25 Goals in 2025 - The Results

So ... how did I do?

Goals Reached

1. Reorganized my fat quarters and fabric scraps by color and/or holiday into identically-sized zipped bags
   
   
2. Altered a white oval tablecloth into a circle tablecloth. I learned to sew a narrow hem.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Made a travel pouch for my reusable drinking straws to put in my purse
   
   
4. Gave my grandmother's yoyo quilts to daughter Julie to fix and display
   
   
5. Made a white maternity dress for Jodie
   
   
6. Made a pink print maternity dress for Jodie
   
   
7. Made 35 additional craft/sewing projects (goal of 25)
   
   
   
   
8. Made crafts primarily from my stash rather than purchasing new supplies 
   
   
9. Baked cookies once a month and shared them
   
   
10. Whitened my teeth once a month
    
    
11. Went on an Artist Date once a month. (Ornaments made on my crafting retreat).
    
    
    
    
    
12. Gave purposeful, simple love gestures to Dale once a month
    
    
13. Touched base with my two older kids twice a week (for 8 months)
    
    
14. Visited 30 new-to-me parks (goal of 25)
    
    
    
    
    
15. Found 41 geocaches (goal of 25)
    
    
16. Read / listened to 30 books (goal of  25) A whole lot more if you count all the books I read to granddaughter Abby!
    
    
    
    
    
    
17. Filled patio planters and gardens with Morning Glories, Daffodils, Sunflowers, Strawberries and Tulips.
    
    
18. Went to The Enchanted Forest with daughter Julie's family
    
    
19. Had our oldest granddaughter, Melody, stay with us for several days
    
    
20. Went to the Oregon shore for a day
    
    
    
    
    
21. Visited Julie's family in Idaho (twice)
    
    
22. Took photos of a lighthouse
    
    
    
    
    
23. Got a gym membership
    
    
24. Finished our end-of-life preparations (Will, Trust, Advance Directive, burial site, bought urns)
    
    
    
    
    
25. Crawl space renovations 
    

Honorable Mentions

I worked on these, but didn't reach my goal:

1. Developed 10 sewing skills (goal was 25)
   
   
2. Made/sent 21 cards/letters (goal of 25)
   
   
   
   
3. Completed 15 jigsaw puzzles (goal of 25)
   
   
4. Crocheted 4 purses for Bag of Love (goal of 12)
   
   
   
   
   
5. Started rearranging my Studio
   
   
6. Started garage organization

Yeah ... that's a lot. I'm quite the ambitious woman. 

Puzzle Season - 02

The Colorful Organised Bookshelf (I like how the puzzle company spelled "organized." British?).

It's a little 500 piecer from Puzzlebug. I like to put these inexpensive puzzles together on my own in a single sitting.

I particularly like the prismatic colors

with plenty of details.

🎶 I Can Buy Myself Flowers 🎶

I'm going to try to remember to do this more often in 2026

(Playing with light and shadows here. Not sure it worked, but fun experimenting).

Puzzle Season - 01

As winter settles in, so do Dale and I. It's a good time to spend with jigsaw puzzles. 

We enjoyed the day-by-day Advent Calendar a lot again this year. These miniature puzzles are packaged in 25 little boxes. They combine into one big puzzle throughout the month give us a daily dose of dopamine to lighten up these dark days.

We saved Day 25 for Jodie to put together when her family joined us for Christmas.

Highly recommended!

Forget-Me-Not Bookmark

A little something I stitched.

When solemn sighs the hollow wind,

And deepen'd thought enraps the mind;

If e'er thou doest in mournful tone,

E'er sigh because thou feel alone,

Or wrapt in melancholy prone,

                                             Forget me not.

~ from Forget Me Not by Ann Plato

For my daughter who suffered a tiny tot of a sorrow this year. 

She can use this bookmark and know that I care about her recovery.

Owl Bookmark

I made this for my granddaughter Annalee, the owl lover and new reader of chapter books.

Its made from craft felt. The stem has a pipe cleaner sewed inside to give the bookmark a little stability.

I sewed the bits in place by hand using buttonhole, running, and whip stitches. The pupils of the eyes are French knots.

The bookmark slides into the pages of the book, then hooks over the top!

This was inspired by a crochet pattern I saw online. I decided to make it from felt because it was faster to make that way ... and the Christmas box needed to be mailed!

Laid Up

What's a person to do when they sprain both ankles at the same time?

Why, pass the time coloring, of course. Oh ... and watching a Hallmark Christmas love story movie.

Weird fact: I don't even know how I managed to sprain my ankles!

---

I filled the shapes with Crayola colored pencils. Then intensified the colors and brightened the image up a bit in my photo editing program.

This mandala is from the Flowers Mandala Coloring Book. 

Snowkid Hat

Who dat?

I made a light-hearted hat for my eldest granddaughter.

The pattern is from my favorite crochet designer, Repeat Crafter Me.

Happy little gal, isn't she?

On the Edge of Town

This tree catches my eye every time I walk by, every time I drive by, every season.

Friday Fieldtrip: Keeping Ships Safe

Heceta Head Lighthouse, doing its job.

The Lighthouse
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The rocky ledge runs far into the sea,

And on its outer point, some miles away,

The Lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,

A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.

