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Posted on December 27, 2018 by claytonhill

T-8 hours

AKA – Dishes are still spinning … 

Lil Sis will be home in 8 hours.  She has left Ghana, and is making her way from Amsterdam as I type.  I will be so glad to have her back in Michigan!!!

We got through our first adult-children Christmas fairly well, considering it was early in the week (still trying to flip from night-shift weekends) … I burnt the cinnamon rolls, but (- no one said anything …) it was wonderful to see the kids and great gifts were had by all!

I finally made it to my sister’s annual Christmas Eve.  She did an amazing job, it was sweet to see all sides of her (our) family gathered, and I was just a little weekend-punch-drunk/sleep-deprived slap-happy!  Winking smile

I slept 13 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday … I feel slightly brand-new!

Microsoft update killed my second computer (the one I use to keep our house/den/whelping box on close watch) on Sunday.  DH and I spent hours today trying to fix it, work around it, create a band-aid patch for it before accepting defeat.  Amazon to the rescue … [To be continued …]

Life as usual is starting again in the studio.  The bulldog sisters are keeping a close eye on me, as I begin the process of cleaning and organizing after the mad-dash TORNADO of Christmas prep … And, I’m still shipping studio/glass packages!  Thanks everyone!

I gave away ALL of my cards (50+) this Christmas.  Time to make some more … Smile

I took care of some wonderful patients in the ER last weekend.  Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for all, and a manageable load this coming pre-New-Year weekend!  And, if it can’t be manageable — please, let me continue to dodge the ‘direct-to-the-face’ crud-cough!

But, in the meantime … Lil Sis is coming home!!!

ghana

PS – the Neo pups are doing great … Cute puppy photos/update next week!

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Posted on December 20, 2018 by claytonhill

‘Twas 5 Days Before Christmas …

But – I work 12 night weekends, AND we’re celebrating with the extended family on Christmas Eve.  [Yes, on Monday – after I get home from work …] So, this girl has got to get BUSY!!!

Thank goodness for internet shopping.  Everything I didn’t make has been delivered safely to our house.  [BTW – thank you FedEx, UPS and USPS!] 

And, everything I made is either in the wash (felting – we ended with four pairs of slippers), in the kiln slumping, or boxed already and waiting to be wrapped!  I’m hoping DH will lend a hand with some of the wrapping …

last-pair-slippers gifts more-gifts-done

I’m still plugging away with items for the shop.  A huge thanks to all who’ve ordered, as I have been shipping every day! [Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!]

dec-night-lights  dec-spoon-rests

dead-phoneCanine news:  Rotunda (the Bulldog) ate my phone last week.  Not all the way, just enough nibbles to make sure it was useless.  So, my early Christmas gift to myself was ordering a replacement  phone and getting it shipped here pronto!  [Ro and I have talked, and she assures me that she feels terrible about killing the phone …]

On a happier note – the Neo pups are doing great!  At 3.5 weeks old, they’re making the transition to gruel nicely, and wearing as much as they eat!  Here’s a quick photo of Aurora, sitting pretty:aurora

So, I have a bit of time to wrap those gifts and (hopefully) get some holiday baking done before the weekend.  Tick tock, tick tock … Good thing I love a deadline! In love

 

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Posted on December 8, 2018 by claytonhill

Staying Busy …

Tubby’s babies are growing, growing and GROWING!  Here’s a quick photo of a couple of her boys … Look who’s peeking!

11-days-old-males

I’m still scratching out time to work in the studio – keeping stock up, filling orders, uploading shop listings:

night-lights-&-ornamanets dec-ornaments-1 dec-ornaments-2

Christmas-Tree-Night-Lights

And, I’m still knitting … Only one pair done this week (so 2 more pair to go) …slippers-3-pair

While we are spending so much time with the pups, I decided to make some bone broth with the Thanksgiving turkey carcass.  That broth simmered for 3 days – and smelled so yummy.  I made a soup (modified Cabbage Kielbasa) with it today.  DH and I both loved it! 

turkey-bone-broth cabbage-kielbasa-bone-broth kielbasa-cabbage-soup

Time to switch gears and be an ER nurse for the weekend … Be safe out there!

