A Diversion from the Move

Went to Slipaway in St. Pete today with some ladies I met at the Ceramics Club. Slipaway is where creators meet to work on creative projects, especially ceramics. It is also expanding to hand building ceramics, fused and stained glass and fabric art pieces. The owners also pour molds for the ceramic greenware and sell various paints. I went for the paints and decals for pieces I am working on.

The Ceramic Club is the first club I joined after getting a bed and a chair at my new house. I wanted to meet new people, and once I walked into the room I found the person sitting across from me only lived a few houses from the one I bought in Florida. It was going to be nice to meet new people.

I really enjoy painting the ceramic pieces, and through the months that I have lived here, I am slowly learning new techniques. What I really want to learn is the hand building. That is where (with clay) I will be making pieces like flowers, birds, grapes, anything my imagination will inspire; then, after the clay piece is made I mold it onto a wet ceramic piece, such as a tea pot, vase, etc. I really can't wait to learn this. The owners of Slipaway will offer this class starting in February. I am excited.

I have enjoyed meeting the ladies who are involved in ceramics, and they have provided me with travel companions, and lunch mates. One lady I met at ceramics went with me when I went on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas in September. The cost was $288 each. Not bad because we did not have to pay for air fare. All I had to do was drive the 2 hours to Port Canaveral and park the car (I paid for the gas, she paid for the parking). I thought, this is going to work! Then, another lady and I saw an advertisement for a 17-day trip in November to Barcelona, ports in Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar before making the cruise across the Atlantic. Seventeen days was about $2500. That is air fare, the ship, taxes, insurance, everything. Not bad. We went.

The Club meets every Thursday, and together about a dozen women and one man paint ceramic pieces, talk, and eat. We listen, laugh, eat, and plan what we are going to do next. For that time together we are one, and although it is not a job or school to meet people, I have started forming a friendship with these ladies. We are all at different stages in our lives, but we are all healthy and we have healthy attitudes of wanting to make this life work. We have also lost great loves in our lives, whether through death or divorce, and although we mention those great loves, we do not dwell on it. That is the difference between staying put in my former community and moving on in a new community. As one of the ladies said today when I mentioned that one of the talkers talked a lot because she is probably lonely, this lady said, and at some times we all get lonely. True, but here all I have to do is put my foot out the door, go for a walk, say hi to someone in the clubhouse, sit down to play cards, go the gym, join a club or attend a class, and I don't have to be lonely. Or, maybe I should say, I will be surrounded with people. And, hey, isn't that what life is about. Being with people.

Will definitely write about the move on Monday. Have a great weekend. (And, yes, retired people do still categorize sections of the week -- there is still Mondays, Fridays, and weekends.)