I’ve always said that “the best part of biking is stopping!”
Stopping to relax.
Stopping for a kid’s lemonade stand.
Stopping for homemade pie.
Stopping for a fun adventure.
Stopping to enjoy the scenery.
Stopping for a brief moment “just because” you can.

Especially on a perfectly gorgeous day like today…
and what better way to celebrate NATIONAL RELAXATION DAY!!!

My “back porch neighbors” are gone for a few days and left me in charge of watering their plants… and they left a little floral surprise on the back porch for me! The best part was their “assumption” that I might have a better vessel to put the flowers in… better than the Gatorade bottle they left them in! And I did… a little stamped & soda-fired vase to make the flowers look a little happier!

Good to see that I’m not the only crazy one out there this early on a cloudy Friday morning!!! Some paddle on… while I continue to PEDAL ON!!!

Looks like another FLORAL FRIDAY!
Beautiful homegrown zinnias in one of my “quite white” stamped porcelain vases. Kinda loving how the crisp “whiteness” really makes the colors of the flowers pop!!! Thanks for sharing the flowers from your garden Mary! They look great… and I think I may need to make more of these all-white pots?!!!

And speaking of artist “collaborations” for ART IN THE GARDEN…
here’s a little glimpse of what I’m starting with for one of them!
A little teaser of things to come…

So we’re exactly one month away from ART IN THE GARDEN!
My next outdoor art fair… and a very special one at that! It’s a smaller show with a grassroots flair by a bunch of talented friends & artists. We’ve already got a few surprises up our sleeves… like another artist joining us with handmade glass! Plus… the collaboration projects are all under way! I know I’m working on three collaborations with three different artists so far… always fun to stretch out of our little studio “boxes” a bit to see what happens when we get a chance to play together!!!

We’ve been so dry lately, but yesterday’s rain really made some flowers happy! Like this beautiful new dahlia that is looking so radiant today! Pretty excited as this is the first dahlia I’ve ever grown… and there are some more blossoms coming in behind this one! Methinks I might need to add more to my garden next year?!!!

Looks like my pal Allison is enjoying her morning meal… with a bit of sunshine streaming in! Looks yummy… especially as she’s using one of my “handbuilt-wheelthrown-combo” mugs!

And by the way… we’re still looking for a better name for them!!!

After last night’s windy thunderstorm, it was great to see the clouds had moved through, the roads were relatively dry & the sunrise was getting back to normal. Better than yesterday’s… but still nothing too glamorous! Fingers crossed for tomorrow…

With a quick reminder that I have plenty of handmade mugs currently in my ETSY Shop… including several of my new “handbuilt-wheelthrown-combo” mugs! Plenty of patterns, textures & soda-fired finishes for everyone!!! Feel free to check ’em out whenever you’ve got time… https://www.etsy.com/shop/FireWhenReadyPottery