Palate Cleanser

After designing and painting and crafting for hours and hours over the last few days, I needed to take a break and do something mindless this evening. Time for a beautiful puzzle!

This puzzle is another $1.25 wonder that I bought at Dollar Tree. 350 pieces was just the right size to enjoy for a few hours. Cra-Z-Art has changed up their puzzles a bit. Their newer puzzles with thicker pieces are quite nice to work with. The design and colors on this Pretty Flower Arrangement are excellent!

I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be sure to put this one together again one day.

Crafternoons with Jodie

Daughter Jodie's job has morphed. She now works part time, so has afternoons free to do All The Things.

One of the things she's chosen to do is have crafternoons with me every Monday. For the last three weeks, we did separate things together. She's working on a collage journal. She gets the New York Times Sunday paper. Each week she makes a spread of news highlights. 

She also shaped my eyebrows. What a sweetheart.

Me? I was a little oversaturated after the last three days of painting, so instead of crafting today, I gave myself a hot wax treatment on my hands and cleaned up my fingernails.

The best part is simply spending time together, sharing stories, laughing, and hugging. 

Watercolor Workshop: The Overview

The painting is done! I've completed the designs on all 28 card bases. Hooray!

I'm very pleased.

Here's the overview.

Click for a larger image

This week I'll attach the painted bases to the card fronts, stamp appropriate messages, type up the perky poem I wrote, and get the valentines ready to send.

I'll also photograph the cards individually so I can share them in more detail here on my blog.

Gosh, I'm delighted with the outcome. It's wonderful to feel creative again!

Come Fly with Me

Jodie gave me this journal with a laser-cut cover. I use it for my daily task list. The way the page lit up caught my eye.

Watercolor Workshop

I used my #PhoneFreeFriday to spend the entire day in my Studio. In today's crafternoon, I stepped out of my comfort zone and into the land of watercolor.

We're heading into The Month of Love, so I'm making some one-of-a-kind heart cards. I'm inspired by my friend Louise who pointed me to a video on YouTube last year.

It's fun to try, since I don't have anyone looking over my shoulder. I'm such a novice. So it's all about exploration.

 I've got enough card blanks for 28 cards. I managed 9 designs today. I think I'll leave all the ingredients on the table overnight and make more cards tomorrow.

Eugene Park Tour: Wildlife Preserve

On New Year's Eve, Dale and I decided to go for a country ride in search of a small, little-known park. We think we found it, but it appears that it is no longer maintained by the city of Eugene or Lane County. We could see the remnants of a parking lot and baseball backstop, but that's all.

As we zipped down the road, I noticed a sign for this wildlife preserve. Dale did a quick loop-de-loop and we pulled into the driveway.

The Andrew Reasoner Wildlife Preserve is closed for the season. All we were able to see was a broad meadow and a muddy road leading into the hills. But I checked out the website and learned something about the land:

• There are 294 acres of oak savannah and the Long Tom River watershed. This is home to Oregon white oak trees and ponderosa pine.
• It's part of the McKenzie River Trust that manages it along with Bonneville Power and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
• Some critical species that make a home here are acorn woodpecker, chipping sparrow, yellow-breasted chat, western bluebird, slender-billed nuthatch, Western gray squirrel, shaggy horkelia, and Hitchcock's blue-eyed grass.
• Visitors can also see deer, bobcat, cougar, bear, rattlesnake, and many species of migratory birds.
• The preserve sponsors "Living River Exploration Days" and tours from March to December.

I hope Dale and I can return later this year and see what's down the trail. I'll bet there's some awesome nature to photograph there.

Studio Time

I spent the entire day playing in my Studio today. Go me!

Welcome to my one-person quilted-heart workshop. I'm in the midst of prepping 20 more hearts for the Quilted Hearts project. Check out the glorious mess.

The front and back fabric for all 20 hearts are prepped. Now I'm figuring out how to decorate them. No two are the same. I've got loads of ribbons and trims and buttons and sequins at my fingertips. It's a ... process, this playing with different combinations of doo-dads.

As each heart is designed, I put all the components in a zip bag along with a rough sketch and any notes to myself about placement and color of thread, etc. 

I hope to finish this step tomorrow so that I can tidy up my workspace again. Then I can do the stitching and stuffing while watching TV in the other room.

I'm looking forward to sharing each Quilted Heart as I finish them.

Dragonfly Dreams

I finished a thing!

2023 is starting off well for me in the creativity department. I'm so pleased. I started this dragonfly back in September or October last year. I stitched a lot for two days, then it languished. I knew I'd made a stitching mistake somewhere and didn't have the mental bandwidth to figure out where.

