The beach is wonderful!  Wonderful! Wonderful!  What beauty God has made for us to enjoy!

Really and truly this is THE most beautiful sand…anywhere!  Shirley and Tina and I went down for a quick weekend stay…here at Shirl and Sue’s (her sis) beach cottage!  They have been doing some decorating and it looks fabulous!

Now, Tina and Shirley are dear to me and I love them, but frankly, I’ve been a little disappointed in them.  The 3 of us went on the ‘ultimate girls trip’ to Maui in 2007.  I had such a wonderful time and came home and made a scrapbook just as soon as I could.  They, however,  have yet to finish theirs!  Can you believe that?   So, that was their plan to do while at the beach.  Shirley had 2 more books she wanted to do, and a project for a couple in her church.  So, they pulled out all that stuff and worked and worked and worked.

I watched and offered them my completed book and other valuable tips and techniques.  But, they were all over the place!  I just got in bed and tried to connect to the Internet and check in on my friends around the country.  Never could connect, so I read a while and then went on to bed.  Don’t even know how long they worked.  But, the next thing I knew, they were saying ‘ come on, we’re going to get some do-nuts.’  I told them I would be ready in a minute.  But, no!  They said ‘we are going just like we are…..pajamas and all.  And, we did!  Stood in line 20 minutes, but finally got some of the wonderful do-nuts.  This place has been here since I was a little girl…and it only gets better.

This picture HAD to be cropped…for modesty”s sake.  But, I DID have on my undergarments!

After we got back to the cottage, we dressed and went out to see what treasures we could find.  Lots of treasures in those parts, and we needed some.  And, so we shopped for a few hours at an outdoor mall, Pier Park.  Then we had lunch/dinner…and we were able to eat outside.  Such a nice day!

Did a little more exploring, then back to the cottage.  The 2 Princesses continued working on their scrapbooks.  And, I worked on Shirls’s project for her friend’s anniversary.  I finished it up for her…and they still did not finish the scrapbooks!

Off to bed;  then, early, early I heard them stirring around.  But, I pretended not to.  Besides they had no business being up so early, anyway!  They were packing up their UNFINISHED scrapbooks, and we washed sheets and swept floor nd packed car.  Time to head toward Dothan.  We needed to leave early enough that Shirl could drive the extra 2 hours to Moultrie.  And get there before dark.  We had spied one more shop that we wanted to check out.   So, that was figured into our plans, as well.  Found some really pretty things there, but stayed a mite too long. 

I said, “Shirl, since you didn’t feed me any breakfast this morning, and it is past luch time, do you think we could stop andget something to eat before we leave?”  Y’all she turned around and gave me the evil eye.  And, she drove right on past the food places till she got outta town.  Then she turned back around and said, “Did you say you were hungry?  Well, I’ll be happy to stop when I see a place.”  And, she knew good and well it would be all the way to the city limits of Dothan before she saw anywhere to eat.   So, here it is…my lunch!

I know, isn’t this terrible?  Not a bit of nutrition anywhere in sight.  But, I made do, and soldiered on.  That’s just the kind of girl I am.  But them…they just laughed maniacally in the front seat.   At least…through my chocolate-induced haze…that’s what I THINK happened.

It matters not.  I love these girls.  And, I love the time we have together!  Our quick trip was fun and refreshing to body and soul!  And, Shirley?  She made it home before dark.

Could you just walk right into this painting?  Me, too!

And reading this, just fuels the fire!

And, since I also believe the following statement is true…

…I’m outta here!  Heading toward the sand and sun and water in Panama City.  Tina and Shirley and I!  Can’t you just see us now ?!!

I’ll catch back up with you on Monday!  Have a wonderful weekend!  I will, for sure!

Just a few in my collection of ‘heart’ pictures.  Today, I choose to give these to you.  Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, and know that you are loved and appreciated by this blogger. 

SURE HOPE THESE BROUGHT A SMILE TO YOUR FACE  !

If something is BIG news, it will end up in the newspaper.  Don’t you agree?    And, when it does, we want to cut out the article, or picture, or recipe and save it.  I happen to have some very old clippings that my Mom had saved…and even some my Granny had saved, also. 

One clipping I saved myself was my engagement picture.  That would be some 39 years ago.  Someone took the clipping and had it laminated….probably because the laminating process was new and they thought that would be the best way too save it.  WRONG!!!  The ink from the front has transferred to the back and the words that were on the back have bled through to the front.  The whole thing has yellowed, and you can’t even tell it’s the young, and lovely me! 🙂  I have other clippings from the wedding, but not another one of those.

So, I want to talk today about preserving newspaper clippings.  If you are going to keep them, at least keep them well.  There are 2 ways that you can go about this.  (And this is my preferred method.)  I take the clippings and make copies of them…I also scan them into my computer.   IMPORTANT:  USE ACID FREE COPY PAPER !   I make 2 or 3 copies of the article, in case some one else wants one.  Then I store the copies and the original in a vinyl sleeve.  Plus the info is safe on my computer.  This is a perfectly acceptable way of preserving information if you just want it for a remembrance. 

If you wish to laminate an article  from the newspaper, laminate one of these copies.  If you want it to look exactly like the original…copy it on a color copy machine.

HOWEVER…….if the actual clipping itself is of value to you, there are other things you should do………

Spray the clippings with an archival, acid reduction spray. These aerosol sprays reduce the acidic content of the newspaper, the main source of fading and decay in newspaper clippings. Buy an “Acid-Free” spray at your local craft store.  Treating your newspaper clippings with this spray will help preserve them.

And some other things to remember…

***Keep the clippings in a cool place, away from light and humidity.

***Don’t fold, staple or mutilate the clippings.  Staples and paper clips can cause permanent stains.

***Don’t store the clippings in the ‘magnetic’ type of photo album.  This will hasten the deterioration.  (this goes for photographs as well).

***Do not laminate important clippings.  Clippings of historical events lose their value if they have been laminated. ***Place the clippings in a sturdy 3-ring binder with vinyl sleeves.  IMPORTANT…..Place only one clipping in each sleeve.  Do not let clippings overlap back to back.

Hope this information is helpful to you. 

**************************************************************

Just another thought…completely unrelated to the rest of this post.  That’s just the way my mind works…

If you have any container…say a box or plastic bowl or any sort of decorative box that has an odor to it that you do not find pleasant…this is what you do.  Take newspapers and pull them apart so you are working with one page at a time.  Crumble it up and fill the box with as much as it will hold.  The lid must be able to close tightly.  Leave it for several days.  Some particularly strong odors may require redoing the process. 

There’s no charge for this extra tip…..