A Cautionary Tale

If you have pets, beware of this plant!

It's a dieffenbachia, also known commonly as "dumb cane." You may remember that Sophie was a sick kitty on Halloween and a trip to the vet revealed she had hyper-thyroid, but no cause could be found for her vomiting, lethargy, and refusing to eat. She was given anti-nausea drugs and within 24 hours was back to her old self.
Fast forward two weeks and we awoke again to a very sick kitty. This time the vomiting and drooling was extensive. She wouldn't stay in one place, so just imagine the mess. Never mind the fact that our house is mostly light beige carpeting. I followed her around cleaning up, bucket and carpet cleaner in hand. Eventually out came a piece of plant. Jeff identified it as the dieffenbachia! A quick google search and she had all the symptoms of plant poisoning.
Off to the vet we went. This time we came home with "pepcid" for cats along with a slurry drug to coat her mouth and throat. This plant irritates the mouth, throat, and vocal chords. It's seldom life threatening but quite painful.

Sophie is doing fine now. Her voice is still a little hoarse sounding, but other than that she is back to normal. Sophie has lived with that plant for six years and never touched it. Why she decided to start eating it now, is beyond me. Needless to say the plant now lives in the studio.

Jeff and I also bought ourselves an early Christmas gift...
A carpet cleaner.

Crazy Cat Lady?

I love cats. Jeff and I moved to North Carolina with his three elderly cats and my middle aged Sophie. The elder kitties have all passed on and we are now a one cat home, with no plans to add more at this stage in our lives.

This week I discovered a new way to satisfy the kitty urge.

Neko Atsume... Kitty Collector!

I can now collect cats inexpensively, on my smart phone, with an app. Yes, there really is an app for that! Cats are attracted to your "yard" by placing food, toys, and boxes. They arrive at different times to play and eat. 

You can take their picture and save them to an album. The more attractive you make your yard, the more cats you will attract. So far, I have only had three at one time. Usually there is only one. Sometimes when I check in, the food is gone and so are the cats. 

My real-life cat doesn't like to have her picture taken. Occasionally I am able to sneak up on her. Jeff and I love our Sophie. She gives us hours of pleasure and entertainment. I adopted her from the NH Animal Rescue League when she was just a kitten... she will be 15 years old next fall! She LOVES being an only cat... I won't tell her about the new virtual pets.

A Box of Treasures?

Last fall when we were visiting Danielle and Jason in Connecticut, Danielle gave me a box that her Dad asked her to pass on to me. I let out a groan because I was feeling like if I hadn't missed whatever was in there all these years, he could have tossed it and I would have been none the wiser. A lot of the contents ended up in the trash. Except for these...

Back in the 60's my aunt Theresa gifted me a portion of her large collection of dog figurines. They were mostly collies and poodles. I was probably around 8 years old, and was very excited. The collection grew to include cats that were given to me by family members whenever they traveled, and some antique pieces that belonged to my father and grandfather. A few are Avon bottles. Unscrew the head, to get to the perfume, remember those? Some still have perfume in them and they smell as bad today as  they did back then. 

The silly boxing poodles were always a favorite. The tail on one had broken. Luckily it was in the box and I was able to glue it back together. Today I am shipping the boxing poodles to my 7 year old great-niece. She will get it just in time for Valentines Day. She loves tchotchkes. I think I will gift her the rest over time.

Her mother will love me for it.

The scary thing is, this is only about 1/2 of the collection. The rest are probably still lurking in a box in the basement of my ex-husband. Who knows when they might reappear.

Shaking things up

I have been making animal rattles this week. Most started out as small orbs that were then transformed into pigs, sheep, and one cat. The larger pig started out as a little, wheel thrown jug. All of them are small and will fit in the palm of your hand. I will probably finish them in a variety of ways, incorporating some of the techniques gleaned from the workshop I went to at the end of August. The rattling animals were filler work while waiting for pig bodies to firm up for assembling. These little guys will make great kiln fillers as well. They can tuck in underneath all those vessel sinks that Jeff has been making.

 Today we awoke to cool, dry, air... it's only 61 degrees here at 9 am. It feels so good to have windows open with fresh air and sunshine streaming in. Not sure how long it will last, but I will enjoy it while it's here.

News from the shipping department

The first wholesale order for 2015 is almost packed. This is a totally different method of packing and shipping for me. Typically piggy banks go to galleries and gift shops that place them on shelves. That being said, all the pigs get bubble wrapped and placed in a box with cardboard between each layer and off they go. These pigs are being shipped to a warehouse and will be sold online or in a catalog. Which means that each one is individually boxed before shipment. Included in the box is an artist card with the company name and a little story about Jeff and me. Each box is also barcoded. 

I set up my shipping station in the kitchen because the supply room is right off of it. I can clear off the island to work on. Yesterday with all the little boxes covering the floor, Sophie cat thought it was quite an obstacle course. She finally made her way around the boxes, and to her food bowl, to remind me it was time eat.