By January, I was tired of seeing "Finish the Dragonfly" on my daily task list. So I started listening to a new audiobook, pulled out my needle, and got' er done. Another win for 23 in 2023.

It's quite a small piece -- only about 40 x 40 stitches square. For the size, it has some lovely detail.

I've decided to keep this piece for myself.

Dragonfly Dreams is a design by Debbie Mumm. It was published by Dimensions in 2002. It comes as a complete kit: Chart, fabric, threads, printed mat, glass, and hanging hardware.

I appreciate Debbie's philosophy of life:

Have fun.
Be kind and respectful to everyone.
Laugh a lot every day.
Continue to develop your heart and soul.
Enjoy beauty and nature.
Continue to grow in the garden in which you're planted.

Country Shows #1

Here is Ravensburger Puzzle's take on a country fair. Lots of humor in this one!

It's double the fun. This is the first of two 500-piece full size puzzles in a single box. (I've not put the second puzzle together yet).

Here are some of the highlights:

• The poster on the side of the building is for Old Scrumpo Cider
• Inside the beer tent is a sign that reads, "Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here."
• The poster by the door is for "Addle-Brayne Cider."  (Addle brain)
• Inside the beer tent we some some patrons passed out on the bar and the floor.
• Below the beer tent, the head sheep is making an appeal to the other sheep to ditch the sheep dog saying, "Come on Lads. There's ten of us here. Let's duff him up!" One of the other sheep replies with, "Baa Humbug!"

Here, the judge in a pin-striped suit has finished awarding the best of category:

• Fattest pig ... with a sign taped to his side saying, "Please feed this pig."
• The pig-tailed girl is sitting on the "Pony with the Longest Tail."
• Below her is the "Tiniest Pony" being led by a very very tall man

At the top right corner of the puzzle, we see that

• This is a county fair in Britain, with all the flags.
• The banner on the fence tells us this fair is sponsored by Ravensburger Puzzles
• The steam engine is having a bit of trouble. It's says, "Chug! Chug! Sputter!"
• Across the roofline of the engine is written: "Knotworth Bothrynwithe Steam Co." (Not worth botherin' with the steam company).
• The girl on the tall horse to the left won the medal for "Poshest Horse." The horse is in the middle of releasing a big pile of steaming poop.
• You can also see that one of the sheep is making a run for it!

This is a detail of Barry Beardy's Falconry Centre, Hooters Owl Sanctuary and Tea Rooms:

• The young man with the glasses and striped tie is sweating it out as a huge falcon sits on his gloved arm and stares daggers at him
• Below the falcon is an owl in sunglasses, "Barn Conversion Owl - 'Rolex Forbiforus'"
• Giving the side eye is, "Common Owl - 'Chavvus Waynicus'"
• Dressed in a preacher's collar and cross is, "Bird of Pray - 'Vicarus Vicarus'"
• Far to the right dress in a trench coat and hat is the "Maltese Falcon - "Humpo Bogartis"

There are lots of other quips and highlights in the puzzle that make it a fun one to put together. The name of the fair? "Ardliworth Gowen Agricultural Show." (Hardly Worth Going).

Quilted Heart #1

I found a new community outreach program to take part in for 2023. It fits me to a T. It involves:

• Hearts
• Hiding and finding treasures
• Crafting
• Sewing 
• Quilting

I have the opportunity to use up all kinds of scrap material in my stash. It gives me some handwork to do while watching TV. It gets me outside to place the hearts.

It's called the I Found a Quilted Heart project. How does it work?

Hearts are made of fabric, generally the size of your palm, and can be any shape of heart you choose. Most have a layer of batting or fiberfill and you can embellish with buttons, sequins, ribbon, etc. Have fun with your creative process!

After creating your hearts, print and attach this tag, then place it out in your community for someone to find.

Often the hearts are found by someone that needs a lift in their day.

Much like the painted Kindness Rocks, the Quilted Hearts are another way to leave a bit of sunshine in other folks' lives. 

I hope to make (at least) 23 Quilted Hearts in 2023. My first four all have a red background, some lace, a button, and an appliqued heart. I'm looking forward to incorporating sequins and charms and beads and ribbon and maybe even googly eyes.

For the backs, I'm using some denim fabric from Dale's discarded jeans. 

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Get creative. Get outside. Spread some love and joy.

A Walk in the Woods

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep..."

Back in early December, Dale and I needed a break from feeling sick, so took a chance on a Tuesday Travels outing. We visited this Eugene open area, Edgewood Park.

