Goodbye November!

Here it is December, and I welcome it with open arms. November, and the end of October, are months that I would rather forget. We took a road trip to New England at the end of October and had a wonderful visit with family in Connecticut and New Hampshire. Our return trip turned into a nightmare...

Before we left New Hampshire, the master cylinder brake line in our car broke. Not a big deal, a local shop fixed it in a few hours and the next day we were on the road. We spent a night in Connecticut with my girl and headed to North Carolina in the morning. We were in Buchanan, VA, and at around 6:30 pm my SUV overheated. We pulled off to the side of the highway in the pouring rain. Jeff got out of the vehicle when it cooled down some, opened the hood and checked the coolant, which was low. When he opened the driver's side door the handle broke off in his hand!! A DOT truck pulled in behind us, turned on his flashers, and followed us as we limped to the next exit and a convenience store. We added coolant and were able to drive to a nearby motel. It was an old Mom and Pop place, built in the 40's. It was super clean. After a meal of convenience store pizza, Doritos, and beer, we got some sleep. 

The next day a local shop replaced the thermostat and it seemed to do the trick...

25 miles down the highway we overheated again! At least it was daylight still. We checked into a Days Inn, which was totally gross, and the next day we spent the whole day at a shop trying to get a diagnosis.

And I forgot to mention that my "you left your key in the ignition" chime decided to not turn off when you took the key out. It chimed continuously. The second shop fixed the chime but could not find anything wrong with the radiator or the water pump. They suspected it was the head gasket. It was now Friday at 5:30 pm. They couldn't do anymore until Monday and if it was the head gasket it could take many days to repair. UGH. The shop owner was awesome... he didn't charge us for repairing the ignition chime, or the time spent on diagnosis.

We limped to a nicer hotel and Jeff made arrangements for our good friend Paul to rent a car carrier and tow us home.

I have never been so happy to be home in my life! On Monday I was able to drive to my local mechanic. It took over a week to repair, and yes it was the head gasket and the radiator. After lots $$$ my car is now running great. Jeff and I are so thankful for our potter friends that helped us out while we were car-less. Meredith Heywood drove us to the polls to vote, people offered to take us grocery shopping, AND when the car repair was taking forever, our friends Bonnie and David let us borrow their old Toyota for the rest of the week. Having the borrowed car allowed me to get to my dentist appointment... did I mention that the day before we left for New Hampshire one third of my molar broke off while eating a pork chop?

We had our car back in time for the Celebration of Seagrove Potters. The weather on Saturday was rainy and attendance was down, which was reflected in our sales. We made up for some of it on Sunday, but all in all it wasn't great. I was really disappointed. We had a business meeting last week and next year we will make some changes as to what we will make for the show. Despite sales being down, I think our booth looked great...

There was no rest after the show. We had a crowd coming for Thanksgiving and pots that needed to be bisque fired. Jeff fired the gas kiln with a load on Thanksgiving day and another load in the electric kiln the next day.
December will be a busy month and I am certain it will be less stressful than the last five weeks!

The End of An Era

If you have been following this blog for many years, you probably remember that in 2010 we bought a school bus and used it to move from New Hampshire to North Carolina. It took few trips to complete the move. We hung on to the bus and used it for storage. At one time we had dreams of converting it to a mobile studio to teach classes in. We realized over time that our focus needed to be on building our business here in Seagrove. Off and on we have toyed with the idea of selling the bus and when a friend approached us about purchasing it, we decided that the time had come to let it go.

Our school bus has lower mileage than my 2008 SUV! Even after not running for over two years, she turned over after a couple of tries. Today was the day she went to her new home where she will be transformed into a food truck... or should I say, food bus!

Since she isn't registered and inspected, a tow truck came and hauled her away.

Good-bye old friend. You helped us get started on an exciting new adventure and we will always have fond memories of our many road trips.

