I've got the Power!

The electrician came this morning, and the kiln is up and running! Whoohoo!

Now all I have to do is finish making enough to fill it up!

I am off to watch the video on how to program my kiln- What a new experience! A computer controlled kiln!

My gas kiln was all controlled by a guess and by golly, with me opening up the gas flow, or closing it off, and then adjusting the amount of air flow by moving a broken piece of kiln shelving over the vent hole at the top of the kiln to get the atmosphere in the kiln the way I wanted it for the type of glazes in the kiln at the time. I loved it, but I think I will love the ease of this too.

Studio Dreamin'

I went to visit with my sisters this holiday season, and they took me to see lots of pottery.
Mmmm pottery...

To be honest, I have avoided pottery for a while now, since I don't have a studio set up in this house. My gas kiln can't be hooked up the way the gas is configured in this house, at least not without a huge amount of expensive work.

But three weeks ago, I finally bought an electric kiln.

This is what it looks like:


It is an L &L e28t, and just little smaller than my gas kiln was.

I was so excited, I could barely sleep!! So, I spent my time scrounging and cleaning and moving things around, and setting up a studio space.

The kiln finally arrived last week, but as I checked it out on the freight truck, the kiln lid was damaged. The soft bricks that make up the top were crushed and big chunks had fallen into the interior of the kiln. I called the company, and they told me to return it, and they would send me another.

The replacement was due to arrive this week just as a massive snow storm was due to hit, so I was sure I would miss out on my kiln again, but just as the snow started swirling, the truck pulled up, and we unpacked it in the beginnings of a blizzard.

Now it is all safe and sound in the basement, awaiting the electrician. The part he needs really was delayed by the storm, so it will probably be next week before I can plug the big fella in and see how it works.

Next comes the exciting process of learning how to fire an electric kiln (which is very different than what I am used to!) and how to mix up and apply the glazes for the different type of firing.
It is a whole new unexplored world.
Stressful, but in a wonderful way!!

Have a Very Wormy (Early) Earth Day - All My Worm Children, Part 2

Chapter Two:

The next morning I checked on the worms to find the bin tipped over onto the porch floor. Something had knocked it down and ignored the food scraps, but many of the worms were gone.

I guessed that a raccoon had gotten in to have a lively wormetti dinner, but I couldn't shake the vision of a Little Nemo-like escape orchestrated by one brave little worm, "Squirm to one side and we can tip this bin. Now! Just squirm down! Just squirm down!"

I was having inferiority issues. Did the worms hate me so much that they would rather risk the outside world than live in my lovely bin? Would I need counseling?

I worried over the worms all day while I worked in the garden, planting peas and clearing beds. They seemed to be eating, settling in, and otherwise as happy as clams, albeit long, wriggly ones. But at nightfall, I wondered if I should put the lid on the bin and risk a mass exodus or leave the lid off and risk more raccoon snacking. I chose the lid, and snapped it shut.

A few minutes later I peeked in. Worms were all over the side, heading for the air holes on the the edges and top. This meant another night of worm-sitting for me.

Jens finally helped me rig up a strong netting cover held on with bricks that let in enough light to keep the worms down in the bedding, but would possibly deter a raccoon - but only if it were not at all hungry and didn't like bricks falling on it's head. It wasn't a great solution, but I was tired and the worms hated me anyway. I went to bed.

The next morning the worms were fine. No raccoon had bothered them, confirming my suspicions that not only was tip-over of the previous night was a mass escape plot from the worms themselves but that I was a terrible worm surrogate parent.

Dejected, I went to the internet for help.

Surprisingly, I found a huge amount of detailed information for just my problems, and a lot of other fascinating (to me) information as well.

It seems that maybe I had too many worms and too much food for my small box. I put on garden gloves and looked. Sure enough, after only two days the worms were fat. Not just sated, but stuffed-sausage-oh-my-gosh-I-can't-believe-I-ate-the-whole-thing bloated. And already lots of worm poo. And there were worms in every corner of the bin, from top to bottom in writhing clumps.

The instructions I was following had said that for an 18 gallon tub, 2000 worms would be the right number, so that is what I had ordered. But I had also bought some extra of the Super Reds from a bait shop - I am not sure how many. The girl behind the counter, when I told her I wanted them for composting, told me I would need a 'whole passel' and presumably gave me that amount. And when the ones I had ordered from Amazon came, I noticed that the bundles seemed to be quite a bit bigger than the promised amount to make up for dead worms during transport, but all seemed to have survived.

I probably had at least twice the number of worms in the bin than were necessary, and that was why the worms were off to find less crowded pastures in the great wild world beyond my composting confines.

On the positive side, even with all the food scraps I had in there with the worms the only smell was one of damp paper.

But what to do about my overcrowding issues? Open up a second home for worms on the front porch? How many worms could one family handle?

We answer those and many other questions next time... on ....

All My Worm Children.

Have a Very Wormy (Early) Earth Day - Adventures in Vermicomposting, Part 1

A couple of years ago, Tasha said, "Ant, you should really start a worm bin. You could compost in the house!"

