Our First Baby Shower

Well, it was a pretty sad weekend, but thanks to the little one on the way there way a little joy thrown in the mix.

We had our First Baby Shower, thanks to the folks at John Bryan Community Pottery. It was so nice to see everyone and all the new moms to be. It was a joint shower for four couples who are expecting, so we all got together at the Pottery, enjoyed some amazing food, and celebrated all the little ones on the way. While I am extremely overwhelmed by crowds when I am the center of attention, I do appreciate everything everyone is doing to welcome Baby Luketic. Looking forward to the next two weekends with family and friends.

Goodbye Buddy

Buddy passed away in my arms on Friday January 11, 2013. Possibly the worst day of my life thus far.

We had scheduled an appointment with the vet that afternoon, so we were trying our best to enjoy our last few moments with him as best we could. Geno held him most the day as it was just too hard for me. I took Annie for a walk, showered, and did some house work as Geno lay with him on the couch. I stopped in every few minutes to pet him and kiss him, but couldn't bare to think about what the day would bring. Geno handed Buddy off to me to hold while he showered and got ready to go. Not long after Buddy passed away in my arms, just an hour before we were going to take him to the vet.

I've never been so overwhelmed with sadness, but looking back through photos of his life as I was writing the last post and this one I realize that it is best. He had such a wonderful life and was so loved. The last few months he has not been himself and I'm afraid we were hanging on for ourselves. Even if we were, he passed at home with the two people that loved him more than anything and I wouldn't change that.

Goodbye Buddy...

My favorite photo of him. He loved when we scratched his neck.

One Baby for Another...

Since I didn't keep up with the blog in 2012 many of you are unaware that our dog Buddy was diagnosed with cancer. It was easy to ignore at first because he continued to play with his toys, eat normally, and run out in the yard with our other dog, Annie. Recently Buddy has taken an extreme turn for the worse and we are in the process of deciding to let him go naturally or take him to the vet.

This is possibly the hardest decision I have ever had to make. Buddy is like my first born child. I adopted him when Geno and I first got engaged and Geno was living/working in Arkansas as an apprentice for a wood-fired potter there. I wasn't used to living alone and needed a "buddy" to keep me company while Geno was away. I was going back and forth on getting a dog since our apartment complex didn't allow them and I would have to hide it so we didn't get kicked out. Then my mom calls one day and tells me about this Chihuahua that a co-worker of my sister Kelly's was trying to find a home for. He was living at an in-home "rescue" with about 30 cats and many dogs as well. He only weighed 7 lbs., so he was more or less bullied and the cats were crawling on top of him and peeing on him. I didn't see the conditions that he was living in, but my mom and Kelly said that it was so horrible that when they brought him home they had to remove their clothes so they wouldn't bring fleas into the house.

I was living about 4 hours from my family at the time, so I met my mom half way to pick him up. They had given him a bath, but his skin was still black from the flea dander and he was very skiddish. I couldn't go to pick him up very quickly or he would duck to the ground like I was going to hit him. I instantly fell in love. He was the sweetest dog to me and Geno and very protective of us around others. He actually jumped off our bed once to bite someone who he thought was too close to us. Since he was just seven pounds and really couldn't do much damage we always had to laugh when he did things like this. He thought he was rottweiler, not a little Chihuahua.

Eventually the flea dander went away, his coat got thicker and softer and he gained 3 lbs. Yes, he went from 7 to 10 lbs. What can I say, he is definitely mine and Geno's dog and we love to eat. From the day we got him he went with us almost everywhere. Geno would even carry him into stores and it would drive me nuts. I didn't want to be one of those people who has a little Chihuahua they take everywhere. It seemed too Paris Hilton.

Geno with Buddy and Annie

 We just became so attached. He was with us on our journey to Tennessee when we made our first attempt at graduate school. He then moved with us to Yellow Springs where Geno began his art career and our lives together really started. He was with us as we purchased our first home and for the first time he was not crated while we were at work. He was able to roam free all day!

Celebrating Geno's Birthday

He LOVED the heater!

Over the last year we watched our Buddy fade. He went from a feisty little guy who thought he could take on dogs 10 times his size to barely being able to walk on his own. We have been the best doggie parents we know how to be. We have spent every dollar necessary to keep him healthy and happy. When he quit eating on his own we spoon fed him. When he quit drinking, we gave him water through a syringe. When he started having trouble walking, we lifted him up and down on and off of furniture and carried him outside to use the restroom.

A typical day, pre cancer. Just hangin' out

In the last couple of days Buddy has stopped taking his meds and he will no longer eat. When you get a pet you know that this day will come, but you try not to think about it and enjoy the happiness they bring to your life. Buddy has been our world. Even when we added Annie, our second dog, to the family Buddy always came first. When we could play with him and love him he was the best because he was so soft and squishy it was hard not to want to squeeze him all the time.

Skinny little Buddy just a few weeks ago

I suppose it's time to move on... We have our first real baby on the way and while maybe it is just a coincidence that we are losing our first "child" just a couple of months before having our first "real" baby maybe it is best this way.

Wow, It's been a whole year!

Yes, I know, it has been an entire year since my last post, but what a great year it was. 2011 wrapped up with some great news for Geno, he received a job at the University of Dayton as the Studio Tech and Gallery Manager. Financially this has been a great position for him, but creatively it sort of put a halt on the development and sales of his own work. Needless to say, 2012 was less about being the wife of a potter and more about the daily grind. Just to give you a recap...

