Keeping Busy

Hello, friends! I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July. We had a nice family day which included a trip to Hobby Lobby, hotdogs, red, white and blue glow sticks and watching the fireworks on t.v....the only way to do it in steamy, buggy Florida. 

I cannot get this pic to stay rotated! I found this pillow to hold all the pins we have collected on our trips. It's a neutral feed sack type material.

It was fun remembering all our adventures as I pinned them on. I mentioned this project in my last post and was glad to finally get it done. Now we can remember everyday.

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I have been working on His Eye is on the Sparrow a little...not enough to post much progress. 

I have been journaling a lot. Does anyone else do this?

This is the insert to my Traveler's Journal that I am using to document our recent trip to D.C. This section...signature...slips into a leather cover. There are a couple of signatures in my journal...each with it's own subject or use...maybe a calendar of events or a list of things to do. 

The sweet girl was drawn by an artist I ordered from on Etsy...she was on the box. Now, she is with me on my travels.

I keep it simple so Annie can read it and enjoy. When I was teaching, my classroom was my canvas. Now I play with paper.

This journal is more of a visual remembrance of each day, than a record. I am also working on a larger more detailed journal of our trip. That journal will be full of facts and events from our days. 

I save every piece of paper from our trips...receipts, maps, brochures, tickets. They all go in a box and are pulled out when I'm ready to make the journal of that trip. Those details will be included in the large journal.

This small travel journal slips into my purse or tote.

Love this tartan paper on the Alexandria page. Alexandria has a sister city in Scotland and has a definite Scottish influence.

Vintage stamps are one of my favorite embellishments I use in my journals...and this one is perfect! 

I also keep a Gratitude Journal. I don't get to it everyday, but I try. If I skip a day or two it's o.k. I like to scribble out a page pretty fast and get on with the day.

I'm not an artist...I rely on stamps for this journal...but I like to doodle while remembering how fortunate I am. 

I am not the first in my family to save paper ephemera. I have my father's letters to my mother from WWII. I have holy cards given to my father by nuns when he was in elementary school. I have the snip of a note Sister Mary Edward wrote in my planbook after she reviewed my lessons for the week..."Congratulations on your engagement!" it reads. I've saved paper for a very long time!

Do you keep a Gratitude Journal? Do you document your memories? Are you a "paper hound" like me?

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My summer reading is The British are Coming by Rick Atkinson. It is the first book in a trilogy the author is writing about the American Revolution. I can't seem to get enough history of that time in our nation! It's the most detailed account I have read of all it took to make us a free country. Just finished the battles of Lexington and Concord and learned things I never knew...always good!

I hope you are all enjoying your summer! 

Enjoy the day,

Robyn