How exciting, a parcel from America,

The other side of the world.

Unique fragile signs! 

I just couldn't resist the blue mug with Dozer on it.

I had to get that for Barney who had a significant birthday recently.

These are Gary Rith pots as seen in his etsy shop on his blog
http://garysthirdpotteryblog.blogspot.com.au/

Gary's third pottery blog. Check them out!

 Stella has quitre a little collection of chewables to keep her happy.

The goats skull is a bit extreme but she loves to cart it around and it makes for a great pacifier.

Sorry to all  vegetarians and anyone who might be upset at her choice of toys.

 She went to the vet for her puppy shots on Saturday, 7.8kgs

The vet conceded she will look like a labrador but will be a bull mastif size.

I have to wean her off sitting on my knee. Shelia still tries to sit on me and she is too big!

These two pots are currently on exhibit in a white cube at Shuggs finacial planning.

The one on the left was made by Bob Rieter, stoneware, burnised with a stoneware glaze.

The one one the right was made by Bob's son, Nicholas Reiter. They will be on exhibit for the month of Feburary. They are also on show at http://whitecubemildura.blogspot.com.au/    
There is a link on my page to White cube, click on the camel teapot, its the link.
This post has vanished 3 times before I pressed publish so I won't linger, Leave me a comment!

Shipping container dreaming

I have been dreaming about a pottery studio for  while now.

Ever since our building was demolished to make way for a swimming pool for the special school.

Hard to be cross when it was removed for such a good cause...........

Building permits are difficult to obtain on a flood plain so I have spent some time dreaming of shipping containers which can be picked up and moved if required

A bit like Leggo on a larger scale, 20 ft or 40 ft options.

They are water tight and someone joked with me that I would need an anchor in a flood.

I like the height of the ceilings when the containers are 2 high.

I have a strange belief that high ceilings promote creativity....or is it that I believe low ceilings stifle creativity?

This is my favourite option. I can see this one as I/2 pottery and 1/2 Gallery cafe

I would build a wall to separate the two halves...Keep the clay out of the Gallery!

I dream about one of the lower containers being a registered kitchen so I can value add my garden produce.

I put my tattslotto tickets on every week to support this dreaming.

I also keep a look out for philanthropists with a creative overtones,  I haven't found any yet but I will keep looking

New Puppy and southern adventure

It is usually a 5 hour drive to reach our intended overnight stop on our way down south for our belated Christmas visit.

Unfortunately our radiator gave up the ghost just an hour short of our destination and we had to be rescued by a niece, thanks Kirsty!

We not only had 3 dogs onboard but 20 kg's of tomatoes for making relish.

We were able to squeeze it all into the rescue car and continue on our way, just a 2 hour delay.

Thankfully the family mechanic was able to repair the car the next day.

Amazing

THANK'S Chris!

All up we arrived at our final destination about 6 hours later than intended under our own steam.

Now for the new puppy. 

MS just couldn't bear the thought of these little puppies meeting their maker if they couldn't find a home.

I am not sure if little is the right word.

Supposedly a cross between a Labrador and a Bull mastiff

Meet Stella

All the dogs just love drinking out of this little pond. They have fresh rainwater available but this  must be more tasty.

7 weeks old. Lucky puppy

Skittles and Stella have become firm friends.

I have noticed that her bite is softening after a lot of play fighting with Skittles

She is a little wary of Shelia who is a lot older and a bit on the intolerant side

of a small puppy and her sharp teeth.

 She is safe from the sharp teeth up here on the chair. Its a tight squeeze.

Hard to believe that she was once a bundle of sharp teeth herself.

A lovely weekend with extended family

Now for the long drive home.

A wake up stop at the Pink Lakes provided a welcome break

I was surprised to read that 100,000 tonnes of salt is mined from this lake per year.

The salt is a soft pink colour, as you can see the country is very flat around here.

The nearest town is called Sea lake.

2 hours to go and we are home.



Food Forest 2012

It's a jungle out there...

Through this gate is the vege garden and rows that I talk about.

