Before the morning rain… a little early morning pollinating on the purple larkspurs currently blooming in my garden! And they’re breathing a big sigh of relief after a bit of rain… they weren’t so happy during our heatwave drought days last week!

Nothing but clear skies this morning. Calm & clear to start the day. Just a quicky sunrise with a couple lighthouse silhouettes to make it more interesting?!

Spent part of this weekend “working” in the studio reclaiming some dried clay. Trimmings, broken pieces & some class demos that “went bad.” Smashing, crushing & pulverizing bone dry clay can be kinda fun. Then I add it to my reclaim bin with slurry & water. Let it soak & slake down… soon enough I’ll turn it out into a large plaster bat. And voila’… FREE CLAY!!!

On a road to nowhere. Someone visiting my booth during the Northern Illinois Pottery Tour mentioned how “important it is to get out of your zip code every once in awhile.” She was talking about her drive all the way out to Sandwich… but I took it to heart today. A beautiful day with some beautiful clouds. Perfect for exploring & playing out in nature… away from my own zip code!!!

So by now you may have identified my “addiction” to Reality TV… especially my newest obsession… THE TRAITORS!!! I’ve already binged all of the seasons in all of the countries! But they just announced that filming has wrapped on US Season Three… and here’s the official cast announcement!!! Can’t wait to see them all in that Scottish Castle!!!

But here’s my biggest wish… that they make Tom Sandoval a “traitor”… and then vote him out the very first night!!! Seems fitting to me?! I’m done with him.

So what are your thoughts about these cast mates???
And if you haven’t watched, you definitely must!!! It’s addictively brilliant!!!

Looks like someone has been “cleaning out” the Lake… and fishing out a few DIVVY rental bikes! Seems like there has been a “rash” of these lately along the lakefront. But this one looked great this morning in a sunshiney monochromatic kinda way! Loving the crusted seaweed on the spokes!!!

With the sun playing behind the clouds over the lake, the clouds were also sweeping across the City this morning. Wispy white clouds blowing through crisp blue skies!

A clouded morning along the lake… with plenty of colorful drama as the sun continued to peek through & hide behind the clouds. It felt good to be out on the lakefront as the temperatures dropped a bit overnight… but the prediction is for the temps to go back up later today. Be prepared, stay safe, stay hydrated.

Janice stopped by the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR… and picked up a stamped & soda-fired flower pot. And now it looks like her little plant is just loving its new home! Thanks for sharing Janice!

My good friend & former pottery student Kristen is doing a great pop-up this weekend! And who doesn’t love handmade pottery AND chocolate?!!! Stop by the Irving Park location of KATHERINE ANNE CONFECTIONS this weekend to see some of Kristen’s pottery & grab some yummy chocolate too!!!

And if you stop by Saturday between 1:00-2:00pm, Kristen will be in the store doing live demos of her carving techniques!

Plus, if you follow, tag & share them both on Instagram, you’ll be entered in a raffle for pottery & chocolate!!! Two of my favorite things!!!