Sneak Peek

The pots are too hot to unload yet, but here is a sneak peek. The kiln isn't as full as it normally would be since pots were broken when I fell. I have to work in the gallery today, So stay tuned for individual photos coming soon.

On the small white pots I tried a shiny white glaze rather than the satin clear I usually use. The mushroom cheese board and the leaf bowl have the satin clear, You can see the cream color of the clay with the satin clear. I hope that cheese board doesn't have any cracks in it. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Swordfish with Linaise Sauce

Luckily before I fell in the studio I cooked lunch for us and there were left overs for the next day. Many times we have our dinner meal for lunch and a light snack for dinner. Previously when we were living in our motorhome I made mahi mahi with linaise sauce, so I decided to try the sauce again with some swordfish I had thawed out.

Basically the sauce is an adaption of bernaise sauce. I called it 'linaise sauce' with the first three letters of my first name. I can still remember Dennis' comment about how I should have called the sauce - 'da sauce' with the last two letters of my first name. Ha. I always enjoy Dennis' quick wit.

Saute 1/4 red onion in butter. Meanwhile in a separate double boiler pan melt four tablespoons of butter, add 4 tablespoons of white basalmic vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of tarragon, 1/2 teapoon dill, 1 teaspoon of chives, a dash of cayenne pepper. When onions are very soft add them to the melted butter mixture. Right before serving add one egg yolk slowly to the mixture stirring constantly. Continue to cook over medium heat till mixture thickens. Serve over the swordfish. We added a little to the top of the rice too. We splurge with one of these rich sauces about once every month or two.

Tip: when cooking a butter egg sauce in a double boiler, if egg and butter start to separate immediately remove upper pan from the heat of the lower pan and stir in one teaspoon of hot water. This usually prevents the separation.

My knee is doing slightly better today. Thankfully I still have my cane(s) from when I hurt my back in California and I was able to hobble down to the studio yesterday afternoon to load the glazed ware. I plan to fire the kiln today, so stay tuned for finished work coming soon. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Update: I forgot to mention I watched a really good movie I had previously recorded when movies were free on dish called "The Secret in Their Eyes" (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) an Argentinian murder mystery. It was complete with subtitles which I normally don't like but it was interesting listening to the Argentinian accent which is distinctly different than the Spanish accent of Mexico which I am more familiar with. It won an oscar for best foreign language film in 2010. Supposedly there is to be an English remake of the film starring Julia Roberts but I urge you to see the original version beforehand.

Flying and Falling

Everything in the kiln turned out just great. At least I thought it did. I noticed that my morel cheese board had a small hairline crack on the edge going in about an inch. I figured I could live with that mishap. I had previously noticed that the first cheese board I had made several weeks ago had the same type of crack. The other mushroom cheese board doesn't have that crack at least not yet. It's a bit thinner than the other two, perhaps they were too thick.

Anyway I was almost finished glazing after about six hours yesterday and I got up to get three more small heart dishes. I tripped on the uneven tile and flew across the room and fell on my knee. Of course this was the knee that was almost healed from previously.

While trying to stop my fall I grabbed a rolling cart which held finished work from the last firing. Several vases and plates and other pieces on that cart fell and broke. On another low cart I had the three fish platters already glazed and one of them fell and broke. Now I can barely bend my knee. I've been putting ice on it but I just know it will take weeks to get better. I am not even sure how I'll be able to get down the stairs to the studio to load the kiln this morning.

We knew the tile in the studio was installed improperly and there are several tiles which are raised up on the corners and I routinely trip on them. Gary said he trips on them too. We can't afford to take them up and there really is no way to correct the problem. We thought about putting some throw carpets over those spots but carpet in a clay studio isn't the best idea since it will traps clay dust.

Then Gary started saying maybe you'll have to sell all of your pottery stuff and forget about making pottery. No I can't do that; making pottery is about the only thing that keeps me going. Even if I do take one step forward and five steps back. Maybe I'm foolish to keep going, I don't know. I just can't imagine what I'd do with myself if I didn't make pottery. A life just traveling around enjoying myself just seems so empty.

Fire Away

 Yesterday I finally got around to firing my kiln.

Later today I'll have a marathon of glazing. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.