Happy Mail, a journal page and sunny pictures.

Hi everybody!

After a really hot and sunny day yesterday we had some cooler weather today, which did good. I spent a lot of time out on my bike again yesterday, riding along the Rhine in the shade of the trees, and with a nice wind to bring some relief- I could have gone on all day, well, if my butt hadn't been so sore!

For this journal page I used a brush-wipe page, which I sprayed with some blue to fill the gaps. I need to practice using my hand again, so doodling and lettering with a stencil are a good exercise. The stencil I used on the left is called 'grave fireflies', and is from stencilry

I kept to a limited colour palette, perhaps because I was too lazy too get up and get more pens after so much cycling!

I am linking to Art Journal Journey, Manon's Paper Saturdays and Feline Art Friday

Yesterday a big, fat envelope from Susi in Austria arrived here, what a treat!

First and foremost, this beautiful tag with a moo:

Paper Napkins for backgrounds:

Toys to play with:

And some crafty literature for inspiration.

 But best of all is to know I have friends who care about me. 

Thanks Susi!

This is where I rode on my bike yesterday:

Plenty of shadow:

My trusty bike with me sitting on it - you can't see me, though!

Rural scenes that reminded me of van Gogh:

And lots of sheep:

Have a great weekend, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by.

This and that about this and that

Hi everybody!

Today was a really hot day again, my apartment is almost hot and steamy enough for a sauna. But never mind, to make up for it, it is always cold and drafty in winter,  which means that on average, everything is normal!

Yesterday  I looked again at the old documents to see if I could find out what happened to Mr Kohlberg,  who was stranded in Spain for 2 years. (See previous post)  I found a bill from a hotel in Amsterdam, dated September 26th 1916, so he had evidently managed to get that far by then, and  I am sure he made it back to his family. His sons were soldiers at the time, so it can only refer to him.

The hotel is still there, but I think the prices  may have increased a little in the past 98 years!

I made a collage of my SOC pieces, it was a fun six weeks, so big thanks to Kristin and all who joined in!

This week I managed to make a journal page again, with paint, sprays, glitter, stencils and lots of doodling. My thumb is still sore, so I have to take it easy, and take lots of breaks in between. The sentiment is a line from a hymn we used to sing at school when I was a kid.

I am linking to PPF, hosted, as always, by Eva and Kristin, and to Art Journal Journey, Flower Power, hosted by our sweet Susi.

This morning I went out for a ride on my bike, and was in love with the beautiful sky over the Rhine.

The horses were, as usual, busy grazing and keeping in the shade.

I chose shady paths:

I love to see the sun sparkling on the water:

Here's wishing you all a great day, take care, have fun, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Letters with a mystery from the past.

Hi everybody!

Now, you won't believe this, but today the weather was normal. Cloudy/sunny/ warm/windy - great weather for walking! 

In between walks I started clearing out some of my rubbish  'collections', and have managed to fill 2 large plastic sacks with recycled and hoarded scraps, and pictures which I might possibly to be able to use one day, but  sometimes, less is more! The drawers in the kitchen and my bit-boxes are now tidy (well, for me tidy!) and I have an overview of what I have so that is something. I still need to do the drawers in my containers, but I have plenty of sacks ready!

My thumb is now very sore after working so hard, but at least I know WHY it is so.

The photo challenge at Manus this week is 'letter'.

I have copied some letters from 1914 and 1916. They tell the story of Hermann Kohlberg, who was a businessman and cloth manufacturer, and could not get back to Germany because he needed to pass through France which was 'enemy territory', and where he would run the risk of being locked up. I found these letters along with other correspondence, certificates and documents going back to 1701 after my great aunt died back in the 1970s. A cousin had stuffed all the papers into the bin outside, and I am glad I was able to save them. My great aunt was married to a German, who was killed with all of his family by the Nazis, and I think the documents belonged to his  family and their ancestors. I  will try to show more of the documents at a later time, as they tell a very interesting, if rather tragic story.

The first letter to the foreign office in 1914, evidently an answer to Kohlberg's wife, who was asking for a safe conduct pass for her husband.

A copy of a letter sent to the American Ambassador in Madrid, asking for help:

The German version of the same letter:

After receiving the letter from Max Hooge,  the German Consul in Vigo asked Kohlberg to come to the Consulate:

The reply from the German Ambassador in Spain, 

Prince Maximilian Karl Wilhelm of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, the Prince of Ratibor and Corvey, saying that  he could pass through France without fearing for his life as he was over the age of 60, but they couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't be imprisoned!

Copies in English and French:

And while researching the name Von Ratibor, I found an interesting article in 

'Der Spiegel' from 1998, showing that the prince was involved in a very nasty experiment with biological weapons, but the article is in German. Unfortunately  I found no correspondence to tell me if Kohlberg got home safely or not!

Well, that was today's history lesson!

And to end on a lighter note, some pictures from today's walks:

Have a great day, take care, and thanks a lot for coming by!

Double Tuesday

Hi everybody!

After the enormous heat of the weekend we almost got washed away last night and today when it stormed and  the rain came down so hard that some roads changed into rivers, man-hole covers were forced up by the amount of water under them and many cellars were flooded; once again Dusseldorf got hit really badly. I went for my morning walk wearing shorts, rain-coat and wellington boots. I must have looked a real sight, but who cares? The few people I met who were out being walked by  their dogs were wearing similar outfits!  The afternoon walk was a little better, it just drizzled, and I am wondering how it will be tomorrow. At least it's never boring!

At Tag Tuesday our theme this week is 'summer holidays'. I used a scrap of a master board I made a couple of years back using card, tissue paper and various paints and sprays. The image is from Gecko Galz, and has been fussy cut and mounted onto some textile leaves and a piece of open-weave material. I added some fibres and a little bird charm. I mounted it onto a second tag made from cardboard, partly peeled and gessoed. I am linking this tag to Make my Monday, Vacations.

At Try it on Tuesday our theme this fortnight is 'Things with wings'. You have 2 weeks to get your creative juices flowing and link up your creation.

I made a large (12") tag from DP, mounted onto black card. I glued scraps of  paper napkins onto it, and then used my diamond stencil with a mix of bead-gel, terracotta paint and Stickles. The lady is a cut-out from a magazine ad, and has been surrounded with gilding flakes, which I also used on the butterfly's wings.

This was a fun make!

I am linking to Moo Mania and More, anything goes,  and to That's crafty, use masks or  stencils

The cactus plants on my balcony looked most interesting today with the sprinkling of rain-drops on them.

That's enough for today! Take care, have fun, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!