This time last week, I was madly searching throughout my basement for my scrapbooking supplies. My poor scrapbooks have been terribly neglected and ignored for years. But somehow I had gotten myself signed up for a weekend scrapbooking retreat with my long-lost scrapbooking buddies and now I needed to resurrect the stuff.
You know when people use the expression that something’s probably “covered in dust” because they hadn’t used it for a long time? Well, my scrapbooking bags were literally covered in dust!
Why, yes, that is a rather large scrapbooking bag isn’t it? I know, I know! I was one of those people who fell head over heels — madly in love! — with scrapbooking when it started to really become a rage back around 2002 … the year Stella was born. I went to the scrapbooking parties, workshops, and retreats. I even became a consultant for a short time too (I stopped because I never sold that much — I just bought things for myself!).
And I’d bet my bottom dollar that some of you reading this right now are nodding your head in agreement and thinking, “Oh yeah … scrapbooking. I did love it, but I can’t remember the last time I did it.” I also know that many people have switched from paper scrapbooking to digital scrapbooking. Although I am keen on the idea of digital scrapbooking through sites like Blurb and Shutterfly, I still have some paper scrapbooks that aren’t finished. And that kinda drives me crazy. I want them finished, darn it!! I love nothing more than pulling out a finished album and letting the memories wash over me. Don’t you?
I have a large album that I started in 2008 to chronicle our year in Australia. 2008 is really feeling like a long time ago now. Back then, I had a new born baby and now I have a very big boy who goes to school full-time. I really want this darn 2008 album to be finished! That was the goal I had in mind when I agreed and set off to last weekend’s scrapbooking retreat.
But I also wanted to just rest a bit. It’s been a really busy few months. I brought Alice Munro’s short story collections Dear Life and a book on “mindfulness” — a topic I want to learn more about. Plus, my mom and I usually do these retreats together and it was going to be an opportunity to get in some quality time with her.
In the past, Marsha, our scrapbooking leader extraordinaire, usually booked us into a location in Cornwall. We each get our own hotel room and then there is a large conference room where we all set up our albums and equipment and hang out all weekend chit chatting, snacking, and scrapping.
This time, we were trying out a new locale. It was called the Glen House Resort and located in Gananoque, which is only about an hour and a half drive from my home town of Ottawa. Well, what a treat it turned out to be — our rooms faced right out over the water and had fireplaces in them. It really felt like a holiday!
This photo above was from Saturday, where we had lots of sun. You can even see in the edge of this photo that my friend Penny was outside in just a t-shirt. Sunday was overcast and rainy (good for staying in and getting scrapbooking done!).
There is something about being near water that always brings me a sense of peace. I’m not sure why. But I certainly should get a home near the water one day! (When I win the lotto, I will retire by the sea. Yes, of course you can visit. Bring red wine with you.)
In the end, I did get some reading done. I did get some catching up with girlfriends. I did get some quality time with my mom. And I did get some new pages completed that I am happy with.
But you know what? My 2008 album is still not finished … I really hope I’m not still saying this in 2018.
How about you … Did you ever start scrapbooking? What do you do with all your electronic photo files? (Mine are all over the place on different devices and computers. *sigh*)
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