"Autumn Leaves 1"

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This week's Our Midweek Muse theme was "Autumn Leaves".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"35 Days" - Postcard

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I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

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I put a sunglass on, so no one can see me cry

I'm not here for long
I'm just passing by
The world keeps getting harder
But I'm too cool to die

Don't cry, don't cry
Ask me how I feel
And don't ask why

Too Cool To Die - Post Malone


Like a song
Out of tune and out of time
All I needed was a rhyme for you
C'est la vie

C'est La Vie - Emerson Lake and Palmer

"Celestial Rhinoceros" - Postcard

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I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Squares" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Squares".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Friends" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Friends".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Skeletons Danse Macabre - Shirt - Transfer Failure - Photograph

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I took that photograph of the transfer failure result when I used an inkjet fabric transfers paper to iron my "Skeletons Danse Macabre" shirt design onto a 100% cotton black shirt. I know I have used that transfer paper successfully in the past, but I didn't recall how I did it, and the instructions were unclear about how long to iron for / when to remove the paper backing. So as I pulled up the paper backing, part of the ink remained adhered to the paper, which tore off of the shirt. Thus ends my attempts to make my own shirt designs. The juice ain't worth the squeeze, especially with the cost of everything skyrocketing due to inflation.

"Skeletons Danse Macabre ("wdl")" - Shirt 8" x 8"

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This week's Our Midweek Muse theme was "Dancers".

A close friend of mine had sent me a photo of a Halloween shirt with witches dancing on it, which inspired me to make my own shirt design, an 8" by 8" image that I will print onto 8.5 x 11 inches inkjet fabric transfers paper, to iron onto a black shirt. (My dancing witches design is still in progress, because as usually happens with me, one thing led to another, and I saw a movie that showed two Medieval images that I wanted to use: one for the witches, and this one with the skeletons.)

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

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Important Printing Notes:

Irfanview

To print it onto a fabric iron on transfer, it needs to be mirror image flipped:

Image - Horizontal Flip

*** The below steps are important to do before printing, otherwise it will get cutoff on one edge if it is done in Portrait!!! (for 8.5 x 11 inches paper size) ***

File - Print

Set it to Landscape (NOT Portrait!!!)

Set Print size to Original size (from image DPI)

Set Position on paper to Centered

Print Quality: High

"The Moon" - Postcard

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This week's Our Midweek Muse theme was "The Moon".

All of the images in the foreground are ones that I found recently.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Turtles (SPA Guest Host)" - Postcard

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This week I have the honor of guest hosting Sunday Postcard Art, and I chose the challenge theme "Turtles."

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Crescent Moon Occult (Cigar Box)" - Wood Box

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I made this Crescent Moon Occult rustic design wood box using a paper cigar box.

I painted over the edges of the cigar box and labels using Plaid Apple Barrel Outdoor Indoor Gloss Acrylic Black Paint (20662E), using two coats of paint. But I left the bottom as is.

(Note: I intentionally left the cigar labels on the box, and fully or partially decoupaged over them. I also wanted a distressed, aged look, so I allowed the paint to get scratched away.)

The steps are similar to the ones here.

Moon - Photograph

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I took that photograph a few months ago.

"Stripes" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Stripes".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Antarctic Pigeon" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Pigeons".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Top Of Mind" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "What's On Your Mind?".

I never heard the expression "top of mind" until September 2022.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Red And Yellow" - Postcard

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This week's Our Midweek Muse theme was "Red And Yellow".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"A Is For Alice" - Postcard

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The August 6 My Soul's Dark Imagination theme was "A Is For Alice".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Autumn Owl" - Postcard

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I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Guitar" - Postcard

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This week's Our Midweek Muse theme was "Guitar".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

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Rodrigo Concerto De Aranjuez: Adagio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ESzBtkBuY

Concerto De Aranjuez - Adagio played by Rodriguez Reuben
Composition for Guitar and Orchestra.

"Garden Tools" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Tools".