It Was A Struggle...

but we made it to New Hampshire. We realized on Tuesday that there was no way we were going to have our trailer packed and be ready to hit the road early enough to drove eight hours to Hazleton, PA., the half way point to Newbury, NH. Mid-afternoon we made the decision to finish packing, sleep for a few hours and drive straight through. Jeff has a vessel sink with accessories in the "Living with Craft" exhibition at the show this year. It needed to arrive before the day ended on Wednesday.

We hit the road at 2:45 am, which should have put us in Newbury by 4:30 pm.

Boy were we wrong! We had to stop and repair the trailer, somewhere in Virginia. Then we hit multiple traffic jams along the way... and we weren't even on 95! We like to take 81 because there is usually fewer delays.

 We arrived in Vermont, just as the sun was setting. We needed a pit stop and pulled into this rest area. I think it's the prettiest rest area I have ever stopped at. I would have liked to linger but was still had about an hour and a half left to go.

Since we knew it was too late to deliver Jeff's work, we stopped for dinner and then drove to Mt. Sunapee Resort to leave our trailer in the lot for the night. The plan was to come back at 8:00 am, when the office opened and deliver the display. Since it was 10:00 pm and we were coming back early, we just dropped the trailer at the far end of the giant lot and left to spend the night with friends.

This is what we came back to in the morning...

Yep, this guy had the whole big lot to park in and he chose to park next to our trailer... obviously blocking us in.

Do you think he could have found a different spot in the lot?? It took us about an hour to find him and move his truck. 

Once we delivered the sink, I was able to take a look around to see what else was in the exhibition. I immediately fell in love with this conk shell light. I am not 100% sure what it's made of but it appeared to be a paper fiber and copper. 

I am sure it's way out of my price range!

Despite the obstacles, we set up our booth in record time. The show opened today. The crowd was steady, and spending money. If the next three days go as well, Jeff and I will be very happy campers.

I am still here!

Tired and worn out... but still here.

The past two weeks have been a mad rush to move out of 1423. I will be honest. It has been totally overwhelming for us. Not only did we have a September 30th move out deadline to meet, we had to orders to fire and a wedding to go to. Despite hard work and long hours, we didn't meet our move out deadline. We fired the gas kiln on the 30th, and on October 1st we were on the road to New Hampshire for my niece's wedding. I wanted to cancel the trip at the last minute. The trip was not only bad timing, but a financial strain as well. Even with lower gas prices, driving 1800+ miles is hard on the pocket book. My sister was so disappointed that I couldn't let her down. Her disappointment made me realize that this was her first child to marry and she was sort of going it alone. Her husband passed away two years ago, and my Mom last year. Sure she has Dad, but he needs a lot of care and needs someone to care of him.

So we packed our bags and went.

And I am so glad we did. The bride was beautiful, the groom handsome, and my sister was so proud. Look at my Dad standing there without a walker!!! Back in June this moment seemed impossible for him.

 My great niece, the brides daughter, loves her Pepere. She spent a good part of the reception sitting with him, when she wasn't dancing that is.

There was no wedding cake, instead it was wedding pie. Perfect for a fall wedding in chilly New Hampshire.

Our whirlwind trip lasted 6 days. Four days on the road and two days with family. We returned home in the nick of time for the town council meeting on Tuesday night. Jeff took our application to the meeting and came home with our business license.

It's official, we can now sell pots in the town of Seagrove! We were very relieved that they gave us approval that very evening.
The last two days have been spent packing up the gallery at 1423 and packing for the CCM Fall Pottery Festival in Charlotte. That's happening on Saturday- detail in the side bar of the blog.
Did I mention that I am exhausted?
Well I am.

Ice House Gallery

Jeff has pots in "Earth, Wind and Fire, A Celebration of Wood Fired Ceramics", an exhibition at the Ice House Gallery in Berkeley Springs, WV. When most people think of West Virginia they think of backwoods Appalachia, banjo playing, and coal mining. Berkeley Springs is the exception. It is nestled in the mountains of West Virginia, and is known as the country's first spa. The area has many warm mineral springs that have attracted vacationers from the DC area for hundreds of years. The streets are lined with beautiful inns, spas, galleries, and shops.

