Thursday Journal with Neet.

 The quote this week is 'People who hate cats were mice in a previous life' When Freda and. Eleanor are neighbours and good friends. When they were younger they both wanted a pet and their mums thought a cat would be suitable as not only did they take themselves for a walk you could leave them for a whole day and go out shopping or to visit some friends. This seemed a brilliant idea and both girls were allowed to choose their own. Freda was lucky and managed to get two a brother and sister. Tinker and Tipsy. When Eleanor went to visit her she was surprised to see Freda  outside with her two cats.

"Why are you standing outside in the snow with Tinker and Tipsy? asked Eleanor.

" Well, you must have come across the problem of visitors who hate cats, well some have just arrived, the lady is terrified of them, so I had to bring them outside until they have gone"

" Yes, that's something I've found,"  said Eleanor :it's not as if the cats are viscous or anything, but they have a knack of finding someone who just hates them and they decide to go and sit on their knee. Gosh it's cold, I know I have only walked from next door, but had I known  I would have put  a warm Winter coat on"

" I didn't have time to get one I had to grab these two and get outside, but I did grab my hat as it was on the hall stand" replied Freda. " Do you think I could come round yours with these two, or will your cat  try to attack them ?"

" They will be OK, they all play together in our garden, lets see if if they are OK in the house, if not you can wear one of  my coats and come and stand outside"

"Great replied Freda, you know I think people who hate cats must have been mice in a previous life"

Thursday Journal with Neet.

The words this week are ' I used to be thin and gorgeous but it's my day off ' Sandra had gone to see her friend Maria who hadn't seen for a while. Thinking she might be ill it was a bit surprised when she arrived to find her inside the housed perfectly OK. Having ploughed through a few inches of snow she asked her if she would like to go for a walk and to give her and her dog Ranger some exercise. The dog was looking through the window, undecided if he actually wanted to go  out in the cold and chase that deer or stay in the warm. He tried to look as pathetic as he could and could see it was working. The decision was made, it didn't look as if Maria wanted to go out either. She was a very slim girl who didn't need to exercise to keep trim.  Maria looked at Sandra and couldn't resist the temptation to remark that Sandra could go walking in the snow if she wanted, it would help her loose some weight. Sandra was extremely annoyed and said "I used to be slim but it's my day off" Maria didn't know if she was supposed to laugh at that, but decided not to. With that Sandra went out and vowed not to speak to Maria again, although she did know she could do with looking a few pounds.

The one at the bottom is one I did for our Thursday journal but didn't put it on as Neet was unable to, due to illness. It was for my theme of the sea.

I am linking this to Sharons  theme of snow on Art Journal Journey

Art journal Journey

 My theme on Art Journal Journey this month is The sea. This time I have used stamped and printed images.

rt Jounal Journal Journey - The Sea

 Another beach hut one for my theme of the sea on Art Journal Journey.

Art Journal journey - The sea

 This is in pastels for my theme of 'In, on,or by the sea on Art Journal Journey. A lovely tranquil sea.

Art Journal Journey - The Sea

 As Neet is still not well enough to join me in our usual Thursday journal I have put in one I had already done for my theme on Art Journal Journey.  An in the sea scene with a mermaid and her fish friends. All stamped and coloured with watercolours.

Art Journal Journey - The Sea.

 Aseaside page this time for my theme on Art Journal Journey. A painted background with some gesso for the sea foam and stampings for the images.

Thursday Journal with Neet

 The words this week are 'The answer is always no'. For my theme on Art Journal Journey this month my journal page today the scene is set on the beach with Alice in charge of her little sister Faith and her very naughty small brother Alfie. All Alice wants is to lie on the beach and sun bathe and take life easy. She did realise that might not be easy with those two to look after as they didn't seem to want to collect shells or paddle in the sea. " Can we go scuba diving" asked Alfie, "we have always wanted to do that, we could just pop to the shops and buy the proper gear" "No, absolutely not, you are too young and have no idea what to do" replied Alice. "Well can we fetch the cat and teach  her to swim in the sea then" asked Faith "No" said Alice, find something sensible to do for goodness sake. "It's not fair, the answer is always No" replied Faith. With that they both stormed off down the beach to look for interesting things they could make something with.

Art Journal Journey, The sae

 I am hosting Art Journal Journey this month with the theme of The sea. This one is a collage of beach huts, seagulls and the shore line.

Thursday Journal with Neet

 The words this week are 'Everything is better when you decide you don't care.' As this has to tie in with my theme on Art Journal Journey which is On, in or by the sea I have created an underwater scene for the background for my story.

Moly's parents are going diving in the coral reef today and have asked sixteen year old Molly to look after her four year old brother Eric. Molly is not pleased and although she wasn't capable of going diving, she didn't want to look after Eric either as he was a real handful of trouble. After they had gone she was feeling a bit resentful and quickly had a long think about what to do with him. I know she thought, I'll take him to the sealife centre in the town. Her parents had left her some money so off they go on a bus to the outskirts of the town, a short walk to the sealife centre. Eric was actually looking forward to it as he hoped to see some sharks. He was mad on sharks and hoped they had a large white one as he thought they were really dangerous. Molly kept her fingers crossed that even a small shark might do as she felt sure they didn't have a large white one. They had some beautiful fish, jelly fish and as she suspected a few small sharks. Eric soon forgot about the sharks and was fascinated by the sea horses. He wanted to know if they ate grass like normal ones so Molly had to explain that these lived only in the sea and ate tiny shrimps. very baby fish and crustaceans. As they don't have teeth they suck the food into their digestive system. Eric was fascinated and didn't even want to be dragged away from the seahorse tank, even for an ice cream. Molly was well pleased with the day and decided that although at first she had been angry about being left with Eric, sh said to herself that everything is better when you decide you don't care she decided.

