So after a winning night of BINGO outing the ‘burbs, my sister suggested a new place for treats afterwards. It’s all about crepes & waffles smothered in melted chocolate. So of course I quickly said “Yes please!” I got a waffle topped with brownie pieces smothered in three chocolates… and a side of chocolate gelato to wash it down. Now I don’t think I’ve EVER said this before… but it might have been too much chocolate?! Thick, goopy & yummy… but a LOT. It might have been better to share it with someone?! I mean, let’s not get crazy… I did clean the plate… and I might have to go again just to confirm my initial evaluation?!

MELT ‘n DIP … on Golf Road in Schaumburg!

Tonight was another night of fun at IKEA BINGO in Schaumburg! Lots of numbers called… always more exciting when five of them line up!!! “BINGO!!!” So… “someone” may have finally won at bingo… and it wasn’t my sister Jen or niece Taylor!!! Just sayin’… any guesses???

Decided to enjoy the holiday afternoon with a nice bike ride along the lakefront. When I left my place, it was clear blue skies. Then all too quickly these clouds blew in with a headwind while pedaling south through the City. The return trip was fun with the tailwind… until these sudden clouds decided to drop some even-more-sudden & unpredicted rain on me! It just made me pedal faster. It’s just rain. And then three minutes from home… the rain stopped & the sun came out again. Figures. I guess timing IS everything?!

So the steel door finally came off yesterday when the kiln finally cooled down… creating ONE BIG REVEAL instead of layer-layer & brick-by-brick with the old kiln. Very exciting & everything looks great. I love when the bright colors are popping… instead of the grays & browns that usually come out of a soda kiln! It was a fun unloading… like a little pottery treasure hunt!!! More photos to come…

A little bit hazy. A little bit cloudy. And a lotta bit HUMID!!!
It’s going to be a warm one today… hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!!!

Celebrating another Mugshot Monday… with a photo from my friend Eric with his favorite mug! Relaxing & enjoying a little “Father’s Day time” on the front porch with his pooch by his side. Looks like yesterday was also “Happy Doggie Daddy Day!” Thanks for sharing Eric!

In terms of sneak peeks… this is all we get!!! With the new full steel door, I can no longer peel off the top couple layers of bricks to speed up the cooling & get better peeks into the kiln. So it’s one peep brick pulled for one peek. Guess we’re all gonna have to wait until the kiln cools enough to fully open the door!

After a long week of glazing, wadding & rushing to get everything done and in the soda kiln… let alone the recent wildfire haze situation …it felt great to get out today for a leisurely sunrise ride again. Oh, how I’ve missed a beautiful sunrise!

Yesterday I fired the soda kiln… a very long day checking it & making gas/air alterations. The new soda kiln has a solid steel door. So it was a little weird not having the “visual cues” that we used to have with the old “bricked-up” door. Remember the old kiln?… with crazy cool flames shooting out all over the place??? Sure, maybe not so efficient? Maybe not so safe? But it was always fun playing with the flames shooting out everywhere!!! This time, much “calmer” with a bit of a glow… and very few flames even during reduction! It all went smoothly… we’ll find out soon enough how it all turned out.

After a couple hours of loading the kiln… shelf by shelf… brick by brick… pot by pot… I finally filled all three stacks to the top. I managed to pack in a LOT of pots. Trying my best to maximize the firing fee vs. pots being fired. Hoping for good soda “glaze” coverage & some nice flashing effects. Also hoping for an easy firing in the new kiln… without too many surprises along the way!!!