Me on Monday

I bought this Kurt Geiger purse a couple weeks ago. I used it for the first time when we went to Los Angeles. The second day I used it, there were some little black spots on the top. I thought a bird might have dropped it's business on it. 

When I got back to the hotel, I took a damp cloth and rubbed it to get it off. Then this happened!

OMGosh! It rubbed the finish off. I contacted the place where I bought the purse--Kurt Geiger through Amazon. I'll be getting a full refund! I don't even want a replacement. If this happened on the second day of using it, can you imagine how trashy it's going to look pretty soon? Luckily, it's so easy to return things through Amazon. You don't need the box or packaging. All I have to do is drop it off at Whole Foods with a sheet I printed out. So easy! 

Well, I do have to go to Whole Foods! It's not too far, but the parking there is a pain! I guess it's not so easy after all.

Something for Sunday

Well, hello! 

Let me introduce myself. It’s been awhile. Over a month. Let’s just suffice it to say, I’ve had some health issues. Nothing serious, but I was knocked down for a bit. Now I’m back!!

But, where to begin! Hmmm. Let me see. I think I’ll start by just listing recent activities in a nutshell:

*I took my Queen Mary cruise with  my friends. Although for me it was a bit “iffy”—I did manage to have some fun. 

*Pretty much, the rest of September was a “wash”! 

*Morgan came in town with precious Cassidy twice. 

*Butch and I nixed our final leg of Route 66. 

*We met the girls and boys in Los Angeles and spent time with Jordan and Robbie. 

*We spent three days at Disneyland, then flew to Las Vegas. We saw The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere. I didn’t know anything about that, so it was all very surprising. 

*We saw a Rat Pack show and rode three-wheeled vehicles in the Red Rocks Park (FYI—it was all brown—maybe a little red). 

*This past weekend, we were in St. Louis where I spent time with my sisters, Jeanne and Jennifer visiting Janice in the nursing home. 

*We stayed with my brother, Matt and sil Sharon and had dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants—Donatelli’s—followed by an evening around the fire pit. 

*We visited Walter and Chris and even managed a dinner out with them at Syberg’s. 

*We went to the interment for my brother, Ronnie and sister-in-law, Janet where their ashes were buried. I didn’t even know people did that. We’re used to a columbarium. Anyway, it was a very nice service. 

*We saw my nephew, Sami and wife, Zina and met their two adopted daughters, Destiny (12) and Eilleen (7). 

*I had my 60th—8th grade reunion—which was so much fun. There were 25 classmates out of 57 there from the class of 1966. Most likely my last reunion!

*We left St. Louis at 3:30 a.m. and were back to Nashville by 9 a.m.

So here I am—car unpacked, everything put away,  with the laundry done and trying to get back to my blog! 

We’ll see how it goes.

Travel Tuesday

So today, I am on my Queen Mary II TransAtlantic Crossing. I had planned to blog along the way. But, we're so busy, I don't have the time right now! This morning I left my cabin at 8 a.m. and didn't get back until 5:30 to change and get ready for happy hour and dinner. It's now 10:00 and I just got back. I'm tired, but thought I would pop on to say--I might have to wait until next week to give you a full report!!

Oh, and good news! I won $80 playing British Bingo today. I did it in only 6 numbers!!! The guy was surprised--said it was a record. Even I thought it could have been a mistake. I'll explain all about it later!!

Last thing! Happy Birthday to our darling Elizabeth!!! She's finally legal!!! 21 is a "biggie!"

Something for Sunday

Today I'm sharing the results of a project I've been working on for over a month. 

I decided I wanted all of my scrapbooks in one place rather than scattered all over the house. After all, these books are my legacy to my family! I am under no illusion that the books might wind up in some dusty antique store somewhere, but I just don't want them to wind up in the trash! I think even Good Will would throw them away. 

I was re-locating them to the library (what better place for books). Which meant I had to get rid of over 100 books. That was a little sad, but the truth is, I do not read actual books anymore (well, once in a while when someone hands me a book and says I have to read it!). I love my Kindle! 

I cleaned out and Butch hauled it all away. Something as simple as carrying the scrapbooks from around the house was a pretty slow process as I can only carry two at a time. They are pretty heavy. Butch did a lot of the heavy lifting too. I had to adjust all the shelves, but when it came to the higher ones, Butch had to do it. I will not get up on a step stool—taking no chances!

Here's a rundown of the albums I have. 

