Beautiful Memories

 I come from a long line of pack-rats.  In my family there seems to be less concern about not having something when you finally get around to needing it, and more concern that letting go of an item will also mean letting go of your memories, especially of the people and the places that gave you the most happiness, but oddly, even a clinging on to memories that only bring pain.

I finally made progress with that issue when I lucked into Flylady.com and started doing her magnificent 27 fling boogie, and believing that babysteps and only holding on to what you love or need or use, and that you can do anything for 15 minutes at a time are small steps to a hugely improved life.

Still my memories and the things I love have to have some record, so I began snapping pictures and writing in a journal / scrapbook about why those memories are important to me.  So I have one shelf of scrapbooks instead of 8 rooms of clutter

 but I do still have my dolls and my camera and the quilts my grandmother stitched by hand, and now that the clutter is mostly gone, /i have started turning my camera on the yard and the items that really do make me feel at home and make me smile when I see them.

 This Chimpanzee doll sat on my Mom's college bed, but when I was a toddler and fell in love with Clarence the cross-eyed lion, and Judy the Chimpanzee from the TV show, Daktarri, She became my constant, tear soaked, laughter filled, secret keeping best friend.

 This little girl is not "Jessie the Cowgirl doll" from Toy Story 2, but she was a great playmate who allowed my brothers Breyer horse toys to be something my Doll Loving self could share with my brother for hours, on the living room floor, with the wooden barn and Corral my Dad Made for them.

Fall finds me outdoors, trying to create photo opportunities for my photo a day at 365project and for the fun of it, the beloved Dolls are getting outside again.  Uh, Yeah, if you read my last post about getting near the empty nest, it's probably not too big a stretch to assume I'm trying to fill the space of having my boys around as easy models for my camera.

 This China Doll came from the old Stone Barn in Northern Illinois where my Grandma Grace Grew up.  I named her "Rose" and felt like a soul mate to Laura Ingalls when I played with her.

 The quilt was hand stitched by Grandma.  I often crawl under it with my notebook when I am writing my novels.

There is so much beauty in the world, and that is the one thing that I hope my memory pictures help you to remember too.