British Airways and Etsy Orders

It all started before Thanksgiving. I received two digital art orders for Christmas gifts and was pleased folks were ordering so early! This time of year can be tough to turn around a lot of artwork in a very short period. But we also planned a trip to visit friends in England and then meet our French friends in Barcelona, leaving little time to work on anything, even though my studio travels with me. When we got back to England, the requests were piling up and I needed to start organizing my work in a way I could get a grip on it before over committing. So one afternoon I started writing down dates, person, request, and deadlines. I didn't have my usual neat methodology in place, so I used the last page of my British Airways information sheet as my inventory management sheet. That thing has been through the ringer and I had to refuse work this year to keep my sanity. So, from the time we returned back home on Thanksgiving weekend I completed twenty two cats, dogs, and birds in all different configurations; sketched out nine more with IOU's to complete within the next couple of weeks - including six K9's for the trainers at an academy in California; and negotiated a couple for specific dates in January. All I can say is "Whew!" and thank you all for noticing my digital art. I'm still working on several of the portraits and really enjoy doing it. Just to think something I made is being wrapped as a gift for someone who lost a pet, just adopted a puppy, or just plain wanted a portrait of their furry or feathered friend, makes me feel humbled. Merry Christmas everyone! I just can't go on vacation this time of year!

From London to Barcelona on British Airways

I am not much of a traveler, international or otherwise. But since Thursday, we flew from Washington DC to London, and this morning from London to Barcelona. I am also not someone who likes to get up early in the morning. And to make a 7:55 AM flight at Heathrow airport, we had to be ready for a cab to pick us up at 5:45 AM - which meant getting up by 5:00 AM. Of course I did not sleep a wink last night because I am still on Washington DC time, and we ate dinner at 8 PM. But for this leg of the journey our friends in England made all the arrangements so I didn't have to think about anything but the passports. When we were dropped off at terminal 3 at Heathrow it was already abuzz on a Sunday morning. My husband found a cell phone lying on the street in front of the cab and had to drop it off at security so they could reach the poor soul who lost it. We were on British Airways once again, and once again enjoyed the flight - if you can do such a thing. However, when we went through passport check, our English friends had no line, but ours wound well past the queuing lines filled with at least 1000 people. If that wasn't bad enough, a plane filled with young males decided they could just cut in front of us and took over the place. Luckily our friends were able to convince the authorities to find us and dragged us out of the hellhole. It was really dreadful with these folks surrounding us and pushing our backs... It doesn't appear they understood what a line and order was. Thankfully we got out of there soon enough but it was a very unpleasant experience. Then we jumped into the cab and got to our hotel in downtown Barcelona. Our English friend's son lives here, and he met us at the hotel, along with our friends from France, who flew in yesterday. I never thought I would ever visit Spain. Let's see how this goes after a very unusual start! 

From Washington to London on British Airways

It's been a year since we were in Europe visiting friends. We usually take United Airlines, but this time we decided to try British Airways. I selected a twin seat selection in the economy section and it was wonderful - because it was just me and my husband without an interloper in our row. In spite all of what is going on, it was very nice - except for the routine turbulence that is rather frightful. At least there were no weather related delays, getting struck by lightning or otherwise. We had to circle Heathrow for a bit, and getting through passport review went well. The best part was to see our friend's smiling face when we finally got through all the lines. That's the only reason we travel- to see someone. Anything else or a place can be seen on tv in the comfort of our home. It's a great excuse to get out if a house and to visit with such wonderful people.