office tree, Amazon.ca reply

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my brother-in-law Kaarel today!

Got home at 10 pm last night, have to leave 8 am this morning to be at the house for the carpet installer (he didn't get quite finished last week), little time to Blather. I am also behind in e-mail; thanks for your patience. I wanted to thank those who sent cards and postcards to my P.O. Box, however: more on this soon, as well as pics. And YAY, my copy of Riverfolk's new Meander CD has arrived! Excited about listening to it.

Worked on my office tree yesterday while two guys from Cleanol were cleaning our ducts at the new house. After the experiment on my door, I'm getting a tad better at brushwork. But wow, I am definitely going to have to get higher quality brushes. My cheapo bristle brushes were falling apart by the end of yesterday afternoon, little hairs sticking out at annoying angles and refusing to be straightened out, ugh.

Anyway, finished the trunk and branches, working on leaves next. I was pretty happy with how it turned out, considering how little experience I have in this medium and with drawing trees. I used Burnt Sienna for the initial tree outline and shape, then Burnt Umber and a bit of Cadmium Yellow to add some texture and shading; I also experimented with dabbing and rolling the brush for different effects.

And an Amazon.ca / Harry Potter delivery update! Looks like someone at Amazon.ca does read those feedback forms after all. I received an e-mail containing an apology AND letting me know that my full payment will be refunded.

My disappointment in getting the book two days late and faith in their customer service has been much mellowed. Instead of feeling bitter about the whole experience, I'm walking away thinking more highly of the company. They could have ignored the problem (as so many companies do) or pointed fingers ("It was Canada Post's fault!"), but they didn't.

Kudos to Amazon for turning a messy situation into good PR for the company.

THREE DAYS until we spend our first night in our new house.

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