Wishes for your new year

This picture was taken last year on our trip to Helen, Georgia. Isn't it amazing to see where this tree is growing? I wish for each of you to be able to find your niche, however tiny it may be, and to set your roots, find the nourishment you need, and to grow and flourish despite whatever adversities life presents. I hope for you to have the sunshine of happiness and some rain of goodness from above. May there be wonderful times with friends and family to cherish with sweetness. Blessings to you all in this new year, 2009.

Ephemera swap package

I received this during the busy holiday season from Judy Dickerson who is in the atc yahoo group with me. She lives in Tennessee. This was for the ephemera swap I hostessed. I forgot to take a photo of the goodies I sent her because I was really in a rush when I was getting them packaged up to mail, but she seemed happy with them. We exchanged information about our interests and I could tell she really paid attention to what I said. She sent a lot of good assemblage and collage "stuff" in addition to supplies to do it with. I had taken out of the box and used already a package of UHU scrapbooking glue sticks so they missed the photo op. In the bottom of the photo are some cool glitter and colored glue sticks. Then she also included things like packages of hinges, jewelry bits, lovely charms, vintage postage stamps and papers, handpainted papers, assorted papers and paper cutouts, vintage keys, bamboo tiles, lots of ribbons and fibers, foam shapes, and miscellaneous just good ole stuff. Then what was coolest of all was the box of old player piano "music" paper which didn't show up well in this photo but I unrolled it and it is what you are seeing underneath everything. Just recently I bought a package of collage/assemblage material from Belinda Spiwak when she was cleaning out her studio. It included some dyed player piano paper that was so lovely and I had been wanting to recreate this look. It looked like she used some kind of glittery paint. Anyway, here I receive in this package a box with a whole complete roll in it! The box itself will make a good assemblage shadowbox. It's on the right front of the photo, but it's almost cut out of the picture. It was hard to get everthing included in one shot. I was very lucky to draw Judy as my partner, I think. I look forward to having time to make some art with some of this artsy ephemeral goodness! Thanks, Judy. I don't think she has a blog or I would link to it. If I find out differently, I'll edit to include that here.

Merry Christmas

I did find a picture of Tiny Tim on my laptop. This is the small natural-looking tree I picked out which we set up in the dining room. This is the first room you enter from our front porch. It used to be our living room before we added on the living room and garage a few years ago. Tiny gets the brightly colored ornaments and colored lights. I've been setting it up on a small bench the last few years.

In the windows, you can see a little of a couple of my collections that I put out as Christmas decorations. One is the McDonald's Happy Meal train. We had several of the pieces from when the girls were little and then I found a few at a flea market. For some reason these say Christmas to me, kind of like putting a toy train around your tree. I used to set these up around the base of this tree when I had it setting on the floor. To make the train a little longer I add the toys that have a miniature VHS movie box as the base with a toy from the movie on top. These are Disney Video Favorites with characters like Mickey Mouse, Flubber, Pocahontas, & Lady and the Tramp.

Then I have several 101 Dalmation toy characters that I also display here at Christmas. One is tangled up in Christmas lights while another has his head through a wreath, then some are holding presents. Not even sure how many I have of these, but for some reason they just have to be out at Christmas. Also I have Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzy Bear which were Happy Meal toys, too, I think.

Next year I'll have to remember to take pictures of the different Christmas collections I have. I know I've enjoyed looking at other blogs to see what and how other people decorate for the holidays. This year most of my knick knacky Christmas won't get put out, but normally there are a good many of the holiday items I've collected over the years. I have a fair number of vintage Christmas figurines, a vintage Santa face pitcher and assorted mugs, different kinds of houses that I've been placing in a vignette in the middle of my dining table with a few trees, a collection of Santas that I put on the mantel in the living room with a metal sleigh full of presents, a Home Interior manger scene, and then assorted snowmen, plates, and platters.

My Dh collects the North Pole Department 56 Christmas village and has a sizable number of them now. I have taken a photo of that, but will have to locate it on my computers. It is very pretty when it's all set up. That particular one I like because it is fanciful rather than realistic and about toys, elves, and Santa Claus though the other more realistic villages they have are pretty, too.

