Weekend Wind-Down, August 23, 2026

Jasper being my prop assistant for some product photography

This was an extraordinarily packed weekend, and I’m ending my Sunday night tired but feeling great about all that we accomplished.

The weekend began with an early pickup for Rowy on Friday so that I could take him to his 2.5 year well visit. The next morning, he was off to his dentist for a checkup. He did great at both appointments, and I’m happy to have crossed those things off of the list.

On Friday I also started a glaze firing, which would take all weekend to finish and cool, and today I packed up the 10 outstanding orders that were waiting on items from this latest batch. It feels good to clear the order queue.

I also turned out 15 mug bodies that can be used for Ghost Parade mugs or Stella mugs, depending on their final sizing, finishing my seventh bag of clay for the year. That makes 175 pounds of clay that I've worked into objects. The last task of the weekend was opening up the next bag and throwing 10 more Ghost Parade mugs - Halloween is fast approaching after all.

On Saturday, I took some time to tidy up the back of the garden, which had become overgrown with cosmos and tomato plants. There are even tomatoes growing inside of our little tool shed, vines having crept their way in through loose boards. To protect myself from the swarming mosquitoes, I wore a long sleeved denim jumpsuit and a wide brimmed hat. It was incredibly hot working in that outfit, but I spent around 45 minutes out there and came away with only three bites which is a big win in my book, though most unfortunately they are all on my face.

That evening, while the boys were with their grandparents, Kev and I got to go out for date night with a 5pm reservation at Arthur in Greenpoint. We arrived in the area a little early and stopped at the bar at Little Rascal next door, where their Portrait of Ivy drink, with cilantro, coconut, green tea, and mandarin, was perhaps my favorite cocktail ever - a twist on a pina colada. Dinner was very good: razor clams, kohlrabi and trout roe, three types of skewers, a perfect season-shifting mushroom tart, and tilefish, washed down with a banana daiquiri so chilled it made my glass frost up. The experience made me long for Paris.

This morning, we took Jasper to his first class at his new swim school. We’d signed him up to keep the momentum he’d built from twice daily pool time at summer camp, which ended on Friday. At the lesson, we decided to sign Rowy up as well, and his classes will begin in September.

After a mid-day family nap, we stopped by Trader Joe’s on the way to my in-laws' for a belated birthday celebration for Kev. We got takeout, played a game that Jasper imagined and set up with giant legos, blew out birthday candles, and still got home in time for Rowy’s bedtime.

Starting tomorrow, Jasper is off for about three weeks before he enters kindergarten. Late summer is officially upon our household. I’m looking forward to soaking up every moment.