HA! I knew I got that heat press for a reason! Still fine tuning, but … this is promising!
The kitchen is also mine again: Great shrimp stir-fry for dinner – chocked full of veggies. Then, I made some Cabbage Crack (Napa Cabbage Salad) too – just cuz I love it. And finally, Cinnamon French Toast Bake from pillsbury.com … NOT low-cal, NOT sugar-free … but ooey-gooey goodness! The twins will have it for breakfast – because they’ll spend the day (thus, the sugar high) at school! 
– It’s good to be (friends with) the King …
– Mashed potatoes do not go well with ribs-n-beans …
– Patience pays off (somewhat) …
WWU – It’s Good to be (Friends with) the King: All hail our ER director! Yep, in the eleventh hour (or maybe it was the 23rd hour??? Anyway …) he opened doors, knocked down walls and parted the sea … (or maybe he got a patient admitted who had been waiting FOREVER in the face of “No beds!”) All because I voiced a few (valid) concerns … Gotta Love Bob!
Of course mashed potatoes don’t go well with ribs-n-beans … but that’s what DH wanted. Yuck! I’ll be doing the menu planning for the rest of the week … Thanks anyway, honey.
Patience: I’ve FINALLY had a few studio hours … Wahoo! I played for a minute with the long forgotten dichro cabs … they’re coming along.
And, I’m working my way through another etching technique (from Glass Patterns Quarterly, Spring 2013) … but I’m having an issue. Dichroic glass isn’t flat, it’s a little lumpy. So my transfer mask didn’t cover fully. I’ve got some ideas to try (I have a heat press WITH felt blanket, HA HA!) … but, here’s what I have right now:
If it ever works, it should be a great tool for getting better/finer detail … And, I might get a bit more studio time this week … Fingers crossed!!!
With some 18 hours to spare, I say GOODNIGHT to ‘Tax Preparation 2012’ … Now for our appointment with the ‘Great and Powerful Jim’, to find out how much of our money we get to hold on to??? Either way – I’m done with it for another 365 days. HALLELUJAH!
Kinda … well, not really. I’ve spent the last few days fighting with my computer (the browser), unable to surf my usual sites (including this one). I’ve been so consumed by fixing it, I’ve all but forgotten the frustration of the weekend (seems EVERYONE wanted to spend Easter with us in the ER). But, I finally have her cleaned up and running proper.
And taxes … my tax room (dining room) is such a disaster, I can’t even bring myself to take a picture.
Meanwhile, DH is happy (like kid in a candy store happy). He’s tearing up the concrete in his barn … in preparation for his car-lift (new toy) – kind of like this photo, although his garage will never be this tidy/spotless/clean …
With all this fixing/organizing/demolishing – I’m rewarding myself with a night in the studio!
News from the den: All are doing great. Eyes and ears are open, we’re moving into gruel, and starting to cruise around in the whelping box. We had a photo-shoot, and while there are so many adorable pictures to choose from … I chose these. I love the James Brown-esque-ness of the last photo. Can’t you just hear him singing “Waaaoow! I feel good!!!” …?
Meanwhile, the Yorkie pups are intrigued by the Neo pups – and their gruel. Cute little Heathens! 
Decided to start (and finish) a quick knit scarf. (Tahki’s one ball drop stitch scarf, if you’re curious.) Still making progress on the Candle-Flame project.
Next week will be all about taxes, I promise Honey …
WWU: Someone decided it would be a good idea to have me as acting charge nurse this past weekend … WTH?!? Such a silly notion! But we got through, and outside of a huge THANK YOU to my co-workers, I have nothing more to report. [My therapist thinks just a few more sessions required to get over the trauma of it all …]
News from the den: Momma Zones is eating well again, so Mom’s (my) kitchen is slowing down … thank goodness. The Neo pups are starting to open their eyes – so I’ll share some squishy-faced photos soon. The Yorkie pups (little heathens) are completely at home everywhere in the house and will actually attempt to climb into Zonie’s whelping box – the crazy little furballs! But – they also love to climb all over Katerina – their own personal jungle gym. Everybody loves Aunt Kat!