Hope everyone has a good holiday week!

I don't have any Christmas art on my computer. I know I've done some, but it must have been before I had a scanner. Thought this skinny book page was close enough with the green and the stars. It was done for a swap with a postage stamp theme. I've shown a few of these before. The background started with pieces from encyclopedia pages with a star tissue paper overlay whitewashed with gesso. Think the central image behind the vintage stamp was either from a textbook or an encyclopedia. Accents are stickers. Used a green watercolor pencil to add a touch of color around the picture.

Still working. Last night was pretty busy in the ER. Lots of sickness and then people with problems related to holiday depression.

Should I confess that I don't have my holiday shopping finished. Pretty sad, I know. We've cut way back this year anyway. So really just a few gifts to get. Christmas decorating didn't get done like we usually do either. But sometimes you just do the best you can. I hope all of you are having a great week and will be able to spend it with those you love and/or doing whatever it is that means Christmas to you.

Another sunset

Kerry's maternal grandfather passed away early Monday morning. He was 86 years old and had been suffering from a variety of health problems, including renal failure requiring dialysis for several years. His wife died about 5 years ago and Papaw had been lost without her. At times he had dementia and during these times he was always looking for "Ruby". Now he has found her.

Dealing with this funeral was harder for me than it would have been normally because of my father's death last month. Since my Dad was cremated, there was no funeral or memorial service. His body was not at the funeral home when we had a gathering or visitation of family to remember him. I was ok with all of that totally, as I have thought of cremation for myself. But, going through Papaw's funeral,hearing the songs like "Go Rest High on that Mountain", and thinking of both men and their lives and struggles at the end with sickness and then ultimately their deaths, was more difficult than I was anticipating. Kerry's Mom seems to be doing ok. I know she is tired as she has been caring for her parents for a long time now. Kerry doesn't express any emotions and doesn't like to talk about how he feels, so I'm just having to assume he is ok.

I'm on my second night back at work. Think I'm coming down with a cold, so I'm dosing with Zicam, Vitamin C, and taking cold medicine to try to keep the aches and pains and symptoms away.

As far as art goes, I've not been doing much. I did get together and mail off an ephemera swap from our atc yahoo group. It was one I organized where we were to fill a large Priority mailer box with "stuff" from our stashes and swap out with a partner. Mine has already received hers and seemed to be happy with the contents. What was sad was that it didn't even make a dent in my collection of junk/supplies, lol! And those are pretty big boxes. I'm looking forward to receiving mine possibly today or tomorrow. Nothing like art surprises in the mail. I wanted to do some hand crafted items for Christmas gifts but that hasn't happened yet. I still hope to make some small things for the people at work, but then that is me, the eternal, but unrealistic optimist!

More Christmas pennants

These are the other 4 pennants I made for the banner swap. I worked on these while we were camping. It was cold and we were near a lake, so I learned that evidently temperature and humidity have a lot to do with a gluestick working correctly. The gluestick that I normally use and have no trouble with failed miserably. After I got home and brought my stuff in to put finishing touches on, found that a lot of areas were coming unglued, so I ended up having to reglue with some Elmer's that I could squeeze underneath.

Another discovery I wanted to share and I'm sure it's not new to most of you was how I altered paper to make it suit my color scheme better.I had just gathered up a bunch of Christmas colored papers and picutres to take with me and was trying to make the pennants just using what I had with me. On the top 3, but especially the 3rd pennant, I used a paper that started out as white with small red dots. I wanted it to not be so starkly colored, so I stamped here and there with some small designs like swirls in different colors of stamp ink and then overall swiped some of the colors over the paper. I also used the swiping and daubing of color on the off white paper shapes that serve as the background for the "A's" and the textured paper that is at the top of several of the banners. I used the Stickles glitter from a bottle for adding the glitter accents. Those work really well if I can get my hand steady enough.

Christmas banner and decorating

Here are the pennants I received for our "PEACE" Christmas banner swap. I included the "A" banner I did that I've already shown so you could see all the letters together. I'll try to remember to take a picture of it hanging up. On my next post I'll show the other 4 that I did and sent off for the swap. They were all different but made in a similar fashion.

