Love means never having to say you're sorry...

...even if you've all but stopped blogging, and your faithful readers are left to wonder whether you've perished at the hands of your hangry offspring.  Fear not, Faithful Readers!  I have returned! (Albeit without apologies.  Try to deal.)

There has been a great deal of doctor-going in these parts.  Since I'm usually of the "Doctors-only-make-things-worse," mindset, it has been an awkward experience for me.  I've been in a boot to rest my miserably swollen anterior tibial tendon for almost two months, and it's not gotten a whole heckuva a lot better. So it's off to the doc for an MRI this week, in addition to the usual bouts of carpool, dishes, and laundry.  As for the other doctor-related issue, suffice it to say that all is well.  Whew!

Akiva and I had a date this week...went to an Audubon Society event where we met two falconers and their birds.  It was amazing for him, as he's developed a keen interest in falconry since he read My Side of the Mountain.   For me, it was a little stressful, as I'm not enthusiastic about watching birds of prey gnaw on furry squirrel legs.  But I kept my Good Mom hat on, and managed not to chuck my cookies in public.

Would it be vastly inappropriate to throw in some week-old photos that I should have blogged about before this?  Esti and I took the kiddos to the park on a blustery spring day and got some pretty good camera action.

Spit That Gum Out Right Now! (Pesach 2012)

We've arrived.  All the crazy preparations---the shopping, the cleaning, the cooking---have receded into childbirth-like memory, and we're right smack dab in the middle of the most thought-about week in the Jewish calendar.  

We've consumed our body-weights in eggs and potatoes, and we're not even halfway through.  The seders have come and gone (quite smoothly--but guest-less-ly this year.)  The super-size box of Bazooka has been chewed, and its telltale wrappers linger insidiously throughout the house.  (In the bathroom? Really?  And the laundry room?  WTH?)  The perennial favorites have been baked and devoured, and a fabulous new recipe has joined their ranks.  

And, most importantly, the semi-annual kid-pics have been taken.  Remind me not to hand out the aforementioned Bazooka till after the photo session next year.  Grumble, grumble...

Today's excitement included a very windy trip to the park, but tomorrow we'll be taking on the thrills of Discovery World.   The weather's been gorgeous---none of that freak snowstorm business this year, and we're taking full advantage.

 If you're smart, you'll go bake those cookies now.  That's what I'm doing...

Toothpicks and q-tips and bleach, oh my!

Yup, it's almost Pesach, which means I've been neglecting you, my little bloglings, in order that I may bleach the living bejillies out of most everything in my house.  This evening, my trusty razor blade and I excavated the cracks and crevices of the stove, bringing forth all manner of unspeakable gunk.

Right now I'm itching to clean the kitchen table so I can dress it up in the mind-blowingly fabulous oilcloth I finally scored at my local JoAnn's...

... but first I have to reassemble my poor candelabra, which got completely dissected, cleaned, and polished this evening.  (Note---this was not so much a Passover chore as a "Good Heavens, who was President when that was cleaned last?" chore, but all of the kids were really excited to take on the task.  For the first ten minutes.  Then, guess who futzed with it for an hour and a half?  Why, yes, that  would  be me.  How clever of you to guess!)  It looks better than it has since we brought it home from the store, but (naturally) a piece went missing during The Great Cleanse, so it's all kinds of wobbly.  Not cool.  And the kids are all sleeping, so I can't even bribe them into tracking down the wayward nut.  Nuts!

In other news, my littlest sous-chef did some onion peeling earlier.  She was appropriately garbed for her chore. (Yes, I totally wear these while I'm chopping onions.  When I had contacts, my baby-blues were impervious to onion tears, but now I'm a regular wuss.  I slip these stunning goggles over my shades and look perfectly ridiculous while I'm chopping---and not crying.)

The classes in my studio are coming along really well.  Last week we made puzzles and did some printmaking.

I'm looking forward to a new batch of girls' workshops and a ladies group at the end of the month!