Shop Handmade

Etsy has been a very good selling venue for me. It isn't my sole source of income, by a long stretch, but it gives both Jeff and I a steady stream of funds. Since I encourage people to shop on Etsy, I feel that I should do the same. Whenever I need a gift for someone I always browse Etsy first.
Even for my Sophie.

This sweet little kitty has been by my side for thirteen years, through thick and thin. Since she was a wee little kitten I have been buying her unique collars. This year I discovered "Furocious Kitty" on Etsy. They have the most adorable collars for cats and kittens. They all come with either bells or charms, as well as an alternative bell/charm if your cat (or you) can't handle the "jingle". Sophie has a lady bug collar and a Halloween collar. Today her holiday collar arrived!

These collars are so well made. The clasps are "break-a-way" so if kitty gets caught on something it will un-hook. The material feels smooth and not at all "scratchy"... I despise scratchy feeling fabric so I wouldn't even want my cat to wear something scratchy. Jeff wants me to switch out the snowman for the snowflake bell. I really like the snowman... although the bell is a little too jingly. I may silence the snowman by prying out the jingly thing because I think it's too cute not to keep it on!
I am not one to rush into the Christmas season so Sophie won't be sporting her new collar until after Thanksgiving Thanksgiving weekend. ;-)

Time Alone

I have had the hardest time getting back to clay after my unexpected trip to New Hampshire. Everyday something seemed to get in the way. Yesterday I finally got into the studio and finished carving some tumblers that I started two weeks ago. I can thank the cold, damp weather for keeping them at just the right carving consistency all this time.  I managed to throw some mugs and a few other small items as well.

Jeff and I haven't been able to connect a whole lot while he is in S. Korea, although I did get an e-mail last night and he won the bronze metal in the throwing competition! Last year he won the international potter prize, so this is one up from that... he was in with the Korean's this year. He said he practiced a lot on the wooden kick wheel this week, since he knew what was coming. They all went out to celebrate with a traditional meal that included a big bowl of wriggling and squirming, octopus tentacles. Jeff said that he did try one!

Speaking of food...

Cooking for one isn't nearly as fun as for two. It seems that I have cooked a couple of things and then eaten it for days on end. Last night was sauteed chicken in a sauce with pesto, fresh tomato, capers, and wilted swiss chard. I served it over tortellini with asparagus on the side, in one of my favorite Becca VanFleet bowls. It was the best meal I have had all week. I managed to make a smaller amount so there is only enough left over for lunch.

Sophie has been a whacko this week. First Jeff leaving, and them me, has messed up her schedule. She doesn't seem to know when it's time to eat or sleep... and let's face it, those are pretty much her only activities!

I don't mind alone time and sometimes crave it, but after the two weeks that I have had, I am anxious for Jeff to come home tomorrow... and, I want to get my hands on those paint brushes that I am sure he is bringing back!

What a wonderful Christmas!

Jeff and I were busy making pots on Christmas eve day. We had a agreed that we would quit early (for us). I announced quitting time at around 6:00pm by bringing cosmopolitans out to the studio... I told Jeff it was our office party for two.

Our tradition, since moving to Seagrove, is to cook a nice meal together on Christmas eve followed by opening gifts. Why wait until morning when there are no kids and only a cat in the house?

Sophie was a little disappointed to find out that this gift was not for her. She was rather unimpressed with the "skinny chicken" cat toy, that Santa left for her.

I, on the other hand, was totally excited with my gifts. Jeff gave me TWO of Ron Philbeck's laundry line mugs and some beautiful earrings made by Jennie Keatts (JLK Jewelry). My daughter totally surprised me with a kindle fire!! I had been considering getting one since they came out last year, but couldn't bring myself to spend the money. The main reason I wanted a tablet was to replace my leather bound daytimer. When you think about what refills for a daytimer cost each year, it isn't too long before you have recovered the cost of a tablet. The iPad was out of my price range and I really wanted something a little smaller that would fit in my handbag. Last night I went online and ordered a sweet, baby blue cover to keep it safe.
Christmas day was spent having dinner with Jeff's family. It was great to see everyone and catch up with the goings on since Thanksgiving. Jeff's great niece has been doing some handbuilding in high school and is interested in giving the wheel a try. We are making plans for her to come to the studio for a lesson soon... there may be another potter in the family!
I missed seeing my family but I was able to talk with most everyone on the phone. I think Danielle and I talked/texted/e-mailed about half a dozen times! Technology sure does help us feel closer together.

I hope all of you who celebrate Christmas, had a wonderful holiday as well.

Shifting into high gear

This has been the week of the platter. Both of us have spent the last few days throwing them. Unfortunately I lost two of mine to over zealous trimming. Yesterday it looked like we were growing platters in the yard. They were scattered all about so that they would be dry enough to bisque fire today.

Jeff gave me a couple of his to carve. There was a planned power outage yesterday morning, so I worked on the porch so that I could see what I was doing.

