
Hello Friends! It's been awhile. I'm still here. Are you still there? I hope so. After a dramatic change in the weather, ushered in by a thunderous rain storm that woke the house last night, it does seem as though autumn is a bit early and pushing through the door. Suddenly, I'm hunting for my warm slippers and pulling out cozy sweaters and reluctantly waving goodbye to the summer garden. I'm not ready.

Abrupt transitions are difficult for me sometimes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that sunny autumn days will replace these gray skies. I'm hanging on to the promise of bountiful roadside stands of pears and pumpkins and brisk walks through the golden woods over paths sprinkled with colorful leaves.

In the meantime, while I wait, I am (still) working on the family photo albums. It's been over a year now since I started this epic journey into the past and at times I fear I will never, ever get to the finish line. Needing to scan and Photoshop hundreds of photographs is time-consuming when one starts in the year of 1902. I'm so looking forward to getting beyond year 2000--when cameras went digital. Then I can retire all these heavy, dusty boxes of negatives and prints and start having fun creating the photobooks and getting them printed. I'm ready to wrap it up. Other projects are waiting. Important things. Like a dollhouse that needs redecorating.

I try and stay focused, but it's not always easy. In fact, yesterday, while puttering through Hobby Lobby with my crafty cohorts (my two youngest daughters) who were filling the cart with the supplies they needed, I was making a mental checklist, aisle by aisle, of things I could do. That place is huge and my list was growing long. But my resolve to resist was firm!

Until I turned a corner and saw this print. My knees went weak. I have no idea what I am going to do with this, but I do so enjoy gazing at it from afar. It's from Brother Sister Design Studio 2017. Those of you so afflicted, know the dilemma. In any case, hoping it provides the thrust I need, a sweet incentive, like a carrot in front of the cart.