One of a series of poodle portrait commissions just completed.Pastel on Board
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Hard To Believe
My floor sander did a terrific job, ripping off all the old paint and exposing clean sheets of chipboard underneath.
He was such a nice man and quoted me $600 for the entire job. I paid that 8 years ago, so although I felt it greatly overpriced then, today it semed pretty fair.
It was done by lunchtime, and I was very pleased. He had talked about charging me less, and did, knocking $200 off his quote, leaving me amazed at his kindness. He had brought up some clear acrylic finish and was going to sell it @ 5 litres for $30. He gave it to me!
Utterly amazing to find a tradesman who would do that. I would have paid the $630 without question. Makes your little heart sing..................
I have put a coat of undercoat/ sealer, two coats of deep plum/ burgundy and most of the second topcoat, moving my furniture back and forwards. Yesterday Mr Bliss put down some cement sheets and timber edging on the east door where the rain comes in sometimes, so I am doing the same there. My acrylic topcoat didn't last the whole distance so I rang my lovely man up and he said, "I'm going to be down at Knoxfield today and the suppliers are nearby, so I'll get you another 5 litres. Still the lovely man................
Nevertheless I will be pleased when it's all done and I can have my studio back.
*************************************
He was such a nice man and quoted me $600 for the entire job. I paid that 8 years ago, so although I felt it greatly overpriced then, today it semed pretty fair.
It was done by lunchtime, and I was very pleased. He had talked about charging me less, and did, knocking $200 off his quote, leaving me amazed at his kindness. He had brought up some clear acrylic finish and was going to sell it @ 5 litres for $30. He gave it to me!
Utterly amazing to find a tradesman who would do that. I would have paid the $630 without question. Makes your little heart sing..................
I have put a coat of undercoat/ sealer, two coats of deep plum/ burgundy and most of the second topcoat, moving my furniture back and forwards. Yesterday Mr Bliss put down some cement sheets and timber edging on the east door where the rain comes in sometimes, so I am doing the same there. My acrylic topcoat didn't last the whole distance so I rang my lovely man up and he said, "I'm going to be down at Knoxfield today and the suppliers are nearby, so I'll get you another 5 litres. Still the lovely man................
Nevertheless I will be pleased when it's all done and I can have my studio back.
*************************************
We needed a ram to service our 5 girs for this season and was offered an aging gentleman from my man's workmate.
We were a bit horrified when we went to pick him up, as he was an emaciated old fellow, but his owner swore he would be OK for a few girls, and would probably come back home to be ready for a bullet.
We called him Heffner after dear silly old Hugh, the playboy, and we did see him chatting up the gals after a couple of days, but we were not able to see him 'do the business'.
All he seemed to do was eat, so we hoped to see him put some weight on, but after a couple of weeks he still hadn't gained anything, and seemed to be even more bony.
On Saturday I heard Mr Bliss mumbling loudly to himself down in the paddock, and went down to see him trying to get old Heff to stand up. Poor old man did, but only just and was unable to walk. My man went into a spin and we tried to ring the owner, but no answer for that day or the next.
When things don't go the way they should, my man gets very unsettled, so I took the initiative and made the difficult decision to put him down. A couple of shots later, poor Hughey went to God, and was unceremoniously put into the ute to go to the burial place the family farm uses.
I think he just starved to death, with his teeth so worn he couldn't get at the grass, which would probably explain his constant eating. A couple of freezing frosty nights where he couldn't get warm just pushed him over the edge. Maybe having so many nubile women on call put too much pressure on his old body.
We don't know whether our gals still need the attentions of a younger boy, but they probably do. I'm a bit worn out on the subject. We don't have the room to buy a ram and keep him separate, so will rent one next season.
Hugh's previous owner seemed unfazed by his sudden demise............
We were a bit horrified when we went to pick him up, as he was an emaciated old fellow, but his owner swore he would be OK for a few girls, and would probably come back home to be ready for a bullet.
We called him Heffner after dear silly old Hugh, the playboy, and we did see him chatting up the gals after a couple of days, but we were not able to see him 'do the business'.
All he seemed to do was eat, so we hoped to see him put some weight on, but after a couple of weeks he still hadn't gained anything, and seemed to be even more bony.
On Saturday I heard Mr Bliss mumbling loudly to himself down in the paddock, and went down to see him trying to get old Heff to stand up. Poor old man did, but only just and was unable to walk. My man went into a spin and we tried to ring the owner, but no answer for that day or the next.