The first one has a cool textured rim. It's made with STARwork's new Seagrove clay. It definitely has a different feel for carving. We will save this one for a wood/salt firing.

This one is Highwater Aurora, which is like carving through cream cheese.

Yesterday Jeff organized the calendar with what needs to be thrown next, and created a firing schedule. We need to stay on track in order to be ready for the Craftsmen's Fair in August. I was looking at the calendar this morning and realized that we will be gone for nearly 3 weeks!  I am looking forward to seeing friends and family while we are in NH, but 3 weeks is a long time to be away from Sophie, and I know she will miss us too.

Thankfully we have a great kitty and gallery sitter.

Kitty Crock

Our good friend Roni sent Jeff this picture today... one of her new kitties hiding inside a Jeff Brown pot!

IV's story

IV passed away early this morning. She was 19 years old and the last of Jeff's cats that moved with us from NH to NC. She was a real character. She didn't like people and spent most of her time hiding under furniture. If you surprised her she would hiss and run away. When she went to the vet before the big move, they had to wrap her in a towel to give her her vaccines. Forget about an exam, there was no way she was going to let anyone look closely at her!

During the past year her two siblings died. After we lost Frannie in March, IV slowly became friendly. She didn't hide as much, stopped hissing at us, and eventually we could pick her up! We decided that for 19 years she wished she had been an only cat! She even didn't seem to mind my cat Sophie, although Sophie still wanted nothing to do with her. Unfortunately we noticed this summer that IV was getting thin. We switched her to canned food and her appetite picked up... but she was definitely slowing down.

Since last week she wanted to sit with us a lot... and we indulged her.

We will miss you IV... and we were glad you got to be the "only" cat for a few months.

the new kitty

our friend Roni, with whom we are staying here in NH, adopted a cat yesterday... he is not quite a year old and is adjusting well to his new home. he seems to really like jeff and me. probably because we are cat lovers and all of our belongings smell like our cats. he has been hanging out in our room since we got in last night. Roni is still deciding on a name for him... jeff came up with temnoku, i think that's a good name for a potter's black cat!

mission accomplished

i closed the gallery at 6 pm yesterday and headed over to dan's to help stoke the wood kiln.  when i arrived we began stoking the salt chamber.  everyone anticipated being done at around 11:30 -12:00.... no such luck!  the kiln stalled after we closed up the anagama... we weren't done with the salt chamber until 4 am!

needless to say i am moving slow today... jeff is still sleeping upstairs.  i am sure i will take a nap later...

two more firing pics...

glowing pots

and of course another kiln kitty picture

burn baby burn...

and who can resist those kiln kitties... certainly not jared zehmer!

we are home!

we are in seagrove!  it was a long tiring trip.  we took turns driving the bus and my equinox.  the bus was packed with 2 electric kilns, 1 raku kiln, the bricks and burners for the gas kiln and studio equipment.  the car was packed with cats in crates... my sophie and jeff's three; franny, troixie and IV.  the cats did well for such a long trip... of the 4, sophie had the most difficult time.  now that we are here they all seem to be settling in quite well.
tomorrow the unpacking begins.

franny in her crate... she was the coolest traveling cat.  we think she actually liked her crate!

i took this photo while following the bus on interstate 81... i think we were in pennsylvania

OMG!

we hit the motherload.....

...of CATNIP!!!!

Al Jaeger gave us some catnip from his garden in deerfield.  i laid it out to dry in the studio while we were traveling to seagrove.  i spent an hour or so removing the stems and de-seeding it.  cats love fresh, organic catnip... it has a whole different look and smell to it.  my sister-in-law gi-gi is a catnip grower in alaska, matanuska thunderstruck, is the name of her company.  my cats have always gone nuts when she sends packages to them!

i think when we are settled i will get out my sewing machine and make some catnip mice... although sophie loves it when i sprinkle it on the floor and she can eat some and roll in it.

the catnip will be a reward for her after the trauma of staying with my parents for three weeks... she looks pretty traumatized, doesn't she?

dreaming 'bout cats & babies

last night i dreamed that i had to carry a very fat cat along a windy back road... the cat was HUGE. it also belonged to my daughter and i was bringing him back to her. along the way he kept slipping out of my arms and i know that at one point he was talking to me!

this is a picture of sophie (on the left) with her brothers butter and mario... sophie (as many of you know) lives with me and butter and mario stayed with dan after the divorce. butter is a fat cat so he may have been the inspiration for the dream :-)

...the second part of my dream involved my friend janine having a baby that was oh so cute... i am sure she would think my dream was a nightmare since we are both past that stage in our lives!

sophie...

... when you have nothing to write about post a picture of your cat.

she's so pretty

sophie the princess kitty

the beautiful sophie spends her mornings overseeing her kingdom from the living room window. she is (or thinks she is) the princess of northwood. cats are amazing creatures...i couldn't imagine not having one (or two) in my life!