Belt and braces

I finished my travel journal from our recent trip yesterday.  I’d worked on it throughout the journey, usually sitting at the table in the evening and cutting and sticking whilst we watched HGTV and whatever home renovation show was on that night.  I’d taken my usual bag of tricks with me – a basic kit supplemented by a couple of rolls of washi tape and a few stickers bought along the way.

The advantage of keeping it going whilst we are travelling is that I can record all those small details which prompt the conversations later – like the man in the McDonalds by the filling station in Mount Vernon, OH, who came in wearing a T shirt with no sides.

How could I have forgotten that?!  (However hard I tried)  It’s a bit too personal to write about on my blog though, even though it’s those small details which make for the fun and provide the trigger for other stories.

So why keep the blog and the journal then?

Well, I had two days left to record in the journal to finish it off.  Our last evening in Chicago was spent sorting and packing, so I didn’t write and draw about the Field Museum.  Then of course, when we travelled home, all the journalling stuff was packed away, so plenty of time but no materials to record that.   Yesterday, I wanted to tie up all the loose ends so gathered the bits and pieces and wrote the last few pages.  Just as I was about to put it all together, I thought I’d check to see if I’d missed anything and opened up my blog of those two days.

I’d forgotten those awful five or ten minutes when I panicked, but thankfully, I’d told the story here.

I quickly added an extra page and the journal was complete.

See, I need both belt and braces!