Friday 5th June to Sunday 5th July
Thursday 11th June
You will notice the time difference between this and the last blog
post? Well, I have been beavering away at my new Cartoon Portrait hobby, and
we’ve been spending time painting the stern deck, so the blog has simply been
set aside, but not forgotten.
Now, as far as the cartooning is concerned, I have been considering
building a simple website, upon which I can display some examples of my work
and encourage people to buy that “Special Present”, for “That Special Person”.
Of course the person from whom I purchased this idea, has a website with all
the bells and whistles, including videos and such.
All I really want, however, is a site that depicts a few examples and
invites orders for cartoons. If I make it simple enough to follow; rather than
seven or eight pages of in-depth information, the whole enterprise will be much
easier to control. I’m not looking for a full time income here; just a few
orders here and there, which will give me something to pass the time and earn a
few bob.
We have now completed painting all the green on the stern deck, doors
and side panels. Our next job will be applying an undercoat for the cream,
non-slip deck paint. That’s Wifey’s job, since I am unable to get down on my
hands and knees.
Today we’ll be driving over to Braunston to replace the battery filler
bottle top, that my so-called friend thought hilarious when I dropped it in the
’oggin. There are a few other things we need from there, such as more green
paint and a couple more things.
Sunday 14th June
So far we’ve managed to apply a couple of coats of paint to the back
doors and surrounding panels, along with the tall unit that houses the control
lever. However, brush marks do show through, so we’ve now bought some wet and
dry paper with which to rub it all down, before applying a final coat using new
brushes.
I’ve almost finished writing up my eBay ad for Personalised Cartoon
Portraits, and I’ll probably post that tomorrow morning. My first foray into
the world of cartoon portraits will only be for a hand drawn cartoon on
watercolour paper, which will be posted to the buyer in a hard backed A4
envelope. I will leave it up to the recipient to frame the cartoon and present
it to his/her ‘victim’.
Following on from this, I will write other ads for framed A4 and A3
portraits. But I want to see what reaction I get from the simple stuff first.
Thursday 18th June
More painting on the stern deck yesterday; thankfully before the rain
came. Today, if the weather stays dry, Wifey will mark out the base of the deck
and apply undercoat for the cream, non-slip surface.
I’m still undecided as to where to advertise my Cartoon Portraits. Mt
mentor; one Alan Taylor; advertises on eBay and charges just £24 and sends the result
by email in the forms of a .jpeg and a .pdf file, and leaves it to the client
to print it out. How he gets away with the electronic mailing on eBay, I have
no idea, because it’s strictly against their rules.
I want to hand draw them on watercolour paper and frame them, but I’m
not sure where to list them. There are many more sites than eBay, most of which
deal with crafts of one kind or another. And then there local shops, such as
our Co-op, which charges just £0.60p per week for a shop window ad.
Look, I’m 73 years of age and don’t want to go back to ‘work’, so I
have to be careful about the amount of business I attract.
On Saturday I’ll be off to Harlow, after which we’ll be heading off for
a few weeks in the boat.
Friday 19th June
After applying undercoat to the stern deck yesterday, Wifey was hoping
to apply a second coat this morning. Alas, the rain put a stop to that idea.
However, it’s now 2 pm and the surface is now dry, so she’s outside painting
that second coat.
Monday 22nd June
My trip to Harlow went very well, although Les and Dave were away on
holiday, so I couldn’t call in on them. However, I did get to visit Chris and
Mal and help put the world to rights, along with the consumption of two cups of
tea,
Part of the afternoon was spent at the Admiral with Alan, but we had to
go to his place of work later to see an engineer sort out a problem with
electronically operated doors. After which it was a return to the Admiral.
I also collected a Tablet that Alan bought for me; all I have to do now
is set it up and find a use for it. Since loads of people have them I have to
assume there are plenty of uses for them.
Wednesday 24th June
Yesterday Wifey applied the third and final undercoat to the stern
deck, after which we took Alex to meet the folks at the Vets in Hilmorton. He
wasn’t that impressed because he made his liquid mark on the place.
Today, since we are now only a few days away from our 35th
wedding anniversary and Wifey’s birthday, we’ll be taking the bus into Rugby
for cards.
Thursday 25th June
Yesterday was a great day weather-wise, but far too warm in the morning
for any painting to be done. However, it did cool down later so Wifey did
manage a coat of the final colour to the stern.
We keep a Tupperware box of biscuits and treats in the cupboard under
the sink. These are for Alex, not us and, up until yesterday we thought they
were safe from prying doggie eyes. Not so!! He knows where they are and seems
to have found a way to open the cupboard door.
Yesterday afternoon I went to his box to give him a small treat, but
the box looked to be rather short of biscuits, compared to the last time we
looked. Obviously our little canine pal had helped himself, which was borne out
by his obvious discomfort soon afterwards.
Needless to say we have now fitted a lid to the box!!
Friday 26th June
Yesterday we took a drive over to Daventry to stock up on dog food. We
also took Alex over to the local park for a bit of a walk and an ice cream.
Saturday 27th June
It’s another lovely day and we were planning on topping up the
batteries and running the engine. Instead we took a walk up to the Post Office
and had a coffee when we returned.
I have now finished practising with the Cartoon making and have now
listed on Etsy.com. Rather than attach photos of the cartoons I’ve done so far;
which can be fraught with problems on Blogspot; if you would like to take a
look you’ll find me at Shiralee Publishing on the Etsy site. I’m also on
Folksy.com under DoneByDave and eBay, under Done-by-Dave.
Tuesday 30th June
Many thanks to all who sent a Birthday/Anniversary Card; much
appreciated.
We had planned to take the bus into Rugby this morning, but it will
probably be too hot for traipsing around the shops. Instead I’ll climb down
into the engine bay and top up the batteries. No doubt I’ll wish I hadn’t done
so, because I’m bound to climb out all sticky and mucky. I’m not sure which is
worse!!
Yesterday I removed the tool box and support bars from the stern, to
enable Wifey to paint the deck behind the safety rails. I had suggested to my
dear brother, that he might like to make a new box, just to give him something
to do; as if he’s not busy enough!! However, the box still appears to be in
good shape, so a coat of paint is all it needs. Not to worry Bruv, I’ll see if
I can find you something else to do. LOL.
Friday 3rd July
Since I last made an entry here we’ve been in the midst of a heat-wave.
Fortunately we do have the benefit of any available breeze while we’re in the
marina. Believe me it’s a totally different story when cruising and moored
along the canal where, unless we’re under a tree, such weather can be
unbearable.
We watched Nadal take a bashing from Dustin Brown yesterday evening.
What a surprise!!
Sunday 5th July
This morning was much cooler than of late and we managed to walk up to
the Post Office without working up a sweat. That’s me, by the way, Wifey just
glows, as befits a lady!!
We also walked to the Club and watched the start of F1, but didn’t stay
to see Hamilton win – again.
Tomorrow; now that Wifey has finished painting the stern deck; I’ll
refit the toolbox and give it a rub down and new coat of paint. I’ll then be
re-wiring the solar panel and taking a look at the state of the paint
underneath it before refitting it on new brackets.
During the next few days we’re hoping to finish painting the roof and,
after a good bit of shopping on Wednesday, we’ll probably take the boat out for
a couple of weeks.
That’s about it for this blog. My apologies if the space between
postings seems rather long but there’s really not much going on here and it
seems pointless posting only 3-4 pages.
Take care all.
Dave, Sheila and Alex.
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