Pod Cast-away

Summer of P: Past

From 2016: Seed Pod

I'm pretty sure this is a chestnut. I found it when I was living in Idaho. I was out on a walk and picked it up off the ground because of the color and texture. I was wearing a hoodie and put several of these pods in my hood to carry home because they were too pricky to hold in my hand.

Seven years later, it reminds me of the coronavirus. Experiences change perspective.

A Berry Good Year

 Summer of P: Past

From 2020, The Ripening

Dale and I found this bramble while visiting a park south of town. Blackberries grow wild and free here in Eugene. A bit of a menace, really. This time of year they're starting to ripen all over town. 

Want to make blackberry jam? Now's the time!

P is for Pinecone

 Summer of P: Past

From 2016, a pinecone from our front yard.

We had hundreds of pinecones in our yard each year. Dale used to pay Jodie five cents each to pick them up before he had to cut the grass. 

I was proud of myself for being able to capture this macro shot of a pine nut tucked between the scales.

Summer Sunshine

Summer of P: Past

From 2020, the Sunshine Wreath

Crochet, pompoms, and embroidery. 

This may be my favorite summer decoration, hanging in our living room.

Well, my favorite until I make another fun craft.

Summer of "P" - revised

My intention for the Summer of P was to pay attention to some things:

• Patio
• Parks
• Picnics
• Past
• Purple

Dale and I have been doing better than expected with patio. We're at the point with the new furnishings where we enjoy spending time out there every day. 

I've been noticing lots of purple and find myself taking photos of all manner of objects. Few are worth editing or are blog-worthy.

But we've not visited many parks. We've taken no picnics. And we've visited no museums (past). Dale was on the grand jury for a month, and our travel fun time was sporadic. We lost our rhythm.

Now that jury duty is over and we have only one more month of summer, I hope we can visit at least one more park and take a picnic lunch. It's been hot, and now the wildfires have begun, so picnics at parks may not be all that fun.

And for past? Instead of visiting museums, I'm going to revisit some photos I've taken in the past and enjoy them all over again. I'm starting here.

Our granddaughter Melody when she was just over two months old. 

Throwback Thursday: Pollen

From this date in 2016.

Doctor appointments, then playing catch-up this week in real life, so I don't have much new blog content. This photo makes me want to get out my macro lens on my "big girl" camera.

So many interests. So little time. 

Even in retirement.

Thrift Haul - Part 2

Here's the most remarkable find from yesterday's trip to the thrift store. A giant button box! It's a nice clean Sterilite snap box that's about 13-1/2" by 10-3/4" in superb condition. It holds a lot! When empty, the box retails for $15.50.

These are all modern buttons. Most are plastic. Many are likely bought in bulk. There are some fancier buttons on cards that sell between $3 - $7 retail. Many are novelty shapes. This is an excellent craft stash.

Here are some highlights:

Jack-l-lantern buttons. Retail at Joann's is 6 buttons for $2.79. I've got at least 75 of them.

3-D butterfly buttons ... worth about $3. So girly.

Wood buttons on cards. ... retail $3 each. I have two sizes on 7 cards worth $21. Seven other specialty buttons on cards at about $6 a pop ... $42 worth!

Huge amount of novelty buttons in bright colors. There must be at least 3 bags there, retailing between $4.50 (on sale) and $8 retail.  Another $24.

Then a slew of plain 3/4" buttons in hot pink, pink, clear, grey, navy, buff, and black. I'm estimating $15 worth. Likely more.

The approximate value of all these buttons and the box is over $150. Even if all these buttons were on sale at 1/2 off, it would still be $75 worth of buttons. 

I got it all for under $15 !!!!!

Time to make some button projects!

Thrift Haul - Part 1

I was cruising the thrift stores again. This time looking for something "penguin." Fabric or buttons or charms or embroidery transfers or ... whatever. I was looking for inspiration. I saw a few penguins, but none that would work for my purpose at a price I was willing to pay.

Instead, I found three other gems that totaled less than $20.00: a 1,000 piece puzzle; a box of fancy stationery, and a box of buttons. Let's talk about the first two finds today.

