Salamander City: Teapot Woes

Got to pottery class last night, and found my teapot in pieces. Well, more pieces than how I left it, anyway. First, I saw that it was not on the bisqued pot shelf. Then I saw it was still on the shelf WAITING to be bisqued. THEN I saw the handle was in pieces next to the teapot, with a note: I found this broken (from the kiln person). SO maybe my handle didn't hold after I attached it , and it fell off as it dried. BUT - then I see there is a chunk out of the spout. Sigh, I guess someone bumped it, broke the handle and pushed the spout into the shelf post. I wasn't happy, but these things happen, crowded shelves, many different users of the lab. SO we find all of the pieces laying around, and my lovely teacher starts to piece it back together. She gets the spout done, and is working on the handle (which doesn't want to go back easily, unfortunately) and I take off the lid, and notice that the inside lip of the lid is also broken off. AND THERE ARE NO PIECES INSIDE THE POT. So - someone took off the lid, broke it (I assume accidentally!), then put the lid back on. We found the pieces of the lid pushed behind some other pots. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. My pot was manhandled! Then we noticed several other pots that were broken too. So sad. I was way too distressed to take any pics of the damage. We repaired it as best as we could, and I ended up making a new handle, going across the top instead of out to the side (as a mug would be - my original handle idea). You'll see if it ever gets finished. Now, with a brand new handle, and a 2 week old pot, the clay drying times will be all messed up, so I need to go each day and spritz the dry pot to match drying of the wet handle. Maybe I can put it in the kiln Monday.

On a good note, the kids' pots turned out great!!!!!! Owen's is the mug, and Elise's is the small cup. They are thrilled, and ready to do another (this was a project to keep them occupied, probably while I was throwing my teapot or an attempt thereof).

This morning I noticed my children outside standing together and undulating their arms together. (I have no idea why they were out there - I sent them off to change clothes and brush teeth and hair!)

SO I went to get a closer look (and grabbed my camera of course!)

They are making a giant shadow spider. Cool!

Sara and I had dinner last night at Chipotle in honor of her bday, the kids came with me til John could pick them up. Aren't they charming?

Owen lunch this morning, my second attempt at a bento box-type lunch. He liked it yesterday, we'll see about today: hummus, apples, cheese wheel, olives, crackers, snap peas, mini-oreos (I let him pick those out :-).

Elise lunch today: watermelon, olives, snap peas, fontina cheese, hummus, pretzels.

Elise's lunch yesterday, her idea: kitty-face tortilla with olive eyes, asiago cheese ears, cantaloupe nose, clementine mouth, chedder shreds whiskers. Meow!