Valeria Out Loud

Hey Guys! 👋🏻 How are you?

Some of you may be wondering where did I disappear to? It has been a long time no post, but boy, it was out of my control. Right after my post that Monday, I went to pottery class after jury duty, but immediately once I got there I felt ill. Sore throat, stuffy nose fatigue. It came on so fast that I thought it was the flu; but it ended up being Covid19! Bah, I thought I could avoid it but nope. I think I caught it from an elderly gentleman at church that day during confirmation, he was hacking up a lung behind me. 🤦🏻‍♀️ friggin people.

Now the kicker is, everyone I know who has had covid has had very mild symptoms, if any symptoms at all. But not this over achiever here! I fell so ill that Monday night that I’m still baffled. I got home and passed the f out. We figured to isolate me in case I had covid, but I tested for three days and was negative till I wasn’t. I dealt with … loss of voice. Fatigue. Delirium. Body aches. Days on end of sleep. Fever. Sweat through three pjs in a row! Chills. Head cold. Loss of appetite. Loss of taste and smell (which hasn’t fully recovered yet). It was crazy.

Our oldest daughter also caught covid, I think from her friend who came down with it, because our symptoms were drastically different. She had almost none. We got to hang out in the house during the days I felt up to it which was fun. But the biggest stinker for her was she missed out on school friends for five days AND had a Covid birthday. She turned 17 last Monday, and had her bday dinner in the living room for a split moment not to get her dad and sister ill. I tried so hard to make it a great day for her. It’s a bday she won’t forget!

Thankfully she didn’t have it terribly. I feel good now, still residual nose stuffiness and pressure, but I can’t complain. But man, the vid is for real no joke!

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While I was at the height of being ill, I did miss out on a ton of good stuff that we had planned. Namely our youngest daughter’s first row scrimmage and the first boathouse fundraiser. 😩 I wanted to go to both so badly but I just couldn’t get out of bed or risk others catching it. I had my husband take our friend in my place. They had a good time and even brought me home soup. It was so nice! But as soon as day 10 came around I did start feeling better to rejoin the living.

My first attempt to be out, my husband took me out to a friend’s business event -a 40 year anniversary celebration in the bonsai business. My husband does bonsai, which is how the owner and he met. It was a great event and very emotional. I love people who appreciate their successes through the people who helped them get there. It was moving and lovely.

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Then two nights later, I went out to a comedy show/date night with my husband. We went to the Wilbur Theater to see Tom Papa- whom I adore. Such a funny guy and I love that his comedy is relatable. They were taping the show for his Netflix special so keep an eye out for it.

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The next day we went to our daughter‘s first regatta, The Textile River Regatta up in Lowell, MA. Holy smokes, guys, this event was no joke. Schools and Boathouses from across the state all lined up along the Merrimack. It was amazing to be a part of. But the kicker was 😂, after two hours on site, watching all of the kids go off, they cancelled our daughter’s novice race due to the gale force winds…poor kid! But there’s a race almost every weekend till mid-November, so we shall see what next weekend brings for her. 🤞🏻

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Last night I took the opportunity with no crew practice for our youngest, no after school clubs for our oldest, and with my husband away -in Paris all week for work, I made it to class a bit earlier to get a jumpstart on my projects. I had left four pieces behind from my last class; one pumpkin piece to fire, one glazed mug to fire and two thrown pieces to dry, which were the first pieces I dealt with when I got to class.

I was so happy to see my very first piece done! The mug is so horribly imperfect but I love it. The colors came out like I planned, a graduation of green to white. I understand glazing a bit more after talking with the class guide-it’s tricky.

Last night, I glazed the pumpkin in a white day of the dead motif and the two other pieces I sanded smooth, then prepped one with an underglaze and the other I made a mistake and glazed it. Eh oh well -if it works then Im happy. Even if it doesn’t work out, I’m happy.

Class flew by! After dealing with my projects from the previous days, I was able to make some cool stuff! A large drape molded square platter- left to dry, and a round bowl, left to fire. Woo hoo! Which means next class I can sand the plate and glaze the bowl. Then Id like to create something for Christmas. Maybe a tree shaped tea-light holder and ornaments. We shall see!

We do have the option to have class next week, even if it’s a federal holiday. I am planning to go but it all depends on my plans w the family that day. So if I make it, I’ll post about my pieces and the session on Tuesday. If not pottery, you’ll hear about us going to a farm for sure. 😆

Ok, guys, I think that’s all I have in me to share. I am so glad to be feeling better and looking forward to the weeks ahead to share with you.

Thank you for taking the time to catch up, I always appreciate your support. 💕

till next post! xoxo