It’s hard to believe that more than a year has passed since my last post! Here’s a quick bit of catching up.
Last year was full of family and fun, but not a great deal of creative work until…..the holidays were again on the horizon. My holiday season usually begins in early fall, with design, tests and production of the year’s annual porcelain ornaments.
As usual, there were a few hiccups, some provided by PG&E and others by catching yet another couple doses of the “crud” as I call it. The crud had made a few coughing and sniffling rounds through town, so I was not alone. When PG&E cut the power in our area due to high winds in the area (3 and 4 days at a time) we were all in it together. I’m grateful to our generator, but running my kiln on generator power was not going to happen! The hills were alive with a constant hum during the days. The nights were very dark and blessedly quiet!
I’m really happy with the design for my 2019 ornament. Mike handled the design end with just a few suggestions from me. After adjusting for the stamp making process, we had the makings of a really nice ornament!
The first ornaments I needed to make were for our town of Boulder Creek and for our first holiday faire in the neighboring town of Bonny Doon. As soon as I had my assembly line running smoothly, I posted in our Boulder Creek Neighbors Facebook group that they were in stock at the shop in town. There were so many responses, I knew it would be a busy time of ornament making! I’ve made annual ornaments for Boulder Creek since 1991 and some folks have collected them for many years. I am honored and grateful for the support! I was happy to make the many ornaments for our local towns, faires, family and friends. Well, maybe a little grumpy at times when a batch included some with cracks or “interesting” warping.
I purchased this great 3D printed tree cutter from CookieCutters4U 
Trays of ornaments ready for clean-up before bisque firing. 
I make small versions of each year’s design for tiny ornaments and fun holiday pins. 
About a week before Christmas, it was finally time to take a break to enjoy the holidays for lots of good food and family fun!
…And then came 2020.
2020 began with a break from the workshop. We had fun times with the grandkids starting with their first team sports experiences. Victoria, who was 5 at the time, joined T-ball softball and her brother, Sebastian, who was 3, participated in Little LeagueT-ball. Their dad was coaching both teams and I was able to watch some fun practices with the kids learning the basics. The teams got as far as team pictures and softball’s opening day. That was about it for the season. Our area had some unexpected stormy days and then Covid-19 changed everything.
Until next time,
Carol
carolmilich.com 
An we order ornaments on line?
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