Well, we've just got home from our usual Wednesday working as volunteers at the local Pilgrims Hospice eBay office - and we're both mentally exhausted and drained. So my version is slightly more apt for us ... we are WEARY!
This morning started badly when our window cleaner arrived unexpectedly ... he always sends me a text message announcing his monthly visits a day or so prior to his arrival. I then realised I hadn't seen my mobile phone since Saturday (I haven't been out since then). I eventually found the phone under the passenger seat in our car - battery totally dead. As we were en-route to 'work' at the Hospice eBay office I couldn't charge the phone battery until this evening when I found 7missed messages .... including one telling me my email system wasn't working. A client I had been messaging regarding her completed portrait had been unable to contact me via email! AAAAAARGGGGHHH!
I have a lot of tight deadlines to meet for portraits now so may have to 'abandon' Pilgrims Hospice for a couple of Wednesdays - it is incredibly intensive researching/photographing/describing and listing 'better quality' donated items ..... we have to be so careful not to misdescribe items or promote 'fake' brands. The volunteer 'listers' at our little office are responsible for sales of around £10,000 per month towards the cost of providing Hospice Care for terminally ill patients in our part of the County.
So tonight is relaxation time and tomorrow will be 'nose to the grindstone' .... and trying to sort out why I'm not receiving some of my emails apparently.
I have two double 'human' portraits to work on next .... one is of 2 young girls and the other of 2 slightly more mature ladies. I am also fitting in a beautiful dog portrait in pastel ..... and I have 2 graphite portraits on the back-burner where I'm doing little bits 'as and when' I can ... they aren't so urgent.
but ....in the meantime here are a few photos taken yesterday. I noticed a squirrel in one of the apple trees biting through the stalks to make the apples fall to the ground. I wasn't happy about that as these end of season apples are destined for Roxy (my horse) and her stablemates at the weekend. I prefer not to take windfall apples as they are frequently bruised and therefore go mouldy more quickly. So to distract the squirrels I sprinkled handfuls of peanuts onto the grass .... which kept them busy for hours, burying them in the grass and borders and flower pots ... and just anywhere they could really - bless!. It has been damp and foggy here for days but (so far) we've not had any frosts and the garden is confused ... we've just harvested the last of our outdoor cherry tomatoes (in November)???? and even found a half ripe strawberry. Lots of the flowers and shrubs are having an extra 'bloom' ..... perhaps there is something in this 'Global warming theory' after all :-)
So, some pictures from my garden yesterday and then I'll stop waffling and get back to work tomorrow ...
Its just amazing how many apples are still on the tree in Mid November:
Chrysanths just love this time of year and are really beautiful just now:
and of course, this time of year is when the cobwebs appear just about everywhere it seems.
and some fungi growing between the paving stones!
and the little 'tree rats' who distracted me in the first place
and just one little 'arty' bit .... a sneak preview of the dog portrait I'll be working on between 'humans' during the next week or so
lovely dog :D great fur
ReplyDeletethe weather has been very weird here. lots of rain but no frost either. can't complain tho, no snow...yet :p