Images

A Year of Frugal Living

Image Leave a comment
Jeff and I really underestimated how much our move would affect our business. Who would have thought that moving one mile up the road, on the same road, could be that painful? It wasn’t just the new location, but also the expense of renovating studio space, along with the cost of rebuilding our gas kiln. We did most of the work ourselves which saved a ton of money. There is still more to do but since last April, we feel we are up and running at full speed again. 
Jeff and I have never lived extravagantly but for the last eighteen months we have tried to cut our expenses anyway that we could.

We switched propane companies when the one we were using  increased our rate to $2.39 per gallon. Quick math will tell you how much a 500 gallon tank costs to fill at that price. I made a few calls and found a company that offered $1.15! Now if I could only get the old company to remove their tank from our yard… it’s been sitting there since September. I wonder if I can start charging them rent?

Next on the “things to cut” list was XM radio. We have it in the car and the studio. After some discussion we decided to cancel the car and just have it in the studio. Our radio stations here are awful and we often need a break from NPR. When I called to cancel they offered to cut my bill in half and keep both radios. I accepted, thinking… why didn’t I call months ago to cancel?!

I have been shopping at Aldi’s and the dreaded Walmart, more than I used to. We rarely eat out and there are no take joints around here, so there was no adjustment needed in that department.

The traffic to our studio isn’t quite what it used to be. I think we might be dealing with that until a new area map of the potters comes out.  Thanks to a couple of really good shows and excellent Etsy sales, we are now able to breath a little. The struggle has been well worth the pain and effort. We own our own place (along with the bank) and in the long run will have more control of our future. I think we have turned the corner and I am looking forward to 2017.
We loaded the last bisque firing for holiday orders. We are working right down to the last minute. Check out that HUGE chicken cooker that Jeff created! It’s a special order for a couple in Lexington. I think they might be able to cook a turkey in it.

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

Organization

Image Leave a comment

Jeff and I have been feeling rather unorganized since moving our studio a year ago. Don’t get me wrong, we have never been super organized… but if you were to go down to our basement right now you would gasp at the mayhem. It’s been a tough to balance getting pots made and getting settled. This week while I glazed piggy banks, Jeff cleared out some boxes and got the smaller pug mill set up in a permanent location. This is huge for us. It’s been totally painful to pug clay for the last year and our scrap clay has been getting a little overwhelming because of it. We now have a clear workspace and all of our dies are in easy reach. After the holidays I will spend some time deciding what needs to be on the shelves and in cabinets.

Our work flow is slowly improving!

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

A Cautionary Tale

Image Leave a comment
If you have pets, beware of this plant!

It’s a dieffenbachia, also known commonly as “dumb cane.” You may remember that Sophie was a sick kitty on Halloween and a trip to the vet revealed she had hyper-thyroid, but no cause could be found for her vomiting, lethargy, and refusing to eat. She was given anti-nausea drugs and within 24 hours was back to her old self.
Fast forward two weeks and we awoke again to a very sick kitty. This time the vomiting and drooling was extensive. She wouldn’t stay in one place, so just imagine the mess. Never mind the fact that our house is mostly light beige carpeting. I followed her around cleaning up, bucket and carpet cleaner in hand. Eventually out came a piece of plant. Jeff identified it as the dieffenbachia! A quick google search and she had all the symptoms of plant poisoning.
Off to the vet we went. This time we came home with “pepcid” for cats along with a slurry drug to coat her mouth and throat. This plant irritates the mouth, throat, and vocal chords. It’s seldom life threatening but quite painful.

Sophie is doing fine now. Her voice is still a little hoarse sounding, but other than that she is back to normal. Sophie has lived with that plant for six years and never touched it. Why she decided to start eating it now, is beyond me. Needless to say the plant now lives in the studio.

Jeff and I also bought ourselves an early Christmas gift…
A carpet cleaner.

