New Week

Wet Start


   Another wet start for the new week ahead, the mornings here in the fens seem to be getting grey and damp now with any last signs of summer slowly disappearing and that early winter feel already here to bully autumn into submission.
   Already the warnings of a cold winter are being banded around and talk of snow and ice taking over weeks of the coming months keeps sending the thoughts of a cold few months in the barn to my mind. All summer I hoped we could make enough money to obtain a small wood burner stove to keep us warm this winter but with sales being so slow we just can't do it, in fact we yet again face another year working with hot water bottles tucked in our seats, I look on it as one of the smaller problems in life and to be honest with you it's a bit of a challenge, it got me thinking about the days before electric and how people kept warm, yes the open fire I guess kept the house warmer and stone hot water bottles along with bed warming pans made going to bed a warmer experience but as for working all day in a cold barn, well what would they have done.
   As we chatted about it this past few days I mentioned how lucky I was to have lost weight as now I have so many larger sized clothes to ware which will come in handy as I can wear more layers in an effort to stay warm and by lunch time we find the barn as warmed a lot, it's just those early morning hours that bite, those hours when we sit holding our cuppa to warm our hands up, oh for that wonderful life of a bead maker !
   I sit here with a late morning cuppa watching more rain fall over the fens, those sodden fields of dark rich soil rolling out for miles, the gulls have found another working plough to follow and wood pigeons glen the torn soil, a very different time of year now, one where nature grabs what it can to prepare for the winter months, no shelter for them, no hot water bottles or warm bed, just harsh winter weather lays ahead, I wonder what crosses their minds this time of year, it certainly makes this bead maker feel humble when all I fear is the coming cold mornings.
   Well the plans for a fresh looking barn I hope will come true next week as we plan to get the painting all done and the carpet changed, that should just leave the glass displays to clean and a good all round tidy up, then it's just a matter of making new stock to place in the displays, I think we are looking at around the back end of November before it's ready for visitors but at least we will feel better working in a more cleaner looking space.
   Last night I did a glaze firing in the ceramic kiln so later today I'll be like a big kid opening up the kiln lid to see what greets me, fingers crossed a few nice pieces will be waiting there. This coming week will be the time to fire a lot of the new pieces which I hope will be good enough to go on the website, I have listed the first item and hope to have a few more on there by next weekend when I'll place the website link here on the blog.
   Right, I'm off to my flame and I hope you enjoy your day even if you too are getting the rains.