Whatever Whenever: I Needed a Journal

Hands up those of you who keep a journal, a diary, or just keep the occasional note on your life. When I was about 10 or so, I received a gift of a 5-year diary. This was a small book and each page was marked off into 5 sections. Each section being 2 inches of the page. I was supposed to write my thoughts downs in those tiny spaces. Oh, I tried. Some days it was easy enough to write " got up, went to school, kicked Billy for pushing me, had fried chicken for dinner." but most of the time I needed more space. I kind of gave up on that, but I loved the tiny key I could lock it with.

Years fly by and soon I am sixteen going on seventeen. My mother decides she wants to take a trip around the United States. Before we go, she suggests I take notes about all the places we visit. I decided a plain school notebook would be find. Lots of room to write and I didn't really need a key.

Upon returning from my wonderful, exciting, stupendous trip around the land that I love, I continued writing. There were things I didn't want my mom to read, but I still didn't need a key. She told me she would never read my diary and I trusted her.

However, when I got married, I didn't want my husband to read it so I burned it. What a complete nut I was. It would have been interesting reading to recall my thoughts from ages 16 to 21. Some times I think of it with regret, but mostly I just get on with it.

Forward to many years later. It's 1986. I have my husband and three wonderful children, I've turned 40 and I am not writing much of anything. I even gave up writing letters. The occasional greeting card, maybe. I'm working in a pre-school teaching 4 year olds to get ready for Kindergarten. Carolyn, one of my students gives me the gift of a "blank book". Consequently, I took up journaling again. In 1992 I started nursing school. One semester we were required to keep a clinical journal and turn it in to the teacher. She commented and then turned it back to us.

As I wrote more and years happened, I got other "blank books" and filled them up.

L-R

From Carolyn, clinical journal, a not-so-blank book.

So now. Present day. I have one page left in my current journal. I said, "I need to go shopping for a new journal." My rational self said, " You can just make one, you have everything you need. You don't have to spend money." I'm thankful for my rational voice.

First I took thirty-six pieces of printer paper, some bright ones. I folded them all in half, then stacked them in groups of 4, making a group of 8 pages. (One folded page is called a folio, a group of folios is a signature)

Signatures.

I stacked the signatures up and put a heavy book on top to flatten them. I don't have step by step photos as this isn't really a lesson. I made the covers from a cereal box

This is a replica of the box I used. I cut the front and back a bit bigger than the folded pages. Then I covered them with some nice paper I had. Using other paper I covered the inside of each.

Inside back cover.

Back cover.

Inside front cover

Front cover.

Then holes must be poked. I used an ice pick over a phone book. There are no photos of that process.

This is the book unsewn.

Sewing. A curved needle. One must be careful. It's easier to stab oneself with a curved needle than it is with a straight needle.

Sewing back into the center of one of the colored pages.

At last, sewing on the back cover. My palm was a bit tired of getting poked. I've made a book using a straight needle, but it's harder to sew through the signatures. Note the curved needle just making it look easy.