T stands for a SaTurday walk

Hi Everybody!

On Tuesday we are staring a new challenge at TIOT -

Things with wings. This could include birds, butterflies, winged insects, planes etc - let your fantasy fly!

I made a piece using an altered sunrise photo as a background. The birds were die cut and placed onto the photo, the text (from Thomas a Kempis) was added digitally. The town where he came from, Kempen, is an ancient walled town not far from here.

And you still have a week to join in Wilma's lovely 'Gemini' (twins) theme at 

Tag Tuesday

I made a hybrid tag using elements from Mischief Circus on a hand-painted background:

Tuesday is also Elizabeth's T stands for Tuesday, so here a warm welcome to all of the nice ladies of the T Gang. My drink can be seen in one of the photos below.

On Saturday I went for  a hike with 2 of my buddies, G and H. It was not too hot, sunny/cloudy and no rain, so ideal walking weather. We walked along the road to Wittlaer, the next little township down the Rhine. We then walked along this narrow path named after Max Clarenbach,  a German artist who lived and worked here for many years, and the landscapes we see today can easily be recognised in many of his paintings:

We met some friendly cows who came to the fence to talk to us:

Morning gymnastics:

This is the ancient church:

And we visited his favourite pub, 'Brand's Jupp' next to which he lived.

This shows the history of the place:

Here is the Max Clarenbach Stübchen (Parlour) in the pub:

We took our drinks outside to the beautiful beer-garden, which overlooks the Rhine. The men chose alcohol-free beer and I had water:

It's a wonderful place to sit with beautiful views:

More photos to follow!

Have a great day, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Van Gogh turned around.....

Hi Everybody!

Hope your week is going well. Today I have  a new stamp to share. I wanted to try Van Gogh's night scene with the stars, so drew it straight onto the rubber block - but forgot I should have reversed it! So here we have the view the wrong way round. This was the first print out. It is 8" x 4 1/2". I am linking to Paint Party Friday:

Then I turned it around digitally in my graphics programme and straightened the edges:

I also made a mixed media journal page:

The first few photos were taken in the garden of a hospital where we were visiting a friend:

And some of my out and about photos taken here:

Have a great da, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

T stands for Gemini

Hi Everybody!

Hope your week go off to a good start!

On Tuesday we are starting a new challenge at Tag Tuesday, hosted this time by our lovely Wilma. Thanks to all who entered Joan's 'Movie' challenge last time.

Wilma's challenge is 'Gemini'

My first time for this one is a hybrid tag made with elements from me and Serif, showing the Gemini sign in gold:

The tag also serves as a reminder for the challenge at TIOT, one for the boys, which will be running for another week.

And I have a second tag, using one of my hand-carved African ladies:

Today is also Elizabeth's T stands for Tuesday, so here a warm welcome to all of the wonderful ladies of the T Gang. Last week I had a visit from Sabine of Artbee Art and we visited North Park and the Japanese Garden. We stopped for a break and my drink this time was a Coke Zero:

We enjoyed walking through the park:

And I even found a rusty sculpture for Elizabeth:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Tall, dark and Undead....

Hi Everybody!

Today I am writing about a book written by my good buddy Sandra:

It's easy and fun to read, with a surprising ending. And even if you're not a fan of vampires - well, have you ever heard of vampires who are sort of vegetarian?!

Book Blurb

Gutsy, kick-ass Suzanne James has no intention of complicating her life by falling in love…especially with a vampire. But it’s hard to stay objective when a drop-dead gorgeous male rescues her from three assailants in a dark alley. All but unconscious, she could swear her hero has glowing red eyes and two sharp, pointed teeth.

Adrian Caine has spent the past hundred years, in vampire parlance, a vegetarian. When he rescues a beautiful blonde in a dark alley, it takes all of his formidable control not to backslide. Attraction turns to desire. Even though it’s not in Suzanne’s best interest, he can’t stay away.

Book Excerpt

“Three men jumped me and I kicked their asses.”

Kess gave me a pained look. “That’s why you’re black and blue and in a 

hospital bed instead of upstairs doing your job?”

“Details, details.” I made a dismissive motion with my hand.

“You were out walking late at night again by yourself, weren’t you? How 

many times have I told you to take a taxi when you work late? You take a few kickboxing classes and think you can take on the world.” He tapped a toe encased in spit-shine, black leather. His face registered extreme disapproval.

“It’s rude to say ‘I told you so’, Kess.” I sat straighter and tried for injured dignity.

“A lot of good it does. You don’t listen.”

“In this case you were right.” I ran the fingers of my good hand through my tangled hair. I must look a mess.

“I’m always right.”

“And modest too.”

He grinned. “Are you going to tell me what happened?” He took another 

gulp of his rapidly cooling coffee.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do but you keep interrupting me.”

“Don’t whine.  It’s unbecoming.  Just tell me what happened.  I heard a Good Samaritan brought you in then disappeared.”

“It was pretty odd, Kess.”

“I’m not sure ‘odd’ is the word I’d use for getting beaten up and a shoulder dislocated.” His voice dry, his glance shifted to my shoulder. He frowned.

I sighed. Kess just wasn’t going to let this go.

“Not that part. My…err, Good Samaritan.” I fidgeted on the bed and plucked at the sheet.Somehow 

the term “Good Samaritan” just didn’t fit. Goosebumps roughened my skin 

and my heart galloped as I remembered fangs and glowing red eyes. “Kess?”

“Yes?”

“Do you believe in vampires?”

“If you don’t want to talk about it you could have just said so.” He lifted his chin and started to rise.

I looked at the door. No one was in the hall. I hunched forward and whispered, still clutching the sheet. “Kess, he had fangs and his eyes glowed.”

He frowned and straightened. “They told me you didn’t have a concussion or any kind of damage to your head. Apparently, they were wrong. I’ll have Dr. Brown run an MRI. I should have made them do it last night.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my head,” I yelled.

“Suz, you think you were rescued by a vampire.”

I can warmly recommend reading this fun book!

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!