Jeudi Journal - Arguing

This week, as you can see the snarky comment (from Tim Holtz collection) is "I'm not arguing, I'm explaining why I'm right".  The background was made with a numerical stencil and several shades of blue Oxide inks so that I can enter it into Art Journal Journey's challenge which is to use numbers in your page as set by Matilde.

"It was a lovely sunny afternoon Bettina and her boyfriend, Freddie, were out walking in the woods and enjoying the day of relaxation as opposed to the hectic working days they were used to.

That was until Bettina brought up the fact that Freddie's oldest brother had written to him two days ago and she did not think the reply Freddie had sent was the right one.  Freddie was a little annoyed with her as he had asked for her input on the email but she had been busy at the time reading a thriller and wasn't at all in the mood to help him.

She had asked that he leave it for a day or two but Freddie being Freddie had had to reply straight away.    Now Bettina was making her points known and he was not liking them.

"Why could you not have said this to me at the time?  You knew I was wanting to reply straight away" said Freddie.

"Because I was into the last chapter of the book I was reading and you knew that you didn't have to reply straight away, I told you to wait, told you it was not that important.  Anyway, the points I think you should have made ....." her voice droned on and on and poor Freddie was getting hotter and hotter.  

"But you know what he is like" he began to say.

Bettina replied, her voice rising higher and higher as she made her point.

"Why are you arguing?  Why are we arguing?" asked Freddie.

"I'm not arguing, I'm explaining why I am right" she said angrily.

"OK" said Freddie, and he started to walk quicker to get away from her, thank goodness the woods were huge and he could escape the screaming.  Why did she always have to raise her voice like that and not talk in a normal voice like everyone else?  He knew they would both calm down in a minute and so he slowed a little allowing her to catch up with him.

WOYWW 734

Back to a Wednesday with Ms Julia and the WOYWWers to look at desks.  Sorry but nothing good to see on my desk again.  But there is a little bit of something to see.  I have been spraying bits of card for a project I am going to do next month.

and my table

I am hoping to have some birthday cards for you to see next week.  Nothing on the above project as that won't happen until mid August.  I did go away for a few days last week and enjoyed sitting in the sunshine - and guess what - we went to a Kite Festival on Saturday.

Here are a few photos of the larger kites

I was sorely tempted to buy a kite but they were quite expensive and dh kept saying "when will you use it?" so I took it to mean "I won't be flying it with you" and so I never bought one.  That's it for this week, see you next week and hopefully (again I am saying that word) I will have something to show you that I have done craftwise.  I might even make a kite!

Jeudi Journal - late

 It's Thursday again and that means it's time to do a journal page for a little challenge between a friend of mine, Wendy, and myself.  We have to use Dylusion figures and a quote (at the moment a Tim Holtz Snarky Comment) and fit in with the challenge at Art Journal Journey.  This month it is Mathilde who has chosen "Numbers" for her challenge and somewhere we have to incorporate numbers into our page.

On seeing the quote I thought immediately of a rubber stamp I have, it is old and I had a fair idea of where it might be so out it came and it was stamped on my page in quick time.  Then I realised, opticians use letters and not numbers to test your eyes.  Oh dear.  On lifting the stamp imagine the joy I felt when I saw a row of numbers down the side of the letters.

"Cecily had an appointment early that afternoon to see the optician with a view to having some new spectacles, or maybe she could be persuaded to have some contact lenses.  The latter she had been considering for some time but was a bit afraid of wearing them in case they ever slipped down into her lower lid or whatever she had heard could happen to them.

As usual she had a hundred and one things to do, one of which was finish the artwork she was doing for a friend of hers.  Well, if you are a person who is interested in artwork of any kind you will know just how you can get so absorbed in what you are doing that before you know it one or two hours have passed.

Breakfast came and went, she saw the children off to school and returned to do the dishes.  Oh there was a pile of washing to be done, both children needed their sports kit washing again for the next day and she had promised her friend she would have the painting she was doing of her pet dog ready within a day or so.  Which to do first?  Then there was the dreaded decision to make about the contact lenses.  Oh, she did not want to go to the opticians.

