things that make my heart melt...

it is pretty much a known fact that i love dogs.  i mean looooooove dogs. and most of the people who are close to me would probably tell you, maybe a little too much.  

once, when ophelia was sick and i was playing "at home vet diagnosis via the internet " (ps... NEVER a good idea!!!), i came across the story of a beaufort couple whose dog had suffered from a heat stroke. it was a beautiful summer day and they took "rover" on a walk, like they had probably hundreds of times before.  i will skip the details but  their plea to make sure your dog drinks enough water while taking even the shortest of walks really struck a chord with me. BFT is a super dog friendly town. i can't count the number of dogs that walk by my studio every day. the day i read of that couple's sad story (even though it was december), i promptly put two water bowls outside of the studio door. 

since then, part of my morning routine is to refill and change the doggie water bowls. i never really knew if anyone necessarily used them or cared. but one day i came to the studio and found a picture slid in the crack of the door. this picture actually brought tears to my eyes. this was the picture:

there are two morals to this story. the first being: make sure your dog is well hydrated. but you knew i was going to say that. the second moral is about doing things for people. its the little things that we go out of our way to do, that make someone else's day. you might do them, and think no one notices. trust me, someone out there does.  keep doing it. and let me throw in a third moral. this small token of my neighbor's appreciation, has meant so much to me!!! and inspired me to want to be more thoughtful, and take time to thank people for the little things they do. so today if someone is doing something that you really appreciate: your family, a friend, a stranger, the mailman, whoever...take a second to thank them. write them a note or bake them some cookies or just stop them and tell them how much their actions mean to you. whatever it may be, you will never know how much that means to someone, until someone has done something nice for you. so....

 do something nice today :).

anyway, as always thanks for reading...
and wishing you well.
~trista

preview

this is a sneak preview...
these pretty little beauties have been sitting in the studio too long!
my kiln is moved way too frequently i'm sure.
its first home was in jackson county, r2d2 became mine in 2006 and has since lived in asheville, then in storage for a bit, in fines creek, and now in beaufort.  since we moved to the coast, we bring r2d2 from the lean-to, to inside my concrete block studio every time the threat of a hurricane is eminant. of course, she came in when irene threatened. since then, we have had a constant storm lying south of us out there in the sea. we are suffering from paranoia, i know. but within a day or two we will know whether or not katia will make her way to NC. keep your fingers crossed. i have a lot of pots that need some heat.

in progress...

well, i evacuated bft due to irene's impending doom. around 11 a.m. on friday, after  i sought council from a life time native, i decided to hit the road and high tail it up to take refuge with my folks in asheville. in less than 30 minutes, i had myself, several of our dogs and my little prius packed, just in time for the first rain band of irene to push its way in.

photo in carteret news times. by dylan ray.

the next 36 hours were insanely scarely. leaving my hubby, our kitties, a dog and the rest of our life behind was tough. nick lost power around 1 a.m. friday night/saturday morning. i woke up in asheville at 5 a.m. i sent nick a text message. he was already without power and had no idea what was going on.  i spent the next 12 hours back and forth between the tv (every news channel was camped out at atlantic beach) and the computer, trying to keep him updated and trying to keep me sane. irene made landfall in north carolina with the eye passing directly over beaufort.

photo from carteret news times. by dylan ray.

thank goodness for text messages. i stayed updated with my friends here in bft. and say what you want about facebook, but it was a huge resource for everyone to check in and let their friends and family know they were ok. one of the best uses was the way in which the towns used facebook to communicate. emergency officials could actually go check on people's property and ease their worries as the entire bogue banks was under mandatory evacuation.

taylors creek
this photo was taken by my friend becky bartel

photo by becky bartel

now, i am back in beaufort. we were lucky here. other places both near and far were not as lucky as we were. my heart goes out to all the people who lost not only in carteret county, but eastern nc and all of the east coast.
for now, the clean up process is time consuming. i am working on getting the studio back in place. i have a lot of pieces that i am thoroughly excited to finish.

crazy video of the bridge at atlantic beach during the storm:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OflsIydqs5A&feature=share

for now, thank you for reading. i hope everyone is safe.
wishing you well.

irene...

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at201109_sat.html

looks like she's heading right for us folks...i'm doing my best to hold down the fort and prepare the house and the studio. keep you fingers crossed for us... everyone stay safe out there. wishing everyone the best!

staycation with the hubs....

i feel kind of bad for playing hookie this week! 

"The first week of August hangs at the very top of the summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone. There is no thunder, no relieving rain. These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after." 

-Natalie Babbit, Tuck Everlasting

i need to be making pots....lots and lots of pots. but oh well, it seems i never get enough quality with my hubby. i fit in a few mornings here and there at the studio but the boat and some fishes were calling my name.  i'm excited to be back at it today. i ve missed the studio!


wishing you well and thanks for reading!

love this!!!

i often start or finish my day reading other blogs of people who inspire me. this is a blog post by one of my favorite artists, jenny mendes. check out these super cool illustrations!

Jenny Mendes: Venturous Vegetables etc.: "I love these illustrations by T. Benjamin Faucett! I found them after I had been painting my own tomato people. Now I feel even more..."

 T. Benjamin Faucett

new!

adventures in fishing

what's for supper yall...
okay last post, vegan. this post doesn't get more "local" than this...

yep. we ate stingray! while we were out at "shack" fishin on friday evening, nick caught a monster stingray.. our friend dave was with us ( a life long carteret county native) and explained that string ray was some pretty good eatin'. he was right! we fried it up and put in some fish tacos (yum!). nick, wasn't the biggest fan, but i gave it two thumbs up. who knew?

what is on my mind today...

http://blueridgedreams.typepad.com/journal/page/2/

"...the view stretched on and on across rows of blue mountains, each paler than the last until the final ranks were indistinguishable from sky. It was as if all the world might be composed of nothing but valley and ridge." Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain

whats for supper....

the somewhat-mostly-vegan strikes again:

finding vegan foods my meat and potatoes hubby like to eat is sometimes a challenge (eg "really? stir fried variation of tofu again??"). mexican anything, spelt crust pizza, spelt crust calzones, lasagna, lentil cakes and vegan gravy, pad thai and stuffed portebella mushrooms are always good, but i still need more recipes...

my momma came to visit this week. she brought me a whole mess of her "mountain pride" tomatoes fresh from her garden. yu-um. figured they would be awesome in a tomato pie.
here's the basis of my recipe:

(i re figured it to be vegan with a spelt pie crust, of course):

ingredients:
one 9 inch pie shell
4 or 5 medium tomatoes peeled, sliced and drained (use a paper towel to remove excess moisture)
3 spring onions chopped
1/2 onion chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
chopped basil (optional)
1 ½ cups extra sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
1 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper (to taste)

directions:
bake pie crust according to directions and cool. Next, cover the bottom of pie shell with sliced tomatoes.Salt and pepper tomatoes and sprinkle with basil and onions. Then, in a small bowl, combine cheese and mayo. Cover tomatoes with cheese mix and spread over entire pie. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown. let cool for 5 minutes.

http://www.keepitsimplefoods.com/vegetarian/southern-tomato-pie/#comment-1487

i served it with a side of crunchy oven baked kale chips.

i think its a keeper!

try it at home. thanks for reading!