The rainiest September in NYC in over a hundred years, pottery updates, and fall plans.
The last weeks of summer were beautiful, with lots of sunshine and many days spent at home with Jasper while daycare was closed. The heat gave way to rain, lots of it, which delayed that crisp autumn sky that I look forward to each year. We've gotten cozy indoors instead, with fall-themed scented candles and sweatshirts, hot coffee and new shows.
Life Lately
I've gotten utterly hooked on the Ruined podcast series, where the hosts spoil scary movies in a light and humorous way. This is exactly the way I want to consume horror movie content as I am too scared to watch them, but always want to know what happens.
Tonight, Jasper told us that we are the "best mommy/daddy ever" and we were reminded how lucky we are to have him. On Friday, when NYC flooded, we made the decision to turn around from daycare drop-off and keep him at home instead. It ended up being the right call, and we had a surprisingly smooth day despite the both of us working while watching him. He often surprises us with his vocabulary, his sweetness to us and the dogs, and his ability to absorb absolutely everything. He loves to help us and feel like he's contributing to the household. He's very into the solar system right now. It feels like he's on the cusp of becoming a kid, and no longer a toddler, and I'm so proud and so sad and so happy at the same time.
Kev was down in Savannah for a work retreat earlier this month, and I had a few days of solo parenting on my hands. I'd looked forward to me-time after Jasper went to bed each night, but somehow ended up not watching a single rom-com like I'd planned. I did pottery, puttered around the house, read, and went to bed early instead. Nice I guess, but the house was so quiet because of it. I was super excited when Kev came home, as were the dogs, who are always a little extra alert when he isn't here.
The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival was yesterday, and I've been enjoying moon cakes for the week leading up to it as well. I love the ones with lotus seed and cured egg yolk filling as well as those with black sesame paste. Paper lanterns are also a traditional part of this holiday, something I'd like to explore in years to come. I follow a wonderful little shop in SF called Abacus Row on Instagram and their embrace of Chinese culture and traditional Chinese holidays is an inspiration.
Pottery Update
New Bamboo Brush pieces have hit the shop, with more on the way. I'm really in love with this new batch and happy that I can offer a range of price points by incorporating more tumblers along with vases. I'm running low on porcelain however; my guess is that the next batch will be the last for a little bit while I work through other clay stock.
My primary clay body at the moment is a gray stoneware that I've used to make mugs, vases, serving dishes, and coffee scoops. My bisque shelf is getting ever more crowded as items await my decision on glazing. As for those serving pieces I've been working on, the plan is to benefit from a selection come Thanksgiving, though everything is taking so long to dry with all this rain and moisture in the air.
I've experimented with a few more glaze recipes this month too, and boy is it a crapshoot. It makes each glaze firing that much more exciting though, and provides lots of motivation to fill up the kiln faster.
Now that we're closer to the holiday season, I'm slowly stocking up on lemon, pear, and clementine ornaments as well as cactus ring dishes and other smaller designs. They are best sellers that are also vitally helpful in the Tetris game that is each kiln load. Jeweled Jelly ornaments from last year have completely sold out; at some point soon I'll need to decide if I want to bring some back, and if so, what this iteration will look like. They are very fun but incredibly time consuming, and for that reason I can't prioritize them when there are so many other pieces I want to make.
October To-Do List
Get family flu shots and Covid boosters
Try this kabocha squash recipe
Pick up yarn and knitting needles
Watch the latest season of Only Murders in the Building
Enjoy Jasper's third Halloween