Eugene Park Tour: Richardson Park

Dale and I got out for a short drive on Sunday. We were enjoying the weather in between raindrops and seeking out flowering trees and vistas. I messed up my ankle a while back, and have been feeling sorry for myself that I can't walk around parks and arboretums right now. As we approached the park, we were greeted with this beautiful tree in full bloom.

Richardson Park is fairly close to where we live in the countryside just west of town. It's been developed by the county at the edge of the reservoir.

Here's the description on the county website:

At 115 acres, Richardson Park is the largest developed park in the County Parks system. It is accessible by major roads in all directions, and is the closest RV campground to the cities of Eugene and Veneta. With 88 sites, a large day use area, and three picnic shelters, it is one of the most visited County parks. An 8,000 square-foot picnic shelter was completed in 2004. The three-roofed structure houses a full-service, outdoor kitchen and seats 300 people. Richardson has a 212-slip marina, a swimming area, play structures, game areas, and an outdoor amphitheater.

We didn't get out for a walk, but from a parking lot we spotted this charming little house tucked beneath the huge trees. We're pretty sure this is the amphitheater site and the structure holds the sound and video equipment.

Down by the lake you can borrow life preservers. What a great service!

The lake level is back up after the winter low. It's gorgeous!

In the distance we saw some sailboats. They way they were staying close to shore gave us the impression that it was a learn-to-sail class. 

This is yet another park we'll be sure to return to every year.

Tangled

Ugh.

Every knitter, crocheter, weaver knows this frustration.

So I dug out my handy dandy 1950s (1960s?) hand-cranked yarn winder. "Made in Japan" but no patent date. Original price: $4.69. Similar models now cost between $20 to $50. I think I found mine at a garage sale. Or maybe another needleworker gave it to me.

Ahhh! 

SO satisfying!

Corner Bookshop

Dale and I put this excellent puzzle together about three weeks ago. Buffalo puzzles are good quality, so they feel good in the hand. 

This is the ideal kind of puzzle for us. 500 pieces. Colorful. Lots of detail. Words. A scene we wouldn't mind living in for a while.

It's always nice when a puzzle comes with a full-size poster. We don't have to squint at the box top so much.

Here are some of the great details:

Unfortunately, there were three missing pieces, one of which was an edge piece.

But for a thrift store price, I don't mind so much.

This was so much fun to put together!

Our Oregon Sky

 

as seen through the dining room window

Crochet Kid Purse

I spent the day with Jodie today. In between a grocery run, hugging a baby, folding laundry, kissing a baby, having lunch, feeding a baby, and putting a baby down for a nap, we figured out the crochet pattern for the kid's purse that I mentioned yesterday. This sweet design is by The Yarn Bowl.

It's awfully cute!

The entire process took me 4-1/2 hours. That's quite a bit longer than I anticipated. But now that I've completed my first handbag, the next one should go much faster. I'm going to try some alterations that should help with speed.

I still intend to line this purse with fabric ... maybe tomorrow. I'll post another photo or two when I have another one completed.

Helping Out Locally

Jodie and I have joined forces to do some at-home sewing and crochet for a wonderful organization in town called Bags of Love. This group provides necessities and comfort items to children who are in crisis due to neglect, abuse, poverty, homelessness, or disaster. 

Jodie and I were overwhelmed in the best way when we were given a tour of their facility. They helped nearly 5,000 kids in 2023. The women we met are smart, kind, organized, talented, efficient, and overflowing with goodwill. It's exactly the kind of organization I've been hoping to join since moving to Eugene: "a ray of hope in a time of crisis."

Jodie and I became part of this organization a month ago and were given the job of making bookmarks. Every child gets a book in their bag, and every book gets a bookmark. Jodie and I figured this is a small enough project that we can do on our own time. We make the bookmarks when I visit her twice a week in between taking care of and playing with Abby.

We were given a stack of fabric and several rolls of ribbon along with basic instructions. Cut the rectangles.

Sandwich a piece of ribbon between two layers of fabric. Use pinking shears to trim the edges.

Sew them together. Repeat. ... Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Couldn't be easier.

We'll also be crocheting purses for little girls. They can provide yarn. We can pick whatever pattern we want. The first pattern I'll try is an online freebie from The Yarn Bowl that uses a granny stitch.

This bag should be very easy and work up quickly. I'm thinking about lining the purse so trinkets and treasures don't fall out through the holes.

I even found a local knit/crochet circle that meets in the library. I'll see if that's a good fit for me and a way to meet other like-minded women. My plan is to dedicate my time in that group to crocheting child-size purses for Bags of Love.

Jodie's Tulip

I spent time with Jodie and Abby today. Their front yard is looking so pretty in Spring blossoms.

Can't get enough of my daughter and granddaughter.

Paper Easter Baskets

Here's one of those crafty things I've been meaning to try for over a decade. Seriously. This very easy, finish-eight-of-them-in-under-an-hour papercraft was first introduced to me by my friend Mary in 2011. As part of my 24 Goals in 2024, I was determined to do it this year.

(I was determined to do it LAST year, too. Yet all the bits and bobs sat in a plastic container in my Studio for an entire year. Best laid plans. Oh, well. They're done now!)

Mary does a great job with her tutorial, so I'm not going to reiterate how it's done. Here are the supplies I used:

• 12" x 12" pieces of watercolor-print scrapbook paper
• a cutting tool
• a score board
• a rounded corner paper punch
• a 1/8" hole punch
• colorful tiny brads

I cut my 12" paper into four 6" squares, so made four baskets from each piece. I made a total of eight baskets.