Art journal Journey - the sea

For my theme of The Sea on Art Journal Journey One with on, in and by the sea. 

 This one incorporates all three.

Art Journal Journey - The Sea

 The Sea is my theme for Art Journal Journey this month, where they have kindly asked me to host for the sixth year. There are many aspects of the sea . For this one I have used, different textures of paper, melted fabric for the seaweed and various images for the fish and shells.

Thursday Journal with Neet.

This weeks quote in another one of Dyans ' Land of make believe - next right'                                        Sonia and her two friends Lowri and Bethan were on their way to school for an audition for the next school play which involved a fairy story about a princess and some rival princes who were after her hand in marriage. They had all reached the age of five and believed in dreaming about how their futures would  be really exciting and I'm sure the odd prince came into the conversation.  Lowri  and Bethan were full of dreams of how they would be princesses and the handsome rich Prince to would come along and this play would just suit their romantic dreams, so they were going to try their best to get a really good part. Their crowns were ready and they were now wondering who the handsome prince might be. For the life of them they couldn't think of a like candidate in their class who would fit the part, in fact they didn't like any of the boys at all. Who would be the princess, there was only one and both of them thought they were good enough., Well thought Sonia this will be interesting, one or both them might well be disappointed, Sonia didn't really like acting so she had made up her mind not to try very hard at the audition. Soda was also getting fed up with hearing them talking about princesses and princes and before they arrived at the school she couldn't resist saying to them "Land of make believe - next right" I wonder what will happen !!

I am linking this to Alison's theme of Autumn colours and inspiration on Art Journal Journey  I have also included a Halloween page that I have done in my Small Dylusion journal as it fits the theme as well.

Thursday Journal with Neet.

 This week the words are 'I do not fail, I succeed in finding out what doesn't work' Annette had arranged to meet her best friend Gloria to discuss their next art project. Annette had taken her dog Tiny with her as he always liked chasing the falling Autumn leaves. When they saw Gloria she was standing with an umbrella on her head like a hat and with piles of Autumn leaves on the ground near her feet.     

Rather than wait for Gloria's usual words of that dog is too big to be called Tiny, he'll get a complex. She rushed in with "Why are to standing with an umbrella on your head it's a lovely day, and before you say anything he was tiny when I got him and it makes people smile when they see how big he is" "Well said Gloria to answer your question, I have the umbrella on my head as I don't want a leaf to fall on my head that might have a caterpillar or a slug on it" "Oh Annette replied, what should we do for our next art project?" "I thought we could collect some really pretty Autumn coloured leaves and press them so we can make nice pictures with them next year when they have finished being pressed, what do you think Annette?" " Well to be honest I don't want to do that" replied Annette    " Why not, you would be good at that" said Gloria. "No I tried pressing them last year and they all ended up the same brown colour, nothing like how they started out.  I don't want to try again. I do not fail, I succeed in finding what doesn't work, they didn't work, so think of something else we could do"

I am linking this to Alisons theme on Art Journal Journey  of Autmn colours and inspiration           

Art Journal Journey - Colours of Autumn and inspiration.

 The theme on Art Journal Journey  set by Alison is 'Autumn colours and inspiration'  This is a page in my small Dylusion journal that I can bring to fill up.

 

Thursday journal with `Neet

A short story this week as I have my eldest daughter staying with us and regrouting the bathroom which has awful dark grey grouting with light coloured tiles which make it look dirty. She has also tidied up the  garage for Peter who is not well organised at all.

The words this week are 'I love how bad-ass we think we are when we're together' Heather and Stella have been friends since they were children and are used to getting into all sorts of trouble. There was the time they tied their brothers up and hid them at the bottom of the garden covered in autumn leaves where if they made a noice they wouldn't be heard. It was only when their parents said they would contact the police that they had to confess. Better to face the parents than some irate police for wasting their time. They had also been very adept at playing truant from school or writing illness notes from their parents. They seemed to get caught all of the time but still found themselves in all sorts of trouble. They seemed to think it was normal and as Heather said "I love how bad-ass we think are when we are together.

I am linking this to Alison's theme of Autumn Colours and inspiration on Art Journal Journey

Thursday journal with Neet

 The Words this week are 'You don't have to be crazy to be my friend- I'll train you' Alison's having a peaceful morning away from work, visiting her friend Ellen who looked very relaxed sitting on her lawn with her pet owl on her leg, and a huge ladybird fascinator on her head. It was a really lovely friendly owl, but Alison thought her friend was a bit crazy having an owl as her pet, and why wear a hat in the garden on such a lovely Autumn day. She felt she was far more normal by having a somewhat neurotic dachshund called Sid. Sid was busy keeping his eyes on the owl. waiting for an opportunity to chase it. "Don't even think about it Sid" warned Alison assuming Sid could understand everything she said. The two girls chatted about work for a while and then the subject of pets came up and Alison said "I think I am far too normal to be your friend if we are going to disagree on the subject of pets" said Alison. "Oh" replied Ellen, "You don't have to be crazy to be my friend -I'll train you" Ellen thought to herself that Alison was part way to crazy already with Sid as her choice of pet.

