Unloading Day Plus the Secret to Success

Unloaded the kiln on Wednesday. I didn't take any formal shots of any of the pots, because almost everything needed to be packed up & shipped off right away, to The Cat Doctor, to Handworks, and now, to Gray Fox Gallery in Rockland.

The pieces toward the center back were a little dry - I used the same amount of soda but the shelves were in a different configuration to accommodate a bunch of plates for an upcoming show. (I needed five to be perfect, and I got five, but I'll still probably put 10 plates in the next firing, so I can choose the five most fabulous.) The shelf configuration affects the flame path, in this case limiting the amount of soda that got deposited in certain areas. A couple are so dry that I think it's worth refiring them. . 

And oh, BTW, I've discovered the secret to financial success...if by success we mean having enough money to pay everything on time and pay some extra to a credit card. And the secret seems to be work all the time.

This is not as bad as it sounds, but I'd be lying if I said I can keep it up forever. I get out of bed, get coffee, and start reading and answering email. Then I have breakfast and either go into the studio or off to teach whatever class or workshop is on offer that day, or to deliver pots. In the evening I send out invoices or do website work, lately for other people but sometimes for myself. Or I pack pots or soap to ship in the morning. Every day. No exceptions. For four months now.

I accept every class or workshop offered me. I spent my husband's 50th birthday running a raku workshop, and our wedding anniversary teaching classes. My own 50th birthday was a 12-hour glazing marathon. I've hardly blogged at all. I cancelled our Netflix account because we just haven't been using it. I haven't been out on the river all summer, and forget about the gym entirely. The laundry pile in my bedroom is possibly sentient. And for once, the big push is working. I guess that's what it takes: I finally stitched enough patches into the patchwork quilt of my income to get some traction (to mix a metaphor, somewhat nonsensically.) Could be worse: I could have done all that and STILL not had enough.

If I can keep it up for another month (assuming no surprises!) I can maybe relax a tiny bit, once I murder my smallest credit card balance. 

Tomorrow, though, I am taking a real day off. Tomorrow we are taking the canoe out on the Kennebec, with some refreshing beverages, plenty of sunscreen, and the camera. Cheers!