This Is What She Wanted

Well, as they say, all good things come to an end. And this was a good one. I felt kind of sad when I took her home earlier. She’s leaving today and we said our good-byes. When I met her I thought it would be one or two dates and then good bye. I never dreamed that it would develop into such a pleasant encounter. I will remember her for a long time.

Finding a suitable gift for her did not prove such a challenge at all. I must thank Stargazer for giving me the idea. Friday afternoon, after cutting the sketch that she admired so much into a rectangular shape, I left it on the dining room table where she could not miss it. She did not give me the opportunity to offer it to her. She asked for it; the only thing she ever asked from me.

We had it framed Saturday morning and collected it on Monday. I must admit that it looks better with the frame, but I still think the frame is worth more than the sketch. Mind you, it has moved up in value since it ruined a perfectly good panel saw while trimming the edges. It lost some detail at the bottom and the sides in order to get the edges straight. There was some sort of a ditch with some water on the foreground; part of it still visible at the bottom. The size of it is 618mm X 411mm.
The sketch has a rather obscure history. I did it out of boredom, on an irregular shaped piece of scrap asbestos left by the builders, while waiting for the fire to get ready. It took no longer than 30 minutes or so. I used a piece of charcoal from a previous fire to draw it. When the fire was ready, my uncompleted ‘masterpiece’ landed back on the heap of building scrap where it was in the sun, wind and rain for a few months. You can notice the discoloration on the left and top. It still needed plenty of work but it was never intended to survive.

When they eventually came to remove the rubble, my brother-in-law preserved my ‘masterpiece’ for greater honors by putting it in the garage where it stood collecting dust for another two years before a woman from Gauteng noticed it when I brought her home the first time. The rest of it is already told.

I hope it brings her the same sweet memories as her gift brings me when I listen to my music. My gift to her compares poorly with the Bluetooth speakers she bought me but this is what she wanted.


Well, cheer up. If everything go according plan, tomorrow will be Friday.