Tomorrow this or one like it will finally grace the front of the convenience to. Big moment!

Yesterday Fran drove me to the Toukley Art Supplies to pick up the framed drawings. I was a bit annoyed as I thought I had paid for four of them and they only had dockets for three so I had to leave one behind. I couldn’t find a fourth receipt either so who knows. They did a really nice job of framing and the drawings look awesome.

We went down to Soldier’s Beach and Fran had a drink while I had a Coffee and egg and bacon roll. They make a great e+B roll in a big fresh bun. It was nice sitting there and chilling after all the stress over the last few weeks. Fran (community worker) dropped me off and I went back over to the Budgewoi Convenience store to see how they were going getting ready to open and to put my drawings up. The drawings went up well. I have put the ones up that were framed but I want larger drawings of local buildings to replace them so people can see them more easily and associate with them over coffee. By the time I got home I was miserable with pain but pretty pleased about how the day went . It is a buzz having some work out there where people can enjoy it.

Today I didn’t want to do anything. It takes several days to get over the harm done when I do too much. I managed to get off my backside and head back over to the convenience store and took a mop and a window squeegee thing and I cleaned the windows. It really hurt but they needed doing and the light is so much better through clean windows. When you go to university and have exhibitions you are expected to set up and maintain the gallery space for your exhibition. That includes painting the walls where they have been scuffed by an earlier exhibition and sweeping and setting up trestle tables and a whole range of other stuff. I cannot possibly manage that and to be honest I couldn’t really manage a proper clean of the windows. They are much better though and I have had some hand in the ritual of that part of being an artist. I hurt like a bitch (no offence, it is a colloquialism) but I am as happy as can be about it. Tomorrow I will go and see if there is anything I can do to help out with the sausage sizzle at the opening.

Warren the barber and I were discussing why we felt drawn to help out with the project and I realised it is a little more than just the artist’s work ethic for me and for him as well. We both feel it is a good project. Good in a way that makes you smile and feel positive. For me the whole convenience store thing is important to people like myself who live nearby. The people who have trouble getting the kilometre or so to the bigger store or who find that distance for a tub of margarine a bit far. People who have sore legs and bad hearts and mums with kids. Convenience stores give an added lift to the quality of life in their little area. A lot of people have already dropped in and told Roger how happy they are to see him open up. I think they will enjoy the addition of the coffee shop and ice-cream parlour although I think he has taken on a lot. The cafe in particular will be a great place to have a break and chat. He has managed to put it into a very good spot and the ambience is gentle and bright. I hope it gets up and runs well.

I am really a shocking mess physically. The pain is too much to sit down or lay down and I need to shut my eyes. I have been like it since I arrived home at about 1:pm. Ah well, I am not complaining. Looking at the past multitude of posts and the misery of just sitting here soaking in illness and pain this has to be better . I feel a lot happier.

You can see why I want the larger drawings. There will be computers along the shelf