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

Deadlines

Image Leave a comment
Thursday and Friday we loaded the kiln to fire a bisque. Lots of things weren’t dry so we fired very slowly. Jeff  snoozed on the sofa overnight, setting his alarm to keep checking the kiln. As soon as it’s cool we will glaze and load her up again. We have orders to ship next Friday.
 Jeff created two more custom skull mugs. These are a little more cartoon-like than the last. The buyer sent photos of what they had in mind. I think this one is pretty cool!
This week we are back to piggy bank production. Since the first of December, I have take thirteen new orders. I always get a stressed when the deadline is Christmas delivery. I don’t want to be the person that doesn’t deliver a gift on time!

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

A Week of Celebrations

Image Leave a comment

The Celebration of Seagrove Potters show is behind us and I am happy to say was a very successful weekend. It was our best show to date with good sales in our gallery, and online as well. The pot in the photograph is a collaboration piece that Jeff and I donated to the live auction that takes place during the gala preview party. We were happy that the winning bid was a little more than what we valued the piece at. It’s always disappointing if donations are under bid. For that reason, we are selective as to who we donate to.

When the show was over we had just a few days to unpack, clean the house, and grocery shop for the next celebration…

Thanksgiving! We were the hosts this year and we had quite a gang. There were eighteen of us at the dinner table… which had to stretch from the dining room, into the living room!
We even had a few kids to enjoy for the day. They had to humor me with the obligatory tire swing photos. Jeff and I are thankful to have found a home that is a central meeting point for the family as well as being large enough to handle a crowd. It was lots of fun and by 6:00 pm we were exhausted. 
I hope that all of my readers enjoyed the day as much as we did.

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

Moving Forward… Sometimes at a Snails Pace

Image Leave a comment
I think this is the longest I  have been away from the blog since my mother died two years ago. No one died this time, but it’s been a rough few weeks. Our Sophie cat has been sick again, Jeff cracked a tooth and is in the process of getting a crown ($$$$$!), and my Dad was hospitalized for a couple of days because he has been having mini-strokes. 
And did I mention there was an election squeezed in between all this? But I don’t even want to get into that debacle.
The cat seems to be recovering, she ate a piece of a dieffenbachia plant which is poisonous and now out of the house (more vet bills $$$), Jeff’s tooth is feeling better, and as for Dad… we are starting to look at assisted living options. 
On a brighter note, it’s Celebration of Seagrove Potters weekend! We have a nice big directional sign in our yard and we managed to make new pots for the show. There is a kiln cooling that will be unloaded on Friday afternoon, just in time for the gala reception in the evening. The show runs from November 18-20, 2016. I will be at the show, Jeff will keep our gallery open on the home front. 
I have my “positive attitude” hat on and it’s looking to be a great weekend.

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

Decorating a Big Pig

Image Leave a comment
The holiday orders for piggy banks are starting to roll in. I was excited to get an order for two large piggy banks. These will be about 9″ long and 7 1/2″ tall when they are finished.

 As soon as the piggy bank is assembled, I stamp the name on the side. I have a few sets of stamps, ranging from a snap together set made for clay, to a variety of rubber stamps in different fonts and sizes. If the pig is going to get a carved design, I cover him loosely with plastic and let the ears stiffen a little overnight.

The next morning I can apply white slip to the body and ears. I really like using these mop type of brushes with bamboo handles. They are the same brushes that we use to apply raku glazes. 
If it’s not too humid, the pigs are ready to carve by afternoon. I usually clean up the name a bit with my carving tool. Especially if the any thick areas of slip filled in the impression.

Since creating the first leaf and vine design this fall, I have taken orders for three more pigs with it. It’s always fun to have something new to work on.

And lastly I have a Sophie cat update. She is doing much better. Practically back to her old self. I tried to take her photo and she ran away. If you look closely you can see she is camouflaging herself against the dining room table. She hates cameras. Thankfully she has been easy to pill and yesterday she was back to her normal eating schedule. Jeff and I are very relieved. A big thank you to all my readers for your kind words, helpful suggestions, and support.

