I'm a Narcissist Too

I read a post by my friend Natalia a while back about how she thought she felt like a narcissist because of her family tradition to make up a photo book about themselves and give it to their parents for Christmas each year. Well Natalia, I feel like a narcissist too. I'm making something for our parents this year for Christmas that has to do with pictures of us - I can't say what it is because they don't know about it yet - and I don't dare give it to anyone but our parents and grandparents because I'm afraid they will think I'm incredibly self absorbed. I think there is a fine line a person has to walk when giving gifts that are about themselves, especially when they have a kid they want to show off to other people. And here is another temptation I'm presented with: A woman in our ward who is a freelance photographer took a bunch of really great pictures of Pearl that I totally want to show to everyone and their dog. I think to myself, "Man, aren't these the cutest baby pictures ever? They are practically a work of art! I need to distribute them worldwide so everyone can admire them as much as we do. Surely they will bring about world peace." Anyway, Charissa Spendlove has a really great talent for taking pictures. Here are 2 of my favorite ones:



















-Nat

Poor Miamians

This past weekend we were visited by Norman and Diana Elson from Miami. They have unofficially adopted me into their family. I would travel to Miami to have a majority of my operations. We met the Elson's at a hospital and they started letting us stay at their house. The relationship has grown and I can't imagine life without the Elson's.

The were feeling adventurous and decided to come visit us in Denver, which is not a small feat at the age of 87. Of course the weekend that they come Denver has an arctic blast of cold air and snow. Sunday morning as I was going to have breakfast with the it was 1 degree with a wild chill of -18. The poor Elson's are almost Popsicles.

My parents also thought it would be a good weekend for a visit. They were able to see Pearl and the Elson's in the same trip. This was the first time my father had met his granddaughter. It was great having them here.

Here are a couple snapshots of their visit (with some random Pearly pics too).

Photos

Bryan

Burningham Winter Collection

This fall I got serious about making some pottery for the holidays. After slaving away in the freezing garage, I present the Burningham Winter Collection. It was an evolving collection. I started making some bowls to replicate a little bowl that we have and love. I got tired with that, so I started making some cylindrical vases and a couple other fun forms.

Nat took care of the glazing. This was an experimental firing and we are pretty pleased with the results. Neither of us had any experience with applying the glaze by brush. We had purchased 4 pints of glaze, which more than covered these pieces. We will improve our glazing technique as we do future tests.

For those that want to see more pictures of the collection, use the following link.

More Photos

The next form I want to explore are plates (once I invest in more bats). I might even try to make our own dishes. This will be an adventure.

Bryan

Terms of Endearment

I was thinking this morning about how I am really getting used to calling Pearl "Honey" because it seems to fit her so well. Then I thought about how I call Bryan "Baby" and the Young Women I used to work with "Sweeties". I would never ever call Bryan "Honey" or switch any of the other names because they just wouldn't fit. Is that strange?

- Nat