Pool nets and peony pots

Hi folks

Yes, we are back from our Pacific island cruise. No, we are not sunburnt and tanned. Our skins do not like the sun very much and we go from bleached white to beetroot red in the space of half a nano-second. So, no, we did not laze around the pool or on the beach. We did enjoy some time around the pool on the ship actually. We were sitting in the shade on some comfy chairs when the weather turned nasty .. on the final day of the cruise luckily. Anyhow as we watched the waves in the pool splosh out and over the deck, we noticed a man in the pool riding the waves. He was thoroughly enjoying the experience and we would see his head pop up as he reached the zenith. But then the message came that they would need to evacuate the pool and the man had to get out. And then the real entertainment started. Two young Phillipian men dragged out a net to put over the pool. They rolled it out only to discover that it was not the right net ... roll up, replace and find the right one. The second net was then stretched out over the pool. Oops, wrong way. Shuffle shuffle and adjust only to discover that this net too was the wrong one too. Back to net number one .. and then back to net number two and again back to net number one, which was actually the right net but just didn't look right. Finally an hour later a waiter from the bar took pity on the two men, put down his tray and came to their aid. I am sure it did no good for them to look over and see Barry and I laughing so hard that we were almost crying. Finally, the net was secured and then they moved on to swimming pool number two .... which was full to the brim with children having the time of their lives riding the pool waves. This time the net went on without a hitch with the waiter standing giving directions with his tray in his hand ... but with no drinks in sight. What do you do on cruises? We loved the people watching. Well, we also loved the gorgeous visits to the islands where we swam in water as clear as glass and warm as ..... toast. Toast doesn't seem like the right description of water but you get the gist. But sitting on a rolling deck seeing inebriated cruislings try to find their feet was hilarious. We participated each night in a quiz game that was fun. Well almost fun, because we soon realized that we didn't know as much as we thought we did and were actually quite stupid. Who knew that Quantas airlines saved $60 000 a year by removing just one olive from their first class salad servings? And there I was thinking we had an eclectic knowledge and would ace the whole quiz. The quizmaster would walk around and look over our shoulders saying "No, no, no." So at least we knew when we got things wrong! And 'Excellent' when we got it right. Not that we got too many excellents. We were at a disadvantage because there was only Barry and me on our team and other teams had up to 10 members. I reckon if we had been judged pro rata we would have won hands down. Well, that is what I am telling myself anyway. We did know that a baby rabbit is called a kit and a baby whale a calf but sadly there were lots more questions that we had no idea what the answer was. But it was fun. And now we are home. And there is no sun to warm us and no nice beaches to swim in, just two layers of duvet on the beds and lots of warm clothing. Oh well, into every life a little rain must fall and we came back to just that. Rain.

One thing we did not do was buy lots of touristy knick-knacks. We went out of our way to find locally made things and they were in short supply. The trick is to look for a label and most of the things looked gorgeous until you tipped them over and read that they were made in China or Japan or sometimes even New Zealand. But we were implacable in our search and finally found some odds and ends that the locals had made. We had hoped to bring back bags of chocolate, only to be disappointed at the exorbitant prices of even the basic foodstuffs. We bought a print from an artist and a few dresses from a lady who had sewn them herself. But the funniest thing was that I could use my limited, very limited, French as taught to me by my school friend, Danila. When I was 15 years old, which is 50 years ago, Danila and I would go to Durban and visit the French club. I learned to say Bonjour, Bonsoir, and comment ca va? So there we were at a street side market and the lady was paying no attention to us and I raised my hand and said 'Bonjour Madam.' And hey presto, she turned around and served us. Yay. I remembered the words and she even smiled at me so maybe my accent wasn't too terrible. We were trying to get rid of our Caledonian Francs and Barry was handing over handfuls of extra coins .... which she liked. She started flirting with Barry and gave him an extra sarong as a gift. Barry, of course, was oblivious to the flirting and said 'What a nice woman.' And then we got into the shuttle from Hell. Seriously scary driving. We were at Yejele beach which is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and we needed to get a shuttle back to the ship. Single lane very primitive roads with nothing but sand and trees both sides of the road. Our driver put his foot down and when an approaching bus appeared on the horizon he would dive off into the bush at speed. I seriously thought that our children would receive a message from the cruise the say that their parents had been killed in a shuttle accident. I was not the only passenger that almost kissed the ground when he stopped. We all piled out and walked with shaking legs towards the boat that would take us to the ship. I don't drink alcohol but a few of the others were saying they would need a stiff drink to recover. Gorgeous island, terrible roads and even worse drivers. Yikes we must be on holiday.

We got home to the aforementioned rain and it was back to work for us. No, we don't actually have jobs. We are retired. But I have an exhibition in 6 weeks time and I have done nothing to prepare. Nothing at all. Into my studio for a bit of hard grind. Nose to the grindstone time. Sadly my studio is a fridge in Winter. The floor is cement and acts as a large ice block .... I do have a small carpet to stop frostbite of my tender tootsies ... but the broken window that funnels freezing air right onto my worktable is not ideal. Barry went off to his cancer support group and I stuck my hands into chilly clay. The vision in my head was just not translating, so I changed my vision and made some peony pots. Basically a simple pot with peony looking petals around the edge. Yes, I know I am a clever talented beautiful woman. Well, sometimes I am but maybe not today. My hair was unbrushed ... I sometimes do that, not brush my hair. My clothes are the worst ones in my cupboard. So the beautiful title was not applicable. Clever? Well not after that quiz show on the ship. I am feeling decidedly un-clever and ever so slightly dumb. Talented? Who knows? We might have to wait until we see how those peony pots develop in the kiln. I was going to make two small ones and one large one. And then I thought 'What happens if they blow up or crack horribly?' So I am making quite a few more. Then the rain started pouring in through the broken window and I came inside to find a bit or warmth and comfort. When I tell people I have a studio they think it is something out of the movie 'Ghost' ... sorry folks, its a drafty, cold converted garage with bad lighting and stuffed in the corner between the lawn mower and discarded furniture. But it does the job ... sometimes. It just shows that art can be created in all sorts of situations. Well, my version of art anyway.

I know I am blessed to have the life that I have. I can go on exotic cruises to gorgeous tropical islands. I can spend my days creating art and come inside to find that my husband has made me hot pancakes (made with coconut sugar so not too bad for my diabetics) So what if a peony pot cracks and I have to put on a beany to work in my studio? Life is good. Cold but good.

Lots of love

Pat