2020 thoughts

Party hat going to Michigan,removable tutu for spring flower circlets or a tiara 🙂

Happy New Year and 12th Night has come and gone, being a non traditional type I had Black Forest cake for “finding the baby”.

Winter storms are giving me two extra days off,and my goals are off to a great start already: holiday pillowcases are being recycled for pet stockings, last of compost bed offerings in with the holiday tree on top for future bean bed,and seed exchange done until spring.

Daily intents and gratitudes have been a good practice for me last year,will be adding more use of “big space listing”. Having intents in a calendar had been fine,until the small print became easy to overlook *sigh*

Snow today is dry but wind is gusty,going to be charging the backup batteries in case of a turn.

Very excited for this year’s Oregon Country Fair, going to take measures to keep from being sick THIS time!

Last year I had a plan, to introduce myself to the Community Village folks and offer my services to be of help. Since I love art and the processes involved (which can be the best part, figuring out how to do the thing), I put together a little project that would demonstrate economy and reuse.

When I went to fair in 2019, there were times I wished I had one of those pine trees used in cars; some of the honey buckets have no defense against direct sun. So I had a thought, tiny bags with herbs to reduce the bad smell when I had to make a pit stop. I managed a small one for my bra, but a pouch or “bag of holding” to borrow from Dungeons & Dragons would be better and I can carry a few things with.

As luck would have it, a friend who also does coffee roasting had an abundance of raw bean bags to get rid of.

The reverse side has the name of the company, which will be easy to paint or cover over. But how perfect for kids and adults to draw on and customize or even pin over? Possibilities are endless, and there will be more cropping up by the time July rolls around.

Next, I have the smell-good stuffing, in this case garden mint. I intend to dry a bunch so I can strip off the leaves from the stems for less bulk.

This seemed the easiest to use, especially after being stripped for leaves, but I will need to find out about what would be cool to use due to allergies or regulations I am unaware of.

Decorating will be primarily felt pens that I run across for free, and that will be an underlying theme with this demo; with a little observation and awareness, materials for making art can be next to free, and in some instances being able to take something off a person’s hands can be a help and also keep from going into a landfill. In addition, shops like SCRAP and MECCA specifically carry reusable craft supplies (https://portland.scrapcreativereuse.org/) (https://materials-exchange.org/) .

I will demonstrate the value of looking for resources in creative ways rather than having a big block store be the default setting for shopping.

This year I am taking a risk and taking time out for more outings this spring and summer. A show called Travel Man on BBC ( but available elsewhere) convince me of taking 24 to 48 hour trips. So far a visit to Phoenix,Arizona and a day trip to Seattle. Soon Oregon Country Fair and with luck An Tir West War. I miss travel,and want to see some of the machine museums along the way-technology progress makes a cool timeline,and a reminder to me that what is old can be new again.

Speaking of which,time to look over what can be reused in the yard this year, especially the front-may get my “green fence” this summer 🙂

A dear friend has damask roses and,after drying,sent me up some as cushion for some fragile objects. Having made beads from my father’s memorial flowers for his kitchen shrine,I made attempts at not only beads but also ink and scented paper water.

Hooray for longer days ahead; while I appreciate each season for what I can get done,spring is very motivating and a mood lifter.

Seeds harvested from last year are out for future potting on the kitchen table;experiments with a warming tray using hotel pans,cooling racks and tray domes from broken seed trays under way-house needs humidity so this would be fantastic should it work.

The citrus have done well in back under the new roof,had been worried as I was unable to move to the garage this year. So far so good,the direct sun they do get in AM helped a lot. And even with all the wind,the shelving from the previous greenhouse stayed in place.

In practice I have a notebook I call my “external hard drive” so I can flowchart my thoughts and tasks towards specific goals.

• Fabric sort for aprons,repair,and pocket belts.
• Rotate thread for heavy,regular and hand sewing.
• Maceration of dried rose petals for beads,labeling the occasion or the source.
• Inventory herbs for backyard outdoor kitchen;dire need for garden plots for the cook.
• Dry erase or butcher paper for sewing room note taking? Do I really need to catalog everything?

Long term goal is to get to a zero balance of things on my to do list,without sacrificing what the house needs to be comfortable and functioning. From there,I can extend what Repairelle can offer and possibly make new AND make do.