2022 Reunion Photo Booklet for Mom

Every time we have a big family reunion on Mom's side of the family I prepare a set of the semi formal photos taken during the event.

On recent reunions I have been the official family photographer so that works out well.

This year was no different.  This was the first one since the start of the COVID pandemic and the numbers were smaller than usual.

I had prepared the photos and ordered the prints in the 5x7 format.  I was not able to make the holder this year because my stuff is in storage.  Thankfully, my sister agreed to make the black 8.5 x 8.5 inch holder with the Zutter binding at the top.  Thanks Sis for helping out with this project. 

I quickly created this front cover showing my nieces trailer that Mom stayed in this summer while she was at reunion.  The canola field on the right looks a bit wonky but such is life.

I hand wrote all the documentation for the 12 photos in the folder.  With a 5x7 in landscape orientation I had a 2 inch strip of white card stock to write out the names of those in the photo.  

Mom & Dad's family had the most family members in attendance - I believe we were 20 people. Mom, her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Several of Mom's siblings have passed. We had family members from 8 of the 14 siblings. Some live out of province and travel is difficult. 

I created a bit of a label for the back page.

Some of the pages only had a couple of people in the photo.

Mom is the 3rd oldest of the original family and we are pretty committed to attend as long as we can.

Mom appreciates being able sit with the book and look at her people.  When I gave it to her on Friday she recognized every one and knew which of her siblings families they belonged to.

I hope it brings her comfort in the days to come to remember being there with her family and siblings.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took a trip to the country for a family reunion on the weekend. 

I did take several walks during my visit to the country which yielded several different nature photos.

Here I captured a Blue Heron winging it's way to a new pond of water for sure.  It has rained quite a bit recently so there also standing water. A bit about that later.

I could tell with my eye that it was a big bird and I took several shots as it moved away from me.  Generally, I see these in ponds standing in water so I was grateful to find this one flying.

It was a gorgeous morning and at least on the road the mosquitoes were not so bad.

I finished this book when I took a day of rest after getting back from the hectic weekend.  I was glad to find out he is a Canadian author.

I thought that I had read a book from this author but I don't recognize any titles. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay was a good read. It is fantasy story set in France was a good start.  Main character Ned Marinner a fifteen year old boy on a trip with his photographer Dad. Of course, he meets a girl but also discovers some ancient characters who come to life on the festival Belaine. This Gaelic festival marked the start of the summer season and took place on the full moon in May. Beltaine is intermediate between the end of winter and the summer solstice.

I enjoyed the references to art, history, photography, and Celtic festival.

Filled with mystery, intrigue, danger, and interesting family dynamics which kept things interesting.

The mosquitoes were vicious. 

Every hole in my sandals allowed me to bitten many, many times.  This photo is a couple of days after I got home.

I had bites through my jeans and many bites were red, swollen and very painful.  I felt like I was injured.

I found that if I spread Aloe Vera gel on them then put socks on that helped a lot to easing the pain and the swelling. It also helped with the itching which was really bad.

I am writing on Wednesday and today I finally feel better and the pain and itching is gone.

The canola fields were in full bloom around us.  They are so iconic to the Alberta landscape.

The farm next door had horses so we took a walk to see them.

They were casually eating grass and not paying us any attention.

It was a situation where we had to wait till they lifted their heads so we could get a decent shot.

There was a white one as well but I did not get any good shots of it.  I ended up with wires and weeds between it and my camera and it blurred the shots.

This book - The Perfection of the Morning - An Apprenticeship in Nature by Sharon Butala was different.

She covers many years in this book.  Being one who is considering moving from the city to the country I was interested in the insights from one who has done it.

I was very happy for her to be able to reconnect to nature as she enjoyed it in her childhood.  She found she belonged to the Great Plains of south western Saskatchewan. I understand the challenges and disappointments when what you thought does not come true.

As one who enjoys my morning walks in nature - seeing birds, flowers, animals, insects is all very interesting to me, I could relate to her walks of this vast landscape.

I found some of the aspects in the book - emotional, spiritual and psychological less relatable.

A Savannah Sparrow.

This one has captured lunch.

