Lynn Murphy's Law

The Late in Leaving Tour- Tennessee Happy Father's Day

2025-06-13T21:16:00.000-04:00

We were late getting out of Florida because

the Dr. appointments ran late.

So...here we are in Tennessee hanging out

with dad and Jean.

These adorable ducks were a hoot to watch

and the babies were just too cute.

This is the VIEW from our motorhome

at the RV park.

Great seats!!!

Can't visit dad without a lot of games of cribbage.

He is the KING of cribbage.

I SKUNKED HIM TWICE 😁😁😁

It's a great time and he's really good at

the trash talk (he's 93).

He gets a lot of nurses visits and he has taught

each nurse how to play -

so he's at the end of the line so

they could play at least 3 games.

During my visit I found that the nurses

are keeping him on his toes.

❤️

He loves black and white cowboy movies.

He builds train platforms with towns,

and farms and businesses therefore,

a lot of fun to look at.

Not to mention getting to run the trains.

with supervision of course.

So much detail.

He's also a car dealers favorite customer.

He walked in bought a car

when he was taking his NEW car in for an oil change.

He did that a few times so now

we have to ask what color the car is this time.

🤣🤣🤣

Go dad!!!!

Miracles on the road and in life.

2024-08-25T13:07:00.006-04:00

I want to tell you about my miracles from this last 11k trip around the country we made this past year (2023-2024). We live full time in our RV and when summer hits Florida we head for the cooler parts of the country. So as we were getting ready to hit the road..............

Miracle #1 - We were still in our winter quarters in Bowling Green at an RV resort - and I happened to be in the pool bobbing up and down with a noodle. If you don’t do that you really need to because its so relaxing. I was kinda by myself and God said in my head “ask me for a blessing” and now my head was spinning because WHAT DO I ASK FOR??, deer in the headlights look because WHAT DOES ONE ASK FOR? so I thought in my head “GOD YOU PICK”. I'm so excited now I have a blessing to look for!

But then, I was told to look up and there was this beautiful cloud in the sky and I watched as an angel formed. The cloud was bronze, and then it formed into a full-sized man the helmet, sword, boots with his back to me - but it was sooooo beautiful and I’m trying for a coherent thought because all I could think was GOD GAVE ME AN ANGEL.

Little did I know how much I was going to need that angel.

Miracle #2 - We’re flying down the highway 65 mph 4 lanes, we pull off the highway because Tom is uncomfortable so we get off drive down the road and our tow bar breaks. It wasn’t a big deal we were on a regular street and there was no catastrophic cars piling up. Also, we were a few hundred miles from Blue OX that makes the tow bar - a lovely site to overnight and since its guaranteed for life - free. We then unhooked and drove separately to Blue Ox where we had a site for the night and a new tow bar.

Miracle #3 - Shane (favorite youngest son) flew over handlebars on a scooter - no helmet. Suffered a traumatic brain injury and is now recovering nicely, however, it was really dicey there for awhile and anyone who knows Shane, knows he does nothing the easy way. He and his wife have sinced moved to FL. One year later his brain is still swollen, and his eyes are still not right. Please pray for him.

Miracle #4 Once again flying down the highway, 65mph rush hour - 4 lane highway with fences and antelopes. I stood up in order to give Tom a blow by blow because I could see the antelope (and they are squirrelier than squirrels and they were twitching). Tom - here they come they made it over the first fence and 2 lanes and not getting hit by the grace of God. Now they’re coming to us. Cars are rushing by, antelopes are twitching, bumper to bumper and I’m telling Tom they’re coming. Somehow they made it past all the cars that were passing us. Then they under the left side mirror just standing and twitching, and then they moved under the right side mirror.

- I’m talking to Tom letting him know what’s going on - he’s not responding and I get it because its tense. Now the antelope are still off our right mirror and I’m looking down on them and WE NEVER HIT THEM and of course they’re being squirrelly and I’m actually calm saying they’re still there. I look over Tom is still driving we’re doing 65 mph - AND WE NEVER HIT THEM. In looking back and I do it a lot because I’m beyond awestruck and over the moon and blown away -

The ONLY way I can explain it - we were in suspended animation.

Cars are still flying around, Tom never braked or acknowledged anything I was saying, and I watched the antelope for like EVER as they were dancing around and even at one point were thinking about going back across.

