This morning was the “official” kick-off of my sunrise morning bike rides!
The weather was nice yesterday – and supposed to be even nicer today. It was
great to get out there and see the sun rising over the lake again. It’s been a very
long winter… and it was wonderful to get my “summer ritual” started up again!

As the weather is getting warmer in Chicago, today was a wonderful day
to get out and go for a ride. The lakefront was beautiful, the wind a bit gusty,
but the ride was great! I ended up hanging out down at Promontory Point
for a bit enjoying the day. It was nice to see signs of Spring all around me.
Especially some wonderful moss making its first appearance of the year!

Seems like Spring has sprung.
The sun is shining… and one of my orchids bloomed today!

The sun is shining… I’m anxiously awaiting Spring… and getting a head start on the plants.
I’ve never actually done it before, but this morning I planted seeds with the hopes of
having a bounty of “cheap” plants to play with when it warms up enough to start playing
in the garden outside! It’s a test… let’s hope it works!

So what am I hoping for?… I planted two “batches” of gourds (my favorite),
cardinal climber vine, poppies, hollyhocks, paper lanterns and black-eyed susan vines.
Plus… since-my-huge-spider-plant-that-enjoys-the-summer-outside-but-comes-inside-
for-the-Winter-got-little-knocked-down-by-the-freezing-cold-air-coming-in-from-the-
window-that-my-neighbor-left-open… I’m also propagating some sprouts of spider plant.
Coming soon… I’m anticipating a LOT of spiders everywhere! And since they’re one step
away from “weeds”… I may be bequeathing a few of them to friends when they start
to take over?!

Actually, this spider plant originally came from a couple old art fair friends of mine.
Way back in the day when I was first starting out, I did a few “craft” fairs. One of them
was out at the Huntley Outlet Mall. Classy, huh? Anyway, one of my booth-neighbors
was a gardener that made rustic planters & containers filled with plants. At the end
of the show, they were packing up and quickly running out of space in their truck. They
asked if I would want to take any of the plants off their hands to make room in their truck.
Of course I said yes… not knowing that they would give me a full flat of spider plants
and more! They’ve been growing strong ever since… until the freezing air incident!

Today was sunny, and a little bit warmer… and my biking season is off to a good start!
This afternoon I crossed the 100-mile mark… remember, there’s a decimal in there!
Very exciting… the mileage is already racking up and it’s just early March!
And the “glacier” has finally melted away from the bike path… with the last stretch
being a little sketchy section at the S-curve by Oak Street Beach. So barring any new
snow storms, we’re good to go. Bring on the miles…

The sun was out today and I took the afternoon off for another bike ride.
The temperature is expected to go up over the next couple days yet. And it’s hard
not to get my hopes up too high and think that Spring is just days away!!! So while
I know that it’s STILL Winter, and that is will most likely snow again… it is always
great to get out and play. Today it was especially nice to see that the “glaciers” are gone
and it was refreshing to hear the waves once again crashing along the lakefront.

But tonight… it’s back to the studio!

Snow-covered cars… a brief warm-up… a “roll” of snow sliding down a windshield.
Beautiful. Unexpected. And sadly, not going to last very long with today’s temps!

With the sun shining today, it was a great day for another bike ride along the lake.
A little chilly, but at least the bike trail was relatively dry. So with several layers on,
I set out for a great bike ride along Lake Michigan. Only to find… glaciers?!

A very Merry Christmas to all of my loyal friends & customers who stopped by
my “Home For The Holiday” Home Shows this season. It was wonderful
to see all of you at my place enjoying some holiday cheer!

Especially those of you who came to the “Mud & Metal Show” on the 20th…
the second of the Home Shows, and scored a wonderful 20% off everything!
It was a one-time-only event to celebrate the season and offer a little shopping
relief during these tough times! Don’t expect it to happen again… it was a
special treat just for this 2009 holiday season! Metalsmith Sarah Chapman and
I thank all of you for stopping by… we hope your purchases make wonderful
gifts for your family & friends… plus the ones you’ve saved for yourself.

Hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season!
Merry Christmas to you all.

As we near the end of the year, the holidays are racing towards us.
And as always, many of you will be shopping last minute to finish off your list.
I, for one, haven’t even started my shopping yet…

So not only am I hosting a second Holiday Home Show for the last-minute shoppers…
with my friend & talented metalsmith Sarah Chapman…  so you can cross off all the
names on your list in one fell-swoop… but I’ve also got a gift for you!

If for some reason you can’t see the above coupon, it is for a free clay ornament!
Just for showing up. No purchase necessary. Limit one coupon per person.
Just my holiday gift to you.

Just print out the coupon and bring it to the Mud & Metal Holiday Home Show.
Sunday, December 20, 2009 – 10:00am-6:00pm
Contact me for address details & directions…