Merry Christmas to all....

We wish you laughter, good food and good cheer.
Merry Best!
M

Salt

There are always those items that sneak up on you as a new favorite for customers, family and friends. I started making these about 5 years ago just as a thought for something new. I kept one, I use it all the time. It sits beside the stove for ease of use, but it can easily be moved to the prep area when I am baking bread or sweets. I usually don't put writing on pots but I made an exception for this item since I could see it as a one use item, until a customer said they would use it for sweetener. I have to think about that one...maybe as a custom order.
We are well into winding down as we take care of deep cleaning in the studio. This is a good time to look at some pots that are in the bisque stage and decide if they are going in the trash bin. The deciding is always the hard part, but as soon as I let it go that thought is gone.  I wonder if we spend too much time trying to save a pot that needs to just go.

Back to cleaning, filing, and in general getting ready for another year.
Cheers!
m
 

Ms. B rings in the last firing

 Thank you for following, reading, encouraging, and being a part of our clay family for yet another year.
As 2016 goes out we look forward to 2017.
We hope your holidays are merry and bright.
M&M

The last plan I am

going to make for this year

 We are bouncing around in the studio, cleaning, tossing and working on a load of pots to fire for the New Year. 
At this point we are working on our plan for the coming year as this one is quickly running downhill.
It has been raining, raining, raining, I am sure that unless you live under a rock you already know about this crazy warm rain we are having.
If it was snow we could toss this to the wind, curl up on the sofa, and watch movies all day. Instead we are pretending that we are working in order to "earn" our credibility points for taking time off later.
This is the only good thing about being self-employed, the carrot of time off later. Wait! I guess this would apply to anyone who works. We are all reaching for the carrot.

In the planning stages I am still working out how to load the top shelf for the kiln differently than we use to. I have found that using some plate setters as a way to place things under and a place for things to sit on top has been working pretty well.
The plan is to give the "crown" shelf some space without making it too short or too open. This has been working pretty well for us.
  I found that it is also useful to take some pictures so that I do not have to figure out this puzzle twice.
I do like that my cell phone can be my dairy for this since I usually have that on me.

Ever feel as if you are in a bubble?
This was us at the MC Escher show in Raleigh.
I was trying to figure out how to take a picture while they ( the wise-hats) were all trying to teach me how to hold the phone so that I was in the picture and not hidden by the phone.
What a laugh.
Great show you need to go see if you are in the area.

I need to go pretend to work some more, or not...
Cheers for 2016!
M

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

I think those cows

 are giving me the stink eye.
As most of you know the pottery is at the end of a long driveway on what was my grandparents farm. My grandfather raised cows. We grandchildren helped every summer with the chores on the farm. One of those chores was to help keep the cows in the fence while he was working on the fences. I can clearly remember a tap on the bottom of my foot, my grandfather standing there, a quick nod as he pushed back his hat and said, " The cows are out".
I was up and ready to go.
Our job was to just stand there with our arms out and if the cows had any notion to go through the fence we just walked toward them.
His expatiation  was they were more afraid of us than we were of them.
I believed him.

I trusted that he was right. I never thought that he was wrong, nor did I worry about those pounds of cows coming after or trampling me. Trust, total  trust.

We don't raise these cows, but I see them everyday as we drive or walk around the farm. The young farmer who does raise them spends the same amount of time with them as my grandfather use to with his.
I walked up one day as he was talking to the cows, his voice rich and low. Animals can be so tuned into a person that cares and feeds them. The relationship between them and their care giver is much like kids.  He laughed when he saw me, slightly embarrassed at being caught talking to the cows. I laughed and told him I expected  no less. Trust.

 This past month we have been given the gift of some beautiful fall weather.  I'll take every minute of it.

Next Tuesday is the last day of the semester.
I am planning to get some of my own work done in the off days.
Christmas is coming.
Are you ready?
We are not.
I figure I have a few days next week to get ready.
 Cheers!
M

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I hope your days are filled with Joy.
M&M

Cookies and cookies

Cowboy Cookies, Louise Heywood

1 cup cooking oil. (use the oil- butter makes a whole different cookie)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups of flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups quick oatmeal
1/2 cup nuts- we use pecans-chopped
1 cup chocolate chips

Place flour,soda,salt and baking powder in a bowl and whisk them all until well blended.

Mix oil and sugar until well blended using a large wooden spoon or hand mixer.
add beaten egg and vanilla and beat well.
add flour mixture a bit at a time beating well.
Go back to the wooden spoon--- and stir in oats,nuts and chips.
Let rest in the fridge for about an hour.
Preheat oven to 325- bake 12- to 15 minutes- until just getting brown.
ungreased sheet, no parchment paper.
Cool.

