Author: Shelly

Journals, Photography

Notebook Review

Shelly
Notebook
Notebook

I was looking for a new notebook. I usually order whatever looks cheap and cheerful in A5 with 160 gsm paper, but a bunch of people on Reddit recommended Scribbles That Matter notebooks.

The notebook is fine? I like the paper finish, the grid isn’t too light or dark, the pages are numbered, and the cover is a nice shade of pink. But, I hate the pen loop. It’s riveted to the back cover, which creates a lumpy spot. I also don’t love that some of the pages are glued together along the spine.

Altogether, it’s a decent notebook, but I’m probably not going to order another one.

Photography

Snacks

Shelly

Fruit

I’ve been trying to do better with taking healthy snacks to work with me, so I stay away from the vending machine. Today it’s a granny smith apple, mandarin orange sections, red grapes, and blueberries. I’ve had good luck with blueberries lately. Often they’re mealy and flavorless, but these are tart and crisp.

Photography

Black Walnut Trees

Shelly
Trees Trees

The trees in this little wooded area are all twisted, because invasive honeysuckle vines have deformed them. These are black walnuts. You can see the remains of last fall’s seed heads along the tops of the branches.

The weather was amazing yesterday. Sunny and mid-70sF, with a sky full of wispy cirrus clouds.

Pets, Photography

Polly

Shelly
Polly Polly

Polly went back to the vet today for another round of bloodwork. She’s hyperthyroid, which is super common with old cats. She’s not quite where she needs to be yet, but she’s better. We’re going to up her thyroid meds and recheck in a few more weeks.

She is the unspiciest tortie cat ever. She just sat there, wrapped up in her little burrito, chilling.

Genealogy

A Cautionary Tale

Shelly
Death Index
Death Index
Death Index Entry from Ancestry.com

Always look at the image, if it’s available. I submitted some edits a few days ago to the memorial for Theresa C. Rogers’ Findagrave memorial. The death date on the stone was 1965, and the birth date matched the Theresa Cecelia Partington I was researching Her parents were in buried in the same cemetery, and if you look at the wider photo at Findagrave, you’ll see she’s in the Partington family plot. Her husband, Frances Rogers, is not buried there. He was apparently cremated and his ashes buried on a golf course.

So when I saw this death index entry, I had a moment of panic. The entry is definitely for her. It includes both her maiden and married surnames. But the death date was 1958. Did I mess up and submit edits for the wrong memorial at Findagrave? That would be bad. I almost messaged the memorial owner to ask them to ignore the edits I’d submitted (they hadn’t been approved at that point). But then I looked at the death index image. Someone had mistranscribed the death date. They’d used the age at death instead. I added a correction at Ancestry.

Always, always, always look at the image, if there is one. The death index is short on details, but it also gives a death location, which I didn’t have. I’m glad I found it and took the time to figure out what was going on.

Journals, Photography

Pinked

Shelly
All Photos-1468

I put a roll of washi tape in an old tape dispenser, and now I’m obsessed with the little pinked edges. I also bought a pair of 3mm pinking shears, for wider rolls. And for everything else, because all the things must be pinked.

Also, it’s been so long since I used my blog that the dashboard and editor have changed drastically. Thanks, I hate it.

ETA: Alsoalso, I changed the blog template. I’m not loving it, but the main column is a little wider. The columns on the old template were super skinny.

Altered Books, Art, Artist Books, Gluebooks, Journals, Photography

Shelfie

Shelly

Art Journal Shelfie Art Journals Art Journals Hand-bound Art Journals Hand-bound Art Journals Composition Notebook Art Journals Art Journals

Someone on Reddit was trying to figure out how to use a Moleskine notebook for multimedia art journaling. The overwhelming advice was “Don’t.” Several people recommended hand-binding their own books, which is easy and very satisfying. But you can also use cheap composition notebooks, and Strathmore makes some really nice multimedia coil-bound journals. One benefit to coil-bound notebooks is that there’s less chance you’ll overfill the notebook and stress or break the binding. I know people love a nice, fat journal. It’s not a good idea to add a lot of bulk to them, though. I’ve overfilled a few, but I’ve learned strike a balance. Most of mine, whether I bound them or bought them, lie fairly flat.