Flashback Friday 7-31 (dang where did JULY go???

This week's challenge was to scrap about a childhood pet so meet my Gram's cat. bwahaha! He was a pistol. So your eye's aren't deceiving you - I held the camera crooked for creativeness so you can't tell that I can't do a straight line with a ruler. snort. Okaaaaaaay. I have this bridge. lol!!!! Anyway I love graphic 45 an realized after it was completed that that is Christmas paper. However, it worked well w/the photo so what the heck. I even broke out the deckle scissors and CHALK. gasp.

journaling: Gram kept him in a birdcage when he was a kitten so he wouldn’t get lost in the cellar or the attic.

He would hide under the bed, wait for you to walk by, and attack your legs.

He loved to lay in the kitchen window and watch the world go by.

He was only allowed outside on a chain.

He was only allowed to lay on one chair in the living room.

He would nap with Grandpop, laying on his chest where the amplifier for Grandpop’s hearing aid was, and when he purred, Grandpop hit the roof.

Literally.

He only did that once. LOL!

I do not remember how he came to be called Ugly.

Okay...here's Lynn attempting to be a mixed media

artist. BWAHAHAAHA! Okay now that you're done laughing (I'm assuming with me LOL). It had its moments of FUN. I splattered glimmer mist EVERYWHERE, then I moved on to Tim Holtz's crackle paint and slapped that everywhere including some extra places, like the floor, the desk, my newly done nails. And of course I used every color I had. I did have to pitch a green one though. Dried up. CANUBELIEVEIT??? Well these are the leftover pix from the dino book. So I got a little carried away printing. You can never have TOO many pictures. Can you? After slapping paint around and letting dry for a few days. I used some BG Lime Rickey to kind of offset the fact that my depth perception stinks. I even popped a few out to diffuse the crookedness. Which is just me. bwahahaha!!! Anyway used Creative Cafe stamps which sort of worked with paint. And I used uniball signo white gel (which sticking it in the fridge doesn't ungunk it like it says-but the fact that it had been in there for oh say MONTHS-could have an impact on that little gem). Anyhoo, used that puppy for a bit of journaling. Umm...this is one where the safe road would be UHH cute pictures Lynn. LMAO.......

There's a project at the end of these photos....

FOR REAL. The chipboard dino sat on my desk for a few weeks COULDN'T DECIDE WHAT TO USE. Of course Basic Grey to the rescue!! SO AFTER SOME PAINT, ADHERING OF LIME RICKY AND SANDING.....the album sat on my desk for at least 2 months. So a few days ago I printed some pictures. It took me a FEW days to cut them up. I sat down today and decided to JUST DO IT. So because the grand kids are just too adorable for words. The book came out really cute. AND I WAS SOOO WORRIED.

Flashback Friday 7-17 "Where were you when......

I did a hybrid on the Kennedy assassination because it was just such a moment that you always remember and not only have I never forget it, I've been intensely interested in it ever since. I used a photo I took when I was in Arlington Cemetery a couple of years ago, and up in the corner is a watermark photo of me at the age it happened. I printed it on kraft paper, used kaiser wood flourish and prima flowers, westrim bling and qk dragonfly alpha. I did this in pages woo hooo!!! It was kind of a challenge because although its sort of like word its not.

Journaling: Friday, November 22, 1963. The day the United States came to a halt. I was in the 4th grade, Miss. Kosovos’s class. I remember her vividly, she walked with a limp and wore really red lipstick and she broke the rules. For us. You could feel the hush, when the principal personally came into the our room, and took her aside. It could only mean trouble (because you could really get into trouble back then). Her reaction was odd because she became emotional. Hardly like her. At all. So we waited, to see who was in trouble. And waited, until she took a deep breath and said “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but I feel you need to know”. The President of the United States was shot today in Dallas Texas. At that point they had not pronounced him dead. I remember being aware, shocked. And then they dismissed us from school. Early. At home, all the news channels were firing on all cylinders. There were only three. And we were glued to the TV. And then came the announcement, more shock and disbelief. And tears. As a family we watched all the coverage. Every minute. You couldn’t get enough of the funeral, John-John saluting, the widow-beautiful in her grief. To this day, the Kennedy Assassination fascinates me. No I don’t believe in the one bullet theory. Yes, I do believe in the “conspiracy theory”. Yes, the Warren Commission reeks of conspiracy (can they really think we’re that dumb). And the Zapruder film is still fascinating and horrifying to watch. July 2009.

