August in Seagrove, NC

Jeff and I have really enjoyed being home for the month of August. We do miss our family and friends, but we haven't missed the stress of packing and hauling a trailer to a show that is 800 miles away. I know there are a lot of people who make a living traveling to shows, but I just don't have it in me. I am thankful for opportunities this year that allowed us to stay home.

We have been enjoying our garden tremendously! While some things were not too successful... green beans and scarlet runner beans, we've had a great crop of okra, tomatoes, and basil. Jalapenos are starting to come in and there are lots of ghost peppers that are so hot no one can eat them! Poblanos will be ready for chile rellenos very soon. Once again there is butternut squash that grew from the compost. It looks like we will have more than last year. Jeff gets credit for growing the vegetables. He is diligent with organic pest control and keeping down the weeds. I just pick and eat! 

Pitcher by Dan Compte, bowl by John Baymore - both NH potters

I am still spending time with painting practice, but I have been side tracked with a new obsession...

Washi Tape! I bought it to tape down paintings while I work. It holds well but is easily removed. If you search Washi Tape ideas on Pinterest, you will find a plethora of fun things to do with it.

I made my school teacher sister a "back to school" set. The clothes pins are great for pinning papers to a "clothesline" or for holding bags closed. The pencils were wrapped in tape and then covered with a thin coat of matte medium. The binder clips speak for themselves. Jeff says if anything sits around too long I will wrap it in Washi Tape!

Moving Forward... Sometimes at a Snails Pace

I think this is the longest I  have been away from the blog since my mother died two years ago. No one died this time, but it's been a rough few weeks. Our Sophie cat has been sick again, Jeff cracked a tooth and is in the process of getting a crown ($$$$$!), and my Dad was hospitalized for a couple of days because he has been having mini-strokes. 

And did I mention there was an election squeezed in between all this? But I don't even want to get into that debacle.

The cat seems to be recovering, she ate a piece of a dieffenbachia plant which is poisonous and now out of the house (more vet bills $$$), Jeff's tooth is feeling better, and as for Dad... we are starting to look at assisted living options. 

On a brighter note, it's Celebration of Seagrove Potters weekend! We have a nice big directional sign in our yard and we managed to make new pots for the show. There is a kiln cooling that will be unloaded on Friday afternoon, just in time for the gala reception in the evening. The show runs from November 18-20, 2016. I will be at the show, Jeff will keep our gallery open on the home front. 

I have my "positive attitude" hat on and it's looking to be a great weekend.

Kiln Moving Day

Jeff spent the last week taking down our gas kiln at the log cabin. He did it almost entirely by himself, while I kept the gallery open at home. Brick by brick, it was unstacked, packed in boxes, and placed on pallets. Today we hired someone to come out with a forklift, load the pallets on a truck, and drive them a mile and half up the road, to their new home.

Of course it rained like crazy. Just like it has every day for the last two weeks. Since the yard is like mush, the forklift dude had to park his truck and trailer in the driveway and travel through the yard with each pallet of brick.

 the kiln site at 505 E Main

One of these days it will stop raining long enough for our form to dry out so that we can pour some concrete.

The moving took less than two hours, well worth hiring someone. It would have taken Jeff and I all day to move brick in our trailer. Never mind how our backs would feel at the end of the day!

Jeff got out his power washer and helped Mother Nature wash the mud off of the driveway. Our parking area is clean ready for pottery shoppers!

We can't wait to have our kiln up and running again. When we rebuild, it will be bigger and better! Getting through the holiday season, without our kiln, has been a real struggle. I am looking forward to the day I can sleep through the night without worrying.