Finally... new carpet and paint!

You know, carpet is something that you take for granted until you begin to realize that it has gone waaaaaay past its time. When it is covered in spots that don't come out,and you begin to buy throw rugs to cover them. When it has gone so flat that even the strongest vacuum won't make it fluffy again. When it... smells. Like old dog, and gym shorts, and abandoned school lockers. Ugh.

So, we ordered new carpet... good old Home Depot credit card! No interest if paid within six months. We bought our furniture like that, and just paid it off, so we had room in the budget for carpet payments. I knew it would be a hassle... especially the china cabinets... but I kept that goal in front of my mind, like a beacon.

And boy, did I need a beacon. A beam of light. A torch in the darkness. Because it was MUCH more work than expected.

We wanted to paint first, of course. No use putting in new carpet and then having to cover it, so that you can paint! Who knew that Southern California would experience the wettest fall in decades... and it always rained on the weekends? We bought a zero VOC paint (no volatile organic compounds) so that we wouldn't kill Maia, because paint fumes are toxic to birds. It is great stuff! Craig and I usually get a headache from paint fumes, but no headache this time! We could even close the windows at night and not be halfway sick. It's about $10 a gallon more, but since it only took five gallons to paint the living room, dining room, and hallway... no headaches for $50? You bet! The colors were more limited, but I am in LOVE with the color now that its up! It dried quickly, too. Very nice product.

We also decided to replace the baseboards. The old baseboard was the very cheapest, small junk. We wanted something more updated. Craig ("Mr. I-have-a-compound-miter-saw-and-I-know-how-to-use-it") was enthusiastic about doing that, since he knew how good it would look. You know, it went pretty well all considered. I was hesitant about using the pneumatic nail gun but it's pretty safe and easy, once you figure out how to put the nails in. (The instructions said "put the nails in". That's it. All the rest was warnings, cautions, and bold exclamation points inside of nuclear triangles I swear)

We also had to tear the old carpet and pad out ourselves... they wanted $600 to do it! Took us one day, and one dump load, for a total of $25. Not counting the backache and lost work time... and the nose full of dust. Oh, and stepping on the tack strip... twice... barefoot.

Took four days to pack the chinas up, because I kept inhaling so much dust that my nose would run and I couldn't pack any more. Then I moved them out onto the patio, in cardboard boxes, and the china cabinets out into the front yard. And it promptly rained. All night. We were out at 11 pm covering everything with tarps, in our PJs. Sigh.

Well, to cut a long story short, everything is done, and back in, and all that remains is the china collection needing to be put back into the cabinets. They moved to the dining room, they look super there!

Casper shows off the new tile that Bob and I did (my pattern, I am so proud of myself!) and the new door, with the carpet, tile and wall color.

The dollhouse is now over next to the door. My Grandfather built this dollhouse from scratch, when I was young. We took the floor plan and front style from a 1910 architecture book. Everything in it is hand made, including the window frames and door, the staircase, hardwood floors, and turned brass fixtures. Eventually, it will be decorated with decent furniture now that the kids are grown...

And to match the new wall color, the new bird... Haiku! What a sweetie! More on him later...

Maureen glazed this Maydee

Just wanted to share the photos of this Maydee that was painted and glazed by Maureen Love, probably back in 1953-1954 when the original production run was done. Makes you suspect that there was a Wrangler too, whose brown pinto color was simplified by the factory into the basic Wrangler that was produced.

Love her!

Joanie

Haiku coming soon!

Maia is such a delight... I never knew that birds could be so loving! Maia is, however, Craig's bird, so I wanted one of my own. After a lot of research, thought, and soul searching about what I wanted in a bird, I found the kind that most seemed like a good fit... a Blue Crowned Conure. They are a bit bigger than Maia... she is about 12" from beak to tail tip, and Blue Crowneds are about 14"... and not as colorful, but more likely to talk, and very amenable to learning tricks. (who doesn't love a parrot that can do tricks?) The breeder that I chose is in Georgia, and she will be shipping the bird at the end of the month. We already have an extra cage (because Maia has two!) and enough food for a flock, so we are ready for him any time.

Here he is with his breeder, at least this might be him... she has three and they are identical in the photos. She is going to mark his beak and take more pictures tomorrow. (There is one nest mate left for sale, btw, if anyone wants a fantastic companion bird! Her link is here:

Brightwood Aviary

I chose a woman breeder because it seems more likely that the bird will bond with a woman, after having been hand fed since about 3 weeks old by a woman. Also, she is a great gal, a horse woman, a dog lover (she has an Eskie!) and just the nicest to talk to. We chatted away like old friends! Her birds are very hand tamed, very vocally responsive (a good trait if you want a talker) and very healthy.

His name will be Haiku... like the Japanese poems. Small, nuanced, layered in meanings, and sometimes with a surprise twist at the end. That's how conures are, they are often called "mini Macaws" because they are thinkers. It's been so fascinating, watching Maia during the day as I work... she has definite rhythms, an internal schedule, moods, and preferences. Different than the dogs, but if you watch her, she communicates just as clearly... the language and accent are different, but the meaning is the same. She has learned a couple of tricks that I will put up movies about later.

