NANA SAYS FALL HAS MANY FUN PROJECTS FOR CHILDREN

Teaching children why leaves turn colour is a great science lesson. A country drive or even finding little woodlots in parks can bring a good show of colour.
Collecting leaves from a variety of trees can help to learn the names.
With some wax paper you can preserve some of the leaves. Simply put a leave between two pieces and iron the wax onto the leaf.
Pine cones can be collected too. The number of little projects is endless. Think of your own or simply key in pine cone projects and many can be found on the internet.
Do you grow grapes? Well the grape vines that need to be trimmed for better growth next year can be used in other projects. A simple grape vine wreath that can be decorated for Fall, Christmas and even Easter is a great backdrop.
Simple twigs and pieces of evergreen trees after Fall trimming are useful too.
Taking pictures with all the colour as a backdrop can be used for those seasonal pictures. No need to go to the photo shops, create your own. With a little scrape booking technique, add your own dates, names and ideas. Even putting a sticker in the corner and then scanning to your favourite photo site you can make your own cards for family.
Fall with its natural Canadian items. Have fun!
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WRITING IS HARDER THAN IT SEEMS

Finishing a small writing project was quite an enjoyable process over the weekend. Belonging to several Genealogical Societies in Ontario, I had promised myself to try to write an article for each one this year, i.e. their newsletters. Surprisingly a 3 page one took 6 drafts. Needing to find the details and make them accurate. Citing my sources correctly. Rewording and double checking for meaning and trying not to use the same word twice in the same paragraph. Sometimes I wonder how I wrote 20 -50 page essays at University. Then I remembered a whole week would be used revising and rewriting and it was in the days before word processors and computer spell and grammar check. I thought the greatest invention was paper that can be erased with a pencil so I could put the paper back in the typewriter to correct the sentence carefully. Of course my job was being a student with little else to do.  Now I am on a roll. There is something about finishing and sending a submission even if it is to a simple newsletter read by a select audience. Like this blog. Just writing and using my photos keeps me on my toes or should I say my keyboarding fingers. Organizing other areas that are boring, brainless activities are being completed. With a card table in the corner of my bedroom, the little mess can be left so each night for 2-3 hours I am awake watching TV while I methodically work on the project. I am very pleased with myself. During the summer I found myself doing nothing at night, even had trouble reading. So now with the monotonous task a lot is getting done in a timeframe that does not interfere with other activities. Then reading several pages of my current book before drifting off to sleep. There is something about just doing it. Just take an insurmountable task and attack it. Over time the pile becomes smaller and the end product is a neatly organized project. Of course, my Christmas list was written the end of August and slowly little purchases are being made. Day by day! A little at a time! The little messes where my projects live are out of sight from visitors so there is no need to try to tidy before company comes. How are your projects going? Just get started and see where they go.