WE NEVER HIT THEM.

They finally ran off to the right and everything went back. I was trying to explain to Tom what went down and he was oblivious to it all. It would've been so catastrophic and we’d have been thrown right through the window - not to mention the rest of the traffic would have piled up with catastrophic results.

Miracle #5 - We came home and were setting up with our new doctor and Tom complained about his hip hurting so they took an x-ray and found that he had a Triple A - Abdominal aortic aneurysm - Very life threatening. After fighting with insurance including the day of the scheduled surgery- it was very successful, although he did get an infection and other stay in the hospital. I was very blessed to friends and family with throughout this process. God was there every step working out the disaster of the insurance and infection.

We were beyond so blessed. I found miracles are everywhere: some you have to look for and some just appear.

God Bless you and keep you.

Find joy in the ordinary page - Traveler's Album

2024-06-29T21:53:00.001-04:00

Created this page for my traveler's album.

It's a photo of a flower at the Vistor's center in Dawson Creek.

TH die, sissix die, stickles, bo bunny 6x8.

Those adorable butterflies are from Little Birdie and there's really awesome flowers too.

Assorted stamps, w/TH vintage distress ink.

Just add a bit of sparkle and shine

2024-06-20T23:30:00.002-04:00

I made this card awhile while playing

with a new (to me) TH Die that as you can see

was a mighty fine price.

I also have to admit this layered dies completely

baffle me.

Jigsaw puzzles are not my thing.

However,

I did love it.

But then, boredom set in.

and wa-la

Sticles and Nuvo to the rescue.

The background is a Sissix die.

Beautiful scenes rolling down I90 in South Dakota

2024-06-17T21:23:00.003-04:00

This adorable chapel is in one of the rest areas

on I90 near White Lake, SD.

(Actually there's one on the Eastbound side)

Dignity of Earth and Sky is a beautiful, stunning statue

off I90 in Chamberlain rest area.

The Chamberlain bridge over the Missouri River.

I adore old structures.

No matter what shape they're in.

Seriously.

Who doesn't love a wooden structure.

These signs ran down I90 and each

had a different fire truck parked by them.

We have not yet gone to the Brewing Co.

And this is just beautiful.

Can you imagine living there?

It's a tad too cold for me.

Scenes around Yankton SD

2024-06-15T22:08:00.004-04:00

Gavins Point Dam

is beautiful with a dramatic sky.

Fisherman out there and the fish were jumping like crazy.

Too fast for me.

A pelican skimming the water.

Of course I have more than one picture but

they are soooo cool.

Turkey

Evenidently no female around to show off for

and its mating season.

Old Schoolhouse I can find any

google stuff on it sadly.

Meridian Highway Bridge is the new bridge.

Meridian Bridge is the old bridge.

Double decker bridge.

Yankton Territorial Capital

beautiful grounds that can be rented.

Old Microwave Tower

It is kinda cool and scifi.

Mount Marty Church

That spire can be seen from everywhere.

Beautiful.

Gavins Dam (the other side)

Had some dramatic skies and the return trip.

Beautiful landmarks around the town.

And what history.

Another flower page

2024-06-15T00:53:00.004-04:00

I love how this turned out.

I did a few things on the background,

Small back dots.

Bigger white dots.

I was also going to fussy cut the flower like I did

on this page, however, I really

like the background in the picture sooo....

It must be kept.

Had that little gnome painted already and

it had purple in it.

A simple sentiment completed it

AND

How about that bee.

With brave wings she flies....

2024-06-12T16:15:00.005-04:00

Made this page last night.

The tree branch is from Oliver (the owl TH die cut)

An old sissix die bird cage and bird and the flower is from a picture I took -

printed it twice and fussy cut it out and popped up the layers. There

were printed 2 different sizes a 4x6 and 3x4 which

makes the layers look cooler.

No clue about the pretty dots -

but they came from Treasured Memories S/B shop.

And the background are oxides smooshed about.

Love how it turned out.

4x4 Baby album Update

2024-04-30T16:46:00.002-04:00

UPDATE - added 2 more pix below.....

I had a great time putting this little album together.

It's all about the grandson.

I printed them in 4x4 size and that was really

neat to work with.

