30 October

A quiet and rainy Saturday.

A few of the drawings I made on Wednesday evening.

I dressed in my old Alma mater uniform today at the club

28 October

I lunched with Miss Cartier and we discussed a number of our dearest literary characters.



Later, on the barouche ride home, Mr Dashwood and I stopped to look through some of the estates up for sale in the county.
Mr Dashwood consented to stand beneath a tree while I took his likeness.

27 October

The club has been decorated with festive lights in celebration of the ghoulish Halloween holidays.

26 October

The weather is grown increasingly more difficult as to making pleasurable the kinds of felicitous pastimes one typically enjoys out of doors.
Miss Ayla Dashwood is undaunted by the cold and the wet, however, and cheerfully goes on her daily rambles about the park.



Lady Fairfax (formerly Miss Antoinette Dashwood) has come by a horse she has named Sapphire. Lady Fairfax has always been enraptured at the very sight of anything equestrian , and is very pleased with her new acquisition.


(This picture was not taken by me.)

25 October

It is Lord Dashwood's birthday today. I was disappointed in my attempts to converse with him, but managed to send a short message of congratulations by note with one of our men.

On the way home from the club I took in the sight of this tree with lovely autumnal foliage on display.


Upon our arrival at Robertshaw Manor, Mr Dashwood and I discovered that felicitous Nature had not yet ended the gifts of canny beauty that she is wont to bestow on such undeserving mortals as ourselves. Indeed, a rainbow appeared for our edification and delight not moments after our arrival at home.

24 October

Cook made a delicious squash and apple soup for dinner. The Dovers supped with us and sat down to some light entertainment for the evening.

I had earlier been to pay my respects to Sir and Lady Wayne. Sir Wayne is settling comfortably into his new home, and has already directed his man to have his study fitted up just so.

23 October

Mr Dashwood and I spent the evening dining with the Winterbottoms.
Their cats peered in at the door and waited to be fed while we supped.
After an exciting round of Settlers of Catan, we took the carriage home.

22 October

Mr Dashwood and I are a little surprised and puzzled by the appearance of this plant in our gardens. We didn't tell Gardener to plant it, and it never grew there before we made alterations.



Autumn has begun to turn the arboreal canopy red and brown, but some of our roses have decided to put forth a late display of loveliness.
The dark flowers, in particular, possess a heady, intoxicating scent.

21 October

I hastened to town last evening to engage in my new creative pasttime. A new model, Michael, had replaced Zach. He posed very differently, and his lines were more fluid and elongated, but less strong and powerful than Zach's. I found him more challenging to capture on paper.

20 October

It was with great sadness that I learned of the recent passing of Lady Dashwood's most treasured companion and pet, Gabriel. He was a magnificent hound, and greatly loved by his mistress. The following pictures are some that had been sent to me while Gabriel was in better health.







Here are some pictures of Miss Ayla Dashwood, taken today. Lady Dashwood requested them.

19 October

Before we boarded the ferry back to Anacordes, Mr Dashwood and I went on a ramble through one of the parks on the island.

18 October

Mr Dashwood and I spent the morning exploring the quaint little village in Orcas Island.



Our afternoon was spent at the athletic club where we were both massaged.

That evening, we dined at a restaurant called Allium. The food, though good, was overpriced. However, the view the establishment afforded its patrons was breathtaking.

17 October

Mr Dashwood and I took leave of Robertshaw Manor and Miss Dashwood, and made our way by carriage, and later, by ferry to Orcas Island.



We stayed at the Inn At Ship Bay.
On our first evening there, the man at the inn directed us to a delightful establishment, the Doe Bay Cafe, where we dined on sumptuous food.



Apple and chanterelle mushroom soup with a cream base, arugula salad, assorted cheeses, a gourmet pizza and a chili chocolate torte.

16 October

Mr Dashwood and I met with an artist we absolutely adore, a Mrs Kate Harkins, who sold us two of her loveliest pieces.



One of them now hangs in the great drawing room. We are tremendously pleased.

15 October

Mr Dashwood was detained by business today, leaving me at loose ends.
I took the opportunity to begin designing a new project that may result in a yuletide gift for Farmer O'Meany.

