Waiting for a delivery ....

I'm sure that people who run delivery companies all have mothers who love them. But I don't love them at all.

Why, oh why, can't they at least tell you whether they'll be coming in the morning or the afternoon? I was waiting for a fabric delivery today, and all the company would say was "between 8 am and 6 pm." Now I work from home - but I also have two large dogs to exercise. At 9 am they were excitable, at 11 am they were unbearable and by 1 pm hysterical. And 20 stone of hysterical dog is not nice to have in the house. Luckily the delivery arrived at 1.45 and we were free!!

All morning then, I spent secluded in the workroom. This was not entirely through choice, but because every time I emerged I was leapt upon, slobbered on and generally made to feel like a complete rat for seemingly having forgotten to take the them out. Still, at least my time was spent constructively as I was able to make a number of beach bags - lovely powder blue dotty fabric adorned with the picture you see above.

I painted this last summer after a succession of great days out with friends. We'd park the car at East Portlemouth and catch the ferry over to Salcombe for beer and fish and chips at the Ferry Boat Inn, watching the holiday sailors tacking across the estuary - and occasionally getting it wrong much to everyone's amusement. The original painting now hangs on Denise's wall in Warsash, but I scanned it before giving it to her, knowing I'd want to use it one day, and to be honest I didn't really want to part with it ... too many summer memories .....