WOYWW 856

 Morning ladies.  Well here I am another sunny day in Royal Bolton Hospital.

 Just made a mess of my, new post again.  The news from here is that I cant go home as yet. Have got a lovely new consultant who told me all about oedema and the difference between the bottom and top of your legs.  Unfortunately my fluid was way up and into my lungs.  But good news is I have lost 8 litres and have about a furhert 5 to go and then they might let me home.  

I was in isolation as you know but that was due to my dh infecting me with Covid.  Then I got pneumonia but I’m   A lot more better now. The Covid,  they say,  lasts 6 days in your system.

I spreent time in isolation but now, yesterday, was moved to a 4 bedded ward,  I do feel much better now so am ready to do abit of c rafting at lasxt,  look at what I got sentjjjjjj

 

Thank you so much for sending me the pictures to colour m

and thank you to all the ladies who sent me cards too..  For some reason  it w ill not let me 

upload the beautiful cards I have received as the colouring is. Gorgeous. 

Well,  this is shor and sweet,betyou are happy! I just-need someone to link me.  Hope I can type from home next week.

See you xx

 

Woyww. 855

Well I am still here but now I’m in a four bedded ward but one went person went home yesterday and the other two are off today.no doubt we will fill up soon.

Now that I’m in here I will do some colouring.

So that’s going to keep me busy and not bored. I am ever so grateful to who sent them to me.  

I’d also like to thank the ladies for their beautiful cards. I will show you them when I get home because they won’t load up now.  The internet here is rubbish.  And I can’t do what I what I want at times.  I wonder those I message understand

I’ve lost 8 litres of fluid with another 5 to go. But now it’s going too fast.  How do I slow it down?

I  need a hairdresser “toute suite”

Must say “au revoir” as time is going on.    Off to  Sarah’s craft shed and maybe a comment or two if I can do it.  Apologies if I don’t mange to visit but I am useless on my iPad plus I run out of battery quickly. Have only 20% now.  See you. 

WOYWW 854

 Just a quickie to say I don't have a workdesk as I am in hospital.

I have put loads of weight on in the form of water.  In fact I put on 2 stone 3 lbs overnight and even now a nurse has just estimated I am carrying about 10 kg of water in my body.  In the first instance I was in a bed/trolley (in a cubicle) in A&E and then moved to a holding ward for 2 nights and now am in a lovely little ward with lovely staff and just three other patients.  but...  Today I have been told I am moving again as soon as a bed is available to cardiology.

I will do my best to do some crafting, as and when I can, and hopefully do a little WOYWW to keep in touch.  I once decided I would not miss a WOYWW and I am hoping to keep to it.  So watch out ladies I will be on here as and when I can.  Doubt I will be able to comment but if I can I will, but if not please do not bother to comment on mine.

Right, heading to Sarah's Craft Shed to link up and hopefully read what you have been up to on my phone.

In lieu of photos of a workshop I will show you my hand when the  canula came out.  It was a blood bath and this was the result afterwards.

Jeudi Journsl - Care

 Today the quote is quite a long one - "Once Upon a Time I didn't Care.  I still don't.  The end". I wanted to fit this quote in with Elle's great theme in the challenge at Art Journal Journey, "Steampunk, Halloween or Steampunk Halloween" and so I chose to have Steampunk featuring in my page and to help with the page I wrote a story about two witches.

"Elvira and her best friend Belladonna were off out shopping for a party they were setting up for the children  in the village.  Being witches, good ones you understand, they were able to do good deeds like this.  The children had been consulted and decided that they wanted a Steampunk Party complete with wings and things,  That meant the two witches had to make several pairs of wings for each of the children to wear and probably lots of cogs for them to wear on their heads like halos.  Elvira was so excited.

The two of them ran around the  town buying up what they could that would make for a lovely party for the children and the two friends hurried back to the village with their purchases piled high.

WOYWW 853

Wednesday again!  I think there is more than one in a week.

What's the week been like for you?  Hops it was a good one.  The weather up here has been quite mild with warmish days for October.  How's it been further down the country?

Well I still haven't been doing much myself as I have to keep those darned legs raised from the ground still.  Makes it rather difficult to do much crafting so unless I manage to get something stamped ready to colour in there is nothing I can do.  The DN's brought me something to use in bed to keep my heels elevated so that there is less chance of my getting bedsores on them as I have got a burning sensation in both heels.  I did finish the cards I had on my desk last week.

My latest purchase to Ann & Val

and a Get Well Card (below) to our neighbour

Sorry about the white card, I was trimming it on the scan and went a bit too far on some sides.  My hand got a twitch and there was nothing I could do about it.

Well, nothing on the table this week, quite tidy for once.  We will have to see if we can mess it up a bit for next time for you.  

Seeing the nurse dealing with my oedema on Thursday so hopefully will start to get somewhere.  She will also hopefully  give me some antibiotics for my chest, I hope, as I am wheezing like an old pair of bellows.  She is brilliant but has been on holiday for two weeks and then it took me a week. to get an appointment with her, shows how popular she is.  Oh, and I may be late commenting today as I am seeing the chiropractor as my back has gone.   Guess it's cheerio for now until later today when we meet at Sarah's Craft Shed.

Jeudi Journal

 Talk about spooky!  I began this page in my square journal first looking for a clean page to use.  Most of the pages had some pencil work on them and I thought about erasing the pencil out but then I came upon a clean page altogether.  Great!  Now what should I have for my background colour?  Orange, Purple immediately sprang to mind but I would be stamping in black and using orange certainly for my pumpkins.  Taking inspiration from Elizabeth's page I decided to use Iced Spruce as it was a kind of grey colour.   Imagine my surprise when I found that there were white marks appearing underneath my  plain colour!  I looked closely at the page, ran my fingers over it but could not find anything that was causing this.  Definitely a Halloween page.

"Bella and her friend Hermione decided to dress the house in readiness for Halloween.  And so they decided to go to a pumpkin patch and buy some pumpkins.  It would be fun carving faces into them, something they had never done before.  So off they set but not before Hermione donned her witches hat.  She had been a witch in a production at school and so she loved to wear the lime green hat with it's purple bands going around it.

Bella was a bit annoyed, Hermione always had to take centre stage in whatever they did.  Well, she would find a broomstick or something when they got to the pumpkin patch.  Did they sell broomsticks as well?

The two girls made their way to the Patch but to Bella's annoyance they did not sell anything to do with Halloween, only pumpkins.  So she looked around and found a corner with a few pumpkins in and she managed to get up on top of one of them, balancing so precariously in her high heeled shoes.

"Look at me, I'm the Queen of the Castle" she shouted. "Coffee in one hand, confidence in the other" and with that she promptly fell off.  

"I don't know about Queen of the castle" said Hermione, "and where you get your coffee from I have no idea but I will say one thing, you do have bags of confidence."

WOYWW 852

 WOW it's October and it seems to be going dark sooner than ever yet the clocks don't go back until the end of the month.  It's also WOYWW and the link is here at Sarah's craft shed.

We went to Preston last week as I had an appointment with the chiropractor,  a journey which takes us past three reservoirs.  It's been worrying to see how low they had all got over the summer and all this dry weather.  Even on days when we got a bit of rain it did not make any difference.  Thankfully the heavy showers we have had of late made a tiny bit of difference.  The top two reservoirs were still vey low but it was heartening to see the bottom one had risen.  Made me wonder if they feed into one another, the bottom one receiving most of the drips from the top two.

Today I had been dripping too.  Sometimes this oedema can leak if I get a scratch or something and I had caught my leg last night with a finger nail.  I put a plaster on to stop it from bleeding but today I suddenly noticed my trousers felt a bit wet and sure enough I've been leaking. 

Fortunately there is no water near my desk at the moment.  I am so behind with my swaps and need to play catch up quickly.  Not finished my September swaps as yet but here is my progress to date.

This shows a couple of stamped pieces that now need painting with water to mix the colours and bring the colours out.  These are to be used on my latest purchase cards, along with stamps that are my latest purchase.  Hopefully next week I can show you the completed cards along with the blue one at the top which just needs mounting and popping into my neighbours letterbox as a Get Well Card following his operation for a new knee.

Well, it's late and I must get this ready for tomorrow so I'll leave it there for now before saying the devastating fire at Julias hubbies business hit us all last week.  We may be a small community but it hit us a when we saw the photos of what had happened.  Our hearts go out to the Dunnit family.  Julia, Bart we love you so much.

Jeudi Journal - Watch this

For today's journal page I used Distress Oxides as my background, remembering Leandra's rule of three which she taught us in the early days.  And so I used Mustard Seed, Wild Honey and Ripe Persimmon as my three Oxides, the latter through Dylusions stencil DYS34261.  I felt a touch of Autumn coming on.

The quote we had to work with was "You think that's bad, watch this" and that had to marry up with Mia's theme at Art Journal Journey "Make Your Own Background"

"Billy was 14 and just discovering a love of 'girls'.  Lira was a pretty young girl in his class and Billy thought she was the love of his life.  She was brave, she was beautiful and she was clever.  What more could he want in a girlfriend?  'Brave"?  Well, how many other girls had their hair that beautiful shade of purple  in his class - none!  'Beautiful'?  You only had to look at her eyes to see into her soul.  'Clever'? Well, that could not be denied, she was in the top sets for most subjects at school

Billy discovered she had a love of all things spooky and so he told her about this old house just on the edge of town which was supposed to be haunted.  Lira wanted to go and so the two of them set off with Billy's younger brother and his friend in tow.  

On the way Lira told them a spooky tale which made their backs tingle and the hair on their arms stand up straight.  As they got to the house Billy asked if Lira was sure she wanted to go in.  She definitely did but the other to were not quite so sure.  

"Your story was scary" he said "But you think that's bad, watch this" and he opened the door which creaked ominously and a bird flew past them making for the open door.  The two young boys screamed and rushed outside.   

"Billy, I don't think we will come in, we'll wait for you here" said  his younger brother.

And so it was just Billy and Lira who went into the house.  Cobwebs hung from the pieces of wood that hung down where the ceiling had fallen in, adding up to the atmosphere.  It was dark with only bits of light from holes in the structure of the old building for them to see where they were going.  Everywhere creaked and moaned, the old house was falling down, it had had enough of trying to stay upright.

All of a sudden a bat flew past them and Billy jumped, grabbing Lyra's arm, and then they both noticed a pile of rags in the corner.  It moved,   Billy grabbed Lira's arm even tighter, someone was there.  The pile of rags became a person.  A tall man stood there but the two of them did not wait to see who or what he was.  They ran for the open door, shouting to the two younger boys "run, run" and the four of them ran as fast as they could away from the old house.

When they. stopped running and dropped down on the grass Lira admitted that the visit to the old house had surpassed any story she might know and Billy had been right when he said "You think that's bad, watch this."

WOYWW 851

Another week has flown by and we are back visiting Sarah's Craft Shed to meet up with friends and see their desks as what they are like.   Mine is tidy this week and all I have to show you are some new stamps - the new Curiosities Bundle just happened to fall into my basket on the net.

Originally I chose a selection but then saw what Jo Rice had done with the paint splats and I just wanted that stamp so I cancelled  my order, got a refund and then ordered the whole Bundle.

Halloween

Yes, the time has come for witches to be seen on my desk and it looks like a few ravens will be hanging around this time.  I love the two young witches and can see they will feature a lot in my crafting this October..  This is the perfect collection to put with the witches from last year.  Remember them?  I thought they were lovely and referred to them as the 'sexy witches' because of their slim figures.  Now I will have cats, bats and ravens featuring in my makes.

Maybe I should get them out of their packets and start using them - October is almost upon us!

Jeudi Journal - How Old

 My handmade background for Mia's challenge at Art Journal Journey is a mixture of Distress Oxides Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio over my page in my small square journal.  Then Mermaid Lagoon DO was put through Dylusions' stencil DYS34230 which I think is called something like Diamonds in the Rough.   Next it was Cracked Pistachio again but with the pad used 'direct to paper' to obliterate some of the starkness of the diamonds.  Finally a few water splats to bring out the true nature of Distress Oxides.

To complete the page it was a few question marks, hand drawn, to emphasise the quote and then it was one of the Dinky Dolls from Dyan coloured with Promarkers and the quote itself.

"How Old Do I Have to be Before I Have Any Idea What's Going On" is Dyan's quote we are working with today.  Although my page does illustrate the quote with the question marks dotted around the background Wendy and I make up  stories that are are enjoyed by so many and although some times we have to really scratch at the old grey matter to come up with a story we do so for our readers.  Here is today's story from me, Wendy's is here -

"Polly was thirteen. That age that does not seem to fit in anywhere.  Too young to be with the bigger girls and too old for the childish things younger ones get up to.  That is why she tended to talk to her little Dalmatian more than anyone.  Spot had been her friend and confidant for two years  now and she did not know what it would be like without him by her side.

There had been a lot of whispering at home and the family, mum, dad and teenage sister, tended to go quiet whenever Polly came into the room.  She knew there was something wrong and it worried her.  Magda, a girl at school, had been through a tough time with the break up of her parents and so Polly began to worry about mum and dad, but why would Deena, her older sister, be party to it?  She had asked her older sister but got no real answer as to what was happening.  It was question question question as far as she was concerned.  And no answers!

"How old do I have to be before I have any idea what's going on?" she asked of Spot.  Of course he couldn't answer but he did look up at her with his soulful eyes and wagged his tail.  "Oh Spot, if only you could talk". She bent down and hugged Spot, she really did love him.  "Guess we had better go back home and see if they still have some secret."

And so the two of them made their way home.  On opening the door Polly  was surprised to see the three of them, mum, dad and Deena, all stood there waiting for her.

"Surprise, Surprise" they shouted in unison and mum came forward and waved a ticket in front of Polly.  "We are going to Disneyland, you are going to Disneyland.  It's your birthday in two days time and you, Deena and Me, we are off to Disneyland in Paris for three days.  Oh please say you love it, your present I mean."

Polly just stood there, "but why is dad not going too?" she asked.

"I have a lot of work to do at the office and besides who would be here to look after Spot for you?" dad replied.

"There's nothing wrong then?" queried Polly.  "I mean you and mum, you are ok." and it all came tumbling out, the worry she had had that mum and dad were going to split.  Tears spilled down her face and both mum and dad went over to their youngest daughter and put their arms around her.

"Of course not, why on earth would you think that?"

And so Polly began to tell them about Magda at school and how she had felt they were keeping a secret from her but now she realised what the secret had been.  She bent down and picked Spot up holding him close to her face and whispering to him "Guess there are some advantages to being too young to knowing what is going on."

And off she skipped, ticket in one hand and arms around Spot.  She really must bring Spot a lovely present back from Disneyland."

WOYWW 850

It's another week gone by and I have done very little in crafting.  In other words I have done nothing new except my journal on a Thursday. If you want to see what I did you just have to scroll down a bit and you can read my story and look at my picture to illustrate it.  Each week I  plan, in my head, what I am going to do but then it never happens. 

So, this week my desk just has some blue toppers on it.  They are all old pieces of art work and I am going to make them into a set of six cards to leave somewhere for someone to find.  It's up to them whether they keep them, put them back where they picked them up from or pass them on to someone else.  I am going to try to make them more or less the same size so it will be easier for fixing them in envelopes.

Now should I make a box to keep them all in or is there some other way that will look ok?  In the past when I have left a handmade book I have either wrapped it up like a present or put it in a box.  But I don't feel cards can be treated in the same way.

I may be a bit late commenting today as I have an ultrasound appointment at cardiology late morning.  Wonder what that is going to throw up?  My chest infection seems to be on its way out too so things might be taking a turn for the better after two lots of antibiotics.  Sorry for the whinge.

Anyway, this is what is available on my desk today.  Old work but hopefully of use to someone when I get them mounted up.  Hopefully when I get to Sarah's Craft Shed I will find others who have got some brill work up.  See you there shortly.

Jeudi Journal - Entertained

Wendy and I decided to challenge one another to something to keep us stamping weekly resulting in journal page.  A story evolved but it is not part of the original ruling/plan, therefore not necessary.

The Current Quote: "No one will ever be entertained by us, as us"

Rules: Link to Art Journal Journey's theme (currently Mia's "Make your own background") plus Dyan Reaveley quote and her Dylusion figures.

I used Liquitex Acrylic Paints in 'light blue permanent' and 'bright aqua green' as my base, mixing the two together and left it to dry overnight.  Next day I decided to do a technique but then didn't think it would work on a painted background but I went ahead and gave it a try.  I haven't used my Perfect Pearls or my Pearlex for a long time and have a drawer full of different makes. Will it work on an acrylic painted background?  In for as penny.  It did - but only faintly, still I think a black background is best for this technique.  I used an Art from the Heart stamp and a Dina Wakley one, afterall she is best friends with Dyan.  Sketched Layered Fronds - and it will get used again, I love them.  They were coloured with Pearlex Duo Green Yellow and Pearlex True Blue, the Dylusion border was coloured with Peearl Ex Perfect Gold.

"Esmé. Ella, Ernie and Edward had spent a cosy afternoon, as usual on the first Saturday of the month, in "Cora's Cosy Cafe".  It was usual for the group to meet up for about an hour, or two if it wasn't too busy, and Cora was a friend of Edwards anyway so tended not to bother the group having this meet up.  Edward was a comedian and the three girls were storytellers, all passionate about making each other laugh and think.  (In case you are wondering Ernestine hated her name and so she was known as Ernie)

This afternoon they found themselves in a lively debate about the funniest moments in their lives again.  Each of the friends shared a hilarious anecdote and the conversation got funnier and funnier. 

As the laughter reached its peak, Esmé said "You know no one will ever be entertained by us, as us"  They all agreed, realising that their unique brand of humour was truly one of a kind.

An elderly gent sat nearby reached out and touched Esmé on the arm "I don't know about that love", he said, "I come in here every Saturday and try to get a table close to you for me and the wife.  It's good proper entertainment listening to you about your stories, and that young man should be on the stage."

"Yes," his wife chipped in "we wish you were here every Saturday, we love listening to you."

Edward thanked them on behalf of the other three and he and Ella got up and took their leave both having appointments to attend.  Esmé and Ernie stayed a few more minutes making plans for the evening and made their way to the door smiling at the elderly couple as they passed them.

Once outside Ernie said "well, that's been a bit different to the usual monthly meet up."

Esmé agreed and both girls went on their way with a lighter step than they had gone in with."

You can just about see the decoration behind the two figures.  Guess it needed a darker background to show up the PearlEx.  Maybe I should have left it to a border of some kind done on black card.  Or know more about darkening the colour on my scanning as it shows up on the actual journal.

WOYWW 849

 Lovely weather again - nice warm days although the forecast is showing it to rain and I cannot grumble as we need the rain.

Not been up to much, trying to catch up on journaling so cannot show it to you as it goes out the day following this and involves my literary experiences as well (NIL!) but it is fun for me to do with my friend Wendy.  We got some new figures from the Dylusion range too so that has made a difference as that is one of the restrictions we have - to use only Dylusion figures if at all possible.  Over the years we have pretty much kept to it unless we want a male head and then we have occasionally used one from a magazine.  Only occasionally!

Yesterday I was rummaging through my topper box so that is what is on my counter at the moment.  Was hoping I could find something to fit in with a theme for a swap I am entering but didn't get very far.

Today I am hoping to have a go at the cloud technique that our very own Angela (Felix) has shown us and I thought it would make a good technique for a background for my next journal page - the part of the challenge by Art Journal Journey that we have to do is to make our own background.

Nothing new to show you but there should be some new stamps coming up shortly.  Watch this page.

Jeudi Journal - Catch Me

 Today the Dylusion Quote we are using is "My Only Advice for Dating Me is Catch Me While I Care" and the challenge at Art Journal Journey has been set by the lovely Mia for the month of September and is "Make Your Own Background" which is something Wendy and I do more or less the whole time with, usually, Paint or Distress Inks before we stick our Dylusion figures down on top.

This background was done with Distress Oxides, smooshed on across the whole page and then some through a stencil down the sides.  I wanted to use autumnal colours because it is my favourite season but then I realised I had been using similar colours throughout last month because Chris' theme was "hot".  I liked my background so much that I stuck with it and added two figures on top to tell my story both dressed in cooler colours.

"Bettina was a pretty little girl, fairly new to the village and so a big hit with the boys.  She was bright and quite modern with her hair a pretty pastel blue colour and she wore it in two ringlets down either side of her face.  Her big eyes attracted many a boy to her.  She was not as innocent as she looked and could look after herself quite easily.

She had made friends with Maggie, another attractive girl from school  and the two found themselves meeting up many a weekend to go for a walk or a coffee and making plans for the evening.

It was a lovely Saturday in September and the two of them had been into town buying themselves some nice pieces of jewellery in readiness for a party that one of the girls from school was having.  Bett was talking about Kevin, a fairly good looking boy in the class above them.  Someone had told her he was quite smitten by her and it looked as if he was going to ask her out  whilst they were at the party that evening. 

"So what are you going to do?" asked Maggie, "Go out with him or what?"

"Actually I think I am a bit young to be making such decisions" was Bett's reply.  "I might tell him that my only advice for dating me is catch me while I care."

"So does that mean you don't care?" 

"No.I quite like him but he is a year older than me so I think I should wait a bit, I am only 16 and I think I should keep him on his toes for a while."

"But a lot can happen in a year" said Maggie.

"So" replied Bett, "if it was not meant to be then so be it, if it was, we'll be seeing one another in a year's time."

Maggie shook her head, "Sometimes I wonder where you get that old head of yours from."

WOYWW 848

I've decided I can feel a chill in the air now we have turned the month.  September can be a month where you get lovely sunny days and cool nights or just cool days altogether. Take this morning when I went to the District Nurse - my appointment was 09.40 and I set off in summer trousers and a t shirt with a nice thick cardigan over the top.  When I came out of the clinic the sun was shining and I had to unzip my cardigan, I was much too warm.  By the time I reached home the sun had gone in and, it felt quite chilly.  

This afternoon we popped the heating on for an hour as it had gone cold enough to warrant it.  Has anyone else had to pop there's on?

Nothing much to show you again this week.  I made two cards, one was a birthday card for a dear friend and the other an anniversary card for a special couple.  As usual I forgot to take a photo of the birthday card but I did take one of the anniversary card.

It was actually mounted on the base white card much better than it shows here.  The problem was it was a bit skewy on the photo and so it shows with a white border that is all over the place.  It was a anew Honey Doo  image, stamped in black and then with the flowers restamped on blue paper and Inktense pencil put on it.  The flowers were then stuck over the base ones and yellow gems put in the centres.  I used a blue Gel pen to colour the dots on the card and the words were computer generated.

Well, that's it for now so apart from showing you what is on my desk (this week it is a tray as I have been sitting with my legs up as much as possible and got lots of cutting out done for my journal pages) I'd better pop over to Sarah's Craft Shed and see what others have linked in with.  Hopefully see you next week.

Jeudi Journal - Sense

 "Making sense is just not your things is it" is todays quote to work with alongside Chris' challenge at Art Journal Journey which is Hot Summer (Days and Nights) for Wendy and myself who decided to merge our own challenge (just between the two of us) and the monthly challenge over at Art Journal Journey.  Our own part of the challenge is that we must use Dylusion figures which can be a problem at times.

Today I am using a page in my Dylusion Journal which had some yellow and orange ink splodged about it so I went over the whole lot with Ripe Persimmon Distress Oxide to try to bring the page into a nice orange like my page a couple of weeks ago.  This didn't work and you still see the kind of mess in the middle but it does look better than it was.

I've been trying to sit with my feet up as much as possible as instructed by the nurse to get my oedema down and to help my ankle heal so it is a rushed page and story.  But I have been cutting lots of figures out that I had already stamped ready.

"Sally was in her favourite position, lounging on the living room floor, when Anna called to see her.  Anna had recently bought a little puppy and she couldn't take it out for the moment - until it had had its next inoculations.  She had popped to see Sally, who had three dogs of her own, and ask her some questions about raising her new baby,  little Bobby,   He was gorgeous, just a ball of fluff and so funny and a wee bit mischievous.  

Sally loved being consulted about looking after and training dogs and so she went off full mode into giving Anna all the knowledge she could.  The only problem was that Sally could get carried away when speaking about something she really knew about and so her advice became a bit too much for Anna.

"I don't understand you, I have no idea what you are talking about half the time" she said, shaking her head.  "Making sense is just not your thing is it?"

"What do you mean? asked Sally.  "You came asking for my advice and I gave it to you and now you say that about me."

"Sorry I did not mean to insult you, please don't get angry.  I just mean you know so much about dogs and how to look after them, train them etc but you use words that I don't understand.  Remember you have had dogs for a good few years and are used to this language but I am new to the game. I know it should come naturally to me but I want to do it properly and give Bobby the best home possible."

"And so you will, well, as good as my three have. I will help you all I can but let's do it in stages rather than all at once.  If we start again and you tell me what it is you want help with right now I will do my best to help."

WOYWW 847

 Oh Gosh, another nice week but oh how we are suffering with the reservoirs running dry and the moorland fires in north Yorkshire.  I think they said on television that the fires had been raging for three days and the people in the neighbouring areas had been warned to stay in because of the smoke.  We moan when we have rainy summers but now we are suffering  for the hot summer we have had this year.

I just thought about the wild life running away, not knowing which way to turn from the wildfires.  The plants which will take a while to grow again and the poor firefighters and others risking their lives to put. these fires out. On a brighter note here is my desk.  Nothing craftwise has been done, sorry, but I did buy a calendar to start doing for next year and three stamps which I hadn't bought when I got some other things.  Oh and Angela, this is my cloud stencil.  You can see it is tiny so you can decide whether you want one or not. And you can see a card which I received last week from a friend who felt I needed a little pick up.  Get it?  A little pick up?  Love it, it's a great idea.

The ankle is much the same and the oedema definitely no better but hey ho, am sure they will get to it shortly. That's the reason there isn't any crafting being done as I have to sit with my feet up most of the time and I do as I want them to go down.  I am having an ultrasound on Friday - a bit muddled in my head with it as it is from Cora Health in Nottingham and one letter offered me a choice of four clinics down there.  Luckily that came after I had chosen my own doctor's surgery here for it to take place.

Jeudi Journal - Break

 "Phoebe had been going through a rough time at home, her husband had been worried about his job as there had been several redundancies in his department and they owed quite a lot of money here and there.  In short they had been living beyond their means.

His mood had changed and he had started sitting in the sun lounge rather than anywhere she was.  Each time she suggested they went away on holiday to somewhere romantic and the children went off to summer school he walked away and out of the house.  She didn't know what to do.  She bought him a new state of the art camera but he had thrown it in a corner of the bedroom and refused to pick it up.

It was Phoebe's fault, she had wanted to keep up with the Jones's as the saying goes.  She wanted the fancy house on the fancy close where all houses were designed by a different architect and to the owners taste and although they could not afford it Andrew, her husband, had given into her because he loved her so much.  She had wanted an electric car as soon as they became available, her kitchen was the envy of most of her friends and the twins went to the most expensive school in the vicinity.  The only thing she did not get her way on was a private yacht.

As Andrew said, what was the point in having one when neither of them particularly liked sailing.

It was a hot day in summer when Phoebe began to lose it.  She was out with her friend Sybil, the sun was shining and all she had to protect her was a head full of golden curls.  As Sybil said, she should have worn a hat in that heat.  Sybil had made sure her arms were well covered from the sun and she had worn a white straw hat herself.

All of a sudden Phoebe began behaving erratically and muttering about butterflies and numbers buzzing around her.  She began flapping her arms about and the shouting was growing louder and louder. 

"What on earth is the matter?" asked  Sybil.

"It's nearly time for my psychotic break" muttered Phoebe.

"What on earth are you talking about. What's a psychotic break?"

"I just keep having hallucinations, seeing and hearing things that are not there.  It's ok I am seeing a private doctor and talking these things through with him.  It's all Andrew's fault, he is obviously holding back on something.  It's helping now, just talking to you."

"Would it help it we went home, or called in a little cafe for a drink of tea.?" queried Sybil.

"I think I had better go home and ring Dr Smith and talk it over with him.  if only these butterflies would disappear."

And so the two young women started heading for home.  Sybil wondering if her husband, Peter, could shed some light on the situation.  After all he was friends with Andrew and she guessed they talked as openly to one another as women do."

I was lucky in finding this background already done, so with the addition of a couple of Aall & Create stencils (sun, letters and butterflies) I had it completed to work with the story and also provide a hot summer's  day for Chris' challenge at AJJ.

WOYWW 846

 Thank goodness it is a bit cooler around here and we are able to sleep better at night time than we could before.  Hope it is cooler where you are too.  

Forgot to show you the photo of DH blowing his candle out on his Victoria Sandwich cake which I had made for him last week.  Then we went out for a meal afterwards to a pub up the road which held special memories for me although the landlady had long been gone. Nevertheless the food was delicious and he had a lamb shank whilst I had their famous three cheese and onion pie.

I had to have a doggy bag and ate it up next day

Back to this week - I actually got two swaps done yesterday with one of the stamps I bought at the show in Leigh a week last Sunday.  It was my Andy Skinner stamp, "New Friends" featuring three of his bots sitting on a wall.  Here is my desk so you can see the stamp

Back left is my new folder, I had seen one used by a friend and just had to have it.  It is on top of my Inktense pencils and next to that are some painting brushes plus the red rubber stamp upside down, then my inkpad, baby wipes, glue, bits of paper.  Bottom left my new papers which I adore, the colourful one looks like peeled paint on wood, then the stamp index and my ruler.  Oh I missed out my pencil with a little man on top.

I don't think Ann will come on my blog so I will show you my two swaps.  The red one is for Val and the blue one for Ann (Everton supporter, sorry Helen).

Had an awful time lining the images up despite using Perfect Rulers - maybe the cards I bought are wonky?  Spent far too long messing about with them.

Well, that is far too long making cards now I must get on with my blog post for tomorrow.  Hopefully see you next week after I've been to Sarah's Craft Shed today.

Jeudi Journal - People

 "The older you get the more you realise why you can't stand people" is the Dyan quote for this week and

 "it is a boiling hot day again in the north of England where we find Lottie and her favourite oldish aunt, Esther. 

Both were inside escaping most of the heat the best way they could by having the curtains closed  and eating ice cream.  Esther had said they would be cooler if they didn't have the TV on as televisions caused a heat of their own and so the two of them decided to play scrabble for a while.  Even that did not help with the heat and so Lottie suggested that they go for a walk down by the beach.  Surely the temperature would not be as high as it was elsewhere with the gentle breeze off the ocean.

So the two of them set off for a gentle walk down by the water's edge but it soon became obvious that everyone else had the same thought and aunt Esther was not at all happy.  You see, despite wearing her straw hat, the sun had given her a headache and she did not want to disappoint Lottie by letting her know that she didn't really want to go out, lying down on the bed would have been her idea of heaven that day.

There were lots of young people playing music, little ones becoming fractious with the heat and crying because they could not have yet another ice cream, mums and dads getting all het up because of the little ones and it all became a bit too much for aunt Esther.

"|I think I am going to have to go home" she eventually said to Lottie, "You see, the older you get the more you realise why you cannot stand people."

"Oh auntie" said Lottie, "I had no idea you felt like that.  I always thought you enjoyed being part of a crowd."

"Yes, most days my dear, but not today.  I think the heat has got to me and I feel quite sickly and certainly not my usual self.  Do you mind if we go home?"

"Of course not" said Lottie, and the two of them turned around and started heading back to aunties house where she could rest on the bed.  "Would you like me to stay with you a while or should I leave you and go home?"

"Oh sweetie, this is not at all like me and I think I would like you to stay a while but only if you do not have something else to do.  Perhaps give your mum a ring and see if she will pick you up on her way home from work."

And so the day ended on a rather sad note with auntie not feeling well and Lottie having to stay and wait for her mum when she would have loved to join her friends down by the water."

As  you can see I have used my big journal for this one so I could use a figure that suggests an older person who is rather tall.  The young girl used to be my favourite of the heads from Dyan until I got the stamps I used last week.  To begin with I used Rusty Hinge Distress Oxide through a Dylusion stencil  here and there on the page with the border on the same stencil around the edges.  Figures are coloured using Promarkers simply because I find them easier to use on something like this than any other media.

So that is my journal page for Chris's challenge at Art Journal Journey which is Hot Summer (Days and Nights) hence the hot colour for the background.  Funnily enough although I chose Rusty Hinge which suggests a brownish colour it it a lovely shade for a hot day which seems to be 'the norm' for most of us as where we live at the moment.

WOYWW 845

 It's WOYWW day, another WOYWW day and another hot day.  Hope you are surviving in this heat.  To join in with WOYWW pop along to Sarah's Craft Shed and follow the links to other blogs.  So what have you been up to in the past week?

Apart from some more work on my journal challenge with my friend Ann I cannot say I have done much during the week, apart from a Never Ending Card for my Niece's son.  If you have ever done one you will know they can be difficult when it comes to putting pictures on, some end up as half pictures, some upside down, as you turn it.  So it took some doing with pictures from the internet as I didn't have enough suitable football pictures.  The photos show the different turns:

This last one shows how it stands up

The weekend saw us off to Leigh Show.  It was a glorious warm Sunday when we arrived at Leigh Sports Village and as my dh got out of the car his chin almost hit the ground.  He had left my rollator at home.  Now honesty, I cannot walk without it at the moment (got a bad case of oedema in my legs plus this ulcer on my ankle).  So he offered to go home to get the rollator but for the length of time I would be there it wasn't worth it, plus I could sit with the organisers and maybe be useful to them.  (They are good friends)

We had arranged to meet up with some friends once there and they walked in straight behind us.  Everyone agreed it was a shame i could not go around the show so Graham (the organiser) went to see if the Sports Centre had any wheelchairs.  No!  But our friend, John, ever the resourceful. took himself off to Morrisons across the road and asked if he could borrow one of theirs and they agreed. 