I also printed 2x2's and of course created my

very own PL cards.

Naturally some of the 2x2s look like 4x4s

because why not

they're adorable either way.

Got rid of a lot of ephemera.

Yay!

Love making my own embellies.

I actually do not have many store bought ones

because honestly, I buy them and then

are clueless on what to do with them because

a. they're either not my style

b. I don't have anything to go with anything.

c. unless they're flowers............

I decided to have fun and downloaded

Roadrunner because it cracked me up.

I didn't do a lot of journaling

because it's not mine to journal really,

so I'm going to tuck tags

behind pictures here and there

and hopefully mama and favorite eldest son

will take care of that.

They take really great pictures and keep me quite updated.

I adore that viewmaster reel.

Remember those???

Cutting edge back in the day.

Sissix die.

Is he too stinkin' cute or what.

Used a lot of TH words and phrases.

and dated some of the photos.

I may need to pick up another 4x4 size

because this was fun to do.

Actually it's my second one as I did 4x4 wedding

album for favorite youngest son

here

I do adore that little bear as you can see throughout.

and ta-da happy ending!!!

It's really hard to know when to stop.

Update!!!

I didn't stop LOL.

Got 2 more photos that had to be included.

Especially since mama wasn't in too many of them.

Like that's a surprise LOL.

He is just tooooo stinkin' cute.

Using up washi tape

2024-04-23T09:54:00.001-04:00

I have a lot of washi tape (like who doesn't)

and I really don't use it a lot.

I see others that use it and it looooks sooo good.

Mine not so much.

So I have a lot of washi and blank notebook.

Well we can't have a blank, boring looking book cover

so...........................

I just slapped washi everywhere

willy nilly.

Some had no adhesive so modge podge to the rescue.

And then.....I decided that maybe some gesso

is required to tone it down.

And then I thought maybe stamps

would work in another willy nilly kind of way.

Too much???

I kind of like it.

And why not.

Easter cards for the grands

2024-03-16T16:05:00.000-04:00

It appears that over the years I have used up most

of my Easter stuff for cards.

Since I have limited space I try real hard to

use what I have differently.

Below is actually a stamp set for a birthday card

yet there's a bunny in the basket.

So for the older kidlets - I used some QK dies,

fussy cut the stamps

and made backgrounds from distressed inks.

And the inside - A cover up was necessary since I

somehow got ink all over the green part.

So white dots from those little black daubers

and the bunny ears from TH.

I had leftover clouds sooo.....

Then the little guy needed a card his age and

fortunately for me I had leftover Easter

papers from last year.

Had some fussy cutting going on.

Violet designs (papers)

And I made the inside sort of the same w/o the background

fiasco - Love those painted dots.

Some more fussy cutting and some bunny ears.

Who doesn't love bunny ears.

Birthday card - one year old

2024-03-12T11:23:00.002-04:00

Grandbaby first birthday needed a fun card.

I love this QK monkey so easy to put together.

Using some fun embellies I premade with

watercolor color papers and leftover inks and/or paints.

and Martha Steward alpha punch (wish I got the numbers punch)

but alas.....

Love the monkey shines font!!!

The alphas in blue are QK calvin.

Wild & Free Chipboard Album - completed

2024-02-09T17:14:00.001-05:00

I wanted to create an album that was would use

up the chipboard I had stashed as well as

the enormous amount of scraps I have laying around.

No rhyme or reason I just tossed

whacked up scraps

and other assorted leftovers I have on hand.

I totally got carried away and had fun.

I really need to go easy on the pop dots though.

🤣

I found photos of my boys when they were younger

so why not add them.

Also added are photos I printed and were the

wrong size for what I wanted originally.

I used a lot of "precut" die cuts

that didn't work on other projects I

originally whacked them for.

I also included papers that I made

using leftovers on white cardstock.

I had fun using embossing folders.

I also decided that titles could be optional

and use phrase stickers or stamps.

And envelopes.

Love tucking them in.

Did a couple of black & whites.

So the kidlet with the blue stars

is the

younger version of the man on the page below.

All grown up.

I didn't do alot of journaling either

because I journaled somewhere else.

I discovered in doing this album

I don't have nested square die cuts.

I need to do something about that.

I finally used that Smokey Bear sticker.

It's been around awhile.

