It Has Been A While

Okay, I have not been very regular in my blogging since the summer has ended.  I am going to catch everyone up on what has been happening with us.  First of all, my "baby" - Marsh - turned 17!!!  I do not know where the time has gone.  He is taller than I am and such a nice looking young man.  Of course, I have the same thing to say about my 20 year old also.  The week that Marsh turned 17, I also had what everyone else has had around here.  I think I spent two days in bed that week.  I did make it to Bible Study, though.  We started our ladies Bible study at church for the Fall that week.  We are doing the Beth Moore study Stepping Up - a study of the Psalms of Ascent.  

On Friday of that week, we noticed that our cat, Mau was having trouble jumping up onto a stool.  I took her to see our vet and he ran a blood test on her.  He could tell on examination that she was anemic.  The results were back on Saturday morning and she was in renal failure.  I had had her in three weeks prior and she had a urinary tract infection.  We gave her some antibiotics and she perked up.  My vet told me then that if a cat lives long enough and nothing has gotten them, usually renal failure is what does and when you find it out, it is too late.    Anyway, we decided to try giving her fluids under her skin because she did not look or act like she was sick.  The first few days she perked up, but by the end of the week she quit eating for me.  We ended up having to put her down on Saturday.  She was eleven years old.  Needless to say, it was a very sad weekend in the Hester household.  We got Mau at the shelter.  Tyler, Marsh, and I went the day before school started that year.  Tyler was going into 4th grade and Marsh was going into 1st.  As we walked into the shelter, there were two cages on either side of the door with kittens.  As I walked in, a paw came through the cage and swatted at my hair.  My reaction was "that cat will not be going home with me".  Well, that kitten was Mau and the last one we looked at.  It was like she was saying "Hey, I have picked you to take me home with you".  She was a great cat and we are and will miss her very much.  Izzy will miss her also.  

We are still making pottery - since that is our business.  We got another new store through Wholesale Crafts.  It is the Cottage Craftsman in Bryson City, NC.  Also, the Woolly Worm is coming up October 16 and 17 in Banner Elk, NC.  If you are in the area, come and see us.

Until next time . . .

The Potter's Wife :)

Palm Tree Pottery

This Little Piggy

Today I have been making piggy banks.  Mac throws the body and I put all the attachments on to turn a "vase" or "bottle" into a piggy bank. 

 

The top picture shows all of the attachments that I have to make to put the pigs together and the bottom shows the body before attachments begin and after legs have been put on.  

After I attach the legs, I go ahead and sign the pig.  I want the future owner of the piggy bank to know that it took two people to make this pig, so I came up with the above.  For all of you who do not know, my husband, Mac (aka the potter) calls me Pudge and that is what I sign my pieces of pottery with.

Here I am putting their ears on.

And here they are finished. Aren't they cute!!   They will have to wait to dry and be fired twice before they are ready.  The best part of our piggy banks is that you do not have to break the bank to get your money out.  It just comes out of their snouts.  (I guess I am a poet and didn't know it :)

The picture below is just to let you know what the potter was doing while I was working!!!

I guess he had worked all day, so he deserved a rest. 

Thanks for reading!  I love y'all! 

Until next time . . .

The Potter's Wife :)

Palm Tree Pottery

 

Labor Day

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day.  We spent ours in Montreat.  If you have read my blogs during the summer you know how HOT it was in Montreat.  It was a very unusual summer in that way.  Well, this weekend was a typical pre-fall weekend.  The weather was great.  The air was clear, the sun shone and best of all the temperatures were perfect.  It actually got down in the 50's and maybe even lower at night.  

Of course we ate at my favorite mexican restaurant - Ole's Guacamoles.  As usual the food and service were excellent.  

We did a lot of walking which helped with the eating!!  It was so good to be back in Montreat.  After one of the long walks we all took a siesta (aka a nap).  It was hard to come back to what I call "reality".  We now really have to get back to restocking the pottery shop as our shows are looming on the horizon.  The first one is the Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk, NC, Oct. 16 and 17.  We would love to see everyone.  If you are there, please come by and speak to us.  

Tomorrow, I will have a post on my work in the shop with the pigs.  

Until then...

The Potter's Wife :)

Palm Tree Pottery

A Relaxing Place

Before school started, we took our last vacation at one of my favorite places, Atlantic Beach, NC.  We stay at this great place called The Atlantis Lodge.  We have been staying there for at least 15 years.  It is on the ocean and they furnish lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach.  They even have an attendant who will put them out for you.  The best part is that they are pet friendly and Izzy can go with us.  

The Atlantis is family owned and they know us when I call to schedule time there and when we walk in the door.  It is like coming home.  We even stay in the same room, so we really feel like we are at home. 

One of my favorite times is early in the morning before anyone else is up.  I make my coffee and take a cup out on our deck.  I read my devotions to the sound of the ocean.  There is just something about the sound of the ocean that is soothing to the soul.  Here are some photos so you can enjoy the view also.   

