Aishling the AIrstream Update No. 039

 

 Y'all know we LOVE our Gulf State Park 

in Gulf Shores / Orange Beach Alabama

We were happy to have a few days there recently - 

 

You can learn more about it  here - and here - and here and here - lol

Goodness knows we've been there plenty of times! 

One memory that will always stick with us is arriving with our pop-up early one evening and getting things out to make sandwiches for the boys only to turn around and see raccoons scampering off with our bread! HA.

 

We didn't have a lot of time this trip -  made the most of the days we had!

 

In no particular order: we enjoyed riding the trails on our bikes - and we LOVE the trails there! It was fun to run into some fellow airstreamers while we were out and about!

We enjoyed the pool!

It was nice and clean and updated!

[Few kids around...] 

Perfect for relaxing in our $5 floaty seats I got at the end of the season last year!

And the weather was PERFECT - 

just right for sitting in the shade to read a good book! 

 

We always try to get a site near the beach mouse trail - on the canal... 

Craig does SUCH A GOOD JOB working that out for us! 

[Of course, to be clear - we usually reserve a year out...]

I've always [ALWAYS!!] wanted to see a gator in 'OUR' canal while we are there - 

and THIS WAS THE YEAR! YIPPEE!! 

I'm not a good judge of how long he was - 

but he/ she was not a baby -

We ate good shrimps [and leftovers from our fridge -] 

And YES we put our toes in the sand!

 

There was lots of sea weedy stuff - 

but that made for LOTS of shells! 

And the water was gorgeous!

 

Honestly?

Just relaxing at our campsite - with no agenda - 

was one of the best parts!

I feel so blessed that Craig enjoys 

a good adventure as much as I do!

This month's devotional from

 

Illustrated Faith was full of testimonies 

and encouragement from other creatives... 

 I so enjoyed working through #if_markmaker2025 !!

I added a bit to the cover... using the brown paper packaging...

 

 The packaging paper is thin and doesn't add a lot of bulk to the book. [I just taped it in...] I used the stamp on the brown paper and painted WHITE on each area before painting the colors I wanted to show - 

  

 I used the paper from the packaging

 and the envelope to add pages to create on - 

I used a page to reflect on each of the questions that the artists answered throughout the devotional -

 

Then I created a page using the creative inspiration 

of the artist for that section - 

 

Another question answered...

I was creative at a very young age...

  I still have my Raggedy Ann... AND Miss Louise's chocolate chip cookie recipe -

  

I also added in a couple of pages made from the cute envelope the kit came in - 

I love the promise of the rainbow! 

These are hand-drawn with markers and cut out fro the page. 

Another question answered [lol]

Plus goodies from the kit and a recent photo of spring flowers. 

 

I tried to go back to my 'SHE ART' days with Christy Tomlinson...

I think I need to practice a bit more... 

 

Another Question answered...

And I pulled out a photo of younger me - just printed on paper, with a few embellishments added... 

Creative Worship -  

Using things from the kit -  

It's always fun to do a 'currently' list - especially about creative favorites, because they can change a bit through the years [or months - or weeks...] 

 

This is possibly my favorite page in the book.. 

LOVE my little barbies [found image on-line] I did for Taleah -

 

I added a little photo of #AishlingtheAirstream [in the hills of Tennessee] to this page focused on my journey as a Believer... 

 

The tip in card is a printable from Illustrated Faith -  

I added more to the back...

 

Another tip-in card with cats peeking out.

[I really do love pages that are all sizes! 

 

My feeble attempt at collage...

And Kitty Lou's white spot is in the wrong place - lol - 

Dobby and KittyLou -  

 

What inspires my creativity?

SO MANY Things -  Praying God uses my art to touch others 

so they can see His glorious light!

 

Found objects a la Addison 's creative challenge - 

She is an inspiration to me!

And the last page in the book - 

Romans 12:2 

 

Lastly, a page from my commonplace book 

inspired by this Mark Maker devotional! 