The finished size is about 3" across. 

Dale printed our names on the sides. I filled them with Easter tinsel grass, three sugar cookies, and some pastel-colored M & Ms. We used them as party favors on the Easter dinner table to mark where each person was to sit.

Thinking of You

I made a Springtime card for a far-away friend in a new-to-me design from Pinterest that inspired me. The original card is by Karen Dunbrook.

Though the original card with made with paper strips, I decided to use coordinating bright colors of 5/8" wide ribbon in blue, orange and green.

I used a layer of white cardstock on top of yellow for a pop of border color. I figured out the placement of ribbons on the back of that white layer.

Then I used an X-ACTO knife and straight edge to make the precise cuts.

I wove the ribbon through the card slots using a safety pin

then adhered the ribbon on the back of the white cardstock with strong double-sided tape.

The bottom later of the sentiment is made from handmade, textured scrapbook paper. I added a white layer on top and stamped on the "Thinking of You."

Inside, I added a greeting that I'd typed up on the computer, and stamped the jar full of love. I hand-wrote a personal message on the left side of the card.

I finished the back in the usual way. (I'm pretty sure that I remember to sign it).

I gussied up the envelope with a matching scrap of yellow paper on the inside, and stamped the mailbox full of love on the back. Pretty cute stamp!

When she received it, my friend let me know it brightened her day. 

That is the point of sending handmade greetings, isn't it? It's why I send them. Plus, the hours spent making special cards is almost like getting to spend that time in my friend's presence.

Tonight's Sunset

It's a beauty.

Half an hour later, it was pink and purple.

I love living in Oregon.

Big ol' Bud

This rhododendron bush on my daughter's block is ready to burst into flower.

The buds remind me of pine cones, though not as prickly.

Eleven Years

It's been 11 years since I've gotten to see my "bestie" in person. We had that extreme pleasure on Sunday.

Debi and I met in high school at a lunch table.

After my dad sold the family business (my first job), Debi helped me get a job in the Children's Room of the public library. It's my very favorite paid job I ever had due to the great staff and my love of kid's books.

Debi and I lost track of each other for years, but finally reconnected through Facebook. Our rare get-togethers are full of stories and laughter. This time, Dale got to meet my friend after hearing about her for 35 years. She says he's a keeper. I agree.

Thanks to Grayson for the photo

Debi's a keeper, too!

Love you, Debi. Maybe next time I can drive up your direction. Let's not make it another decade.

Eugene Park Tour: Two Up North

This morning Dale and I had a quick little Tuesday Travels outing between Spring rain showers that gave us a little distance vision, took us to two parks, and nabbed us three geocache smilies. We were in the Crescent neighborhood, north of the Beltline and just off Coburg Road.

First, we made a return visit to Striker Field. We visited the parking lot last September during a cold rainstorm. On this trip we got out of the car and found a nano-size geocache (teeny tiny ... about the size of a pencil eraser). The park was busy with kids and pickleball players and a group of old men playing some kind of old men game.

Then we hopped over to Crescent Park to an excellent small-size cache camouflaged in a tree. There was plenty of room for me to leave extra swag. It was a good thing Dale was with me, because I'm not sure I could have reached it on my own. This park is so pretty at this time of year, with a full line of flowering pink (cherry?) trees.

Our final cache was a little scary as it was on a small bridge crossing the I-5 freeway. Eek!

We've now completed our geocaching goal of the year, and are one-third of the way to our park-visiting goal.

Mostly importantly, we got to spend a little time in the fresh air with each other, doing what we enjoy in our lovely home town. What a pleasant way to spend an hour or two!

 

Tearjerker

While I was at a Little Free Library a few weeks ago, searching for (and finding) a geocache, I took a minute to scan the book titles. I found this kid's book that I'd never heard of before, but it had the symbol of a Newbery Honor Book on the cover, so I snagged it.

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff is the story of a 10 year old girl lost to the foster child system. She was found in the woods as an infant, and has stayed with family after family her entire life. She's thought of as a troublemaker and angry. She doesn't like to give straight answers. When things get tough, she runs. Eventually she's found and dumped in another home.

Hollis is an artist. Quite a good one, at that. She draws pictures of her experiences. We get to hear the stories behind those pictures.

Eventually Hollis is placed with a family that wants to become her forever family. But there's an incident (hinted at throughout the book), that causes Hollis to run again. This time when she's caught, she's placed with an old woman who is an artist. It's a great match, except that the woman has early onstage dementia. As much as Hollis wants to stay, she'll be forced to move on again. So, she runs. 

This time she takes the old woman with her.

It's a lovely, lovely book with characters you want to care about. It all comes out well in the end, as you might expect. But it comes out even better than expected.

I absolutely love this book. Best book of children's literature I've read in a while. This book reminds me why I love Kid Lit so much. 

Poppy Bunny

Last week's puzzle:

I've been aware of eeboo puzzles for a while, but this is the first one I've constructed. I appreciate their motto, "Piece & Love."

Take in some of these details from the gorgeous, color-saturated illustration. It's beautiful and great quality which made it fun to put together -- though that bunny fur was quite the challenge.

All kinds of animals can be found in the garden.

All this fun for a pittance of a price - bought used at a favorite thrift store.