Who is Your Shipper?

Flora & Fauna & ***

 

As has been previously related to some of you, Rebecca will be the featured artist at Z.A.A.P. (http://www.zaapart.org/ ), one of our art organizations in Muskingum county.  (We invite all of you to come to its June auction fundraiser.)  Mrs.T worked quite hard this winter to complete several paintings – of trees, of course – for that show.  Because they have a shipper right in Bucerias, we arranged to have the paintings shipped back by ***, one of the biggest and most reputable services in the world.  What followed has been discouraging and disheartening.  And none too beneficial to R's psychic health.  Below you will find a much compressed description of the events; she really is in mourning.  As you can see in the following pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157626797189920/

three paintings did not arrive in good condition.  We know the original packing was substantial; it was registered as weighing 70kg (almost 160lbs).  The paintings arrived at our house in cardboard boxes with the bubble wrap in shreds.  The photos do not really show the extent of the damage.  The two extensively damaged works have a cut/puncture - a cut that went through a piece of cardboard (by the label on it evidently from repacking), through the bubble wrap, through the back of one painting, and through the front of another.  A third painting had its canvas stressed out of shape.  All in all, not the careful shipping we expected.  There were many calls and emails, including several to our shipper in Bucerias.  Right now the paintings are being repaired and Mrs.T will attempt to repaint the damaged areas, but the paintings never will be the same.

 

You will notice that the editor has replaced the name of the world renowned shipping company with ***.  The editor felt it not wise to put the name in print as that might bring legal repercussions.

 

For those of you in Ohio, sometime in August we will email you information about Rebecca's show which will start on the first Friday of September and last for the month.

 

Here is Mrs. T's synopsis of events:

 

 

"Art is long and time is fleeting", or something like that.  At any rate my art was quite fleeting, or maybe it was flitting.  *** lost my 10 pictures that I had painted in Mexico and am planning to use in a show in September.  After about 6 weeks of increasingly frantic and irate phone calls (where ***'s computer told me my call was important to them and please to continue to hold) finally the pictures were located.  (Actually they were lost in two parts. –dt) After they were located (twice –dt) they were shipped to me and I found that two of them had holes in them.  After a lot more of continuing to hold I was told to ship them back for examination.  I firmly explained that the last time I gave the paintings to them they lost them and made holes in them and I would be darned if I was going to give them a second shot!  (*** evidently thought that the paintings were like a blender and could be simply replaced. -dt) Eventually we agreed that I would take them to the local *** office where the lady took pictures of them with her phone and was going to fill out a claim.  (Actually two trips –dt) I am still waiting to see what comes of it all but I have already been told that if the claim is approved I will need to get the money from the Mexican shipper!  Have you seen the commercials about how *** wants to solve all your problems?  At the very least, continuing to hold should be featured much more heavily in their commercials!!!

 

Dan and I have been really enjoying our home in the woods.  One of the nice things is all the animals.  Our pond has been visited several times by a pair of wood ducks.  And yes, we do have a turtle this year.  Exactly what kind I don't know because every time I try to get close he dives.  We have lots of birds, including wild turkeys who wander by occasionally.  The last time this happened there was a male strutting around displaying his tail feathers for a couple of turkey hens who didn't seem all that impressed.  I think the prettiest birds are the scarlet tanagers.  We have a red tail hawk and a pileated woodpecker. (A very large bird -dt.)  The noisiest is the whip-poor-will who repeats his name seven zillion and three times each evening and morning. (As good as an alarm clock –dt) The phoebes have eggs in their nest - an engineering marvel - outside Dan's office window.

 

Of course our largest visitors are the deer.  The other morning about 6 AM I was peacefully sleeping.  Dan grabbed me, "Rebecca. Rebecca." he called in a stage whisper, "Look!" (She always wants to see the wildlife –dt) I slowly sat up and peered bleary eyed over the headboard.  There were two deer meandering along our driveway.  They would stop and graze every few feet.  How nice.  Suddenly I realized that they were stopping every few feet to munch on another clump of my lilies!  I leaped out of bed and ran out on the front porch and started yelling at them. "STOP THAT!!  BAD DEER!!"  They froze for a moment, their tails flashed up and then they leaped down over the hill.  When I came in Dan had a funny look on his face, I think he may have been trying not to laugh at me.  (I cannot deny nor affirm that comment –dt) Be that as it may, a few days later when four more deer wandered up the path they turned when they came to the lilies and sedately ambled down the hill, leaving my lilies strictly alone.  I guess I told them!

 

It must be true that April showers (and May rains also –dt) bring May flowers because I have a lot of lovely flowers this month.  My irises are lovely; I have at least four different varieties and thank goodness the deer don't eat them.  I had some lovely allium which I planted last year and they bloomed very enthusiastically.  My lilies of the valley are slowly spreading, (Don't you love the way they smell?)   I bought five new evergreen trees at the Dawes Arboretum plant sales. (Dawes is one of the premier arboretums in the country. www.dawesarb.org  The very historical Dawes family includes ambassadors and a vice president; one of them even rode with Revere. -dt).  I cut my thumb pretty badly working on glass at the studio so Dan dug three of the holes, albeit grumpily.  (Not true  –dt) This is really above and beyond the call of duty because our agreement is that I can get plants as long as I dig the holes.  Fortunately my thumb is almost better; I got a bunch more plants at a plant swap and there is one more plant swap this weekend.  (A very long drive past Cincinnati. –dt) I love getting plants.  I got one I was unfamiliar with this week but it was listed as an endangered native, so I felt it was my duty.  It is a celandine wood poppy; I will plant them today.

 

 

 

Well, we shortly are going off on a 3-week vacation.  First to Seattle to the Glass Art Society Conference, actually a good excuse to visit brother John and his wife Suzy.  And then two weeks in Canada.  (The folks in Manitoba are having floods every bit as bad as ours.)  We mentioned this in a previous newsletter but now the trip is at hand.  We will try to post something while away, but don't bet on it – we are already quite booked with events and rendezvous'.   Looking forward to a lot of great companionship.

 

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com