Lights Out!

Yesterday was hot (90+ degrees) and sticky. One of those days where I had to put ware boards of freshly thrown pots outside to dry. Late in the afternoon a storm rolled in with some high winds. Jeff and I scurried around the yard, bringing pots in, and securing anything we thought might fly away. When we were finished and safe inside the house we heard a "pop" and the lights went out. We sat on the sofa for a few a minutes thinking it would come right back on. When it didn't Jeff said, "Time for beer before they get warm!"

We sat on the porch and watched the storm dance around us... after the wind it really didn't amount to much, except for bringing in some nice cool air. At 9:00 pm, and still without power, we retreated inside with our "emergency lighting".

Jeff hit on this idea the last time we lost power! Bring in the solar landscape lighting, using pots for holders. Safer than candles and they give off a good amount of light when you bring a bunch of them in.
The power finally came back at around 1:00 am. We awoke to cool dry air, and pots that are ready to be trimmed...
Time to go to work.

Moving forward in slow mode

my go-to mug lately... wood fired, not sure who made it, JB is stamped under the handle
made by Jonathon Baylor

The weather this week has really slowed us down. I think because we have been so spoiled with beautiful days with low (for the south) humidity, that when it hit 90 we were just not acclimated! It seems like it has taken us forever to glaze. Yesterday afternoon we were hit with a fast moving storm that brought REALLY strong winds... when all was said and done our porch furniture, potted plants, and our EZ up tent were blown over. The tent was set up in the front yard with sale pots under it. Even though it was staked, the wind was too strong. We definitely learned our lesson on that one... always use your weights!
Our glaze operation has moved outside for the summer. When the storm hit we had a couple of buckets open. Those glazes all needed to be sieved, the amount of debris that landed in them was amazing. There was even an apple from our tree in the front yard in one of them! By the time we recovered from the mess and cleaned things up it was 7:00 pm and I called it quits for the day. Jeff continued to glaze and load the kiln.
After a long shower (that felt oh so good) I cooked some dinner. We have been getting patty pan squash in various sizes in our CSA share each week. I had never prepared them before, so I am having fun with some new recipes.

This one is stuffed with fresh corn, onion, cilantro, and gruyere cheese. Before baking, an egg beaten with 1/3 cup of milk, is poured over the top. It was tasty but I think we both like the one I made last week better. That recipe was a  spicy southwestern style with black beans and fresh corn... with rice on the side it was a complete meal and if you skip the cheese, it's vegan. If you are on Pinterest I have these recipes pinned to "Recipes I want to try".
I better get motivated and turn of this 'puter... we have a kiln to load and fire.

stormy weather...

... february was quite a month. john's birthday on the 17th, my league of nh craftsmen jury the 22nd and then we were hit with a phenomenal wind and rain/snow storm on the 25th. we lost power here on bow lake for nearly four days. the storm immediately brought back the memories of my last week with john. many of you know that he passed away during the ice storm of 2008. he was in my dreams two nights ago and it was only the second time since he has been gone. the first few months after his death i so wanted to dream of him and i was saddened that i did not. i belong to a young widows grief group and have learned from others that my experience is not unusual. it was a weird dream, of course, and in it john didn't speak.

it dawned on me today that this stage of grief is like the frost heaves in the road that we have here in new hampshire... they start with little bumps that overnight turn into huge heaves with peaks and valleys...if you drive too fast over them they toss you around and can cause damage... then almost over night, the frost heaves are gone and the road is nearly smooth. that is how february felt for me.

i am looking forward to march and smoother travels.

close up of the bottom of a wood fired oval baker... because after all, isn't this supposed to be a pottery blog?