Spring has finally turned into summer.  We have had a lot of rain these past few weeks so everything is as green as can be.  My garden is in full bloom, and the black flies are out in full force. Here are some pictures of my garden:
                                              There is no question that gardening tills MY soul.

When it’s too hot for gardening we have been spending a lot of time out on the water canoeing and kayaking.   It is definitely that time of year when there is nothing better than being by the water.

Boy does it feel great to be home. Summer in Vermont is not to be missed. Here are few pictures from our trip. We did see some amazing pottery, met lots of wonderful people, ate tons of very good food, and walked our feet off.

We camped overnight on the Great Wall of China.

We visited a small family tea farm, where we got to pick tea leaves and we LOVED the people watching not to mention the amazing porcelain!
Now it is time to relax, enjoy our gardens and the lakes and ponds all over Vermont. Mark and I are kayaking when we can and we got to go to Peaks Island, Maine. This Rachel Field poem so expresses the wonderful islands all along the Maine coast.

I am sitting by the fire knitting baby pumpkin hats (here is a link to the pattern I used) for a set of twins that were born just a few days ago. What cold be more appropriate for a fall evening? We have had weddings, births and sadly, a death here at Mountain Meadows. Our long time friend and carpenter David, passed away, suddenly, leaving us wondering how one person could have built so many useful things for us. Everywhere we look we see the products of his labors, tools, and ramps, shelving and displays, cherry cabinets, and pine doors.

Then, a few days ago we got word that a pair of little girl twins were finally born after a very long brave and thoughtful struggle by their parents.

Fall in Vermont is a very important time!  It is beautiful and magical as it transforms the landscape and our lives. We prepare for the quiet of winter, dreaming of the long nights by the warm fire with thoughts of new lives just arrived and lives passed on.

Gifts for loved ones, no matter who they are:

Enjoy your fall wherever you are,

Deborah

Now that summer is finally here, we Vermonters are already thinking about ow quickly it will pass. Gardens are looking fantastic, both vegetable and flower gardens are at their peak now.

But it’s also time to relax and enjoy. It’s time to make a few trips to the beach.

If you are like me it sometimes feels like I should be doing something a little more productive than sitting on the beach. That’s Wrong! Celebrate summer with an acknowledgment that “Time spent at the beach is never wasted” with a Mountaine Meadows plaque.

Or perhaps it is time spent at the golf course!

At any rate, as we proceed through these tough economic times we need to take our fun where it finds us. Because as we all know, “It Is What It Is”. But, if that doesn’t make you feel better, why not “Wine a bit”?

I love Mothers’ Day.  Of the 12 people who currently work at Mountaine Meadows, 9 are Mothers and 3 are grandmothers.That tells you a lot about our staff I guess. We have had 5 babies born in the last 3 years and have one due at the end of May!

That’s Alissa on the right, mixing clay, she is 6 months pregnant in this picture!

One of the things I love the best about Mothers’ Day though is providing people with sentimental gifts for their Moms, from the electricians who work on our kilns, to the little boys who appear at our door, from time to time, looking for clay to play with. they all respond well when I remind them of the approaching holiday.
In this spirit, we are offering a Mothers’  Day special of shipping for just $2.00. You can ship any amount of plaques via United States Postal Service priority shipping, even just one, to a single address and pay just $2.00. Check out our special Mothers’ Day category for ideas.

But here are 2 of my favorites, both for daughters!

If you are interested in finding out more about the history of Mothers’ Day you can check it out on Wikipedia. It’s nice to know that it wasn’t invented by Hallmark Cards after all, but was meant to be a day intended as a call to unite women against war when it was first celebrated in 1872.

Happy Mothers’ Day from all of us Mothers at Mountaine Meadows Pottery.

Deborah

Here in the Northeast Kingdom March can be a cruel month, with its mud, and ice, and wind and promise. But it is March 14th and the sun was shining today, it was in the 30’s, AND wonder of wonders my snow drops had peeked their heads out of the dirt wherever the snow had melted back enough!

I am thinking about gardening in the worst way. The Brandywine tomato seeds my kids got me at  Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monitcello have sprouted. Soon I plant my sweet peas. These are my favorites. I get them from Renee Shepard because she has the best variety and lots of fabulous articles on their culture. We have new gardening plaques this year.

We had a March Madness event at the pottery last Friday to help us forget about the weather. I called it Yuck Yuck Day. We paired up into buddies and each person had to figure out what made their buddy say “yuck”, as in “that’s disgusting”. My favorite example was the response elicited from Sheila when she was reminded of the time she emptied her dirty laundry basket and out popped a dead mouse.

The second “yuck” category was jokes. Each person had 2 categories of jokes that they needed to research and then tell. My favorite joke was in the category of fruit. “Why was the baby strawberry so sad? Because her Mom and Dad were both in a jam”

We also dressed up, as usual, here’s a picture.

Happy Spring,

Deborah

We are in the deepest of the winter up here in the north. It is the time of year when the quiet and cold drives one inside to read and contemplate and work on the types of projects you would never want to sit still long enough for in the summer. It is a very productive time if you can give yourself up to it.

At the pottery we are all wearing the mismatched socks from the Vermont Socklady we got at Christmas time. Check out her website for some really fun socks

http://www.socklady.com/index.php

We are working on all kinds of winter projects. From making a new batch of our special towel aprons, to figuring out new ways to use the waste heat from our kilns. You can see the heat exchange system in this picture behind the rack of towels and aprons we are drying in the kiln room.

Hopefully this winter, we will develop a method for preheating the wash water for our towels, and glaze buckets and such.

It’s a good time to think about nice hot water.

I don’t know how it happens. The holidays come and go and suddenly it is winter! The world is frozen solid and it is not too much fun to fight the elements out there in in the cold cruel world. So we “put our socks to the fire” and knit. We call it yoga for the hands.

I’ve been working on a sweater for my son for the last year. It seemed like every time I got enough made for him to try on, it was too small. So I would rip it out and start over.  This winter I AM GOING TO FINISH it! With my luck he will get a job someplace in the tropics and all my work will be obsolete!

But then what can you do 

Have any of you seen the blogs at www.knithappens.com?

They have some really FUN STUFF!  They also connect people to each other for Stitch and Bitch Clubs.  That is another favorite concept here at Mountain Meadows!

Today is the Winter Solstice. Here in Vermont the snow covers everything making the world a silent wonderland. As we await the arrival of the family and friends we are crossing our fingers for clear skies.

The end of 2008 is a time of reflection and looking to the future. We take some deep breaths, count our blessings, and get ready for another year!

Happy holidays to all. Talk to you in 2009.

Deborah Jurist

It seems impossible that Christmas is only a couple of weeks away. However, as I sit here with my cat Phoebe next to me, a heating pad on my sore back and the full moon lighting up the ice covered tree branches I realize that all the signs are clear. The days are short, the list of to do’s is long, and I am making beds, getting ready for the kids and family to come home.

It has been a stressful fall for everyone worrying about the future, studying the past and trying to make sense out of how we got into such an economic mess.

Not surprisingly, our most popular plaque has been “It Is What It Is”. But as we look at what sayings people are buying, we find that everyone still wants to smile together and share their love for each other. It is a delight to read the messages we pass along from father to daughter, cousin to cousin, and friend to friend.

We are offfering FREE UPS Ground shipping for a few more days to help get those last minute purchases on time. Please take advantage, and have a happy holiday, whichever one you celebrate!

Deborah