Matchy Matchy

After doing some garden clean-up on this beautiful day....I sat on the patio and sorted edge pieces for my next puzzle.  I thought it was kind of fun that the puzzle pieces were perfectly matchy matchy with my socks? 

The colors on this succulent puzzle are just scrumptious. I have seen this one finished on Margie's table....and I"m excited for it to be on mine.

It was one of those sunny, blue sky, wam spring days when no matter what happened it would be OK. This is my first spring in a long time I've only been responsible for gardens at one place. I made the rounds cleaning things up here in about 40 minutes....and that makes me very happy.  

I have one sweet little bloodroot blooming...and lots of shoots poking through the ground.  Spring is finally springing!

And look who got her journal back today. And speaking of matchy matchy AND socks....zoom in and read Eliza's socks: "Yes I Can!"  They perfectly match her personality!

Email Subscribers

I'm writing this as a second blog post today....because there is not a lot of joy in things like this for me.

Last June Blogspot changed their format....and I was a little worried I would have trouble.  But I adapted...and some of the changes have actually made things easier.  

But I was so disappointed when this notice appeared at the top of my blog a few days ago because I know it directly affects those of you who subscribe to....and read my blog by email. 

Starting in July, Feedburner, the service that provides the "subscribe by email," will no longer be available. I'm guessing/hoping there will be another option for subscribing....and the more important question is can I figure it out. I really don't enjoy this type of thing AT ALL.....but I'll start exploring what the options are. Change is coming.

One of the things that occurred to me is that some of you who are getting these daily emails may be ready for a change anyway.....and this may be your chance for freedom!  More information to come.  

Made Me Smile

I found "elf" on our walk this morning...and it made me smile. If you aren't familiar with Buddy the Elf....he just likes to smile.

Maybe I post photos like this just to mess with Becky.....but it really IS the way my mind works with puzzles.  I got this far this morning when I finished my coffee....and I just walked away. I love savoring the end.

I posted about this lawn full of starflowers a week or so ago....but it's in full bloom right now....and quite a sight to behold. 

I think every bud is open.....and it's spectacular!

Here's the wide angle from one house....

.....and here's the neighbors side.  It's going to be fun to watch this grow larger over the years....it also makes me smile.

Class Reflection....

...and my love of fireflies.

At end of the last lesson in "From Sketchbook to Wall" Tansy told us the course wasn't over....but the content was.  We would have access to the video lessons until the end August and I knew I would revisit them all again and get back to my class projects....and maybe start new ones. So I set my pieces aside for a few weeks to get some perspective and mull things over.  It was time to tend to other things.

The class was challenging and wonderful. Working with painted fabric was a revelation.....and I've embraced the charm of deconstructed post consumer textiles.  I may not love my pieces....but I loved the layering and storytelling process....and the techniques I learned can be applied in so many ways.

Tansy's name on her Instagram page is "Palimpsestparade."  Palimpsest means "something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form" ....and in our throw away society I'm loving this more and more.  (remember the coffee table?)

https://www.instagram.com/palimpsestparade/

As I've mentioned....the woods and the colors of my summer gardens were my inspiration for the class projects.  All through the course I pondered the reasons why I love living with woods right in my backyard. It seems like such a gift.

The first summer we owned the condo when I discovered fireflies in the woods....I knew I was home.  We always had fireflies on the farm in Wisconsin....and I didn't even know I missed them until I found them again here. 

I was worried about that stark purple strip on this piece on top of the pile....I had to figure out something to soften it. And just recently I thought of the fireflies.

The painted recycled sheer curtain reverse applique circles as a nod fireflies completely changed it for me. (Yes, I wanted the description of the circles to be that long because it tells a bit of the story.) 

The purple strip is a piece of a linen shirt I've had for years and never wore. After painting it purple I traced some images of ferns using carbon paper....then stitched the tree image over it.  You can barely see the ferns now but they are visible traces of its earlier form. And the ferns are always tucked in the woods so it seems to be fitting.

A second firefly story:

A few years ago when I was on a visit in Wisconsin I was driving to Becky's house in the dark. I went a different way than usual so I plugged her address into the GPS so I wouldn't get lost. It guided me to make a turn I was pretty sure I didn't need to make...but I did it anyway because I was confident the GPS would get me to her house. The dark country backroad actually creeped me out a little....I've always been a little afraid of the dark.  But I rounded a bend and there it was....the reason I I was supposed to take this dark detour: a large open field absolutely full of fireflies. I stopped the car for a  few minutes and just soaked it in.  