I can't believe I left a blank page.

🤣

I love the different sizes and I did

move things around if I needed to.

I had a blast using a bunch of die cuts

I forgot I had.

I busted some stash but not enough.

It's quite bulky and clumsy.

❤️

I love how it turned out.

Travelogue Album - Vol 3

2024-01-12T15:05:00.003-05:00

Hard to believe that I have 3 of these 6x8 albums

for ONE trip.

6x8 from Hobby Lobby and I love personalizing them

with paints and rubons.

And stencils oh my.

I bought a variety of page protectors and its

been fun fitting pictures and journaling in them.

And 6x8 size was fun.

I ordered a lot of them because they were on sale

at scrapbooking.com for

the next go round.

I do pack it with a lot of ephemera - so

we have an idea of the campgrounds we stayed at

whether we liked them or they

didn't work out as planned.

Also from the parks - who can resist a patch

or sticker.

Of course an album wouldn't be complete

with do dads hanging around.

I also have enjoyed making my very own

project life cards.

Or using the ephemera for a journaling card.

Pockets for tags are fun and that one is when we

had to get our rig worked on.

It appeared the brakes needed to be replaced.

Also ordered some panarama

page protectors.

It allows for extra pictures to tell a story

I also created journaling cards using the state flag

of the state we were in.

Thankfully a lot of states keep their flags simple.

And they are scattered throughout.

The problem is matching the pictures on the panaromas

to the front and back.

Also, a new one for me, I tried not to gunk up the

photos with a lot of stuff because

I actually got some really great pictures.

LOL.

Especially the aspen trees and autumn

which was the entire premise

for this adventure.

And another page protector that I have

a love/hate relationship with

because I don't trust the 2x8 strips to stay put.

Still a lot of fun.

Finally got to use my cactus dies.

Woohoo!

We slid into Mexico so my DH can get his teeth taken

care of and what an adventure that was.

We have to go back so more fun on the Mexican horizon.

Parks are a lot of fun to drop into

especially with friends.

Here are the state flags of the states we just blew

through on overnights.

Journaling on the back.

And a surprise visit to my dad's to see my

brother for the first time in way too long.

And then Back in Florida - just in time

for Thanksgiving with the family.

That b&w picture of the two of us looks

kinda creepy there.

LOL.

And Christmas cards of the grandkids is the perfect way to end

the album.

I had a blast using alot of dies, stamps, inks, stencils

and paints.

I'm in the process of lining up our next album.

❤️

Homemade Mini chipboard album - enamel paints

2023-12-21T09:30:00.008-05:00

My hubby had one of those collage frames that his kids made for him long time ago and in one of the moves it broke. So...I took the photos out and made a little mini album. I used a seascape because they love hanging out at the sure. This is a chipboard album and I used enamal paints to make each page unique.

It was a lot of fun to do.

At the end are the papers I made from the leftover paints.

I made these papers.

Some are watercolor papers and regular

printer paper.

I did front and back - that way I have choices.

LOL.

It's neat to have my own patterned paper.

Completed my Memories in the Making Traveler's Notebook

2023-11-28T22:08:00.001-05:00

And because of the way the photos uploaded

we are starting at the end

of the album which is cool because

you hadn't seen these 2 pages

yet.

Love favorite youngest grandson's laugh -

that book must be really

funny.

I did stencils, inks and stamps on

the backgrounds for most of the pages.

I had a lot of fun using my die cuts

and fussy cutting stamps.

I still have a love/hate relationship with Tim

Holtz's label dies - I can't

seem to get the ink right which is

obviously annoying as I watched his

tutorial many times.

😐

Whatever photos I had that didn't "fit" in any of

the other albums I had going on

and especially not my travelogue album

because I was keeping that "pure" more or less.

And besides I could be way more creative in the

album than my travelogue I feel.

I really need to get over that - but I'm trying

to keep the travelogue

like a travelogue 🤣

Looking at the circle photo I am trying

to make a concious effort to do different shaped photos.

Because why not.

Envelopes for journaling tags. and extra pix.

Double page spreads were fun.

I can't tell you HOW LONG I've had these arrows and roadsigns

and couldn't USE them for one reason or another.

Whew!

Early in the start of the album I had decided

to not use pop dots.

And what a dumb thought that was LOL.

