The Youngsville Star

     I grew up in a small town. We had a creek running behind the house. Across the creek and at the end of another street was a furniture factory. It had a name I can't remember now, but it gained a new owner before I was born and a new name: The Youngsville Star.

     My grandpa worked there. It was a busy place when I growing up. There is a railroad track in front of the property and I think a siding used to be there too.There was also a railroad track behind the factory. The white house had furniture that came from the place. It went out of business. I never learned the reason why.

     In the late 1970's it was started again and brought back to life as Northland Wood Products. I got a job there. I loved it. My bosses were great. I loved working with wood.

     We made a little bit of furniture, fireplace mantels, shelving, rustic picture frames, paneling, turkey calls, etc. etc. Whatever we made there was hot stamped with the company logo. I have good memories of that place.

     My happiness there was short lived. It went out of business. The building was bought and sold a couple times I think. Time went on. The aging building began to come apart. A decision was made to condemn it and tear it down. I was saddened to learn of it's impending destruction.

      One day Lois and I went back to my old hometown for shopping and sightseeing. We stopped at the factory so I could get some final pictures. I got out of the car and took a few last photos. I wanted to cry. I used to walk the railroad track past that place. Took a swim  up and down creek that ran past it. I was sad,

     I am going to try to find products that came from there. Even things when it was Northland Wood Products. I can't believe I got so emotional over this. Time moves on . . . . . .

Journals

    

     A Swap-bot project gave me more inspiration to write on this subject. 

     Journals ( aka Diaries ) for me is " talking to myself  " via pen and paper. A paper conversation unto myself. After my body dies, then the journal turns from a personal narrative to a piece of history. In journal writing, I know in the back of my mind that after I pass over the veil that someone will read my journal. So with this thought I chose not to write anything negative and had not done so for a long time. This quote: "Thoughts Become Things.... choose the good ones" from Mike Dooley came to mind. Thoughts do become things. So I avoided negativity and wrote only of good or neutral things.  But I am me, and like to keep things real. Goddess knows I have had a huge share of negativity in my life. A soul with a body and here, this side of the veil. Experiencing Karma good and bad so I will write of everything from now on.

“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time.” ― Carl Sagan

     A current Swap-bot journal project is: April 2017 Journal Swap. From the coordinator hosting the swap, we are to get some kind of journal like a composition book or other journal. Nothing too small. We the participants are to fill it out over a month. I can do whatever I want in it, just make sure it is filled with stories, journal entries, collages, art, recipes, whatever I want. The goal should be to fill a page or a couple of pages every day.  Each entry should be something of substance.

This endeavor is a small pleasure for me as I am into writing and working with the trade of printing & publishing.

< < < < < <  UPDATE  > > > > > >

  My choice was to use a composition book and to embellish it. I added labels within the copy, and pasted in front and back endpapers and flyleafs. I found an antique bookplate and put that in. I also made a label from an antique graphic, pasting it on the front cover to hide the pre-printed product label description. The final addition was that I signed my work on the inside back cover and dated it. 

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Addendum:         
     My history with journals go back 48 years to when I was the age of 10. That is when I was introduced to the trade of Printing & Publishing. I fell in love with the trade after going to see a print shop in my hometown. A few days after that visit I began to make small paper journals during classroom breaks at elementary school. I still have a journal I made during my first year of formal training in print shop operation. I was attending a vocational/technical school. That year was 1975.

Do you keep a journal ?

 

Swap-bot: A Day In My Life

Welcome: This is my Swap-bot project by name of:  
A Day In My Life

     Out of bed and still a little fuzzy in thought. It is nearly 10 am on a Sunday. I walk downstairs. 

     After getting cleaned up I walk over to the pantry. It is a small room in the back of the house that has many shelves for groceries, canned food and canning supplies. There is also a small upright freezer.

     The mouse police and my friend Midnight vaults herself to the top of a toolbox to say Good Morning (and to ask for food).