My reply should have been, "Oh, my, why didn't I think of that! Anything I can do that would reduce greenhouse gasses and help the environment, my garden and houseplants, while being so simple, is something I could really get into!"

But instead my response was, "Ew!" Followed by, "Ew, ew, ew, and ... ew!"

Fast forward to last week.

That was when I became a worm rancher.

I researched vermicomposting (composting with worms), and decided that Tasha had been right after all. Worm composting could work, should work, and gosh-darnit, I would make it work!

I got my worm bin all ready: I bought a big plastic bin with a lid, and Jasmine drilled holes for drainage in the bottom and air flow on the top and sides. Then I put in damp newspaper for bedding , some vegetable peelings, and ordered online for some Red Wiggler worms that eat half their own weight a day in food, and poo that much in rich castings for my garden and plants.

I also went to a bait shop and bought some of their larger cousins, the European Nightcrawler (often called Super Red Worms). I want to compost our kitchen scraps and as much of our junk mail as possible and, supposedly, the bigger European worms do better with paper. I came home with my worms just as the sun was setting.

I put the worms in their new bin home on the back porch, and left them alone to settle in. After about an hour I couldn't stand it anymore- I just had to check on them!

To my horror, there were worms EVERYWHERE!

They had crawled out the drain holes, the air holes, the edges, the top, the cracks, and spaces I didn't even notice. They were crawling up the outside of the box, the side of the house, on the porch floor, under the box and toward the sidewalk. Some had made it to the sidewalk. I yelled and husband Danny came running and helped me pick up all the worms, which is easier said than done, especially in the dark.

Those buggers aren't called 'wigglers' for nothing.

As fast as we put them in the bin, they started crawling right back out again. It looked to be a long night of worm wrangling until I remembered reading that if the worms tried to escape, you can shine a bright light on them and they burrow under the bedding to get away. The sixty watt light bulb we had on the porch seemed to slow them down only slightly, so while I pushed the stragglers back into the box, Danny put in a 100 watt florescent bulb.

That made them tuck their tails...er... their bodies under them and run for cover.

But then they found the slight grooves in the bins made shadows that didn't get direct light and started a conga line up the sides. I had to tilt the box to get the light shining straight into it to keep them in, and keep the lid off. Finally, I could go to bed.

Sheesh.

The things I do to save the planet.

April Fool's Day, 2010

This is my first post in about a year.

I have decided to post some happy stuff, after all that has happened this last year. If you know me you will agree it seems fitting to come back for April Fool's Day.

This year I made sushi rolls and pillows, sashimi with seaweed salad, all garnished with wasabi and ginger. It was served with jasmine tea and chopsticks.

Of course, being April Fool's Day, it wasn't really real. The sushi rolls started life as twinkies, fruit rollups, coconut, dried fruit and candy.

The sushi pillows were donut holes with Swedish

Fish and fruit roll ups.

The sashimi was seedless watermelon. Tea was apricot jello. The seaweed salad was fruit rollups cut into strips.

With pistachio pudding wasabi and dried apricots for ginger, the effect was pretty good, in a fun, cartoon sort of way!

Of all the April Fool's Dinners we've had, this one is by far the sugary-est!

Tasha found the idea for the sushi on the internet, and I found lots of help with the details at the hostess website www.HostessCakes.com and at familyfun.go.com/april-fools-day/.

Though my kids are now grown or almost so, it was just a lot of fun creating this meal. I got lots of help and the kids had fun sharing with their friends too.

Oh, and this year I got to share April Fool's day with yet another generation, my granddaughter Melody, who just happens to be the cutest thing on the planet.

MIA , sorry.

For those who don't know, on March 10th, my son David, was been diagnosed as having terminal cancer. At the time I was told that he does not have long to live, perhaps only about 6 months. He is 19.

If you are interested, I have started a second blog, just about my home life, mostly centered around coping with our impending loss. It is at http://antbathome.blogspot.com/

For the time being, my shop is closed.

Sisters, Winters and Post - Holiday Malaise

Christmas Day, my sister flew into O'hare from Alaska, and she and I spend a few days with my friend, and shopped. What fun!
Then, we went to southern Illinois, where I grew up, and my other sister came from Seattle and we all hung out, visiting extended family and getting reacquainted.
The last time we three had been together was 12 years ago, and the time before that was almost 20 years ago!

We had fun, and have decided NEVER to go very long without seeing each other again!


While I was in southern Illinois, I stayed in a B & B- like hotel in the tiny town of Biggsville. It was called the Hotel Lynn, and the local folks take care of it and decorate it. If you are ever down that way and need accommodations on the cheap, then check out Hotel Lynn!


While there, I drove across the river to Burlington Iowa, to find a grocery store. I also found this gas station, called the Kum & Go.


Yeah.



I know.

Today's freebie has nothing to do with that. Instead, just comment, and I will choose one person at random to win this pinwheel magnet.
Post today and tomorrow, and I will pick on Monday.

Have a great weekend!