Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Painting and Editing
Every year it seems that the Weather Gods know precisely when the festival has ended. The wind picks up, the sun dips, the rain clouds gather, and a chill blows in from the East Lothian hills. Suddenly, autumn is on its way.
I like autumn, so I welcome its impending arrival with delight and gladness. I like the feel of it, the colours, the idea that summer is over and I can be comfortable outside without fear of it being too cold. I like the images it produces in my mind and I like how I seem to become more productive this time of year as we begin the journey towards winter and the Christmas season.
Oh God. Christmas. That'll be the last time I mention it for a while - promise.
The day job eased up slightly today. Partly because I chose to ignore the recent problems and partly because I was working on other things. When I got home I gave the walls, roof, and wooden areas their first coats of paint in the downstairs bathroom.
It took me much longer this time because of all the fiddly bits. All the facilities and decor are brand new so I have to ensure no paint is splashed, and all the edges are accurately painted. I had just done the roof (white), and moved onto the walls (aqua green/blue), when on the first thrust of my brush I forgot what I was painting. Aqua green/blue right onto the roof. Bugger! It was soon cleared up but the whole operation took me a good couple of hours to finish.
By that time Laura was hungry so we ordered pizza and Irn-Bru. Lovely jubbly. Gail phoned for a quick couple of minutes but we didn't tell her about the painting. It's to be a surprise, so if anyone is reading this in Kos, you better keep yer gobs shut!
As I worked, Laura sat in the conservatory leading off the bathroom. She's doing a scrapbook - of me. She has copied my literary bio out of Fringe Fantastic and is using all the leaflets and posters to put together a scrapbook. She has a different page about all my books and e-books. I think she's proud of her old dad.
Once she was in her bed, I finished a re-draft of Amanda and Joe and sent it, along with Regrets to my writing pal who is also doing the exercises. We agreed to swap stories to see what each other came up with.
I thought I was going to get to bed a bit earlier but it didn't work out that way. After I had tidied up and finished my editing it was almost midnight again. Tiredness is beginning to affect my thinking, so I need to get at least one decent night's sleep soon.
I like autumn, so I welcome its impending arrival with delight and gladness. I like the feel of it, the colours, the idea that summer is over and I can be comfortable outside without fear of it being too cold. I like the images it produces in my mind and I like how I seem to become more productive this time of year as we begin the journey towards winter and the Christmas season.
Oh God. Christmas. That'll be the last time I mention it for a while - promise.
The day job eased up slightly today. Partly because I chose to ignore the recent problems and partly because I was working on other things. When I got home I gave the walls, roof, and wooden areas their first coats of paint in the downstairs bathroom.
It took me much longer this time because of all the fiddly bits. All the facilities and decor are brand new so I have to ensure no paint is splashed, and all the edges are accurately painted. I had just done the roof (white), and moved onto the walls (aqua green/blue), when on the first thrust of my brush I forgot what I was painting. Aqua green/blue right onto the roof. Bugger! It was soon cleared up but the whole operation took me a good couple of hours to finish.
By that time Laura was hungry so we ordered pizza and Irn-Bru. Lovely jubbly. Gail phoned for a quick couple of minutes but we didn't tell her about the painting. It's to be a surprise, so if anyone is reading this in Kos, you better keep yer gobs shut!
As I worked, Laura sat in the conservatory leading off the bathroom. She's doing a scrapbook - of me. She has copied my literary bio out of Fringe Fantastic and is using all the leaflets and posters to put together a scrapbook. She has a different page about all my books and e-books. I think she's proud of her old dad.
Once she was in her bed, I finished a re-draft of Amanda and Joe and sent it, along with Regrets to my writing pal who is also doing the exercises. We agreed to swap stories to see what each other came up with.
I thought I was going to get to bed a bit earlier but it didn't work out that way. After I had tidied up and finished my editing it was almost midnight again. Tiredness is beginning to affect my thinking, so I need to get at least one decent night's sleep soon.
Colin 2:10 pm