The Puzzle:

It's called "Birds Puzzle" from the company talking tables. It's made in The Netherlands. I've never heard of this company before, but the packaging in reminiscent of some of my higher-quality puzzles. I was so taken with the illustration! It sells for between $20 - $26. I bought it for $3.99 minus the senior discount.

It appears to have the original seals on the box, so there's a good chance all the pieces will be there. You're always taking your chances with puzzles from a thrift store. I like that on the back of the box, there's a key to tell you what each kind of bird is in the illustration. Inside, there ought to be a trivia sheet and full-size poster.

The Stationery:

This is a full box of Hallmark blank notecards that dates back to 1976. It's very nice quality. All eight cards are still in the box. Retail price on the box is $12.50. I bought it for $2.99 minus the senior discount. Comparable boxes on auction sites range from $6 to $30.

That is real nylon lace covering a silver foil cardstock on the front! It's not paper lace. I've never seen such a thing. 

The envelopes are lined in a similar silver foil.

One of the cards is used. The message appears to be a bit of family history, written by the great-grandchild of Coffman and Dow. It says:

Information given me on De. 28, 2007, by mom.

1. Great-Grandparents Coffman were members of 4 Square Church in Portland, ran by Amy McPherson.

2. Great-Grandparents Dow are thought to attend Methodist.

The note makes me wonder if this stationery was part of an estate. When my folks died, I inherited an unusually large amount of stationery. That's coming up on 25 years ago, and I'm still using it up! 

Tomorrow - the bigger find!

Back At It

Sometimes a little deal is a big deal. I want to remember this feeling.

Last week I finally completed setting up my sewing machines. They have a home in the alcove at the top of the stairs, down the hall from my Studio. The old Singer from high school days, the Burnette surger from the '90s, and my "new" Brother that I received several years ago and still haven't learned to use.

Set up. Cleaned out. Plugged in. Power cords tidied. Small "hoards" cleared off that table, the items having found new permanent homes. A dedicated space to sew again.

I dipped my toe in with a little mending to see if the machine tension was correct. Score! Then I moved on to hemming some jeans that have been waiting for that fix for a year-and-a-half. Just about broke a needle along the way, but got the job done. Denim. Those thick seams. Grrr. Done is better than good.

Then I altered this bright tablecloth so that it can work on our round patio table. It needed to fit around the umbrella hole. Nailed it.

Another addition to the Summer of P.

Any one of these things is just a little deal. But with each step, I felt my mood lift. I entered into the world of needlecraft when my mom taught me to sew. With the new set-up, I'm returning to my roots. 

After two years of wondering what happened to my creativity, it's a big deal to watch it return. For me, anyway.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig.

Cottage Grove

Dale had a jury-duty-free late morning. He thought he was going to be at the courthouse all day. So on the spur of the moment, we decided to resume our Tuesday Travels. This time we went south to Cottage Grove to drive around and do a little geocaching. We found five caches altogether. One of my favorites was at this statue of Harry Vardon at the Middlefield Golf Course. The statue is made of rusty nails! 

A second fun cache was found hanging in a tree. The log container is stuffed inside this giant 4-inch fly that was zip-tied to a branch.

A third fun find was in a type of cache container I've never seen before. The cache owner used an owl-shaped salt and pepper shaker. The log was in a bison tube poked inside the shaker. The bison tube had a string attached that went through a hole in the owl's head and attached to the tree at the other end (so the owl couldn't "fly away," I suppose).  I forgot to take a picture, but it looked a lot like this. 

I was glad to be able to show Dale the covered walking bridge in downtown Cottage Grove. It's adorable.

After a good bit of searching, we found our last cache of the day there. We think we might have convinced a muggle to join the caching community!

For a day that started out cloudy and misty, the afternoon was sunny and spectacular. I do so love our #tuesdaytravels!

At Golden Gardens

After my doctor appointment, I stopped for a walk around the ponds, enjoyed the morning, and took some snapshots with my phone's camera.

I look forward to the day I return with my Big Girl Camera and telephoto lens.

Smile!

I don't have bandwidth for much today ... so have purple Kool-Aid and smile.

Summer of P - Purple!

Patio Update

Dale and I completed a few more patio tasks this week. Gosh, we're appreciating our choices.

