I have not blogged since 2022.  I am going on a journey soon and feel a need to document the entire trip.  Since I already have this blog I might as well continue here since it is set up. I thought about doing substacks which is a new popular social media place, which I still might do.  I am very undecided.   Kind of wishy washy, aye?  Details to come, stay tuned. 

Scrap, Rap, Draft, and Craft! Ponder Place Retreat, Texas

Ponder Place- 13-16 September 2018

Oh how I love to scrap and craft!  Attending a Scrapbooking Retreat has been on my bucket list for years and years and finally I find myself at one in Ponder, Texas.  Not my favorite state in the world, believe me, it is actually on my most least favorite list.  But, my friend, Jojo lives here and she invited me to this "scraptacular "event.

The woman who planned and built this fantastic place ...well she has thought of everything. It's equipped with everything a scrapper/crafter could or would, want and need.

A very large parking lot greets you with room to back in, in front of the door to unload all your crafting supplies. Open the door and enter into a garage sized room equipped with 16, 6 ft craft tables, printer, cricket machine, 2 TVs hung on the wall, movie bin, small refrigerator for water  and a small powder room. The beautiful gray hardwood like floors give it a very welcoming feel.  Each table is decked out with an OTTLITE, large cutting mat, a shelf, trashcan, drink holder, three drawer storage bin, and a foot rest for those shorter people whose legs may not touch the floor.  Six large windows bring in beautiful sunshine for good lighting.

The kitchen is modern with white cabinets and black granite counter tops . Two refrigerators for storage of food that you are allowed to bring. You have free range of all dishes, glasses, pots and pans, utensils, etc. There is a rooster theme here. Cock a doodle doo! A Kuerig machine and a regular coffee maker greet you in the morning. Breakfast bars, oatmeal, snacks are on the house too!  But, you can cook whatever you bring and share or not share. Up to you. Two dining rooms tables accommodate the 16 people who are attending.  Clean up after yourself and it remains clean and tidy.

The small lounge area provides a bit of quiet time if you wish. A small couch and two chairs are just enough . In this area also is a small boutique with Creative Memories supplies for you to peruse over or buy from the local consultant.








 
There are 5 bedrooms all decorated with the same circle comforters. Lime green, purple, browns on a background of cream. Lovely. All single beds, NO BUNK. Yeah!  And the mattresses...omg...like Goldilocks would like....just right. Wonderfully comfortable, sleep you will.  You can choose from a 5 bed, 3x3 bed, 2 bed, room.  Three full baths to shower and do your ablutions. All bright white and dark fixtures and new.  On each bed is a dark brown leather-like basket with two fluffy white towels and two washcloths. A small table between beds to store your jewels, phones, and trinkets.  The whole house has beautiful dark "hardwood" floors throughout the house. That fake stuff sure is nice!

Out the back door is a huge yard looking out over pastures and fields. A portico protects you if you wish to sit outside at the deck table and chairs. It is hot in Texas so am sure during the cooler months this is well used, especially at sunset because you will find beautiful ones here.  All they need, in my opinion, is a hot tub, small swimming pool, and a fire pit.

So what am I making?  I am working on my Junk Journals. I plan to finish my travel notebook with a train theme, then start two or three Halloween Junk Journals.  Junk Journals are  my new passion and I will continue to do them until all my ideas stop .  Scrapping my photos will be in-between all my Junk Journals.

There are 11 other women here with me. I only know two, but it's fun getting to know others who share the same passion that I do. We all are learning about each other's family and there could be a great chance for longer and deeper friendships. Lovely ladies.  Jojo and I have been friends for 12 or more years. We have a lot of inside jokes which no  one could possibly get but us. I laughed so hard with her here that I almost wet my pants.  Got to remember to get some poise pads if I go on a long trip with her where we are sightseeing and standing...eeekkk...a little leak. We chat, we watch TV or listen to music, or are comfortable in our own crafting silence. Silence being part of "crafting/scrapping" because most of us do not attend weekend retreats every week, we scrap alone in our own home. All in all this was a very enjoyable long weekend. I highly recommend Ponder Place for scrapping/crafting fun!