All of this good news means I’m still not spending much quality time in the studio, but I have gathered a few ideas/techniques/supplies to try once things ease up a bit more …
Meanwhile, my knitting is coming along … the candle flame scarf has grown – now measuring some 3+ feet long.
And, I’m slowly coming to terms with the fact that tax season is upon us, the deadline is fast-approaching and I have to get busy! So I’m gathering up all those blasted receipts – while I think of ways to better-spend my time (or at least more fun!) …
Darn that Pinterest, anyway … It’s devil’s-spawn, I tell you. Stumbled on a knitting pattern that caught my eye … so, now I’m knitting it. Here’s the creator’s pattern link, and here’s what I’ve got going so far: If you’re an avid knitter – you’ll catch my mistake early on, but if not (like DH) – you’ll never see it … and I’m knitting correctly now.
Haven’t made it to the studio yet, but that’s okay. Momma Zonie started feeling bad, working her way towards a mastitis – so she has needed me closeby, giving her some nursing-love. She’s feeling better today … Maybe a little stolen studio time tomorrow? In the meantime, I’m a ‘candle flame’ knitting fiend, as I watch over my ‘den’. And, since I have some down-time while sitting with Momma and the pups – I’ve found a couple of other patterns that caught my eye [evil chuckle] …
Yep … I’m feeling better! (Cally … too stinkin’ cute!)
Might even make it to the studio today … [Fingers crossed]
WWU: Oh Paradise – where are you? I had a tough weekend. With alleged abuse/DV, delirium tremors, pregnant folks with belly pain, along with the latest bout of flu patients who arrived by-the-bus-load … Arrghh! I’m missing Paradise!!!
Sunday night was crazy/busy, and I’m struggling with the fact that I did not make a new friend. Of course, I’ve told myself it isn’t my fault … he started it* when he said, “I’m a MAN, that means you HAVE to treat me like a BABY …” WTH??? The customer-service super-agent in me still can’t figure out what the correct response to that statement is supposed to be when ‘juggling’ for the needs of several other patients – all of whom were actually sick – in a Standing Room Only (busy) ER.
One final gripe … I will never understand why women in mid+/late pregnancy would come to a STAND-ALONE ER, in a county without any inpatient L&D’s – with the complaint of abdominal pain!?! … ‘Nuff said.
So now – I’m letting go of the weekend to find my kinder-gentler-nicer self (she’s in there somewhere …). And to play with puppies … Yep, I’ll find her!
* Yesss – I know I sound like a toddler, but come on … a BABY?!?
Although – LOTS of times, our reality is pretty AWESOME!
We have puppies … Yep, Zeus is a first-time dad, and DH is strutting around, ready to pass out cigars – he is so proud of HIS BOY! 
Thirteen new bundles of wrinkles and puppy breath added to our ‘den’. Mom is already eating and drinking well – smiling at me every time I head to the kitchen …
And the Yorkie pups (who have been named during my absence … really cute names, too) are ready to advance to the next level – exploring around the kitchen/mud room. [Here they are in their last pen.]
The whole gang and crew did great while we were away. We (DH and I) had a wonderful time (although we ended with a few cloudy days – very untypical from our past experiences in Paradise), met interesting and fun people, and now my liver is ready for a break.
Papa/Grandma and the twins enjoyed our time away too. I have a refrigerator AND pantry FULL of junk food to prove it!!
So, I’ll head back to work tomorrow and start the process of detoxing (the KIDS – from SUGAR … NOT ME, Jeesh!!!), buckling down (ohhh TAXES), and settling into reality (playing with puppies). Maybe next week I can steal some studio time too … I have Jamaican bottles!!!
Clayton Hill Studio 