Over the Holiday season, my sister and her kids came to visit .  One sunny visit to the beach, amidst spewing geoducks ("gooey ducks"), nudibranchs, and sea slugs, we found a beautiful baby octopus!  She let us play with her for a while, nibbled my hand with her beak, oozed and slithered.  Finally she had enough and squirted ink in her pool so we left her alone.  It was an honor.  To begin the new year, before throwing new pots, I made use of some seconds: tiles, platters, plates, etc. and laid them out as mosaic risers for the stairs in our house.  Some alterations are planned, but here, essentially, is the run of risers for our stairway.  It's promising to be a good year.