Welcome Summer!

The weekend brought us fabulous weather. Comfortably warm, low humidity. Cool nights. It was a nice break after the hot and muggy week. Great weather for getting outside and doing the yard work. We didn't put in a big garden, like we planned to. There was just to much "catch-up" work to do in the studio. A kiln-less winter put us behind and studio work takes precedence over everything else. The one thing we did do was plant some flowers and herbs in the front of house. This was an area that was pretty much ready to go, after a little weeding.

Most of our little garden are plants that we either moved from the log cabin, or were given to us. I did buy a couple of flower and herbs. Some I bought on clearance at Lowe's. On the right, still in it's pot, is buchu. It's a Korean chive. We were gifted with two of these and are so excited to have them. Jeff and I use them a lot in Korean cooking and we like them snipped on top of a salad as well. They have a  similar, but stronger flavor than traditional chives.

I splurged on the cone flowers last week. I have always wanted some and can't believe that I never had them in past gardens!

I planted zinnias from seeds. They are doing ok. I am hoping they well re-seed themselves so that eventually, in the future,  I will have a nice bed of them.

Can anyone identify this? At the log cabin, I thought it was a weed because it was growing in the lawn. I always mowed it over. Jeff said it wasn't a weed and brought a piece of it to 505 E Main. It took off like crazy and the purple flowers are quite pretty. Please comment if you know what it is.

My days in the studio have been spent assembling piggy banks. Jeff has been working on bowls and pitchers. Last night when I was heading out to water my little garden, I noticed Jeff was trimming a guinomi. I couldn't resist snapping a photo with my phone. These are Jeff's favorite things to make and I think it's a great way for him to end his day in the studio.

Back to Reality

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday we enjoyed bright sunshine and warmer temperatures. Everything was melting. It was a perfect day to get outside, sands pots, and load the kiln for a bisque firing. It was late afternoon when the work was done. I wanted to enjoy every minute of outside time before the sun set, and the cold returned. With phone in hand, I decided to walk around the house and take some winter photos.

We got our slab poured just in time. Now we are waiting for our kiln shed to arrive.

The Adventure Continues

I have travelled another year around the sun, and what a year it has been! Lots of excitement, plenty of stress, but I have survived and looking forward to this next trip. I had planned to get a lot done yesterday. The birthday girl was not getting a day off. But alas, the electrician came to wire our new studio gallery space and it seemed everything I had planned to do would put me in his way. I finally decided to settle on the sofa for awhile and catch up on some reading. It was a rainy day and I enjoyed it immensely! Once the electrician was gone I decided to head to the grocery store. As I was leaving, Jeff handed me 50 bucks and said, "Get yourself a birthday cake, on me". I laughed and quickly pocketed the cash. I not only came home with the cake, but a bottle of champagne that I had to buy... because it had my name on it. Well, not quite my name, but a Sharpie marker quickly corrected that.

Today I was back to work. Even though our space is not finished, we have got to make pots. It's what makes us complete and we have a show coming up next month. We cleared a space amidst the construction and set up our wheels. Today we made the first pots at 505 E Main.
I felt like I was in heaven.

Elbow Grease

I am spending all of my spare time doing work at the house. The wallpaper in the main bath is stripped. Tonight I will start prepping the walls for paint. I should have taken a before photo. The wallpaper was quite ugly. I think I have settled on a very light gray paint color. I really dislike this whole window in a shower thing. What were people thinking back then?! I was shocked at how well the window cleaned up. It was pretty gross.

Along with the bathroom work, I have been taking out screens, hosing them down outside, and washing all the windows and sills. The house had been empty for many years, so you can imagine the amount of spider webs and crud that had taken over.

Eventually we will replace these pain in the ass crank out windows. We have a few broken pains that will need replacing. I am hoping it won't be too difficult (or expensive) to find someone to do it.
Doesn't the "indirect" lighting in the master bedroom remind you of a hospital? And how 'bout those bedside wall lamps?!

When Jeff returns from his trip we will tackle the job of stripping the kitchen cabinets. Some years back latex paint was applied over the oil based paint... it's peeling off like crazy. This job I am not looking forward to!

The lawn was looking like it was ready to be hayed, so I hired someone to mow this week. Everything is looking so green and pretty! We are definitely going to have to buy a riding mower.

While I slave away working on the house, making pots, manning the gallery, Jeff sends me this picture at 7:15 am...

It was 8:15 pm in S. Korea and this is the evening hang out for the festival participants. The 7-11 is next to the hotel and there is outdoor seating. They can go in and buy beer or soju and drink it outside.
The timing of this trip was definitely not ideal. Jeff could have declined the invitation but would it have jeopardized future invites? Thankfully we don't have to be out of the log cabin by a certain date. I know that everything will fall into place... eventually.

Good Earth at 505

 Our new home was connected to town water prior to our closing. That means a long trench to lay the new pipe... and there was a lot of good looking clay dug up during the process. Jeff brought some back to the studio in February and did some testing. It fired to cone 10!

 Last night I was at the house shampooing carpets, before I left I bagged up some clay for Jeff to process.

Sort of looks like pumpkin pie

All wedged up... we have dubbed it "505" clay, since our new address is 505 E Main St.

Jeff made quite a few purty little cups.

This little cup, made with our 505 clay, was fired in the wood kiln during FireFest. I believe that this is also the glaze that Jeff made from another clay, also found on our property. It's glazed with nuka. The clay fires in wood to a nice toasty orange. We are going to fire a bisque this weekend so that Jeff can take few of his cups, made with 505, to Mungyeong, S. Korea. While there, they will be fired in one the traditional kilns in the area. I can't believe how quickly this trip has come up. So much to do and so little time!!