The last three weeks or so have been a wilder ride than usual. I set out, with the best of intentions, back at the beginning of October to write a review of yet another sensational Sundowner. Except, I forgot to snap a single photo of that celebration, so I have absolutely no record of the night whatsoever. However, I can report that a fabulous night was enjoyed by all. Ros Newick of tea cosy, floristry, artistic quilting (etc. etc.) fame had a sleepover in our guest room and Michael and Lawrence chatted until the wee hours of the following morning. The end result being that my beloved man was a tad worse for wear for the entirety of Sunday, rendering him thoroughly useless for any assistance with tidying the wreckage. We will be revving up all over again for our final Sundowner/the East End Gallery's 9th birthday party/Christmas party of 2023 on Saturday 2 December. Be there or be square!
Anyway, hold onto your hats whilst I start the ignition of the roller-coaster. Our Spring Sundowner was slap bang in the middle of the King's Birthday public holiday weekend, so we rocked on opening over five days rather than our typical four. A trip to the podiatrist and attacking the washing took up one of our two days off and I finally had a day in my garden when Michael kindly delivered the dogs to our ever efficient vet hospital in Northam - Stella to have her teeth cleaned under anaethetic and Lexi to receive her final round of puppy injections. Then, we began the countdown of when Miss Lexi could actually venture out into the big wide world of walkies.
We were back in the Gallery rolling over into a new month. We farewelled Carolina and her international man of mystery Steve and welcomed "repeat offender" Alan Pickering for twelve action-packed days as Artist-in-Residence. Alan, an exceptional oils "plein air" painter keeps returning to Heavenly Beverley, his annual triumph a "plein air" weekend here towards the end of each April, now attracting in excess of forty artists. I kid you not, peek behind a bush, under a bridge or up a tree on that weekend and a visiting artist will be peering back!
The first week of October was definitely the lull before the storm. I finally caught up on some household tasks, albeit thwarted by Lexi and Stella's efforts to cover the floors with old tissues, bits of paper towel, chewed toilet roll cylinders and sizable chunks of mulch which I had lovingly topped up in all my pots. Outside...A trip to the Big Smoke to meet Conor (Alex's rehabilitation physio) at our Autistic Superstar's unit was followed by multiple lightning raids on various retail outlets before I finally staggered in the door at around seven-thirty in the evening.
Then came notice of delivery of our Ikea unit, procured by the terrifying efficient and incredibly resourceful Jan Cross, who is also known as Gone Potty. There is absolutely nothing flaky within the steel trap of Jan's brain.
We enjoyed Lexi's first outing to our oval the day before the Arrival. She loved the Great Outdoors, tearing around as a jet black Whirling Dervish, competing with Stella to hurtle past our legs at Mach 1 speed. Since then, they have also loved meeting and running with Robbie, Janet's smaller but faster terrier cross. Robbie, with a lower centre of gravity, is so far able to out-sprint and out-corner the bigger dogs. As Lexi and Stella gain fitness, I think the races between them may tighten somewhat...
So, last Monday was Delivery Day. Jan and Ian duly arrived, she and Michael manhandled the unit into the Gallery on skates (remembering the ship's mate Bates), a lively chat and wander around the Gallery and Michael's studio was appreciated by all before Jan and Ian roared off in their ute. And then, the roller-coaster was at its pinnacle, teetering...
Our marvellous Ikea unit has transformed the Giftshop. Chaos has reigned all week as I have entirely revamped both the Giftshop and the main Gallery. The roller-coaster was charging through its final descent at breakneck speed. Michael whipped up two additional jewellery stands for immediate operation. Art has kept rolling in and, even better, rolling out. We finally are beginning to believe that nine years of perseverance is finally placing the East End Gallery (and Heavenly Beverley) on the tourism map.
I kept thinking that the rejig had finished last Thursday. Not so. I finally called Time! around seven o'clock last evening. Photos I had taken previously had to be culled and banished to the recycle bin whilst I clicked away at a brand new crop. A final vacuum to remove the corpses of all the deceased flies was executed with gusto.
Home for a gin and dinner. My darling husband heated up our leftovers and provided me with liquid refreshment. I powered through all the photos, editing and resizing to become user friendly as a final flourish to this post.
Best of all, Michael has his Mojo back and is in the Zone, his artistic ingenuity and flair on display with new sculptures...I'm excited!
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And playtime on our oval!
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