I am linking this to Alison's theme of Autumn colours and inspiration on Art Journal Journey

Thursday Journal with Neet

 

This is the last Dylusions Thursday journal page for Jo's theme of wonderfully wild on Art Journal Journey.

I have now completely run out of Zoo type animals and moving day is in 6 days time, it might be my last until I find everything again. The saying this week is 'That's a wrap on a day where I thought I knew what I was doing.'

Janice was having a chat to her little friend Lily from next door and telling her the silly thing she did today. "First of all I raided Mum's fridge and took out all the fats she had saved from cooking meat, I put them all in a bowl and melted them until they were really soft. I then mixed a load of chopped nuts and dried fruit in the fat, mixed it all up and scarped it into a few half coconut shells and put them in the fridge to let them set." "What a lovely kind things to do for the wild birds" said Lily. "Yes, the idea was very good" admitted Janice, "but there was a problem", "Oh what was that?" asked Lily. "Well it was a very hot day wasn't it, and all the fat melted and dropped on the grass and all the grey squirrels ate it instead, and that was not what I wanted to feed, they are very greedy animals and not native in the UK. I wouldn't have minded so much if they had been our native red ones." "Oh I see what went wrong" said Lily, "but at least it got eaten and not left on the grass so birds feeding on it might have been caught by that awful cat down the road." "Well I suppose that might have happened, so that's a bonus I suppose, that's a wrap on the day where I acted like I knew what I was doing."

This is a sort of true story as my youngest daughter actually did the same.

Thursday journal with Neet

 The saying this week is ‘I'm the best thing to ever happen to me' Not an easy one this week and I have no idea how to fit a story to this and Jo's theme of Wonderfully wild on Art Journal Journey. We are in the last two weeks before we move and I am working in complete chaos, with a brain that darts from one job to another. Do I really have that many clothes and art stuff!! this is going to be a bit short this week as I have left it to the last minute. It does have a sort of wild background though.

Joan is struggling with her neighbours who seem to prefer concrete to lawn and gravel instead of plants, it's like looking out onto a car park. Joan has a wild life garden with plants for the birds and pollinators. She had seen lots of butterflies this year and the bees were always busy on her flowers and shrubs. Her family were also a bit puzzled why she was so intent on a garden for wild life, and they could not be relied upon to give her plants or a garden token for presents. Joan said that they didn't know what they were missing. She couldn't understand why more people didn't make wild life habitats and was under the impression that where she lived she was the only concerned person. None of her friends understood her either and she said to herself "I'm the best thing to ever happen to me" No wonder Joan didn't have many friends.

Thursday Journal with Neet

The words this week are 'I'm still kind of a mess, but I guess we all are'  Freda and Sophie are in Sophie's lounge that she had  painted one wall in jungle colours. It's a bit busy for Freda but she admired it anyway. Sophie had spent a long time on her university thesis and this included a study of wild animals. She was passionate about the problem of poachers, especially of elephants. They were such beautiful intelligent animals and she couldn't understand who could possibly hurt them especially for trophies and monetary gain. 

Freda had decided to stand right next to the large elephant cut out and it did look as if it was actually touching her hair. " I know you love all the wild animals Sophie. but these are rather large, they take over the whole wall, and I don't think deer live in the jungle" said Freda. " It doesn't matter where they live, the important thing is to make people aware of the problem of all our disappearing species, can you imagine a world where there aren't any more elephants or tigers, to name but a few" replied Sophie. "Well no I can't, but surely it can't be that bad" said Freda. "Well I think it is and I will try to do something about it, even though I know it won't be any use, it needs more world leaders to do more. I'm still kind of a mess, but I guess we all are" Sophie replied.

I am linking this to Jo's theme on Art Journal Journey where her theme is Wonderfullyhttps://art-journal-journey.blogspot.com/2024/08/wonderfully-wild.html wild.

Thursday journal with Neet

 'One day I will rule the world, util then I'm going to bed' 

My background is a mop up page with stencils and distress oxide inks. That in its self is a bit wild, but I added a deer with her baby to make it fit better with the theme.

Andrea and her friend Astrid were discussing the state of the world and all the crime that seemed to be so much in the news these days. Andrea was a bit of a rebel herself and sometimes her parents despaired with her and what she would do next. Andrea's real commitment was to save endangered species, make peace a norm throughout the world and to make sure everyone had enough to eat, and clean water everywhere was also on her list. She had also tamed a deer and its baby who kept coming into her garden and they followed her everywhere. 

Astrid did wonder how Andrea was thinking she would attempt all these insurmountable tasks and asked her how she thought she would go about it. As far as Andrea was concerned it was easy "One day I shall rule the world, until then I'm going to bed.

I am linking this to Art Journal Journey where Jo’s theme is ‘wonderfully wild’

I am linking this to Jo's theme of Wonderfully Wild on Art Journal Journey

Thursday Journal with Neet

 The words this week are 'I understand everything you're saying. and I am 100% certain that I really don't care'

 As the 1st of the month is on Thursday that means that Neet and I can't do much with the theme before hand. I also had some backgrounds done so fairly lucky in the wild background aspect. Luckily I had done a bit of Dylusion stamping before I packed everything away and can now use some of them for Jo's theme.

Jo from 'Let's art Journal is hosting Art Journal Journey this month with the theme of Wonderfully Wild.  

