Promises, promises

A busy but not particularly productive Saturday, one with storms threatening nearly the whole day, yet I never found myself under the cloud mass letting loose..just windy. Too windy for the ferry, which mucked up my first plan of attack on the day.

I was rushing to leave the house for the bus this morning, and in turning back to pick up my tote somehow lost my footing and landed hard on my upper thigh and shoulder. Nothing broken or the least bit wonky - but I'm a definite jelly on that side, bruised and sore and a bit 'stiff'. As I tried to catch breath and let the worst of it pass (hearing the bus roar by in the meantime) I kept saying 'this is not good'. But, other than feeling a little battered and tired before my time, all is well. Better luck than deserved - shouldn't have left it to the last moment. That'll larn me!

Rode out to Sandys Parish to look at a butcher block work table. Continuing the day's theme, no one was around at the address; oddly, the owner called as I was waiting for noontime, in case things would change when the time came for her sale. She'd seen my last email asking about transport, and was responding. When she realized I was out there, she laughingly chided that the sale was Sunday, but see if her housemate's car was there. It wasn't, I reported - so she told me where to find her emergency housekey and let myself in her place to look at the table and the other stuff she had collected for her sale. (Yep, people work differently here.) We stayed on the phone the whole time, until I reversed the process and replaced her key. (The table might work, but is a little lower and a little smaller than I'd like to have.)

Took the bus on out to Dockyard, to see the cruise ship pier and terminal I'd been co-authoring the EIS on, and to go to the art gallery out there. Their display space is about half what BSOA's downtown space is, and is more of a sales gallery (with 4 or 5 studios around the perimeter). Both the guys who had a show at BSOA recently - I listed their websites here recently - had pieces for sale there, as did several other people. A couple who were making selections when I walked in finally wrapped up their decision making - and their purchases -, having picked upnearly $1000 worth of pieces by one of the artists. Most of this is very much in the 'scenes of Bermuda' category, because that is both the obvious temptation, and, frankly, what sells in these venues.

The piece I liked the best was a blue, white and gray-tone watercolor of an architectural detail. After a while, all those paintings of seascapes and cottages resemble each other, esp when you are a bit tired. I didnt spring for the $670 price tag, of course. I did get some very low cost prints - a quartet of tiny scenes or details (hibiscus flower, Johnny Barnes waving kisses to everyone at the roundabout, an ocean horizon, a hill with the white roofed cottages) that I will stack somewhere, probably in the kitchen, a larger view past an old cottage to a bay, all turquoise and aqua. Nothing world shaking, just enjoyable moments.

With the ferry not running (those winds), I took the bus back to town. I'd noticed a 'grand opening' of the new facility for one of the few hardware stores on the island, and decided I'd get off at the nearby stop if I caught it in time. Turns out this rather formally dressed older woman had the same plan, and we walked down the road into the Industrial Park where this place is located. This one did carry some building supplies out back, but seemed to specialize in paints. (Which can be very pricey - I was looking at the small containers for what I might use for my to-be-donated bird house piece. The little containers start around $18. The gallons start around $40. Anything better quality or more exotic, and you are looking at $60/gln. Wow.

We walked past the 'Made in Italy' marble/granite place - they have lots of 'sheets' of stone and I understand inside they carry things like mantelpieces and sculptured work. I was there too late to get inside, but contemplated snagging some of the stuff that had been put in the trash barrels, clearly now waste. (I may give them a call and see if they'd mind saving some of those chunks and shards and extra bits - might be the cheapest way to decorate this birdhouse, with smashed bits of marble for a mosaic approach.)

Got to Hamilton, checked what the one quasi-sort-of-nominally-art supply place carried, then went to Gibbons, a local department store, to do my 'shops' for the month. As a mystery shopper I'm given assignments and questions about the sales associate, floor merchandizing, etc to respond to. I still need to do a phone 'shop', but otherwise Gibbons is done for the month. Monday I really must go to Capital G Bank.

The ride back was upbeat - the driver was an outrageous flirt with everyone who climbed on the bus.

So - I'll light-weight it this evening, try to make up some sketches for the birdhouse (decorating a bluebird house for a fundraiser), take a warm shower and go to bed early, if I can. Tomorrow I will tackle all the paperwork I have - and I know my wooden file cabinet is being delivered, woo hoo!