T Stands For One Mug

 

I want to once again apologize.  I am still not well.  I want to begin by thanking everyone for your kind words and comments.  I tried Traude's Simple Homemade Re-hydration Drink but I must have gotten something wrong because before I could drink the entire glass, it all came back up.  I was even sicker than I had been before and everything I tried to drink tasted like metal.  

Like Deb's husband, I also have lost weight.  I went from 105 to 101 lbs (47.6 to 45.8 kilograms) as of last week.  I haven't weighed this week.

I picked the first mug I photographed at The Spice Merchant the last time I was there.

I love this snarky mug.

By now you may know this mug was made by MUD.  On the top is Stay Positive, Be Kind, Enjoy Life, Every Day is a Gift.

I've shown you mine, now it's time to share your own drink related post.  It can be photos, a place you visited, movies, postcards, books, sketches, mixed media, drawings, paintings, tags, scrapbooking, or other art that is digital, hybrid, or traditional, as long as it in some way relates back to a drink, any drink.  Regardless, please share below and Bleubeard and I will gladly visit, as will other T participants.  Please link only your T post and not your blog in general.  Bleubeard would like to remind you that old photos are acceptable because they may be taken any time, not just on Tuesday and not just this year.  Please remember to visit your fellow T participants. 

 

T Stands For Still Sick

 

I apologize for not visiting either my T Tuesday or Second Look group, but I am very sick.

Chocolate milk is about all I can keep down, but when I feel a headache coming on, I drink a small cup of coffee, which staves my headache.

My friend Joseph insisted he take me to Emergency Care.  I told him I couldn't afford it, but he said they could determine why I was still so ill.

The person who looked at me, said I had a "bug."  I was given a prescription for something that looked and tasted very much like 

 

   Pepto Bismol.  My prescription was for 4 fluid ounces and cost me $12.00 (USD).  Pepto Bismol at Walmart cost $7.48 + tax for 12 fluid ounces (USD).  I am not just still sick, I am now also left with a huge bill to pay and 4 ounces of medicine I could have gotten myself at Walmart.   So much for worthless Emergency Care.

 

I've shown you mine, now it's time to share your own drink related post.  It can be photos, a place you visited, movies, postcards, books, sketches, mixed media, drawings, paintings, tags, scrapbooking, or other art that is digital, hybrid, or traditional, as long as it in some way relates back to a drink, any drink.  Regardless, please share below and Bleubeard and I will gladly visit, as will other T participants.  Please link only your T post and not your blog in general.  Bleubeard would like to remind you that old photos are acceptable because they may be taken any time, not just on Tuesday and not just this year.  Please remember to visit your fellow T participants. 

 

 

 

I apologize, but it took all my strength just to write this post.  Please be aware, I promise to visit as soon as I am able.

 

 

 

 

T Stands For Chocolate Milk

 

 Some of you read that on Saturday I ate something that didn't agree with me.

 As much as I love my black coffee that I usually drink 24/7, the acid was not agreeing with my tummy.

I love chocolate milk, but never considered featuring it for my weekly drink of choice.

 

After I drank it, I promptly fell asleep and almost forgot to get the photos off my camera and share them on my blog.  I hope to make the T Tuesday deadline by 4 pm and then it's back to bed.

I've shown you mine, now it's time to share your own drink related post.  It can be photos, a place you visited, movies, postcards, books, sketches, mixed media, drawings, paintings, tags, scrapbooking, or other art that is digital, hybrid, or traditional, as long as it in some way relates back to a drink, any drink.  Regardless, please share below and Bleubeard and I will gladly visit, as will other T participants.  Please link only your T post and not your blog in general.  Bleubeard would like to remind you that old photos are acceptable because they may be taken any time, not just on Tuesday and not just this year.  Please remember to visit your fellow T participants.

 

 

 

 

 

My sincere apology

 

 I want to apologize to my Second Look participants for not visiting sooner.

This is the reason I haven't visited.

Last Thursday I stopped for Chinese take-out.  I was the only person there and they made the meal fresh.  I ordered sweet and sour chicken and chicken fried rice (CFR).  I got it home and ate a few bites of the CFR and didn't care for it.  I immediately placed it in my refrigerator. 

Between the time it took to get home and the time it took to put the CFR in the refrigerator could not have been over 25 minutes, probably less.  On Saturday, I decided to heat the CFR and visit my Second Look participants.  I had taken no more than seven or eight bites when my stomach started to roll and churn.  It didn't take long and I was in severe pain in the lower extremities.  It was everything I could do to dig the CFR container from the trash and photograph it so you could see why I haven't been by to visit.  I'll be by to leave a proper comment when I can be off the loo for any amount of time.  Thanks for understanding.

Second on the 2nd: The Bleubeard County Fair

 

As most of you know, I like my second look each month to reflect our host at Art Journal Journey's (AJJ) theme. That means I needed to find something related to Chris's Hot Summer Days and Nights.  This post hearkens back to July, 2017 and was part of an AJJ challenge.  I believe those of you who have been reading my blog since 2017 will remember this post.  It was well received when it was first published.  Please enjoy.

 The Bleubeard County Fair

This is the time of year when county and state fairs are the rage, at least that's true in the U.S..  In other countries, they are sometimes known as agricultural fairs.  People flock to them from far and wide.  If you aren't sure what the difference is, if you have an exhibit or competition of some kind you wish to enter, the county where you reside is where you compete or have it judged.  If it wins the grand prize in that category, which usually consists of a ribbon only, you are allowed to enter it in that same category at the state fair.