Susie and Mandy are cousins, but with very different ideas and tastes. Susie is mad on wild life and Mandy prefers her cat. Susie has spent ages painting one wall of her bedroom with a wild looking background and also found a huge picture of a giraffe her favourite animal. When Mandy walked in, her first remark was "Gosh I should have worn my sunglasses" " Not funny " said Susie. "I love it, and I'm pleased to see you actually match the colours really well, even though you do seem to have a tiled roof on your head" " There's no need to be sarcastic" replied Mandy "I bought the hat to match my outfit and it's very comfortable. I personally think you are taking this love of wild life a bit far, you'll be wearing animal prints on your clothing next" That's brilliant idea, and I understand everything you say and I'm a 100% certain that I really don't care" replied Susie. With that the cousins agreed to differ, let's face it if everyone was the same it would be really boring.

Thursday journal with Neet

 The words this week are ‘I can and I will... watch me ’ I am having a real nightmare with this computer 

and Blogger  in particular as it won't let me load my scan. I am using my phone to take a picture and upload that. 

Alice had gone round to see her sister Maureen who is a very good dressmaker and was making herself a dress for a party. When Alice arrived it was to see her sister's tailors dummy dressed in a mock up of the dress Maureen was going to make. "I presume that is the dress you are making for the party. It's a bit glittery on the top isn't it, and it doesn't go with the fabric of the skirt" she remarked. "Well" said Maureen "I think it's OK and I like it. I must find some gold shoes to go with it and a strapless bra." "Goodness it sounds worse by the minute" surely you won't dare wear it, it will look out of place in someones house, it's not a ball or cocktail party you are going to" said Alice.

"If that's a dare, then I can and I will.....watch me.

I am linking this to Halle's theme of 'I've got a notion' on Art Journal Journey

Thursday journal with Neet.

 Hopefully I will get the right quote this week. I hope it’s’ It's never too late to make things worse'

I am having the most awful time with my computer, and it has taken me all evening to get it to load my photograph having failed miserably to load the scan.

Cindy was visiting her friend Kathy as she was putting up her display of needlework for Art week in her local town. When Cindy walked into the main room that would house the exhibition she was a bit surprised to see  the decoration Kathy had put on the main wall. "Why have you put buttons and scissors on the wall" Cindy asked. "Well it means it's going to be showing my embroideries and material collages" relied Kathy. I didn't know you used buttons"  said Cindy " I don't' said Kathy. "Well why put them as your main display" said Cindy, 'it looks silly, mind you it's never too late to  make things worse" " What in your opinion would make it worse" replies Kathy getting a bit annoyed with her friend, and wishing she hadn't asked her round to help. " Well you could get a couple of dressmakers dummies in and dress them in really pretty clothes, that would confuse everyone" said Cindy. "But I don't make clothes" said a puzzled Kathy. "Exactly, you would get people coming in and asking you to make them a dress, that would be a lot worse" said Cathy getting a bit annoyed. “Oh I see what you mean now” said Kathy “ I’ll replace them with embroidery stitches now, then we can get on with putting my work up, should we have a cup of coffee before we start?

   I am linking this to Art Journal Journey where Halle has chosen ‘ I’ve got a notion ‘ for her theme.

Thursday. Journal with Neet.

First of all, apologies to Neet, I have done a different page to Neet. I have actually managed to do one that isn't even on our list. I have no idea what made me do that, I am definitely doing some odd things since I had my stroke in January.  It fits Halle's theme so that's one result.

The words this week are 'I'm not trouble just a challenge to handle ' Jennifer had suddenly thought that she hadn't heard any noise from Malcolm, her not easy to manage son. She immediately went on a tour of the house and eventually found him in her sewing room. She dreaded to see what he had been up to. "Hello Mum" he greets her with that I haven't done anything wrong look he managed to do every time he had been up to no good. "What have you been doing in here Malcom you know this room is out of bounds" "Well” said Malcom, first of all I decided to put some sewing decorations on the wall, and  I actually found a stamp that would do" Malcom thought he had been very clever finding that. " It isn't very straight though is it" said his mum. "Well the first one was then I slipped, so I tried to make the last one straight and that went upwards instead, but if you leave that lady in front of it, you won't notice so much" I see you have found the buttons to play with, I don't mind you doing that" said his mum, "but what are you doing with those scissors” panels one 20 x 600 the last time she asked. "Well I thought the lady would like a few more clothes, so I was going to cut some out" replied Malcom looking very innocent. Jennifer dreaded to think what he was going to cut up for her clothes, but didn't dare ask. She was going to explain to him that it was a dressmakers dummy, but thought better of it as his big brother called Malcom a dummy and he wouldn't understand the difference. "Honestly Malcom you are always in trouble, you must learn not to touch my things especially if they are dangerous as some things are in here. "Honestly Mum, I'm not trouble, just a challenge to handle. "Right out of here now and we'll get you some juice and biscuits” replied Jennifer. There was going to be a lock on that door from now on she decided, as visions of her curtains being cut to shreds springs into her imagination.

I am linking this to Halle's theme of ' I've got a notion' on Art Journal Journey.

Thursday Journal with Neet

 'Don't try to figure me out it will only exhaust you' are the words for this week. The theme on Art Journal Journey. has changed this week with Halley from 'Halley's hobbies'  choosing  'I've got a notion'  Now I love themes with anything to do with sewing, but as we are moving and my time is limited I have packed everything to do with sewing that would be of use in art journalling. Teeth grinding together as I write this. But I will do my best.

