On the road again

 Tom designed the tour and it started out great.

We left Friday afternoon and headed to

Ross Prairie State Forest. 

Checked in.

And we were treated to some bluegrass.

Live.

Man that was a dark and stormy night.

And cold.

 We hit the road the next morning to head on over to

St. Joeseph's State Park.

It was a long, scenic drive and I got

to practice my drive-by photography.

We really need to have less junk on the dash reflecting

off the windows. 

And bugs. Squished bugs are still annoying bugs.

This night was 32 degrees and can we

say cold. Really really cold.

Like freezing.

 We arose and zipped through picturesque Appalachacola.

And it had the most amazing buildings.

 And doors and doorways.

And the brick and mortor.

Yum!

 And rustic boats.

I have more boat pictures.

I'm know you're surprised.

 We also checked out on our way to the state park. 

St. George's lighthouse. 

Swoon.

We checked out a couple of campsites in the area.

 Sweet scenes in the St. George Island State Park

that is on our list to try in the future.

The others sites. Eh.....

 We were supposed to head on over to Manatee Springs 

but got distracted on reviews about Keaton Beach and ended up

at the Old Pavillion.

On the water.

 This is the driver and tour guide taking a well needed rest.

Soaking up the impending sunset.

 Which was absolutely amazing. 

Both away from the sun.

And toward the sun.

I only tweaked them a bit. 

Tomorrow we head on home.

Princess grumpy pants......

I couldn't help the tongue in cheek with this photo and these papers. 

Of course its my other new 6x6 pad.

Very girlie.

I love the photo - its perfect of Amelia's adorable little face that

you just want to pinch and smooch.

And I picked the papers because it said princess of which

this photo could be the total antithesis of a princess -

more like a Queen. LOL!

So you know this style is similar to Mz Ashli.

I'm thinking it'd be easier (on me) if you just bookmark her :).

Anyway I attempted to curl paper strips and I have to admit that it

worked on some of the strips but not all.

I couldn't figure out if I had the scissors wrong, flicked my wrist incorrectly

 the strips were not the size, or I wasn't holding my mouth right.

Either way I got a few right which looks totally cool.

I went stickles crazy because a princess needs her bling and even

got some glossy accents action going on too.

So there's a bit of messy stitching going on but I didn't want it to be

LIKE the one below because we can't have that.

So I'm really pleased how it turned out.

DH and I are headed out in the RV to get ready for some travel pix

before the new year. I can't wait.

This old house.............and a double dawg dare...

I love this picture. 

This house is "the homestead" of the Anderson family.

My grandfather's mother's family.

It speaks to me. 

It makes me emotional.

It draws me in.

And I have never even been there.

Never heard about it until the photos surfaced.

But I love it all the same.

And I can't even tell you why.

The card at the lower right has writing that was on the back of the photo.

Yes, yes, a capital offense to scrapbookers everywhere,

but in this case, they're forgiven.

My aunt's, great grandmother's and I'm hoping my great great grandmother's

may have been recorded there for posterity.

And I can so live with that.

I used the original photo which is small and printed it in a 4x6

because I was trying to see all the loiterers on the porch.

But alas no amount of enlarging is gonna make that happen. 

So I included it as well because I liked it.

Your double dawg dare - is to take an original photo, make a print of it and use both on your page.

So my pal Lisa Rufkin Swift did a series on the joys of using

6x6 paper pads. And I paid attention.

Which I know shocks ya'll.

So that's MME from a 6x6 pad that I adhered to a 12x12

page because I knew I'd screw up the whole sewing thing without pins.

So they're all stitched together 

with messy stitching thanks to stalking my other pal

Mz. Ashli over at purplemailbox because I can do messy(now)

and I can thank her for the use of twine, splatters and other scrappy fun stuff.

I also discovered from watching gitter girl/Shimelle's videos - pop

dotting only the top of your embellishment gives it a fun and different dimension.

It appears I'm an equal opportunity jacker.

And because I'm in a sharing mood I thought I'd warn you that

 I have another 6x6 pad in my possession.

I know you're surprised 

again.

Nothing says fun.....

On Christmas day like dodging enemy nerf- fire while careening your stroller through the apartment with your princess dolls.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

It all started as April's journaling challenge

over at SNC. So yup, I'm blaming April for the creation of this adorable album.

