I see sunshine

 There is hope people, there is hope.
We are enjoying some rare warm spring days even though I hear that next week we will return to some of the winter mix we have been having for what seems like forever.

This weather makes us all want to run out, dance, plant flowers, wear flip-flops, pack up the blankets and get out the sun glasses.

Mark and I were out yesterday, it was his birthday, I took him out for good food and a couple of drinks, and we were blinded by the light.
It was as if we had emerged from a deep hole in the ground.
What is that warm ball of light in the sky?
Where did it come from....

We're such tourist.

Birthday dinner was taken in at the new place in town Bias Hardware in Asheboro .
We had an amazing dinner of many wonderful things.
This business of new and wonderful places has been recent in our small town of Asheboro, but, oh, so welcome.
We then stopped in at The Table and I went in to pick up some cake for the birthday boy. We love having new and better just 20 minutes up the road.
It has occurred to me that if you are coming to Seagrove for a jaunt around to see the potteries then you should know there are new and great places to have dinner or breakfast .
I would suggest that you go to the Table for breakfast and then finish your day off with dinner at Bias.

What are we doing?
The other day I thought we were on a roll. I had glazed a kiln load of tiles, loaded the kiln, turned it on and I was working on more tiles that were ready to carve.
Mark was busy glazing his pots for the firing in Ms. B we were just working along. Then I checked the kiln. No heat... error1. Okay. I reset everything, just in case it was me and not the kiln and went away for an hour.
The kiln stayed at 138 degrees.
Not me.
It was time to get out the book and read the trouble shooting.
I read and thought that maybe I had a plate setter too close to the thermocouple.
I pulled out pots and looked at both thermocouples with a flashlight, then I thought I should just take a look at the box. I shined the light down in the box and all the top components looked good.
I looked further down in the box and then had a what's that momnet.
There it was, a small fire, flare up of some sort had happened and the wire had burn and separated from the connector. Bingo!
Parts are ordered and should be here next week.
I fully expected to be posting some pictures of newly fired tiles here so instead we move to Mark's pots for the firing in Ms. B.
He has put a lot of work into making, glazing and adding some new test glazes to the mix in order to get a load in.
He would really like to get this kiln going.
    

Even though this kiln does not hold the amount of pottery that the large gas kiln holds it is still weeks of work.
It's time to load her up and give her a go.
We would really like to work this baby out and if we could it would give us the opportunity to work on a smaller scale.

I would like to make more tiles, he would like to make some heavy reduction pots.
We'll see where this takes us.

Happy Sun.
M