February 19, 2009 by Barbara.

I was on my way to a meeting about 9:30 and couldn’t resist checking out the scene on Parliament Hill, even though US President Obama hadn’t yet arrived in Ottawa.

The streets were closed. Being Canadian, the pedestrians - me, included - stayed on the sidewalks.

Some of those involved in the ”work overhead” were snipers. Just saying…

The “SnObamaman” got lots of attention.

There were many more children than I expected. They enjoyed the snow.

These drummers from Nunavut are carrying a sign that says, “Maybe we can too.” That was the mood in a nutshell.

My bus was stopped dead on a street for about 25 minutes, and my trip home took and 100 minutes instead of 30. It wasn’t so bad, given the excitement. One of my fellow bus riders said she was “trapped in the seventh circle of hell” but she exaggerated.

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February 19, 2009 by Barbara.

A friend of mine has enrolled her kids, 2 boys and a girl aged 7-11, in pottery classes the last couple years. I thought it was a neat idea but let it float by me. Then, one evening I picked up the local arts information booklet and noticed that there is a pottery school in my part of the city and that it offers parent and child pottery classes. Reid’s school focuses on physical activities but her teacher admits to beng less adept at arts and crafts. Since I’m partial to crafty things, I decided to sign Reid and me up for the pottery class. With only one class under my belt - Ken went to the first one with Reid - I have to say that I wholeheartedly recommend that you search for a pottery class in your neighbourhood.

There are practical lessons to be learned, even if you don’t take up pottery. For example,

When you want to control the thickness of your dough, use slats of wood on either side of the part you’re rolling.

 Those odd plastic doilies that your kooky aunt gave you are great for putting patterns in your dough.

Those slats I mentioned above are also useful as straight-edges.

Always write your name on your work. If you’re Reid, you will develop a special way of writing your initials - say backwards and forwards - so that your work will be especially special.

It’s good to stretch your horizons. Next, I’m going to check into spinning and weaving or maybe a traditional “fine art” class or who knows what.

View more Works for me Wednesday posts at Rocks in My Dryer or look at my previous Works for me Wednesday entries.

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