Thursday 3 - June 27

Well, that week flew by, and it's Thursday again, which means Thursday 3:

1. Remember when I said last week that the moving adventure was done idling, and it was full speed ahead? Yeah, now it's more like being swallowed whole by all things moving-related. Not that I'm complaining, not at all. I'm up to it, even if I do feel overwhelmed and a little shakey, and damn it, if I'm not going to miss this apartment that's been our home for 3 years!

2. If I have ever watched an entire political debate, I don't recall it. Last night, that changed. I watched the first installment of the Democratic Primary debates, with live commentary from Crooked Media (the folks who bring us Pod Save America, Lovett or Leave It, and a whole lineup of other great podcasts) on Facebook. I'm actually looking forward to the second round tonight.

3. Summer has definitely arrived in Southeast Michigan! It's hot out there, folks. (Okay, not Texas or Florida hot, but still.) Probably my favorite part of summer--really the ONLY thing I like about it; I'm not someone who enjoys being hot--is the flowers. They're everywhere. Every time I turn around, something else is blooming, and now? I have beds I can plant with any flowers I want. (hint: hydrangeas!) Flowers make me happy.

Thursday 3 - June 20

Time for an update in the form of Thursday 3:

1. That's me on Monday of this week, sitting on the porch steps of our new home. I've been packing and preparing and making lists, but now that we have taken possession, the moving adventure is no longer idling; it is full speed ahead.

2. This week, we met with the painter and agreed to his estimate. I met with the owner of the moving company and accepted their estimate, setting a moving date. I've packed most of the scrapbooks, among a lot of other stuff. Today, I finished removing the drawer pulls and cabinet door handles from the kitchen and bought new ones. I took down the curtains left by the sellers of the house, and I've already weeded three of the six gardening beds. I've also started to deal with changing addresses and the 900,000 other things that moving entails.

3. Meanwhile, I'm starting to feel more at home and less foreign in our new place. There's still so much to do to make it ours, and it's going to take awhile. I reminded myself this morning that the last move was a LOT more difficult, and I got this.

I got this.

Father's Day

Me and my sweet Daddy on my wedding day.

He was so happy that day, his blue eyes sparkling with joy for me and Daniel and our happiness.

I miss him.

Today and every day of the 16 years he's been gone.

And I'm so thankful that I am his daughter, that I have so many happy memories of him and our close relationship, and that he left me so many legacies.

Especially his love.

Flashback on Friday - June 14

Five years ago, my sweetheart husband took me to Frankenmuth for my birthday, and it was such a great getaway. Look at that smile. A happy, happy day.

Handmade Card Re-do Challenge

The last time I moved, I thought I gave away my box of handmade cards, but I recently discovered it in a box I was re-packing for our next move.

Going through them, I found three cards that I didn't like and challenged myself to save from recycling by re-doing them.

Card #1

What I didn't like: the splattered doily. The focal point image on this card is so lovely, and the mess behind it really detracts from it.

The card redone:

Removing the doily was the major renovation to this card. I also changed the direction of the fiber, tore the edge of the card base, and distressed the edges of the background with my scissors and some Archival ink by Ranger in Coffee.

This card simply looks better, and I'm wondering who will be its recipient...?


Card #2

What I didn't like: the dark card base with its row of stamped images and the double ribbon, the overall dark tone.

The card redone:

The first change I made was the card base, which lightens everything up considerably. Next, I added the background purple polka dot paper, which I stamped with the same stamp as the focal image with Distress ink in milled lavender.

My next addition was the striped paper strip from the same collection as the other patterned papers, which also brought some light to the design, and I adhered one length of the ribbon from the original card.

Finally, I stamped the same sentiment on a new piece of patterned paper, fussy cut and adhered it, and I like this new version so much better!


Card #3

What I didn't like: everything. The only thing I liked about this card was the pink, scallop-edged base, and I did salvage the pearl brad and the scrap of pink velvet ribbon.

The card redone:

First, I searched through my patterned paper scrap basket for a new background, one that coordinated with the ribbon scrap and brought other colors into the scheme. Next, I selected paper flowers and some buttons, along with a sentiment, and adhered everything to create a card I really like that's my favorite of the three.


A little time, a little creativity, and I have three cards I definitely like better than the originals.

Favorite Photos - May 2019

May went by so quickly, I almost forgot to round up my favorite photos and share them!

That's us at Outback Steakhouse, the one where we went for dinner the night Daniel proposed to me 17 years ago. I find it remarkable that we ended up living in an apartment within walking distance of this restaurant.

Spring in Michigan is such a flowery time of year. The buds on these cherry (?) trees start out such a bright pink, but bloom into almost pure white.

These pale pink beauties, contrasting with dark red leaves, always catch my eye.

On one of my walks around our neighborhood, I came around a curve in the sidewalks, surprised by these lovelies basking in the sunshine peering through the trees. I love their color!

Daniel and I were shopping for decorating ideas for our new home, and the sky was full of drama. It considerately waited until we were indoors before opening up and pouring down hard rain. We just missed it!

A walk in our favorite park on a warm spring day brought us the joy of so many gorgeous trees reaching for the sun.

There is no greater joy in my life than this man. He is everything.

On Memorial Day, we did some exploring in the area where we'll soon be living, discovering three parks/natural refuges where we walked and encountered pure green wilderness. I think I'm going to really love living in this beautiful place.

Tuesday Layout Share - June 4

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm shaking things up around here with some new types of blog series, starting with the Tuesday Layout Share, and this page from our trip to Orlando in June of 2018.

This is a brand new type of layout for me; I've never done anything like this before. I almost never stack photos on top of each other, and I wasn't sure I'd like this arrangement.

I surprised myself.

Not only do I like the way the photos are arranged, I like all the other details, too. I'm becoming more and more fond of pages with white backgrounds that have pops of color. I've been doing a lot of white card stock backgrounds in the past few months, and it's becoming my go-to design base.

The supplies here are from Doodlebug Designs, except for the letter stickers. I don't use a lot of Doodlebug, but the collection I used here (everything but the beer embellishments, and aren't those adorbs?) has been a great match for a lot of different photos and stories I wanted to tell. I've been able to use it for a lot of pages, and I still have quite a bit left.

And I absolutely love the glittery enamel dots!

Changing Things Up

While I'm really enjoying blogging again, I'm finding the same posts every week uninspiring.

It's not that I don't still recognize the value of the Currently List or Thursday 3--they're both great ways to get regular documenting done, as I've said many times--and I always make it a point to focus on gratitude.

But I want to make room for new kinds of posts, so I'm gonna shake things up a bit around here, starting tomorrow.

I've got lists of great ideas, and I'm looking forward to implementing those.

Stay tuned!

Currently - June 3

What I'm currently...

Watching: Boston Legal on Amazon Prime. Daniel and I watched the show back when it was on network television. It's so good!

Reading: I recently read a journal from 1992, and that was an interesting stroll down Memory Lane.

Listening: Still catching up on podcasts. Most recently, I've been listening to an interview Jon Favreau did with Marianne Williamson, who's running for president, on Pod Save America.

Making: Space for all the lovely new things I got for my birthday from my friends.

Feeling: A little overwhelmed by all that needs to be done and arranged for our upcoming move, but also excited about having our new home.

Planning: Not much right now. I'm kind of in a holding pattern until this move is complete.

Loving: Early celebrations of my birthday and the typewriter Daniel bought me as a gift. It's purple!

The Currently List is a great way to document your everyday life in a few minutes each week. Click here for all the details and play along!