She decided the washer must go on and as it was a lovely day the clothes could go out and dry nicely whilst she got on with the pet portrait.  

Before she knew it it was one thirty in the afternoon and the painting was finished.  But ... she had the appointment at the opticians for two.  Her hands were full of paint and the washing was drying merrily outside but needed bringing in and ironing.  Oh blow the lot, she thought, as she hastily washed her hands, grabbed the car keys and set off for her appointment.  "I really don't want to go there.  And I can't make my mind up whether to have glasses again or contacts!"

Of course every set of traffic lights was against her as she drove to town, and the world and his wife seemed to be heading in the same direction.  The road was busy.  Oh no it was two o'clock and she still had to park up and get there.

Puffing and panting she arrived at two fifteen, much to the annoyance of the optician who held her hands out in despair explaining that she had other people to see and this was throwing her way way behind.

Before she knew what she was saying Cecily blurted out "Sorry I am late, but I didn't want to come".

That didn't go down very well with the optician!!  I wonder if she still saw to Cecily?

WOYWW 733

 It's WOYWW day again, time for Julia's little gang of bloggers to meet up and show off what they have on their desks.  Sadly, once again, I have nothing crafty to show you.  I did intend doing some crafting but the weather has been so warm that all I have done is sit and read.  I started reading "The Cat Who ..." books once again, some in paperback, some on my Kindle.  In fact I went right back to the very beginning and bought a few Kindle versions so I could picture how Qwill, the main man, started off.

Now on book seven I think it is about time I got my craft things out but the sun keeps shining and it is so warm at the caravan (in the caravan) that I tend to want to go out somewhere or sit out on the patio.  Not short of things to do up here I have quite a bit of 'stuff', in fact the small bedroom is turned over to crafting.  Here it is - the spare bed

well .. what is on it

There are two old nappy boxes full  of craft stuff.  Lists on top of each box so I know where things are, my old Cuttlebug, a lamp, another box and then a cutter, pencil case and some old chocolate boxes which contain cardstock.  The other bed has two brand new mattresses stood on it, still wrapped up , never used.

If it rains, or if the weather changes I will be happy making things  which I will show you next week with a bit of luck.  I did bring one or two other bits up (like a bag full) so there is plenty for me to occupy my fingers and my mind.

Not sure how I will be at linking in so if I can't do it in the caravan I will have to go to the library later on and link up.  Having visitors around this afternoon so looking forward to them coming.  See you later!

Jeudi Journal - Allergic

For this, my first foray into Art Journal Journey for a few weeks, I have made a numbers background using Distress Oxides, Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers and Walnut Stain.  This is on account of the challenge being 'numbers' as set by the delightful  Matilde.  It's good to be back and my background was using the colours above and a spray of water from a Mister Bottle to blur the outlines a little, or a lot.

The stamp was by Tracy Evans and is number 618, Endless Circles - an Aall & Create Stamp.  These are extremely good quality stamps and for those amongst you who do not like polymer stamps I can recommend these as being strong and giving a clear image.

"Mrs Cat was on her high horse as usual.  Well, who could blame her with Mr Dog as her husband.  He was always well turned out but a bit useless when it came to doing things.  And he had the knack for breaking things.  She couldn't begin to count on her four paws and the four paws of both her children the number of things he had broken over the past year.  (That's three times 18 because most cats have five toes on each front paw and four on each back one - a total of 54 toes or broken items!)

It was Tuesday evening and as usual Mrs Cat and Mr Dog were busy making a meal for the four of them.  Topsy and Turvy, the twins, were busy playing in the garden.  Mrs Cat was trying out a new recipe and, as usual, she was making it up in her head as she went along.  She had a rough idea of what she wanted to achieve but was quite happy popping ingredients in as she went along.

"Can you put the rice on to cook" she called to her husband.

"Yes dear" he replied, "the usual amount?"