Jeff Brown with Crawford Horne, curator of the exhibition

Crawford Horne, wood fire potter and curator of the show, opened the gallery for us on Tuesday evening so that we could have look at the exhibition.

Jeff's big pot!

That's Blair Meerfield's teapot in the back. Allison Severance on the right. Not sure who the cup on the left belongs to.

I really liked this little jar by Allison Severence, in the left foreground. Obviously someone else did too (note the red dot).

Crawford and his wife Leigh invited us to spend the night with them at their lovely home. It was the perfect break in driving from Connecticut to Seagrove. We were back in the 'grove by 6:00 pm on Wednesday, just in time for Miss Sophie's dinner. She had lots of good care while we were gone, but we could tell that she missed us. It feels good to be home and back to making pots. 

Next up is the Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival in Cary, NC. That's next Saturday - August 23rd.

Almost There...

We are down to the wire to head to NH for the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair. Yesterday we closed early and headed over to Lowe's for paint and replacement lights for our booth. We spent the evening painting the booth walls. We finished just as it was getting too dark to see. Luckily, by daylight the paint job wasn't too bad. Jeff always reminds me that booth set ups are like theatrical sets... they don't need to be perfect like the walls in your home. Not only is this show for juried members of the League of NH Craftsmen only, your booth is judged each year and that has an affect on your placement the next year. Each year awards are given to the best booth displays. It's all subjective and we take it with a grain of salt.

We ordered new business cards this week. Ours are duo cards, Jeff on one side, me on the other. Last year I had a wood fired oval on my side. I loved the pot but it really didn't translate well to a business card. It was dark and rather dull. This time I switched it up with a little more color. I am really happy with it.
Tomorrow we hit the road... the plan is to spend the night in Hazelton, PA and finish the trip on Thursday. Once we are on the road I can finally relax and enjoy the adventure.

Girl's Road Trip Part Two

I will warn you right now. This post is like visiting a friend and they have to show you their latest vacation photos. The good thing is... if you are bored to tears you can click away and visit someone else's blog who might be posting some cool thing about clay!

Somehow my GPS didn't take us on the route that Jeff recommended. We ended up near South of the Border. When we saw the billboards, Danielle mentioned she had recently told her aunt that we drove by South of the Border when we visited my parents in Florida. She said that she always wanted to stop but we never did. In our defense, it was alway in the wee hours of the morning when we were there. This time we had no excuse. At least the girl can now say she has been to South of the Border.

When Brookgreen Garden closed at 5:00, we went across the street to Huntington Beach State Park. Atalaya Castle, the winter home of sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband, is located near the beach. It was closed but we were able to walk the perimeter and peek inside the gates.

Even though it was a cool day, the ocean water was so warm, unlike the temps of the ocean in New Hampshire and Maine.

We left Huntington Beach and wandered up the coast to Myrtle Beach. It was fun see all the giant t-shirt shops, amusement parks, and large hotels. We ended the day with dinner at The Sea Captains House. We enjoyed the view and the food was delicious.

We were back in Seagrove at midnight. Exhausted, but smiling from ear to ear.

A Visit to Brookgreen Garden

What a great few days it has been! Our Monday road trip to Brookgreen Garden, Huntington Beach, and Myrtly beach was a blast. Luckily we left early in the morning, because we had a flat tire on the way... and of course the tire couldn't be plugged and I had to buy a new one. We recovered from the set back and didn't let it get us down!

We arrived at the garden at 2:00 and stayed until they closed.

I think this was my favorite... The Fountain of Muses by Carl Milles. Photos above and below.

While we strolled the gardens Danielle and I commented on how much my mother and father would have loved to visit there. I felt like my mother was there in spirit. Smiling down on us.