So I cheated at first with buttons

and premade embellishments that were

3D, soooo... open season

for POP dots.

These pages were fun.

Another 2 page spread.

I use them a lot toward the end because

I was soooo close.

I did use a lot of the same dies over and over

and I'm really okay with that.

It's why I bouht them.

Had to put an S on Friends there.

I have seen a ton of skeletons all over the country

in very creepy places.

Oh and I wrote a haiku on vellum.

I LOVE that big font that was an impulse buy

because I scrapbook in small size albums

because of space

and I had a hmmm...moment

(it was just a moment)

before I decided it was a really good buy.

I love the font.

Getting to love the flower dies -

some are tricky to put together and

become annoying.

A fun blast from the past to the present page.

I have journaling tucked back there

but never would've thought I'd grow my hair back

out again.

It's so much easier on the road when one

can't get regular hair cuts.

I also love creating "scenes" that hopefully

tells the story and

besides its fun to use my stash on

a regular basis.

These pages were fun.

I need to remember to do more multi pix pages.

Who doesn't love a good splattered page.

And this is the beginning.

it really was fun to do and I found a lot

of dies and stamps I forgot

I had.

This is the front cover of the album and

it looks the same on the back.

Love how it turned out and I'm debating

on doing another one.

In the meantime you can check out another

album I'm putting together using

scraps from my scrapbin.

Check it out here.

2023-11-20T19:02:00.000-05:00

A couple page in my TN and its ALMOST completed. Have a bit of Halloween going on and Antelope running. We almost had a run-in with antelope on one of the 4 lane highways in the western states. They're a squirrelly bunch- ran right in front of us, twitched about, and STOPPED and we totally DID NOT HIT THEM by the grace of God. Seriously. We were in suspended animantion (only way I can explain it) while the antelope hung out on our right front end on our RV while traffic blew around us. AND WE DID NOT HIT THEM. I would've went through our front window and others on the highway would've not ended well. So blessed.

Some TH going on and I finally used some washi.

I see everyone ELSE using washi and it totally rocks.

I try it.

And in my mind - a total disaster LOL.

I'm gonna keep practicing.

Homemade state flag journaling cards

2023-11-15T16:04:00.001-05:00

I decided mostly on overnights as we pass through states to do the state flags and use them as journaling cards as I have no photos. I started with Colorado which we did stay a couple weeks, and then Mexico because it was cool.

I mistakenly made one for Missouri when I really needed Mississippi LOL.

I tried to be respectful so when I couldn't draw it or die cut it I downladed the emblem.

It was fun!!!.

Some are easy and some not so hard.

Use your scraps in a homemade album

2023-11-14T23:52:00.004-05:00

I don't know about you BUT I tend to collect ALOT

of scraps in different sizes, shapes and colors.

My scrap storage overfloweth and my drawer won't

close and I need my drawer to close.

So....

I happen to keep chipboard on hand because its

really handy to have around.

Also its handy to have paint, inks and oxides and

stamps and stencils, oh my.

You can make covers for your own album - mine 9.5x9

because I wanted to use all sizes of papers.

Alot of mix and matching going on.

I picked out a bunch and punched holes and I also

keep rings on hand because ya never know...

I didn't worry about colors or shapes or sizes (well

excecpt for papers that are really small)

and just put them in.

I know it's wild but because of the rings you

aren't married to them.

And you can rearrange also.

This is back appears to be the same as the front.

And they came out awesome.

Can't wait to dive in.

Using themed papers where the theme is iffy

2023-11-12T17:56:00.003-05:00

Of course there's a rather long involved story when I created these 2 pages. 🤣The picture of Ash alone was supposed to go on the the first page. Well. I used the Playful Pets 6x6 pad that I mistakenly purchased because I liked the colors and didn't look closely - as I have no pets. However, I've been sneaking it in w/o pets lately. Which brings me to the 2 different pages.

I was going to put Ash alone on the PET paper but I felt that people would think I was inferring he was a dog. My pal Holli Dagg-Hicks helped me out indicating it probably wasn't a good idea, sooooo I replaced the photos with a dog in the picture and used UP some really old Authentic and oddly its a beah theme. Surprised me too but I love how they turned out.

