T sTands for Tag Tuesday and more

Hi Everybody!

Here's wishing you all a great, new week. In my last post I boasted that we had 2 days without rain. Well, the weather gods made up for it, and the storm brought us gale force winds and very heavy rain all day. I tried to go to the Rhine yesterday morning, but had to turn back because the wind was too strong. I had to drink coffee instead! The wind was so strong that it blew 2 huge containers from a Rhine ship, which had to be rescued from the shore here by police and the fire-brigade!  You can see photos here. All of the carnival processions in Rhineland were cancelled, so many people were disappointed. I am not a fan of carnival, as so many use it as an excuse to get drunk and behave badly. Today there is less wind, so  the parades can take place.

On Monday evening we are starting a new challenge at Tag Tuesday. This time Sandie is our host, and has chosen the theme 'Paris', which will surely make many hearts beat faster!. She has some beautiful, inspirational tags on our blog, and I hope to see lots of people joining in. The challenge goes live Monday evening at 19:00 MET. And the winner of the prize from last week will also be announced!

My tag, made with elements from Serif and me, shows Paris in the spring. The girl is enjoying a glass of red wine - hope she doesn't drink too much and fall off her bike! And the tag links nicely to Elizabeth's T sTands for Tuesday gathering, so here a warm welcome to all of the lovely ladies of the T Gang.

I had lots of opportunities to visit cafes in the past week, and drank quite a lot of coffee - what else? Last week after an appointment in Düsseldorf I saw this sign on my way back to the tram station:

So, I decided to take a photo through the window:

A lady sitting in front of the cafe said, 'Don't just take a photo, go in, the coffee's wonderful!' So I did just that - and she was soooooo right!

It's a small place,  simply furnished, with clean, clear lines:

 And the coffee really was the best I have had in a long time, so yes, I will be going there again!

And we often went for a coffee in 'our' ice parlous:

Here's Nathalie enjoying a cheese cake with her Latte:

And some cups and plates in our thrift shop here:

We had some nice sunrises this week:

My indoor garden is growing fast:

The trees and bushes outside are starting to go green:

And my daffodils are now huge:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Weekend post

Hi Everybody!

The weekend is nearly here - enjoy!

Our weather was a bit less windy today, and dry - 2 days in a row! But we have been promised another storm for the weekend. The mild temperatures have given us lots of spring flowers, and the trees are beginning to blossom and sprout their leaves. Spring has arrived about 2 weeks earlier than usual this time.

I already used the background of this painted page to make a hybrid journal page, which I showed recently. Now I have added to it  using various stencils and black acrylic paint applied with a sponge. I am getting on quite well with my left hand, but hope that I can sooner or later use my right one properly again:

This was the background beforehand:

And then I did some more digital add ons using some little hearts to make it fit the challenge at AJJ, which Elizabeth is hosting. This is the third and last variation - at least for the time being! I am also linking to Paint Party Friday.

Lovely daffodils:

My windowsill garden is growing very fast:

The hyacinths on the balcony are growing, too:

It's aways lovely to see the sun after a cloudy start to the day:

The sheep are happy munching their way through the fields:

Somebody made this lovely chain from stones and hung it on a dead tree by the path:

 And today we had blue skies:

And of course, I needed a coffee:

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