When it rains, it pours

When we moved to 505 E. Main we bought a used refrigerator on Craigslist. We needed something to get us by until we could afford a new one. Lowe's had a decent sale this month so we bit the bullet and bought this beauty...

It never arrived the day of the scheduled delivery. No one at Lowe's knew why it never got on the truck that morning. They would reschedule for six days later. On a good note they gave us an even better price for the inconvenience.

The new refrigerator was delivered a week ago Monday and we love it. Tuesday we woke up in the wee hours of the morning to a light flashing and a humming noise. Jeff jumped out of bed, thinking the house was on fire. It thankfully wasn't, but it was probably close. The plug on the condenser of our heat pump fried, which in turn caused, what I guess, was a power surge in the house that made our touch lamp flicker as well as burning out the power strip it was plugged into. When we called an HVAC company I was shocked that a tech arrived within an hour of the phone call. I was even more shocked when he said it was close to $3000 to repair or $8000 to replace it.
It's a 15 year old heat pump. Which is a heat pump's average life span.

UGH.

We decided to get a second opinion. The second company came out right away too. The repair estimate was about the same. The first replacement quote was for a fancy Bosch unit, super efficient, ultra-violet air cleaner, all for the fancy price of $12,000. I wanted to say, "Look around this house dude, does it look like we can afford that?"
After some discussion we settled on a Rheem unit for the low, low price of $6,100. I still wanted to throw up. The unit was installed on Thursday, just before the humidity returned.
Thank goodness for interest free payment plans.

It's already looking dirty. Maybe when I clean the stainless on the fridge I should go outside and polish this baby too.

Before the heat pump expired we had also called our electrician to assess our old well pump so that we can use the well to water the garden, instead of town water... and to install an outlet for our window AC unit in the studio. This was the smallest cha-ching of the week, and the good news is our well pump seems to work fine and hopefully we will be able to start using it soon.

If we could have foreseen the future we never would have bought a new refrigerator. I just have to have faith that everything will work out in the end. Perhaps our electric bill will be a little lighter with the new appliances.
In the mean time I have to remind myself that we are more fortunate than many others. Money can be tight but we have roof over our head, food on the table, and generally good health.

Jeff and I like to take the time each day to enjoy the beauty of nature that surrounds us. We really appreciate the land that we live on and call home.

If you look closely you will see my baby anole garden buddy. I have been watching him grow for the last couple of weeks. Yesterday I noticed he is getting a dark stripe on his back.

... and it really did rain here. The gardens are very happy.

Pottery Buddy

After a few days of much needed rain, we had a beautiful sunny day. Perfect timing to prepare greenware for a bisque firing. While I was giving some pots the kitchen scrubby treatment, a green anole crawled on to the sponge holders.

He was a brave little guy and hung out with me for quite awhile.

Occasionally, if he thought I was getting a little too close, he hopped from the shelving unit to the stand that holds the bricks for the kiln door. 

I have been in North Carolina for over six years now, but I am still fascinated by these charming lizards!

Wanted: More hours in the day and some extra hands

 It looks like we are not going to have any down time this winter. I am not complaining, I am actually very thankful. Our kiln has been fired twice this month and many of the pots were already spoken for.
I had an order for ginkgo leaf dinner plates and while I was making them I also made this platter/dip combination. I was really happy with it and glad that I took a photo because the couple that ordered the plates bought this as well. I really need to make them on a regular basis. They sell well but I just don't seem to get many made. I don't even know what my excuse is.

In other news, we have a new studio mate this winter...

He really likes basking in the warmth of our under cabinet lighting. He's a cutie, I just wish we could teach him to pug clay or clean up around here. We could use an extra hand.

uncommon clay

yesterday afternoon a sweet couple from Ohio stopped in at the pottery.  the wife told us that they decided to first visit Seagrove a number of years ago after she had read the book Uncommon Clay by Margaret Maron.  the book came out in 2001, about a year before i started taking pottery classes with Jeff at the NH Institute of Art. the book is a mystery and centers around the divorce of a pottery couple in Seagrove who have been married for nearly 25 years. 
well wouldn't you know... Jeff had a copy of the book and actually found it in the first box he opened!    it looks like a quick read and i think i will take some down time today and get into the story.  it was fun to read the acknowledgements at the front of the book since they are mostly people i have met since moving to the 'grove.
i think we need a lazy day after the very busy weekend.  the beautiful weather brought out the shoppers and in between waiting on them we loaded and fired the bisque kiln, did some gardening and finished up some pots.  we are enjoying the spring here and everyday something new is blooming...

...and my anole friends were out and about basking in the sunshine!

what'cha you doin' in there?

jeff's wheel is set up in front of a floor to ceiling window... i snapped this pic today of an anole looking in at him throwing pots...

isn't he the cutest thing?