I don't have many tools images, and I almost skipped this challenge. I also don't like how this looks, but it was the best I could do. :-( That is supposed to be a bouquet of flowers in a vase, with a garden tools background.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Crazy Architecture" - Postcard

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The July 27 My Soul's Dark Imagination theme was "Crazy Architecture".

I based this on a poem, but took some poetic licencse with it, because that is not a pine tree.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

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THE PINE LADY

O have you seen the Pine Lady,
Or heard her how she sings?
Have you heard her play
Your soul away
On a harp with moonbeam strings?
In a palace all of the night-black pine
She hides like a queen all day,
Till a moonbeam knocks on her secret tree,
And she opens her door with a silver key
While the village clocks
Are striking bed
Nine times sleepily.

O come and hear the Pine Lady,
Up in the haunted wood!
The stars are rising, the moths are flitting,
The owls are calling,
The dew is falling;
And, high in the boughs
Of her haunted house
The moon and she are sitting.

Out on the moor the night-jar drones
Rough-throated love,
The beetle comes
With his sudden drums
And many a silent unseen thing
Frightens your cheek with its ghostly wing;
While there above,
In a palace builded of needles and cones,
The pine is telling the moon her love,
Telling her love on the moonbeam strings —
O have you seen the Pine Lady?
Or heard her how she sings!

— Richard Le Gallienne (1866-1947)

"Butterfly" - Postcard

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This week's Our Midweek Muse theme was "Butterflies".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

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And the one holds all-seeing light for them on earth,
but the other holds in her arms Sleep the brother of Death,
even evil Night, wrapped in a vaporous cloud.

And there the children of dark Night
have their dwellings,
Sleep and Death, awful gods.
The glowing Sun
never looks upon them with his beams,
neither as he goes up into heaven,
nor as he comes down from heaven.

The Theogony

(ll. 744-757)

(ll. 758-766)

Author: Hesiod

"Sunrise (Summer - SPA Guest Host)" - Postcard

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This week I have the honor of guest hosting Sunday Postcard Art, and I chose the challenge theme "Summer."


When I made this art piece months ago, I didn't realize it would reflect how hot the Summer would be where I live in the northeast US. We will be having our third or fourth Heat Advisor this coming Tuesday and Wednesday, when the Heat Index will be 100 F to 105 F (37.7 C to 40.5 C).

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

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The sun is gonna keep on shining
Brighter days on the horizon

Alright - Red Carpet (Brad Carter Radio Edit)

"Cowboy" - Postcard

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This week's Our Midweek Muse theme was "Cowboys".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"The Brain Drain" - Postcard

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I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

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Only private sector employees in America experience what this art piece shows, while public sector employees do not. (Definition: "The public sector is tax-payer funded." "The private sector is also required to shoulder the tax burden that ultimately funds the public sector."  definition source)

Happy days are here again
Times are so bad and getting badder
Your cares and troubles are gone
They've cut my wages
There's nothing surer:
The rich get richer and the poor get laid off

Ain't We Got Fun? - Rosemary Clooney

"Celestial Bubbles" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Bubbles".

I had to enforce my "pencils down!" rule for this one. I found a celestial bubbles inspiration piece on the Internet, that I tried to base my design on, but in the end, this looks nothing like the one I found. And my bubbles look more like circles, even though they are bubbles.

Note: I am still resolving computer issues, so I apologize for my lack of comments, etc.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Tabby Cat - Photograph

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It's been about seven months since I last made a blog post featuring my "cat", as Teddy calls him ;-). I cherish him and am grateful to have him in my life. This photo of him is from a long time ago. I've been resolving computer issues, and part of that involves a "Swedish Death Purge" on all of the files I have, to reduce how much space I will require on a new computer's hard drive.

And for anyone out there who uses the Windows Operating System: I highly recommend making a bootable USB memory stick / USB flash drive or bootable DVD, using Microsoft's Media Creation Tool. If your computer crashes, you might be able to get it working again by booting from the USB drive. (There are more instructions than that, but for now, I'm providing the Microsoft links, without those additional "how to" steps.)