Triple Chocolate Cookies, Gary Rith

This is the one he will share- he has another one that is a big secret!

Preheat oven to 325
have at room temperature 2 sticks of butter.

List!
2/3 cup chocolate chips
2 sticks of butter (8 ounces)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup nuts
1 cup of chocolate chips
More flour about 1/4 cup.

 Place 1 cup of flour, 1 tsp. baking soda and the 1/4 cup of cocoa powder in a medium size bowl and whisk  until well mixed.
Place the 2 sugars in a bowl and mix them together.
In a small bowl beat the egg and add the vanilla to it. ( I do this since I use local eggs and I never know when there might be a bad egg in the bunch.

Melt the 2/3 cup of chips in the microwave for  about 44 seconds more or less depending on your machine.
Stir in the butter, letting the butter melt into the chocolate.
add egg and stir.
add sugars and stir.
add flour mixture and stir.
at this point Gary suggest more flour - I used at least 1/4 cup more.
And stir.
Add nuts- I did not since Mark is not a fan of chocolate and nuts in baked goods.
Add 1 cup chocolate chips and stir.

We covered the bowl and placed in the refrigerator for an hour or more while we made the Cowboy cookies. Then as we rested the Cowboy cookies we baked the T.C.Chip ones.
We, Laura, dropped scoops on a baking sheet with parchment paper by using my small ice cream scoop.
( this really works well.)
We then baked for 12 minutes.

The ones right out of the refrigerator were lovely.
The last batch after sitting and getting warm were flatter, but just as tasty...

One of each of these with a cup of tea or coffee are just tasty!
Cheers!
M

What's a girl to do?

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and are looking forward to the new year of 2012.
Good heavens it just seems like yesterday we embarked on this clay adventure and now it has hit me that we have been doing this dance for 30 years.
30 years!
Some days, as I sit here and picture myself as brown headed and younger, I think we are still those young whipper-snappers who just blindly walked into this as a business, pulling two young kids behind them.
Then again mirrors and drivers license do not lie.
There are days now that I really feel those over 50 muscles and think what are we doing still here.
And, yet, there are many potters who make pots well into their...70's, 80's dare I say 90's.
Is it possible, who really knows, but we are not ready to stop now. There are still pots in us so we carry on.
Now about Christmas, we had a great time being with our two, their spouses, the new puppy and the grand daughter. I was going to torture you all with lots and lots of picture of family, but I have a confession to make.
I had a moment and a moment that was so stupid that it goes in my book of stupid moves that shall not be made again, ever, really!
On Christmas day we took the young one to the park, me, her mother and dad.
I took lots of pictures as this fearless 20 month old as she went down every slide from small to large shouting, fun, wheeeeeeeee, fun, wheeeee.
And then as we left I placed my camera on the hood of the car, yea, I know, slap me now I know better!
3 hours later I look for the camera and of course it is gone, long gone.
And since I am the taker of the pictures the pictures are long gone as well.
If I could just get the pictures back they can have the camera.
Well truth be told I want the camera back too she and I were tied at the hip.
I am at a loss without her.
I went out the next day and bought a small camera not to let the holidays go with out some record so I could show you this:

This child is never more happy then when she is outside with rock, leaves and sticks.
and this.

The new grand puppy, 7 months and a great puppy! She rings bells on the door when she needs to go out.
I did take some more  like this:

Happiness!
I am working some eBay bids trying desperately to replace my camera- I looked for two days at others and found some finally found some used ones that are like the one I had.
I decided that I did not like the one I bought. It is just too hard to hold and if I lost one that was bigger you know I will lose this one.
I will take suggestions on good cameras if you have any, but I am sure I am going to go after one like I had. It worked for me.
And somewhere I will try to put a note in my feeble brain to never put it on the hood of a car.
Cheers and all that,
M

Light and the end of a day

Ever since we were pottery students we were taught to clean your area because there was someone coming behind you.
So these are Mark's tools at the end of the day.
All ready for use.
Now where are mine?
I am not as good as he is in the department and I am sometimes taken by surprise at the mess I leave behind me. I tend to walk in and think who was on my wheel last night while I was sleeping?
Darn elves.....

There was the best light after the rain last week.
I love that fresh light look that it gives everything.
It looks like promises yet to come.

The path down the drive from the house...follow me it begs, let's see where we can go and what we can see.
Ever since I was a kid I have loved the promise of a good path...

Christmas is coming and I am still packing.
Best get to it.
M