jenn schiffer's live laugh blog

weekly retro #66: spring showers and neighbors' flowers

the other day i was streaming and there was an incredible sounding rain. the chat and i sat in silence and just listened for a bit, it was so nice and refreshing sounding. it was like the earth was getting a nice, clean reset for the season. i hope that's the same for me. this week i've been getting active more, making more art, and writing nearly every day - in case you missed it, i shared my third ceramics class pieces here and wrote about botero on my little art blog. i love spring showers and blogging!! welcome to the weekly retro.

photo of pink rhododendron shrub outside a house

it was a beautiful week and i got to do a lot of walking around, in the city and here at home. mrs. meyers has a limited edition lilac soap that i put in our bathroom and so it truly feels like spring indoors and out. i think this week we finally see a sunset after 8pm! i guarantee you once it starts getting to be 80 degrees out, my mood is gonna shift real hard into joker mode, so enjoy my joy while it lasts.

photo of a clay dish i'm making using the nerikomi technique, with clays of blue, tangerine and white in an abstract pattern

this week i was able to find a couple of hours to throw some things on the wheel. i didn't lose any clay, but i did struggle to get into a flow state and i didn't really go into the practice session with a plan. later on i had class and got to learn about and use mason stain for the first time as we continued learning about nerikomi pottery. i want to get more wheel practice in this week and maybe start hand-building a piggy banks because i think that would be fun to make.

photo of a cheese pizza i just put into the oven to bake

this pizza came out like shit lol. it was a tapioca flour-based gluten free crust and i should have known it would come out gummy. i'm like 10 days into making my gluten free sourdough starter, despite my adhd's best intentions to stop me from a daily feeding regimen. basically i'm on a journey to get good at gluten free baking so i can keep away from box mixes, or at least anticipate better how they will come out. i can't trust any of the reviews because everyone is lying to themselves about how good these alternatives are!

photo of two magazine collages, one lisa made and the other i did

lisa, one of my oldest friends - old as in we went to college together, not as in SHE is old, i'm like 2 months older than her - came over to do some arts and crafts and just shoot the shit. she's been doing a lot of traveling and i've been doing a lot of having depression, so it was nice to reconnect and catch up while cutting up all my magazines. you should ask a friend or two to come over to do arts and crafts - it's a fun and low pressure activity that makes catching up with friends and talking about what's going on in the world much easier to do.

photo of my black cat pumagreg staring at me up close

i scheduled pumagreg's consultation with the animal hospital for his amputation. i'm really going to try hard to not let myself burn out through this process like i did with his surgery last month, and just ride the waves of the process - we don't know if this is a procedure that they want to do immediately or in a few months! pumagreg, himself, is doing great though. ever since the surgery he's been insisting on laying on top of my chest, either to be very close or to try to smother me to death. lil guy, i'll takes both!

photo of a large bed of purple bugleweed (i think that's it) outside someone's home

i think these are bugleweed? i saw them on the way to the gym today. i assumed that because it was mother's day that the gym would be empty. but i, the only person in the world whose mom is no longer alive, was wrong. this week i started a new weight lifting routine, so i will keep you all posted on how other holidays impact gym participation or not. how funny is it to lift heavy and then struggle to get a small plate out of the cabinet!

things i enjoyed this week

  • we have really been enjoying the trader joes chunky garlic & jalapeno hot sauce. i bought it impulsively several weeks ago and the garlic flavor is so nice. it's great on eggs, braised tofu, and taco bell.
  • it's "posting my neighbors flowers on the blog" season so i have to shout out plantnet, which i use to identify plants because i know oh so little about plants.
  • my friend kyle started a podcast because pr firms keeps sending him guests thinking he's an mma fighter of the same name who is in fact a podcaster. this is the shit i love about the internet!

this coming week i'm getting a dental cleaning and a haircut. i'd get a lobotomy, too, but they don't take amerihealth at taco bell.

xoxo jenn

this was published May 10, 2026 under living health food tech weekly-retro friends gym pumagreg flowers ceramics gluten-free baking lisa collage arts-and-crafts jersey-city

what i made during my third ceramics class

i said in my second ceramics class post that i'd be back in early may with a roundup of my third class pieces and, here we are, in early may. i brought my final pieces home on monday and i am so stoked to get to finally show them off. here's what i made during my third ceramics class

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weekly retro #65: may the third be with you

anyone who knows me personally knows i LOVE a reset. it's my favorite word in corporate, it's my favorite part of a new month, and it's also a word that literally means nothing to me but a chance to reflect before moving forward.

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weekly retro #63: there's a lot of depression in this one

this week was a rough one, but before i get into it i do want to say i'm feeling a lot better now. i was carrying the post-period lows with bad news, the anxiety of responsibility, and sweat from a heat wave that passed through. there was a point where i hit a vape - something i don't feel good about, but whatever - to set off the air purifier to get circulation in the room without dragging my depressed body 3 yards to press the button like a normal person would.

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weekly retro #60: spoony time

it's taking everything i've got to write this lol. i multi-tasked too close to the sun and burnt myself out from the computer, but at the end of this file and deployment is a scoop of peanut butter covered in chocolate chips waiting for me. i call it "spoony time". welcome to the weekly retro.

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weekly retro #59: kicked, burned, but still spinning

i'm starting to write this after seeing jamie off for his trip to london. he's going to be hosting robot karaoke for an event at the london games festival, which i recommend for any of you in the area. when he gets back, we're both hosting at wonderville together for all of you in the jc/nyc area. we're also super stoked to be hosting a special tax themed robot karaoke at caveat nyc on april 15th! it was a gorgeous day out and a bird shit on us outside my local taqueria.

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what i made during my second ceramics class

a couple of months ago i shared what i made in my first (hand-building) ceramics class just as i was getting into my 2nd class (first at wheel-throwing). i'm now in my third week of my third class (second at wheel-throwing) and just brought home my final glazed piece from class two. that means it's time to share what i made during my second ceramics class.

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