A different kind of journey

I've been home making a family memory journal.  This is the first one of its kind that I've done and it was QUITE an emotional ride!  It took me a week to make it and I already had 2 boxes of my dad's photos and family papers.  I just didn't want to rush it.  I wanted to take my time.

You can see it here:      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSxUmMFvM5Uhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSxUmMFvM5U

I had a really hard time ending this one.  I still keep it on my desk and pull it out and look at it and frankly, it has been HARD to even start another journal, but I started one last night and I'm pluggin' away at it.  I NEED to move on.

I never knew my dad's family.  They all lived back in Connecticut and he moved out here to California before WWII.  He did take us back to Connecticut when I was about 4 years old (I do remember the train ride...), and his parents did come to California before I was born.  I wish I had known his parents.  It is a shame I really didn't...and I regret that.  They WERE my grandparents and, as a grandparent myself now, I don't think I could live without knowing our precious little bundles of joy (all 5 of them!)  But, I guess things were different then...My mom didn't like her mother-in-law (I don't know WHY...), so she "discouraged" any more trips back to Connecticut.  My grandmother died when I was about 12, so I could have visited her and I WOULD have remembered her.  I kind of resent my mother for that.

I did, however, grow up with her parents, whom I dearly LOVED.  And, my next family album (journal) will be about that side of my family.  I have many, many, many fond memories of that set of grandparents, but, you know, why couldn't I have similar memories of my dad's parents?  It doesn't seem fair...sigh...but that's life...

Anyway, have a great day tomorrow.
~Cheryl Ann~

Got my sunflowers planted and nasturtiums, too!

We didn't have any babysitting stuff yesterday and I'm taking a break from journal making, so I headed outdoors.  It was a nice morning here, so I gathered up my seed packets and did a quick inventory.  I have a TON of sunflower seeds, so I planted 2 packs (from 2016...) out back under the dripping hose and the bird bath.  There are a few already sprouting there from loose birdseed anyway, so I figured, why not?

Then I went out front and planted nasturtiums and some kind of white daisy seeds along the front walk.  The nasturtiums are coming up from last years' crop too! 

Today I'll go out and plant a few more sunflowers here and there.  I have about a dozen packets to plant.  And, like I said, some are from 2016, so I'm not sure how many of those will sprout.

I'm anxious to plant my sweet peas and hollyhocks along the back chain link fence.  I MAY get to do that Friday.  We have babysitting today, tomorrow, and Saturday morning...so we'll see...

This is a good time to plant things here in the desert.  This is one of the prime growing seasons.  There is a huge plot down by our daughter's home and sometimes I see a big green John Deere tractor there.  The 4 year old granddaughter always enjoys seeing the big green tractor!

Until tomorrow then...

~Cheryl Ann~

PEEK A BOO!

Our daughter and her two children getting ready to head out for Halloween.  Daddy dressed up as a pirate, but stayed home to pass out candy.

Black and white barn~For Gaelyn

Gaelyn Olmstead nominated me to participate in her black & white challenge this week, so I have been posting photos on Facebook.

Here is today's photo:

 Abandoned house somewhere in Arizona... for today...

 I posted this flower from the Living Desert Reserve...

The previous day was a photo up at the ranch where I board my horses.

And, yesterday's photo was this one of plant leaves at the Living Desert Reserve.

I've enjoyed changing some of these to black & white and I think I'll keep doing this!

Thank you, Gaelyn, for pushing me to do this!

Here's a link to Gaelyn's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/gaelyn.olmsted

First Christmas journal ETSY

Okay, so I FINALLY decided to post and hopefully sell my first journal!  It is a handmade Christmas one, a chunky monkey, with over 164 pages!  She has Christmas stationery, coffee dyed papers, Christmas cards and envelopes, lace, fabric tags, and a fabric cover!

Here is the link to her at my newly reopened ETSY shop:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/554857582/christmas-journal-fabric-covered?ref=shop_home_active_1

PLEASE stop by and take a look.  I will be adding more journals today, after I take photos of them!

Phew!  I have about 7 other ones to add...2 fall ones, 2 cooking type ones, 1 horse one, and 2 more Christmas journals!  Hubby says it is TIME for me to do this and he's right...I think I've FINALLY got my journal making process down!

TIA (Thank you in advance)!

~~Cheryl Ann~

Busy, busy, busy!!!

I've made 7 journals this month...actually 8 and #9 is nearly completed.  I just have to finish sewing the pages into it.  PHEW!

I'm REALLY enjoying the Christmas journals!  There are so many pretty papers to put inside!

Here are some photos of what I've done so far:

 7 journals DONE!!!

 One of the Christmas journals.  I LOVE sewing different fabric on them.

 The backs of 2 of the Christmas ones...

 One of my fall altered books.  It has its pages intact and I glued on various papers for writing or art work.

 Just the cover (so far)...I love this fabric!  This is the second one that I've sewn the fabric onto the box.  I just learned how to do that yesterday.

My FIRST sewn-on fabric cover!  Whoo, whoo!  Unfortunately, my bobbin ran out of thread and it took me 30 minutes (and a few unladylike words) to get the darn bobbin OFF my machine.  Hubby couldn't even get it off.  The problem is that the metal bobbins are "universal" and I don't think they properly fit my 25 to 30 year old sewing machine!!!  I finally jammed a pair of scissors under the bobbin and was able to lift it off, but it went flying across the room and I'm too lazy to go find it!

I want to finish the other Christmas one today and then I'll have 9 journals DONE!  I'm thinking about reopening my ETSY shop and listing these for sale...

~Cheryl Ann~

Just some photos from the Living Desert Reserve

I forgot I had these!  Sorry about that.  I'm at the CRS stage in life (can't remember SH$%)...you know...

 I LOVE these leaves, don't you?

 Very delicate...

 Yes, they cover the dates which they are ripening so the birds don't get them...

 LOTS of butterflies that day!

Oops!  I was playing around with my Microsoft photo editing program and I guess I now have this beautiful YELLOW flower in black and white...see what I mean about CRS?