"Go look at the cupboard door", he said, enticingly.

Boss directed us to look at the cupboard door in our breakroom that serves as a bulletin board of sorts. Intrigued, the three of us, Mango, Sarge, and I, went to the cupboard. Clearly, none of us had paid any attention to it earlier.

But there it was. An invitation to a baby shower. A baby shower for Kitty. Alas, Kitty is pregnant!

Okay, THIS sheds a little light on the reason Kitty is joining our campus earlier than expected/ necessary - and maybe why Boss was avoiding talking about it before now.

I won't bore with details, but suffice to say that GrandBoss is a good guy and is helping Kitty out since she's wanted to work primarily at our location for a long time. I've said it before, I don't always like working with GrandBoss, but I like working for him. 

I'm happy for Kitty. She's mid-thirties and has eluded to her biological clock ticking getting louder. 

In other clock ticking news, the semester is winding down. One more week of panic before finals. I've had a crew of nice tutees this semester, and I think they'll survive.

Speaking of teaching and learning, recall that I've been fantasizing about getting a tablet I can draw directly upon. I've picked one out, but haven't shelled out the cash for it. 

In the meantime, I've been playing with my little Wacom tablet that I've primarily used for online tutoring.

Figuring out the tools and quirks of using it for digital art play is fun/ frustrating.

And lastly, a Penny update. She seems to be progressing out of the slugfest she's been on since Wednesday. 

She's not yet 100%, and there's still no clue as to what turned her into a granny dog overnight. But she seems to be getting her appetite back and not being such an old lady.

Did a bit more decluttering this weekend - I swear it never ends. Who knew I was such a packrat?!

This time I went through my art toys a second time and got rid of things I haven't used in *forever*. My art hobby is quite inexpensive. Pencils, pens, sketchbooks, etc. are so darn cheap.  It's easy to bring stuff home and let it sit. I swear they all get together at night and multiply.

Last weekend, Magnum and I were out for a walk and I wanted to walk passed a cute little art supply store I'd heard of but had never been to. So we walked on by and I caught a glimpse. Magnum noted that the store was open, did I want to go in?

NOPE! I'd end up bringing home something I don't need - like going to the animal shelter!

I drew this anime character on Friday during Snowday 2. I've never really drawn anime before, but I'd read that the creator of Dragonball books, show, and whatever else, died last week. 

I don't know the plot or characters of Dragonball, but I've seen them in the periphery - the weird hair, the baggy pants...

Anyways, good snowday fun.

We got a decent amount of heavy, wet snow, but not nearly as much as areas south of us. Ours was just a "normal" spring snow - about 7 inches - while I see friends to the south buried under 2+ feet. No thanks.

That bit of anime fun got me to declutter the stuff packed into my little art supply case after I discovered the cute graphic pencil I used to draw the weird-haired dude.

Now I'm just down to my faves, including the pencil. In celebration, I drew another anime weird-haired character

In the meantime, Magnum completed our 2023 tax return. I swear he has all the fun.

Ready for the chocolate shortage? Got a strategy? Our stash of dark chocolate Hershey kisses may soon become a product for only the rich and famous. Eat them or sell on the black market... hmmm...

So my decluttering continues. Just when I think I've gotten so minimal, I find other junk. I just chucked some dry erase markers - emphasis on DRY. During my last sweep of my office/ studio/ cat bathroom, I found a nice pad of bristol paper that I bought years ago.

Bristol paper is stronger and stiffer than "regular" drawing paper. I think it's actually sheets of paper that are pressed together to make it thicker and stronger and smoother. Anyway, it's very fun to play with.

Also, I worked yesterday, so this is kind of a short weekend for me. While at work, one of our testers was the cute emo kid who has been taking his HiSET (High School Equivalency Test - very similar to the more well-known GED) modules with us. 

He's actually quite intelligent and has been eating through his modules like nobody's business. This was probably his 3rd or 4th visit with us, and I got his station all set up. I turned around to check his pockets, socks, and sleeves, and he was standing there with his big cargo pants already all rolled up, with pockets turned out, all *I know the drill*

Then he went in and aced another module, came out and put away his scratch paper and pencils like he owns the place. 

I'm gonna miss that kid when he's done. Today, while going through markers and things, I found a sharpie that works and did a quick sketch of "Miles".

And the decluttering doesn't end with the physical stuff. I opened my Pinterest account - OH the crap it contained. 

Still deleting