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Posted on December 1, 2018 by claytonhill

No Rest for the Elves …

Here at Clayton Hill.  It’s all good, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Tubby had her babies – 7 beautiful, healthy, fat pups joined our gang on Saturday.

2-days-old

DH and I are smoothing out the process of providing 24/7 pup-watch coverage for mom and babies, while still getting chores and jobs done.  As it’s my calling, I have the night shift.  Smile

keeping-spoon-rests-stockedAgain, it’s all good, because the countdown to Christmas and all necessary prep has begun.  I’m keeping up on our shop items in batches.  I worked up a load of spoon rests for slumping. 

I got our murrini cane listed.  We finally added a coe96 version of the rainbow cane.

coe96-rainbow-murrini-cane  coe96-rainbow

And, I’ll have a few Christmas Tree Night Lights to add to our stock … Look for them in our shop next week.

more-tree-nite-lites   Christmas-tree-nightlight

In between stolen studio time, I’m prepping for Christmas and making slippers.  Huge knitted slippers, that I will felt (shrink down) to normal size.  Two pair down, 3 to go …

giant-slipper-time

And when I need a break from knitting – I color.  I’m working on some unicorn cards, and I couldn’t resist the reindeer and fat Wanda – ready for a kiss.  I used my Zig Real Brush Markers … Because carting my Copics to the house would be a pain.  The blending isn’t great, but … I still wlEmoticon-redheart.png ’em!

unicorns-and-more

Time to switch gears and think nurse-y thoughts for a weekend of ER fun.  No rest for this wicked elf!

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Posted on November 24, 2018 by claytonhill

Et … VOILA!!!

Just like that – Thanksgiving is over; We had a recipe-FAIL; and I’m missing a decent portion of the tip of my thumb.  VOILA!

spinach-artichoke-pinwheel-For a hot second, DH was ‘proud’ of himself for pulling together Artichoke Spinach Pinwheels … the link shows you what they should have looked like.  Our version was HUGE, with too much filling overflowing out of the bread, and the pan.  But, once DH had those discs cut up and plopped in the pie plate, he proclaimed, “Et, voila!!!”  Cooking our version for an additional 10 minutes did not remove the raw dough, sloppy-mess taste! 

Not to be outdone in the kitchen-FAIL department, I got into a fight with the mandoline while slicing carrots.  The mandoline won!  The upside – there was no ‘special sauce’ in our stuffing, and I think I finally have the bleeding stopped.   (I haven’t soaked through the current bandage, anyway!)  The downside – it’s my dominant hand, and my THUMB.  Should make ER nursing interesting this weekend …

dominant-thumb

We did manage our vitrigraph pull.  Pretty shades of teal, turquoise, cream, white and there is a hint of Neo-lavender that pops through a few slices when the light hits it just right.  Pretty!

turquoise-teal

Say a prayer and throw out good thoughts for DH and Tubitha.  While I’m working my 24 hour weekend tour, Tubby is sure to have her pups!

tubbs

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Posted on November 14, 2018 by claytonhill

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year …

winter2018We had our first snowfall this week (a semi-sticking kind, anyway).  I love snow (from inside a heated space!)!  So pretty …

I’ve been keeping a couple of kilns busy for the last few days.  We’re keeping up with ornaments, one mini load at a time (which somehow makes it easier for me) …

keeping-ornament-stock-up

I mentioned we had a request for a Christmas Tree night light … I made a crackle tree (it’s back in the kiln for the third of four firings) … We’ll see.  And, DH wanted his turn – kind of a retro or Dr Suess type tree.  I like it.  A confetti (thin wafer/shards of glass) tree and a frit tree wrap up our Christmas Tree night light offerings (the last 3 are in the kiln for their final slump).

crackle-tree  DH-xmas-treeconfetti-treefrit-tree

I’ve also cut the stack for our next vitrigraph pull.  Coe90 murrini cane coming up …

our-next-90-pull

I managed to update the shop with our Nutcracker Spoon Rests, just in time for the holidays. I have several other new items (small and unique dishes and plates) to photograph and list.  [Next on the to-do list!]

 nutcracker spoon rests

And finally, it’s cold outside.  This means comfort foods are totally acceptable.  So, we’ll be making a dish of Tater-tot Sloppy Joe-Casserole (not my photo), I’m excited!  [Thank you Tammilee & John!]

