Wrapping Paper

I appreciate that Amazon is doing their little bit for the environment by filling up space in their boxes with wrinkled up brown craft paper rather than the air pillows. Magpie that I am, I can't throw it in the recycling bin. So today I recycled the paper MY way.

I squared off the rough edges of the paper and pulled out my Crayola markers. Then, while listening to some funny I Mom So Hard podcasts, I played around. The idea was to make wrapping paper for the Valentine gifts we'll be sending to our grandkids

The first sheet has one of each color marker, then little baby black hearts. I tried a couple hearts with dots and cross-hatching, but that took too much brain power.

I played with heart size, with hearts filled in, and hearts outlined. I added little dots in the free space.

This one has a pattern and limited colors.

The last one might be my favorite. the tiny pink hearts are made using a marker with a heart-shaped tip. It's used like a stamp. 

But I didn't have a plan. I went with whatever whimsy floated through my head. I ended up making six pieces of wrapping paper during the length of the three podcast episodes. No two are alike.

I didn't get much restful sleep last night, I'm on my third caffeine of the day, and couldn't force myself to work on any of the other five Valentine activities I planned. They will take some actual brain power. 

This was just the right level of engagement needed to help me feel like I'm still on a forward trajectory. It gave me a measure of delight. And there were no wrong answers.

Throwback Thursday: Dragonfly

From 2016

I walked down to Kiwanis Park in Post Falls, Idaho with my telephoto lens on my camera to see what I could see. I saw this. 

I miss that park.

I'm pretty sure I received Fan Photo of the Day for this pic.

Toddlin' Time

Look who walked all the way across the living room to me!

Abby's not a baby anymore!

Lunch with Abby

One year old. She can use a fork!

And fingers.  Yum!

Purple with Butterflies

For the second purse I finished yesterday I utilized the same striped pattern, this time with a variegated purple body, interrupted with a pink stripe.

The rim of the purse, the outer edge of the strap, the flower and the closure all use the same pink. I added a purple center for the flower. It makes for a nice contrast.

And inside? It's lined with psychedelic butterflies flitting around on a light purple background.

I hope to donate these crocheted purses and 8 jigsaw puzzles to Bags of Love tomorrow. I hope all the gifts bring a little joy to a kid who is having a rough time.

Return to Crochet

After taking a couple months off, I'm back to crocheting some purses for little girls that I'll donate to Bags of Love. This time I repeated a striped pattern that I did back in September 2024. I think it looks quite sweet with the main body in white confetti yarn with turquoise accents. It's not nearly as bold as my red purse.

I chose a light turquoise button for the center of the flower. I also added turquoise rows to the strap to create a stripe.

I created a loop that surrounds the flower to hold the purse closed. Inside, a fun coordinating fabric. Is that a Paw Patrol character?

I was able to finish two purses today, so will share the other one soon. I hope to make at least 12 purses this year as one of my 25 Goals in 2025.

Golden Hour at Golden Gardens

I made a stop on my way home from Jodie's house right before sunset. 

One day I'll remember to bring my telephoto lens along so I can get more detail than my phone's camera allows.

So peaceful here.

I love living in Oregon.

Throwback Thursday: The Thinkers

From 10 years ago

Oh, dear Frog Prince. How I miss you! You made me laugh in ways others couldn't understand. I hope you're enjoying your Idaho life!

Black and White Puzzle

We spent New Year's Day on this masterpiece. It's one of the most unusual puzzles I've ever attempted. 

It's called Dracula in Dr. Seward's Library and as you can see, entirely black and white.

It's from a company and puzzle line I'd never heard of before, Pomegranate Artpiece Puzzles.

There's a bit of information about the illustrator, Edward Gorey, on the side of the box. Interesting!

Dale actually constructed most of this puzzle. I was able to rough-sort the pieces and help with the border. The pieces are nice and large. But my eyes were going crazy with this image. 

Since Dale is color blind, the graphic nature and line drawing of this illustration was right up his alley. He could easily separate pieces by value and texture.

When he was nearly done and down to the last few pieces sorted by shape, I was able to help him place pieces again.

I do so enjoy the details in this castle, though. 

Wonderfully ghoulish.

Fabric Bookmarks

It's been over three months since I completed anything for Bags of Love, the charitable organization that I help out. The entire Fall and Winter got away from me. While working to catch up on my odds and ends of crafts and projects and email and and and ... I came across these photos of fabric bookmarks I finished last August.

I'd gone through my pieces and ends of holiday fabrics and pulled out the ones that were small. I made up these bookmarks and divided them by season when I turned them in to the office.

25 Patriotic / 4th of July bookmarks. That striped ribbon was fun to work with.

8 Halloween / Fall bookmarks

14 Christmas / Winter bookmarks

12 for any time of year

I've been meaning to make more bookmarks, but rather than sewing, I have some paper/cardstock designs in mind. I sure hope I can get to them before long. I get to start new projects when I'm done playing catch-up.

Between the Raindrops

At the end of December, I found a break in the rain to take a short walk. Along the way ...

and of course, a heart

Into the Country

For our first jigsaw puzzle of the year, we took a humorous trip into the country.

This is how we spent New Year's Day.

This 500 piece puzzle has a very busy image, and was fast and fun to put together. Bonus, it's one of two puzzles in the box, so there's more fun to come.

There are a lot of humorous scenarios.

I found this puzzle at a thrift store. It's a winner.

Eugene Park Tour: Country Lane Park

Dale and I are back at it! After staying inside most of the winter, we had our first foray out between rainstorms. Our Tuesday Travels took us to a new-to-us city park.

Country Lane Park is a small neighborhood park that has the amenities of most of Eugene's neighborhood parks. There's a nice playground with soft bark underfoot that has bouncy cars for the little ones and a good-sized play structure for kids. There's even a climbing wall on this one.

On one side of the playground is this bell-shaped tube. If you talk into it here ...

your buddy can hear your voice on the other side of the playground.

There are benches for the parents to rest on while the littles are playing and swings for kids of all ages.

Behind the playground is a small basketball court and a half acre of open grassy area.

W-a-y back among the trees, across a quite muddy field, Dale and I found our first geocache of 2025. My shoes are still caked in dirt.