Slowly but surely I plod on….

Meanwhile, Adam’s cup was going along fine. It was stoned down and refired for the final time. Ready to polish.

Several frustrating days later Mark’s cup was ready as well.

Final polishing with pumice and water then a quick buff with rouge for that lovely shine finish.

Both cups were full of memories and little surprises only they would know and remember. I was so looking forward to finally revealing the finished pieces to them.

But, I had no idea when I could see Adam and Mark. The restriction were still in place. Luckily both families were safe and healthy, but not seeing them and my 4 grandchildren was sad and depressing. It was so hard keeping the cups a secret from them and their families because I was so excited.

I also had to wait for 2 months for the plating company to open up again so I could add the final touch of gold plating the inside of the cups.

We thought this pandemic would be over by the summer – it wasn’t. We had more lockdowns to come.