A Little Excitement to Kick off 2015

 Did you ever wonder what would happen when the propane company tops your tank off to nearly 100%?

 There's a darn good reason they are only supposed to fill it to 80%

Jeff and I were discussing something in the house when all of a sudden we both said, "I smell gas!". It was going to reach 55 degrees today in Seagrove, NC, so we let the wood stove burn down and turned on the Rinnai gas heater instead. We quickly went out to see if the vent was clogged. It wasn't, so we hurried out the back door to the kiln shed to find our 500 gal. tank, in the backyard, spewing propane from it's overflow valve. My first thought was call 911, because I was scare sh#$2tless that it would blow... Jeff (being more reasonable) called the propane company. We had propane delivered on the 31st and they thought it was over-filled. They said don't call 911 and they would send someone out to blow it off.

 It took about an hour for the service guys to arrive. The valve started to freeze from the gas releasing, which eventually slowed the spew. I liken this valve to the pressure release valve on my pressure cooker. I imagine it's basically the same thing... on a much bigger scale.

It took what seemed like forever to bring the level down to the normal fill of 80%. The gas smell was horrendous. They aren't sure exactly how many gallons they had to blow off, but they will credit our account for 50 gallons, which translates to about $79 at $1.59 gallon. The comical thing about this event (and you always have to find something funny in a scary situation) is that the service guy said, "Why don't you turn on the kiln and fire some pots with this fuel we have to get rid of?"

If he only knew.

The long ride home

I had great time in NH, but it sure feels good to be home in Seagrove. We took two days to drive home and took a slight detour to pick up Jeff's wood fired tray that was in Strictly Functional. It was a nice change of scenery, I had never been to Lancaster, PA before. It was really cool to see the Amish driving their horse and buggies alongside all cars on the road.

This is the outside of the Lancaster Creative Factory, where Strictly Functional was on exhibit. Jeff and I were drooling over the great work spaces within this facility!

One of the plusses for this road trip was that gas prices were down from our last trip in August...

Less than $3.00 a gallon in Virginia!!!!

The other great deal was that lobster was only $4.99 a pound in NH, so we HAD to pack some in a cooler and bring them home.

Our potter friend and neighbor, Phil Pollet joined us for the feast. A great time was had by all!

Now it's time to get back to pottery. The Celebration of Seagrove Potters is one week away and we need to get one last firing in.

CRASH!!!

i haven't had the time or energy to write a post in the last few weeks...just when you think things are going well...warm weather has arrived, i spent two days in the studio...and then WHAM! someone hits you from behind. literally. i was rearended two weeks ago. my suv was towed from the scene. luckily i wasn't badly hurt...lots of nasty bruises, sore all over and whiplash. now i am waiting on the insurance company to appraise my trailblazer...the body shop thinks it is totalled. i have spent countless hours on the phone with insurance companies, the body shop and Enterprise rentals. now i am faced with the daunting task of purchasing a used vehicle...mine was paid for and i dont want to have a car loan right now. i loved my trailblazer...but with the outrageous price of gas i am thinking i should buy something economical to drive. then i think how will i get by without something big enough to haul clay, pots and occasionally my wheel. needless to say i am feeling a bit overwhelmed.