New Year's Resolutions

I'm not great about keeping New Years' Resolutions. Two years ago, I resolved to:

• start an Etsy store
• come up with a way to take decent photos of my work
• build a gas or soda kiln in the back yard
• learn to repair plaster walls, and
• devise a more practical winter studio.

I did set up an Etsy store at the end 2011 (probably so I could say I had kept at least one of that year's resolutions), but I never followed up on photographing my work, so never put any items in the shop. Instead of building a gas or soda kiln in the backyard, I decided to come to terms with oxidation glazing, with good enough results that I'm now aiming for a spray booth instead of a kiln. The cracks in our plaster walls are mostly hidden by furniture or picture frames, and global warming seems to be solving the winter studio problem without any effort on my part.

This year, I made just one resolution: to be more like my Schroeder. This means:

• Be active. Schroeder plays a few rounds of fetch up and down the stairs every morning. I hope to run a 10-mile race or a half-marathon.
• Play games with the boy. Schroeder and E play fetch. E and I play board games, card games, and catch.
• Strive for excellence.When someone tosses a knit carrot your way, why simply catch it when you could drop it in or behind a laundry basket and practice tugging it through the mesh holes? I will strive more often for good rather than settling for good enough.
• Remain positive. Perhaps someday Schroeder will finally paw his way through the glass walls of the aquarium and eat the fish. Perhaps someday I will finally repair plaster.
• Be curious. Schroeder needs look no further than an empty box to find wonder and delight. What empty boxes await me?

Wish me luck!