Her challenge was to journal about Christmas.

Well in plowing through the way-back box I found random photos

of Christmas that may or may not have been scrapped at some point as prints.

Well these are the originals. 

*gasp*

 I know.

I could've made separate pages but there was kind of a theme when I pulled these.

Most of them are me and my brother from childhood with

ancestors we were blessed to know. 

Really get to know.

This photo is 4 generations. If you look at my brother and I's body

language we're leaning into our great grandmother because

we  were so priviledged to know her. It helps to have kids

early not so much for photo ops (which I'm not above loving)

but I felt very enriched knowing grandmom.

So of course, my grandpop and mom are in this too.

And my grandparents. This photo was taken after we had moved

to Florida and left them behind. And when gram sent that 

photo, even as an adult teen (if there is such a thing)

I was taken aback that they were enjoying

life while I had been taken to Florida.

It's a great photo of the two of them as gram hated to have her picture taken.

It was getting mussed up in the box so now it has a good home.

And there's my brother as a toddler getting up to Christmas morn

and a wonderland of goodies.

So these next two are my brother and I with our gifts but it also talks about 

the tradition my parents had of not doing any kind of deccorating until

after we went to bed on Christmas eve so that when we woke up

it was to an awesome sight of a Christmas wonderland.

That continued until junior high.

Another tradition was always having awaken to stockings stuff to the max

hanging on the door to our rooms.

So that's my brother's head peeking up in the photo of our

retro tree when the parent's decided to be cutting edge.

This was also after we had moved into our new home in the country.

This is mom's tree in our Florida home and a

present she cherished.

So the book ends with my kids - now grown.

And how blessed the holiday was when Nick as able

to make it home on leave. 

I also point out that I have become a tree nazi.

NO ONE touches the tree EVER.

I have been known to decorate the tree, not like it, take

everything down and start again.

Except when they were kids and I'd rearrange all the ornaments

that they hung on one poor branch.

Because we lived in Florida it was hard to continue the tradition of

decorating on Christmas eve. The weather didn't lend itself to the whole

winter wonderland thing and

it seemed that people in the south loved the holiday

 they'd start early.

Really early. 

Like after Thanksgiving.

So thanks April - I have this all in one spot.

You may or may not know that

Joe Bonnamassa is my favorite musician. That Joe can make his guitar sing. And we just happened to have seats to enjoy his music live and in person. I love his style, the drama of his music, and his concerts are fun and all about the music. He's not very chatty. He just plays one song after the other. 99% of the time, his music is in my ear or blasting from the speakers while I scrapbook. Since I'm a sharing type of gal, Joe joins us on Manic Monday while we are all in a manic frenzy to create awesome pages.

This is a pathetic photo I took. 

Which evolved into Lynn's concert rule #2 - NO more FLOOR seats.

However, I got over my annoyance of not being able to see, much less watch every move he made, by practically sitting in DH's lap in order to look through heads. Which kept moving back and forth. So I kept moving my head back and forth.

Which probably annoyed the people behind. 

It was one of those domino things.

Two of our favorite couples came with, and we took the party bus down. 

Had a blast.

So above is one of my favorite songs - and you can see Joe better.
If you have a chance to see him in concert.
GO.

Her delight is magical....

Had the best fun making this page.

Ms Amelia is a riot and always takes a great pix.

Love the papers courtesy of Ms. April

when we met up last week at a diner on Rt. 15 in PA.

Love her choices.

The embellies were fussy cut from a 12x12 page.

I cut out EVERY.SINGLE.ONE.

I must say it looks awesome on the page in clusters.

I rearranged the clusters several time.

At least.

So I channeled Mz. Ashli and Shimelle on this one.

Love watching their step x steps and videos.

Challenge time at SNC

And I nailed 2 birds - 1 stone.

Love that.

One little word-Family.

Potpourri was using an 8.5x11 picture.

Enter 

Hybrid!!!!

I printed the photo of the Murphy family on cardstock

and embellished from there.

As a family

we try to get together over the Labor Day 

and spend it at the shore.

However, times are a-changing.

Relationships change and all of a sudden the next generation is

THE GENERATION.

Gasp.

New dynamics and changes can be very scary.

