So, today is the second of the new year - welcome to my blog, still going in 2025 - and Happy New Year to all of you out there in Blogland.
Today we are starting with a new theme at Art Journal Journey, set by the lovely Mia - simply "Dots". The quote I have to work with is "If you want the best seat in the house you'll have to move the cat" as chosen by my friend Wendy who is my partner in blogging on a Thursday. The constraints we have to work with, apart from fulfilling the theme at AJJ is that we have to use characters from Dyan's collection at "Dylusions" to fit the quote of the week.
So to begin we have an old page which I had done in the style of Teesha Moore (actually made under the guidance of Dyan at one of her workshops) but not completed. As it had a figure sitting in the bottom corner I thought I would use this page for this quote and simply added some 'dots" using a stencil by my old friend Abs who heads up 'All & Create'. So, as is usual on a Thursday I accompany my blog page with a story. Here goes:
"Celine had been watching well 'binge watching' actually, all of her favourite films over Christmas and on New Year's Eve. A great admirer of the old style romance she had seen 'Emma', 'Wuthering Heights', 'Jane Eyre', 'Pride and Prejudice'. She was just waiting for a Mr Darcy to sweep her off her feet when all of a sudden she noticed a young lady had come through the door.
"Excuse me" came a timid voice from the direction of the doorway. There appeared to be a young lady dressed in a beautiful long dress of white with a blue overlay and the prettiest of poke bonnets on her head standing there. "I seem to have wandered too far and am completely lost."
"Err, who are you looking for?" asked Celine, who the heck was this woman who had wandered into her home. Obviously someone at a new years fancy dress party. I mean, why else would she be dressed in such a way?
The woman looked pale and somewhat frail as she answered "I am looking for my father, Mr Bennet."
"Sorry" said Celine, "there is no Mr Bennet here, this is my house, I think you have got yourself lost."
"No, I know this is where I live, where we all live, my sisters and I, and my mother and father. Perhaps if I could sit a moment."
"Well" said Celine, "if you want the best seat in the house you'll have to move the cat."
"We don't have a cat" came the timid reply, "Father would not entertain cats, he had enough with my sisters and I" she added, "but I must sit and rest awhile."
"Of course" said Celine as she shoo'ed Spot from the most comfortable chair in the room. "Can I get you something, a tea maybe?"
"That would be delightful" answered the young lady as she sank gracefully into the corner arm chair.
A few minutes later Celine arrived bearing a tray with two cups and saucers on it and a pot of steaming tea. "Do you take milk with your tea?" she asked, "sugar?"
"No" just as it is if that is not too much trouble" replied the young lady.
Celine sat opposite this strange young lady wondering what on earth she was going to do with her. it was obvious she was muddled in her mind as to where she was, but why was she dressed like that?
"Do you know the address to where you live?" she asked.
"Yes, this is it silly, it is Longbourn in Meryton where I live with my sisters, Jane, Mary, Kitty and Lydia, mother and father. Why do you ask?"
"Just wondering" replied Celine. "Will you excuse me for a moment?" and off she went to get her copy of 'Pride and Prejudice' - "am I dreaming?" she asked herself.
Just then Spot, who had had enough of this not sitting in his favourite chair leapt from where he had landed when his mistress shoo'ed him away. If he was not to be sleeping then neither should she - and he landed with a huge 'plonk' right on Celine's head as she lay there sleeping on the settee where she had been curled for the past hour or so. He needed feeding, it had been ages since he had had lunch.
"Oh" she exclaimed, as she sat up with a jump, "what on earth are you doing Spot? And where is our mysterious guest?" It was then that she sat up and realised there was no-one in the best chair. Had there ever been anyone there? Or had she been dreaming? She glanced at the clock, it was almost seven o'clock and she was due at a party to celebrate the New Year.
So she quickly fed Spot, adjusted her make up and set off to bring in the New Year with friends. What a shame it had been Elizabeth Bennet who had been in her dream and not Mr Darcy. Maybe he would be at the party. A more modern version of course."
