hum de dummmm....and tightening the belt another notch

haven't posted in a bit--not too much interesting going on--I did pick up a new wholesale account yesterday here in Sedona, YAY!! It's a lovely little shop in a historic old house called The Hummingbird House--full of wonderful art, antiques, treats and home decor. I'll be creating a line of work just for them--mostly in white and my new robins' egg blue. This makes me happy for two reasons: it's local and won't involve shipping, (AMEN!!) and since it's a new line of pottery it won't compete with my other local stores.
The economic downturn is hitting home, as it has been for many others. My beloved B, who moved me in here around the holidays because the house wasn't selling, and the bills were too much for one person, has been given a considerable pay cut at work, which puts him right back where he was financially before we moved in. I'm glad my business seems to be growing in some ways: I have two new wholesale accounts, that might make up for the reduced orders from my old ones, and my Etsy shop is humming along fairly well.
I've always been frugal and sensible about spending. (thanks Mom!) I enjoy shopping at second hand stores for lots of things, or go to yard sales here in town. Sedona has awesome yard sales because lots of well-to-do folks move here, and once they are here for a while they realize they don't need all the stuff they brought and have a sale! B told me how much money he has saved since we moved in just because I cook dinner almost every night! And I often like to make a double batch of something and the freeze half. I use leftovers a lot--it's amazing what you can turn into a gourmet omelet or panini the next day. He comes home for lunch 4 days out of 5 every week, where it used to be the other way around: going out for lunch 4 out of 5. So a couple of days ago I got a hankerin' for meatloaf. James Beard Meatloaf to be exact. I used to make it years ago, back when I lived in Chicago and got meat from the Italian butcher in the neighborhood. Now I just eliminate the veal and adjust the recipe accordingly. The whole thing is wrapped in bacon (the King of foods). So we will have sandwiches from this one--I'm thinking of making it into a grilled cheese..... Sorry I didn't photograph it last night, and today its looking much less photogenic. But here's a picture of James Beard instead: You'll have to take my word for how awesome this meatloaf really is.
Before I head off to throw some pots I'll leave you with some photos of new work.