Lynn goes through a lot of clay, making mugs, vases and bowls, as well as sculptures now and then. Her most frequent source of clay to work with is a clay company outside of Madison. Clay is heavy so it is costly to ship and it is cold outside so a shipment would be hurt if the boxes are left outside to freeze. It is the holiday season and she needed more clay. So, yesterday we drove to Madison and bought a couple of hundred pounds. It was loaded into her SUV, we had lunch and drove back.
She lived in a studio apartment for her three years of doctoral studies several decades ago and we both became familiar with the capital city then. We don't get down there very often so it is a pleasure to see old sights and drive familiar streets.
I offered to drive some or all of the trip, but she is critical of my driving and likes to drive herself. I did read some of Braiding Sweetgrass and some of Leaving the Witness to her. She drove the whole time, both ways.
We had lunch in the Great Dane. Madison is located in Dane county. Some of my friends are of Danish descent although it seems to me that Scandinavians are similar to one another, no matter which Nordic country they are from. Lynn is of Finnish descent and some measures and traditions say that the Finns are the most different from the other Nordics: Swedes, Norwegians and Danes. Part of the territory of England, more or less across the English channel from Denmark was once the "Danegeld", the area where Danish money was the currency. The family name Kirby is related to the Danish language, from back in the 800's when Danes invaded and controlled parts of England.
The potter's clay comes in 50 lb. boxes, with 25 lbs. in each of two plastic bags. It is dense so that even carrying just a single 25 lb bag down to her ceramics area is a little tiring and precarious. We both feel better when it is all safely stowed in her studio. This time we didn't ask our large and strong son-in-law or greatgrandson to carry it for us.