For the one I received here are the artists:

P=Beth Deegan
E=Jane Widman
A=me
C=Lottie Storey
E=Val Orner

They are all beautiful! I love the gold and dreamy colors on Beth's. Reminds me of the star Christmas ornament I shared about last time. I've got to find out what she used for the red swirls. Doesn't look like just glue and glitter, but maybe a glitter sticker or rub-on? Anyway very pretty! Then Jane's "E" pennant is so imaginative and artistic! The art doll is completely moveable including the letter itself. She can be posed however you would like! Isn't that the coolest? I scanned these so the dangly snowflake on Beth's and the crystal on Jane's are kind of sidewise. Well, for the "A", blah, blah, blah, I don't really want to talk about her. Lottie's lovely banner is so Christmasy with the vintage angel images, sheet music, glittery stars, and beautiful red and white color scheme. I like the red sequin accents around the edge, too. Then the last "E" by Val with the collaged poinsettia paper and the red, green, and silver colors is so pretty! Loved the idea of using the red crystal dangly trim at the top.

We did indeed get a lot of rain, but no snow here where I live anyway. It is cold again today, but the sun is shining. Very grateful for the rain and anxious to drive by the lakes to see how much the water level is up now. We were beginning to look like it did last year when we were in such a drought. The lakes were 11 feet or so below normal, I think.

Have started on the Christmas decorating. The trees are out and up. Yes, I said trees. We have one huge one in the living room, better known as the "Wooly Mammoth". This is a tall flocked tree that my dh wanted from the Christmas store we go to in Pigeon Forge, TN. We have a cathedral ceiling in that room so it works there and looks pretty but it is so BIG that dh has to help me carry the box and put it up. Then I have a smaller tree that I put in my dining room. It's one that has a realistic look to it with bark on the trunk and is only 5' tall. We call it "Tiny Tim". I put the colorful ornaments, my Granny Koehler's red, silver, and green foil circle garland, and use colored lights on it. Wooly gets all white lights and then all the light colored ornaments. Beth's star ornament is going to look so pretty on this tree. Then I have pink poinsettias I put here and there on the tree and a fruit and floral garland I use on the top......Sighhh.. Then there is the tree that my dh came home with I think it was last year. He and Holly were putting up the trees because I was staying with my Mom when she came home from the rehab center after her stroke. It is 4' tall and prelit with blue lights and this is where he puts his Nascar ornaments and it goes in the hallway. Now this tree, I just call "Tacky" but he was so excited, so what do you do? At least it gets the Nascar ornaments off of Tiny Tim, lol! Still have to put the lights on(the worst job, cause we usually wrap them around the branches) and decorate.

I found a photo that Emily had on here so you can kind of see what Wooly looks like, though not yet this year! I know I had taken some of Tiny Tim, but can't locate them on the computer. I didn't take one of "Tacky Tree" but I guess I need to.

The girls will be coming in tonight so that we can go tomorrow to see the Rockettes perform in Birmingham. This was something Kerry's sister and Mom wanted us to do as a family girl's outing. Our niece, Katie, is also going. She is 13 so not sure how thrilled she is to be going. I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe I can con, plead, whine, persuade, or guilt the girls into helping me with the lights?!? We'll see how that goes, too!

Kindness from friends

Have lots to share and may end up doing 2 posts today which will make Holly happy as she has reminded me it's been 3 days. First I wanted to show the lovely cards and gifts from some of my online friends that I have received concerning the loss of my Dad.

The bottom scan is a beautiful card from Jeanie. She is a very encouraging friend with a talent for writing who has 2 blogs, one The Marmelade Gypsy named after her handsome cat and then another called Chopsticks and Strings which is more to do with her writing. Right now on the Gypsy blog, Jeanie is sharing wonderful photos from her recent trip to Vegas. She's always doing exciting and interesting things and sharing great pictures, writings, and art, too.

