The 2015 show started with new security concerns and no one was quite sure what to expect

We were prepared for the worst ... and not sure how it would effect us

When in fact all that really happened was we got to wear these cool vests and stand around looking official

The sales area looked amazingly organized

Our baskets ready

And our stations were well stocked

We had adding machines to total the sales
(we were asked not to count on our fingers)

And these neat new hearts-on-a-stick flags that we got to wave a lot

We were well stocked with paper ... and all had lots of experience packing pots

After all was ready to go, we were fed a sumptuous meal

And got to listen to Shirley's words-of-wisdom

We were ready ... our booths were stocked and our lights twinkling

All we needed now were customers

We even put out the welcome sign

We made last minute adjustments and opened the doors

And the customers poured in

It wasn't long before our pottery had become prized posessions

The process worked smoothly - thanks to years of practice

There were the inevidable "wrapper nightmares"

Within 30 minutes the auditorium aisles were crowded

And the pace at the sales area quickened

Some were awestruck by the pace of things

But always showed the customers a smile

Some wondered if there was a relief crew in the wings

Others were simply shocked

Some were driven to tears (of joy no doubt)

Even the cool-calm-and-collected

Were worn down by the pace of Friday night sales

Even the hard-to-shake younger generation

Got just a little wiggy by the end of the first shift

But thankfully Nina kept a smile on her face the entire time

We knew we were well stocked for the hoildays

Snow(people) waited to be taken to new homes

Snowflakes waited for a tree to hang in

Fall leaves graced platters

And platters waited patiently to be purchased

The variety was amazing

Some pots waited quietly

And others made you stop in your tracks

If our customers were thinking of anything for the dinning table, we had them covered

Square plates and round plates

And even rectangles

Juicers and coffee mugs

And bowls galore

Bowls with splatters inside

And some even came with recipes

Bowls for your pets

And even mixed-media bowls

Goblets for toasting

And we had coffee cups

All sorts of coffee cups

Customers probably had a hard time deciding

There were so many types of coffee cups

We could have made a fortune selling coffee

To go in all the coffee cups

And some had no handles
(but they would still work as coffee cups)

We had honey pots to sweeten your day

And for the less utilitarian ... we had rocks

Quite a selection of rocks

And to light up our lives we had lamps

There were words of wisdom

And reminders for everyone

There was a stable of animals

Some were examples of local species

And some not so much

There were forest creatures

And owls looking to see hoooo would take them home

A quack here-and-there

And a host of feathered friends

Animals even adorned cups

And stylized owls waited to see hoooo was going to buy them

Some animals were simply flights-of-fancy

Others made us stop and smile

And for the gardner ... pots of worms

Really personable worms

All watched over by guardians-of-the-show

Some animals were from far off places in the imagination

Plus there were characters worthy of comic strips

And a dog that reminded us what life is all about

And there were little people

People pins populated a particular person's booth

And then there were people with very colorful attire
(do you know who this is)

And the challenge picture ... who was wearing these sneakers

We provided demos and tried not to make it look too easy

Some demos even came with pontifications about life

We rightfully admired our work

And regaled the audience with stories

But our hands told the real story

We got close-up in our demos and showed our love of pottery

We made tall pieces

And cut them to show the technique ... always drawing a gasp from the audience

And we threw some bowls

Some of us worked together on demos

And sometimes it was simply one artist's hand

In the end all the demos were great testaments to our love of pottery

The Kids Clay area produced some marvelous sculptures

And a few fish to rival Nina's

Sometimes the kids just made spaghetti

And there were even some nice pinch-pots

A few snowmen and a elf or two

But nothing came close to Tea's demo pieces

We knew things were going smoothly because Shirley was smiling

We knew things were going really well when the Treasurers were smiling

And we knew things were going exceptionally well when we saw empty shelves