annanotbob's Diaryland Diary
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Like no one else
Oh God, my internet is so slow tonight, you'd think I was downloading three seasons of The Wire or something. Wish I was - wish there was something that grabbed me with mega AWE like that did, but alas no.
The good news is that my car will be repaired tomorrow to a standard that includes safety and legality (if not aesthetics), for the princely sum of fifty quid. Woo hoo and thank the lord for that. The whole affair has reminded me rather forcibly that Sam's natural inclination is towards the pessimistic - I was optimistic about the damage in the first place, not worried in the slightest till he managed to generate total agitation. According to him my Fiesta was an ex-car, absolutely dead as a fucking dead parrot and I'd be lucky to get more than a couple of hundred quid from the insurance. If I wanted to buy a car that wouldn't be costing more money on a daily basis, I'd have to spend every penny I have, then move house, because I can't pay all the rent, or take in a lodger or go without having a car at all, none of which appealed. He convinced me that the headlight would have been rammed right up inside all sorts of engine type stuff and better not open the bonnet to have a look in case it won't shut again. For fuck's sake - the guy at the garage opened it and the light has moved back into an empty space. Anyway, enough about that.
Seagulls:
I am on a mission to take a fabulous shot of one or more seagulls without a powerful zoom. That could have been it if I'd had my camera out - there were scores of them fighting over a scattered loaf of sliced bread, right at my feet, but a van came along the road and most of them took flight. Those two are the toughest, they just stepped back a bit - they ain't afraid of no van.
Since Florence I keep spotting religious stuff in town:
which makes me wonder about the blondness of all that old Italian Christian art. I mean, the bible stories all have enough detail that we know the name of the village Jesus was born in, so was it ignorance of the physical qualities of people from that region or a deliberate choice to make all the characters look more northern? Or just the models that were available?
We all gathered for art class outside the museum, in front of the big sign saying 'closed Mondays'. The teacher was mortified, but none of us were that sorry once we'd decamped to a groovy deli/cafe and set ourselves up around a long table. I've taken photos in here before - they really know how to display food, and it was nice to all sit together and chat a bit as we sketched. I was still a bit knotted up about my car at this point - the garage was later - and couldn't settle to attempt anything detailed, doing masses of quick ones instead, moving seats to get a different view:
It's funny how I can see them differently once they're a photo on a screen - the lines in that last one are all over the place, but I couldn't see it. I knew it was wrong, but not where or why.
After that exciting day I have mainly lay on the sofa admiring my bunch of tulips and not noticing the mess on the table till I saw that on screen either:
Sara got all As for her first essay. Proud? Moi?
Sweet dreams xxx
and some music:
|11:43 p.m. - 08/02/2010
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