Even at this distance I can see the tides,

Upheaving, break unheard along its base,

A speechless wrath, that rises and subsides

In the white lip and tremor of the face.

And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright,

Through the deep purple of the twilight air,

Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light

With strange, unearthly splendor in the glare!

Not one alone; from each projecting cape

And perilous reef along the ocean's verge,

Starts into life a dim, gigantic shape,

Holding its lantern o'er the restless surge.

Like the great giant Christopher it stands

Upon the brink of the tempestuous wave,

Wading far out among the rocks and sands,

The night-o'ertaken mariner to save.

And the great ships sail outward and return,

Bending and bowing o'er the billowy swells,

And ever joyful, as they see it burn,

They wave their silent welcomes and farewells.

They come forth from the darkness, and their sails

Gleam for a moment only in the blaze,

And eager faces, as the light unveils,

Gaze at the tower, and vanish while they gaze.

The mariner remembers when a child,

On his first voyage, he saw it fade and sink;

And when, returning from adventures wild,

He saw it rise again o'er ocean's brink.

Steadfast, serene, immovable, the same

Year after year, through all the silent night

Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame,

Shines on that inextinguishable light!

It sees the ocean to its bosom clasp

The rocks and sea-sand with the kiss of peace;

It sees the wild winds lift it in their grasp,

And hold it up, and shake it like a fleece.

The startled waves leap over it; the storm

Smites it with all the scourges of the rain,

And steadily against its solid form

Press the great shoulders of the hurricane.

The sea-bird wheeling round it, with the din

Of wings and winds and solitary cries,

Blinded and maddened by the light within,

Dashes himself against the glare, and dies.

A new Prometheus, chained upon the rock,

Still grasping in his hand the fire of Jove,

It does not hear the cry, nor heed the shock,

But hails the mariner with words of love.

"Sail on!" it says, "sail on, ye stately ships!

And with your floating bridge the ocean span;

Be mine to guard this light from all eclipse,

Be yours to bring man nearer unto man!"

Friday Fieldtrip: Hangin' Out on the Dock

Keeping an eye on the crab fishermen and kids

Florence, Oregon

Friday Fieldtrip: Cape Creek Bridge

The impressive bridge with stunning strong architectural lines near Heceta Head Lighthouse

Friday Fieldtrip: Heceta Head Lighthouse

Up close and personal.

I climbed to the top of the hill to get this view.

Friday Fieldtrip: Oregon Coast

Right before Thanksgiving, Dale and I took a day trip to the Oregon coast. Glorious.

That's Heceta Head Lighthouse on the point.

Square Neck Alteration

This is such a cool, easy hack!

I've always liked how a square neckline looks on me, but I have problems with tops I purchase because the neckline is often too wide. My bra straps show. Not good.

I purchased this top last July but haven't been able to wear it for that reason. 

I finally took the time to research how to make a wide neckline narrow. I found several methods, but this looked like one that would work on this particular top.

It took very little time to complete the alteration, once I found this method. The little tucks bring the sides of the neckline in just enough, and without messing with the shoulders or the bust, which fit me well. 

I found a lone pink button in my stash that fits the bill for this casual top.

Here's what it looks like when I wear it.

So often, the hardest part for me to learn a new technique or fixing a problem is simply starting.

Bonus: Learning this technique brings me one step closer to my 25 Goals in 2025.

Eugene Park Tour: Friday Blitz

A few weeks ago it was raining on Friday, so Dale and I took an unusual Friday Fieldtrip. We visited (drove by) nine of Eugene's parks. There was a lot of Fall color in the trees to enjoy.

Most of these are neighborhood parks, fairly standard with a kid's play structure, an open field, perhaps a basketball hoop and walking path.

Others are more like a nature trail or an open space with a place to walk your dog that's the home of a future developed park.

We concentrated on parks mainly in residential areas in the center of the city and included:

1. Chase Commons Park
2. Glen Oak Park
3. Hawkins Heights
4. Marche Chase Park
5. Melvin Miller Park
6. Tugman Park
7. Warbling Creek
8. Willis Park
9. Willow Creek Natural Area

Occasionally we saw some wildlife.

Now that we know where they are, we can revisit each park again and spend some time enjoying them when the weather is more favorable.

They Find Me

This morning I took my walk through a new subdivision being built near our neighborhood. The houses are starting to go up with lots of contractor trucks coming and going, lumber being dropped off, concrete trucks, workers constructing the curbs.

As I walk along the curb, this caught my eye.

I walked by before my brain caught up with what I thought I saw. When I doubled back ...

The heart wasn't just in my imagination.

Some Evenings are Like This

For Jodie

Me.
Tonight.

Couch Potato

Tonight's Sunset

 

Puzzle Weather

As the days get shorter, darker, and cooler, it feels like time to snuggle in. It's ideal jigsaw puzzle weather.

I started with a little 350 piece puzzle that I did by myself, rather than with Dale. I like colorful photographs like this.

Olga Nikiforova is the photographer. Pickleballs is the name of the puzzle.

This is the kind of photo I enjoy taking. I took a similar photo back in July 2013

And another that I photographed in August 2013.

I'm looking forward to months of puzzle pastime.