Dictation, Dictation, Dicatation

Coffee in the Atlanta skyline mug. My mother found the Bluetooth headset yesterday so I am practicing my dictation. So far it looks like it recognizes my voice pretty well. Dave is in Austin. Andrew and Rachel and mom are all still asleep, so the only sounds in the house by the ticking of the clock, and the snoring of the dogs.Jessie left for her class camping trip this morning with new hiking shoes, a Camelback water bladder, and a new pack that was fitted to her at REI. She weighs 71 lbs and--including shoes--is carrying 14 lbs of gear. Each child is supposed to carry 20% of his/her body weight so we nailed that one.

Today begins the major writing on the book. Finally. I still have hopes of making my deadline of June 1. But I must admit that I am nervous, as time really is getting tight. I think I'll do a warm-up   by fixing the sagging elements in the furnace, and checking for any burned-out elements that need replacement.  I'll also do a vacuum and clean out of all the killed. Finally, I'll finish with changing out of thermocouple, and replacing relays. That should just about get me through the kiln maintenance section of the book. This is the section that I really wanted the Bluetooth headset for.  I need to be able to have my hands free while working in the kiln. (Switching back and forth from dictation mode to command mode to spelling mode is going to take time to get used to. Using DragonDictate requires a whole new way of thinking about thinking, and thinking about writing.)

Today is also my 1st day back in the studio preparing for the new round of classes I have coming up.  Sign up for them so far has not been as good as I would like. I am considering whether or not to send out a mid-month newsletter with lists of the classes that still have space available in them, and the times they are offered. On the other hand, since I am teaching all but the Sunday classes  and one advanced class from now through the middle of June,  I need to think about how much time I really have to spend teaching while trying to get the book finished. And speaking of getting the book finished, it's time to get going for the day. Off to read the manual and go putter in the kiln guts.