Wishing you all a fun & exciting New Year’s Eve!!! A great time to celebrate with friends & family reflecting on the past year & looking forward to the New Year! Have fun… but stay safe out there!

After what seems like “weeks” of cold gray skies… it was great to finally see the sun this morning! A welcome sight as we come to the end of the year. Nothing overly dramatic in terms of sunrises, but definitely rejuvenating to see sun once again!

Started my morning early at church.
This is as close as I like to get… let’s not get crazy!

On another dreary gray & rainy day, I felt I needed to escape to somewhere “tropical” even if just for a couple hours. So I spent the morning relaxing, chillin’ out & taking in the colors & textures of Garfield Park Conservatory. Such a great way to jump-start my day with beautiful flowers, fantastic textures, koi ponds, Chihuly glass installations & Mother Nature’s magic all happening under the glass roof. A much needed break from gray & gloomy!!!

So apparently there was a little pottery “mishap”
on Christmas Day… I’ll let Allison tell the story…

“Tragic end to Mamma Molloy’s mug before she even opened it. We hosted at our home for Christmas and my brother Ryan and his wife Sarah and Reed came over for a meal and presents with our Mamma who lives down around the corner from us. We were all enjoying Reed, our nephew, being a 14 month old after our meal, stomping around and being curious when he grabbed the bag Mamma’s mug was in (padded mind you), Ryan lifted him up, and then he dropped the bag and I heard CLUNK. And was like, “Oh no. What was that? Was that the bag?” And sure enough, she opened the bag first and it was IT WAS HALF A MUG.

Sarah felt so bad and was apologetic and I felt bad but then thought what would Gary say, “It’s just clay.” She said at least she didn’t have time to get attached. I did investigate it after they left and your centering is VERY good sir. Perfect walls. Quite thin, so it’s light, and apparently very breakable.

Sad for the Christmas chaos this year!! As Sarah says, it’s a very “interactive and fun” time with him but the hands grab EVERYTHING.”

A couple happy pottery peeps… celebrating yesterday with some new pottery! Excited about their red “ornaments” holiday mug… but I think even more excited about the stamped aubergine vase that they got as a gift from Dad! Thanks for sharing your holiday Allison & Michael.

Yes… I had “two side dishes” for our family Christmas meal. So my second offering was a casserole dish full of baked beans… my step-Grandma Rose’s recipe! Yum… and I’m glad there were a few leftovers for my lunch today!!!

So typically I’m the “dessert guy” at my family holiday gatherings. But this year my sister Jen mixed it up and I became the “two side dish” guy. New culinary terrain for me to tackle. As our family meals are frequently a bit “beige”… I decided to go with a colorful & loaded kale salad! Full of yumminess like grilled chicken, roasted sweet potatoes & brussel sprouts, wild rice, apples, goat cheese & nuts!

Looks like it went over well with my family… healthy & beautiful in a handmade pottery bowl!!!

… and to all a good night!

Wishing you & yours a wonderful holiday season. Enjoying time spent with family & friends. Sharing old stories. Creating new memories. And extra special this year as the celebrations seem to all be lining up on this special day! Enjoy the holidays… no matter which you choose to celebrate. Make it merry. Make it special. Make it fun in your own special way!