Blog-tember Daily - 9-3-15

During the month of September, I am joining Bailey Jean {and a host of others!} for The 2015 Blog-tember Challenge!

My days seem to be running into each other as I try to keep up with the different journals and Bible studies and blogs that I want to complete...some of these Blog-tember prompts may be out of what I am "able" to do {creating a "vlog"???  don't have what's needed for that - I'm guessing it's a "video"!}...

That being said, I am attempting to share my blog with today's prompt:  Create a collage or inspiration/mood board that describes your blog...

I really don't know exactly what an "inspiration/mood board would look like; and not having the tools to create something awesome in a collage - unless I were to print out all of these photos and make a scrapbook page; which I don't have the time to do for today's post!

So, with a little creative writing {isn't that what I am doing?!}, and a few photos and quotes, I will share what Barbara's Blog  is all about!

Barbara's Blog

...Journey with Dementia's Demands and Other Life Stories

My blog is not even a year old; at least, not quite!  I created my blog the middle of September 2014, just before I discovered the "Write31Days" challenge.  So, the title and tag line have actually gone through a change since I first created it!

And I jumped right into the challenge for the 31 days of October, with the topic "31 Days of Dementia's Demands".  I shared journaling, stories and poetry that was previously written, during a period of time when we learned my husband had Vascular dementia.





As I continued writing during this 31-day period, I discovered that I really enjoyed the writing!  And the encouragement of other bloggers was amazing!  Just as we were wrapping up the month, I had a discussion with our doctor about my husband and how I felt he was "getting worse"...the doctor's words:  "It could be Alzheimer's disease, you know that?"  Well, of course I knew that!  But...what now?

Well, that story continues - you can read that particular post here; and I have shared a few other posts regarding our "journey"...




But, there have been other stories that I have shared on my blog; one of my most precious blogs contains a letter I found among my mother's belongings after she passed; a letter written by my mother's mother on the day before she gave birth to twins, my mother and her brother.  Their mother lost her life giving them life... That post can be found here.






Many of my posts include my family and the many times we get together...special occasions, like my mother's 80th birthday;






 a family gathering in November during Thanksgiving week; birthdays for the grandchildren; visiting some of our favorite places: the zoo, museums around town...





Sweet Pete's - an amazing "candy store" we just LOVE!  There's so much FUN to be had around here, we don't even have to leave the house unless we are headed to one house or the other!

Baking cookies during the holidays, and eating them, too!







Anybody who knows me, or has read my blog, will also know that I am an avid scrapbooker and have created many layouts for more scrapbooks than I can count!  I also do other crafty things like making cards and other hand-made projects.  This keeps me happy and also allow me to preserve memories for my family!


One of my favorite things to do is attend Scrapbooking Retreats - crafting time that lasts an entire weekend (sometimes longer).  One of these retreats supports Patriot Service Dogs, which is a non-profit organization that trains puppies to become service dogs for disabled veterans.  I support this organization as often as I can...and have attended several of their retreats; in fact, I plan to attend the next "Puppy Crop" in October!

Now, as much as I love the Patriot Service Dogs, and attending the "Puppy Crop"... I can't forget my favorite pet!  I have blogged and shared photos of my cat who was adopted in September 2013!  Midnight is a joy to have around, especially when I need a bit of cuddling and the grandchildren are not around!





Well, I am sure this was not meant to be a "life history" type of post!  A "collage" of photos, but not all this writing!  But, I am afterall, a Writer!  My small "treasure chest" is outgrowing the many volumes of journals it holds...and I continue to journal - hand written journals! - every day!

I love to have FUN!  I love to write about the FUN that I have!  I write about those fun moments, memories of vacations and trips and events and just hanging out with my family and friends!





Hope you have enjoyed this "collage" of what I write about on my blog!

{Singing off this post - as opposed to "signing" off?!}

So, be sure to:

Whatever makes you happy...do it!