Yes, I know my title isn't grammatically correct, but whatever.It's been a hell of a week, from start to finish, (for no one as much as those in Boston and Texas) but here I am at the end of it and... Well, it's still going to be really busy but the end result will be cool...
It turns out that my new kiln needs to be sold, because it's not the right type for my work. No, when I researched, no where on the manufacturer page did it say anything about that, so there you go. The woman who sold it to me didn't inform me, probably because she found out the same thing, too.
I'm not liking her a whole bunch right now.
I need to see if I can place an ad at the local gun shop (apparently it's used in manufacturing guns, somehow, but I'm fuzzy on the details) and maybe it will get to where someone can use it. Meanwhile, I still need a larger kiln to produce more stuff, and I'm back to square one.
Part of my trip to Monsterpalooza was a family visit. The down side was seeing my mom, who's doing very poorly on a number of levels, and my poor dad is trying to see to her needs, pretty much by himself. I helped where I could before I came home, but six hundred or so miles separate us and there's only so much I can do from here.
The up side was that I was able to help him with a garage sale to get rid of a bunch of stuff that had been hanging around for a number of years, and that went pretty well! I also took him to Monsterpalooza and he seemed to have had a really great time.
So I've been feeling down about the family situation (and the thing in Boston, too), and the kiln (an $1100 paperweight, fer chrissakes!), so to try to distract myself, I turn back to business.
I've been waiting for the wind to die down so I can do a Raku firing of some jack-o'-lanterns (I even have one of them sold, already! YAY!), since giant balls of flame and wind do not equal anything but a potter with no eyebrows and possibly a considerably reduced hairline. Since I couldn't do it, I went back to my wheel to start making some new "stuff" for the upcoming El Dorado Hills Art and Wine Affaire on Mother's Day weekend.
One pot collapses, but it was my warm up. I threw a pitcher. Yay! Pretty shape, a little larger for a big ol' pitcher of lemonade. Start to throw another and--the wheel just stops.
Just. Stops.
Everything on that circuit that's plugged in and working is still working, so I know it's nothing simple like that. *sigh*
Did I mention the show's in three weeks?!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!
The good news is, it's under warranty. Bad news is that the manufacturer was closed for the day (dang East Coasters!). Good news? When I got a hold of them, it turns out it was just a fuse. They're shipping it via Priority mail, and the part is super easy to put in, myself. I should have it by Monday, at the latest.
In addition to all this, we're having the front yard re-done. We're adding steps, tearing out the lawn and doing some serious xeriscaping with California natives. They're finally turning on our water meters, and it's going to make a huge difference in our water bill and the amount of care we'll be giving the garden from here on out. I'm finally going to get a couple of disappearing fountains put in (we've had the pots for it since 2006!) on either side of the new steps, so I'm really stoked about that! Pics will be posted as the project goes on...
Down side? Where is my dang graveyard going to go?!?!
Up side? A possible re-vamping of the haunt. Heh heh heh and mwahahahaha! (Maybe I'll get the mausoleum I've always wanted!)
Other down side? Mr. ShellHawk will be out of town while this is going on, we've got to pick up plants, take down a tree and some other things before he leaves. And this while I need to be at CCACA next weekend with my Jackalope sculpture! And I need to prep for the other show, and make hang tags and price things and put them in my inventory and I really need to get to sittingdownwithQuickBooksandgetthatstraightand..... EEK!
Finally, today is my tiny, tiny puppy's second birthday! (He weighs in at around eighty-five pounds, but he'll always be my tiny puppy!) I can't believe he's two, already!
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| That's Sam, with the little yellow yarn around his neck, and his proud mommy. |
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| Sam at one week old. |
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| My tiny puppy, at four and one half weeks. |
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| Puppy lovin' my old boy, Gromit. Gromit enduring said loving with classic stoicism. |
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| Sam torturing Josey, who is telling him all about it! |
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| My tiny puppy in October of 2011, with Josey and me. Seventy-five pounds of German Shepherd! |
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| In January, 2013. My little guy at 85 pounds or so. Not happy about having his nap disturbed... |
He's our baby! Happy Birthday, Sam!
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