The second half of our wedding present arrived this week - a sake bottle made by an artist in Shigaraki named Shiho Kanzaki. The bottle had fallen over just naturally in the firing process, creating some beautiful natural glaze along the side of the bottle. Shigaraki pieces are beautifully rustic, and some of them look as if they were grown and dug up from underground. This piece has all of this sparkly, crystallized ash on it - I can't wait to put some delicious atsukan or cold sake in it and use it!

Fire! (he he...)

What is it about fire that fascinates young boys? Apparently some never get over it. We were up in Covelo for President's Day weekend, and Peter got to do all the things he loves - chainsawing, piling firewood, and setting things aflame. Teddy is somewhere out here, running around with Piper, which he did all day every day until he collapsed from exhaustion. I helped a little with the chores, which I didn't mind at all - we also went on a long bike ride, slept in each day, and were fed copious amounts of delicious food!