The bicycle inner tubes arrived today, so now I just have to get some inexpensive ball point pens, and wait for the delivery of the corks and clamps so I can make these Hannah McAndrew slip trailers, which someone shared on one of our clay groups. Hannah uses wire around the tube to secure the area holding the cork, but I think I'll try using those plastic tension ties instead. I got the same tape the other day since it was the only strong, waterproof one my local hardware store had, and it turns out it's the same one she uses. You can check out her videos on you tube to see these slip trailers in use, as well as her amazing, traditional slip ware.

Yesterday was an out and about day with my doctors appointment, lunch out and some shopping. We're really enjoying having a Trader Joe's in the neighborhood - maybe too much!  I stocked up on some of gluten free bakery items, their boxed tomato soups, some cheeses and a couple of other goodies. I went in in there for a couple of items and came out with three full shopping bags!

We didn't go to the restaurant we had planned, because I was in and out of the doctors so fast, that the restaurant wasn't going to be open for another 40 minutes. Jim suggested we try a new restaurant that locals rated highly, for down home, diner type food, so we had our big meal of the day early, and save our Chinese leftovers for tonight. It was fun to find old timey diner food, made fresh, with large portions and inexpensive to boot.

I'm pretty much at a standstill in the studio, as far as making anything goes, till all these tests are finished and I get my tools made. But there are other glaze tests to make while I wait for the last under glaze to arrive, and there's always more studio organizing to do..

After lunch Jim and got out and cut down and pulled out some of the sad looking annuals and trimmed some shrubs. We haven't had a had freeze yet, so we left the rest for another week or till after a hard frost.

This morning I batched a boron frit version of the best of the clear glaze tests. I'm hoping it will work, because I hate the idea of dealing with ghastly borate and the problems that material brings. Time to get back to the studio for a couple of hours to batch a rutile/honey version of the same base, and weigh out one more test which describes it as having the look of a traditional lead glaze without the lead. One can only hope!