Looking back…

…at yesterday and today is so much more fun than I ever thought it would be. I have always loved the “old” photos but I had no idea how fun it would be to put them together with the new ones. This is one of the benefits of organizing my photos according to Stacy Julian`s LOM system. Mixing the photos from years back with the new ones creates a lot of stories. When collecting and organizing photos back in January and February I found 3 photos of my father working outside with his two-year old grandson. The photos are of bad quality and they are taken from the window.

 

Baby Jan was hyper active and was always busy helping out – or doing pranks. He kept his parents and his grandparents busy 24/7…

I have wanted to make a layout with these photos from back in 1981 ever since. Today I was inspired. One of Cathy Zielske`s skethes from Design Your Life was a perfect fit for this. I keep focusing on what Ali Edwards is teaching us in her class. Embrace the imperfection. The pics are blurry and you can`t see their faces but closing my eyes I can see them both clearly.

 

A proud grandfather and a happy little boy. Happy memories. But this would not have been much fun if it weren`t for the fact that looking through my storage binder from August 2009 I found this photo:

The photo is taken from the same window 28 years later. The little helper is now a grown man and he has his own little helper who is eager to help his dad.

As an alumni I will be invited to join Stacy Julian`s Library of Memories class starting in February 2010. I am so thankful for that. I did manage to implement most of her system but it need to be worked with. In fact it needs to be worked with all the time and I have been a slacker these last months. I have done good with printing and I have kept up with my storage albums. February will be just the right time to start pulling photos for my category drawers and emptying some binders.

November 5 Big Picture Scrapbooking opens registration for Cathy Zielske`s Design Your Life running in January, February and March 2010. Take a run for it. You will love this class. As an alumni I can sign up for half the prize. I want to but haven`t decided yet. It is the same class that run in 2008 but this time Cathy has implemented digital templates for all the sketches she is giving in class. This templates are worth the prize alone.

I was so inspired when I took this class that I spent too much time making layouts instead of learning, so it might be a good idea to do the class all over again. And CZ is fun!

Unsolved issues…

… My family has had a few of those – like most families. In the 60`s my father and his brother had a good idea. They wanted to build a cabin together. They were brothers, colleges and best friends. Thankfully their wifes put their foot down, so  in the end they built two cabins. My father would leave early Sunday morning and come home late in the evening. Building this cabin was his way of therapy from a stressful job. It was finished in 1969.

In return for the land my uncle  built on, my father was to receive the same from my uncle, who had settled in their family home. Only – this never happened. They both died without either of them getting any papers on land.

It has been an ongoing talk for 40 years. And finally – we are so close.

 

 

Mostly this story comes out of Ali Edwards class at BPS, and the photo my brother gave me of the pin – marking the land he now receive on behalf of our father. The pins were put down a few days ago and  after 40 years – issue solved. I also found my father’s word, written in the cabin journal from September 14 1983. It is a statement where he direct us on how he wants things settled.

 It is settled, and crazy as I am – I can see these to sitting up there, raising their glasses…

Childhood memories from the happy days – at the cabin…

1971 – 72.  Me – dragged out of bed. My mum with a bottle of beer. My mother that never touched any kind of alcohol – ever:) You can see how uncomfortable she is just holding the bottle. And my dad with the accordion. Always with an accordion. Almost every photo I have of my father – there is an accordion. This photo bring up so many memories and I can see a long line of scrapbooking layouts coming out of this. Good thing Ali E is showing us how to do layouts with words – a lot of words.