When things don't go the way they should, my man gets very unsettled, so I took the initiative and made the difficult decision to put him down. A couple of shots later, poor Hughey went to God, and was unceremoniously put into the ute to go to the burial place the family farm uses.
I think he just starved to death, with his teeth so worn he couldn't get at the grass, which would probably explain his constant eating. A couple of freezing frosty nights where he couldn't get warm just pushed him over the edge. Maybe having so many nubile women on call put too much pressure on his old body.
We don't know whether our gals still need the attentions of a younger boy, but they probably do. I'm a bit worn out on the subject. We don't have the room to buy a ram and keep him separate, so will rent one next season.
Hugh's previous owner seemed unfazed by his sudden demise............
Thursday, May 21, 2009
New Beginning
My studio floor is being sanded today. When it was built around eight years ago, the sander sold me some 'two pot' for the top coat. I had painted it a solid deep burgundy and then went to enormous trouble to stencil a design around the edges. It looked absolutely fabulous with a deep mirror finish.
Two weeks later the man who was installing an air conditioner dropped a wrench on it and left a huge flaw. Horror, real horror! Over the next months and years the top coat separated from the colour below and lifted off in sheets, leaving the floor a total eyesore.
I should have used polyerothane, which I knew would work.
So we will paint it over the next few days moving my enormous pile of gear backwards and forwards. I use it for my gallery, a bed sitter for guests and grandchildren as well as a creative haven from the outside stresses. I will actually feel like finishing the last few jobs on the building that have been hanging over my head for years.
Two weeks later the man who was installing an air conditioner dropped a wrench on it and left a huge flaw. Horror, real horror! Over the next months and years the top coat separated from the colour below and lifted off in sheets, leaving the floor a total eyesore.
I should have used polyerothane, which I knew would work.
So we will paint it over the next few days moving my enormous pile of gear backwards and forwards. I use it for my gallery, a bed sitter for guests and grandchildren as well as a creative haven from the outside stresses. I will actually feel like finishing the last few jobs on the building that have been hanging over my head for years.
*********************************
On wednesday we went into the city to see a barrister about my upcoming claim for compensation for my motorcycle accident. It is rather involved and I am glad to a have a guru solicitor who is steering me through it. I am using a 'No Win, No Fee' agreement which takes the pressure off somewhat. The barrister receves $2000 for creating this affidavit chronicling my accident, injuries and the effect it has had on me physically and mentally. He lodges it with TAC and then we go on from there.
He was a very nice man and put us both at ease.
He was a very nice man and put us both at ease.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
A Litter Next Year
My nearly three year old Standard Poodle bitch belongs half to me and half to her breeder. We are to share equally in any litters that she might have. Now, at three, we are having to think seriously about when and to whom she will conceive. The litter will be born here, which is a big job for Zara and I, as poodles have about 8 pups on average.
Kathy hasn't seen Zara for some time now, so on Saturday, I put her in the car and went to meet Kathy at a nearby dog show at Bunyip. She was showing the progeny from her last litter, a stunning white girl looking at her absolute best in her puppy clip. I stayed to watch her class and she got Reserve Challenge which pleased Kathy greatly.
She went over my happy little girl with a fine tooth comb and pronounced her to be constructed very nicely. I have to take her off to have her hips x-rayed to check for hip dysplasia, and a blood test for Von Willebrands, the doggie equivalent of hemophilia where the blood doesn't clot. The way my girl races around her yard shows me there's not too much wrong with the hips.
Kathy has a litter nearly due now and I am happy to leave it until her heat next year, so we're aiming for a winter litter. That cancels out the cold kennels in the shed. Where do I have enough room for a litter, I worried until today as I was out in the studio drawing with a friend. She suggested there, and wow! there is plenty of room out there and it can be heated. Worries over.
I have to take her to Sydney to meet her planned boyfriend, so we will take off for a few days and sightsee while she is being mated.
Kathy hasn't seen Zara for some time now, so on Saturday, I put her in the car and went to meet Kathy at a nearby dog show at Bunyip. She was showing the progeny from her last litter, a stunning white girl looking at her absolute best in her puppy clip. I stayed to watch her class and she got Reserve Challenge which pleased Kathy greatly.
She went over my happy little girl with a fine tooth comb and pronounced her to be constructed very nicely. I have to take her off to have her hips x-rayed to check for hip dysplasia, and a blood test for Von Willebrands, the doggie equivalent of hemophilia where the blood doesn't clot. The way my girl races around her yard shows me there's not too much wrong with the hips.
