It’s free week again at Four Foxes, One Hound, so I’m going to share another group of people I see regularly. This is my scrapbooking group, affectionately nicknamed the Crazy Crop Club. Eight women meet once a month in the home of one of our members. I enjoy having a regular time to work on my albums. I have so many other interests and hobbies that sometimes tasks like organizing my pictures get put on the back burner. Having a dedicated time for this particular hobby ensures that the job will get done!
We’ve been meeting regularly for eight years. I’m so thankful to have an evening each month where I can concentrate on working on getting my photos arranged onto album pages. As you can see, I now have several albums filled with family pictures as well as pictures of my time teaching elementary school. Each of my daughters has an album I started of their baby pictures, and when they got a little older they each started making their own albums. And then there’s a wedding album, and their school albums, special ones for trips…you get the idea. What I really need to do is get these album spines over to someone who does embossing so I can label them instead of having to pull them all out to find a certain picture!
We have a lot in common – four of us are the same age, and most of us have children close in ages, so we have a lot to chat about during our evenings together. We take turns bringing goodies, although twice a year we have special treats – on our anniversary month of May we have a potluck, and in December we do a cookie exchange. We share recipes and household hints. We ask for and receive advice about dealing with difficult situations. And we pray for each other. Constantly.
I tend to take a lot of pictures, so three hours a month isn’t quite enough time to keep up with them all. Twice a year we get together at a hotel or retreat center with other scrapbooking enthusiasts for an entire weekend of working on our albums. And once in a while we’ll meet somewhere on a Saturday for an all day work session. Hey, creativity takes time! Here’s a picture of most of us after a weekend at a retreat in Boyne City, where we rented a house for the weekend.
During the eight years we’ve been meeting we’ve seen our children go off to war and return, marry, and have children of their own. We’ve had parents pass away, seen our spouses go through difficult health issues, and some of us have downsized and moved to new homes. We’ve traveled the world, changed jobs and started new careers, and discovered the joy of grandparenting. We’ve got pictures to document these life events, and we’ve got each other to share them with.
What could be better?
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
love the name of your group.
Always like a group that meets with snacks!
My daughter was heavily involved in scrapbooking/cropping for a while. She produced some beautiful books. My wife also got involved and (briefly, before she died) my mom-in-law. Those albums are such a terrific way to preserve the memories behind the photos. Context is so important. I can’t tell you how many old loose photos I’ve seen and wondered, “who is that? where/when was it taken?” etc.
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I’ve got boxes and bags full of pictures from my mother and mother-in-law. In most, I have no idea who the people are. So I guess I’m saving my kids from those “who is it” questions. And me, too, since I’ve been scrapbooking for quite a while. Now I pay less attention to making the pages look pretty, and more attention to making sure the information is noted. Thanks for stopping in, Jeff!
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My daughter was even selling crop supplies at one point — with Creative Memories. I got her to give me (as a Christmas gift) an album that I’d intended to start with. Haven’t gotten started yet, however, because my novels got in the way.
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You really have a number of fun/creative/support groups,Patty! I think it’s great.
I have a number of albums started,(some just about finished), of the incredible number of photos from my mother’s family, when my siblings and I were growing up , when my nieces were growing up, and then my sons, not to mention all of our pets and extended family.I still have quite a way to go.What I am really back-logged on are my digital photos of mt grandkids and family, plus those “creative/arty” ones I have taken of flowers, gardens, clouds, etc. Also,I have a number of photos sent to me via email of my father’s family, and ones of him as a child or a young man that I did not even know existed until the last couple of years.
I wonder if I will EVER finish???
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It’s a never-ending project, Tonette! That’s why I’m so glad I’m in this group – I KNOW I’m going to work on cutting down that pile of pictures. In fact we’re meeting tomorrow night!
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I used to love scrapbooking, but now I’m back to writing again, I just don’t have time to do both. I’m SO behind with photos! But I still have all the kit so I’m sure I’ll get back to it some day …
It’s lovely that you have these groups you look forward to and get on so well with, Patricia 🙂
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I’m getting behind too, Helen. That’s why it works out so well for me to have a scheduled time to do this! Thanks for stopping in.
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This sounds like such an amazing group. To have such a group of friends that you have been through so much with and who you will make memories with like this is truly a blessing.
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Thanks, Angie. I agree, it’s a real blessing to be part of this group!
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