May

So just a quick update today......our kitchen looks like this:

After 3 months of back orders we finally got our new stove and range hood....only to discover the only way we could vent the range hood to outdoors was to run the ductwork through the top cabinets.  This renders them useless but when I climbed up a stepladder and opened the doors I found two dollar store vases  and a chocolate fondue set that hadn't been used in a decade so I guess it will be no big loss.  I kind of hated to have hidden ducts inside the top cupboard but when you are trying to do kitchen renovations to a 145 year-old farmhouse you have to make compromises.  Note the dog's rump in the above picture (he supervises all work but does not help in any way).  Since Scott and I always have to do our own renovations to save money...and we really have no clue what we are doing most of the time....progress is slow.  And dinner lately looks like this;

In the studio I've been busy filling wholesale orders and working on a new line of white pottery for a friend who is opening a home-decor shop.

It is very different from my usual brightly coloured pottery but I'm enjoying the change.  In other news I'll be blogging soon about rhubarb and falafel....exciting times.

April highlights

The tile class I was taking since Christmas came to an end last week with a display of all the students' work.  Everyone had a very unique style which was reflected in their work.  The next 2 pictures are Jen's tiles......she is a young activist, vegan, aspiring beekeeper....a very interesting young lady.

My friend Ralph's tiles were beautiful as well;

I made a tile mural based on a print I saw in Paris of pedestrians strolling along under the Eiffel Tower.

And a few tiles of birds and deer and two large tiles based on Mexican Otomi embroidery.  We learned so many new methods of surface decoration I can't wait to incorporate  it into my pottery.

We went to my mother's for Easter dinner, as usual there were so many of us that the dining room was full so the teenagers ate at the kitchen table.

My nephew and his wife recently adopted a little black Lab mix from the SPCA so she came to dinner too.  Her manners are not the best yet...or she found ham irresistible because she kept jumping up and resting her paws on the table.....Mom was not exactly a stern, puppy disciplinarian.

Before Easter dinner I had a little photo shoot with my little nephew Christian.  He was such a co-operative subject.......

Until he wasn't......

In other news I'm still trying to master my birthday present......I don't think Starbucks will be enlisting me anytime soon.