Avalanche Monday

 Big hanji

 Rigging the vat for both types

 Smaller hanji

And being so delighted by a free package of zinnia seeds that came with rubber gloves when I was frantic with moving. I didn't think they'd sprout and then they surprised me! We are acclimating the tororo to the outdoors before we plant them. Roll them outside, roll them back inside, and so on.

After pulling hanji in two sizes on Friday (Japanese kozo, hand picked by four of us!), I dried all day Saturday. Learned yet some more about how much to press, and my theory worked. It is better to let the whole post sit for a while even if you think you overcranked, rather than releasing pressure right away. Paper can get used to a lot of pressure. Parted beautifully, though still softer than I'd like (makes me wonder also if the heat drying is giving us softer sheets).

I got a really silly lecture last week about 'making an ass of you and me' and all I can say is that I'm glad that I have this one from a dear friend. He gave it to me years ago and only now have I been able to situate it properly in my home.

I also had set certain deadlines that were all missed, and to relieve the pressure from my back (though my lower back is still killing me), I shipped samples today to a major paper supplier. DONE. I also met with people today from Oberlin about a solo show for next year, talked about the same in Cleveland with someone else, had two friends visit and one buy more paper that she loves to print onto, and had a wonderful surprise visit from Greta and her husband! She took my Toronto class last fall and decided to make the stop to Cleveland while driving south. Neither have ever been here, and they chose to visit us! She teaches book history so she recognized a lot of our equipment straightaway and her husband even helped fix our gutter pipe temporarily (we had another flood today, boooo) and gave me lots of pointers on different things ranging from power tools to soundproofing solutions). And then she sorted through our stacks and stacks of paper and bought a bunch to support the new studio. Terribly gratifying. Worth the lack of papermaking today (besides, now my left wrist is out).

The lightning has passed, so I'm hoping for a peaceful night.