"Lets be skipping the gym buddies" is the quote for this week and I did wonder what on earth I could use for the figure in this blog post which had to be linked to Art Journal Journey's challenge as set by Valerie and Erika - Poetry. So I remembered a friend had sent me a stamped image from Art by Marlene which was perfect and so I just changed the head, using one of Dyan's as my nod to Dylusion stamps.
During the month I have tried to use classical poetry in my journal pages but this week I went rogue and chose a poem I found on the internet which rather fit the quote I had to use. I thought I could just use the first verse on my journal page. If you want to read the whole poem it's by Cynthia C Naspinski and here is the link. https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/the-workout. I also found some funny descriptions of gym equipment and so I copied those for my page as well. So my story goes something like this:
"Raine had always been a bit on the weighty side and was one more for sitting at a desk playing games on her computer than wandering around the countryside. Taking the dog out for a walk was about as much exercise as she got and if she could get out of doing that she would.
Imagine her dismay when her friend Molly called and suggested that they might want to go to the new gym that had opened up the week before. Molly was lovely and slim, tall, with curves in all the right places. To be fair Molly knew boys found her attractive and she was a bit of a flirt so it came as no surprise when she said that there were some "good looking" fitness instructors working there.
"We could get some new gear to wear, matching maybe, and become gym buddies" said Molly.
"Let's be skipping the gym buddies" said Raine. "I might be wearing leggings around the house but they are not for public consumption. And remember I bought that exercise bike off your mum and I don't think I have been on it more than half a dozen times. Then you had that silly idea and suggested to my mum that she bought me that other 'thing' that almost did me in."
"Oh, you mean the walking machine."
"Yes, I do, and that flippin' thing almost killed me. I tried it to music and watched that Joe guy on TV, trying to follow him, but he went way too fast for me. In fact my old exercise bike was a better proposition but let's face it, I am not built for exercise."
"If you just lost a little bit of weight you would find it so much easier to exercise. Then we could go out walking and maybe take up a new hobby, like boxing or something. Honest Raine, you would feel so much better in yourself if you did just a bit of exercise."
"Molly, look. at me" and Raine sat down on the floor crossed her legs and stretched out her arms. "I will try rotating my arms ten times, then rolling my bottom on the floor for a bit. Will that satisfy you? If I promise to do it three times a day?"
Oh I give up" said Molly as she turned on her heels and walked out through the door. "Bye Jan" she called to Raine's mother. "That was a waste of time as usual." and with that she was off down the road. If Raine wouldn't go there was nothing stopping her signing up, she thought as she made her way to the new fitness club.