In the middle are the special cards from Charlotte, a friend who is in the atc yahoo group with me. She doesn't have a blog as far as I know. Charlotte and her daughter Lotus sent me some of the first atcs I ever received. She is always good to send a RAK when you are going through some tough times. Recently she moved to Tennessee all the way from California and now lives closer to other online friends, Beth and Lottie. They all got together recently, but unfortunately I was not able to go since I was working, when Jane, another from our yahoo group was visiting from New York state. Charlotte is orginally from Hawaii, so her lovely art often has that look to it.

Then on top, the beautiful card from Beth at Lasting Impressions from the Heart and the gorgeous ornament she made and gifted to me. Beth is also in the atc yahoo group. That she took the time to make these for me shows what a special friend she is. I cried when I opened the package, both from being touched at the loveliness and at her kindness. I scanned it so I could get a post done faster, but it would probably show up better in a photo. She said that it would be something I would have to hang on the tree to remember my Dad. He would think it is beautiful, too! It's embossed so that it is glistening and has some microbeads scattered around to add even more. There is a beaded wire hanger that has a cool bead in it that looks like it's made from paper inside plastic tubing. The front says "Peace on Earth" and then the back "the Spirit of Giving", which indeed these friends have.

Thanks so much to all of you for taking time out to send kindness to a friend. It brightens my life and warms my heart.

I also got yesterday, the beautiful banners from the swap I mentioned before. I've scanned them and will be sharing them next time.

Yesterday and today we've been getting a good bit of rain. Haven't heard yet how much, but it's still coming down. Today it's beginning to cool off and still raining, so a very messy, yucky day. I'm not complaining about the rain, though, as we needed that. There is the possibility of snow I think later on.

Christmas wishes from my doggies

Playing around a bit with a picture from a couple of years ago. You can tell the dogs, especially Max, weren't too thrilled with the extra attire,but here they are with a special Merry Christmas to you all.

Not had much time to blog or do art. The week of Thanksgiving I was off but that ended up being a bad week. At the same time that my Dad died, my Mom had some kind of injury to her left knee which is her non-stroke side. This hampered her ability to get around a good bit, so in addition to dealing with Dad's death, I've had to do extra for Mom and having to go over there more than I was before. It seemed to be healing, but then this week, a little worse again. Of course, I've been working since last Wednesday evening and it's been pretty busy at work, too, though last night was better. One more night to go!

I don't have my Christmas decorations up yet and no Christms shopping done yet either except for some stocking stuffers. Budget considerations and time constraints seem to be limiting my abilities to think what to get or do.

Hhhmm, this post seems to be fairly negative to have started off with such a cute Merry Christmas wish. My apologies, but just trying to explain the lack of blogging lately. My dh has promised to help me get Christmas decorations out this coming week while I'm off. About to head off to bed. It has warmed up here today and is very windy. Weathermen had been predicting rain, which we still need very badly, so I hope they get that right.

Christmas time is coming

Here is one of the banners I made for a swap from the atc yahoo group I'm in. We are making the word "peace" and I did the letter "A". This is the one I kept for myself, so I didn't feel bad about showing it, though the swap is in the mail according to the hostess. I made 5, all different. I will receive the other letters in the mail and then be able to make a garland of banners forming the word. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's work and how they all look together. I'll show my other ones when everyone receives their swap and make a pic of how it all looks when assembled. Jane said to use vintage traditional Christmas colors, so this is what I came up with. The Santa images I had were round stickers I lucked up on at a dollar store in Vinemont a few years ago. By putting them on this triangle pennant I got a nice arch shape that I like, giving a little contrast to the straight lines everywhere else. Everything else is scrapbook papers, some cut to look like ribbon and then accents of glitter, sequins, and a scrapbook sticker "A". The others are mostly similar, but different.

Holiday generosity

Chrysti at Art by Chrysti is sponsoring 29 days of giveaways. I participated in a skinny book swap she sponsored and got back some great art. Chrysti also has some lovely goodies for sale in her shop, The Altered Abbey. So go check out her blog and shop.

