Bits and bobs

I should be posting more often or I wouldn't have to create a jumble of a post like this one, but the summer holidays always catch me out - when I think I'll get loads of drawing done, I end up doing even less. This (above) is what I saw when I woke up yesterday morning and looked out the window. It looked to me like a Christmas tree with it's baubles floating away! The temperatures in Geneva were really high this summer but last week there was a sudden change and loads of rain. This week we have showers but it's much more pleasant now as there is still warmth in the sun but the air is fresher. There is no doubt though, summer is over and winter is on it's way.











Sometimes I think my posts are really boring for people to read but I try to remember that I'm writing for myself too! For instance, this is an old drawing but I went to the opticians this week and tried to remember when I last went. Ah, that old drawing - I drew it exactly two years ago so my blog helps me remember things I would normally forget! Glasses may be a thing of the past now; I went to the place for laser eye surgery centre in Geneva this week which just happens to be within walking distance of our house. It took two years to pluck up the courage to make the appointment and I'm glad I did. I found out that my eyes are not that bad - a borderline case for surgery -so I'm going to go for contact lenses instead. I was really impressed with the ophthalmologist, I learned much more about my eyes and my prescription in that free consultation than I have from trying to quiz all the opticians I'd seen previously. (He could have 'sold' me the surgery but instead very clearly explained why borderline cases, especially with long sightedness, are more difficult to treat correctly.) The last pair of glasses I got for reading, above right, I'm sure are not quite right as they've been giving me eye strain. Hence, the decision to (literally) cut out the need for them completely and be done with the hassle. It was a huge relief to know it wasn't necessary. I tried out some contacts and walked around for half an hour with them in and they felt great. With glasses I feel like I'm looking at life from behind a window and I have tendency to bump into things!
















And speaking of bumping into things, here is something Mark disturbed when he was gardening - a Death's-Head Hawkmoth! He had his head in the hedge (with his hat on!) sorting out a broken irrigation hose and felt something on his ear. It walked up under the rim and when he took it off he was surprised to see this huge thing. (Not as surprised as I would have been, that's for sure!)















I had heard of these things but I had no idea of just how big they are! He was hissing and spewing a white liquid, obviously very miffed he'd been disturbed but he didn't fly off (thank goodness, or I would have legged it!) so Mark brought him over for his photo shoot and then popped him back in the hedge.

I'm not struggling with inspiration, as before, but we've been busy sorting the house out. We've finally got rid of the last of the awful colours the previous owners left us with as we've had the painters in. They painted the laundry room and bomb shelter in the previously dark and dingy basement, which I didn't want to tackle ( I painted all the interior walls but those, a couple of years ago) but the main reason they were here was to paint the exterior. After the shower debacle, I was dreading any more workmen in the house, but they did it all so quickly and efficiently, it was virtually painless! The dusty, nasty, pale pink has gone and the house is now a bright and clean cream. It feels like we've just moved in to a new house so it's inspired us to do a few things inside that we've been putting off. Regular readers might remember me writing off 2009 in February, but things have changed considerably since then. It sounds strange, but having the house done has sort of put a line underneath that. Those worries are behind us, and house now feels like 'ours' finally. So, no new drawings. But contrary to advice about how you must sketch every day or the world will implode, it hasn't and I'm not worrying about it, just happy to enjoy how things are ticking along at the moment!