Before I head back to the salt mines, here's a peek at the annual Pre-Pesach Picnic:

PSA: Aunt Marilyn's Passover Brownies

For those of you who are hurtling headlong into the last days of Pesach and are jonesing for a chocolate fix, here it is.  My friend Chaya's Aunt Marilyn's Pesach Brownies are the single most anticipated recipe in my holiday repertoire, and the one most requested by my guests.  I've even been known to make them (gasp!) when it's not Passover.

Aunt Marilyn's Pesach Brownies

1/2 cup of cocoa
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup potato starch
1 cup chocolate chips

Combine in a mixing bowl and bake in a 9X13" pan at 350 till done.  (Sorry, the original recipe doesn't say how long, and I just eyeball it.)

Don't double the recipe, just make a second batch if you need to.  For some reason, this doesn't seem to take well to doubling.

I promise you, these will be gone in the blink of an eye.  You can thank me later.

My Creative Space: Minimal!

There's been a lot less crafting time around here this week, as we're cleaning and preparing for Passover with a vengeance.  Luckily, the weather has been cooperative, so we were able to tackle the cars with the help of my munchkins.

 

I have been able to sneak a little jewelry-making in after the bulk of the housework has been done, though.  Lots of custom orders for Dictionary Sacrifice earrings coming in, and my first two orders from complete strangers! 

Don't forget to put your name in the hat for my giveaway...the drawing will be on the 21st

!

My Creative Space: Roadtrippin'

The Huz, the Munchkin and I set out this morning for some serious Pesach shopping in Chicago---a prospect that filled each and every chamber of my heart with glee.  First and foremost, I was guaranteed 90 minutes of travel time in each direction, which translated into three hours spent making findings and components without stopping to wash dishes, flip the laundry, answer the phone, or help a certain small person with her "paperwork." 

Furthermore, Chicago has a kosher Dunkin' Donuts.

And a kosher Subway.

And a Chinese take-out joint, among others.

 We availed ourselves, astonishingly, of all three.
  
The actual shopping part of our day was close to painless, though it did involve three shopping carts and an appalling amount of back and forth on the merits of frozen fish vs. fresh.  And a really patient cashier, and a remarkably tenacious young man who helped load all of those groceries into my van, which seemed suddenly smaller once confronted by the bevy of bags we hoped to pack inside.


Anyhoo, the creative bit of this journey happened on the way home---sleeping baby, NPR droning ceaselessly in the background---and suddenly a design I've been working on just clicked.  I am completely and utterly spatially challenged, and things that are glaringly obvious to most folks tend to come a little slower to me.  So I'm sitting there, wire-doodling, and all of a sudden, boom.  Big lightbulb moment.  It'll be in the shop tomorrow...

Speaking of the shop, when I got home and put the multitude of groceries away, I checked my Etsy.  Wonder of wonders, my Magic Onion earrings had been featured in a treasury!  Much happiness ensued.

More stationary (and less gluttonous) creative spaces here.

Out like a lamb, my eye...

Still freezing here, although there's no more snow on the ground.  The days are longer, the crocuses are emerging, and I'm still sleeping under three blankets.  When I'm sleeping, that is.  I seem to be doing less and less of that, as Pesach approaches, as camp approaches, and as the Etsy shop slowly, slowly takes shape.  The light box has been banished to a dark corner of the basement in favor of a mildly sunny window, and my goal for this week is to crank out an item each day. To photograph and write a listing for one item, each day, as well.  Oh, yeah---and to feed and clothe the kidlets each day, and make sure that they get their daily recommended allotments of both shampoo and Quality Time.

 

My creative space: Never a dull moment

Our "normal" household size has doubled for the  holiday, so we have a dozen kiddos galivanting through the house.  Needless to say, not much time to blog, but I figured I'd post this quickly so I don't completely lose my momentum.  Hope everyone's having a wonderful holiday! 

Click over to Kirsty's to see some real creative spaces!