Saturday, September 2, 2023

Second on the Second and Some New Art Too

 Hi everyone.  Happy weekend to you.

I almost didn't post today, but luckily I had this post basically finished in advance and I figured it would be worth posting to keep my mind busy. Yesterday my hubby took the day off. We went out in the boat and took the dogs with us. The current was really strong  when we returned  to the dock to pull out the boat at the end of the day. Miss Maddie started to jump out of the boat when she thought we were up against the dock. Her front paws landed on the dock, but just then the boat jerked away from the dock, and she went down into the water.

In this process her belly slammed into the dock. She's a tough cookie, and she swam to shore. But she wasn't quite right. We took her to the emergency vet and discovered  she had received a slight tear in her bladder and some water went into her lungs.

Luckily the tear is small and should heal without surgery, but she is being sedated and will be in the emergency room "doggy" hospital for several days. If you could keep your fingers crossed that everything continues to heal as expected, that  would be much appreciated. 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

We spent the whole evening and until almost midnight at the emergency vet and left waiting for more information. The middle of the night phone call luckily came with good news, as did this first thing this morning phone call, and I am relieved. But I will be happier after a couple of more positive phone calls.

OK, onto the post I had already written.

It's the second of the month, and that means it's time for Second on the Second   over at Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's blog

This month Elle' challenge at Art Journal Journey is Books, Cats and Tea.  For my second look let me share a couple of book themed pages I made in January of 2017 when the theme at AJJ was Every Journal Page Tells a Story.


And here's my favorite type of novel to read.


I'm still particularly proud of those footprints I hand drew and made for this mystery page

This month (right now, September of 2023) our AJJ host Elle has said we can make a page about a particular book, and that's what I did for today. My page is actually about a series of 7 books that you might be familiar with, the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends (along with others he's not so fond of) at Hogwarts. 


The Harry Potter books are long enough that if you read them and own a cat, the cat might get bored while you read. (Especially if you go through all 7 which will take you at the minimum several days.)  I added these cats in various cat positions to represent what your cat might be up to while you enjoy the story. Plus these kitties also work as part of the latest Art Journal Journey challenge.

My page started with lots of bits of leftover paint. The stickers were a set I had picked up during a visit to Universal Studios back in 2021 when the hubby and I went to California. If you're not familiar with Harry Potter, these are the 4 houses where students live and also compete as a team at Hogwarts, the school for wizards.

Sorry for the glare on the top part of the page  but those stickers have a shine to them and are hard to photograph with any kind of light on them. 


The cats are part of a great cat set of rubber stamps I have, and I fussy cut them after stamping them. After I attached the cats and stickers, I used a writing stencil and some black paint to add the writing along the  edges of my page.  And just an FYI, my grey marker was quickly drying out when I went to color the cats which is why some of the images look streaky or  colored differently from others. 

And along with my journal pages, before the latest OWL challenge ends over at Tag Tuesday, let me share the second tag I made. Thanks Wendy for this fun tag theme.


There you have it. Some old art and some new art.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. 







21 comments:

Tom said...

...I like the owl best.

CJ Kennedy said...

So glad to hear Miss Maddie will make a full recovery. It's so hard when they are in the hospital and away from us. When Calli had to be in Tufts for several days, we called those Spa days. She was pampered and spoiled and whatever they bathed her in she smelled like baby powder. I hope Maddie is home soon. Fun pages. Yesterday, you had Inks on your page and today all the Callis. Another nice weather day to enjoy.

Mae Travels said...

Dogs seem so invulnerable that it’s quite a shock when things happen to them, and I feel for your terrifying experience! I hope your dog makes a full recovery quickly. We used to feel that our dog might experience pain the same way we would experience it, but that dogs don’t reflect about it — they don’t think “Oh, something even worse could happen.” That was our consolation. (Our dog lived to be almost 18, and had typical old-age problems at the end of her life, but never reflected.)

Good thoughts for all of you from here!… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

rose AKA Walk in the Woods - she/her said...

Oh, poor Miss Maddie. I send her big, healing love! And I dig those journal pages too.

Jeanie said...

Oh no. Poor Maddie and poor you two as well. You must be frantic (though a little less so with two good calls but still -- that's frightening.) I'm glad she's doing sleepovers at the vet where they can keep a close eye on her, make sure the water in the lungs is eased and that she doesn't over-exert and tear the bladder more. I now how much worry that is -- sending all good juju your way.

