And the Winner Is...(part deux)

Coffee in the New Orleans skyline mug, "Kentucky Rain" performed by Elvis Presley on iTunes. Performed by Elvis and written by Eddie Rabbitt and Dick Heard. Eddie Rabbitt! Anyone but me remember him?

I posted yesterday's blog entry this morning because yesterday I was yanked away from the computer by an argument as to how to best secure the pole for the bat house while the concrete set. As the argument was in Spanish I didn't have much to add, but I did round up some 2X4's and a hammer and Wendy, my landscaper, ran off to buy big honking nails. The bat house is now up and the back yard comes together. Next, the pond. But the rest of the yard news will definitely be on Stranded in the South as I am Back To Glass today.

The first order of business, picking a winner in the critique-those-stands poll. And the winner is... (I am such a dork: I cut up little pieces of paper, wrote everyone's names on them, mixed them up and then picked one) Ren! She sent a long critique in email and her favorite stand was Ocean. Now, Ren, I need to know your favorite glass colors so I can make the glass for it! Thank you to everyone who participated and gave me valuable feedback!

I am happy that I can post the winner with a light heart as Andrea received her Cloudstone bowl yesterday (from the name-that-series contest), and Bridget received her seder set in time to actually use it this year! I don't know if she will--she may ahve already had other plans for tonight--but at least she has the option (unless the boys in brown broke it...). I have been dying to post pictures of it as it is a one-of-a-kind set and I love the colors (sorry for the crappy photography). Bridget was Dave's Best man at our wedding 12 years ago and we pledged to give our attendants glass made by your truly as the attendant gifts. It's been 12 years and Bridget's is the first to be done. What can I say? I wanted to get them right.

Now if I could just get the photography right. I have to figure out the right background and the right lighting to use to get the most consistent results. As it is now, the color of the glass seems to affect the color of the digital image by warming it up or cooling it down, and I am just not good enough at post-processing to fix it. Could be that my camera isn't good enough. Could be an inherent function of digital photography (which is why both my regular photographer and the photographer for the book use 35 mms and shoot slide film). Could be I am just a moron.

Last news and then off to the studio: I got a check from the gallery in California whose order shipped the first of November. Where they did not do anything when I contacted them, they sat up and took notice when the Rosen Group sent them a letter saying they would not be able to attend the Buyer's Market shows anymore till they were paid up (I was not the only one they were stiffing). One more check mark on the to do list.