busy busy fall

Claiming a favorite season is a bit like claiming a favorite child.  I love them all equally, but I do feel a bit partial to the one that is bringing me breakfast in bed. Right now, fall takes the cake as it has brought us some much needed rain and I am seriously loving watching the leaves change colors.  I've had tea a few times this week, worn sweaters (and socks - gasp!) and am even starting to want to pull out my knitting, which is the ultimate sign that fall is here.  

The last month has been a busy one as my studio partner and I found a new to us kiln that we upgraded to.  We possibly should have kept the old one around for a little while while figuring out how to work the new one, but since we didn't, the last month has been spent trying to get the kiln to work the way we would like it to so we can finish orders and prepare for markets.  I was up until 3 am this morning babysitting the kiln and when Pam compared it to a new baby, my sleep deprived self concurred whole heartedly.  Hopefully, we will get it mastered soon and the upgrade will feel worth it.  

The good thing about the kiln is that when it will actually complete a whole firing, it fires 50% more pottery than our last kiln.  And it does not require us to come down to the studio to turn it up every two hours. (But it is shutting off randomly so, alas, we are still beholden to the kiln.)

Another tough thing this month has been trying to figure out a balance between time at the wheel and homeschooling.  I moved my pottery time to the afternoon so our mornings at home can start a little better but I am not sure that we've found that perfect balance yet.  I'm working on it. 

New things I've made this month: Snarky planters (they're adorable, too), lots of Christmas ornaments- Harry Potter to a pretty spectacular set reflecting attributes of Christ and some new mug/thumbler designs.  The main thing I've spent the last month making are an excessive amount of palettes for a wholesale order that I have coming up.  Palettes everywhere.  

What I'm listening to: Sharon Says So podcast, Hold Me Tight and The Three Year Swim Club. And plenty of French music.  It's kind of my jam these days.

What I'm grateful for:

•our family's health

•so much rain has fallen this last week and it is fabulous.  we need rain!

•our cabinet in our bathroom just got installed (no more gaping hole in the wall)

•I had a nice conversation with one of my daughters today that just warmed my momma heart.