And there are those of us who can be into denial.

Have I mentioned I'm the queen of denial?

Like it happened so fast. 

Can one ever be ready.

To be in the next generation.

And be older.

And in my head - I'm so not the next generation.

However my body says otherwise.

But because I'm vain. 

I'm forever young.

Happening at the Jetty

So here's the watercolor promised in the post below. Actually its my

watercolor journal as opposed to the 2 art journals

I have going on. The art journals look more like scrapbook pages.

But one of these days, I'm gonna busta-move.

However, back to this story. 

We were relaxing at the jetty when this huge heron landed in front of us.

With a BIG fish in his beak.

Of course any camera I had was in the R and any moves would've jolted

the heron. SO I watched as the birds antics unfold.

The bird landed and 3 young boys glided into the scene, accusing

the bird of stealing their fish (evidently they were fishing).

Trash talkin' to the bird, they demanded their fish back.

The bird looked amused.

They then laughed at the bird saying it could NEVER swallow that big ole fish.

The bird was still amused.

And in three BIG gulps the bird swallowed the fish while the boys watched.

Everyone was amused.

So in my head this watercolor evolved, executed with talent.

Evidently from head to hand a detour ensued.

Although when you stand WAY back it..................(fill in the blank). lol!

Iphone photo fun...

Sadly I didn't think of it right out of the gate.

Because we had an amusing incident.

I'm hoping to use that incident in my art journal.

(you can get up off the floor now

and stop laughing)

We sat outside the RV in totally relaxing, matching chairs and I was testing

my paperwhite kindle - it works awesome in bright sun light.

Love pelicans. 

They have such an attitude.

This guy sat for awhile watching him watch me watching him.

Seriously.

Peeps passing by admired our RV and since DH took all of the identifying stickers off,

they have to stop and chat. Took a few of the ladies on the nickel tour.

I need to get my nickel up front though. They were so awed by the end of the tour,

they forgot to pay me. I enjoyed it because we've only had the RV for a couple of months

but we've had the best fun with it.

So I brewed fresh coffee before the sunset and we ate deliciously steamed shrimp 

as we watched the sun sink into the horizon.

And no sunset is complete without the perverbial sailboat.

Sails fluttering, however, would have made it perfect.

Cruising Shanendoah Nat'l Park

on the way home.

The views are breathtaking and we did a lot of stopping and admiring. 

We even nuked my SIL's delicious chicken soup while admiring the view.

While cruising the roads, I took a bunch of pictures that mostly 

I'm not happy with.

They looked great on the histogram on the camera but once I downloaded them I found them less than stellar. 

Which is really annoying. 

Everything just seems to be off - lighting, settings, focus which is just covers the entire photography-picture taking actions.

 I'd like to blame it on not feeling well but dayam....I am glad there are a couple that came out which is better than having all of them being totally screwed up.

 Hopefully one of these days we'll get back and I get a do-over.

We made it home safe, sound and sick. 

But we're doing much much better. 

Colds are very annoying.

 Just enough to take the wind out of your sails.

And wow.

 Is this a bummer post or what.

The crankster...........

Well this was the title for the one yesterday only

I liked it for the photos here better.

Play on "prankster".

Snort.

Anyhoo, it was a fun page with..............

Authentique.

Knew that'd surprise ya.

I was a total dynamo today.

Mopping, vacuuming, tossing laundry to and fro.

Even ventured into the attic and tossed

about Christmas stuff as well as

purged some stuff that should have long been disposed.

Tis a good feeling.

Caught...........

by Grammy! Bwahahaha!!!

It was a fun time making pasta! And it was our

2nd annual pasta making from scratch after eating

an entire turkey the day or two before.

Owen did a great job.
 He hung with it till the end.
 Cranking and cranking.

Of course this is a blatant lift of one of Mz. Ashli's.

Your mission is to click on the link and figure it out because

I can't pinpoint it. But I know.

Anyway most of the ingredients is from a Studio Calico kit.

Which was a lot of fun to work with.

And I can't wait for this month's to arrive.

I love how my favorite SIL turned the photo into a b&w.

Makes me look younger.

Ducking behind the adorable grandkidlet helps as well.

Makes me look skinnier.

And all that makes me need to get over my bad self.

Snort. As if.