Thursday, June 26, 2008


Thanks to Patricia at pve design for allowing me to post her
beautiful watercolor illustrations.

I thought they would be perfect to set the tone,
 as I head out for a weekend excursion
to

 my cousin's
Island Wedding
in Maine

the little ferry only fits 5 cars at a time
the ferry isn't much bigger than this lobstah boat

There are no hotels on the island 
My Aunt's friends are all graciously opening up their homes to all the visitors
This is a charming cottage - 
I think the cottages on the island are a little bigger.

This is what I imagine BG & Sam will look like when they emerge from the 
little church

we will be so sad to leave the island paradise

if it were August, we could bring home those delicious, tiny, maine blueberries

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

i am so excited


by kirtsy editor, kareym,

who is also the author of the clever, entertaining, thought provoking blog,


thanks karey!


Editors' Picks  

madras, turquoise, hot pink and kiwi...stop. you had me at madras...

www.etsy.com ― these make me happy. i can picture them in a fresh white cottage or anyplace cheerful. tiny shop with a huge future, don't you think? more...

 kareym ― posted 5 hours ago

Discuss ShareThis Un-vote


this boost comes at a very good time because i 

received the dreaded thin envelope the other day

but i am ok with it now

one door closes and another opens

here is my open door

funny how life works out

let's see what happens next

my etsy shop and my business, mrr design, are like the

 little engine that could...

i am going to keep chugging up the hill

hugs, hugs, hugs to karey m in jordan

fuel from the middle east!

 

Sunday, June 22, 2008


something to make you smile and be amazed
look carefully
so creative 


images as seen on the very clever blog famille summerbelle 
on may 23, 2008 
probably the most ingenious at home zoo play
I have ever seen

Friday, June 20, 2008

Show and tell is almost finished 
just want to inspire any of you readers out there

journals do not need to be elaborate
all you need is a little organization

a place to put some pictures
and a few words
these hiking pictures are terrific
when Isabel hiked in the White Mountains as a camper 
she stayed in the AMC huts.
(Appalachian Mountain Club) 
The huts have guest books and 
Isabel found my name from 1970 when I stayed in the Madison Hut 
as a hiker with Camp Asquam

kinda cool - 

it makes it so easy to tell stories later
you know how kids love to hear stories about their parents
prompts like pictures and words help spur the memories
they did become a bit of chore for Isabel as she grew up
it became a "mom thing" 
oh well -
glad we have the early ones

Thursday, June 19, 2008

still reading...

these are some of the early summer journals

2 1/2 feet ago 
my little girl is now 5' 7"
my sweetie pie liked school - can you tell?
but she liked other stuff too
she was and still is a HUGE Harry Potter fan
She is writing about her excitement about the next book


kickball and bicycling and swimming jumped to center stage
and this sweet poem.
If you still have little ones,
these journals are such wonderful keepsakes.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008




Travel Journals
a how-to project


Here is a project for any of you going on fun adventures to new places.
It is so easy to make one of these very special journals.

You don't need any fancy supplies,
just construction paper, lined paper and a manilla envelope. 

 Paris 1999


Anybody can make these fun travel journals
do the writing on the trip and add the bits and pieces later.


Collect all your ticket stubs, maps, pamphlets, napkins etc 
and save in a large manilla envelope

use a glue stick and construction paper
then cover each sheet with laminating paper

hole punch and tie together with ribbon or twine. 
The rough garden twine looked good 10 years ago, 
but over time, but it  started to disintegrate
so ribbon is probably a better choice

So easy and a wonderful record of a great trip
memories stay alive 
my daughter can't wait to go back to Paris
she is quite a francophile now
and her french is very good
so much better than my school 
girl french was on our trip

we went again the next year - but
 we cannot find the journal - i hope it turns up...
isabel had her first sleep-over in France - 
the bedroom window looked out on the Eiffel Tower
man oh man - what a lucky girl

London 1997 


Isabel is holding up Sly - a beloved beanie baby (remember them)
We lost him on a rainy day on our way to the Museum of Natural History.
A kind soul, probably another mother, plucked him from a puddle
and placed him on a bannister
We retraced our steps and we were almost ready to give up when I turned around
voila, Sly, waiting for us at that very spot.
Magical!

the ever present umbrella
Isabel and I had a pact: something for mom, something for Is
usually, a playground, then a fabric store,
the zoo, then a fabric store...


love the spelling

fort in the hotel
and the best part of all, the double-decker bus
always the top and the seat in the front
we were regulars on the #22
tried to get 
a fun Christmas card photo at Nelson's Column



London 1996
The journals were much less elaborate in the beginning
a few words 
mostly pictures

but still lots of fun to look at as a teenager

BON VOYAGE

Tuesday, June 17, 2008


still reading...

kids can't get enough when it comes to reading about themselves
or looking at old photographs



Summer Camp


When my daughter started to go away to summer camp
I created a camp journal each summer.

It is so much fun to reread these journals.
You see how your camper grows 
summer to summer.

I loved summer camp 
and so did my daughter.

I gave camp journals to friend's daughters when they were about
to embark on their first camp experience.

I think the campers liked them; I know the mothers did.

So I decided to create more and sell them.
You can find them at Sea Beans in Wilton
along with the Summer Journals for the younger children,
or through my etsy shop.


create your very own record
of summer fun near the mountains, lakes or oceans 
food in the dining hall you liked and disliked
activities you liked and disliked
camp traditions
and l0ts of room for doodles, pictures, badges, awards

Monday, June 16, 2008

summer journals
so much fun to read years later

School's out
Summer's here
lots of sun and fun in the months ahead, 
swimming, biking, hiking,
tennis, sailing,
picnics
concerts
cook-outs

As soon as my daughter could write I started making her summer journals.
I now sell them at Sea Beans in Wilton, Connecticut 
and through my etsy shop.

Here are some photos of the journal.
The photos are not the best quality,
but you get the idea

clear plastic to protect the cover 
lots of fill-in the blanks 
easy to write - fun to read years later
especially fun to see the changes in penmanship 
and activities of interest
today's buzz page 
writing prompts from the writing wizard

A map to mark the States in books that your child reads
or the States that you visit on your summer vacation.
Draw a map of your travels.
Sorry, international folks, a world map next year.
this was always a favorite - chart the high temperature of the day
and draw a graph at the end of the summer
We also recorded the high and low temperature each day
and then figured the average
good for the math skills!

Tomorrow I will show you the camp journals 
and then later in the week... 
guess you will just have to come back and visit!