Kathy has a litter nearly due now and I am happy to leave it until her heat next year, so we're aiming for a winter litter. That cancels out the cold kennels in the shed. Where do I have enough room for a litter, I worried until today as I was out in the studio drawing with a friend. She suggested there, and wow! there is plenty of room out there and it can be heated. Worries over.
I have to take her to Sydney to meet her planned boyfriend, so we will take off for a few days and sightsee while she is being mated.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Regeneration
I wish I had taken my camera so I would have photos to accompany this post.
Over the weekend Mr Bliss and I went for a drive out through the local areas affected by the recent bush fires. It was a real eye opener, with many houses spared but the surroundings burned right to the door.
Miles of fencing is gone but the farmers are working hard to get new posts and wire up. Many paddocks were stripped to the bare earth, but are now sporting a tinge of green after the recent rains.
Always amazing are the gum trees, which sprout shoots all the way up the trunk in order to get the tree functioning again. After it finally grows a new crown, these shoots all fall off when they are no longer needed.
Along the road sides, the bracken ferns' long green tendrils are reaching for the sky.
Nature is indeed a wonderful thing.
Not so wonderful are the stories of fence posts, laid out by farmers ready for 'planting' the next day, and stolen from the paddocks. Indeed, poor character will not improve in the face of such hardship. Thieves are thieves, and stay thieves, no matter how bad things get.
Over the weekend Mr Bliss and I went for a drive out through the local areas affected by the recent bush fires. It was a real eye opener, with many houses spared but the surroundings burned right to the door.
Miles of fencing is gone but the farmers are working hard to get new posts and wire up. Many paddocks were stripped to the bare earth, but are now sporting a tinge of green after the recent rains.
Always amazing are the gum trees, which sprout shoots all the way up the trunk in order to get the tree functioning again. After it finally grows a new crown, these shoots all fall off when they are no longer needed.
Along the road sides, the bracken ferns' long green tendrils are reaching for the sky.
Nature is indeed a wonderful thing.
Not so wonderful are the stories of fence posts, laid out by farmers ready for 'planting' the next day, and stolen from the paddocks. Indeed, poor character will not improve in the face of such hardship. Thieves are thieves, and stay thieves, no matter how bad things get.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Did the Earth Move for you?
We were sprawled comfortably in front of the giant TV watching 'Casino Royale' a few nights back, when the house shifted on it's footings, creaking and groaning. Then it began to shudder noisily, with things rattling busily in the cupboards.
The epicentre of this quake was in Korumburra, about a half an hour's drive away. We did have a smaller tremor a few months back, harking from the same place, but that was very light. At the time I wondered whether I had imagined that, but this one was 4.6 on the Richter Scale, and there was no mistake.
Will there be a bigger one at Korumburra? They must be wondering.
The epicentre of this quake was in Korumburra, about a half an hour's drive away. We did have a smaller tremor a few months back, harking from the same place, but that was very light. At the time I wondered whether I had imagined that, but this one was 4.6 on the Richter Scale, and there was no mistake.
Will there be a bigger one at Korumburra? They must be wondering.
Friday, February 27, 2009
No Gratitude for our Hospitality
This week we saw a young man on CCTV having his head kicked by Sudanese youths at a suburban railway station. We watch as he is shadowed by the three along a narrow corridor, how they spoke to him then shoved him down and aimed deliberately at his head. He tried to get up a couple of times, but they kicked him down again.
Apart from this shocking violence from the recipients of our refuge policies, there was more. A young couple stepped into the corridor, and walked quietly past, obviously nervous, but made no attempt to help. I am assuming that they told no-one, because after the men left, the injured man stumbled to his feet, bouncing backwards and forwards between the walls as he went to find help. No-one came, so I am assuming the couple did nothing. Good to know we all take care of each other.
I'm not sure but I think this man is still in hospital with 'serious head injuries'. Two of the three men have been arrested.
They have come from a place where violence is normal, and landing in 'safe' Australia, they form gangs and cause this sort of mayhem to peaceful Australians.
Apart from this shocking violence from the recipients of our refuge policies, there was more. A young couple stepped into the corridor, and walked quietly past, obviously nervous, but made no attempt to help. I am assuming that they told no-one, because after the men left, the injured man stumbled to his feet, bouncing backwards and forwards between the walls as he went to find help. No-one came, so I am assuming the couple did nothing. Good to know we all take care of each other.
I'm not sure but I think this man is still in hospital with 'serious head injuries'. Two of the three men have been arrested.
They have come from a place where violence is normal, and landing in 'safe' Australia, they form gangs and cause this sort of mayhem to peaceful Australians.
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