I had another idea for fireflies I wanted to try.

Angelina Fibers kind of looks like tinsel.  You can spread them out and iron them under a protective surface and they melt together into a shimmery textile.  You can make the fused piece as big or small...and as dense or as thin as you want. 

On another one of my class projects I used a very thin piece of the fused fibers and stitched little circles.  Then I snipped away all the extra leaving little bits of sparkle....or in this case...fireflies.

What better use for a 4 x 6 chunk of this piece than for Becky's round 12 card...I will always remember that gift in the dark on my drive to her house.  And...since she grew up in Wisconsin too....so most likely shares my love for fireflies. 

I'm almost done with Brenda's "From Sketchbook to Wall" card from another one of my pieces....but it features something other than fireflies.

Round Things

There aren't too many better ways to spend part of a rainy/snowy day than with a puzzle and cup of tea. And the fact that it's round is a nice follow-up to yesterday's post about Eliza's yellow circles.  I love round things.

This one has been fun.....lots of color...and it's interesting the way the pieces fit together given the round format.

And when I'm looking for a particular piece.....it's kind of comforting to be only thinking about simple things like "bright green with blue dots".....and then be rewarded.  

I had to laugh at myself early on in this one.  I had done the border and just couldn't see how this wild woman was going to connect....the pieces just didn't match up. Then I realized I had to rotate the border like a clock until I found the right position.  Duh!

All was well.

And here's a few fun images from friends....I love it interesting things come to my inbox or across my screen to brighten my day.  Anne sent this licence plate a week or so ago....there's someone else who loves Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo and Violet...in that order.

And I couldn't have been more excited to see that my stencil watercolor project inspired Lynne to do the same.  Her paintings turned out great.

Time To Trade

Eliza's mom sent me these photos today....one was actually a little video....and my heart melted.

I don't know who's more excited....Eliza or me...but it's time to trade our journals. 

For anyone who doesn't know what this is all about....5 year old Eliza and I are trading art journals. I described it here in this post: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2021/03/shared-journal.html

For the past several weeks I've been working in hers...and she's been working in mine.  Eliza had draw circles on every page of hers....so I've gone with that for a theme.

And since yellow is her favorite color...I added some string tassels to the binding of her cover.

I filled in the negative space around her yellow circles on the right and I'm hoping Eliza will decorate the other 1/2 of the circle on the left.

I stitched in a wonky circle watercolor strip I had done a while ago to the center of the journal....it's like an extra little page. Then I added the watercolor stripes on the page behind it.  You can't have circles...without a few stripes.

On this page....I wrote in a circle around her yellow circle...and I'm hoping Eliza decorates the inside. 

And here I made a connected circle of circles that I cut from wrapping paper that was actually designed with circles.  

I painted watercolor circles inside Eliza's yellow circle on this page and doodled around the outside. Maybe she will finish the doodles....or I'll keep working on it next time.  

And continuing to celebrate the theme....I'm adding a bag of punched circles to the package just for fun. 

I'm looking forward to getting mine back that Eliza has been working on! Yup....I don't know who's more excited....Eliza or me!

A Day With Friends

I got up early this morning and headed to Lexington for the day.  

I had a delightful walk with Anita and Janet....just like old times. They humored me with a selfie....and weren't surprised when I needed to stop and photograph a little bit of spring. Like I said...just like old times.  Spring is way further ahead there....and I was thrilled.

And it was fun to meet Scout...a new member of Janet's family.  But I also had good visits with Joan and Carol, and ended the day with Linda.  

This day with friends is was just what I needed!

I stopped by our old house to pick up my garden cart I left in the garage.  It was fun to walk the yard one last time....and I even took a walk through the house.  We had to rush out the day of the move....but getting to go back in today gave me the closure I think I needed.  It didn't feel like my house anymore....it's someone else's turn. 

Totally Cool!

This quote came across my screen this morning and I laughed out loud....the timing was perfect.

"When people ask me how I got to be so cool, I tell them I get it from my mom.  Just kidding.  No one ever asks me that."  Story People

It's true...no one ever asks me that....but if they did I most certainly would say I got it from my mom.  

It would have been her 95 birthday yesterday.  She was such a great lady.....and so totally cool!

I came across this photo of her in my box of memorabilia.  I actually remember taking it and wondered at the time why she scooched down like that.  I'm still wondering....and it makes me chuckle. But I have no memory of those crazy cool checked pants!

