Bosporus

The Bosporus is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia.  Connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, its shores are heavily populated as the city of Istanbul straddles it.

On Day 1 of their honeymoon, Greg and Michelle cruised the Bosporus and toured the fairytale island Buyukada on a horse drawn buggy.  The island is on the Sea of Marmara and is home to wild horses and tile-roofed villas.

2012

Folder for Dad's 90th Birthday Cards

This is the 12 X 12 inch folder I made for Dad's 90th Birthday cards.  My parents have a revolving pedestal on their TV that displays scrapbook pages.

 Here's my Dad holding the filled folder.  He'd be upset his hair was a little messed (he usually wears a NY Yankees baseball cap).  My Dad has macro degeneration so I guess the display is more for the rest of us.

 Before his birthday, I sent stamped and addressed cards to celebrities he liked with a letter asking if they'd kindly sign the card and mail to him.  He was thrilled when he received cards from Darrel Waltrip, Richard Petty and AJ Foyt.  The stock car drivers all came through.  I can not say the same about the politicians.  Darrel Waltrip and his wife Stevie both signed a card and a picture.  Richard Petty enclosed a card with his racing achievements.

My Mom and Dad are life long race fans.  In the 60s, it was Indie 500 races, thereafter NASCAR races.  Here we are at a Dover Delaware race in the 1980s.  The race car drivers are special people.....the proof was that they sent my Dad the birthday cards.  I think we scrappers are like that too!

Me Becomes We

Bob's unrehearsed toast for the Bride and Groom was special to all of us:  "Today marks the beginning of many big changes for you two, but the biggest one is pretty simple.  Actually, it's only one letter.  Today, for Greg & Michelle, Me became We.  See, just one little letter, but it says and means so much.  From now on, every important decision either of you makes should be done on the basis of we, not me.  If you follow that simple formula, things should be alright for a couple of scientists like you two."

The white flowers were a RAK from Shawn one of my west coast friends!

Happy Friday my scrappy friends!

A Parent's Thoughts & Wishes

The speech was delivered by Doug Hunt, Father of the Bride, at Michelle and Greg's wedding.  The pictures of Michelle and Greg are from the rehearsal wedding eve.

A few excerpts from the beautiful speech Doug wrote:

"As a guide to our bride and groom, I caution you that they are probably the smartest two people I know and the smarts, combined with their analytical minds, can be very entertaining.

A word to the wise, ask them mundane questions at your own risk.

I can only wonder at the depth of analysis that brought them to the conclusion that they would marry each other.

I first prescribe them lots of laughter.  Michelle and Greg are pretty good at it.  I love to see them light up when something strikes them funny. . . and then I ask them to explain it to me.  It is a pleasure to see them having fun. . . a little mysterious and very playful.  It's like watching monks dancing.

Second, i challenge them to have an attitude of gratitude.  The two best things in your lives will be your love and friendship.  Hold on to them dearly.

Now that you are officially a family, know that your only real purpose is to develop, enjoy, grow and encourage your best friend.  Agree to give and take so both can know the joy of meaningful work, but never lose sight of your real purpose.  I raise my glass to Greg and Michelle and wish them every blessing.  May they meet their challenges. . . and earn, enjoy and share their rewards."

Cross Over the River

 "Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade trees"--Stonewall Jackson's last words.

Last week I met with other members of the West Virginia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics board at Stonewall Jackson State Park.  The park is named in the confederate generals honor and the boat we rode that evening was named after his horse, Little Sorrel.  I missed my husband, yet enjoyed the scenery and planning with my colleagues from around the state.  
July 2012

The shells were ones Bob gathered for me from the Shenandoah River, as "potential scrapbooking material"  (he calls it PSM).

I added my journaling, title and a digital overlay to the cardstock, printed it and added my pictures, paper, netting and a little "Make it Stone" sand spray. 

I loved the title quote I found on Wikipedia while doing a little research for my page.

Here's a picture of the board members (that's me in the center with the brown ruffled top).  Thanks to the facilitator for offering to take a picture.  As you may of guessed, I am the affiliate's historian.

Vested

Many years ago I got Bob his first Banana Republic Photo Vest.  I filled each of the pockets with a gift.  For Father's Day I got him a new vest and Chris helped me find fun items to put in most of the pockets.  We all had a good time with this.  June 2012

In this hybrid layout, I first added the photos and journaling to a digital chipboard frame by Amy Teets.  I cut out the remaining frames and added canvas and hardware to the back of them. 

The digital camera stamps from Cottage Arts were printed on cardstock.  I cut around them and added pop dots behind to give dimension.

This layout was so much fun to make!

Celebrating Life

We began Dads' 90th birthday celebration at Creekside Park near Mom & Dads' childhood homes.  His 91 year old first cousin Bernice and her niece Gerry were first to arrive.  After one hour we moved to Keyser where the Michaels were glad to let us chill in the game room of their pub.  Family and friends attended.  Young and old, it was a fitting celebration of life.

The watch is an actual watch piece Bob gave me for "potential scrapbook material".  I recall getting it as a token gift one year we purchased a subscription to Time magazine.  It features the "Life" logo.

Here's the digital invitation I made for the event.  I used this same format for Michelle's shower invitation.  The kit was a sampler from Michelle Shefveland of Cottage Arts.  I love the mask and the color.

 My sister was able to feature part of this postcard size invitation on the Evite she sent to many of the guests.