My Heart Grew Three Sizes, I Swear

I seriously have the best friends in all the world.

Really.

A couple of months ago I posted a picture of a kiln I wanted on Facebook with a joking caption, something like "This is what I want for Christmas! My very own kiln! One with a window in the door!". My friend S's wife H (whose wedding I went to this summer), came back and said, "Well, why don't you start a Paypal account so people can donate?". And then several people chimed in, saying they'd contribute. So I did.

Folks started contributing. Anywhere from $10 to (good grief!) $100. I got to within a couple of hundred dollars--a kiln is about $600--and then nothing more. I started to seriously think about closing the account and using the money to get something else. Then one of my friends--who is totally awesome!--sent me a check to cover the remainder. We will be discussing her custom jewelry options soon. :-)

I put in the order the other day, and I just got a notice that the kiln is being shipped. Via FedEx Ground, so I don't know when it's going to get here. But now I'm obsessively checking the progress. I'm having it shipped to work so I can take it directly to the Lab and set it up. Then I can make everyone who contributed their promised jewelry.

My own kiln! No more using a borrowed one! And it has a door so I can see the enamel just as it melts and no more overheating! Eeeeeee!

Plus I started my Coppersmithing class this week. I'm either going to be really sore or have serious forearm muscles before this is over. Beating a 9 inch plate of thick copper into shape is hard.