She and my dad had gone on a cruise my dad earned selling seed corn.  The first day they were at sea my mom fell and seriously broke her elbow.  She went the whole cruise with it in a sling while getting some relief from pain meds from the ship doctor. She got her hair cut very short in ship salon so it would be easy to deal with and then just made the best of it.  

When she got home she had to have major surgery to repair the damage from the break which was made worse by the delay in care. She was never able to straighten her arm completely after that and had limited use of that hand. But she never let it slow her down....she never complained....and she never regretted anything about that trip. She just made the best of her new normal....she was totally cool like that!  I hope to be more like her.

We spent the evening with our good friends Dana and Anne at their condo overlooking the bay in Portland.  What a delight to be gathering with friends again while watching the sun set over the water.  Totally cool!

No. 1123 1/2 D

This is a long silly story about solving a problem with something we already had. That's often the case with problems....the solution is already in our hearts or our heads...or right there in our homes.  We just have to pay attention and connect the dots.

I have to tell the WHOLE story to adequately illustrate the history of the problem....and the journey we've been on to solve it.  Paul often reminds me to assess my audience to see if they're losing interest....I tend to go on and on until people start to glaze over. So it's OK if you want to bail out now or somewhere in the middle. I'll never know.

Part One:

We've had a coffee table problem at the condo since we moved in almost 4 years ago. OK....I know what you're thinking.....it's not all that important in the big scheme of things....but for day to day quality of life it was somewhat of a problem. For most of our marriage we've used a trunk we bought with wedding money. It was our coffee table when the boys were growing up....and most of the years since.  I've loved it...and still do....but it was too big and too high to comfortably put our feet up.  And since we're doing a lot of that these days it had to go to another spot in the condo.   

I auditioned several things I already had including a small upholstered bench that was the right height and size....be we missed the hard surface for drinks and food.  We know how we live.  Paul and I sit on the couch a lot to visit, play cribbage and other games. We sometimes have dinner there....and often have snacks and a beverage.....so we needed a table. So for the last few years we used a small and very short rustic box/trunk I had gotten from Linda.  It was perfect for putting your feet up....but not quite big enough to be a long term solution. 

Part Two:

Back in February our perfectly good coffee table from Lexington arrived in the move. It's a great table....and served us well in Lexington.  But again it was too big for this space and actually just a little too high for comfortable lounging. We're retired....it's time to lounge.

I was back to trying to creatively trying to solve the problem....and every day growing more and more frustrated and determined to figure it out. I'd been keeping my eyes open at consignment stores hoping to find a bench or something I could reinvent....something interesting and out of the ordinary. I even tried to find a carpenter who could build one and searched for a new one online. No luck.

Part Three:

We've been doing the furniture shuffle since the move as we figure out what to keep and what to get rid of.  All of a sudden we had an abundance of tables: console tables, side table, dining tables, work tables....you name it we had it. One of our tables I had picked up at the curb while visiting Jane. I could never turn down a good table so I gladly scooped it up and we've used it in front of the kitchen window for these past 4 years.  It was like a little desk and had two drawers for those things you want easy access to. It was study and kind of funky and it worked perfectly.

But now with our over abundance of tables.....I shuffled one I love that came from Margie into the kitchen....and Jane's cast off was homeless again.  I auditioned it in a couple places around the condo....and it was just about on its way to the Goodwill.

Part Four:

We still needed a coffee table. We had a table that we couldn't use that was just about the right length and width. Could this solve the problem? With the help of a circular saw and a willing husband.....yes it could!

Ottomans are usually 16 or 17 inches high...but they're squishy....so a hard surface had to be lower.  After auditioning several heights using things around the house we settled on 14 1/2 inches for optimum foot resting but not too low for snack and drink holding.  Then Paul got to work. 

Pretty darn cute....the table and the carpenter! And I appreciate his good humor in letting me take the photos.....he's a good sport.

It's a bit rustic in an interesting kind of way....and it has a great story.  Part of that story is Jane's story (which I'll have to ask her about).....and part of it is our kitchen table story.  And chances are Jane didn't buy it new....so there's a part we'll never know.

Another part of the story we do know is that it's "No. 1123 1/2 D" because it's stamped on the back.  What in the world does the "1/2" mean?  But now it's a table that's been cut in 1/2......so it seems just perfect. 

And that's my story.....the whole story.