The Redheads are Back!

Wow! ... it's taken a lot longer than I thought it would to get to my second production cycle of 2014. The attempt at getting back at it couple of weeks ago with mini bowls didn't get too far as the tax man and my accountant had other plans. I am soooo happy to have taxes out of the way! I ask myself every year ... does it really have to be this complicated?!

Today was a lazy day .... the intention to hit the studio was there but the redheads are back! which brought out the camera and that was it - I was distracted (and I am so good at doing distracted :>))

Rufous Hummingbird (Male)

 Everyone .... dogs, cats, birds, flowers and potter were reveling in the afternoon sun. I caught some of 'us' in the act ....

The Dynamic Duo ...

Lily & Dash

Northern Flicker (Female)

Northern Flicker (Male)

I noticed we had a pair of woodpeckers (a check online shows they are Northern Flickers), in the old maple out front .... hard to see them in the pics as they blend in but I also noticed the old starling nest at the top has been enlarged. Hmmmm.... maybe we have a new family moving into the neighbourhood.

Enlarged old Starling nest

Kali was trying to look very casual sitting on the railing 15 ft in the air

but I suspect her real purpose was stalking the hummers

Otis, the ol' fart, is just happy to be outside after a long winter indoors ....

.... the 'fleurs' are bloomin' away

Tomorrow I WILL be back to work!

Junior Potters

Eldest grandson Ethan and I had a fun afternoon in the studio on Sunday. I trimmed the mini bowls and he pressed some tiles for me.

 

He has been 'working' in the studio since he was a little gaffer. Here he is at two, hanging out in my little potting corner of the garage at our old house in the big city ... (check out the old red kick wheel ;))

 Here's another pic at three ... very serious stuff, this pottery making.

At 8 he's joined by li'l bro, Noah, junior potter #2, who was 4 at the time.

With Ethan's first go at using the wheel, he made a cup and saucer. Second go was a matching mini teapot and an 'altered' sugar bowl. He did the throwing of the teapot body and spout and hand built the lid and handle. Gram helps with the trimming.

Both the boys are very creative (and I expect baby brother, Hayden, will follow suit). In addition to clay and polymer clay creations (and of course, Lego), they love to craft things using recyclables. We call the resulting art, Artbazooka, a 'boy' tweak on the name of their favourite children's CBC program, Artzooka, where the host Jeremy, demonstrates how to create all kinds of things using household items and recyclables. 

They are fun kids to hang out with and Gramma hopes her love of clay will rub off on them all and her junior potters will be the senior potters of the future :>)

Mini Mode

Today was mini day. I start every production cycle by throwing mini bowls of various shapes and sizes off the hump. It's my way of getting back into the throwing groove.

Customers love these little bowls and I love the stories about what they get used for. Most of this batch are destined for Costa del Sol. It's owned by Sarah and Michael, an enthusiastic young couple who came into my showroom a couple of years ago, brimming with excitement as they had just got the go ahead on opening their own Latin cuisine restaurant. Having both worked in restaurants for many years, they were realizing a long time dream. 

 

They came in looking for rustic serving dishes. As a result, I made them a series of trio servers for posole and mini plates and bowls for serving spices and salsa. Every once in a while they need bowl replenishments and I am happy to oblige. The restaurant has gone on to be a local favourite .... so happy for them!

I said in an earlier post I was happy to be done with red clay but it's Costa del Sol so I will grin and bear it. Está todo bien!

More Spring ...

Our cousin in Parry Sound, Ontario, has had enough. She's decided to plant her own Spring!

Yes! ..... Spring!

Whew! Spring arrived right on time this morning, just before 10 AM .... with Sunshine in hand. The temp isn't what it should be this time of year on the beautiful southern, west coast of BC, Canada but we'll take it! Up front, I will say I'm truly sorry to all who still feel like they are in the middle of winter. It's been a long haul I'm sure but I hope my sharing of some pics from today, the official 1st day of Spring, will help to put you in a Spring mood ......