Crock-Pot-Tater-Tot-Sloppy-Joes-Casserole

Time to buckle down and get cracking.  With Thanksgiving and a new litter of pups around the corner – well, this is my ‘free and easy week’!  Winking smile

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Posted on November 8, 2018 by claytonhill

It’s the 20 Year Anniversary …

Of turning 29 … Yep, that’s what I celebrated this week.  I’ve spent the last several years avoiding specific numbers, while I slowly acknowledge – and am just about ready to – fully gear-up – and possibly embrace … turning 50 (read: F.I.F.T.Y; “The BIG 5-0”!!!) … Yeah, sure … IN ANOTHER 363 days.

It’s all good.  I can still care for underage alcohol-intoxicants and mary jane overdoses (OH – Don’t get me started, Michigan!!!) like an ER Boss!  So much fun to be had on an E.R. nurses weekend!

And then, I officially aged.  Except for the part where I felt weak-virus crummy, run-down and ‘head-achy’ the first half of the week … life as a 49 year old is good.  Our youngest is coming over later today for some socializing and (ham bone stock) potato soup dinner;  I heard from all but a couple of my family (Oh, we will talk you two!)!  And, I dressed Chloe (& Rotunda) in another adorable shirt!  Cue photos:

why-mom  reindeer-sweater

I also had a special request (Christmas tree night light) that has a few (hundred) ideas rumbling.  So, experiment one is in the kiln now.  This has stamped glass enamels on a pre-fused night light base. [Photos below … we’ll see what the kiln does with that!]  I have a some other ideas that I will work my way through later, when time allows.  In the meantime, DH has said he has an idea, and wants to play in the studio.  WHAT?!?  [Wow – that’s been a while] … Sure!  And, I’m going to do some glass paint/enamel experiments with oils again … We tried a few years ago (with things like vegetable oil), but this time I want to play with ‘cell separator’ (dimethicone), and GAI oil … We’ll see.

an-idea stamping-meets-glass christmas-tree-experiment

Lastly, I hope to do another vitrigraph pull.  But I haven’t chosen any colors yet … None are screaming at me, “Pick me, pick me …”  So, I’ll have to focus on the color wheel for a bit.  Meanwhile, here is a fairly crummy photo of last week’s murrini pull (which I still have not listed … Sorry – it’s coming!):

mystic-pull

‘Thank You‘ to ALL for the birthday wishes.  This girl is feeling better, feeling loved, and ready to get busy!  Smile

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Posted on November 2, 2018 by claytonhill

Ahead of the Game …

Haha!  OK, kind of … for the moment!  But, I’m on top of my post – so there’s that. 

News:  We are officially EMPTY NESTERS.  Baby boy moved into his apartment this week … Wow!  27 years of motherhood (including pregnancy) … DONE!!!  [I know, it’s never done until I’m dead, but … STILL!]  AND … our oldest sought out a new job, and GOT IT!  10k more per year – you go, smart Sister!  I’m proud of you!!!

And, then there was Halloween.  We live in ‘the back forty’, so no trick-or-treaters.  We had to make due dressing the bulldog sisters up.  [Not really – I bought a sweatshirt and wanted to see if it fit …]  Cue adorable, fluffy, Xanadu bulldog sisters:

chloe-sweatshirt olivia-newton-bulldogs sexy-Ro

I pulled a few spoon rests together.  We are officially underway with holiday shopping in our online shop … MUST GET BUSY!  I also listed the red murrini cane 

nov-spoon-rests   coe96 red murrini cane

Next up:  A coe90 vit pull – hopefully later today (Friday) … Here’s the stack:

nov-coe90-vit-stack

And, I finally pulled those card fronts together, into actual cards.  The hold up – cutting, stacking and gluing four layers of (those white) die-cut sentiments and flower frames.  Those are some tiny, fussy, fiddly bits.  Once I remembered to put my cheater glasses on, so I could see everything – well, it went quite a bit faster …

cards-pulled-together

Happy Friday, Ya’ll!!!wlEmoticon-winkingsmile.png

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Posted on October 30, 2018 by claytonhill

Better Late Than Never …

I ran out of time last week to post.  So, here I am in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, planning out my week ahead and reflecting on last week.