They were plentiful and I got a lot of shots of these. On power lines, fence posts, in brush and trees.

It was good to see family we have not seen since 2019.

The food was excellent, the hall was great, the outdoor space was plentiful, and the campfire was challenging with the bugs. 

I had a great time, numbers were down but that is alright.

Lined Tote Bag - Fundraiser

We have a family event coming up where we get together over a weekend.  These relatives are on my Mom's side of the family.  Aunts, uncles, cousins will be showing up to visit, share, eat and generally have a good time.

We always have a table of handmade items, art, or otherwise crafted items which are auctioned to raise funds for the next event.

With much of my supplies packed I decided to make a lined bag with a liner which could be used to carry knitting, crochet or other manner of crafting projects.

I started with a piece of fabric which was meant to be added to some denim but when I found a pink zipper in my stash it became much brighter a project.

I found the white wide grosgrain ribbon for the handles, the white microfiber fabric for the lining, so all I needed was some accent fabric for the pockets.

Off to the second hand store.  This was the only pillowcase in the right shade of pink so it came home with me.  

I loosely followed this Tutorial on Instructables to make the bag.  It is a gusseted bag with pockets.  I chose to line it with the leftover microfiber fabric from making my bespoke everyday bag.  I do not like microfiber sheets for the bed but some of them are extremely good quality and make superb fabric for sewing projects.

I added a zipper with the same method as my bespoke bag. 

How to Add a Recessed Zipper to Any Tote Bag video.  I used the microfiber because it matched the liner and it made the zipper very visible.  I'm not sure it was the best choice because of the softness of the fabric.  I chose a fancy stitch to attached it to the top of the bag.  I went right around the top of the bag to have it nice from the outside.

The fabric had a lady bug graphic on it and the other half was solid pink.  I chose to trace the graphic onto the pink side and stitched it with white thread.  I added small black buttons to the antennae and the spots.  For the other side I left the lady bug as it was designed.

I did make the pockets double as it was 50% polyester and 50% cotton and was a bit thin.  I cut two and sewed all the way around and turn the patch pocket inside out and ironed flat.

I chose to sew the pockets on top of the handles instead of behind as in the tutorial so I would not lose any of the ladybug. The corners are reinforced.   The pockets are a good size at over 8 inches square.  Will hold patterns, books, or any other flat object associated with the craft being carried.

The gusset is 5.5 inches wide.

The bag will be laundered to remove the white lines on the pink fabric.  

The repetition of the design gives the presentation of the bag a cohesive look.

The buttons were added to the pocket before it was sewn onto the bag.  I used black thread to not distract.

I added a ring on a tab to the front to allow one to secure keys which could then be flipped to the inside of the bag.  It may be any other type of tool which relates to the craft which one one wants to keep handy.

I used a black button just like the ones on the lady bug to keep things looking coordinated.

The white microfiber is really nice and heavy and worked really well as the liner. It will wash like a dream I am sure.  Being white helps one to find things in the bag.  It finishes off the bag very nicely.

The tabs on the zipper make it easy to open and close. 

The fact that the zipper does not seal the bag closed allows for perhaps knitting needles to stick out if necessary

Most people can always use an extra bag.  With the ban on single use plastics in our near future we need to start packing bags in the car for our shopping.   This one will do nicely.

Hot Air Baloon Mixed Media Art

I've added a hot air balloon to my painting that I did at reunion a couple of years ago.

I hope to be able to sell it today at the sidewalk sale.

Family Get Together - Art Class

I just got back from a family get together on the weekend.  We had a great time with about 60 in attendance. There were great conversations with those from near and far and great food!
We had bingo games, raffle draws, a calendar fundraiser (more about that later), baseball, and an art class.
My aunt who is an artist held a class Saturday afternoon and I was one of the students.  This is my very first painting.  This was done with acrylic paints.  We did some charcoal doodles as practice to engage our right brain. Then  we sketched what we wanted to do on the canvas then we laid it out in the drawing in light grey to get all our elements in place then she gave us colors and we went for it.  I think we had about 12-15 folks paint canvas by the end of the afternoon.  It was a blast!!