tricks or treats...

Be sure to get out and cackle today!

Another year goes by...

My sister Anita and I share a birthday and today is the day! We are not twins, she is four years older than me, and we have a brother born in between us. We have always celebrated together even since I moved to North Carolina. Last year was extra special. Somehow we managed to get a good bunch of the family together for dinner at Anita's home. Jeff took this photo of us gathered around my parents. It's the last birthday that I was able to celebrate with my mother.

Mum with her great-grandaughter

 Danielle and Arianna getting ready to set the cake on fire

This year I am home in North Carolina for my birthday. There was too much going on this fall to be able to head north. Jeff and I will have our own little dinner party together. I am even going to buy myself a cake. Anita and I will exchange birthday wishes via telephone. I am sure there will be call from Danielle, even though we talked last night. It won't be the same, but it will still be good.

sugar buzz...

Danielle brought Anita and me wickedly delicious cupcakes from Sugar in E. Haven, CT. 

and brother Paul and sister-in-law Harris, finally get their wedding gift just shy of their 2nd anniversary...

Better late than never!

Waiting on Sandy...

Jeff and I have perfect timing when it comes to fall travel. Last Friday we hit the road for New Hampshire to do three raku workshops. Last year we were here in October to experience 2' of snow and massive power outages. This year it's a hurricane!

Jeff was able to do yesterday's workshop, in Wolfeboro, NH, without a hitch. Tomorrow's workshop is kind of iffy... it's at a high school... school is cancelled today and maybe tomorrow as well. We decided to stay put at my sister's home in Wolfeboro for another night, rather than head to our friend Roni's home in Strafford (which is closer to our workshop location). Strafford always seems to lose power and Wolfeboro rarely does.
I have no complaints about spending an extra day with my sister. If you are going to ride out a hurricane, why not do it in a comfortable New England farmhouse, in a picturesque little town!

We have plenty of hurricane supplies... batteries, flashlights, candles, cheese and crackers, and plenty of WINE!

October is here...

and I am happy to welcome it! September was a really slow sales month for us and I am hoping that things will pick up now. At the end of the month we are heading to New Hampshire with our traveling raku kiln to do a few workshops. One at Hillsboro High School and two more at Sally Cornwall's studio in Wolfeboro. My sister lives in Wolfeboro so we will spend most of the week with her. As I have mentioned before, my sister and I share the same birthday - October 27th, so we will be together to celebrate!

Here we are in '62, on my first birthday and her 5th

On another good note, this piece sold from our gallery yesterday...

When I made this covered dish I wasn't happy with it. I had to really fuss with the lid to get it to fit right. I wasn't going to fire it but Jeff said he liked and thought that I should. Even when it first came out the kiln I wasn't excited about it, but it sort of grew on me. I didn't put it in the gallery until last week and it already has a new home.

I'll leave you with a small ginkgo leaf cup that came out of the wood firing at David Stuempfle's last month...