Today is the Day!

Finally! The event I have been working toward for months! I made the good coffee and put on cute underwear in honor of the occasion, but I had to switch out for thermals, because:

• 5:16 am: It's even colder than predicted, and I am noticing that I should have dipped the kiln furniture. There is a rime of ice over the kiln wash bucket.
• 6:46 am: How did it get so late? The first layer is loaded. Taking a break for breakfast: Thanksgiving leftovers. This seems so delightful to me that I am considering a Thanksgiving firing every year; but perhaps I am getting ahead of myself.
• 8:00 am: I am of the lick-and-stick school of wadding -- how about you?
• 11:30 am: Here is a moment of every firing that I hate: "Whew! So glad to be done loading! Now to light the burners and take a nap -- oh, crap. Still have to brick up the door." It only lasts a split second, but it happens every time. 
• 1:00 pm Mudding up the door, and sealing with newspaper & slurry. Burners are on, wool over the arch.
• Here's a little trick I learned in Minnesota: I start a fire in the stack while the kiln is cold, to get a column of warm air moving upward. This helps start the stack drawing, and is thought to prevent uneven heating early in the firing. 

And now...now we wait. I'm off to take a bath, do some yoga, figure out something for lunch. ( I wonder if there's any pumpkin pie left?) I'll be back later when there's news to report.