I blinked and then, it was TWO THOUSAND AND TEN!

Happy new year from Barnbarroch! Is it really ten years since I made that fire sculpture and hauled it to the top of the Muckle?! It seems like yesterday, but it also seems like ages since I have had time to even think about this blog.

Christmas and Hogmany followed hot on the heels of getting Rodger home from hospital. But today I got into the workshop for the first time in ages and pottered around tidying away the remains of Christmas. I took down the showroom twinkly lights and got rid of empty boxes, bottles and 'I'll just shove it in the workshop for now' stuff. It feels great just to have clear benches.

But it is SO cold. With the fire opened up all day, the temperature still required long johns and six upper layers. I have always found that some good music makes the room warmer, so once I had set up my (new)! ipod nano and speakers things started to feel more cosy and tempting. I brought in three sacks of clay, from the feel of them full of ice crystals, to thaw out overnight, hopefully ready to knead up by tomorrow afternoon.

Initially it is still going to be a short week, as I will have one day a week with Rodger to Glasgow, and a morning a week to Dumfries hospital clinics for his check ups, but it will be easier once the routine is established.

I was disappointed to hear from Earth and Fire the other day as I didn't get in this year. It is a pity as I really had such good feed back last summer with comments on how ' Good it was to see a new face and some completely different work', and 'Why had never done it before', and many said that I was to be sure and come again this year! It would have been good to consolidate. What I mean is that I think it may well have been advantagous to have let Midland folk have a second encounter with my work. Sometimes takes people a couple of times to consider a completely unfamiliar style.

I was quite relieved to hear a few days later that I had got in to Potfest in the Park or I would have felt rather dejected and might really have had to eat a few worms, but actually with Rodger's health an issue I am probably better off not taking on two shows so close together. They were both the highlight and the nightmare of last summer! Also Oskar said, 'Hadn't I heard - it is going to POUR this year at E and F!