Had a great Thanksgiving, had a big dinner at mom's with the rest of the family. I brought a selection of turnings to show my sisters and each of them found a favorite, but they wouldn't take them as gifts. One of them actually fell in love with the red/orange/yellow dyed NE ash bowl I posted a few days ago. While I kinda liked the piece, it definitely wasn't one of my favorites and I brought serveral pieces which were much nicer. I told her to just take it, that it was an experimental piece and had some flaws, but she insisted on paying $100 for it! Guess there's just no accounting for taste! Another sister just had to have the spalted maple hf that I posted a month or two ago (the one with the casual poll to decide which button looked best for the lid/finial), the last sister chose a blue dyed ash bowl and my stepsister chose the blue dyed ornament I posted a couple days ago. My stepsister also wanted to order a salad bowl set (a large salad bowl and 4 serving bowls). All in all a very nice Thanksgiving!
Then today I had a Creeker visit with Doug Swanson and his daughter Abbie (and what a cutie she is). They got a tour of the shop (shavings and all), picked out some wood to take back with them and we had a nice chat. You may remember that Abbie won one of the lathes at the AAW symposium, so she had a role in in choosing the wood. Doug took a pic of me and Abbie and I'm sure he'll post it when he gets back home. It's always a pleasure to meet other Creekers and turners!
After Doug and Abbie left, I turned a nice little plate from one of the smaller Jacaranda crotch blanks, then I went to the house for a little break, got online, and with my pockets flush from yesterdays sales and what I have been putting away for tool purchases, I bit the bullet and ordered a McNaughton Center Saver system . I got an email a little later that it has already been shipped, so I expect it should be here maybe by Tuesday! Can't wait to try it out!