Now I've never made a secret of the fact that Bleubeard was born in a barn.  He was given to me as a Christmas present by my goddaughter.  His mother, a calico, didn't sandbox train him, so it was left to me, his caregiver, to do so.  So far, this is a true story.

This is the point where the story becomes a tall tail or tale, whichever you prefer.  Today we're headed to the Bleubeard County Fair.  Of course, I had NO idea he was so popular in the county in which he was born.

It seems they have named a county for him and he is the guest of honor at the Bleubeard County Fair. 

We didn't need tickets because Bleubeard was the guest of honor.  Since I accompanied him, the first place we visited was the area where they kept his animal friends.   After all, the agricultural portion of these fairs is often more popular than the rides.  However, there was lots to see, so Bleubeard wanted to make the rounds after saying hello to a few of the animal participants.

We entered the midway where we found the amusement rides.  This one looked harmless, so we took our chances.  Bleubeard wanted to go twice.  For me it was a bit scary, because I'm afraid of heights.

We stopped at one of the tents where we met Madame Magnolia.  She told Bleubeard's fortune.  Of course, we all know what it is, don't we?

Further down the midway was the carousel.  Bleubeard indulged me, because I wanted to ride the carousel horse.

Next it was off to the big top, where a virtual 3-ring circus was under way.  Bleubeard was delighted to see there were no performing elephants or caged lions, only people entertaining today. 

When the performers learned Bleubeard had arrived, the ringmaster insisted he join them center ring for a round of applause. 

One more look back and Bleubeard was off to reign king of the county fair.

He judged the car show, the tractors and other farm equipment, some of which I couldn't even pronounce, the quilts, the vegetables, the crafts, the jams, and the cakes.  He judged the sheep, cows, and chickens.  He ate cotton candy, which got in his fur, and he had a waffle cone filled with a frozen ice treat.  He was given a box of taffy and was invited to pull taffy they were making, but he declined, since he was still trying to get cotton candy out of his fur.  By the end of the day, he was one tired, but finally clean, cat.  But he had an absolutely wonderful time at the Bleubeard County Fair.  I hope you did, too!

I created the background using a combination of inks, handmade shimmering mists, and acrylic paints.  I also used a background stamp to fill in some of the empty spots.  For the various children's colorings I found on the internet, I used a new product I found rather by accident in my stash.

I had never used, or even considered using, these watercolor pencils I got from my friend who was throwing things away from his storage shed. 

In fact, I had to sharpen each one because none had ever been used or sharpened before.  I learned a lot when I worked with these.  I needed to use a teeny, tiny brush, rather than the big fat one I'm used to using.  But, since the children's coloring images were so childlike, I decided any messes I created when trying to use water with these only added to the idea this was a cat's tale, not mine.  Madam Magnolia was cut from a gifted Collage Cats sheet.

Thank you beyond belief for dropping by today.  Bleubeard and I are delighted you visited.

______________________________________________________

 

Now it's time to share your own Second on the 2nd.  The rules are quite simple and everyone is welcome to join the fun look back.  All you have to do is bring back a post that you are especially proud of, or perhaps one you shared before anyone knew your blog existed.  It could even be one that holds special meaning.  Any post, any genre, any artistic endeavor is acceptable, as long as it's been published sometime in the past.  Then link below (direct links only, please) and Bleubeard and I, along with other Second on the 2nd friends, will be by to visit.  This link will be good until Monday August 4 at 4:00 p.m. my time.  

 

 

Day at the beach

 

I want to begin by thanking Halle for hosting Art Journal Journey in July.  She gave us some incredible botanicals and left everyone a great comment.  Thanks so much, Halle.

Today we welcome a new host as we do at the beginning of each month.  This host is no stranger to Art Journal Journey because she is a former moderator.  It is my dear internet friend Chris at Pearshaped Crafting.  Chris's theme is Hot Summer (Nights and Days).  She also referred to Neil Diamond and his Hot Summer Nights song.  This is my interpretation of her theme.  However, I must admit, this was a disaster from the very beginning.

It's obvious I named this Day at the beach.  Detail shots are below.

I started by coloring the surfboards I found on the internet using watercolor pencils.  When dry, I fussy cut them.  While they were drying, I used watercolor pencils to fill in the ocean and sky.  I cut and colored a sun, but when I began the assembly, it was so large it overpowered the collage.   

 

I really messed up during assembly.  

I glued the bottom sandpaper (marked as the front) to the base, but forgot to leave enough space for the surfboards and the top sandpaper to sit behind the front sandpaper.  Instead, the surfboards look really weird now.  The adhesive I used is so strong, I would have torn the cardstock if I tried to remove it. Since I waited till the last minute to create this and since drying time was so long, I didn't have time to make a new one.

Please remember we welcome art journal pages that meet the theme requirements, altered book pages, canvases, loose, or stand alone pages including fabric and digital art.  I (and the administrators) cannot leave comments on Facebook, TicTok, or Instagram entries.  We do not allow cards!!!  We also don't allow tags, index cards, ATCs, or ATCoins, unless they are part of a journal page, and as much as we don't want to, will be forced to delete your entry.  Please remember if your blog is not in English, we ask that you translate it for us since the translation tool doesn't work on some blogs, including mine.  Finally, we do not allow back-links to any journal page published prior to the start date of this month's challenge. Hope to see you and your Hot Summer (Nights and Days) soon at Art Journal Journey.