Dear Diary

I started writing in a new journal this week. This is volume 21, and the cover is embroidered brown fabric. Not a journal I would have picked a few years ago, and it got me thinking about all the journals I've had.* (As an adult; I'm not counting my Ramona Quimby diary when I was 7.)

1. My first journal, begun on Monday, June 26, 1995. "I have decided to keep a journal of sorts, tracking my spiritual walk." I don't even think you can buy steno notebooks anymore?

3. Journal given to me for my birthday in high school, from my friend E.B.

4. The small, bright strawberries on this journal caught my eye in the store.

6. A journal whose cover consists of books on shelves. A must-have for a bibliophile.

7. Classic Winnie-the-Pooh and books. Nuff said.

8. This cover has (reproduced) signatures of famous authors on it.

9. This is the journal from my time in Papua New Guinea. I was there about 2 months, and I filled up the entire book with descriptions and experiences.

10. Leather journal that one of my college friends bought for me in Italy during his semester abroad.

14. This book had a pocket on the front. It was cool, though I didn't really use the pocket for anything.

16. While we were dating, John went on a trip to Rome and bought me this journal. He wrote a lovely sentiment on the inside cover. =)

20. I bought this journal at an Italian store called Fabriano, when we went to Rome in 2007. Fabriano is an AWESOME stationery store, founded in 1264. The paper in the journal and the cover are hand-fashioned using the same techniques the company used hundreds of years ago. And, of course, it's blue.

21. The newest journal.

The Joy Journal (by Barbara Johnson): Where I write about things that made me happy or made me smile (events big or small).

My next journal (also from Fabriano):


*I realized that I forgot to include one journal! It's been on my desk by the computer, to type up my "O History" posts. So the new journal is actually volume 22.