Another generous artist, Lisa Vollrath, is sharing free Christmas images in December as shareware if you link to the giveaway at The Original Printables Holiday Countdown. Lisa has a lot of great information, instructions, and art galleries that she graciously puts out there for others. I've had her websites saved in my favorites since I first found altered art on the internet. She also has great collage images, ephemera, and other art stuff for sale. You can get lost wandering around looking at everything there is to see. Her websites are LisaVollrath.com , Ten Two Studios , and Go Make Something.

It's snowing in Alabama!

Hard to believe, but at 10:30 am there are huge flakes of snow falling. Very pretty! Think it's about over, though. Will probably be melted soon. (Added-in the time it took me to do this post, the snow stopped and melted, lol! That is snow is Alabama!)

I wanted to share several things today. One is the lovely arrangement my friends at work got for me. Isn't it beautiful! I was very touched by their thoughtfulness. There are several plants, including a mini-rose that I will place outside next spring opposite one that my dd's gave me several years ago and then I will have a remembrance growing of my Dad and my friends. The arrangement will make a nice holiday decoration, too, with the lovely pink poinsetta.

Also, wanted to share some photos of my Dad. The oldest photo is one of my Mom and Dad sitting on the glider outside my grandparent's home when they were dating I think. They married in January of 1959.


This is my Dad in a photo taken when he went to work at Monsanto back in the late sixties. I sometimes wonder if he was exposed to something when he worked there and that is what caused the Alzheimer's. They did work with a lot of chemicals. He worked there into the seventies. Then later on went to work at GTE in Huntsville and then Chrysler after GTE moved their plant overseas. He retired from Chrysler early when he started getting sick.

Taken in November of 1980, Dad and me at my wedding. I borrowed my Aunt Glenda's wedding dress(Dad's sister) who is only 11 years older than me. I also have an Aunt Sandy who is only 5 years older than me. Dad's oldest sister is Melba and she is about 74, I believe, now. So Pop and Granny really spread their children out. (Wish I was that small again!!!)


The last picture was taken 2 years ago, November 25, at Chris and Holly's wedding. Emily had married in August of that year. That was a very hard year. When you're not rich and you are trying to do your best to make a memorable wedding for your daughters on a budget, that means a lot of work must be done by you. I kept telling myself that this was happening for a reason and that one day I would know. Well, last year my Dad began to get much worse and then my Mom had a stroke last November. If the girls had not married when they did, Dad would not have been able to come and it would have been hard for my Mom. The way it was Mom helped me a good bit with the weddings, but now I have to help her. At the time of the weddings, Dad was already very confused and didn't really know us anymore, but you can see his sweet smile in the photo. He was born November 12, 1939 and died November 25, 2008. Both of his parents died in the month of their birth as well.
Wallace Helton "Pete" Parker

Another angel in heaven

My Dad has passed from this earth to his heavenly home and is no longer suffering in the body in which his soul was trapped. His exit from this world took a long time and was very painful to watch. I mourn his loss but also know that he is in the arms of Jesus. Maybe he's getting to talk to his Mom and Dad, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and others who made in there before him. I will miss him, but I've really been missing him for a while now.

Can you hear me now?

These are a couple of atcs from a past swap that I think had a map theme? Long gone to someone and done when I had no functional scanner or a digital camera. Took some pics with my cellphone camera. The bottom one still represents our cell phone service oftentimes. Living in the country where we are, there are several dead spots that have been there even with 2 different companies. Just low areas between towers, I guess, where the signals are blocked. Still technology is amazing. I remember when we had party lines and you had to wait to be able to use the phone. Was watching a movie this week from the eighties where the main character stopped to use a payphone and it had a rotary dial and the computers they showed in the movie were huge. Now you can hold a computer in your hand and it's your phone, too(not that I have one like that, I wouldn't know how to use it anyway.) Funny also how the amount of time that a person spends reminiscing increases as they get older! I notice myself doing it more and more.

Words on Wednesday

Here are a few more photos from our trip, including one through the trees that shows the camper. The one of the water is part of the view from the overlook. Also a closeup of this really funky mushroom that was beside the pavement going into our campsite. It went from a rounded shape one day, an opened typical mushroom shape the next, and then this the 3rd day.



