Hi everyone. I hope you're having a happy weekend.
To all the dads who stop by, Happy Father's Day to you.
Yesterday the hubby and I had to travel for my cousins husband's funeral. I'll just call him my cousin though, since I was still a child when he married my actual cousin. After all these years, it wasn't like he married into the family. He was family. In fact, I was ten and got to be a bridesmaid in my cousin and his wedding. That was such a big deal to me then. Sadly, he's the first of my cousins to pass. It's strange (to me) when your parents and aunts and uncles pass, leaving your generation the oldest alive. And then when your generation starts to go, it reminds me that I am getting older and there are actually 3 generations alive behind mine. Wait a minute, I was just in my 20's, right?
I am linking up to Gillena's Sunday Smiles, and I have some art to share.
Today I have a page for Matilde's What Makes You Happy challenge at Art Journal Journey.
What makes me happy with this page?
1) I love finding items to use in collage. The elephant was on a postcard sized ad for a Yoga Studio that I picked up on my travels. I added a bit of color to it and (although they don't show up in the photo) a couple of plastic gemstones in his turban.
2) I love the blue background with just a hint of stenciling.
3) I like the items I collaged with the elephant. I wanted to create a bit of a mysterious feeling. Meaning, I added things that you might come across in your travels that might lead you someplace else. You might follow a butterfly to see where they go. The colored mandala image might be a church window or an item you see in a shop. It's always fun, interesting or even mysterious to see where one thing leads to the next.
I also have a tag for Sandie's "Travel" theme at Tag Tuesday. This tag is about the state I live in, and it is also a place a lot of people travel to. Tourism is one of the biggest industries in New Hampshire.
A few towns away from me is the center for Laconia Motorcycle Week. It's the oldest motorcycle rally in the US. The event ends today. Since I can hear the bikes out on the main road that is about a mile-ish away, I thought I'd add this scooter die cut to my tag. The stamped image is our state's symbol, called the Old Man in the Mountain. It was a natural feature in one of the mountains, but in May of 2003, it broke off and fell. The "Live Free or Die" stamp is our state's motto. I made a bit of blue on the bottom for my state's 16 miles of coastline (It's actually somewhere between 14-18 miles depending on how you measure it). New Hampshire has the shortest stretch of coastline for any non-landlocked state in the US. The green on my tag is for the forests which blanket the rest of the state.
That's all for me today. It's going to be a beautiful day (so the weather people say) so I don't want to spend too much time inside at my computer. My gardens, and who knows what else, are calling me.
21 comments:
We are at that stage where funerals are becoming routine events. It happens to everyone, of course. No surprises there. All the best - David
...I wish the father in your family a Happy Father's Day.
Agreed, Erika, that it is a daunting realization that after our parents and others have passed, ours is the next generation to experience death. Condolences to you and your family.
So sorry about your cousin's husband's passing. It does make one think about life. Lovely page and tag.
I am VERY aware of your unhappiness about going to family funerals... when my last aunt passed away last year, it left my generation the oldest alive. And it left me the oldest cousin on mum's entire side :(
But now something else. Next year (2025) is my ten yearly School Reunion, something I always look forward to. But each year the number of ex-students is reducing. Yesterday another of the school friends passed away and the reunion list will again be shortened :(
I like the blue background and Blue Morpho Butterfly. Your tag would make a great add for New Hampshire tourism. Enjoy the day. It's a gorgeous start
Hi Erika: Send me an email and I will forward the links to my trip to Gaspé in 2018. You will enjoy your time there, of that I have no doubt, but you will be too late for the gannet breeding colony, unfortunately.
David
I am sorry for the loss of the cousin's husband!
Happy birthday to the father of the family!
Your creations are wonderful, I love them!
Have a nice week !
Dear Erika,
I am so sorry that your cousin died - and I understand that he was family to you. My cousins, whether they were related by marriage or not, are also family to me. I already lost one of my cousins in a car accident, he was 47. I don't think it's good to think too much about whether you belong to the oldest generation in the family. Don't forget, age is a work of art :-D
I love your elephant picture, and it reminds me definitely on a trip to India (or perhaps Sri Lanka). Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god, is a lucky charm and very popular in India. We also saw a lot of flower mandalas on our trips to Asia and the blue color reminds me of the sky or the sea.
Your picture composition on the subject of travel and New Hampshire is also very nice. I have (unfortunately) never been there and only know pictures of Indian Summer and novels by John Irving that are related to your home country. Hopefully I will make it to New Hampshire once.
All the best, have a pleasant Sunday and a good start to the new week, Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2024/06/weltreise-2024-5-station-neuseeland.html
Sorry to hear that you cousin has passed,Erika.
I love both pages!
Gorgeous journal page and tag. Thanks for the lovely tag for Sandie's challenge. Enjoy the weather, have a great day, hugs!
2 nice collages. The elephant caught my fancy. Thanks for linking to SundaySmiles
much♡love
It's sad when people our own age start to die, but that started happening to me when I was in college so is no longer shocking. I'm sorry for your and your family's loss🫂
Yes, weren´t we just 20 a sec ago???
My Brother and Ingo´s Brother have children, but we have no contact. The bone is too tired to run after the dog, so to say.
The elephant makes me happy, too, thinking of the snowy zoo-visit with my friend fK. Boy, was it cold!
The Motorcycle... brings a little tear to my eye. We sold our Harley years and years ago. Now I miss her. But you bring back fun memories - to a great new week, hugs!
A super Travel Tag, many thanks for playing along with my theme at Tag Tuesday...x
My condolences for your family's loss, Erika.
Such a pretty blue page and thoughtfully collaged and stenciled.
As is your state tag. Your description of hearing the bikes traveling to and from the rally reminded me of hearing when the raceway was open near us. You could always tell when they were open, especially drag races. It was built without sufficient roads in or out and eventually had to close because of all the problems but they even had a Lollapalooza rock concert out there for a few years. Good week ahead, xoxo
Sorry to read about your loss Erika. That realisation that we are next on the conveyor belt is a very sobering thought!! I love your work today! Thanks for playing along with us at Tag Tuesday.
Pinky
So sorry about your family's loss. Your page is happy looking with the colors and I love collage too! Your tag is super fun as well!
I'm sorry to hear about your cousin's passing.
Yes, we are the next generation to go - but we've made it there! Some of my friends never did, but died in their 20s and 30s (and one sadly as a teenager). So let's enjoy every day that is given to us make the best of it. Carpe diem!
Interesting to see the tag and read about where you are.
Love the elephant. I am assuming he is an Indian elephant (you can tell by the ears, right?) and your journey is in the far east. What a gorgeous butterfly you followed on your trip and what sights you must have seen from the air - like the mandala in the tiles of the buildings and such like.
Thanks for a lovely journal page, sorry to hear about your cousin but these things happen.
Hugs, Neet xx
I'm sorry about your cousin. It begins to hit close to home, doesn't it? Rick calls our generation the "on deck" generation (those with parents still living) and the "at bat" generation (those of us whose parents have both passed. It's a weird feeling.
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