late summer morning



Beautiful morning. The day cleared yesterday from a stormy morning to a perfect day. I would say more of that today. It is cool..verging on cold and the light has shifted from that of summer to the redder light, lower on the horizon. The fragrant hosta in the front of the Luckystone is beginning to open up...large, white trumpets from which a high floral scent lingers on the cool air. This is always our September treat. I always forget they bloom and then, boom...a heavenly scent and bunches of white flowers. The leaves are going from green to olive...so we all know what is coming.

I cooked up another soup for today...leeks, new potatoes, cucumbers and a spare zucchini for fun. It is a simple vicysoisse that I will add a little whole milk/ no fat half and half for the team for lunch. They will be thrilled...they love soup when we have it. Considering the price of everything...Spending a little time peeling and coarsely chopping the night before, and pureeing in the morning makes a delicious lunch at a significantly lower price. I will need to think of rice dishes and the like for this winter as we are going to have 5-7 lunchers until January.

It was a hard day with all sorts of college tutors and college advisors yesterday. My head is spinning. I need a day or so to collect myself before I dive into the pile of books I was encouraged to buy from a directory of schools, to creative schools, to a vocabulary listing to prep for the PSAT tests. I need to get into the head of my girl maybe with some help from the school psychologist so I can sync better and not feel so off around her. I am a student too...but one that understands time and schedules...and honestly, fitting assignments into my life is not a biggie. But, this is not all about me.

Today, on to some illustration including the two holiday cards that have come to the fore. The Tsunami project is still not negotiated or handed over despite my efforts. A more strategic approach on my part to either have them engage or not might have to happen...I may need to force their hand as the sheer volume of work on top of the standard workload needs to be managed. My contacts are nonplussed, but saying stuff like "if this job doesnt deliver, I lose my job". Imagine where this puts me..new client that my work is well suited for, but put in a situation to deliver a credible job in an amazing time frame which was insane to begin with. Now, take two weeks out of that schedule. I think the boom is coming down today/tomorrow. If we cant have this that and the other thing by end of day tomorrow, we cannot do the job. There is too much in jeopardy relative to my reputation and the work we produce. I am not going to be put into this sort of situation. There is a lot of benefit insofar as having lots of road time because I have walked from bigger jobs/contracts and I know the repercussions in not delivering perfection despite the schedule and client fumblings. It is money that is a bitter pill.

More later. I hope to have a minute to draw a bit for me...? One can hope...