We traveled to one show in 2012, the Baltimore Craft Show, and it was a really great show. It was really nice to enjoy the city and the show without the financial stress, since he now had a full-time job. Several other local artists were showing there as well, so we went out at night and spent the days working the Craft Show. Throughout the year we did a few small shows locally, but nothing too exciting.

Baltimore Craft Show 2012

Baltimore was in February, March and April we were both busy at work with Geno settling in to a new position and one of my larger events coming up in May so not too much activity the first part of the year. In June we learned that we would be welcoming a new addition to the Luketic household! Baby Luketic will join us March 4, 2013. So, in July we took our last vacation as a childless family. We went to Sunset Beach, North Carolina and stayed at the cutest little Inn for a week. I didn't have much morning sickness in the beginning, but I did find it difficult to eat large meals, so Geno did most of the eating on the trip, but I was happy to lay on the beach all day and just relax.

After we returned from our vacation we announced to our families that we were expecting and from there we went in to baby preparation mode. There were several projects around the house that we had been planning to tackle, but just kept getting put off. So, what better way to tackle home improvement projects then all at once. We renovated our bathroom, put a new roof on the house, consolidated our offices (so we would have a nursery) and hope to finish some painting projects before the baby comes along. At this point I think we are both feeling prepared. Well, as prepared as we can be for our first child. I know I am in for a rude awakening, but I hear it is all worth it. So bring on the little one!

Bathroom... Before and almost finished. 

I'm a slacker, I know

At least on the blog anyway...

Life has gotten super busy over the last couple of weeks and the old blog had to give. I updated you on Geno's brothers wedding, then the following weekend we fired the wood kiln, and this past weekend Geno was in Rochester, NY for a show and I was in Cleveland for a wedding shower/bachelorette party. Whew, I need a break.

So, Rochester went pretty well, and there was another artist there that Geno works with so I think he had a pretty good time. To be completely honest though, I have not seen him to ask. With all of this running around we have not had five minutes to talk about anything other than necessities, you know, did you let the dogs out? What are we having for dinner? What time will you be home? Yep, that's about it.

Short post here to say I am still with ya and the blog will be back in to my routine shortly, but for now a short break until I get some sleep, which is scheduled for Saturday. :)

Another successful wood firing

One of my favorite things about Geno being a potter is firing the wood kiln. About a year ago they finished building a wood kiln at the community pottery where Geno works. Since its completion we have fired this kiln three times and I love it just as much every time.

The wood kiln is a little bit bigger than the gas kiln and takes a full day to load. Geno spent the whole day on Friday loading the kiln while I was at work, so I didn't get to help much with that part.

Friday night they started a small fire outside of the kiln to slowly start to warm the kiln. After a couple of hours we slowly push the campfire into the kiln and begin feeding the kiln through the stoke hole. If it heats up too fast you can shock the pieces and they can crack.

For the first twelve ours through the night we won't gain much temperature, just warm the kiln throughout the inside. Saturday morning when Geno got back to the pottery the temperature was about 600 degrees. I had gone antiquing with a friend so I didn't get to the pottery until about noon and the temperature was around 1000 degrees. There was an opening in the gallery at the pottery, so the pottery manager and Geno were busy setting up so I was put to work monitoring the stokes.

This photo was taken later in the night, I did this job for about ten hours. What does it mean to call the stokes you ask? Well, I have to watch the time and record the minutes between stokes and watch the pyrometer to make sure that the temperature doesn't drop significantly. For the most part the stokes are about eight minutes apart through the middle of the firing. As the kiln gets hotter and starts to burn the wood faster the stokes get closer together. My assignment was to increase the temperature 200 degrees an hour. This isn't always the easiest thing to do. If you stoke to early you can overload the kiln with wood, it will go into reduction and the temperature can drop. If you stoke too late the temperature will start to drop pretty quickly and it can take some time to get it back up to where you had it.

I was hoping to show you all a better photo of stoking the kiln, but I can't seem to find my photos from the last firing, so this one will have to do. This is a photo of the stoke hole. About every ten minutes or so for 24 hours we have to throw a few handfuls of wood into the kiln. I was able to keep it up as stoke caller until about 10 p.m. and I had to pass the torch. I was exhausted. When I left to head home and let the doggies out the kiln was at 2100 degrees. Geno said the final temperature was about 2200 degrees. Ideally the temperature would get up to about 2300-2400, but 2100-2200 is good s long as we hold the temperature there for a few hours to even out the temperature throughout the kiln.

glowing pots

That's the exciting process of firing a wood kiln. Best to be fired in fall and winter because the kiln is 2200 degrees of radiating heat. LOVE IT!

We will unload on Wednesday, so more to come on the results. Happy Monday.

Finally Friday!

I am not a happy sick person, as I am sure most people are not, so this week has been exceptionally rough. We are right in the thick of shows and weddings and busy at work, so being sick just plain sucks.

Anyway, I have about kicked this crappy cold just in time for the wood firing this weekend. For those of you who are not familiar with the process of wood firing, it is awesome. Especially when it is chilly out. So, I am sure you are thinking, ok, so it's awesome, what is it? Well, you are going to have to wait until Monday for a nice long blog, with lots of photos, describing the awesomeness of a wood fired kiln.

So have a great weekend and check back on Monday to see how the firing went! :)