He will be shipped from Georgia in a cage/crate, traveling just like a dog or a cat would, with food and water and toys. He will have a direct flight to San Diego, where I will pick him up at the terminal. Apparently this is done all the time with birds. Even with the flight costs, he will be less expensive than Maia was... the difference between buying from a pet store, and buying directly from the breeder.

Maia has a new play tree

Thanks to Jeanene Bernardin, Maia has a new play tree! Jeanene visited recently and brought us a new cage (smaller but useful for outside or for traveling) and a play stand. But I wanted to change the top of the play stand, and put a tree on it instead. So, I unscrewed the "T" top with the feeders on either side, and went out seeking a nice branch. Cathy, who is Johnny's mom and has a wholesale florist shop, had some manzanita branches that were just right... and at the right price, too!

$25 bought this gorgeous sand blasted manzanita branch. I brought it home and lopped off all of the little branches, all of the pokey bits, and sawed the end straight. Then I just drilled and screwed! The white chain is from the hardware store... it's plastic... and the toys are from PetSmart (on sale!) So for less than $35, Maia has a new play stand... isn't she a pretty bird?

Maia plays with Legos

Craig has a Sun Conure named Maia, we bought her around Easter time. She's a neat little bird, very attached to him, and she likes me too. I was doing some moldmaking with Legos the other day, and she was very interested.... so I gave her some to play with. That little ratchet jaw of hers can take chips out of Legos! So I had to take them away from her.

"What's that, Mom? Can I have it? Please?"

"It's Yellow! Like Me!" 

"Doesn't taste like banana... actually, it doesn't taste like ANYTHING!"

Pour Horse Pottery-- a new blog

I'm not one to jump into new technology. I stick a toe in the water, pull it back out, look for sharks. Go up to my ankles, stand until the tide pulls most of the sand from under my feet. Then, and only then, do I venture out to my knees.

Knees, mind you. Nothing higher. Can't tell what's in that foamy water down there. Could be starfish, could be stingrays. Caution is the name of the game.

Sometimes, because of that, I hang back and see what other people are doing, and how it works for them. Let them find the hazards! I'll be waaaaay behind them, still rolling up my pant legs and stowing my sandals on the cliff.

When I started Yasha's Bonsai Blog, I didn't know for sure what I wanted to write about. Or whether I would write at all, once the novelty wore off. Would blogging become a burden? An unfulfilled promise, like many early business endeavors? Or would it take over my life?

The answer is, neither. It's not a burden, and it doesn't take too much time. With a decent camera, and a better understanding of how to edit and upload photos, it has become a very easy way to communicate with people. Not too many people follow the blog, but enough to make it worthwhile.

But now, my ambivalent name (intentionally non-Pour Horse since I was wary of having to do a lot of business posts) is becoming a problem. It just doesn't tell anyone exactly what the blog is about. So I have decided to split the blogs. Yasha's blog will be about the dogs and home life, cooking, etc. Even a little more personal stuff... I may share more fun things there. And the new blog, Pour Horse Pottery, will be all business, and all ceramic ideas/techniques/tips. It will also be a place to discuss older molds, such as the PH editions, and the Marcher Ware editions. A place to chronicle the factory information. And a place to show off new work!

So please join me over there....www.pourhorsepottery.blogspot.com I'll begin posting tonight, and will set up all of the feeds and subscriptions in the next few days.

See you there! Have a great weekend!
Joanie

Super-Matte on a September Day

(click on photo to enlarge)

When is a matte glaze even more than a matte glaze? When it is 'super-matte"! A load came out of the kiln this morning with two matte glazes pieces in it, and I am stoked! They are not what I was intending to do.... but the kiln gods were kind and they decided to give me a special present!

This Toot Sweet, by Adalee Velasquez, is a Traditional SCALE miniature mare, which means that she is about the size of an Owynn, a bit smaller than a Dafydd. With a kind, gentle expression and an explosion of typically mini hair, she really has a lot of fun possibilities. I will be producing a few for sale (because I made the master mold and traded labor for one mold) and this is the first one that I am offering! She's up on MHSP now.


(click on photo to enlarge)

What is so special about this glaze finish? It makes her look like a Royal Worcester or an Animal Artistry or Horsing Around matte bone china! She has a much whiter, cooler tone to her colors, and the feel is delicious! It is smooth but very, very thin. All of her details stand out like a crispy bisque but the glaze is smooth enough to cover and protect her. Her eyes are glossy, and her nostrils and hooves are satin finish, little touches that give her a realistic feel. As I explore this new glaze, I will be playing with those kinds of details.



(click on photos to enlarge)

The other horse to come out of the kiln in super-matte is a Dafydd, but he was already spoken for! He looks so much like my RW "Palomino" that I wish that I could keep him! :-)


(click on photo to enlarge)

Joanie