Hunt for Slimes

Before getting too excited about setting up this whole area as a slime farm, now that it was roughly cut out, I decided it would be prudent to see if I could get an actual slime to spawn.   Making the room was proving to be a challenge, if it wasn't deep pools of lava,

Bye-bye, obsidian block.  *sigh*

It was wide pools of lava.  Lava, lava, everywhere.

There's a simple trick for finding slimes - unlike every other hostile mob, they won't de-spawn on Peaceful.  Chilling out above my slime chunk, I waited for some monsters to appear.  And waited.  And waited.  Then checked to see if I was far enough away.  Yes, 32 blocks away from the floor.  Waited some more.  Finally, some numbers popped up in the distance.  I flipped back to Peaceful, the numbers remained. Success!  I go to track down my slimes.   They prove to be pretty far away actually, which seems odd.  More slime chunks?  I end up having to dig up into the area they're in.  Water pours down, and when I finally get a torch up....

You, sir, are NOT a slime.  I am not pleased.

After yet more waiting, and hoping, checking and more waiting, I'm finally, FINALLY rewarded with this: 

One slime. Huzzah, it's a start?

Good enough for me.  Proves that this chunk can, indeed, spawn slimes as it's supposed to.  After lots and lots of digging and placing, I have my spawning ground.   Now there's just the water channels, slime splitter and collection ladder to get set up.  Progress at least?