"Yes, please.  In the glass pan as usual"

She had a thing about this glass pan.  She had had it for years and years, it was the last of a set of glass pans that a favourite aunt had bought them as a wedding present.  Perfect for cooking rice in as it never stuck and the rice came out perfect each and every time.

"I'm just nipping in the dining room to set the table, keep your eye on the stove will you dear" she called.  And with that she went off into the next room to set the table.

All of a sudden she heard a loud crash!  Followed by silence.  

She dashed back into the kitchen, just as the twins came in - and there on the floor was - her favourite pan!  The one she had treasured for so long.  Its handle in two bits.

"What were you doing" she shouted.

"The handle caught on the mixing bowl it was stood in and it sort of fell on the floor but the handle stayed with me" was Mr Dogs reply.

"You mean you could not be bothered to take the other things from the cupboard to get to the pan and so you juggled with them all resulting in this ... this mess!  You know I loved that pan, and you know it meant something to me."

"I'll fix it" said Mr Dog, "a bit of Superglue and it will be as right as rain".

The twins hid behind Mrs Cat's skirt, they sensed the bristling of her whiskers - and the swishing of her tail said it all.

"You be careful what you do and say" she said.  "Do you really think some Superglue will hold a pan handle that you are going to lift with the said handle when the pan is full of boiling water and not have a nasty accident?  Please just get out of the way.  I'm allergic to stupidity - I break out in sarcasm.  Just go!"

And with that Mr Dog, knowing he was once again in the dog house, slinked off.  "No dinner for me then" he thought as he exited through the door on his way to the local pub for a pint and a pie."

WOYWW 732

 Well, I can't show you an empty desk yet again can I.  Am feeling much better apart from this heat is panning me out.  I am exhausted but I guess a lot of you are.  I just cannot cope in this heat.  We are not used to it are we?  We had some welcome rain last night, a lovely downpour which the garden welcomed with open arms.  I did hope it would be feeling a lot fresher today but it came back, hot and sultry.  Not grumbling though, it's about time we had our share of this weather.

So last night I decided to attack my journal and try to do a page ready for Thursday's challenge which has been sorely neglected for weeks.  This month it is all about numbers and so I took one of my Tracy Evans stamps which had numbers on and tried to make a background of it.  Not sure it has worked, if it will stay or be painted over, just waiting for it to dry and then hopefully having a play in the morning with it.  Thursday will tell!

Had to go for a blood test yesterday.  Someone new to me taking the bloods so I told her, as I do all new to me nurses, "my veins move about so I have to tell you I need a baby's black needle".  "We'll see" was the reply. and sure enough she got it soon enough but when I took the plaster off that night I saw just what I had inherited

Don't normally end up like that!

Hope I don't get her again - and she was a phlebotomist from the hospital.

Ah well, guess it will fade in time.  That's it folks, hopefully full service will be resumed soon and hopefully that journal page will turn out ok with a bit more fiddling about.

Thanks to all you WOYWW'ers out there who have been so patient with me over the past few weeks.

WOYWW 731

 Well still nothing creative to show to you on my desk.  My desk has, however, been tidied up a little from what it was on the 3rd May and I can show that to you.

All I have done since then on my desk is tidy things up so that it didn't look quite as much of a mess as it did because we are having a surveyor coming tomorrow to measure up for new windows and this was the untidiest room in the house.  This is from the prep I was doing, before I was ill, using my spray booth.  I need to use it again as I used the two sheets of card for my ATC's that were for my upcoming workshop in August.

An assortment of small punches line the back of the green board and there's a tin of all bits and pieces in the spray booth along with sellotape, a hole punch and bits of card in a tin.

I hope by next week to have done at least a journal page which will have very little stamping on it but will have colouring in of figures already stamped.  After that I might try something like a simple birthday card.  Just realised I have another birthday coming up for this month and nothing suitable.  Watch this space - I a feeling much better.

Also hope that by now my ATC's have started to drop through letterboxes.  I popped an extra one in from my stash as a way of saying  "sorry I am so late".  Hope you WOYWW'ers who have been so patient now have a full complement of ATC's for this year.