This year, I seem to be bouncing between busy and lazy, but I have made a little time to work in my Christmas journals.

Up until a week ago it was go, go, go…then my daughter left! She and her little family have relocated to their new home just in time for Christmas. Her husband relocated in September, so now they are together for the Holidays.

She and our grandson arrived just ahead of the “Storm of the Century” with a large dog, 2 cats, a goldfish, and a partridge in a pear tree. Now she’s snowed in…but safe!

My husband and I have a very relaxed plan for Christmas this year, movies, food, and watching snow fall.

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and wish all of you a

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our home to yours,

As always,

Thank you for stopping by,

Much Love,

~Patty

This little journal has gone through more than one incarnation. It started as a “List Journal”, you know “30 Days of Lists” or the olde “Listers Gotta List” by the Reset Girl. I participated just to have an excuse to decorate my journals…and to play along, but I quickly lost interest in the list making part (kinda the point!)

So, I tore most everything off the pages to start from scratch, it was (is) a mess. Pages stick together, some even have holes. I’m not sure if I love a challenge or just like to torture myself, the jury’s still out.

Anyway, I (it) needed to go in a new direction…

…not just with this journal, with my world view.

Over the past few years I have really let the divisiveness in the world get to me. I didn’t realize how much it was affecting my general attitude and mental health.

Now, I realize there isn’t much I can do to heal the rifts on our planet, but I can step away, do some personal soul searching, pay attention to how I respond, and try to understand other people’s points of view.

I don’t have to agree to understand!

So, I’m filling this journal with visual inclusiveness, dropping borders, and adding small fragments of love…

..and trusting the process!

Every time something comes up that makes me a little anxious or disappointed with the world and it’s shenanigans, I spend a little time playing around in this little journal. The only down fall is this journal is inspiring me to make another one that is just a ‘visual journal’ (no journaling), and I really need to get on with finishing up the journals I have first…

…oh what the heck, I’m starting a new one right now, I deserve it! (I’ll share it soon).

I hope this post made sense. I’m trying to say something that is a bit difficult to talk about without potentially rubbing folks the wrong way. So, I hope you get what I’m trying say. I’ve had this blog post on the back burner for a few weeks trying to find the right words, and I’m still not sure I was successful.

I’m work in progress!

As always,

Thank you for your time,

Have a great rest of your week,

~Patty

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

I thought I would take a minute to to say hello and share a little something I played with between Turkey day meal prep. I usually don’t have time on Thanksgiving to get artsy, but it was just my husband and I this year. There were phone conversations, emails and texts throughout the day, but this was definitely the most relaxing Holiday I’ve had in many years!

I kept it pretty simple with some paint and a few embellishments…

…and a library pocket to jot down a few memories.

I hope your day was as enjoyable as ours was!

As always,

Thank you for stopping by,

Much Love,

~Patty

Hi friends, a lot has been happening in my neck of the woods, but I wanted to take a minute and say hello while I have the chance.

Lately most of my time has been dedicated to home projects and spending time with family. No complaints here on that score, but things will be changing soon because my daughter and her family are moving east a few states and I won’t have them close by anymore. It’s all for the better for her little family, but I’m really going to miss them. Suffice it to say, I’ll have a lot more time on my hands soon.

I found a fews minutes to pull out my little “A Cottage For Betsy” journal for some playtime, this is probably the best page spread I’ve done in here yet.

An homage to working on the house and using up some stash. I found that little frame stuck to the bottom of one of my containers (eye roll emoji)

Spending time with family over the last couple of months has really been a joy, but I really need to back on the “memory keeping bus” before I forget details…

…like this!

Raking leaves with my grandson.

I really miss chatting and sharing with you all!

With the colder weather arriving, I’ll have lots more time to spend on creative projects. I’ve been working on some crochet projects I’d like to share soon.

So, until then,

Have a great week,

~Patty

A little background:

Growing up, Queen Elizabeth was a big part of my world, you see my mom was a huge fan. She was an English history major in school, and we had shelves of history books about Britain and the Monarchy around the house. So losing the Queen hit home in a special way for me…I’ve always been a fan too!

I knew that I wanted to pay tribute to her in some small way, so I gathered up a few bit and bobs and came up with this:

Ingredients:

Vintage images of Queen Elizabeth II from the internet, a photo of Balmoral Castle printed on clear label paper, postage stamps, and a quote.

Act 5 Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and quoted from King Charles in his first address to the country about losing his “Mum”, (and one of my absolute favorites.)

I’ll never forget how proud my mother was when she told me about watching the coronation of Queen Elizabeth when she was young, several times! (sorry about the photo quality, my printer is a stinker!)

A stamp of her parents, I wish it was in better condition, but I’m so glad it found a home. This is a simple page, but a sweet keepsake and I’d like to think my mother would appreciate it.

Thanks as always for stopping by,

Have a wonderful week,

~Patty