     After filling her dish, I advance to the kitchen. Feeling a need for energy, the coffee is the first of a brunch to be started. 

     
     I made toast. 4 slices from a loaf of delicious white bread made by Trappist monks with real butter applied. The small loaf tastes just like home made bread. A banana and a clementine orange rounds out a light brunch.

     I walk upstairs. It now is an early afternoon. After 1 pm, but this day holds no tight requirement for time management.

     Today is a day of advancing cold. The temperature slowly falls. I am sitting at my computer. My pen and pad is at the ready for note taking.

     I read alot. And from various sources. Books, magazines, newspapers, and content from the internet. The television in the room no longer holds my interest. I turn it off and turn on the radio tuning in WBFO FM from Buffalo, New York. 

    National Public Radio is on the air. The program is about cooking and herbs. I listen while pouring over my research. I am working on a specialized style of a roleplay project. This style of roleplay involves putting pen to paper and writing a letter to a friend. We will be using the genres of Steampunk and the Paranormal. 

     Time slips by. I look at my pocket watch. 5 pm. Evening is on the approach.

     I arise from my chair and descend the stairs. Tis time to make supper. 

     I go to the pantry and open the freezer. Found a bag of frozen veggies. I then turn to a shelf and grab some soup mix. Next stop: the kitchen. 

     Grabbing a large pot, I boil water. Then put in is a cheddar broccoli soup mix, the frozen veggies, a little extra cheese, and in 20 minutes we have a hearty meal. 

     After supper and cleaning up, I return upstairs. Time again to do my research. 

     Tis just after 7 pm. On the internet I go to my favorite social site to talk with friends at Imvu. A few of us go to a room made for the fans and participants of Steampunk. Some of us engage in roleplay. Some of us do not. 

     In the flesh and blood world, I arise from my chair and retrieve a bottle of Red Cat wine from the shelf. 

      I return to the internet. Reaching for my pad and pen I scribble a few notes for a later look see. New found websites. New explorations.

     The evening rolls on. Good friends, good wine, and soon it is 2 am. My body calls for rest and I don't want to, but soon I give in. So I bid thee Good night and Sweet dreams.

> Scrybe

The photos I took for this project came from my Tracfone cell phone. Not the best of quality but my usb computer cam has a short wire limiting its use. 

Silverwheels

     

Did you ever own a car that you loved alot ? One that made you want to get another one just like it after it can't be used anymore ?

     There is a song by my favorite band Heart titled Silverwheels. I like the song and also the name as it is. But this blog entry is a boast about my 2004 Chevy Impala LS. 

     My wife and I have come to own 2 Chevy Impala at the same time. To know the difference between the two while talking about the cars, I named both of them. 

     The name for the 2004 is "Silverwheels". As you can see in the photos, it is painted silver. The other one is a 2012 Chevy Impala. It has been named simply "the 12". 

     Silverwheels came about as a need for a second car to replace the minivan. When we bought it in 2015 there was just over 75 thousand miles and treated very well.

     Tis a nice ride. It is comfortable. It has a great engine. It has a cool stereo. I also have found (in a thrift shop somewhere) a personalization instructional cd for the car. On it 2 different narrators tell you about the features of the car.

     It was made in Canada. It has rust issues underneath. When it can no longer be used, I want to buy another. That is how much I like the car.

Do you have / had a favorite car ?

My Other Me

     

     My other me is me! My other me is a character I made up. That character is a male and a handsome chap he is. I saw no reason to create a separate personality for him. I use my own, so he and I are us.

     To be even more clear, I am writing a book. It is a Steampunk / Paranormal adventure. Tis a story of redemption. My avatar creation is the main character. There is no limit at this time as to how many characters or scenes will be involved.

     The photo above depicts him as he is seen in avatar form on a 3d internet chat by name of Imvu.com

As for yours truly it has inspired me to create a couple of craft projects. One shall be a pendulum. The other will be a journal. These two items play a part in the book.