Hello November

Hey everyone. Just a quick update and a few pictures before I head off to Dillsboro N.C. for the Western North Carolina Pottery Festival this weekend. No, I haven't stepped up to the big time yet, I'm helping friends Mike and Karen Baum in their booth. There are some really topnotch potters there so I always look forward to going. It is also the one time a year I play with other musicians. Not a big deal just a Thursday night campground jam but it is a lot of fun. You've heard me play and sing on this blog before so you will understand that I sound much better in a large group. The other guys appreciate it because they sound so much better when I stop.

I finally glazed and fired a cone 6 load and have another one ready to go.I have included pictures of some of the salad bowls and baking dishes. I have also been trying out a new "MUDTOOLS" drag tool. It seems to work pretty well but you need to keep the waste clear. Lastly, the roof job on the shed is 90% done. We had to order some trim or it would have been done last week. Now we are waiting on weather. Ohio has been wet and cold with some snow this week. I know some of you got a lot more bad weather than we did. Hope you are all ok.

Changes

There have been some changes going on around here.Seems like everyone is being told to set up and maintain a FACEBOOK page for their business. I went to a workshop a couple of weeks ago and had a few sips of Kool Aide. Maybe tomorrow, maybe this winter, not today.  I already voted and am looking forward to the day when debate is again what you put on the end of de line. The pigs are drying and I have a big mess of bowls and baking dishes to wax and glaze but I have been putting it off as long as possible. It's not that I hate glazing, well ok that is the problem. Once that wet clay stops spinning I start thinking about the next pot, not finishing this one. I'll get it done, but not today. I started a new class of clay monkeys a couple of weeks ago and they are the nicest bunch of young ladies you would ever want to meet. Things are going well.

The big change is I have hired the same guys who built the studio to tear an old rotting flat roof off my other outbuilding and replace the whole roof system with metal to match the studio. This will give me some much needed dry storage that will allow me to store the tractor and UTV and a ton of useless junk somewhere besides my studio. Astute readers who have put up with this blog for a few years will also recall that I bought a used gas kiln when the studio was going up. I didn't really need it then but the deal was too good to pass up. The new roof will also allow me to put a flue up. There was no point in spending the money to put a flue thru a bad roof but all that will change later this week.  Finally, this may be the year of the gas kiln! Thanks for stopping by. And oh yeah, that thing of which we no longer speak is fading into my memory.

 

 

Mitt's Piggy Bank

When a boy is saving up for his first polo pony or corporate take over he needs a good bank to put his money in. I like to imagine Mitt had one like these. Thanks for stopping by.

Working

Well, things are mostly back to normal around here. I've been making a bunch of square and oval bakers. They always sell pretty well and I sold out of them right before I got hurt so it is time for more. Big salad bowls had moved pretty well this fall so I am trying to stock up on them too. I've even made some Christmas ornaments and a couple of piggy banks. They don't really move me but a buck's a buck. I'm in the middle of a 15lb bank that is more my style. Hopefully it will work out and I can show you next time. Thanks for stopping by.

I'm Back!

I went out to the studio today and threw parts for a half dozen square and oval baking dishes. I could feel the sore ribs but it didn't really hurt. I take a few ibuprofen and my shoulder is still regaining full range but today will be the last post about the "incident". I am declaring myself healed (well, maybe I'm a week early but close enough).

The rest of the story is that the bills have started to come in for 2 E.R. visits 3 sets of x-rays, and a CT Scan. Believe me this was as MINOR a motorcycle accident as you can have, still, the medical bills will add up. I have insurance but I still may reach my maximum co-pay before this is over. This part is not really about me. Between savings and monthly retirement checks we can absorb this without any great hardship but it makes me think of many of my hardworking friends who cannot afford insurance or have $10,000 deductibles. Three seconds of accident can drive folks to bankruptcy.

 If the Affordable Care Act raises my rates a little, so be it if that gives my friends enough coverage that they can afford. I know that American Crossroads, Americans for Prosperity, and Mitt Romney say repealing affordable health care will make America strong and give all of us the joy of standing on our own two feet ( screw you if you have no legs). Remember the guys who passed Medicare D and then made it illegal for Medicare to negotiate drug prices? That last part was nothing but price supports for the drug industry. These are the same guys! What they really want to repeal is controls on profits of insurance companies, the ban on refusal for pre-existing conditions, the coverage of preventative care, and the repeal of lifetime benefit caps. When I hear a candidate call for repeal of Obamacare I know who I'm voting for. Thanks for stopping by.