Mugs!

 Here are the mugs that I had promised to take pictures of. The pictures don't do the glaze the justice that they really deserve, but for now, this is what you are getting.
It has been fun to revamp an older glaze, and, while doing so, develop something new.
Mark latched onto one right away when I unloaded the kiln. We took it along when we stopped in to Four Saints in Asheboro for a pint. If you remember we made mugs for their fundraiser. They also buy beer mugs  now and again to replace ones that meet with a hard floor or some other unfortunate event.
They also let us know we could bring our own mugs in to drink out of and store them there. We took them up on the offer and "carried" up a couple to drink from.
One night while we were there I was handed a different mug, it was still one we made, but not the one I had taken to drink from.

 Excuse me, but this is not mine. Yes it is they said. No it's not I said. It's your number, they said. Yep, it's my number but a different mug. I had brought in a black and blue mug, this one was iron red with an accent of wood ash.
They looked again, funny you have two, but one is marked with your number plus A on it....
Okay...
Long story short, someone had seen that mug I brought in and wanted it, they wanted it really bad, bad enough to get the owners to exchange with me.
Did I mind?
At first I did and then I thought, if they want it bad enough they could have it.
We were there one night and I punched Mark, hard, Look! There is the mug!
The woman who wanted it was enjoying a beer out of the mug, she looked so happy I did not have the heart to knock her off her bar stool.

Now, I am very fond of the iron red mug, we bonded. I could take another mug to drink from, but we are pretty happy.

Mark on the other hand, took a mug much like the one below. It caused a new stir with some of the customers and one of the guys working behind the bar.
We ended up with an order of 6 beer mugs from one person, and one for the bar keep.
A happy ending for all.

 Some rain this past week has allowed some of the flowers I planted to bloom.
Rain is good.

This week I head back to teach on Thursdays. I am looking forward to seeing my students and putting them all back to work.
I just have to remember to go!
I hope the summer has been good to you, I know there are many things going on. Many. I will keep neutral here, saving my thoughts and actions for other places.
Hold your family tight.
best,
M

Last week it was

 HOT!
It was so hot that all you want to do is move from one building to the other. You need a lot of water to drink, and there is not enough water that you can put on a plant to make it happy.
The flowers I planted  have gone from grand to miniatures. I have these tiny flowers instead of the large ones I planted.

 Then today we only reached the 80's. Thank you!

Mark has been making many mugs, beer mugs, coffee mugs, mugs, mugs and more mugs. Just in case there is a run on mugs we are ready.

 The end of he day picture.
We still maintain the habit of cleaning up before we walk out for the evening. It is the ritual of putting it all to bed. It also makes for a nice beginning to come in and have a clean space to work.
I spent one day last week cleaning the gallery. Dusting and rearranging the pottery, fluffing things up a bit.
It makes me feel better...
I don't have a lot to say this week, I am just trying to work while I have a few weeks off. I am working on more tiles while Mark is working pots.

Stop in, it's cool inside, we have a/c in the store.
We don't want folks running out the door because they are too hot to think.
How are things going in you neck of the world, hot, cold, just right...

Do you want to take a wee look?

 Top peep hole- cone 9 down and cone 10 just bent.

 Top of the kiln.

 Door is coming down.

promise....

What's Brewing?

 Our son decided that his dear old dad should get back on board with his beer brewing. He started last year by cooking up a batch of beer with him. When the beer was ready to drink and it was so tasty Mark decided he would make another batch, which lead to yet another batch.
Now we are in full swing on the making of beer.

Mark was brewing beer 35 years ago when we first moved here and the only beer you could buy was some low-rent stuff. So low-rent was some of it that it came in a white can that only said, "beer".

When we traveled we looked for beer supplies stores, Sadly there was no internet and you had to do real research to find things. We found 2, yes, 2, beer supply stores.
One was in Norfolk and really they were into baking supplies but they had a small, wee, corner of the store where you could get some beer supplies. Then we found one in Charlottesville, Va. where my sister just happen to live.
Now to tell the truth was this good beer?
Well it was better than the white can variety of beer.

 It was drinkable.
And, it was more work.
Move to now and we have real choices in the making of beer.
New and improved yeast and hops, plus beer supplies can be found with the stroke of the key board. And, we have beer supplies now readily available 10 minutes from the house. Really! Closer than the 25 we used to drive to buy the low-rent stuff.  

The beer Mark is making now it not just good, it is pretty darn good.

Beer.
Tasty stuff....

 You know how much we love this pond of ours because I have been taking pictures of it for years. This past week the weather was so warm and the pond so still that I had to get some of those reflection pictures that I love so much.
I look out on this water daily and marvel that I never get tired of seeing it.
There really is something healing about living around water.
The same but different everyday.

Lovely winter trees and clouds....

We have started preparing the pots for glaze. It is time to check the levels of the glaze buckets and replenished as needed.

There is a rumor that winter rolls back in tomorrow.

Stay warm,
M