Sarah and Eva had been friends for a long time and Eva thought she knew everything about Sarah. When she went round to see her she was a bit taken aback by the fact that Sarah was sitting on the floor with what looked like fabric and yarn samples. Not even trying to guess what Sarah was up to she felt compelled to ask her. "Sarah, why do you have material and yarn samples on the floor around you?" "Well, I have decided to take up sewing and knitting and make my own clothes" replied Sarah. Not quite knowing what to say Eva asked her what was wrong with bought clothes ? "Well, they are all the same and you only get really well made ones if you pay a lot of money, and I don't have the money" Knowing that a sewing machine wasn't cheap and with fabric, threads and patterns it can't be much cheaper to make them Eva thought and said as much to Eva. "Well don't try to figure me out it will only exhaust you" Sarah replied.

Thursday Journal with Neet

 The words this week are 'Being an adult is too complicated, time to be a unicorn' Bethan was really fed up with people expecting her to be sensible all the time. Since she had reached the dizzy heights of adulthood her parents and older relations expected great things from her, like a sensible worthwhile, well paying job. What Bethan thought of as her sensible friends also came in for scrutiny, and Bethan just wanted to do her own thing and just be normal, not boringly sensible. What fun was there in being sensible. One of her friends had taken herself off to  a far distant exotic country to help save the wild life there, what isn't sensible about that she wanted to know. Her parents just gave up at this point and just said "It isn't and that should be a good enough answer" Bethan was very tempted to do the same thing as she loved wild animals and abhorred the fact that so many were in danger of extinction. She decided to think a bit more of the possibility of doing just that, even though her parents would be against it, they would come round eventually. Bethan decided to chat to the birds about it all as she knew they wouldn't understand a word she said. She loved the birds and often talked to them about her problems. This time they listened quietly and as they were so quiet and Bethan was struggling with her conscience about upsetting her parents. She  sighed and said to them "Being an adult is too complicated, time to be a unicorn" The birds looked at her in horror as they were not sure what a unicorn was and thought it might be dangerous and eat them. I too love birds and have made this page with one of my favourite colours - Turquoise

I am linking this to Matilde theme on Art Journal Journey of 'What makes you happy"  

  

Thursday Journal with Neet

 ' I am a teller of unpopular truths' are the words this week and I was a bit puzzled as to what I could do with this one. To comply with Matilde's theme of 'What makes you happy' on  Art Journal Journey I have added some butterflies, that I love to see on my plants in the garden. Alex and her friend Paula are having an afternoon chatting and as usual Paula was sitting on her fungi stool and boasting about how she had been studying really hard for her business studies exams. She was brilliant at typing and shorthand, and needed to concentrate on the business side of it. They were  both doing the same course so she didn't want Alex to drop out because she hadn't worked hard enough. "As I know you haven't done any revision at all Alex and you really need to, don't you think you should get down to it and put a good few hours in and revise the bits you are not sure of" As Paula knew her so well there was no point in Alex trying to deny it so she just kept quiet and shrugged her shoulders. "You know I am right Alex, but you know me I am the teller of unpopular truths, so I'm sorry if you are mad at me but it's for your own good. Alex was still very quiet and the only thing she could think of saying was " I don't like the way you have stuck those butterfly pictures on your wall, they are in a v shape, and geese fly in a v not butterflies" With that, they both started laughing and went to make a cup go coffee.

Thursday Journal with Neet

 'Good Morning, no such thing' are the words this week. 

Millie and Lexi are sisters and they went downstairs for their breakfast, and greeted their Mum with " Good morning" as they do every morning. This morning it proved not to be a good idea, as no sooner had they said that, than Mum answered with "Good morning, no such thing" Wondering what on earth had gone wrong Millie braved asking her what was making her mad. " your cats that's what's wrong "their Mum answered. "I knew it was a mistake letting you have cats and one of them killed a bird this morning and then ate it" "Well it wasn't mine" Millie said quickly. "And it wasn't mine" said Lexi. "You know how much I love the birds and I am really upset" said their Mum, "and I know it was one of them as I just vacuumed up the feathers in the hall" The girls looked horrified and immediately looked at their own cat for telltale signs of murdered bird. Millie's cat Smokey a lovely grey cat with blue eyes was looking very pointedly at Lexi's ginger tom. Lexi had failed to notice that Ginger was licking his mouth and looking innocently at her. "I think it's pretty obvious which cat did it" said their Mum, but it's hopeless telling them off as I suppose it's in their nature, but it doesn't make it any less upsetting. "Sorry" said Lexi perhaps it was Ginger as he is looking a bit guilty"

I love cats, and I also love birds and do get upset when our cat catches a bird, but apart from keeping them in all the time you just have to let nature take it's course. Ours is a very good mouse killer though- so a bonus.

I am linking this to Matilda's theme on Art Journal Journey with a theme of what makes you happy.

Thursday Journal with Neet

Don't be afraid to tell someone how you feel, bonus points if you make them cry. These are the words this week from Dyan from Dylusions. I am also linking this to Matilde's of 100% Handmade/Craftowanie's   theme of 'What makes you happy on Art Journal Journey. On this page what makes me happy are the cats and using stencils.

