Technicolor Pachyderms

Thursday I spent the ENTIRE day blowing these bubbles just right so I could make bowls with the glory hole.  It was so frustrating! I would think it was OK but then after I broke it off something would be wrong, the bottom not think enough, the neck too fat, the whole thing too small... all sorts of things.  It was my first day of making nothing that could be saved for later.  At one point without thinking I look over at the guys who are also working on this and ask "are your balls getting any bigger?" and we all burst out laughing!  Ahh the humor of a hot shop... so mature.  I just made these bubbles in preparation for the day... one day in the future... that I would be cranking out bowls...  After lunch the glass was really low in the school furnace so Mia and I went to the factory and brought down the bottles and etc that everyone had been working on Wednesday afternoon.  It was really nice to see everyone's things and after a day of making stupid, hard bubbles see that I could actually make something useful and nice too.  Sooooooo here are the pictures I promised you:

Look out! Look out!

Glass bottles on parade!

Here they come!

Hippety! Hoppety!

There here and there,

Pink elephants (I mean glass bottles) ev'rywhere!

These are the triangle candle holders.  I will pop the crazy icecream looking tops off in the cold shop.  You get that b/c they are mold blown.

This is a close up of the side so you can see the hammered texture.

Can you believe how full my shelf is getting?!?!?! It amazed me! 

(mine is the one in the middle with the blue bowl in it)

After school Yenni and I went for a walk to the lake where she went swimming and I sat on the dock and enjoyed the sunshine.  It was nice to get out and about... it can be pretty stifling in the hot shop!  I laid around in my long pants, coat and shoes, wishing I had a scarf and pulled up my shirt so maybe I could feel some of the sunshine on my belly.  I don't know why but I always enjoy feeling the sun or breeze or super soft sheets on my belly.  It is kind of odd, and I felt really silly with all these clothes on but my stomach exposed, but it was so nice! Oh well.  Yenni says she is going to go swimming at least once a week until the lake is too frozen to swim! I couldn't do that!!  But here are some pretty pics:

Now, imagine laying here with the sun and breeze on your stomach and you roll the other way and see this:

Pretty good way to spend your afternoon huh?!?!  

And! For dinner I made some Sweet & Sour Szechuan Chicken for dinner! I not only touched raw chicken with my hand (after debating about using a fork and knife to cut it with but remember I have big balls and managed to man up and use my hands) but cooked it and didn't poison myself from salmonella or anything! It was very tasty I thought! I will have some more leftovers Friday night I imagine.