You'll be thrilled to know my penny sandals are

still intact (no slogging through lakes of water) after finding this beauty set back from the road coming home the back way. This is what is known as a shotgun shack - named because you can fire a shotgun through the front door and it'll go through the house right out the back door. I have blown by this house several bazillion times because well its a BACK road and NO ONE follows the speed limit. lol!! However, because of ROAD work going on, I was FORCED to not only slow down but *gasp* come to a stop. No point in getting upset over things outta my control - especially when my camera's handy. bwahahaha!

I was relaxed enough to give

yesterday to give Squidward a run for his money. It really was a tough day. Tom wanted to be out of the house before the crack of noon. DAMN. ON a day off too. However all was not lost because he had a plan. Get on the boat, sail past Stump Pass and anchor up. Bob up and down for awhile to get that jelly fish feel, and NAP. Nothing like a mission to get the blood moving. bwahahaa! Bobbing up and down is a state of mind. No action necessary. Really. It is better than yoga. So after relaxing to the point of liquidity, we hopped out to dry off, admire the view and catch a few zzz's. So while drying, we watched all kinds of birds wheeling and dipping looking for a snack, boats were zipping by and people hanging on the beach. And there magically came a herd, pod, school (?) of manatees. Seven of them and they are HUGE languidly swimming by. No stress from them. They could've hung around and played but they seemed to have a mission. I was thinking it wouldv'e been cool to be in the water w/them but I have this idea that ICKY would've been involved so maybe it was good to admire them from afar. Of course I grab the camera, but I wasn't quick enough. By the time you hear them breathe, and then aim, they are under the water. DON'T THEY KNOW I NEED TO TAKE THEIR PICTURE???? DH ever the cheerleader for me was like THEY AREN'T GONNA POSE FOR YOU. Oh Thanks! Which, come on, I have an affinity w/the dolphin and we all know what chatterboxes they are, you'd think they'd have spread the word to all wildlife everywhere in the gulf that when I'm on the water, POSING IS A REQUIREMENT. However, I made do with photo I have. The rest of the time I spent reading and then hopped in the water again. This time I was entertained by a couple of really fat bumblebees tumbling and playing a game of tag. (I seriously don't need much entertaining lol). Then to make up for their lack of information dissemination, said chatterboxes came out to play on the way home. Of course did they make it easy??? NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Five of them jumping around - not only at five different times - but five different locations. WHAT WHERE THEY THINKING. Sigh.

Flashback Friday - 7/10 at the PEA!

which was to write a letter to an ancestor. OF course I did it backwards. I found a letter written about me from my great grandmother. And let me tell you it was totally cool. I was going in a different direction with this, when WHAM, my journaling took me a different direction. So with other journaling waiting, I have some for another layout. Now just to put that one together. Love it when it flows.

Love the 7 gypsies here. Always a plus for heritage. Primas, bling, and Heidi Swapp clear accents. These photos are priceless - My great grandmother is holding me and that's Pappap sitting beside her. The one where Ida and her sisters are strolling down the boardwalk at Asbury Park - used that several times. I love it. Looks like a postcard.

journaling: Above is an excerpt from a letter written by my 95 year old great grandmother Ida Susannah Stocker Altemus. It was written over a period of 5 days in 1957, six months before her death. It was written to a Marion Hyatt in Anchorage Alaska detailing her days. As I read the letter, I found she was spry, feisty and fun. Her handwriting precise and legible. In her letter, she brought her day to day existence alive for me. At this point, this independent woman was living in her daughter Sarah's attic. In this excerpt, she wrote about Joyce coming over with her 2 little noisemakers as usual. I completely froze. Reread the line. THAT WAS MY MOM, BROTHER AND ME SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT. I laughed and couldn't decide if it was funny or I should be insulted. I went with funny. I was 3. How cool that although not mentioned by name, I am referred to in her letter. How cool that it was preserved after all these years (thank you Aunt Florence) and How cool that it made its way to me.

Turned into quite the ghost town!!!

Even the happy little crab is feeling the pressure. Snort. They forgot the little guy when they were packing. Actually they left a few things. So there he sits on my lanai looking all sad and lonesome. Like I feel. GASP. Did I really say that? Dang. It was fun playing with the grand kidlets. Even the noise was all good. The dogs are just not that rowdy anymore. I'll be seeing them soon. Labor Day weekend. At the shore. Can't wait.

It's a wonderful day to play in the pool!!!

Christopher started out about 9 a.m. and was napping by 2 after playing long and hard in the summer sun - which turned to liquid sunshine by then. Connor relaxing in his crab, like Owen's because the crab had a boy on the box and the turtle had a girl (my dh has a way of making this sound um....normal???). And there's Connor NOT bouncing in the bouncy car which has been renamed the poopy bouncy car. Because after 2 minutes in the car .... he pooped. Sigh. The gift that keeps on giving!!! lol!!!