...and the ox marches on

After solving the studio power puzzle the carpenter ants came. Just as the honeycomb (my 'studio') was powered up again, the weather warmed up and out came my over wintering guests - carpenter ants. Not one or two, not even a hundred - thousands of carpenter ants. For those of you who have never seen a carpenter ant, they are much larger than most ants and winged. Thank goodness they use the wings primarily to curb inbreeding and not for mainstream transportation.

Once the lights came on in the honeycomb I saw the full capacity of the ant invasion. My dear friends and neighbors in Austin own a pest control company (http://www.beatingbugsbetter.com/) and for as much as I hate using 'chemical' solutions, even I knew it was time to call in a pro. I couldn't even see the paint on the walls. All I saw was swarming black & red winged ants. Big ones. Now, I'm not very squeemish but yuck.

Anywho, the pest control guy here in Dallas (great guy, Mc. Daniels Pest Control) has taken care of the invasion and I am ready to print my ox Monday morning. Here is the block in various stages of carving:

March? What about February?

Here are some more memorable moments for February. Noah's kindergarten class celebrated Valentine's Day with a class party. The PTA sold candy grams during the days leading up to v-day parties and managed to raise a bit of money for the school - not much but every little bit counts and (most importantly) the kids had fun.

March already. Really?

Wow - February has just breezed by without my noticing. Where has the month gone? Audrey turned three earlier this month. We never had a formal party for her but wound up having a playdate with cake. Much easier than the elaborate parties of years past. And every bit as much fun.

The day started out with donuts and round 1 of presents and as the day progressed our beloved friends and neighbors dropped off gifts through out the day since there was no set party time. Both Noah and Audrey had such a blast with this day of random gifts. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends. To think we moved here just a few months ago and so many of you treat us like family. A few shots from the bday:

Koi in Water

I've been slow to post the completed water exchange print. Blue, the new pup, and I have finally come to an understanding about the computer. Previously he would grab the nearest pair of socks, shoes, etc. to chew as soon as I sat down at the computer. To give him something more constructive to do I now put a treat on the floor and tell him to 'leave it.' He'll leave it for a good long while. Good boy.

Anyway here is my water print 'Koi in Winter'

I'm now working on my year of the ox postcard. More on that soon!

Wet 'Water'

I've had an awful time waiting for the brown layer of ink to dry on my 'water' prints. They are now a week overdue. I printed them about 10 days ago but the ink is not drying and I'm getting desperate. I've made a mess of a few prints trying to work with them. Here they are so far:

Both Audrey and the dog are now sleeping so I'd better get busy finishing these prints. I've been blotting them individually using pressure from my hand on the trouble spots. This seems to help so I am hoping to get the prints off in the mail tomorrow.

Puppy Love

Whew! It's been an exhausting week. After searching for a month we finally found a four-legged companion to add to our family. Unable to find a suitable older dog we have adopted a puppy. It's alike having a baby all over again. Fortunately he sleeps through the night and housebreaking seems to coming along nicely.

Blue is an Australian shepherd rescued from the city shelter down in Glen Rose. After picking him up he was so mellow and calm for the drive home. We thought Valium would be a bit strange but Blue works well.

It's been hard to snap photos of big Blue when he's not asleep. He doesn't stay in one place for too long and hasn't learned 'sit' yet. I've been taking the rambunctious little pup for two or three good walks each day and throwing toys down our long hallway in the morning while I drink my coffee. The weather has been so wonderful here that we've had a lot of time in the backyard too. By the end of the day poor Blue looks mighty tired.

In fact, he's sleeping right now. I had better go finish up my now overdue 'water' prints. But more about that in the next post....

Dark blue plate

Warmer weather made printing more enjoyable today. I didn't even need to run the heater in the honeycomb while the sun was up. I spent the day dampening the light blue plate prints and printing the dark blue. Here's the dark blue plate ready to print:

And here is what came of it: