Let your light shine

Hi Everybody!

Hope your holidays were good!

For Art Journal Journey, light and darkness,

I have another hybrid piece. I merged photos of the watchman, seen in Kettwig, and a grungy wall here by the castle ruins, and placed them on a very grungy background with a collaged quote.

And here is the night watchman 'at home'

 Tomorrow is also Elizabeth's T stands for Tuesday, so here a hearty welcome to all the nice ladies in the T Gang.

 I recently had another coffee in the K20 art museum cafe, where 

some strange figures are always hanging out:

The cappuccino there is really good;

Recently several people  asked if I collect glass, as I often visit the glass museum. The answer is yes, I have collected bits and bobs

of glass since somebody bought me a little glass bird 

when I was a child. Perhaps not the best hobby for

someone who likes dusting as little as I do!

Anyway, here are a few things from my collection:

This glass bowl  is extremely thick and heavy:

This Scandinavian bird is one of my faves:

The blue and white one is one I made myself (with a lot of help from

Sepp, the glass blowing instructor), when I did a course many moons ago.

It's not quite straight, but I still like it:

Birds are still my favourites:

This ash-tray from the fifties is a so called 'rest of the day' piece,

as the glass blowers used to make this sort of glass 

from leftovers melded together. I would never allow anyone to use it for ash!

I have more to show another day.

Have a great day, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Happy Everything

Hi Everybody!

Today I have a scheduled post to wish all

blogger friends a happy Christmas, happy Chanukkah

and happy whatever you are celebrating.

I am also linking to Art Journal Journey,

light and darkness:

 Here I used a photo taken on the lane behind the castle ruins-

Santa was added with a vintage image:

Some photos of the Christmas market, although it was a strange feeling

to be there after the terrible attack in Berlin:

The weather vane on the Uerige, one of the famous pubs in the Altstadt:

And as I turned round, I saw this old man sitting in the gutter, begging-

I hope he has a warm place to sleep:

And I saw three pairs of policemen, all armed

with machine guns - a sad sign of the times:

And the sunset over the Rhine:

Happy holidays to you all, take care,

and thanks a lot for visiting.

I will be back On Monday and will visit then!

May the light conquer the darkness

Hi Everybody!

We were all very shocked yesterday after the terrible

terror attack on the Christmas Market in 

Berlin.  Christmas will not be the

same again for so many families who have

lost their loved ones. It makes me feel very helpless

to witness all the bad things that are happening

all over the world, we so need love, tolerance and peace.

For Art Journal Journey, light and darkness I have a hybrid piece again.

We all need to hold fast to light and all that is good

 after this awful incident.

I am taking a few days blog break.

Wednesday is my birthday - a big, round one.

I'm not telling which one, but there's a 7 at the beginning, so make an educated guess!

This year has not been easy with operations, lots of pain

and other problems - it can only get better.

I just need some 'me' time-

I'll be back soon!

Have a great holiday season, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

T stands for taking a walk....

Hi Everybody!

For Art Journal Journey, light and darkness,

I have another hybrid piece. I found this background paper in my stash, and added some stenciled leaves and flourishes to the centre. The heart, light and quote were added digitally:

Today is also Elizabeth's T stands for Tuesday, so I

would like to extend a warm welcome

to all of the lovely ladies

of the T Gang.

Before we get something to eat and drink, you can accompany

me on my morning walk. I took some stale bread

and fed it to the ducks, who got

very excited about it:

 ''I saw it first - duck off''

''Over there, quick''

''It must be here somewhere''

I watched the ferry crossing, 

and cars driving off and on:

I walked through the back streets:

(Actually, I think we only have back streets here!)

The big building at the right is our skyscraper:

And this is the one and only supermarket:

I baked some delicious wholemeal bread:

And made some filled cookies, with bits of Mars bars and coconut

candy bars in them:

Go on, take a bite:

The bakery is filled with lots of tempting goodies:

And I decided to sacrifice myself and go in there

so that you all get to see it:

As I was in there I had to order something -

Cappuccino and spekulatius (spiced cookies) - help yourselves:

Hope you enjoyed your walk today!

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!