Completed Patio and Ornament Tree

We now have a couple of projects under our belt, well almost. Still have a bit of cleanup to do along the edges of the patio but here it is finished.

Gary finished the patio while I was working at ArtWorks on Monday. He didn't remember I wanted to add some pottery shards to the mortar so it will have to be as it is. I plan to make a totem as an accent near the door.

Here's my diy ornament tree. The cost was really under ten dollars since I had the base plywood. (Plywood from my lavender farm sign in California). For the holes drilled for the dowels we used a 27/64 drill bit and honed it out just a little and then hammered in the dowels with a rubber mallet which makes the dowels fit snugly. The half inch drill bit recommended by the site is really too large.

I also made the base 16 inches instead of 8 inches. We added additional supports around the base to make it more secure; that way we could add additional screws from the topside down rather than rely on one screw holding the base to the center. I still have to paint the tree but wanted to let you know about the drill bit and base sizes in case you decide to make the tree. I'll also use a cloth around the base to spruce it up. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Mid-Range Glazes by John Britt

On my bedside table is John Britt's new book Mid-Range Glazes. One of the reasons I like working with clay is there's always more to learn. That is particularly true with glazes; there's so much chemistry to learn. John Britt, the glaze guru, explains all the glazing nuances so well with color photos, charts, and detailed descriptions. This is definitely the reference book to have in any potter's library.

Meanwhile Gary finished the patio yesterday, on his birthday no less, while I was working at ArtWorks. Of course Gary forgot I wanted to add some pottery shards to the mortar. So now I'm thinking I'll make a totem to sit outside the entry. I will post photos of the patio coming up next. It was too dark to take photos by the time I got home last night. So stay tuned.

This past week I sold another piece of pottery at ArtWorks and a several pieces at the antique store, so I've replenished those supplies. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Thirty Bags of Sand

While we were working on the stone patio I looked up and saw this oak tree was a brilliant red. The oaks have been the last trees to turn color this fall.

The patio we're working on is 16 x 8 and it's taken thirty bags of sand to lay the stone so far. The first day I got 10 bags in my car. Yesterday we got 20 bags of sand in Gary's pickup truck and it was riding kind of low. Each bag is 70 pounds each so that was 1400 pounds in his truck and 700 pounds in my car.

We're almost to the end but probably need three more bags of sand. Stay tuned for the next step of putting in the mortar and the shards of pottery. Nor sure how many bags of mortar we'll need. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.