Ghostly Blaze

Via Historic Hudson Valley.

Menagerie Wine

I live in wine country, pretty much perfectly between Napa and Amador counties, inarguably the best places in the United States for wine. I'm a short distance from Lodi, too, and Lodi is no slouch in the winemaking department, either.

As a result of living in such a wine-rich environment, I've collected quite a few wine accessories. Among my very favorite is a gift from a friend, a zombie wine pourer.

Unfortunately for me, I went to use it, and the rubber sleeve had somehow disappeared. I wasn't about to throw it away, so I used the good old search engine to see if I could get a replacement. I found it on the Menagerie website. I'm happy to say, I found out they have more nifty wine pourers of all kinds! Skulls, vampires, and witches and jack-o'-lanterns to come!

They have more "normal" wine pourers, for those who want them. Each are whimsical and would make wonderful gifts for your wine enthusiast friends.

Of course, the wine pourers would be best with a lovely wine cup from my ShellHawk's Creations shop... (Like that incredibly smooth plug?)

More here...

News and New in the Shop

Our Coda-bear, smiling for the camera.

It's been a busy week around here. Lots of work and changes, and then a big setback for one of our fur kids, Coda.

I was outside, doing some cleaning and tidying up. The dogs had come out into the beautiful, sunny day and were chasing each other around. Then I heard the "yip!" I turned around and Coda had her leg drawn up and wouldn't put any weight on it. My heart sank, because I'd seen this before with our old dog, Gromit, when he blew out his knee.

By the end of the day, she still hadn't put her weight on it and we had made an appointment with the orthopaedic specialist the next day. They confirmed it; she'd torn her cruciate ligament, may have torn another ligament and possibly torn her meniscus, to boot.

Fortunately, there's a surgery to get her fixed up, and she'll end up with a steel plate in her leg. Yes, it's expensive, but our girl is only 2 1/2, and we want her to have the opportunity to run around and have fun for many years to come. It's still heartbreaking to see her in pain and not be able to tell her that she's going to be good as new in a few months.

Meanwhile, I've been slowly getting pictures taken of the last kiln load of textured yunomi and cups. This one is my favorite, I have to say, because of the way the colors  turned out.

I've been playing with the tumbler shape, too, for those with smaller hands who still like their tea served in handle-less cups.

They're available in my ShellHawk's Creations shop on Etsy, if you're interested!

Well, time to get ready to take my girl in to get her surgery. Wish us luck! 

You Can Almost See the Bellhop

Can you hear them? The people who ran the hotel? Those who stayed there, loved there, died there?

I can. Just on the edge of hearing. The bell, summoning the bellhop, a crisp, no-nonsense voice saying, "Service, please."

The slightly tipsy giggle of a woman coming from the bar. The laughter of children. The muffled moans of the lovers. The sobbing of the abandoned and betrayed.

The occasional gunshot...

Via Yahoo News.

Via Pause the Moment.

Via English Russia.

Via Damien @ Flickr.

Via Style Pinner.

Via Rough Guides.

Via mlhradio on Flickr.

Hauntcast Post Mortem: Now Slaying!

This month, I got to do an interview with dark artist, Queenie Black of Queenie Pocket Full of Posiez! You can get to her Etsy store by clicking here.

HAUNTCAST: POST MORTEM – “Verbal Diarrhea” is now slaying!

Download for FREE at http://hauntcast.net/ , iTunes or Stitcher.

HAUNTING GURU INTERVIEW: John Denley from Boneyard Productions

BONE PHONE CALL: Jen Braverman from Transworld Haunt and Attraction Show

MUSICAL GUEST: The Brains.PLUS: Foolish shenanigans from the Scream Team.

Head over to the Hauntcast website to download this wondrous podcast for free! (Though if you want to donate a few bones, we'd appreciate it!)

In the Fog

Via A Bookworm's Haven

Via A Candle Cove Wiki

Via Jeff Wrench on Pinterest

Via A Slice of Horror

What Knockers!

Via Neon Blues Reus

Via Rama 666.

Via Wilbert Pot on Flickr

Via Looking for Rainbows in the Moonlight.

Via t1mhealy on Flickr.

Via CVP on Tumblr.

Via Delectable Decadence on Tumblr.

Doors to Other Worlds

Via Redbubble

Via Lushome

Via Terence Faircloth on Flickr.

Via Crush Cul de Sac.

Via Victor Keech on Flickr.

Via luigig75.

Finally Getting on Top of Things - Sort Of...

Because let's face it. Sometimes they are little monsters!

It's been particularly busy around here, I must say. I did an interview with the artist Queenie Black, of Pocket Full of Posiez, for the upcoming episode of Hauntcast. I'm in the process of editing, which has been interrupted by the household business.

I have also been making a concerted effort to get things into my shop. (For those of you with Etsy stores, you know how time consuming this can be!) I've gotten a few of the baby dishes in there, and more will follow! I like the one in the picture. Maybe next time I make these, I'll sketch out some goofy monsters for them!

And in celebration of days ending in"y," I decided to put up my wine chillers, too.

In the rest of life, I've finally bitten the bullet and hired a fitness trainer to help me stay on track with my fitness goals. I've been gaining and losing the same five pounds for at least a year, now, and I'd very much like to start working on the next five! And let's face it, with the arthritis I have in my shoulders and the shoulder surgery I had to correct the tear I had in 2014, I need to keep the muscles strong so I can keep throwing and doing what I love. I can't imagine life without making ceramics, so it's not a sacrifice!

There's another project on the horizon, as well, but I can't talk about it right now. Just tease you a bit! :)