Avril and Jenny were having a serious chat about boy friends and as usual they ended up having a bit of a grumble about them. Avril said "that hers was ok when they went out as long as he didn't meet any of his friends. he then acted like a silly teenager and it was most embarrassing. I really think it was time he grew up, after all he is 20 now" Jenny was annoyed with hers as he kept calling her doll, OK she did look young for her age but she felt she was quite mature. "Perhaps you should dress more maturely, less of the full skirt dresses and Ringlets, you do only look like a young teenager you know"said Avril  The two cats listened to this exchange with interest, it was like being at Wimbledon with their heads going from one of the girls to the other. "Oh" said Jenny getting quite upset. " Don't be afraid to tell someone how you feel, bonus points if you make them cry, replied Jenny in her most sarcastic voice.

Thursday Journal with Neet

 How can Thursday come round so quickly, the days and months seem to be flying past. Our next quote is 'Lets be skipping the gym buddies' Evie and her friend Betty had been going to the gym for a long time and Evie was even heavier now than she was before she had started. she had had a word with their personal trainer and he explained to her that all the exercise, especially the weight training had made muscle that actually weighed more than they did before. As far as Evie was concerned the whole thing seemed to be a waste of time. All that effort in helping her loose weight had had the reverse effect. She tried to explain to Betty who was a gym addict, that it wasn't achieving anything as far as she was concerned and had decided not to go any more. She didn't want to end up with big bulging muscles as she wouldn't be able to get in her best clothes and some of them had tight sleeves. "I don't want to spoil your enjoyment though so I think it best if I don't go any more, it will give me more time to do my painting, as I have neglected it recently. Lets be skipping the gym buddies" Betty understood and was sorry Evie was not be going with her, but didn't mind going on her own as she had her eye on a nice looking man with impressive bulging muscles. She didn't mention that to Evie though.

I have made up my own poem again this week.

I am linking this toValerie and Erika's theme of Poetry on Art Journal Journey

Thursday Journal with Neet

 The words from our new list this week are 'I'm looking forward to your visit being g over' I don't think I could actually say this, but sometimes feel as if I could.

June was hoping to get to work on her university dissertation when she had a somewhat unwelcome visitor. Fiona seemed to think that June was her best friend, but June had other ideas. She found Fiona very boastful about how clever she was and didn't really have to do a lot of work to pass her exams. June knew she had to work hard to get through her course, as she wanted to get a good job when she graduated. Fiona was obviously dressed to go out and was misguided in thinking that June would want to go with her. It was the last thing June wanted to do, especially with Fiona. June told Fiona that she was sorry but she had too much work to do and really couldn't spare the time. "All work and no play" quoted Fiona. "No work, no dissertation" replied Fiona,  and under her breath she said 'I'm looking forward to your visit being over' June so wished she had at the courage to say it out loud.

As we have visitors and loads of people to see the house ( hopefully someone will buy it soon) I have made up my own poem.

I am linking this to Valerie and Erik's theme of Poetry on Art Journal Journey.

Thursday Journal with Neet

 The words this week are 'I’m looking for someone who loves me in spite of who I am’ Annabelle is sitting at home wondering what to do with herself. Some of her girlfriends are going out for a night of clubbing in the local town, and she didn’t have any inclination to do that. She couldn’t put up with the noise for a start or the type of men she met there. Her mum always said to her that she thought too much of herself and it was time she thought of other people, faults as well, no-one is perfect. Annabelle realised that she was looking for Mr Perfect and he probably didn't exist, so she said out load "I am looking for someone who loves me in spite of myself" Perhaps going on a dating site would be an idea, then you could sort them out before you actually had to meet them. Maybe a phone call or two to make sure their voice sounded nice.  All of this sounded a bit like 'not for me' but Annabel thought maybe it might be a good idea just to take a look and see who was on there and perhaps pick just a couple to try it out. At least it would be something to do for the evening, and no-one would know about it unless she told them. She sort of knew that the problem lay in her own personality and there must be someone out there who could live with that.

I am linking this to Valerie and Erika's theme of poetry  on Art Journal Journey.

 

Thursday Journal with Neet

 The words this week are 'The fact that have more clothes to sleep in than I do to go out in, say a lot about me as a person' this is the last in this set of Tim Holtz snarky sayings. This one was also very difficult to find a poem to go with it, I gave up and eventually in the eleventh hour had to make a quick one up myself.

Doreen was getting a bit down, sitting on the bedroom floor, wondering what on earth she was going to wear to her friend's party. Perhaps it would be a good idea if she rang her up to ask if it was a posh do, or would it be Ok if she came in her usual casual clothes. The only problem was, that she didn't have posh stuff, she was just a casual sort of girl, and the more comfortable the clothes were the better she liked them. A bit like wearing her pyjamas when she didn't have to go out and wasn't expecting visitors. She decided to think a bit more about getting up to use the phone and give her enough time to rush to the shops and buy a dress, yuk, she didn't really want to do that, but putting it off any longer wasn't getting her anywhere. Maybe I'll leave it for another hour she thought, as I don't really want to buy a dress, perhaps I could tell her I had a bad headache. The fact that I have more clothes to sleep in than I do to go out in says a lot about me as a person.

I am linking this to Valeries and Erika's  theme of Poems on Art Journal Journey 

Thursday Journal with Neet.

 Tim Holtz snarky comment this week is 'I thought I was in a bad mood, but it's been a few years now so I guess this is who I am now' I am also linking this to Valerie and Erika's theme of poetry on Art Journal Journey 

When you have a quote that forms the basis of our Thursday Journal it isn't easy to add a poem as well.