First, we finished lining the back fence with trellises and finished filling in the dirt in the space between the slab and the fence. I added some seeds that we hope will eventually grow into a climbing plant. We figure if any of the seeds sprout, and the vines get half way up the trellises this summer and fall, we'll call that a success.

Dale put the lounge chairs together. Then we tried a few arrangements for where we want to use them. This corner feels like a good spot so far. We're talking about adding a side table between them, and maybe a small umbrella or rectangular canopy to shield the worst of the heat. We're also considering another source for more twinkle lights. Perhaps a twig tree?

I fixed up the whirligig with the crystal in the center. Now it hangs from the awning on a string of (plastic) crystal beads. When it twirls in the sunlight, it makes spinning rainbows along the house and fence. 

We're also considering bringing a Google Home device outside so we can play music or podcasts or audiobooks while we relax in the shade.

We like the symmetry we've created so far. It's really quite amazing to us because we've been looking at the blank canvas (concrete slab) for 3-1/2 years, not knowing what to do. Now that we've started, it's coming together so well and much faster than we originally anticipated.

:: whispers ::

Summer of P

I Can't Resist

Every year I must take photos of the hydrangeas in daughter Jodie's yard. 

The huge bushes are laden with pink and blue and purple blossoms. 

Absolutely lush.

Patio Preview

The Summer of P continues! We've been making nice progress on our patio makeover. 

• We raised an awning and umbrella, complete with twinkle lights under both
• We added four colorful whirligigs.
• We have Adirondack chairs and an outdoor rug.
• We mounted some bug zappers at the side yards.
• We constructed some planters to line the patio.
• We got all the weeding done around the edge
• We are beginning to fill in the soil.

Today we began placing the delicate metal trellises along the fenceline. This is a sneak peek. We may not get any plantings in this year, but the infrastructure will be in place. This is actually more than we intended to do this year. (Dale and I are the slow and steady type).

Later this week a couple loungers will arrive. Next weekend I'll be able to take a nap in the sunshine. Lovely!

Too Hot to Think Straight

On these hot hot days, I find it a little hard to muster creativity. I want to sit still in an air-conditioned room, play games on my phone, listen to a podcast, and try to keep from sweating. But my Jodie turned 30 years old yesterday, and I also wanted to make her a special card.

So I found a compromise. Here's the finished card:

I bought two of the same birthday card, cut one of them up, and embellished the second card with bits of the first. Here's how:

First, I embellished the outline of the card with gold glitter tape. I outlined the banner with 1/8" yellow tape. Then I cut the "30" from the first card, embellished it with the same gold glitter tape, and adhered it over the "30" on the card with pop-up adhesive dots. 

The theme of Jodie's gift from Dale and me was gardening. So I pulled these very cool 3-D stickers from my stash and adhered the flower pot to the bottom corner.

On the inside, I added some of that same narrow yellow tape above and below the Happy Birthday. Then I added two more of the stickers to the inside of the card.

Here's a close-up of the large sticker. It has a flat base with the printed background flowers on slick paper. Then it has a pop-up cardboard glittery vase with a few other flowers. The layering creates a stunning effect.

Then it was time to embellish the envelope. I added another of the 3-D stickers to the front of the envelope. Then outlined the envelope flap with more of the gold glitter tape.

On the inside of the envelope, I inserted a coordinating piece of scrapbook paper. By embellishing both the card and the envelope with the same elements, it creates a cohesive color theme. 

The yellow tape on the banner and around the Happy Birthday on the card wouldn't make much sense if the envelope hadn't been yellow. There was also yellow in all of the stickers. 

The gold glitter tape mimicked the glitter on the stickers. That same gold glitter tape on the envelope flap echoes the gold frame of the sticker on the front of the envelope.

Starting with a base store-bought card helped my creative juices start to flow. Then pawing through my stash of paper tape, scrapbook paper, and stickers helped the ideas solidify. 

After that, it was a matter of playing and getting lost in the creative process ... flow.

I'm Tired

I worked hard today, got a ton done, and for the first time in years, did a three mile walk. I'm so proud of myself. Being able to easily walk three miles is one of this year's goals. I hope to do a community 5K walk/run sometime.

But ... now I'm too tired to write a proper blog post.

So here's a Summer of P pretty purple flower whose portrait I took at the end of May.