Midweek this and that

Hi Everybody!

This has been a busy couple of days. Had to go for a little operation on my ear yesterday, which was a bit unpleasant, but necessary, and tomorrow I have to have a dental operation because my gums are very inflamed again and the nasty bits have to be cut away. I have had a lupus flare-up these past weeks, and although it has not been as painful as the last one, it's bad enough and is causing lots of inflammations that I could actually do without....On the positive side, the supply of coffee has not run out, so that's good! Or as my Auntie Fanny would have said, 'sniff it up, swallow it down and carry on with your life'! 

I have been doing a lot of crafting in my new journal. I got given a voucher for Amazon and bought myself two huge, A3 journals, each with 60 sheets. The paper is really good quality, and I am happy using them:

This is the unexpurgated version:

Anyway, back to business! I painted the page with diluted acrylics in turquoise and purple over a layer of gesso, gave it some splashes, and then collaged some scraps of napkins from Jane Davenport and others when it was dry. I used some dewdrop Stickles on the dragonflies, eye  and the dress. Then I did some doodling and wrote a quote from Shakespeare round the figure of the woman - it's from Hamlet. I added some feathers and a few stickers as embellishments. One of the drawbacks - for me - of working in a journal is that I can't sew round the edges, so I used an awl to make some holes and pulled some blue threads through them:

I am linking to Erika's 'when it's hot challenge' at AJJ, as it's good to be under the sea in a dream-world where sky and sea are together when it's hot outside. I am also linking to Simon Monday challenge, art journaling, and to paperbabe stamps challenge, summer.

After the ear operation I sat here and consoled myself with a chocolate ice:

The changeable weather has given us wonderful cloud formations and skies:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Tuesday/Wednesday Post

Hi Everybody!

Hope you are enjoying life.

We even had a few rain-drops again on Monday, not enough to make anything wet, but at least something!

Today I have a hybrid piece put together from  photos taken at various times, seen on my balcony or on my walks. The blackbird is my most frequent visitor here, if there's no food outside he complains long and loud till I put some out for him. I am linking to Erika's 'when it's hot' challenge at AJJ - birds belong to summer days:

One of my balloon flowers:

I was in Düsseldorf last week and the flower beds look good:

The town has allowed lots of booths selling food and refreshments to open up. Many people are afraid to eat / drink inside and prefer to be outside. This helps a lot of businesses which have lost trade during the Corona Pandemic.

Fruits dipped in chocolate:

Fried sausages and chips (fries):

Then I went through Hofgarten:

The cormorant was drying off:

Here he looks like he's lost his head:

Morning gymnastics:

Lots of gulls:

The Canadian Geese were taking a midday stroll:

On the other side of Hofgarten a little cafe has opened up:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

T sTands for a new challenge aT Tag Tuesday

Hi Everybody!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend - have a great, new week!

This evening we will be starting a new challenge at Tag Tuesday. Pinky , who is a fabulous and very talented crafter, is hosting and has chosen the theme - Christmas. Not my fave theme in July, but if we get some hot days it might be good to concentrate on cold and snow.... My tag features a photo of a tree on the street where I live, with some images from Serif. And  we all need peace and joy all the year round. Tags of all formats are welcome at Tag Tuesday, and you have 2 weeks to join us. This could be your chance to 'start early for Christmas!' The challenge goes live this evening at 8 pm:

And Elizabeth's T sTands for Tuesday also begins this evening, so here a warm welcome to the nice ladies of the T Gang who visit here.

I always like looking in the windows of this huge 'Trödel' - flea-market shop. I don't go in just now, but enjoy seeing the myriads of treasures in the window - here lots of table ware among other things:

And I went twice to my fave ice cafe last week. I enjoy sitting outside watching the people who go by. We all have to wear masks when we are in shops, buses and trams but outside people mostly carry their masks ready to put them back on when necessary:

I got a differently coloured mug each time.  On the table you can see the list where people 'sign in' as a corona control:

I made some quick sketches while sitting there to show how people carry their masks.  Some ladies carried the folded mask like a little handbag, others wore the mask as a bracelet. And others were 'button danglers':

Some use it to keep their chins warm, and others push it onto their foreheads:

And of course, there is the classical one ear-dangler

I put my mask into a little plastic bag and put it into my pocket....but the important thing is to wear it when other people are about!

Pretty cups and more in the interior-design shop:

Some pics from our 'main' street:

Lots of shops have reduced their prices to encourage people to buy:

I enjoyed walking by the lakes here:

The weather has been very changeable, but we only got a few spots of rain:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!