Friday, November 16, 2007

Catching Up

Hello everyone,
A lot of changes have occurred this past summer and fall. My son was married in June for one and in October I accepted a full time position at Spillers working in their credit/collection department. http://www.spillersusa.com/. This is something my husband and I discussed at length and felt with the slow economy the way it is and with health insurance cost for individual coverage skyrocketing, it was best for me to go back to work and receive health benefits through my employer. At least now we will not have to face a monthly insurance rate of $600.00 a month, with an increase slated to go up to 728.00 by Jan 2008 for a $10,000.deductible policy for the both my husband and I.
What does this mean for my Animals in Pastels business and my clients? Mostly there will be a change in the amount of time that I will be accessible to the public during the day. You will still be able to reach me by email and leave messages by phone, and I will do my best to answer all inquiries after 4 pm in the afternoon Monday through Friday. As far as portrait commission I will have to limit the total to 6 per year and the turn around time will change from 2 weeks up to 4 to 8 weeks depending on my waiting lists. For those of you who are unfamiliar with my portrait work visit this link: http://www.animalsinpastels.com/pet-portriats.html

I will still be marketing my loon books to local bookstores, schools and any one who just wishes to buy one as a gift. Even though sales have dropped dramatically from last year my book is still very well received. For those who still wish to purchase a copy of "Loons of Tacoma Lakes" for the upcoming holiday just visit this link for more information http://animalsinpastels.com/loons-of-tacoma.html . You can easily place your order my mail or by emailing LoonsofTacoma@aol.com As a holiday special, through the month of December I will be waving the shipping cost for all single copies ordered.

My other big change came in September with my photography, I decided to go completely digital and replaced my Canon Rebel 2000 with a Canon Digital Rebel XTI and have been very please with my decision. No more waiting to have rolls of film developed and saving images in digital format. Now I just download my images and use my Paint Shop Pro image software to edit my photographs. In the spring I hope to add a new 500mm image stabilized lens to my equipment so that my wildlife shots will have even more detail. Even using my old 300mm lens I am able to capture some exceptional pictures with this Canon digital XTI. When you have a chance visit my online photography gallery at http://www.animalsinpastels.com/gallery/main.php Here you will be able to view and order a variety of my scenes of New England photographs as magnets, greeting cards and prints right from the comfort of your home. Over the winter months I will be uploading many new photographs including draft horses captured at the Fryeburg Fair, sunsets in Rangeley, Maine, flowers and of course my new loon photographs. So check back often to view all the new photographs I have captured.


On a sad note, in October we lost our beloved Choc lab, K-C to cancer. She was a very special dog and my husband and I miss her dearly. You do not really know how intertwined your lives become with your pets until you have lost them. Everywhere we go we are reminded of her. This past Sunday breakfast we looked at the leftover pancakes, and tears came to our eyes knowing we would not be sharing them with her again. I am even reminded of her when shopping for steak because she would always lick her lips in anticipation of having the leftovers. I am fortunate, though being an avid photographer I had taken many photographs of her throughout the 11 + years she was with us. And of course her pastel portrait that I painted 5 years ago hangs in our living room with her looking over us. That old saying is certainly true that dogs leave paw prints in our hearts. May you always have water to play in and squirrels to chase. Until we meet again my friend. K-C March 19, 1996 ~ October 26, 2007

Until next time, wishing everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Christmas season.

Sandra Lee Huston