Windows 10

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Create Windows 10 installation media

See the section about "Using the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) to install Windows 10 on a different PC"

Windows 10 Media Creation Tool download link:
https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=2265055

Windows 11

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11

Create Windows 11 Installation Media

See the section about "Before you begin using the media creation tool"

Windows 11 Media Creation Tool download link:
https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2156295

"Blue Woman" - Postcard

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This week's Our Midweek Muse theme was "Blue and Brown".

Note: I am still resolving computer issues, so I apologize for my lack of comments, etc.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Circus" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Circus".

Note: I am still resolving computer issues, so I apologize for my lack of comments, etc.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Featured in the weekly sampler.

"Burning Sunshine" - Postcard

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I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

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Sunshine in an empty place
I can ease you of your pain
Think of me and burn

Rhythm Of The Night - Corona

"Beautiful Angel" - Postcard

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I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

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Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful angel
Don't believe the lies they feed you
Started when we were younger
Tomorrow comes and goes before you know
So I just had to let you know
Beautiful, beautiful life right now
Beautiful, beautiful night right now

Beautiful (Angel) - Bazzi

"Keep The Balance" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Keep The Balance".

Note: I am still resolving computer issues, so I apologize for my lack of comments, etc.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Hedgehog" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Hedgehog".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Featured in the weekly sampler.

"Death Smoke" - Postcard

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I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Ignis Factuus (will-o'-the-wisp) Revision 2" - Postcard

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The 2 June 2025 theme for My Soul's Dark Imagination was "Ignis Factuus (will-o'-the-wisp)". I had created an art piece for it, and posted it to my blog, but I had not yet backed up my computer files, which I usually do once a week. Two days later, the Solid State Drive (SSD) Hard Drive failed without warning in the Dell computer that I bought 1 year and 1 month ago, and I lost two days of work. I was able to recreate my art piece, although this is not a 100% match.

I am still in the process of regrouping to determine how to move forward, so my online activity will be minimal until I get a new computer.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Uncle Sam's War" - Postcard

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My piece is a "cartoon" in the same vein as Charlie Hebdo cartoons. (Their "cartoon" offended me, but apparently some thought it was "funny" so, I too, can make cartoons that others might find offensive.) My piece and words are also free speech that is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. (Well, it used to be, prior to the ascension of the US Government Ministry of Truth dictating to Social Media Platforms which of their users need to be banned for "misinformation" as defined by the Government.)

Maybe Tom the bully will leave me another comment, telling me to shut up, because I'm not allowed to say anything unless he (and other "Free Speech is fine as long as it agrees with mine" bullies) approves of it.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

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Uncle Sam's War

Israel and Pakistan can have nuclear bombs, but Iran can not!

7 countries 5 years

Iraq Bush
Libya Obama
Lebanon Biden
Syria Biden
Iran Trump

Coups R US!

1953 Iran Eisenhower
2014 Ukraine Obama
2025 Iran? Trump

If you don't know the historical facts that this cartoon artwork refers to, please move along, because the 1% will tell you there is nothing to see here, and want you to remain in the Divide And Conquer trap that they put you into.

"Ladder" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Ladder".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Featured in the weekly sampler.

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Step by step, one by one
Higher and higher
Step by step, rung by rung
In climbing Jacob's ladder

All I want from tomorrow
Is to get it better than today

Jacob's Ladder - Huey Lewis & The News

"Archer (Vertical)" - Postcard

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This week I have the honor of guest hosting Sunday Postcard Art, and I chose the challenge theme "Archer." This blog post is another piece that I had made, but I decided to use this one for the inspiration piece posted on SPA.

Note: The Solid State Drive (SSD) Hard Drive failed without warning in the Dell computer that I bought 1 year and 1 month ago, so my online activity will be minimal until I can regroup and figure out how to move forward. I will try to leave comments, etc.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Archer (SPA Guest Host)" - Postcard

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This week I have the honor of guest hosting Sunday Postcard Art, and I chose the challenge theme "Archer."