AYM—A Year of Memories—2009—18 albums

I’ve had this group going for 18 years now. The numbers have dwindled from 39 in 3 locations to just 6 now. Considering these last few are family and friends, they do want to keep going. I’m glad. 

I came up with this idea after teaching photo organization at the scrapbook stores and retreats. I wanted to prove to the “attendees” that if they followed my system, they would be able to put their hands on ANY photo within a minute! I also was a story-based scrapbooker and emphasized the journaling. 

The premise: Every month, I gave the girls a topic and a kit of supplies. Luckily, the scrapbook stores gave me a good discount. Then, the next month, we’d get together and share our layouts and stories. My proudest moment of these 18 years is that everyone has become a better writer and storyteller.

Barbara—26

These albums are all about me—from childhood to now!

Christmas—9

Zimmermann’s—6 plus 2 on loan which I don’t expect to get back.

Family—14 plus my three girls and 5 grandchildren each have several albums of their own.

Travel—13--either family trips or trips that Butch and I took together. Any trips we do on our own go into our own albums.

Butch—6

9/11—1—I did this one right after 9/11. I’m hoping that it will wind up in a school library somewhere.

Memories by the Year—4—I did these before I started Memories by the Month. They were made of individual events throughout a particular year.

Memories by the Month—2--just a quick double-page spread for each month of the year, hitting the highlights.

The Pandemic—2—Like the 9/11 album, I just had to devote the time to such catastrophic events! These are not necessarily historical recounts--but rather what we did during the Pandemic.

Home and Garden—6—I love flowers, gardens, nature and home. These albums are a mix of all.

Total:  109

I had plans to index each album by listing the titles of each page like my sister, Jeanne did. But then, I thought, "Do I really need to take the time to do that?" I do have most of the albums labeled on the spine. And, if I was trying to find a particular layout, it will take me forever. I made a "table of contents" in the majority of these albums, but not all. Plus, I'd have to remember what the title referred to. I have a lot of quirky titles in my books. So, I didn't do it. 

Okay, let's get to it.

Voila'!

So now that I've shared the pictures, I realize I should have waited until I actually "re-styled" the upper shelves. It's going to be hard with me standing below Butch on the ladder with me telling him what to do--not to mention that he loves that!!

You can see my Christmas wrapping paper in the corner. What you don't see is all of the rest of the wrapping material, ribbon, bows and bags for Christmas. I've left it back there for years now--just so I didn't have to haul it up and down the stairs. This year, I'm going to get it cleaned up and out of there. 

Okay, I guess that's about it from here. As you are reading this, I am on my trip with 3 friends--Queen Mary II Crossing. We started from New York on Saturday. This next Saturday we'll arrive in Southampton, England.

Oh and another thing. The Queen Mary has the largest library at sea--8,000 hard back books, 500 paperbacks and 200 audiobooks. I need to remember to take some pictures.

PS I have no idea when this post will publish due to the time change.

 

Scrapbook Saturday

This is my 3rd year of doing a "Memories by the Month" album. Basically, it's a re-cap of the month with photos of the highlights. It's fun to make.

Friday Funnies

Ten Things Thursday

As you are reading this, I will be leaving on my Queen Mary II Crossing from New York to Southampton, England on the Cunard Line. It's a throwback to the Titanic--very fancy! You have to get dressed up for dinner. Not sure I'm going to like that. Plus, I'm pretty sure that I won't want to do a 2 hour dinner every night. Especially when I have tea at 3:30--I'll probably just skip dinner. Anyway, that's my plan. 

Queen Mary fun facts:

*There are 150 chefs and 112 galley workers! 

*They serve 16,000 meals a day!! 

*There are 9 bars/lounges and 8 restaurants.

*It has the largest library at sea with 8,000 hardback books, 500 paperbacks and 200 audiobooks.

*The ship’s deep bass horn can be heard for 10 miles.

*The Queen Mary is considered a floating museum. We need to find the 8ft. portrait of founder, Samuel Cunard made out of hundreds of tiny photos of vintage Cunard ships. The Carpathia was a Cunard ship that came to the rescue of the Titanic. 

*There are 600 original pieces of art.

Once we arrive in Southampton, we'll have a transfer to London. We're excited to spend a couple days there. 

I love this picture so much. 

Now for some other interesting pictures. This is Nashville at night!

Here are some things to do in Nashville.

I don't know where this is, but it sure is beautiful.

Clever!

I would love to see this--the Longaberger headquarters in Newark, Ohio.

So true!

This looks so scary!

Seriously??