 Fiona was in a bad mood as usual, and her friend Lisa had gone round to try and cheer her up. Lisa was used to doing this and really couldn't understand why Fiona was alway in a bad mood. This time Lisa was armed with a funny poem to read to her. "In a bad mood as usual " was Lisa's first comment, and lazing around as well I see" "Yes, replied Fiona, I thought I was in a bad mood, but it's been a few years now so  I guess this is who I am now" "well said Lisa listen to this funny poem by Spike Milligan, its called 'Granny, it might cheer you up a bit"

Thursday Journal with Neet

 The words this week are from Tim Holtz snarky comments, 'My level of sarcasm has gotten to the point where I don't even know if I'm kidding or not' Sheila was at home and had invited her friend Marie to spend the afternoon with her to discuss what they were going to do when they went on holiday in July. Generally they both liked doing the same thing, but where to go was proving difficult. Sheila fancied going to the seaside and Marie wanted to go to a city. Sheila wasn't very keen on shopping and really didn't want to spend a holiday wandering around shops. Sheila suggested a holiday by the sea but with a large town nearby, this seemed to be a happy compromise and Marie reluctantly agreed. Sheila couldn't resist asking Marie what was a half flower doing on her head, and Marie said it was a hat. "Well in that case why don't you borrow my ladybird fascinator and put that on your head as well, then if it has greenfly, the ladybird will eat them for you" Marie was not amused and accused Sheila of being sarcastic. I know said Sheila My level of sarcasm has gotten  to the point where  I don't even know if I am being kidding or not"

I am linking this to Valerie's theme of Geometric forms on Art Journal Journey

Thursday Journal. with Neet

 This week the words from Tim Holt snarky comments are 'That moment when you hear someone else call your best friend their best friend and  you are like...No' Alicia was at a social at her school and there seemed to be girls there that she didn't know, probably in a different year than her and she obviously hadn't taken much notice ofd them. One girl in particular had started taking to her and was one of those boastful sort of people. What she didn't know or had done just wasn't believable and Alicia was getting a bit bored and couldn't stem the flow of chat and say anything herself. Hoping so much that someone would rescue her she looked about her for her best friend Anne, where on earth was she, she usually came to these dos and had told Alicia that she would definitely be there. This girl Tracey was getting worse and Alicia found it hard not to be rude and try and shut her up, she also had very big feet and a childish hair style. Suddenly Anne appeared across the hall and was coming towards them. Thank goodness for that thought Alicia and at the same time Tracey saw her and said in a very loud voice "here comes my best friend Anne, I'm sure you will like her, she's brilliant". Alicia couldn't believe her ears and could only think of 'that moment when you hear someone else call your best friend their best friend and you are like.. No 

I am having a struggle scanning these last few as I am on my last but one page in my Dylusions journal and somewhat reluctant to buy another one. Hence the shadow on the right edge.

I am linking this to Valeries theme of Geometric forms on Art Journal Journey

Thursday Journal.

' The pity train has just derailed at the corner of suck it up and move on' are the words from Tim Holt snarky comments. I have used some geometric shapes on the background and some circles and squares on their clothes to comply with Valeries theme of Geometric forms on Art Journal journey.  Jenny and her friend Edwina are having a nice day out in town doing a bit of window shopping as neither of them have any spare money as it's the end of the month.  Jenny had a feeling that Edwina was longing to tell her something and had no idea why she hadn't said anything all day, she felt she was building up for something important. As soon as Edwina started to tell her, Jenny knew what was coming, she had heard it all before. Edwina's boyfriend had just finished with her for a much younger prettier girl giving her no explanation or any sympathy. Jenny wasn't about to sympathise with her either, as Edwina seemed to get through a boyfriend a month. Jenny had lost count of how many and sometimes didn't even try to remember their names. " What do you think" Edwina said. Jenny had had enough and replied " The pity train has derailed at the corner of suck it up and move on" Edwina could see it was no use saying any more, so stalked off in the direction of home. Jenny knew she would be OK the next day so went home herself.

Thursday Journal.

 The words this week are 'I was going to give you a nasty look, but I see you already have one' Gina and her friend Tina have been discussing the benefits or not of having pets. Gina has a little cat called scamp and it is devoted to her, follows her around all over the house. Tina on the other hand doesn't see the point of having one and prefers animals to roam free. Mind you if confronted with a cow, badger or a fox she would run a mile. She doesn't agree with zoos either. Nothing Gina could say would convince her friend otherwise, and Tina was starting to say things that were a bit personal and cruel about Gina's love of animals, especially the condition of animals kept in a zoo. Gina tried to explain that a lot of zoos had special breeding programmes for endangered species, which was invaluable to stop a wholesale extinction of many types of animals.  Gina was getting very exasperated with Tina's attitude and eventually said "  I was going to give you a nasty look, but I see you already have one" I am linking this to to Art Journal Journey where Valeries theme is Geometric forms.

