For Kristen’s “First Dibs” Pottery Sale & Open House last night, she sent out electronic invitations… and reminders. But then she tempted me… err, I mean taunted me… with this photo. Yummy brownies on one of my platters!!! So… I had to go now, right?! It would have “rude” not to!!! HA!!!

So last night my longtime friend & pottery student Kristen had a little “First Dibs” party before launching her pottery website today! As a former metalsmith, it’s been fun watching her work in clay instead of metal. And seeing her skills & designs grow & evolve so quickly. You can tell she’s been listening to my lessons… especially my “More Is More” mantra! Congrats Kristen… so proud of you!!!

I came home with this little brown cup. Which was actually a class demo… that I offered for someone else to finish. Kristen was the first to claim it… and look what she did to my “plain” demo cylinder!!!

What to do when the holiday leftovers are lingering a little too long?…
Well, make cranberry ice cream obviously!!!

That looks amazing Matthew… thanks for sharing!

After cleaning out my garden (in the wet & drippy snow)… my cousin Kim stopped over and we spent the day planting HUNDREDS of Spring bulbs!!! It was a whole lot of work to have my garden look pretty much the same… digging holes, dropping bulbs, filling them back in & covering it all with leaves?! But come next Spring… fingers crossed… we should see a huge floral explosion of color!!! Thanks so much Kim!

Sure, we had a long string of beautiful Fall days… but I “had to wait” until it snowed today to tackle cleaning out my front garden. Cutting, cleaning & creating several “trash can floral arrangements” along the way. Would have been a lot warmer & drier if I had done it sooner!!! Maybe next year???

Dramatic clouds this morning… including an interesting “beam” of sunrise brightness shooting upwards early on. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this sort of sunrise effect before… not really sure what was going on?! Soon enough though, the clouds lit-up, the sun showed off for a few minutes and then went back behind the clouds… most likely for the rest of the day!

Today it’s all about MUGS in my studio… with over 75 mugs looking for good homes! Whether it’s your home or a friend’s… everyone lives a nice handmade mug! Stop by my studio today until 5:00pm to help support & celebrate SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY.

Today’s the day to celebrate SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY! Come out, shop & support the small businesses in your neighborhood. And if you’re near Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago… I will be in my studio selling mugs today until 6:00pm! It’s the perfect gift for a friend, a co-worker, family or even yourself!!!

Lillstreet Art Center – Second floor – 205 West, 4401 North Ravenswood, Chicago

So I started my Thanksgiving at my Dad’s place at Friendship Village… with his girlfriend Bonnie!
We had a great visit… but nothing “special” in the pumpkin pie category!

But then I drove down to Central Illinois for another “Friendsgiving” where the dessert spread was VERY IMPRESSIVE!!! With a LOT of homemade goodies… including pumpkin pie, cheesecake, apple pie, cookies & two “chess pies” that I had never had before. They were extra tasty… I’m sure because they were baked in a handmade ceramic pie dish! Thanks Kel & Kelly for hosting… and for sending me home with some sweet leftovers!

Knowing that yesterday would be filled with holiday food, I decided to go for a casual hike in the forest preserve woods before stopping at my Dad’s place for Thanksgiving. The weather was amazing yesterday… with beautiful blue skies, dramatic shadows & a lot of Fall colors still hanging on. A wonderful way to start the day before the feasting began! And always THANKFUL for the beauty in the world thanks to Mother Nature!