Note: The Solid State Drive (SSD) Hard Drive failed without warning in the Dell computer that I bought 1 year and 1 month ago, so my online activity will be minimal until I can regroup and figure out how to move forward. I will try to leave comments, etc.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Teddy Tales Thursday - The Hound of the Baskervilles

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Teddy Tales Thursday - The Hound of the Baskervilles

The other night, Teddy and I awoke around midnight.

Shortly thereafter, we heard a long, plaintive howling. Teddy ran to the back window, and said the sounds were nearby, behind the house.

This is where Teddy and I have two different versions of what happened next.

Teddy claimed he saw a large canine in the shadows, with glowing red eyes, moving near a tree. Teddy said the beast snarled at him, then paced back and forth, looking for a way inside. Teddy said it was the same ghostly hound of the Baskervilles that we had heard during the daytime in the Hound of the Baskerville Woods, as Teddy calls it. I say we didn’t see anything behind the house, and that it was a lone Coyote howling nearby.

The Hound of the Baskervilles: Truth or Teddy Tale? You decide. ;-)


The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, which takes place mostly in Dartmoor, which is an "area of moorland in Devon, England".


Note: Due to my computer crashing / dying, my online activity will be minimal until I can regroup and figure out how to move forward.

I have an upcoming SPA guest host theme, and will try to leave comments, etc.

Computer Crashed / Died

My (brand new) Dell computer crashed / died a few days ago. The SSD Hard Drive failed without warning. I bought that Dell computer 1 year and 1 month ago. The warranty is expired. And I lost two days of work. I know: it could be worse, I could have lost 1 to 2 weeks of work. I also know there are bigger problems in this world, and in life, but this is a big deal to me, for several reasons. I now own a very expensive Dell brick, and if I hadn't been able to get my previous computer revived, I wouldn't even be posting this message.

My online activity will be minimal until I can regroup and figure out how to move forward. I will NOT be getting another Dell.

I have an upcoming SPA guest host theme, and will try to leave comments, etc.

"Ignis Factuus (will-o'-the-wisp)" - Postcard

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This week's My Soul's Dark Imagination theme was "Ignis Factuus (will-o'-the-wisp)".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Gypsy" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Gypsies".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Featured in the weekly sampler.

"Mist In The Moors 2" - Postcard

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This week's My Soul's Dark Imagination theme was "In the Mist in the Moors".

One of my favorite stories is The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, which takes place mostly in Dartmoor, which is an "area of moorland in Devon, England". This is a horizontal version of two similar art pieces.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Mist In The Moors 1" - Postcard

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This week's My Soul's Dark Imagination theme was "In the Mist in the Moors".

One of my favorite stories is The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, which takes place mostly in Dartmoor, which is an "area of moorland in Devon, England". This is a vertical version of two similar art pieces.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Teddy Tales Thursday - The Wheel Barrow Cadaver

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Teddy Tales Thursday - The Wheel Barrow Cadaver

Early one morning this past week, before dawn, Teddy said he heard a squeaky wheel barrow outside. Teddy said the sounds were identical to a Midsomer Murders episode, where a dead body was moved using one, so he peeked out of the living room window.

Teddy said that, despite the darkness, he saw a cloaked figure pushing a wheel barrow uphill, with a bloody corpse in it. Teddy said the ghoulish individual dug a hole in the garden, placed the body in it, and then shoveled the dirt over the shallow grave. Teddy said when he saw the fiend turn in his direction, and start walking back toward the house, he told Team T to run and hide!

I told Teddy he knows that was me, it was after dawn, I wasn’t wearing a cloak, and it was a bag of mulch, not a body, that I was moving.

The Wheel Barrow Cadaver: Truth or Teddy Tale? You decide. ;-)

"Cancellation Marks" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Cancellation Marks".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Blue And Orange" - Postcard

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This week's Our Midweek Muse theme was "Blue And Orange".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Fantasy House" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art theme was "Fantasy House".

I created this using GIMP 2.10.38.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Featured in the weekly sampler.

Bearded Iris / Butterfly - Photograph

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I took that photograph this past week.