Went to see my Dad yesterday. They live about 45 miles from us. I went up with a couple of my aunts and my uncle. He is a lot worse than when I last saw him, though he was better than he was last week when he couldn't get out of bed. He was up in his wheelchair. Has lost a lot of weight and doesn't talk much anymore. When he does, he sounds very weak and you can hardly hear him. His skin looks old. Very, very sad, this disease.

Well, today begins another work week. I need to finish up my Christmas banners and get them ready to mail. I'll post when I get them completed, though they are almost done. I'm expecting a swap back in the mail of the Ancestor 4x4 pages, so I'm going to go ahead and post my page here. I used a photo of my maternal grandmother which also ended up being used in a page I made for the Fall swap I've already posted about. Sorry the scan is a little dark. It looked better that this. Printed it in black and white and then hand-colored with watercolor pencils. Used some text from a German bible page since she was German/Irish to make one of the leaves. The piece of fabric and the button represent her thriftiness and her talent at sewing. She was the one who taught me to embroider. Also made an extra page for the hostess of the swap that uses a pic of my dh when he was a little boy. It was a just for fun kind of page where I was trying to do a "Claudine Hellmuth" thing with a photo head and a cartoon body.

To everything a season

This past weekend was a time to rest. Very welcome after the way the work week ended. We totally enjoyed a few lovely days away in quietness at a nearby park. The peak of fall color had already passed, but still a little left to see here and there. Our campsite was right next to a paved path through the woods down to an overlook built at the top of bluffs by the water. I took several walks to take pictures and just commune with nature. The weather was not the most ideal, being rainy one day and pretty cool the rest of the time, but of course, I don't really mind the cold too much anyway.



I was able to watch a couple of movies, read 2 books I borrowed from a friend, and get 5 Christmas banners done for an art swap from the atc group. Dh sets up a satellite dish and is able to keep up with his ballgames, races, or tv. This keeps him happy. We cooked a little. Had roast and vegetables from the crockpot on the rainy Friday and then chili on Saturday after it turned cold. Thursday and Saturday evening we were able to have a fire in the firepit they have each camping spot.

Camping as a vacation has the advantage of being able to bring the doggies with us, so we don't have to worry about boarding them somewhere. Max took several walks with me and loves not being left behind. Whenever I leave home for work it is to a pouting Max laying with his head on his paws and giving me "sad eyes". Angel is so old she gets somewhat confused about where she is, but as long as we feed her and she gets treats and love she is ok.



While we enjoyed our time away, I found out right before we came home that my Dad, who has been battling Alzheimer's for several years now, has taken a turn for the worse. He & my Mom divorced over 27 years ago and he remarried not long after. He has been at home where his wife and one of my half brothers have been taking care of him. I helped some last year, but since Mom's stroke have not been able to. Hope to go see him tomorrow. Evidently he is entering the last phases where his body is going to start giving out. His mind has been pretty bad for awhile. I've not been able to speak to my "Dad" for some time. In a way it's like I've been having to let him go for years. When my parents divorced, there was a letting go of the idea of having a Dad and Mom as a couple. He became a husband to someone else and then a Dad to a new family. Then with the Alzheimer's there has been the gradual goodbye to the person who was my Father, reaching the point of where he was no longer really "there" for me to talk to. I miss him. He is such a sweet person. Even with this disease, he'll look at you and smile and tell you he's glad to see you. He just had a birthday last week and is now 69 years old. Still very young to be like he is now. Went from looking younger than his age at 60 to looking 20 years older than his age at 69.

To everything there is a season. A time to live and a time to die. Be sure you LIVE!

Time flies

when you're having fun? Didn't realize it had been so many days since I posted. Time does get away from me when I'm working especially if there are extra things to do. Mom only has Sara, the young lady who helps her coming once/week now instead of twice, so that means a little more for me to do. So I go by and check on her a couple of mornings during my work week. I'm about to go to bed, but thought I'd do a quick post.

Finally getting around to playing with some of my photos in one of my Adobe programs. This one is Adobe Photodeluxe Home Edition 4 that a friend at work found at a yard sale. I have a more complicated Adobe program but it's on my laptop cause it had a bigger memory than my desktop. I've not done much with it yet. I'm working my way up to that, lol. The one above is of a fan cover that I have hanging on the barn behind the house. Have several round things hanging there along with some tin signs. Don't even remember now what special effects I tried to get the picture to here, but it was all easy. Then below was one of my flower photos.

