The calm after the storm

The past week has been another whirlwind - two kiln firings with a day of glazing pottery in between; getting ready for back-to-back shows; helping njzoomom on the day of her oral surgery (16 teeth removed to make way for dentures); and just the normal everyday life stuff.

Lost a few pieces in the bisque firing; sadly two of them were 'Rosewood' pieces (made with horsehair); luckily it's not the end of the world though - two pieces made it and I have more 'special' clay and more horse hair if needed. The glaze firing went mostly well - a few pieces stuck to the shelves and were lost (damn that Laguna castile blue!). I no longer try to mix blue purple with Ellen's blue so there were very few pinholes in anything. Blue purple does play nicely with the desert sage and I really love the earthy effect that results. I even rolled the dice and glazed a yarn bowl like that; it came out lovely.

njzoomom is recovering from her surgery; she did really well and is continuing to do so. She can talk much better than we expected and is in good spirits. Hopefully her mouth will heal in good time and she'll have new new teeth by Thanksgiving. Otherwise, I have threatened to stick her turkey in a blender!

The back-to-back shows were not as profitable as I might have liked but they were - of course - a learning experience. AND I had the best company on the planet, my daecabhir. AND to top that off we had a wonderful surprise visit from 1painter42 and her husband on Sunday.

Saturday's show in Fredericksburg was a bust all around - poor traffic and poor show management. A couple of pieces sold but after the other outdoor vendors started packing up, we really had no choice but to shut down. Even some of the indoor vendors left early. I doubt that this show will be one that I return to - just too many 'company vendors' (Mary Kay, Tastefully Simple, etc.) and not enough artisans. Oddly enough all five outdoor vendors were real craft people. The only thing of interest to me was finding a another loom knitter and coming across some alpaca for a deal (but I forgot to purchase any).

Sunday found us at Taste of Culpeper and while warmer temperatures would have been heartily welcomed, the rain held off until the end of the show and for that I am grateful. Lots of foot traffic and nice comments about my work. The yarn bowls got a lot of attention and one sold (YAY!). Small spoon rests were also a hit and a few bowls also found new homes. Covering the application fee for an event is always a nice feeling. Getting to see 1painter42 and her hubby was a most awesome bonus.

This should not come as news to you if know me (or daecabhir), but I really am married to most amazing man on the planet. He didn't have to use up a precious weekend by coming with me or give up much-needed sleep, but he did and I am most appreciative. Just getting to spend time with him is a treat. Sounds awfully mushy, I know, but it's true - every word of it.

Yesterday was doctor day and lots of little things were taken care of. Prescriptions were renewed, tweaked and added to. The big whoop is that I have to go for an upper GI to check to see if there is a physical reason my stomach is so wonky. Oh joy. As I was writing this post, they called to make the appointment.

Time for me to move away from the computer and be productive ~ hope your day is a good one!