Over two and a half years since the last post, and so much has happened. Most of us know what happened in 2020 and 2021, and I won’t rehash those things too much. But instead, I’ll let you know what I’ve been up to the last few months, and maybe look back a bit.

Thanks in advance, this is going to be an imperfect post, but that’s ok, I’m just getting back into the swing of things.

Due to many reasons, wanting a change of pace, a need to be closer to family, a desire to explore new opportunities, I decided to move from Oregon and come back to California. I’m lucky that my parents owned property in the central valley, a place where I could make a new start of things.

The initial idea was pretty ambitious in hindsight. Get settled in September, get a pottery studio set up (for old readers who don’t follow me on social media, yes, your surprise is understandable), produce some pieces to take advantage of the holidays, and get set up for the following year.

So many ideas. Make a bigger kitchen, set up some housing further away in the field so I’d have some separation when my parents arrived, maybe build a barn even. A workshop for many types of crafts! Carpentry certainly, maybe a commercial kitchen even so I can produce all sorts of products.

Even though I did my research, the reality once I arrived has proven to be quite a bit different. Turns out moving and adjusting takes a lot out of you. My parents set me up with some additional responsibilities for one, and there were lots of things to deal with.

One rather adorable problem was a surplus of kittens. In spite of telling my folks to get ahead of the situation, they’ve understandably been busy with their own priorities. Thanks to some very dear friends, I was able to get that handled, and the kittens are healthy and in a foster program, many of them probably adopted out by now.

Building a shed was another major project that took a lot of time as well. Still working on it, but at least it is watertight now, so the rush we had before the winter rains is thankfully past.

Many other lessons had to be learned. How to drive a lawn tractor, maintaining a pool, dealing with people for various reasons. Hard learned, but important perhaps

But not everything was a hard challenge.

I’ve gotten to reconnect and spend quality time with the kamado grill, and it’s nice to know I still have the touch

I’ve been making great friends with the cats still hanging around. Hopefully I’ll be able to get more of them fixed soon.

It’s been so nice having access to. Here’s some sugarcane, which we run through a press to get the juice out of.

It’s also been nice having some things to forage. Stinging nettles and Miner’s lettuce (claytonia) have supplemented my diet, and kept me from rushing to the grocery store for greens.

I wish I had more of a concluding picture here, but what I wanted to finish with here is I think after a few months, I’m starting to feel a bit settled. My clay studio is lacking a kiln but otherwise functional. I’ve got a handle on most of my responsibilities out here. I have a modest income to support me which takes a lot of the pressure off and gives me the freedom to think and pursue other tasks.

I’ve got a lot of goals in mind for 2022, and hopefully I’ll hit a good deal of them. I’m going to apply a healthy amount of pressure on myself, but not in excess. Cheers to you all, and let me know if you’ve got any questions.