AZDonna

Dianna, Heather, Glenda and I took an introductory glass art class last weekend. Dianna had a coupon and asked us if we would be interested in going. My first response was , “No way!”, but before I could reply, Heather gave an enthusiastic “YES”. So I decided to see if Glenda would like to go, and she was also very enthusiastic. Then I got enthusiastic, too. Carrie and Gisele were also invited, but declined.

The two guys who taught the class stressed that this was merely an introduction and more extensive class are available, and required, to develop any skill. We all had the chance to make a project, in this case a molded glass heart. Later, we could do a second project for a small additional cost, which we all decided to do.

As we quickly found out, the instructors really do about 90% of the work for us, allowing us to put our hands on the steel tubes and tools with them, but not get anywhere close to the molten glass. (NOT that there’s anything wrong with that!) We picked our colors, and they dipped up a glob of liquid glass out of the 1700° cauldron. We helped slowly spin the pipe to keep it from dropping off, and then dipped it in the colored glass bits and back into the “Glory Hole” furnace to melt them together. Then we quickly sat down as the instructor brought our blob on the end of the pipe, and with a giant “tweezer”, we twisted and swirled the colors together along with the clear glass. That only took about 30 seconds before the glass firmed up too much to manipulate. Then (again) the instructor carried it to a table and dropped it into the heart form mold. We pushed it flat with a plunger, and then used a blow torch to smooth the nub where the glass had been cut off the pipe.The next step was important to prevent the glass from cooling too quickly in the room temperature air and shattering. They carried it to a warm kiln where it had to be brought down to room temperature over an 8 hour period.

We had a choice for our second project: a pumpkin, an ornament ball or a flower. Heather chose the pumpkin and Dianna, Glenda and I all chose the ornament. Those two objects involved glass blowing, rather than using the mold. On this project, the instructors did about 95% of the work, but the results were stunning. We did all get the chance to blow on the pipe. (They ensured us they licked the mouthpiece to get the germs off for us!)

After the class, we all went out for lunch and ice cream and sat outside on the patio chatting for about three hours, just having a great girls day out and gab fest.

We could not take our projects home that day since they had to cool in the kiln, but luckily for us, Glenda had a pottery class about a mile from the studio the next day, and she stopped by afterwards to pick up all of our art work for us.

We are keeping our eye out for an encore day by taking a painting class in the next month or two. I’ve been assured you don’t have to be an artist to participate in these classes. With plenty of wine or mimosas consumed, everyone can make a masterpiece!

Here are a few video clips from the glass class.

http://youtu.be/HPsluBn-5Lc

http://youtu.be/zZpZm_PV8ls

http://youtu.be/lZl0ZZYEEc0

http://youtu.be/zIjpd7HxQWU

What a great run the Arizona Wildcats have had this season. They went undefeated their first 21 games, which is a school record. Last night, that run came to an end when the California Golden Bears beat the Wildcats with a three pointer just before time expired. The home crowd stormed the floor of Haas Pavillion with .9 seconds still left in the game. The referrees, coaches and announcers had to shoo everyone off the court before Cal received a technical foul, so the Wildcats could make their final attempt to tie the game. It was not to be, and they suffered the first loss of the season.

A greater loss than the game score is the probability of Brandon Ashley’s broken foot taking him out for the remainder of the season. Sean Miller is already making his switch up plans, and the team will continue on, with Arlington, Texas and the Final Four in their sights.

Next up: Oregon at home on Thursday. Let’s start a new winning run and not stop until we win the National Championship game on April 7th. Go ‘Cats!!

My annual recap is posted here.

I really love my solar panels. This month, I generated much more power than I used. You can see by the graph below that I only purchased electricity from the power company on two days during October. The rest of the month, I had negative days, selling kWh back to SRP. You can notice the biggest savings the week of the 6th – 11th, when I was in California.

However, on a sadder note, it appears Daryl is now beating me on daily output. His panels are positioned to gain more sunshine in the mornings and his roof is a bit steeper (which the southern sun hits more fully), so his system is soaking up a few more rays than mine. Additionally, the sun now drops behind my neighbor’s tree in the late afternoon, causing a reduction in my panel output. But I definitely have him beat on the graph above! His bigger house and electric car use a lot more electricity than me.

It looks like I am on track to generate ~98% of my overall annual usage, as predicted.

My aging house had a sunken tub in the master bath. There was some deterioration in the tiles and grout and it was time for an update. I rarely take a bath, opting for showers in the morning before work. On the rare occasions that I want a bath, I have another tub in the hall bathroom, so I decided to have this sunken tub removed and a walk in shower stall put in it’s place.

It’s so great having a son in the construction business who can refer contractors to me. Not only do I know I can trust the guys who come into my home, but also that they will give me a fair (and often discounted) price. Brian sent a good man my way who designed and coordinated the job, and we got started with demolition on May 21.

The following weekend after plumbing was completed, they filled the hole and poured cement.

Drywall repair and tile prep was the next step.

Then the fun part: new tile!

When it was done and grouted, Dale and Daryl installed my shower door and window blind.

Then it was my turn: towels and shelf unit, and most importantly, taking the first shower. It’s done and beautiful and glorious to step into. I’m very pleased!

Many thanks to my family guys who have done so much for me since I’ve been on my own. I love you and appreciate you!

The electric company came out to my house on Thursday and commissioned my solar panels. In the past 48 hours, I have generated 86 kWh. Daryl and I are comparing our panels’ production and giving each other “the business” when one of us springs ahead in the race. He gets more output in the morning and I get more in the evening. On my first full day, I beat him by just about 1 kWh. This morning is a bit cloudy, so he called off the competition for now. Spoil sport!

Now bring on those bills and let me see how much I’m saving.