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We're in the midst of the annual September Ski Camps here at school. The Nordies are across the pond in Italy. The Alpine crew is down in Chile for some spring skiing. I went along to Chile as a studyhall proctor and injured-kid wrangler a couple of years ago. While it was a great experience - you can't beat skiing in the Andes above treeline - spending 15 or so days "landlocked" at a resort that is shutting down for the summer and that is a 2 hour bus ride from Santiago wears on you.

I certainly wouldn't turn the trip down again (hello, skiing in South America?!), but there's something appealing about staying home and having a quick break before the craziness sets in. And yes, it pretty much sets in from the moment the students all get back and doesn't let up until graduation in June. This year it was extra crazy as the Chile trip happened unexpectedly early (as in, the trip was moved up a week or so as we started the year. . . we spent the first week of school not knowing when they would actually head down!). The plus side is that we get an "extra" week in the fall before the November Colorado trip happens. The minus side is that I actually had the semester planned out before school started and the early departure threw a wrench in those plans. That's what I get for being prepared for the year! It's nothing I can't adjust for, but annoying nonetheless.

Summer Project #2: 30 Days of Photographs - Recap & Favorites

And done! 45 days later, the 30-day photo challenge is complete. A few of my favorites are posted below. Click on the "30 Days of Photographs" tab above (or click through here) for the entire challenge with narratives of each photo.

day 2.

Winter Clay Class

I'm finally getting around to posting photos of my clay creations from the winter clay class my friend, S, the art teacher here on the island, put together for PIE.

Everyone had such creative and unique ideas. There were critters, sugar bowls, planting markers, fish, planters, buttons, water bowls for pets; some folks had crazy talent on the wheel, others could take a potato-like lump of clay into a bowl or wall hanging in no time. All very cool creations.


Glazing was equally cool; sometimes it was a guessing game as to how the colors would come out after firing. And there were some pretty sweet exploding glazes (see below!) that left little sparkly splashes of contrasting color over a light-colored base. The glazes also varied based on whether you started with the gray clay or the brown clay.