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

Sophie

Image Leave a comment
My little Sophie cat had a rough weekend. Lets just say we all had a rough weekend! Shortly after Jeff snapped this photo of her in her basket, she stopped eating. She wouldn’t sit with us, or play. Her weekend was spent under a bed or laying down in a corner. There was other grossness but I won’t share here! By Sunday morning I was worried she would get dehydrated. Jeff and I fed her a little chicken baby food with a syringe. She wasn’t happy about it, but did seem to perk up a little afterwards. Monday morning, she ate a little baby food on her own. 
We had been using the old timer vet here in town. He was close, inexpensive, Sophie was healthy and only needed vaccines. After her routine visit in February, I told Jeff I didn’t want to take her there if she was ever sick. The old doc seemed confused and his lab coat was disgustingly stained with blood. The visit was a complete turn off. So now, here I was with a sick kitty and no vet. I messaged a friend in town who I knew could give me a good recommendation. Sure enough she did. I called and they were able to see her in the afternoon.
The hospital staff was wonderful! The facility was super clean. Sophie had a thorough exam and blood work. Her kidney and liver function are good… which was great news because she is 15 years old. What they did discover is that she has hyperthyroid. It didn’t solve the problem we went in for but it answered other questions Jeff and I had had over the last two years. Sophie was alway hungry and often drove us crazy up until meal time. Last winter I thought she lost weight. The old timer vet, at her annual visit, said she was fine. I started adding some canned food to her diet, but she still was crying for food an hour before meals. 
We came home not sure what caused her illness, perhaps it’s a virus. She had an injection to help with nausea and some pills to take at home… along with the new thyroid med. If we see no improvement, back for more (expensive) tests. Lo and behold when she climbed out of her crate at home, she went straight for her bowl and cried for food… and she ate canned cat food! This morning she even ate some dry food along with the canned. 
Jeff and I are so relieved that she is feeling better, and that we have found a vet we are happy with. Maybe today I can actually be productive. 
I hope your Halloween was a good one. I had a jack o’ lantern, I had candy… I had no trick or treaters.
Jeff and I ate the candy.

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

Fall Splendor

Image Leave a comment
We are having fabulous fall weather here in Seagrove, NC. Cool nights with warm days in the low 70’s. Perfect temperatures for working and sleeping. Yesterday the door came down from the kiln. We took a few pots out that were cool enough to handle. Today we will unload the rest. Jeff and I did a couple of collaborative pots that came out really awesome. One is the ginkgo vase in the photo above. You’ll also notice that my pink geraniums with the trailing white and blue flowers is looking great… better than it did all summer! And it wouldn’t be fall without mums.

There were lots of salt pigs in this firing. Lately they have been outselling the piggy banks on Etsy. I have a few extra in this firing so that I can have some in stock and ready to ship. Today it’s back to piggy bank assembly. I have had a break from them for a couple of weeks and I am looking forward to getting back at it.

meeshspottery.blogspot.com

It’s Fixed!

Image Leave a comment

I was really frustrated when my blog list disappeared a few weeks ago. I went to the forums to figure out the issue and found that it was a widespread glitch. Blogger was supposed to be working on and would have it fixed in a few days. I gave up waiting and started building my list again. My new list didn’t look like my old list. No preview, no updates, and the links didn’t open in a new window. AARGH!

I left it alone for a week. I was too frustrated.

Yesterday I decided to take a look again. With fresh eyes. I solved my problem! I had used the wrong “gadget”. I deleted the links list, added the correct “gadget” and it’s working! I am slowly trying to recover the blog list that I built over 8+ years. If you notice your blog isn’t there, leave a link in the comments so that I can add you back in.

Jeff and I glazed pots and loaded the kiln at the beginning of the week. Yesterday was firing day.

Today is my birthday… Jeff wrote on my wall.

I am officially old enough to live in one those 55+ communities that I was selling in New Hampshire. Not quite ready for that!

meeshspottery.blogspot.com