the kiln wars of '08

sorry folks, no jedi can save us this time. there's nothing obi-wan or yoda can do to protect us from...

(insert 'gasps' and 'shrieks of terror')

so here's the deal, ever since...oh, let's say the beginning 2008...we've had major issues with our two faithful (...ly failing) kilns. a few months ago, both broke down at the same time, leaving us kilnless and a little behind on getting things done for about half a week. thankfully the problem was remedied before too long.

since then they've been going out one at a time...off and on...back and forth...but always leaving us with one working kiln UNTIL (right there, when i said, "until" i pictured an over excited science teacher explaining an equation to a classroom of bored high schoolers who all jump awake when he says "UNTIL...the ether mixes with the hydrogen creating a molecular explosion!" or something like that. kind of like this guy...)

about two weeks ago both kilns went completely kaput. well, one went a little sooner but i kept forgetting to call the kiln guy so buy the time he came both kilns were dead and would stay dead for a full WEEK until he was able to get the appropriate parts!

'lovely!' i said, 'what a brilliant concept! a pottery shop with no way to fire pottery! hallelujah! this will revolutionize the pottery industry'...either that or revolutionize my career path, if you know what i mean.

so for a week, one of the busiest since we opened by the way, we had no working kiln. finally the beloved day of renewal came when our kiln man fixed whatever needed to be fixed and went on his merry way. UNTIL...friday when one of the kilns broke down again. yeah, i know! ridiculous!

so yesterday he fixed whatever needed to be fixed, this time with a paper clip...hmmm, does something seem a little fishy here? i don't know, maybe the guy's mcgyver

well, while he was here the new kiln, the one we ordered when the other two weren't working, came. 'yey!' thought i, 'a helping hand to get the kiln inside!' apparently his hands were not enough...

since this post is already getting ridiculously long i'll cut to the chase:

1. the trucker didn't have the right equipment to get the kiln off the truck, so the nice big burly men from our neighboring stores had to come lend a hand to the poor helpless girl and the old kiln fixer man

2. once the kiln was off the truck it wouldn't fit through the door, you know, because we got a bigger kiln that could hold more pottery and would run more efficiently. smart, right?

3. two hours later, thanks to my super hero brother-in-law, our kiln guy, who by this time looked like this:

and his brother-in-law (this was definitely a family affair) all the hinges and handles were off the kiln, the weather strips were off the door, and the kiln was safely inside (taking up half the back room, might i add)

now we just have to get the other kilns unloaded and move this one in place, so mr kiln man can come back and hook it up. i don't know if that was as exhausting for you to read as it was for me to tell, but...

tired am i!