A couple of pages in my Traveler's Notebook

2023-10-27T17:53:00.002-04:00

Swapping around pictures and printing 4x6 when I needed

a smaller one - good photo for this book.

So I whacked it in half and lined it up on top of

some tree bark stencil that I have used a lot.

Broke out my quickutz trees and of course

they're yellow - the aspens are gorgeous right now.

Had fun doing this page.

Used a bunch of stash - arrows and those street signs.

Also an arrow stencil for more fun.

Love the chaos.

And baby grandson enjoying his books

and it was fun using TH stencil and love the

alpha font from Sissix - and took the colors from the photo.

OOOOO and washi tape.

I hardly use washi tape because it usually doesn't end well.

Memories in the Making album- 2 new pages done

2023-10-17T20:39:00.006-04:00

I'll chase a bee anywhere.

Butterflies too.

As well as other assorted critters.

I was going to use these photos in my travelogue but

I printed them too small by not paying attention

when automatically clicking print.

I really enjoy trying to make the backgrounds add

something to the page and photo.

And the embellishments.

Swoon.

Love using my stash.

Tim Holtz mostly and mostly older stuff

I tossed the packaging.

Silly me.

Halloween cards

2023-10-16T01:26:00.000-04:00

I actually finished the cards for the grands. It started out innocently enough making a card for Ashton and he’s not quite a year. I didn’t want to scare the pants off of him so I found this cute stamp set that I bought on the whim that are LDRS creative stamps and it has cute little dogs so I decided it was cute for him. I thought it was too cutsey for the older ones but changed my mind. . and yes I fussy cut out way more critters than I needed Shockingly my fingers weren’t happy also, I didn’t make them quite as cookie-cutter as I usually do. Moved the moon around which was fun in changing everthing else up.

ALOT OF FUSSY CUTTING.

There were 6 dies of the animals so I made 10 of each because

I thought I would need that many for the cards.

Silly me.

However, it was great to have a big selection.

Only count I got right were the bats.

And because the moon was on black paper I used enamel ink.

Travelogue Album Vol 2 in the books

2023-09-26T21:26:00.002-04:00

It picks up when we settle in Oregon for about 6 weeks.

I picked up extra 6x8 page protectors and

hardly ever use them.

I save a lot of ephemera too and I love to

drop into different churches - so I save

their bulletins if I can so if

we're in the area again I can pop on in.

I also save the packets from the campgrounds we stay

because it has a map of the grounds and

we can figure out if we want to go back or not.

Made a project life card

I love it.

And another PL card that I made.

I also decided that my journaling didn't

have to explain a lot of things

especially the self explanatory ones.

OOOO and I bought these 2x2 page protectors oh a whim

and hated them and loved them.

Its fun putting random pix out there OR ones you have

a bunch of but don't need to be big.

Another couple of homemade PL cards.

I do love the 3/4 sized page protectors

and tend to use them a lot.

In fact, I'm running out and I need a HL soon.

Anyway - instead of adding another sized page

protector and leaving gaps

I cut a 4x6 into 2 3x4 size matching

the middle.

I really like doing that.

Oh and THEN I found these 4x4 pages with 2x2 on them.

I'm kinda having a love hate relationship too

only because what to put there LOL.

Used a tag

and another homemade PL card.

And then there's the 4x6 - 2 to a page.

And then there's the fold over 3x4 page protectors.

I KNOW!!!

You can really tell a story like that if

you have a lot of pix for it.

Another homemade PL card.

Isn't it fun - had to try and match the backside up

that lays over the front side the wrong way 🤣

And the 2 3x4 and 4x6

always a fav too.

I also embellish the pamphlets because why not.

And some don't need it .

Keeping receipts.

And journaling on the backside.

And the END.

Did some journaling about the battle on the dock

between a blue heron and a bunch of river otters.

It was too funny to watch.

Jump up jellybean

2023-09-22T20:30:00.000-04:00

Used to say that to my kids

when I needed them to jump LOL.

Very fun pages to do.

I think I finally used a pop dot - on the rainbow

it has a few, I took one off the back

but I like it for the layers.

So.....I really got a lot of pages in there w/o popdots.

Go me. 😊

I also made the background paper using leftover

paint when making my 3rd travelogue album

I used stencils for the background on the tree.

Using a lot of stash in my junk box.