A Workout

Good grief the days have been busy of late! I've had a workout in more ways than one in the last week.

Beginning with Friday when my nerves had a workout doing the senior photo shoot. Mostly I was shaky on the camera settings, but I did my best. Typically, for my regular work, I'm happy if something comes out, and no one is the wiser if it doesn't. In this instance, that attitude was not going to fly, so we took a bunch hoping for a few good ones. I don't know which pictures she ended up choosing, as I gave her my card to download the photos on her computer, but here are a few of my favorites:

Delanee's mom, Kathy, along with my friend Sue, have a small business renting vintage items to brides, thus the couch, which they lugged from the car to this green spot at one of my favorite places, Orlando Wetlands Park. That was the first outfit, then she changed into a dress in the car.

Hair moving in the breeze = fantastic!:

Warning them ahead of time that I don't use Photoshop, (one of the main reasons I rarely do people), they agreed anyway. Seriously, with skin like that, who needs Photoshop? I wonder if hair blowing in the breeze is a no-no because it is too real?

Then, sitting on the little concrete stoop with Orlando carved into the side, we showed off her pretty dress:

We were lucky with the weather, not too hot at all, and more importantly no rain, of which, as you well know, we've had more than our share this summer.

Over the weekend, my stamina got a workout at the markets. Saturday, I had a few sales, considerably better than the previous weekend, then it died out, and for hours not one sale. It's a darn good thing I have Missy next to me to keep me entertained when it is dead!

She is a load of fun, and then too, she makes a wicked pimento cheese spread! I figured by the time I paid for gas, a little for my time, and the cost of the product, I made about $3 an hour. I constantly have people remark that it must be fun to do what I do. Wonder what those same folks would make of the wages?

Sunday, imagine this: we closed early due to weather! Not as early as the previous week, but early nonetheless. Morning sales made for a good start to the day, with a continuing trickle throughout the remainder. One thing that keeps me going is the folks that tell me they will get back with me, and then actually do! Becky is one such woman. She sent me an email with an order for not one, but two canvases, that are being made as I type.

My brain got a workout on Monday while playing bridge at Bev's house. How is it possible that Arlene and Barbie were dealt such great cards allowing them to win by a gazillion points? Fortunately I don't mind getting beat to a pulp! We played away the whole afternoon because it was raining cats and dogs for most of it. Speaking of cats, here's the resident cat at Dandelion Communitea:

This cat has a very clever name, Dorian Gray;  apparently he is their "watch cat." It's hard to believe the time has already come to take down the exhibit--seems like only yesterday we were putting it up! Sunday morning, before the market, I'll get my unsold pieces to sell on my own.

Tuesday, both my body, and my heart, got a workout. Monday's rain soaked, and I mean soaked, the ground, and it continued drizzling Tuesday morning while I was riding. Time to get to those neglected weeds in my garden. Which reminds me, have I told you gray hairs are sprouting all over my head like a bunch of weeds? Although late to the gray hair party, no telling what it will look like this time next year at the rate they are coming in!

Back to the narrative--what began as simple weeding, morphed into a three hour stint of trimming, pulling stray camphor trees out of the ferns, along with nasty potato vines, and the like. The three pento palms got quite the trimming---enough to fill all of our garbage cans, as well as two of our neighbors. It felt good to be back outside after neglecting things during the worst of the summer heat. You might assume that it really is fall,

but I'm here to say, that is merely what the calendar says, in spite of the two leaves pictured. We've got another few weeks of "greater summer" remaining before heading into "lesser summer," or at least that's what I call our weather.

Following the outdoor work, I went to FAVO to pack up my room, making way for another artist to use it during our trip. Will and I had a good chat about Berto, pictured below, when he worked in the gardens at the Polasek.

Just about every week I get an email from Alejandra at Sun Dance asking if I have this or that in my photo library--a succulent, vintage cameras, the American flag are the most recent examples. While hunting for her I usually find photographs I'd completely forgotten existed, with the Berto one as an example. It must have been just a random shot that I will now treasure.

Fittingly, the Polasek gardens will be the site of a memorial service on Sunday evening, organized by my friend Pam, who came over yesterday afternoon for another chat about Berto, giving my heart a workout. Apparently, thoughts of how she might have helped him more have been waking her at night. We're all prone to second-guessing when something like this occurs, however, according to Will, this was a well thought out plan that we all must accept as his decision. In spite of his immense talents, the truth of the matter is, that it is hard to make a living as an artist. All that to say--support those whose talents you admire!

Funny that I was nervous about the photo shoot because, if I think about it, for most of my adult life I photographed the inside of people every work day; if only I were more confidant of my camera skills, I'd use my people skills to photograph the outsides more often!