14 October

Last night I dragged Mr Dashwood with me to what I hope becomes my regular live model drawing session.
Our scheduled model did not appear at the appointed time, and our host, loath to have his guests leave without having had the opportunity to engage in the marvellous pursuit of Art, disrobed and posed in the model's stead. Happlily, he was afforded the luxury of donning his clothing about five-and-twenty minutes later when Zack, the model, arrived.





Mr Dashwood's stamina is not equal to sitting and concentrating on drawing for three hours, I fear. He will not be returning next week. However, he took the opportunity to procure a dinner invitation from an aquaintance.

13 October

It's the Baroness Von Lederhosen's birthday today, and we decorated her corner of the club.



The Baroness was delighted with her gift, and quite charmingly effusive in her praise and thanks. She has settled on Theodore Frederick as his name.

12 October

Baroness Von Lederhosen's celebrates her birthday tomorrow.
Miss Cartier, Farmer O'Meany and I put forward a great deal of time and effort to decorate her usual spot at the club. I expect a felicitous response to our efforts when the baroness sees what we have wrought.

I sketched out the idea for my next project. It appears rather ill-formed and unappealing, but it is my hope that the finished product will be more captivating.

11 October

My iPhone is restored to me.

Mr Dover arrived this afternoon to discuss some small improvements we wish made to our private quarters. The addition of picture rail is now eagerly awaited by both Mr Dashwood and myself.

10 October

The party was a resounding success, and although there was no dancing, everyone appeared to be in good spirits, and many a new acquaintance was formed.

Sadly, I was unable to visually document the event. But our guest orator spoke passionately of the plight of artists who struggle with disabilities, and what philanthropic action we could take accordingly.

Mr. Dashwood kept a number of her cards, and intends to distribute them amongst our set.

9 October

I instructed the servants to scrub our kitchen floor in preparation of the party on Sunday.

We decided that Gardener should collect some of our dahlias to decorate the house for the party.



(Mr. Dashwood offered to sync my iPhone that very afternoon, and I acquiesced to his generous offer. Tragically, the endeavor met with resounding failure, which is why I am only able to update my visual diary this Monday afternoon.)

8 October

Mr Dashwood is quite mad for parties, so we're having one on Sunday to raise awareness for those who are, through unfortunate birth or circumstances, unable to fully enjoy one or more of the faculties one so heedlessly takes for granted.

We had a Mr. Nob, a respectable man from town, help the staff arrange a small number of etchings and landscapes to be displayed at the party.

7 October

Cook made a potato soup tonight.
Mr Dashwood quite liked it, and ate it all up.
Cook was pleased to see her handiwork so appreciated, and took this picture.

6 October

I took my first live model drawing session tonight.
Hopefully, I'll become faster and more precise with practice.

5 October

A circular at the club today reminded us all that bears are wont to lurk about the grounds and the surrounding shires. Unfortunately, while Baroness Von Lederhosen and I are impervious to terror where wildlife is concerned (spiders notwithstanding), Farmer O'Meany was visibly shaken.

His composure was further shaken upon clapping eyes on the following vision:



One wonders how he came upon it.

4 October

Tonight I completed the little skeleton for Halloween.

Miss Cartier and I went to lunch together today. She is quite in raptures over Birds of Prey. It is lovely to find a friend has discovered the pleasures that one has long experienced oneself, and to be allowed the enjoyment of engaging in spirited conversation and unreserved reciprocal admiration of sequential art with a freind whose affection for a shared passion only deepens one's own delight in its pursuit.

3 October

This morning I finally finished Poseidon.



Mr Dashwood and Miss Dashwood spent the morning in the drawing room, perusing their weekly periodicals, after which they went for a turn about the park. Mr Dashwood was hailed by Lady Sara and Miss Davis (our neighbours) upon his return, but they could not stay for tea: Miss Dais had been vexingly ill with a headache and fever, and wished to retire before long.

2 October 2010

Mr Dashwood and I took Miss Ayla Dashwood to call upon Mr Stephan and Mr Augustus Stephan, and thought we'd go antiquing in Georgetown while she paid her visit.
We bought a lovely alabaster lamp from a splendid merchant by the name of Dixie, and then dined, quite by accident, at an eating establishment called Calamity Jane's.

Here is Mr Dashwood enjoying a delicious serving of almond orange french toast. I had the crepes, and they were quite a revelatory delight.