This is my work space for at least 50 % of the time

and there is heaps to eat, capsicums, eggplant, tomatoes, silverbeet

also plenty of herbs to add extra flavour.

I had to clear the forest to make way for some tomatoes that have outgrown their pots and have been to enough markets to deserve to retire to a circle.

This was the circle with the most potential to find space for the tomatoes

It only took two mornings and several wheel barrows of weeds

The poor tomatoes got a bit hot and dry after the market on Saturday then I rolled the trolley delivering them to the circle. Hope they thrive in their new spot

Here's some that got a circle early on in the season.

Lebanese eggplant is stunning in the garden with its dark purple leaves and glossy fruit

My sunflowers are towering but they will have to be sacrificed to the cut flower gods as they are shading the few cucumbers I managed to raise and plant without getting eaten off at the

ground by pumpkin beetles Grrrrrrrrrr

They are beautiful though and bring the bees in which is what I need if I want tomatoes.

All of this gardening takes time so it is fortunate that I work part time and not through the school holidays

 so long as I am growing food that we can eat and varieties that will produce viable seed for next season we should be alright.

Basil

Basil

Everyones favourite summer herb!

I have had a bit of trouble getting the seeds to come up.

I think like everyone else I am in such a hurry for it to grow that I forget it needs the soil to be warm enough. I read the other day, the biggest basil mistake is planting it too early and I am guilty of the very same.

I have to have enough to plant out and to take to market

It has been a cool summer so far except for that heatwave of 40,40,40

These plants are finally big enough to plant out in the rows

I was trying to get skittles to pose next to the cherry rudbekia but she wasn't in a modelling mood.

The cherry rubekia is a very different looking plant to the regular yellow rudbekia.

Different leaves, different habit. I like the paint striped look of the cherry flowers when they have been out for a while.

They have that old furniture look about them.

Perhaps I had better pick them and let a fresh lot come through.

Skittles is a foot hugger.

We had a visit from from Barney and Dozer....this is Barney's foot.

Shelia

Dozer

Dozer is trim taut and terriffic since he stopped snacking on biscuts throughout the day!

Self sown Rocket

I was lamenting the lack of rocket in my garden.

It usually is thick and strong and I don't plant it as a rule

It always self seeds

I like this photo as a self portrait.

This is my fresh Christmas circle and is now green with self sown Silver beet.

I was excited to notice large clumps of self sown rocket.......

I have been waiting for it to turn up.

I couldn't help my self and have transplanted plenty of it around the garden

Planted it into punnets and into single one inch pots, for a later transfer into the garden.

Or they might end up on my market stall.

It is growing so well I was able to pick a couple of bunches and include them in my

"Coffee Town" cafe basket this morning.

Along with garlic chives, chives, parsley, silver beet

 I am getting pretty good at identifying plants at this young stage.

Can you pick out the rocket plants?

These are mostly silver beet and I can see one or two weeds in there,

but I can also identify 5 rocket plants



It smells so good when I pick it. I had to snack on a bit this morning.

Quality control

It was good.

Glass firing success

I have been experimenting with glass slumping and having some difficulties.

The glass at the top of the kiln was working perfectly

but on the lower shelves all the glass was cracked and broken.

I did some more research and found a web site that seemed to explain the problems I was having.

http://askteresagriffin.blogspot.com

I had to ask what I might be doing wrong and having read Teresa's advice, I reprogrammed my auto controller to the COE96 schedule as suggested by Teresa and

BINGO

It worked...I had raised the bottom shelf and still waited a whole day for it to cool down....

We have been having a heat wave so it was actually still really warm the next day

but

I was able to get 4 small glass bowls out of the kiln.

Very stackable bowls

I have been using broken glass that we got with a 2nd hand glass house.

I am making sure that the glass is co-efficient by using pieces from the exact same pane of glass

If I want to slump some on like the square basses on these bowls.

This is just slumped over a mould with a star pattern on it.

I am very inspired by the success and have already begun making a few more moulds,

I like to have the kiln full before firing

Given 1 mould = 1 bowl

it will take a few firings to get a set of bowls

Its a good feeling... being inspired and creatively enthused

Thanks Teresa!