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This month I'm going to shake things up a bit.  If you are looking for a Story Starter idea that is tied specifically to this month, please check the archives for this column.  If you are here because I offer you inspiration for journaling and scrapbooking, read on!

1. Think about the power of expectations.  Write about what you expected and what actually occurred.

At a middle school get-together a woman mentioned a wonderful exhibit she'd seen at the St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM).  "It's on until the 30th of September," she related with confidence.  So last Saturday after a week of careful planning and arranging responsibilities, I hopped in my car and drove the 30 minutes to the museum.  The day was glorious, one of those beautiful fall days in St. Louis where the leaves are brushed with the start of riotous color.  To my surprise, a car pulled out of the perfect space right in front of the museum so I didn't have to drive on and on trying to parallel park along a winding road.

I bounced up to the information desk with the feeling that all was right with the world.  "Where's the Artemesia exhibit?"

The volunteer blinked slowly.  "Artemesia?  It's gone.  It closed two weeks ago."

Crushed.  Doggone it.  Here I was, a "free" woman with no parental duties, appropriately dressed, scheduled for at least three hours of culture and the DANG exhibit was gone.  Poop.

I tried not to snarl as the nice lady mumbled through the roster of other exhibits.  I didn't care.  I was there to see Artemesia and somebody had moved my cheese.

But, the SLAM has a great gift shop and when life gets tough the tough go shopping, right?  But, you can't shop unless you see the art otherwise it's cheating, sort of like skipping the vegetables and eating your dessert.  I headed toward a gallery in a desultory way.

Then I stopped.  Six photos by Ansel Adams were in front of me.  No one else was around.  I walked closer, closer and soon I was consumed by the image of snow covered branches, reaching, extending to each other and criss-crossing like a woven basket.  Mentally, I walked right into that photo and I felt the tension slide from my shoulders as I breathed in the joy of the scenery.

How about you?  Have you ever had your human plans destroyed because the Universe has a better idea?

• Page Idea: Photograph what you hoped for or use the marketing materials to represent your ideal.  Also show what really happened.
• Journaling Idea:  List your expectations, then list the realities, and write about your conclusion.  Were you pleasantly surprised?  Disappointed still?  Enlightened?

2. Consider the quest for predictability.  What predictions do you follow?  Are there any choices you base on predictions?

A wise woman could predict the winter by looking at the wooly bear caterpillar lying in the street where I walk my dogs.  I can't.  I don't know whether a broad black band means a snowy winter or a thick brown stripe means lots of cold days.  I can, however, predict that one of the local papers will find a soothsayer and tell us what to expect. 

For gardeners, the Farmers Almanac dictates when to plant and when to harvest.  For my neighbor the oil commodity trader, weather patterns, politics and economic news will predict how much heating oil we'll need this winter.  A "color watch" article illustrated by a red maple leaf on the front of our lifestyle section of the paper shares the predictions of foliage experts for a colorful fall in our area of the state.

I've never saved any predictions and compared them to their inevitable outcomes.  Have you?

• Page Idea: What natural predictions about the weather have you heard?  Put this information aside and note your calendar to double-check this in the spring.
• Journaling Idea:  How does your family prepare for the winter?  Do you make a last journey by car to a relative's house while planning for difficulty visiting when inclement weather hits? Do you stock up on gloves and mittens?  Do you have the furnace serviced?  Change to snow tires?  We used to have coal delivered to the storage bin in our basement in Vincennes, Indiana.  Can you imagine!

--Joanna

Joanna's new book Adventures in Journaling is available in stores now! Look for it at your local scrapbook retailer or at my-memories.net.