It was surprisingly warm today in Chicago… when I left work and got in my car to start my drive, the car’s thermometer said it was 93-degrees!!!

With the storms brewing throughout Wisconsin, the clouds rolled in threatening a storm in my path. Luckily, the storm passed by me as though I was at the tail-end of the storm. A few drizzles… and a temperature drop of over 30-degrees!!!

I’m headed up to Minnesota for a fun weekend with friends, family and a LOT of pottery!!! It’s the annual St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour. Seven studio locations with 51 incredible potters… with TONS of pots for me to see, fondle, covet and possibly add to my collection?! This could be dangerous $$$ ?!

So glad these turned out as expected. These textured wall pillows are part of a special order I’ve been working on for one of my best customers. I’m generally not a fan of commissions or special orders… but as a special request for a special customer, I had to bend the rules. It’s not every day Marilyn turns seventy!!!

Fresh out of the kiln… soda-fired slab vases! Each with a different texture “picture” on each side. Here’s a few quick glimpses of the latest textures & finishes…

It’s been a crazy busy week… glazing, wadding, loading, firing, cooling, Dover, flying home yesterday… and teaching class last night!!! Tonight I’ll be scraping shelves, cleaning the kiln & sweeping up. Here’s a couple quick shots of my recent soda kiln. More photos & stories to come… but right now, I’ve got to get my act together before I head out on the road!!!

It’s just a short business trip to Dover, Delaware… but that’s no reason NOT to enjoy the morning sunrise. So I laced up my shoes and went out for another run this morning. A little bit earlier… and a little bit further… The sunrise was more dramatic today with more clouds in the sky. At one point, it almost looked like a forest fire on the horizon.

Cloudy grays. Spring leaves on the trees. And a bit of sunrise peeking through.

Later I was headed out through some of the local farm fields. The clouds were getting more & more dramatic. And I loved the silhouettes of the irrigation sprinklers out in the fields!

On the return run, the clouds were sun was hidden by the clouds as they splashed across the sky.

The clouds my have won out for the morning… but the Spring flowers were still in bloom. The dogwood trees were in full bloom in a couple different colors!

At the furthest point in my run, I stopped off at a local miniature horse farm. Yes… MINIATURE! These are not ponies… they are full-sized adult horses. About the size of a large German Shepherd. Crazy, huh?!

I may be in Delaware… and I may not have my bike with me this trip…. but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a beautiful Dover sunrise. A leisurely run this morning down country roads, past blooming trees and a quaint, old cemetery on the side of the road.

My afternoon flight took me back to Dover, Delaware
for more “glitter gig” planning meetings. But this evening took me for a run…
and a beautiful sunset over Dover Downs International Speedway.

It also took me out to find another GeoCache while I was outside playing!!! When I was here last year for the Firefly Music Festival, I searched a couple times for this one. Always discouraged by  the huge amounts of poison ivy crawling all over where I thought it would be. But this time, it’s earlier in the season and the poison ivy is much less obtrusive. So I pushed forward and found it!!! Another one off the list…

Headed pretty much straight East… and maybe a smidge North?!
Anything BUT Southwest… on Southwest Airlines!!!
And I’m glad none of that luggage is mine… simple carry-on for this quick trip!