Be Prepared

We are 100+ miles from the coast but we are still expecting hurricane Florence to have a significant impact on the Seagrove, NC area. The brunt of the storm will probably hit us overnight. The wind gusts have arrived ahead of the rain. A large tree has already fallen in my neighbors yard.

Jeff and I spent the last couple of days securing our yard and kiln shed. We are really glad that we put up additional side walls on the shed this summer. The kiln will be much more protected now.

Jeff trimmed limbs from trees. Yesterday we brought all the patio furniture and plants into the studio. We have all of our pitchers and containers filled with water. We have town water and typically don't lose it when the power goes out, but who wants to chance it?

Our preparations are complete and today we will get back to work in the studio, as long as we have power. I have some piggy banks to assemble and will be able to work on them sans-power... As long as it's not too dark!
If you are in the path of the storm, be smart and stay safe.

Staying Home Today

Carolina Claymatters Pottery Festival won't be happening today. Early yesterday they decided to cancel. Two days of rain means the grounds will be very wet. We are happy to not drive to Charlotte in the pouring rain, never mind setting up a booth and spending the day in it.

The show is postponed until next Saturday, October 15th. Sadly, Jeff and I won't be able to participate. We are committed to the "American Craft Week" celebration, here in Seagrove, as well as an appointment with a customer for a vessel sink.

We have had some beautiful weather here, leading up to the storm. Comfortably warm days with cooler nights. Great weather for doing all types of activities. In the studio, Jeff and I collaborated on a couple of vases as well as some larger cheese stones. I think the stones are going to look awesome with Jeff's texture on them.

I am also working on some small lidded jars. These will be a good size store coffee.

I started carving yesterday, but they really were a little too soft. I uncovered them this morning and hopefully I can finish them later today.

Cooler temps always inspire me to do some cooking that's more complicated than lighting the grill. First I made gnocchi. Mine isn't the most beautiful gnocchi, but it sure was delicious.

Next up was ravioli! I hadn't used my pasta machine in over 10 years. I have a ravioli attachment that I had never used. Last week I decided to give it a try. 

It worked really well, but it makes very small ravioli, without a lot of room for filling. The filling was roasted butternut squash and it was delicious. The machine didn't allow for a good ratio of pasta to filling. I ended up filling and cutting half of them by hand. My pasta was a little dense. I couldn't find semolina flour at the grocery store so I used all purpose. If I can't find it locally, I may have to order it from Amazon. As soon as get semolina, I am making fettucini...with Alfredo sauce and grilled shrimp!

post Sandy update in the 603

I am happy to report that here in Wolfeboro, NH, we weathered the storm quite well. The power only flickered a few times, and there was a minor roof leak near the chimney. I was quite worried about my daughter in CT. since she lives on the Quinnipiac river, near the mouth of Long Island Sound. Her neighborhood had an evacuation notice but she and her neighbors opted to stay put. Thankfully at high tide the water didn't cross the road as predicted but it did flood the entire park across the street. I grabbed this photo from her facebook page...

When I talked to her this morning the water had already receded and the next tide was not expected to be as high.

It's another no school day, which means our raku workshop is postponed until Thursday. It also means that my sister (a middle school French and Spanish teacher) is home again and we get to spend more time together! We were just saying that it feels like Christmas vacation with all of us hanging out together in our p.j.'s until noon time!

Unfortunately, as you all know, other parts of the northeast have not been as fortunate. The devastation we have watched on the news is horrible. I hope those less fortunate than me have a safe, warm place to go to, and that their lives will return to normal soon.

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!