So I spent the morning being wheeled about:

From the left at the back we have (the Knight in Shining Armour) John, my dh and my friend Ann

Not to be outdone Graham, the show organiser, who was busy taking the photo, did a selfie for me which reminded me of one of the CHA trips we had done with them years ago when he did a selfie to make me laugh when I was watching Tim Holtz.  (incidentally Graham's last name is Holt and his son Tim [Tim Holt] was at the show on Sunday along with his wife Tracey).

I didn't buy much, what I wanted from Lavinia they had sold out of but I did buy some Honey Doo stamps and I found an Andy Skinner Bot stamp which  I love.  Wish I had bought more, I love Andy's work.  Show you some images next week.

All too soon it was lunch time and we had to dash off to a cheese and wine party we had had arranged for ages with some friends,  It was up at the edge of the Lakes which was ironic as our friends John and Ann had come down from there and we had to leave them for us to travel up.  Traffic was a nightmare on the motorway and so we arrived with ten minutes to spare for me to get changed into a dress and some bling.  We had a lovely time, sorry no photos and Monday was spent travelling back down to home.

Yesterday was District Nurse time for a Doppler test and to have my ankle re-dressed.  Don't think the nurse is happy about it.  

So here is my desk in full glory doing some more pages in my challenge book which I started before I went down to the clinic.

So that's it for this week, it's Jackson's birthday today so "Happy Birthday to you Jackson" and to the rest of you "have a lovely week and a fabulous weekend, especially if you are working."

Jeudi Journal - Crazy

The quote from Wendy is "You can exercise all you want.  You're never going to burn that crazy off" for this week and the new theme at Art Journal Journey which is set by the lovely Chris from Pearshaped Crafting - "Hot Summer (Days & Nights)".  Chris and I have known one another for quite some time although we haven't seen much of one another since we had lunch together a year or more ago after a visit to Lavinia in Ruthin.  We don't live too far away from one another and we share several mutual friends.

To begin my journal page I covered it with Distress Oxide Crackling Campfire.  I was hoping to use my new figures from Dyan at Art from the Heart but they are too wintry in what they wear so I had to revert to some of my old figures because of the "hot" theme.  Not to worry, the dresses will be useful later but I did manage to make use of the heads which I was pleased about.  I think they are so cute!  I am hoping Wendy will buy Dinky Dolls 3 (I bought DD 4) and then we can share images with one another increasing our library.

"Petra had called to see her friend Lottie who was lounging on the floor.

"What are you doing down there, you look chilled or whacked out, can't make my mind up which?" said Petra as she walked in the lounge having been told by Lottie's mum that she was in there 'doing her thing'.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe how much I ache," replied. Lottie, "I did an hour at the gym this morning and I haven't lost an inch.  I need to lose some weight by weekend so I will have to go each morning.  Sorry, won't be available for anything else this week."

"What on earth has got into you, there is nothing wrong with the way that you look."

"I've told her that over and over" came a voice from the kitchen, it was Lottie's mum who had already given her daughter a pep talk about too much exercise and diets etc.  "See if you can talk some sense into her will you love.  She might listen to you.  Want a cuppa?"

"Yes please Mrs Smith" called Petra.  "Can I be cheeky and ask if you have any of that lemon drizzle you made left over?"

"I have, and that's not cheeky, you know I've known you since you were in a pram.  Your mum and I used to go to the park with you two all the time.  You're like a second daughter to me.  There's apiece here in the kitchen for you, just come and get it."

"Thanks Mrs Smith" said Petra as she picked up her cake and cuppa.

"Hmph" came a sound from the floor.  "I sometimes think mum wishes you were me."

"That's nonsense' said Petra her hands on her hips by this time.  You know your mum, and your dad both worship you.  Mine wouldn't let me die my hair purple for starters.  Anyway, back to this exercising you are keen on.  Why suddenly do you want to lose more weight, you look great?"

"Well Robbie Nelson is going to be there this weekend and I am sure he likes me. a little.  If I could get a bit more off my waist I could get that dress in Pauldens' window, you know, the one with the big gold belt and the swishy skirt."

"Oh I knew there would be a boy somewhere in the picture.  You can exercise all you want.  You're never going to burn that crazy off.  Why can't you just enjoy your time with me and the girls, why does there always have to be a boy on the scene somewhere?  We've plenty of time for that, for goodness sake we are only just gone seventeen.  I'm going to finish my cake and be off, let me know later in the week what you are doing regarding Saturday's party."

And with that Petra took her cup and plate into the kitchen, said thanks to Mrs Smith and left via the back door."

WOYWW 844

Nothing special hals been happening this week but next week promises to be a bit brighter as it is Leigh Show on Sunday and we are meeting friends, Ann and John, who are coming down from Ulverston.  Guess what?  We are heading up to their neck of the woods afterwards, not quite as high as Ulverston but just below, as we are going to a cheese and wine party in the afternoon with some other friends.

I am also looking forwards to the show as it is run by Graham who I used to work for, well demonstrate for his wife's company at shows, and one of his sons will be there who I have known since he was a youngster - he is now dad to two young boys.  Two other friends Izzy and Pete will be there, they help with the shows and I've always had a soft spot for Izzy.

Then there is Jo.  Jo Rice will be dem'ing Lavinia stamps for Stampers Grove so it will be nice to see Jo as I haven't seen her in a while.  She will be with her friend Lisa who also helps out on thE is so is great at helping find a particular stamp you want.

