Yesterday, today, & tomorrow

• Yesterday: I unloaded the kiln, discovered that the ware, while still quite saleable, was oxidized & pale. Spent most of the day ruminating on how that came to be, and I think I figured it out! I lit the burners to start the candle extra-early on Wednesday night. By the time I swung the door shut, I'd worked two 12-hour days, I was exhausted, & I just wanted to take a hot bath & get into my jammies. Normally I'd light the candle around 10 or 11 pm. 
  Also different: I turned on the burners proper later than usual! Normally I'd set an alarm for like 3 am, so the smoke generated by the burning wax would be cleared by the time the sun rose, so as not to alarm my neighbors. This time there wasn't much wax in the kiln, and no one wants to get up at 3 am if they don't have to, so I didn't. I slept til 6-ish. 
  All that means that the propane tanks were open for 6 or 7 hours longer than usual. I think this caused the propane to lose pressure as ^10 was falling, which accounts for the stall. I don't know why there was still back pressure, but I did notice it was much more transparent than I'd expect. I think there was just not enough gas coming through the line to keep the kiln in reduction, or to let it climb in temperature. 
  I feel much better about all this now! It's an unsettling feeling, to have something so crucial go wrong, and no explanation for it. 
• Today: Today is grinding & sanding; sorting, pricing, & packing. Some ware will fill orders, some will be delivered to consignment accounts, and some will be held back for the Portland Pottery Holiday show that opens this weekend. 
• Tomorrow: tomorrow I get to make the pretty drive to Wilton, in the mountains of Maine, to deliver mugs to a new account: Chaos Coffee! I'm excited about this, as I have a soft spot for small-town independent coffee shops. They are often hubs for local community. Also a fan of good coffee! Then Monday night is my last class of the session.

 Yesterday, today, & tomorrow

• Yesterday: was not a big day, work-wise! I addressed & sent out postcards for the Pottery Tour*, answered a few emails, & taught a class. What can I say? I had a new book. 
• Today: will be a bigger day! I need to mow the lawn (only a studio activity because I need the yard to look nice for the tour,) finish scraping kiln shelves, start sorting & pricing pots for the tour, create some social media posts about it, & make mugs upcoming orders. 
• Tomorrow: finish those mugs, create a post for my Patreon page, mix glazes, more pottery tour posts. 

*If you think you might do the pottery tour, visit the site! You can choose which studios you want to visit & the Plan My Tour app will build a map for you. Just click the red "add to trip" button on the right, for the studio you'd like to see.