We did a beautiful coe96 vit pull on Friday.  Here are photos of the gorgeous red murrini from the cane, and the pull progression from the kiln.  It maintained that lovely shade of red throughout the inside, AND the outside.  DH and I just might be figuring this temperature control/ramping temp timing thing out!  We’re planning for another pull (coe90) later this week … And, adding murrini cane inventory to our shop.

coe96-red-murrini  coe96-pull-progression

foiling-trialAnd, I finally played with foiling card bases.  Here was my test piece – to see if my equipment would work – and it does! [Happy Dance!]

So, then I made a card for Baby Girl.  She won’t get it in time for Halloween, but … It turned out great!  Two photos to try to capture the foiling (pumpkins, hat and wording)….

foil-halloween-card    halloween-card-for-bg

‘We had a visitor to the house.  OK, ON the HOUSE.  DH and I were walking back from the studio/barn and … Wow – that’s a mighty big crane on our roof.  Fortunately, he/she did not decide to take up permanent residence/no sign of nesting!  What is it with crazy birds at my house?!?

visiting-roof-crane

making-more-ornamentsI continue to work on small loads of ornaments to keep our stock up.  I’ll be adding in some additional night lights and spoon rests, and see if I can’t work up some mojo to create a few new fused glass projects …

We tried a new recipe – Creamy Ricotta Spinach Chicken Cannelloni.  Our photo did not turn out as lovely as Katerina’s (maybe I tried stuffing too many in one baking dish?).  Our version was okay, kind of bland, and I’m not sure that I would make it again.  But the menfolk liked it.  This week, I’ll be making a ham/cheesy potato meal and then a yummy pot of Ham & Potato Soup.  And, DH is requesting Slow-Cooker Creamy Herbed Chicken Stew (with added vegetables like parsnip and turnips, substituting water chestnuts to avoid celery allergy).

chicken-spinach-ricotta-can

Of course, I hope to work on a few cards, too.  And play with pups!!!  Leaving with a cute pic of our Neapolitan pups, Maximus and Hera.  And, Chloe, trying on her tutu!  wlEmoticon-winkingsmile.png

MaxHera   ballerina-chloe

 

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Posted on October 19, 2018 by claytonhill

A Little of This ….

And a little of that.  This week in review: Starting with this super-cute pic of my sisters.  Makes me smile every time I look at it … AWWW – they LUV each other!Sister-love

I spent a bit more time cleaning and organizing the studio … or trying to, anyway.  Here is my storage for card making sequins and embellishments.  I hadn’t realized I have collected so many.  Hmmm, could be a problem – if I didn’t have these slick container trays for it all!  Winking smile  And, I picked up a couple of mobile storage ‘carts’ – cuz, they move (all around the studio, wherever I’m creating) and they were inexpensive.  So, ya know … I had to buy them!

all-things-shiny   embellishment-storage   mobile-card-making-storage

I made a vat of Bacon Cauliflower Chowder (no recipe as I combined a bit of this and that from several chowder recipes), along with a double batch of mostaccioli. (I always make two – one for dinner and one to freeze for later.  DH loves this, and acts like a kid waiting for Christmas as he takes the second dish to the freezer.  Silly guy!) No photo, but we added in shredded zucchini and diced tomatoes, along with a ‘cleaning of the fridge’ cheese selection (feta, provolone, mozzarella, parmesan, cream cheese and sour cream).  It’s amazing, and probably my best batch yet …cauliflower-bacon-chowder

DH and I had another vitrigraph pull.  This one a requested yellow and red.  It’s pretty … Photos of the glass stack, the pull-progression color-changes, and the cane sliced into murrini pieces.

the-stack  pull-progression  20181019_152611

I colored one single card this week, a replication from a card-maker whose style I admire.  Thank you Yoonsun!

animals-card-front

And here we are, on Friday … almost time to enjoy another 24 hour ER nursing weekend  tour.  But, before that, I need to get busy putting together an ornament order and then – date-night with DH … I’m gonna kick his butt playing some pool!  Winking smile

the color of money

 

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