Thursday Journal

 This week the words are 'Sometimes I wonder how you put up with me. Then I remember, oh, I put up with you, so we're even' Maisie and her big sister Francis are having their usual argument about who actually owns Susie the cat and should therefor feed her and generally look after her. It's an argument they have all the time and Maisie thinks that as Francis is the oldest it's her cat, Francis thinks otherwise. If they ask their parents they always say Susie belongs to both of you, so you must share the responsibility. Maisie thought that didn't help one bit as it meant that her sister  made her do it all the time. Susie sat between them wondering when she was going to be fed, and as she couldn't possibly understand a word they said apart from her name was getting hungrier by the minute. Why couldn't they just feed her and get on with it. Francis was getting fed up with the time being wasted as she wanted to go out. In exasperation she turned to Maisie and said " sometimes I wonder how you put up with me. Then I remember, oh, I put up with you, so we're even"

I am linking this to Cris's theme of 'On all fours' on Art Journal Journey

Thursday Journal

' I don't know where all the crap about me being a difficult person is coming from' are the words this week. Jennifer and her sister Olive are having a chat about all sorts of subjects including fashion the weather and boy friends. Jennifer was boasting about her current boyfriend and how generous he was to her, and Olive guessed that Jennifer  had been exaggerating about how good she was at cooking and how popular she was. Olive knew this was not true, she had been at the mercy of Jennifers cooking at various occasions and thought it was awful. She didn't want to hurt her sister's feelings, but couldn't resist asking her why she had an umbrella  on her head. " I thought it looked rather fetching and different" Jennifer replied. It took me ages to find a child she one that matched my outfit, and I think normal ones are boring and make you look old I think I have very good fashion sense. and while we are on the subject I don't know where all the crap about me being difficult person is coming from." Again Olive resisted from telling her why,after all she was wearing a hat herself shaped like a bird, on her own head. I am linking this to Chris's theme of 'On all fours' on Art Journal Journey.

Thursday Journal

 'She said"that's a lot of money to spend on crafts, and I knew we could't be friends" are the words this week. Adrienne and Jane had spent their day at one of the big craft shows in London and with sore feet and empty purses they arrived home to Adriennes. Adrienne had managed to buy lots of craft items from nearly all of the stalls and Jane had only bought what was on her list, which was quite small. She couldn't afford much and really didn't need can awful lot more as she knew she wouldn't have time to use it all. On the other hand Adrienne seemed to have suddenly found new crafts that she hadn't tried before and Jane doubted she would use half of the goods for these. Adriennes cats looked on and wondered what all the fuss was about and why didn't they bring them some goodies as well. After Adrienne had sorted all her goodies out in separate piles, Jane asked her how much she had spent. WhenAdrienne told her she was astounded, it was more than she earns in months. With this very obvious difference in them Jane said " That's a lot of money to spend on crafts, and I knew we couldn't be friends" She gathered up her things and said cheerio, knowing that she probably wouldn't go to another craft show with Adrienne.

I am linking this to Chris's theme on 'On all fours' on Art Journal Journey

Thursday Journal

 This week the words are 'I don't like to think before I speak, I like to be just as surprised as everyone else about what comes out of my mouth"'I expect everyone has been in this situation and Elise certainly had, in fact it applied to her more than it should. Elise had bumped into one of her school friends Barbara, who was out walking with her dog a ridiculous spoilt poodle called Fifi for goodness sake. They exchanged a few old stories from schooldays and then the conversation dried up. For want of something to say Elise said "Why have you dressed your dog in a thick coat, it isn't really cold and  Fifi also looks ridiculous in a hat and boots, dogs do not wear hats and boots' Barabara was somewhat upset by these remarks and countered with, you are being rude and hurtful, why did you say that?" Well replied Elise "I don't like to think before I speak, I like to be just as  surprised as everyone else about what comes out of my mouth" Not finding anything constructive to say to that Barabara walked off in the direction she was going in the first place.

I am linking this to Chris's theme on Art Journal Journey of On all fours.

Thursday Journal

 This week is the last one on Vicki's theme of 'Keeping it light' on Art Journal Journey, and the words are 'If you see me eating salad in a restaurant, I have been kidnapped and am trying to signal you'  Ivy had  gone over to see her friend Janeen who was lounging on the floor with loads of smelly candles burning. Ivy didn't like candles and thought that as the wax melted it deposited a layer of wax all over the furniture. The fact she was wearing her sun glasses made her disapproval even more obvious. Ivy wanted to know if Janeen would like to go to the new salad and whole-food restaurant that had opened in town. "I very rarely eat at a restaurant and if I did I would rather have an Indian, Thai or Chinese meal thank you,  but thanks for asking me. I am  also slim enough and don't think such a sensible meal would appeal to me"  replied Janine."You don't know what you are missing" said Ivy. "Ohh I think I do, and If you see me eating salad, Iv'e been kidnapped and am trying to signal you" replied Janeen.

Thursday Journal with Neet

     'How much better life would be if liars pants really did catch on fire'  are the words this week from Tim Holt snarky comments. Grace was sitting on the floor in  front of her new wall mounted fire when her friend Jenny came to see her. Grace was looking forward to know how her friend had got on with the job interview she had been on that morning. It was with a firm in the next town and as Jenny had a car it was an easy trip to do every day and she was really looking forward to it. There were several people being interviewed, but Jenny was very confident. "Well how did you get on" grace asked ? "Well, I was given the job, but I turned it down, it wasn't what I expected" Jenny said. Grace looked carefully at the sort of casual way Jenny was standing and the don't care look on her face, something wasn't right. She knew Jenny well enough to see it was false bravado. Grace quietly said to herself 'How much better life would be if liars pants really did catch on fire, but out load she said "Oh well never mind, something else will turn up"

I am linking this to Vicki's theme of Keeping it light on Art Journal Journey