What Should I Pack?

Packing is necessary if you want to travel.  Some people have problems deciding what to pack and how much. I have been on many trips and I believe that I have some pointers.

The right piece of luggage or two pieces of luggage is essential for good packing. I like to check a bag and carry a tote on board with my personal purse.  I always carry a cross body purse as it is the easiest to carry and conveniently out of the way when site seeing etc. My tote is a Betsy Johnson bright orange quilted bag. It has a big bow on the side, pure Betsy Johnson! It has lasted me many years. It doesn't have a lot of pockets but I find putting things in a couple of Ziploc and my computer in it's case does fine. Everything is in one place. One zipper, one area, I know it's got to be in there...  I also carry a very large purple soft sided suitcase that I check. I prefer to check a bag so I can take a large one and stuff it full of souvenirs or if I am traveling to see my grangirls..presents.  I don't worry about losing my bag because in all reality that doesn't happen too often.  If I know I want to take just a carry on piece of luggage then I really have to deliberate over what I am taking.  If you are going on a long trip my advice is to do one or the other. Doing both, which I have done, is really difficult once you get to your destination, especially if using mass transportation.  If you are going directly from airport to rental car to hotel then it doesn't matter.  You have to consider how many in your party also. If more than two people, rental cars can become quite small when trying to place 3-4 or more large pieces of luggage inside the trunk.

Now for the contents of the luggage. I always start out the old fashioned way,  with pen and paper making a list of specific things I will need.  Such as, toiletry bag with it's beauty products and essential grooming items.  Shoes and how many? I can go a bit crazy with the shoes so I really have to pay attention.  Outfits and how many? Raincoat?  Sweater? Bathing Suit? Books? Socks and underwear/bras. Jewelry and accessories.   All these items depend on what season it is at your destination too.   When I am going from one climate to the next I dress for the climate I am leaving from and then returning too. I never dress for where I am going unless it is the same season or temperature.  As a retired FA , I have seen many people arrive back to their home state in flip flops and shorts when it is snowing out!  I find that odd.  Maybe they just want to advertise that they have been to the beach or some extravagant island? I don't know, seems weird that they figured it would now be warm in the place they left only a couple of weeks ago.   My toiletry bag is always packed with shampoo, brushes, hairspray, lotion, face cream, sunscreen (if needed), make-up, toothpaste and toothbrush. , I leave it in my large suitcase for future trips. I do this with my makeup also. I have two sets of makeup, one for home and one that stays in my suitcase. That cuts down on packing those items every time I travel.

Choosing outfits should be done according to what you will be doing and of course the weather..  I go through all my clothes and shoes and just start pulling stuff out a few weeks before my trips. I  have a huge pile a couple of days before which I leave on a bed or table somewhere in the house.  When I begin packing , for real, I go through stuff and decide which outfits I want to take. What can be worn with something else, lots of coordinating colors to mix and match.  I like layers if I am going to a cold climate. That way I can take several shirts wearing them under the same sweater. I always wear my jeans/slacks twice and possibly a third time during a trip. Usually 2 bras , a sports bra and underwear for each day that I am gone,  2-3 pairs of socks if one is taking socks.  Wear them twice, it's okay...really it is.  Two pairs of PJ's , I get sweaty at night so I  like to change in the middle of the vacation.  As for shoes, I hate wearing tennis shoes to travel. They look horrible, they are not that comfortable and if you are traveling in a foreign country they know you are an American if you are walking about downtown in tennis shoes. I choose to blend in more with the locals.  So I take them only if I am planning on working out ( ha it's vacation, very doubtful).  I wear hiking shoes or boots to sightsee or sandals if it is hot place.  So I might take 2-4 pairs of shoes depending on the destination and my outfits.  I always take a rain jacket no matter where I am going.   Coats should be worn on the plane and then you don't have to pack them, plus it gets cold on the plane. If it is summer, I always take a shawl or small blanket in my carry on tote , I tend to be cold on planes in summer as well.

