I participated in an ornament exchange with a small group of fellow ceramists this month, and I thought it would be fun to share mine with the Blog. This is my hand-built (in earthenware clay) glazed and fired pine cone, which I then topped with a wired bow and a bit of artificial pine branch to hang it from. It was very fun to create something different like this, from scratch.

We went snowboarding at Vail and Breckenridge the last 2 days, the first time this season! Which is very unusual, since we usually get going up there by mid-November. But the snow had just not arrived until the past couple weeks. It was great as usual to get back on the board, but it was WAY too cold. It was -4° Saturday morning and only warmed up to maybe 10° by the time we left. UGH! The older I get the less I want to ride on anything but sunny, 20-30° days. I forgot the camera or Paul would not have missed the chance to take the oh-so-flattering photo of me with frozen slime all over my lower face. But I pray I never get too old to have this amazing excuse to be up there at 12,000+ feet, seeing such magnificence as the Colorado Rockies in winter. Or, just shoot me when I can’t get up to do it anymore!