Prims and Pansies are planted (and initially covered to fend off our downpour and hail earlier this week)

Dash & Lily are happy to have their favourite deck sunshine spot open for business!

Our senior citizen kitty, Otis (now 16 or 17 years old), who isn't allowed outside in the winter, was happy to have a stroll on the deck

The dogs and I just got back from a beach walk. We have ocean on one side ....

... and the estuary on the other side. The tides are shifting to lows in the daytime hours, unveiling Lang Creek which is flowing fast with recent rains.

Lily is as usual, diving in after her aqua kong .....

.... And Dash's favourite past time is running the beach

The heron is fishing

And the mallards are basking in the sun

It won't be long now before we're all complaining it's too hot!;)) 

Spring?

How did I go from the winter doldrums, working heads down in the studio, to having a laundry list of to-do's that will take 'til Fall to complete. Must be, that in spite of the weather (very soggy this weekend), Spring has arrived.

First up is to finish cleaning the studio .... my wonderful workspace, the envy of every potter who goes thru it (and then it's usually clean ;)), can be not so wonderful at times. Since it also happens to be the thoroughfare to the back yard, the traffic consists of two big dogs, Chicken Farmer and Gardener Hubby, 4 cats, who also love their sleeping boxes high on the shelves and of course me, the potter. The studio bathroom doubles as the chicken supplies and egg processing room and any minute now, the seed starting room will emerge. Indoor gardening supplier Son, set Dad up with lights which were installed under my long bank of ware shelves. Gardener Hubby was off to the nurseries yesterday, finalizing his seed stash and picking up starter soil.  Happy to share my space but sheesh! it's a freakin' disaster at times ... I'm one of those maniacs who is quite messy on average but has to frantically clean the house before I go away because I hate coming home to a mess. Cleaning was the one to-do that got dumped before I left for the city last week so grumpy me was cleaning yesterday and I will be back at it today.

I am also awaiting the return of my laptop so I can get going on taxes. Such a chore altho' it should a bit simpler this year because I had an 8 month hiatus from the studio last year. Still it's a painful process.

The yard also awaits my often limited engagement ... I am a gardener in my head but unfortunately, not my heart. I like the idea of a lovely yard and garden but it's a chore for me to get going. We have just over an acre but 1/2 of that is treed, thank goodness! Still, it's a lot of work for Hubby to handle on his own so I gotta do my part. Deck planters are awaiting the prims and pansies I picked up in the city. Our many native ferns in the front yard need to be cut back and I need to finish the hosta bed I started last year. I also have to figure out how we're going to do the landscaping by the chicken pen ... we're putting in a sorrel bed so the passersby have something to pick to feed the chickens ;) This was a suggestion from my Mom, a Master Gardener, who went to a presentation by Rosalind Creasy, author of Edible Landscaping. I have the book but have yet to put it in action .... yup, one day ;)

Also on the list .... get back to exercise and diet .... groan! I long for the days when I could put anything and everything food in my mouth and not gain an ounce. Now I'm a seafood person ... as in 'See Food, Gain'.

Soooo .... enough talking about it all in the universe of blogging ... time to just move it, move it, move it!

Home Sweet Home

Tues 11 AM after breakfast with our son and his partner, I'm on my way ..... I've had my city fix and after 5 days of travel, visiting with family and friends, navigating busy streets and stores, I'm happily heading home ....

.... first ferry ... Leaving Horseshoe Bay @ 1:20 PM

.... followed by a 84 kilometre run across the Sechelt Peninsula, listening to the Good Lovelies.

.... second ferry leaves from Earls Cove ....sheesh! ..... a schedule change .... if I had dawdled any longer, I'd have had to swim home ;)

and finally I arrive home at 5:30 PM .... my heart feels warm and fuzzy the moment I disembark that last ferry .... I love coming home! It's also good to know I've been missed by hubby, kids, grandkids and dorgs.
In my absence, hubby has installed our 'new' old fashion clothes dryer. And I was happy to find wooden clothes pegs in town this morning .... wasn't sure they still made them!


Tomorrow it's back to work ... Yeah!