summer and fall are currently all booked up for shows and some personal events. Over the last 10 days I have hiked carrying a 15 pound backpack, or walked, 46 miles. And that is just my morning routine or an afternoon walk with my mom. I still have things I need to be doing during the day that prevent me from walking all day.

Trying some different color combinations on cups.

And supplies to gather before I have everything I would need for a multi-day hike.

My life, interests and this blog are changing. I never know what will catch my attention or what I will be most interested in over the next few months. It may come to pass that I don't go on a multi-day hike simply because I couldn't get organized while the idea was still fresh in my mind. That is how my interests go. If it is something that requires my daily attention, my chickens for example, I won't just walk away from it. They are my pets and I will take care of them until the end. But projects and ideas and trips don't require constant care in the same way that an animal does and therefore I don't feel bad for setting aside some things.

In my bag I have stand-ins for supplies I need to get; an overweight tent is
taking up most of the space and weight, and the green bag is a one-person tent I borrowed.

They do require care, I'm not saying they don't, but a living being won't perish if I walk away from an idea because I lost interest in it. I'm always looking for something new to try: musical instruments, a type of art or craft I haven't tried yet, a new experience or place to see, a new big dream or goal. Does this make me a seeker of novelty or just someone with a short attention span? Or maybe I have to try all these new things in order to figure out who I am without anyone telling me otherwise.

I got a couple of books from the library today to keep me interested.

(And since I wrote this two days ago, I have ordered the Ice Age Trail Atlas, which is the book I will use to plan my trip and navigate the trail, so I'm excited about doing the hike again. I lost a little interest this week over a small hiccup.)

By the way, do you know how small a one-person tent is?! I may have to get an ultra lightweight two-person tent simply for my own mental health on the trail.