萬事如意 Wànshìrúyì - May all your wishes be fulfilled

Denise of Morris Pottery

萬事如意 Wànshìrúyì -- May all your wishes be fulfilled -- is one of the common auspicious greetings of the Chinese New Year, which begins today, January 31st. 

Happy Year of the Horse! According to legend, twelve animals responded to Buddha's request that they meet him on the new year and he named each year for one of them. Those born in the Year of the Horse (1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014) are said to share some attributes of their zodiac animal. Horse people are said to be cheerful, skillful with money, perceptive, witty, talented, and good with their hands.

Brother #1 and Grandson #1 are horse people and, far from being a good thing, it seems that those born w/ the same sign as the year's animal are in for a difficult year. B1, in particular, should be concerned since apparently if you're turning 60 this year, which he is, you need to throw a big party to balance the bad luck. I'm not sure B1 reads my blog, so someone should tell him that now he has a real reason to party! Parental controls prevent GS1 from reading my blog, but he is turning 12 so life is pretty simple. It basically boils down to how much screen time he still has and whether or not he can beat his sister to the computer.

GD#1 on Chester

Granddaughter #1 will not miss her Saturday morning horseback riding lessons for anything. Not even if its 35 degrees outside and her mother's teeth are chattering as she waits in the barn. Her mother (Daughter #1) was actually bitten by a horse at her age so I'm not sure how she feels about them now. I, however, have very strong opinions about horses: they are very big and I have no business getting on one. 

Karen of Song and Branch

Horses are a ubiquitous theme in ceramics, from Greek pottery to the warriors and horses of Xian. A few potter friends make beautiful horse-themed pots and sculptures. The gorgeous plate is by Denise and Paul Morris of Morris Pottery. Karen Dorweiler of Song and Branch makes the wonderful horse sculptures. And the dish with horse imprints is by Jacqueline Allard of Island Girl Pottery.

And one final thing: apparently horses are related to fire energy so the year should bring lots of fires... Here's hoping that the kiln gods smile on our firing efforts in 2014!

Jacqui of Island Girl Pottery

 萬事如意 Wànshìrúyì