So, I joined a swap called "I love toast". You get one partner and make them three different things having to do with toast. Since I love toast, I had a blast with this one! I felted a toaster, and made an ATC card of a place setting. Then I made toast from wood, with yummy melting butter pats on them. A picture of the end result;

Prezzies!

My fabulous friend in New York sent me little felted owls! Oh, the squeeeee!

$3 of Squeeeeee!

Went with Ruth and Ginger to a barn sale at the Farm Woman's Nursery. I spent $3 and came home with tons of happy!

The felted lamb table runner is folded in half here, but it is in great shape and I didn't even think twice about buying it. The candle holder is small in circumference, which is great. I have plans for it that involve shells and sand. The edelweiss pitcher is happily holding my pens on my computer desk.

I love barn/garage/rummage sale season!

Apartment stuff.

Been having issues with not having enough outlets or space around my computer for my stuff. Part of that is simple laziness on my part. I used to be fine, but got tired of always having to plug/unplug my various USB cords for my camera, Zune and other little electronic trinkets. I also have a cat who hangs out on the top of my computer desk, and uses my printer as a sounding board on the way up and down. not good for the printer. So, this morning I did a little measuring and swapped out two shelving units. Although this does nothing for the outlet shortage, it protects my printer quite nicely and give me a little more storage space. Now I simply want to find some nice lidded containers to place some of my junkier things in so I can visually tidy things up. This is the before picture.

This is the after picture.

Also, I was inspired by Lady Mockingbird and a lamp shade she is making from copper wire and beads. So, I sat down and pulled out my beads and some floral wire, and spruced up the bottom of my reading lamp. Now it is all shiny and sparkly!

My manager called me into the office yesterday as I was leaving work. She gave me a card with a $100 visa gift card in it. She had gotten a bonus for the year, and every time she gets one, she shares it with the managers. *blink* This is the first boss I have had that has recognized that she couldn't do it without others in a TANGIBLE way. Not just words, but a little sumthin' sumthin'. All I can say is wow! She asked me to please spend it on something that was fun and would make me happy, so I promised her I would. I have made my first purchase; two ginormous bags of really good dirt for my garden. The first I dumped into my compost bin and mixed with a half bag of fish fertilizer that had been sitting in a bin for years. I will give that three weeks to percolate, then dig it into my garden and plant. Not sure where I will put the second one. Might save it for the front beds, where I plan on mixing edible flowers with garden yummies. Oh, the gardening possibilities!

House cleaning and such.

I haven't been posting much because I haven't been doing much of interest. Yeah, I've been doing things like paying bills, working, and some swaps, but I ALWAYS do that, and figure you guys are tired of hearing about it.

Three super things have happened in the last few weeks, though. The first is that My dear friends- Bill and Liz- came down for a visit. They brought me a full sized mattress and box spring from the lake cabin that was waaaaay to hard for them, but that I fell in love with last August. So, I now have a bed that doesn't hurt my back, and I fit on it much better when there are kitties dotting the bed covers.

The next thing that has happened (actually a handful of times now) is we have had warm enough and sunny enough weather to allow me to open up the apartment and get the stink of winter out. There has been much spring cleaning and whatnot, and I even finally moved the new bed over to where the old bed was, thus freeing up my living/dining/studio room. It is quite nice to have that space free again, and to have a house that smells all nice and clean.

Smudge enjoyed my cleaning because it meant chairs in the sun with rugs on them. Those are nice places to snooze.

The other really awesome thing is, I attended my first foraging class! Watch out wild edible plants, here I come! It was most fun, and I have a stack of books I am browsing through every night.My teacher has been doing this for 30 years, and has degrees in biology, botany, and other plant and food related things. He's funny and easy to understand, and gets classroom participation very easily. I am hoping to teach others in Vernonia what I have learned, since money is tight and if you can pick it for free, why not then?

So, that has been my life lately. There has been a lot of early mornings at work and lots of reading of books. Other than that, I am simply gearing up for the end of spring, when I can plant and hike without getting soaked, and enjoy sun on my skin.

Spring

This is my least favorite season. I know that sounds strange to a lot of people, but to me this is simply an in-between time. Warm weather is not yet here, but it's no longer quiet, peaceful wintertime. This is when Nature's alarm clock is going off, and all I want is to hit the snooze button until I HAVE to get up.

I appreciate Mother Nature trying to disguise all the mud and rain and grey in-between-ness by dotting the place with flowers and such, but mostly she is simply trying to distract you from the fact that she has been able to let herself go for a few months. Now her legs are hairy, she needs a visit to the hair salon, a shower, and her old flannel pajamas and ratty house robe need to go back into the closet. The sun is rising earlier and earlier, and people are actually looking for her. She is in demand again, and there is no more hitting the snooze button for her, either.

Me, I have a little more time.

Her distrattions are rather adorable, though.