It was tricky to find. Our GPS kept taking us up residential streets with no place to park, and no park entrances. We doubted we were required to go through someone's back yard. So we drove around until we found this very steep hill that ended in a small cul-de-sac. We parked, pulled on the emergency break, and wondered into this damp hilltop wonderland.

A dirt path follows the circumference of the hilltop. It has a couple side trails leading to those neighborhoods the GPS had us trolling. The trees are tall and fairly dense. Dale went on ahead of me.

It's gentle and quiet there among the tall trees, the creeping ivy, the whispered December wind. Lovely. Peaceful. Earthbound.

As we left the forest we came across this small woodcraft shelter. Ah! This is exactly the kind of place little Margaret's soul could be happy for hours on end as a child. I imagine hiding in plain site, dry leaves for a mattress, a Nancy Drew Mystery in hand, snuggled in among my wood nymph relatives.

Fleece Cowl

Hey! I completed my first projects of 2023!

I decided to make a fleece cowl - a double-layered fleece circle. Sometimes a long scarf flops around too much and gets in the way. This cowl functions much like a winter scarf, but it sits like a loose collar around my neck.

I bought a couple fleece scarves from Dollar Tree. I cut them in half lengthwise (28 inches), then sewed the short ends together, making a circle out of each of the scarves. I clipped the circles wrong sides together. Using three strands of cotton embroidery floss, I sewed a blanket stitch around the edges.

The finished cowl is 14 inches in diameter, so slips easily over my head.

I used one buffalo check scarf and one solid black scarf, so the cowl is reversible. I'm quite pleased with the result. This was a very satisfying project  to complete in an afternoon.

Jodie liked the finished result, so I used the rest of the fleece fabric to make a cowl for her, too.

Stylin'!

Our Melody

Our granddaughter ... all fancied up in a beautiful dress that used to belong to her Aunt Lisa.

Photo taken by Melody's mom, Julie Otto

A Favorite

From the Rodin museum in Philadelphia, PA in 2017. Oh, I loved getting to visit that museum!

This image popped up on my "this day in photos" app and I had to share. It brings up feelings of well-being inside me.

I'd love to return sometime.

Enduring Change

It takes patience and persistence,

and balance and breath,

and the tenacity to lift one foot after the next.

A Simple Life

A simple life is what Dale and I are growing here in Oregon. 

We eat simply at home, and go to two favorite restaurants as a treat. 

We learn about our surroundings by visiting parks and searching for geocaches. Those activities are taking us to quiet parts of town we never knew existed.

Our personal pastimes are full of crafting and reading and word games and puzzles and taking photos and delving deeply into favorite topics and gazing into the night skies.

For exercise, we walk or ride a bike or do simple stretches.

We nap.

We enjoy some movies separately because we have quite different tastes. Then we come together to watch old favorites like all seven seasons of The West Wing. We're both avid podcast fans and listen to them together and on our own.

We relish our time with Jeanne, with Jodie and Kenny, with Julie, Jeff, and the grandkids ... even if only via text or video calls. Spending hours with them in person is our delight.

Dale and I enjoy each other's company. We love each other's humor. We replenish with time to ourselves.

In our retirement, there is a lot of breathing space. We've released most activities and relationships that cause angst. We can tell the difference between what's important and what is not.

We are grateful for all these blessings. It's our simple life. 
 

Be Grouch-y

 

Wise man, Groucho.

How to Be a Beauty

As I continue to heal, I'm leaning on old habits -- like reading favorite quotations. I like to connect to authors and thinkers that have come before me.

In general, I don't enjoy Roald Dahl's writing, He reminds me of Tim Burton. They see things from a skewed point of view. But I do like this.

Keeping a Positive Attitude

Well, now! 

I haven't been blogging because I've come down with a case of shingles. That's fun. 

That link takes you to the CDC website. Check out the photos if you dare.

My shingles landed on my back ... right where my bra sits (IF I could wear one ... I can't right now). Considering my body shape, this is a significant development.

But I'm grateful to have excellent health care. We caught the problem early. I have good meds that leave me a little shaky and dopey, but not as itchy and prickly as I am without them.

I slept well last night, so woke up with a positive attitude. I'm keeping the image below in mind today as I look into this Oregon sky. I'm optimistic that I can find the sun behind all these rainclouds. Thank you, Uncle Walt.

Today will be my first #PhoneFreeFriday of 2023. I'm leaving my phone on Do Not Disturb for the day. My intention is to give myself a big block of time to concentrate on a project long enough that I can move into the deep flow state.

Wish me luck.

New Year

Time to plant some seeds to take root in this new year.

 

(attributed to Theodore Parker, but I heard it on the Inspirational Living podcast)