Groupon, you have once again forced me out of my square and push me into a parallelogram instead; for that I should thank you.

Goose and I spend a few hours at Luke Adams’s Glass Blowing Shop and not only learned a little about glass manipulation but ended with a wearable piece of jewelry. Of course not without me first becoming stressed about which piece to make…earrings (post or dangling), bracelet (cuff or beaded), wine stopper, key chain… too many choices …and as the clock is ticking, a decision have to be made. I settle on the necklace, only to face my next mountain of artistic decisions, color, shape, size… curse you Groupon and your ‘Things to Do’ suggestions!!

Goose reminds me that this is supposed to be ‘fun’. Ok, deep cleansing breath, let’s see how much ‘fun’ we can have without checking me into the psych ward just a few blocks away. All the other ladies seem to be doing this with ease, laughing, creating, just another ‘Martha Stewart’ day for them…a few pieces of colored glass and voila, a stained glass window scene of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel (awesome, heavy sigh).

Another deep cleansing breath, no pressure, this is not a competition, it’s a fun day out with my daughter, spending time with one another, being inspired and supportive and hopefully look back to remember… who the hell am I kidding! Of course it is a competition! I cannot just look around at the other pieces without feeling some sort of one-upmanship!

I carefully choose my pieces, grab the cutting tools, glue and tweezers and go for it. Cautiously I place the tiny granules of color on the black piece of glass (living recklessly and not using a ruler to be sure they are precisely the same distance from one another) and then was reminded by the teacher that there is not another class due immediately so we can run over our timeslot (thanks but that albatross around my neck, totally not necessary)… and then… that’s it. I am done. Whew.

The instructor pops open a bottle of sparkling wine and says who would like a mimosa? Come on. Who doesn’t want a mimosa?!!

Well I have to say, it doesn’t suck. And Goose? I expected nothing less than a beautiful piece from her, just like her grandmother would do. She creates with 98% grace and 10% uncertainty (math joke) but always turns out wonderfully.

  
my finished necklace and Goose’s finished bracelet – pretty neat huh?!!