Some of our favorite places to eat at the beach are The Clamdigger, The Crab Shack in Salter Path and we found a new place (to us) in Morehead City, The Ruddy Duck.  

To end this post, I am going to share some pictures of the Atlantis and the beach. 

The picture on the top is looking from our deck.  The picture on the bottom is the section we stay in.  We stay in the middle room on the top floor.

The top picture is looking from my lounge chair back to the Atlantis.  The picture on the bottom is looking out to the ocean.  

And last, but not least, Miss Izzy resting in the room.  She loves the beach, but has to stay in during the middle of the day.  

Until the next time ...

The Potter's Wife :)

www.palmtreepottery.com

Cooking on the Chicken Cooker

Finally I am going to show you how I cooked a whole chicken on the chicken cooker. 

First, I filled the center cup about 2/3rd's full with white wine.  Then I mixed some Polaner's Seedless Raspberry All Fruit with some Jack Daniels Original Barbecue sauce and added it to the white wine in the cup.  (Sorry, I did not get a picture of the liquids in the cup)

Next I rinsed and patted the chicken dry and then rubbed the entire chicken (inside and out) with Emeril's All Natural Chicken Rub.  

I placed the chicken cavity over the filled center cup of the cooker with the legs pointing down and pulled forward.  I then tucked the wing tips behind the chicken's back (as best as I could). 

Then I placed it in a preheated 350 degree oven.

And I cooked it for 1 1/2 hours.

This is the finished chicken.  It was very moist and delicious.  Above all, it was very easy and did not take alot of my time.  

You may use any combination of liquids, sauces, and rub you would like.  The above is just what I had on hand.  The next time, I am going to baste some of the fruit/barbeque sauce on the chicken along with the rub.  

Until next time.

The Potter's Wife :)

www.palmtreepottery.com

This post linked to Tasty Tuesday at beautyandbedlam.com

Sorry For the Delay

I have been very delinquent in my blogging.  Since the last post we have done quite a bit.  We took our last summer vacation, school started - for Marsh, our senior in high school, Tyler starts next week - and we added a new store through Wholesalecrafts.  The store is in Holland, Michigan and it is the Thistle Gallery.  

We have been very busy or shall I say Mac has been very busy in the pottery shop building back the inventory.  It will not be long before I am back out there because soon there will be pieces needing handles and I also need to make some trays to put back on our shelves.  

A few blogs ago, I started showing you the process of a chicken cooker being made.  On that blog, Mac had made the cooker and I had attached the handles.  Here is a picture of what they look like after the first or bisque firing.

Here they are after they have been glazed fired and ready to come out of the kiln. Sorry, I was busy when he was glazing and forgot to get a picture of that part of the process.

On the next post, I will show you the chicken that I cooked on one in the oven.  I will also tell you the ingredients I used in cooking it.

I hope everyone has had a great summer.  It is always sad when it comes to a close, but I do love the fall and winter.  It is hard to decide which season I like the best because there is something I like about all of the four seasons.  

Until the next post - I promise it will not be as long as it was this time.

The Potter's Wife :)

www.palmtreepottery.com

Just Another Day

Here at home things are winding down from summer heading into my children going back to school.  In the pottery shop we are trying to re-stock our shelves.   Even though we are still in high 90's in temperatures, we are starting to think about the fall and the shows we will be doing.  It is better to make the pottery now and have it fired the first time and have on the shelves to just pull and glaze for orders that come in, for the shows we will be doing, and also for the stores we sell out of.

For those who do not know, here are the stores that sell our pottery:  The Montreat Bookstore in Montreat, NC;  The Weaving Room in Crossnore, NC; Artwalk in Boone, NC; The Corner of Art and Function in Chardon, Ohio; Cornerstone Rustic Gallery in Elizabethtown, New York; and last but definitely not least - High Point Jewelers and Fine Gifts right here in High Point, NC.  We actually took some pottery to them today.  If you have not been into their store, you need to go.  They are located at 800 North Main Street.  Joe Hubay is the owner and his assistant is Bobbie.  We just love them both.  They both worked at Perkinson's Jewelers until it closed last year.  Joe has done a wonderful job with his store and I know you will find it to be the best jewelry store around.  We do not just love the store because they sell our pottery, but we love the whole store.  They have great gift ideas in all price ranges as well as jewelry.  I bought my niece's and nephew's graduation gifts there and not only was I pleased, but they both loved their gifts.  

Can you tell I like this store?!

Okay, back to earth.  If you are in any the above locations, please stop in and see our pottery. 

The last few days I feel like I have run my washing machine and dishwasher continuously.  No, that does not have anything to do with making pottery, but it has all to do with having a child come home after being gone for almost three months - no he did not save everything, but he did bring some laundry home.  Oh, the joys of being a mother - I would not have it any other way because they will not always be here - I love having my children home.  I am the mother who always liked when there were days off from school and mostly summer because my kids were at home.  I do not like when school starts back.:(

Until the next post . . .

The Potter's Wife :)

www.palmtreepottery.com