Try to pack as little as possible. That is the best way to travel but let me assure you that I have a hard time doing this too. So it's not just you. HA. I am getting better at packing as the trips mount up. I find I really don't need to change my shoes with every outfit.  And one or two sweaters is plenty also as long as you have t shirts or blouses underneath which is where the real sweating will occur.  Just do a preliminary gathering of clothes, etc and then a couple days before departure pack for real. And then get rid of some clothes from that packing and you should be good to go!  Bon Voyage!  Go places, sees stuff, do shit!  That's my motto!

Wanderlust Beginnings

I was a little girl when I started traveling with my grandparents in the 1960's.  Nan and Pop, as I called them, took me on a trip every summer for many years. My older brother Jeff went too, as well as Tom, a family friend.  Tom was there to referee  Jeff and I for "car fights". He sat in the middle of us. He was a handsome boy and kind of chubby but I had a huge crush on him.  I was quite young to be having a crush on a boy, but I watched him all the time and he had the coolest crew cut! I just remember thinking he was cute so crush may be a relative term.

The family always went by car, never by train or plane. The car was always an Oldsmobile, my Pop loved his Oldsmobile.  He thought they were the best and very luxurious. He had an unusual way of driving. It went something like this...lead foot...hard stop...lead foot...hard stop.  It never bothered me like it did my Nan.  And we did not wear seat belts back then either, so it was a bit of an amusement park ride! I chose to sleep either in the back windshield or curled up on the floor of the car like a cat. Remember, no seat belt rules back then. 

My Pop was kind of a "dude" back then. He always looked sharp and had a wad of money in his wallet. He used big words like "congenial" to get us to behave. We didn't even know what that meant but we shaped up real fast when we heard that word.  He bought me whatever I wanted and we stayed in the best hotels/motels. He smoked and had a cocktail every night at dinner. He didn't say much but he laughed at my antics every now and then.  I jumped on every hotel room's bed where we stayed , acted silly and this seemed to entertain my grandparents very much.

My Nan was always decked out in a dress with matching shoes and purse. Of course, she wore jewelry that coordinated with her outfit. She was beautiful and stylish with her red lipstick applied with accuracy. She and I had our hair styled at a Las Vegas Beauty Salon on one of our trips.  She did worry a lot  but she didn't make a big deal out of it most of the time. She never, ever went into the sun without a hat and/or sunglasses.  Her skin was alabaster white and would prove to delay the aging process in her old age. Smooth as silk was her skin with very little lines and wrinkles when she was in her 80's. She was kind to me and I just knew she loved me very much.

My brother and Tom wore suits to dinner with bow ties. Tom always had a parfait for dessert and I thought that was the coolest thing .  We always had cherries in our coca colas too. I wore fancy dresses that cost some money back in those days. Little ruffled white socks and Mary Janes completed my ensembles. My Nan loved to dress me up and I loved dressing up!

The memories I have of our fun summer vacations is why I love to travel. It was" home away from home" no matter where my grandparents took me.  The things I remember happening each and every trip were kind of funny things that make me laugh now as an old broad.  The endless times my Pop got lost driving us to our destination.  Always taking us somehow, into the seedier parts of a city.  I was not allowed to walk barefoot on the hotel's "dirty" carpet, so I had slippers to wear.  I always swam in the pool no matter how cold . And we dressed up every night for dinner at the hotel's restaurant. Fancy group we were , but those were the times . No one ever would have showed up for breakfast in their pj's like some people do now!

Our last vacations together were always to Daytona Beach, Florida.  As teenagers, all we wanted to do was swim and lay out in the sun.  My Nan would stay inside the hotel room and read. My Pop would sit on the wall in back of the hotel watching us in the ocean . He was in full street attire. He told us he paid the lifeguard to watch us specifically. We did this for several years and finally it all ended when our lives became too busy with high school , friends and summer activities.

My Nan and Pop instilled in me a wanderlust that I am not sure will ever be satisfied . I thank them with all my heart and may they rest in peace. I love you Nan and Pop. xxooo