 Much thanks to all the creators 

who shared with us this month! 

It was a delight!

Thursday Three:

 

1. We did it! We camped off-grid for the first time in years! [AND YEARS!!] And not only did we 'survive' [ha], we actually enjoyed it. [Although the zero internet access required an hour in town each day - lol]

2. We [I] was most concerned about our c-pap machines, and our little blue edys were wonderful!

3. Elkmont Campground* was so quiet and calm this week - just wonderful! The synchronous fireflies were AmaZing! And I'm not a professional photographer, so I gave up on trying and just enjoyed the moment. We're still so thankful for our tour guide[s] and all they did to help make it happen for us.

#hardwickadventures

*Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Honestly? When I started doing

 my common place book back in January 

I just wasn't sure I'd keep up with it.

Wasn't quite sure it was my 'thing,'

Wasn't sure if it would take too much time... etc. etc. etc. 

But I'm loving it. 

I especially enjoy the mixture of pages I've chosen to include...

scripture writing... goals / intentions for the month... weekly spreads current with whatever might be happening... and space to just create a bit, a la art journal style... 

So these are my pages from May - some you may have already seen on the socials because I couldn't resist sharing... 

Some with journaling blocked because 

I know I don't have to share EVERYthing - lol - 

My biggest "issue"  is that I print out 

WAY TOO MANY memes - ha.

So the extras go into a little file [small box] that I look through on occasion... and I have an idea of what I might do with them [eventually.] 

The other thing is something I think many of us have to come to accept 

- not every page is going to look like we want it to look.

AND THAT'S OKAY.

 

This is a little journal of MY life 

- not a magazine spread.

 

And all-in-all, I'm happy with this book...

[I'm already looking at a planner

 from the same company to use for next year -]

 

 

Thursday Three:

 

1. We're still prepping and practicing for our next adventure, which I realize is NO BIG DEAL for many of you... but I've never camped for more than one night without the convenience of electricity.

2. Enjoyed a tasty treat with some girlfriends at our local French patisserie - ALWAYS DEELISH.

3. I'm looking forward to starting Summer Camp with Illustrated Faith as we dive into the book of Acts.

PS - I'm LOVING our little [BRN*] number sign from Aldi! It's solar! Craig fashioned a sleeve on it so it fits over the rock guard. No, we will not travel with it out there...

BRN= Big Red Number --> our Airstream Club #

[He plans to paint the numbers red for daytime use...]

Aishling the Airstream: Update No. 038

  

Anchors Away RV Park

Foley, Alabama

We've camped here before so You can go here for more info - 

This is an annual rally with our Alabama Airstream Club and we had a blast!  

[I took my peonies along so I could enjoy their blooms!]

Here's some highlights - in no particular order!

It was fun to catch up with friends we don't see often enough... and we pulled out the Rook cards and enjoyed a game or two almost every night. Having a club house is wonderful!

It's seriously been 15-20 years since we've played rook...

We also loved just visiting around the camper too!

and meeting people in-real-life that we know from on-line groups!

We enjoyed a meal out with the group - DeSoto's was WONDERFUL to accommodate and serve over 60 of us timely! And we also tried a new place out in Bon Secure - The Tin Top Grill - DELISH.  And great views too!

Oh, and the guys cooked hotcakes one morning!

So good! 

Weather was good - it rained for a bit daily, but hey - 

we're at The Gulf, right?

We're loving our little flag with the new Alabama Club logo....

The rally host set up a dolphin cruise for our group that we really enjoyed.

And Craig cooked a shrimp boil one night - 

had it done within 10 minutes of the bottom falling out of the sky!

[Again - yay for a club house!]

He has lots of help from the sous chefs who prepped 

and carried things back and forth...

 

YUMMY in my tummy!!

That fed about 70 people.... 

Of course the women folk helped out with the pie service!

A great group of people!

This rally is planned around the Foley Balloon Festival,

so it's always fun to see the balloon glow in the evenings!  

It was a wonderful rally!