My dh and I plan to go camping this week when I get off for a few days. Hopefully it will work out this time. We've had this in mind several of my weeks off, but for one reason or another we've not made it yet. I wanted to go camping in the fall, but we've almost waited for winter. Of course we are not roughing it anyway, but going in our fifth wheel camper. I've some pics of it, but not on this computer. Hope to take some art supplies and several books. The place we hope to go to has fire pits so we can build a fire in the evening while sitting outside. I would hope the mosquitos are gone now. There is no computer access so once we are out there, I'll unable to check messages.

Be rich!

This is another altered book spread. I've not really felt that creative this week. I did finish up the pages and the book I showed previously and started on altering a wooden heart from a garland of them bought at the thrift store. Not sure where that is going yet though. I need to get started on some pendants for a swap but waiting on some question to be answered before I do.

These pages have a napkin as a background and were done a while ago. Also used a calendar image and some various magazine cutouts including the saying on the right page. To remind me that sometimes rich people are not really rich in what counts and that you can be rich in what is important while not having all that much money. So be careful of being envious or even critical of others cause you never know.

Fall chunky book

Used my Bind-it-all system for the first time to put the fall chunky pages together. This was the system I got with money from my Mom for my birthday. I have discovered I need more practice, especially with punching the holes. This system does a good job punching the holes on thicker pages but not so well on the thinner ones. Also found out it is really important to make sure you have the page seated squarely on the bottom to ensure the holes are in a straight line. Messed up on a few pages and had to fix them. My hat is off to all the hostesses that have sent me books bound up! I never realized what a pain punching the holes could be! So thanks to all of you!

I wasn't thinking when I sent my pages to Beth and didn't make one of my own to keep so I ended up making another one that uses an image of my maternal Grandma Koehler. I had these printed up for an ancestor swap just completed recently. This photo was taken by my Aunt Betty when my Grandma was out picking up hickory nuts. She was born to Irish/German parents and married my German grandfather, Gustav Koehler, so we have a lot of German in us. They were self-sufficient farmers for the most part raising everything they ate. Nuts from the trees on their farm were a gift and all were gathered to use. Nothing was wasted as my grandfather was a very frugal man. He actually kept a ledger(which my Mom still has) of every penny he ever spent. It is very interesting to read as there are notations about weather events like droughts and long periods of rain. Also visits by the doctor when the children were born are noted. It really is a chronology of their life.

Well, I have wandered down memory lane! Back to the present! The next to the bottom page is the inside of the back cover and then the bottom is the back of the cover I put together to finish up the booklet. I'm proud of myself for actually getting some pages put together and hope to move on to some previous swap pages I've never bound.

Fall and sunset

I know I've shown some similar pics before, but this is a new one, taken a couple of weeks ago at sunset. To me fall is like a beautiful sunset, lots of gorgeous color, cooling temperatures, and a prelude to the crisp, cool dark night of winter. The fall color is late getting to our area so I've no lovely pictures of autumn leaves or woods of orange, red, and yellow to share. I love this time of year just as I love sunsets. Only now realized that I've no photos of beautiful sunsets taken with my digital camera. Need to remember to take some of those.

We went down yesterday to see the dd's and their guys in Tuscaloosa. Dh went to the ballgame, meeting up with a friend of his there, and so did Holly and Chris. Emily and I took the opportunity to go to their thrift store and found some great deals. I should have my fill of thrifting for a while. My favorite find of the day were several old colored glass Christmas ornaments made in Poland unfortunately thrown in a bag with some other junky ornaments. It looked like at least 3 old ones had been broken so I just had to rescue these lovelies before any more were lost. I'll take pics soon so I can show you how pretty they are. Paid only $2 for the whole bag.

Had a lovely day. It was great to see all the "younguns". Took them their Halloween candy. Still doing that and stockings at Christmas. Some traditions are just too fun to break.