Tea Time

I have never been much of a tea drinker. Occasionally Jeff makes us matcha in the afternoon and while at first I didn't care for it at all (tastes like grass clippings!) I have grown to enjoy the ritual of it.

Carved cup by Sarah Heimann

Since starting my wellness path I have begun to drink a cup of herbal tea in the early evening. It helps with water intake and it's healthier than having a glass of wine! I am enjoying having a variety of flavors to choose from, but I am also enjoying choosing the cup of the day. Some days I am drawn to a traditional mug with a handle, on others a cup or tea bowl.  It's been the perfect transition time between the work day and meal prep.

Chocolate Glaze

Last month we had an order for a custom sink. The buyer wanted it a matte black for a rustic look. We didn't have a glaze that matched what she wanted, but she was willing to pay us to mix and test a glaze for her. We were fortunate that our potter friend Tom Gray had a glaze that was exactly what she wanted. He even had a 5 gallon bucket of it, that he was no longer using, and was willing to sell to us. It worked out perfectly!

Doesn't it look like a big bucket of melted milk chocolate?

It takes two of us to glaze most sinks. Jeff turns the sink as I pour the glaze over it, and into a bucket.

This is the finished sink. It's very different from others that Jeff has made, both in shape and glaze.

You may have noticed that I have played around with the format of my blog. I wanted to "lighten" it up a little, and give it a cleaner look. Jeff took a look at it and said the font is too light for him to read. My off the cuff response was, "Well you don't have to read it!" In reality, I don't wan't it to be difficult to read, so let me know what you think... should I darken the font? Let me know in the comments. Thank you in advance for feedback!

A Toast To Georges Duboeuf!

We heard on NPR that Georges Duboef died at the age of 86 on January 4th. He was famous for his Beaujolais and even more so for promoting Beaujolais Nouveau, the release of the young wine each November. It turned into an annual festival and spread to release parties around the world. For many years I always bought a few bottles for Thanksgiving. When I moved to North Carolina, it was hard to find and most Thanksgiving dinners were celebrated minus the Beaujolais. Last year we discovered that Costco carried it! This year it sold out early and we were Beaujolais-less... until a friend discovered they restocked it for New Years.

When he heard of Duboef's passing we had a toast to his life with the one remaining glass.

hand blown glass by NH artist Alex Kalish

Cheers to Georges Duboeuf! Thank you for creating a tradition in our lives.

Hello 2020!

2019 really wasn't a bad year despite the rough patch that we had in the Fall. During that rough patch, when we were stranded in Virginia, I missed Halloween. I was disappointed that I wasn't home to carve my Jack-o-Lanterns. I considered carving turkeys into them on Thanksgiving... but with a show to do the weekend before and 14 guests coming for dinner, that idea was scrapped rather quickly. So there my pumpkins sat outside the door, surprising well preserved. As the new year approached I thought it was fitting to carve a couple of NYE Jack-o-Lanterns!

I am looking forward to 2020. While I didn't make any resolutions, I am planning to continue with some lifestyle changes that I began last summer. You may remember my post about a fitness watch and new sneakers. Well I am still walking everyday. My route has increased to about 2.5 miles. Between August and mid-November I dropped 9 pounds without any effort. It got me thinking how much I could lose if I really tried. The best way to get through the holidays without gaining weight is to join Weight Watchers just before Thanksgiving! I am happy to say that I am now down 25 pounds. I am having fun "shopping" in my own closet and resurrecting clothes that I hadn't been able to wear for some time. I still have a long way to go but I have a positive mindset about it and not looking at it as drudgery. It's a path that I am looking forward to walking.

Wishing All a Happy and Healthy 2020.

Be Merry!

I spent a few nights last week painting Christmas cards and I had so much fun doing them! I bought some affordable watercolor paper from Arteza and used gouache instead of watercolor. Gouache uses less water, therefore I didn't have the problem of the paper buckling. Yesterday, while the kiln was firing, I took advantage of some down time and assembled them on card stock and gave them their final touches. To save time I stamped the lettering using clear silicone stamps on an acrylic block. The clear stamps are so much easier to use than the traditional rubbers stamp  mounted on wood. The stamp set came with some cute borders, so the bonus was decorating the envelope flaps.

If you recall, I bought the gouache paints in the spring or summer, but really struggled with them. I watched a few youtube videos and decided they would be a good option for card making. Working on multiple small paintings gave me the opportunity to experiment and learn more about the medium.

Now all I have to do get out my card list and get these cuties in the mail!