Angie's Recipes said...

o sh!t, poor Maddie...so glad that she is on the mend. I love that mystery page!

Divers and Sundry said...

It's been so long since I read the Harry Potter books, but the hardbacks are waiting on the shelf for me...

Poor baby! I trust she'll recover quickly. I know she wants to be back home where you'll pamper her as she completes her recovery.

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

Poor Maddie. Poor you. We spent a night at the emergency vet a few weeks ago. It is traumatic for you, your pet, and your wallet! Glad she is okay.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

What a horrifying experience for you two and Maddie. I am so sorry for you, but it sounds like she is on the mend. Let's hope all turns out for the best by the end of the holiday.

I LOVE your second look this month, Erika. I especially like the boot/shoe prints. They are fabulous. Thanks for this fun look back at your second look on the 2nd.

I am STILL not aware of Harry Potter, but I love how you added all those cats to the page. This is a great second entry for Elle's theme at AJJ, too.

I think your owl is adorable. You put a lot into the tag, too.

Now let's concentrate on getting Maddie back home soon. I suspect she will have what is known as "one trial learning" and won't be quick to jump out of the boat quickly again any time soon.

peppylady (Dora) said...

I really like your owl tag.
Coffee is on, and stay safe.

Iris Flavia said...

Oh, what a horror-story with poor Maddie. Fingers and toes crossed for her.
Wow, you read all books (not my interest, so I neither saw, nor read anything about it).
To imagine cats get bored then is a funny thought. Love your art - Sunday here, have a happy day! Hugs

David M. Gascoigne, said...

I have my fingers and toes firmly crossed that Miss Maddie makes a complete recovery and that the treatment is not devastating to your wallet! As for the footprints, I can see that a whole new career awaits you as an illustrator for mystery novels. Your genre will become well known and as eagerly anticipated as the novel. Better start practicing deerstalker hats and curved pipes! Hugs - David

Aimeslee Winans said...

First of all, Maddie's on my prayer list now, hope she recovers completely and has more boat rides in store. Also, great pages and tag. I'm taking a break from working on my tag(s) now. I chuckled at the HP page. I just bought the books for our daughter but never read them, just doesn't interest me. Hope your week is filled with continuing good news, xoxo

pearshapedcrafting said...

Oh dear poor Maddie, I hope she's better soon and it doesn't put her off going on the boat again. Love the second look and I must say the Harry Potter series are worthy of a journal page and with the cats peeping out too this is a great page for Elle's AJJ theme, hugs, Chrisx

pinky said...

Your tag is beautiful. I love the spooky but earthy feel. Oh poor Maddie, hope her recovery is speedy!!

craftytrog said...

Poor Maddie! Praying she makes a full recovery.
I love your art Erika, especially the Harry Potter page.
Hugs,
Alison

nwilliams6 said...

So fun to see your HP page, Erika. I love it. Watched some of the movies again over the weekend (for the 100th time). Also love your owl tag and the page on mysteries (my favorite too especially if there is a ghost or something fun in it). GREAT art! Hugz

Elkes Lebensglück said...

That is wonderful ideas from Pages and Tag!
Hug Elke

Neet said...

|oh no, poor Miss Maddie. What a terrible thing to happen and how stoic of her to swim ashore despite not feeling well. I hope that by now she has recovered fully and is back to her normal self.
Love the pages and can understand how proud you must have felt, and still do, after drawing those footprints. they are brilliant.
The current page is very inspired. I would never have thought of that but what a great page it is and how handy you had those stickers. The cats are just perfect and reading "the cat who ..." books at the moment where Qwill reads to his cats every day I can relate to yours being positioned about the page.
Have a lovely weekend and hope it is good news all the way.
Hugs, Neert xx

Empire of the Cat said...

Sorry to hear about Maddie, I am working backwards today so just read this one after your latest where you said she would be home soon, so I'm glad the vet was able to help her. I love the idea of the words jumping off the page, and I too love a good mystery (as you know!) so I love both pages. Your footprints are great too. And of course, the Harry Potter page is perfect for the theme, love the stickers and the cat stamps especially - where are they from?
Thanks for joining me for the Books, Cats & Tea September theme at Art Journal Journey this month Happy Journalling! Elle/Empire of the Cat xx

WendyK said...

What a fabulous set of art, love the owl tag, so thank you for entering my challenge on Tag Tuesday. Love your mystery page and the cats with the Harry Potter books. I’m pleased to hear that Maddie is well on the mend. Have a great week, hugs Wendy.