Well, you came to see my desk so here it is

It looks staged but it isn't. I had my bits laid out trying to decide what went where in my challenge book I am doing with Ann, and what needed doing yet to make a pair up.  Not sure what you have seen in the past.

Last week my Acorn House, started with Jo, was on my desk and now it is layered up ready to go on a card.  My acorns are a bit more brown than Jo's were so next time I will remember and do them a bit more yellowy.  Here it is  with a brown mount on.  I really do like it and wish you could see the sparkle.

Now to visit Sarah and everyone else.

The ankle is pretty much the same.  Th surgery have been going all out to get me to take these really strong antibiotics as recommended by the microbiologist they consulted.  I was not happy, however talking to one of the partner doctors he said that although it was a risk there is nothing else will help with the recovery of the ankle and he recommended I take them.  So I have and fingers crossed seem to be ok except a bit of an upset tummy and a rash on my arms and mouth.  Just two left to take today and it's the end of the antibiotics and just left to the District Nurses who I see for treatment every four days.

Jeudi Journal - Invite

The quote from Wendy this week is "Thanks for the invite but I would rather sew my head to the carpet".  Sounds a bit painful to me.  Now to put the quote together with some botanicals for Halle's theme at Art Journal Journey.  It's the end of the month and AJJ will be having a new theme on Friday so, as I already had another page ready with some big florals on it I thought I had better get it used.  Thanks to Halle for a great theme, for once Wendy and I were able to fit our quotes into the theme easily.  Just wish I had been well enough to do more entries.

I had used the other side of the journal with this painting on it and coloured the figures min but to me they got lost a bit in the background so this time I left them black and white.  The story?

"It was the end of the day at Halle Academy and Roger was hanging around in the school garden hoping to see Monica who was in the class above him as he had such a great big crush on her and his friend, Johnny, was having a party on Friday night.  Just imagine if he could walk in with Monica.  All the other guys would be jealous because she was so beautiful.  It didn't matter to him that she was a year older, and a good bit taller, than he was, he had loved her forever.

Just then who should walk around the corner, and on her own, but Monica.  The birds all started singing and the butterflies flitting about (not really, just in his imagination).

"Hi Monica", he called

"Hi Roger" she answered, "what are you doing standing there?"

"Err, I was hoping to see you, I know you walk this way on your way home.  I wanted to ask you something important."

"OK" she said, shrugging her shoulders, she really wanted to be on her way, her brother would be in and he had a gorgeous friend that she had a bit of a crush on.  "What is it?"

"Erm, my friend is having a party on Friday, there will be lots of people from school there and I think there will be food and maybe the odd bottle of wine, I know I am going to take one if I can sneak one out.  I was wondering if you would like to go to the party with me."

Monica looked down on him, he was a good year younger than she was, and he didn't even come up to her shoulders.  No, she certainly did not want to be seen with a squirt like Roger.  The sun was beating down on them and she was in this rush to get home.  What should she say?  Let him down lightly or put him off forever?  Oh to heck with it she thought.  He needed putting down thinking he could have a date with her.  

"Thanks for the invite but I would rather sew my head to the carpet" she announced as she flounced off.

Poor Roger stood there, so disappointed.  Well, if that was the way that she felt he wouldn't be asking her to the Prom come the end of summer.  In fact he wouldn't be asking her to go anywhere with him in the future.  She was nothing but a jumped up snob."

WOYWW 843

 Yet another flying week, I swear days have wings on them these days, at this rate it will be 'C' time before I know it.  Perhaps it is not going as fast at Sarahs Craft Shed, maybe I should take a peek.

I never seem to have done as much as I expected to do.  This past week saw me trying to catch up on two online workshops I had signed up for but neither are fully finished.  One I didn't have a fairy facing left, that was large enough for the card, apart from one I had used previously.  Now if I had been making a card I would have been fine using her but as it was for my journal I already had one very similar on another page so it wouldn't do.  In the end I just made a card.  But I still have one to make.  Again I did not have the correct stuff but I am going to manage with what I have, long gone are my days of buying just because.

I've not had a good week, a lot on my mind regarding this ankle injury and visits to the District Nurse every four days with doctor trips in between has taken its toll on my week.  Enough about that.

Today I decided to do a quick card that my friend  Jo Rice had just put up on her You Tube and so I set to using one of the new stamps from Lavinia which I forgot to photograph for you all.  This is Acorn House and I just love it with the stones in front of the doorway.

At the moment it is just a topper and it needs mounting on a card so you might be seeing it again another week.

On my desk from left to right are my moon masks, some post it notes in the flowery pack, my stamps below with the acorn sets to the right and the green thing on the far right is my waste bin made by Jo Pritchard years ago, most of you will, remember Jo and her quilting/sewing etc.  She was a good friend and I have missed her cheerful disposition.  I never had 'down' days when Jo was around.  The blue thing is my pencil case full of Inktense pencils on top of some waste paper/card, then the acorn topper and finally over on the right my eraser, baby wipe, Wink of Stella and a piece of kitchen roll.

Not having unpacked my bag from when I was last at the caravan until this afternoon here is my counter top full of stuff.

I won't go through everything that is on here, it's pretty boring but the brown bag at the end is from Amazon, a bit of a surprise gift for my dh who has a birthday coming up.  He doesn't want/need anything but his Calvados is a bit down so he has asked for a bottle of that and I read that with grapefruit syrup it makes a lovely cocktail.  Now he isn't a cocktail type of man and doesn't like his Calvados messed about with but I am hoping that a bottle of grapefruit syrup might change his mind.  He's got one anyway!  Well I can have the odd cocktail with it can't I?  Or was it rhubarb?