Weed eating.

I sure can get excited over the smallest things! 

I finally bought me a new (I call it mimi) weed eater! 

The one I had in Madras was old, hardly worked, and electric and I had to drag a cord around. And...it was heavy. I said goodbye to it when I moved here. 

My son has been taking care (mostly) of the tall grass and weeds here since I moved 2 years ago (has it really been over 2 years since I moved here?) But this summer he had an injury and just hasn't been able to do it. I've been pulling weeds by hand.

That grass was growing all along the fence. I pulled it by hand. Phew. I borrowed the neighbor's weed eater once but it was way too heavy for me!

My new raspberry plants needed room to grow!

My new weed whacker weighs only 4 lbs. and I love it! Has a small battery, with one extra, and seems powerful enough to eat the tall grass and weeds and the smaller blackberries creeping through my fence. No more sore arms and no more cord dragging! It's my new best friend!

Here's my work from yesterday.

The grass here was 2 feet tall.....and all along the fence.. I still have more to do but this was a good start.

Now I can see my beautiful flowers!

Here's a photo of the brand of weed eater I bought in Amazon, in case you are interested in something lightweight. 

Hope you are having a beautiful week! I've enjoyed a few fun things the last month or so. That will be my next post!

Hugs....Marilyn

Pink Spring

To me, Spring means pink, pink, and more pink! After a long winter in my darkish bedroom with mostly blues with tan walks, I decided I needed to brighten up my sleeping space.

At my house in Madras, Oregon, where I moved from 2 years ago, my bedroom was a bright pink! I loved it for the 9 years my husband and I were there, but when I moved, I decided I was tired of it, and actually liked the calmer tannish brown walks in this entire mobile home! It was a nice change.

                     Tan walls with blue

So my bedroom (and me) were treated to a little makeover. No, no pink walls! Just pulled in whatever pink I could find!

Pink quilt from my other house, pink picture above my bed, pink salt lamp, pink curtains, fluffy pink throw, and a vase of faux pink flowers! 

It has really cheered me up! And of course, I'm late with this post! I actually DID make these changes about a month ago and it WAS Spring!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

HAPPY SPRING (almost summer) everyone! Tomorrow, June 14th, here where I live, is supposed to reach 97⁰!!

I've been busy in my yard. More coming soon!

Marilyn

Grapes and Envelopes

What a funny title huh? You'll see why at the end!

I've been doing a little gardening on our nice warm days. We even have had a 92 degree day here!

I received some grape cuttings from a friend in The Dalles, Oregon. These are from mature grapes that he was pruning. Some are white, and some purple. Oh I love the purple ones!

This one was a root ball, so I planted it about a month ago. It's leafing

out wonderfully! I stuck the piece of driftwood I happened to have, in the ground, so my son wouldn't weed eat it to shreds!

Here are the other 2, that were already leafing out in the jars of water. Glad I had those driftwood sticks! My neighbors collect driftwood from the beaches around here and have a pile all along the side of their house. They've told me I'm welcome to take any! He carves the larger pieces with his chainsaw and makes gorgeous bears, seals, turtles, rabbits, and whatever else the piece tells him it wants to be.

I planted them 4 feet apart. Will need to put some tall fenceposts in the ground as they grow taller. 

The rest I gave to my sister in Washougal, WA, and another neighbor here in the park, who has room. I don't have room for many.

The last few days I haven't had much mojo, so have been making kraft colored and neutral colored envelopes for the Kraft cards I make. 

I ran out and was going to buy some, and then said "self, you have TONS of neutral colored papers so why not make some?" So I did. Was fun rummaging through all my pads of papers!

With the leftover papers, after cutting 8x8 inch squares, I made a cute little junk journal. 

Its full of the pretty papers and I added some pages for writing on. I may keep it or sell it. I have a bunch more strips to make something else too.

Waste not, want not, right?

I love the colors, and lined the insides of the ones that had only white inside. Some scrapbook paper is double sided, and some only have a design on one side, and the other side is white.

And on another day, I made a "neverending card". It opens one way, then another, and another, and another! Is for my 6 year old great nephew. I hope he can figure it out!

Front.

Open once in opposite direction.

Open another way.

Final side for signing and writing a message.

Heres a little video of how it works. A friend wanted to see it in action!

Have a great week everyone! I think summer is just around the corner!

Hugs... Marilyn

Short, Sweet and Shabby

Another crafty "roll" has me in its grips! I've been making shabby/vintage look cards with added lace and glitter.

I used some free postcard type cards I downloaded from Shabby Art Boutique (www.shabbyartboutique.com). If you sign up to her Newsletter, you receive darling freebies every month! She also has a wonderful Etsy shop with her personal artwork digitals.

I also had a great idea for making some sweet little Scripture pockets, a place for small tags with Bible verses, and some blank tags to write your own favorite verses on.

Each one has a bookmark tucked into the top pocket. 

A person could give one as a gift in and of itself, or slip it into an envelope and mail it. 

I'm taking all these projects to the consignment shop that sells my items, in Clatskanie, Oregon, about 23 miles from me..  It's name is NW Connections Trading Post. So far, things are selling well!!

Our weather is warmer this week. I'm so happy for that. It definitely perks up those winter blahs.

Until next time,............

Sending spring blessings your way!

Marilyn

A Walk in the Woods

Well it's "only" been 2 months since I posted! Life is busy, which is a good thing! Keeps me on my toes. 

Speaking of toes, I used them (and my feet!) to go for a walk in the woods by my house, a few weeks ago. Was a beautiful rare sunny day in February.

Im so lucky to have these forest woods just down the road from me. I had been wanting to explore these woods since I moved here! Only took me two years.

Lots of huge ferns.

Besides trying to get out and walk more, I've been paper crafting a lot. I've been on a real roll, and can't seem to stop! As my mom used to say, "get it while the getting's good". And I am.

Making photo books.

I love these 6x6 floppy photo books made from only 2 pieces of 12x12 scrapbook paper! I'm addicted to making them.

And of course, need to have pink and green!

Took some Christmas pictures with my sweet kitty, Maddie.

Found a bumble bee doing it's darndest to get the nector out of my Daphne flower!

Diving headfirst!!

I'm trying to shed some lbs I've gained this last year, so drinking a protein and greens drink almost every day to replace a meal. I add some of my own frozen blueberries and Maca powder for energy.

It helps to I drop a little weight (if I would stick to it)!!!

I've also been making refrigerator magnets to sell in the trading post in my nearby town.

The owner loves plants and has many for sale in her shop. I thought she'd appreciate these! I also made some with Sasquatch on them as her store tends to have alot of Sasquatch themed items. This IS Bigfoot country ya know!!

That's the news from here. I'm enjoying the cozy rainy days inside, and the occasional sun filled day. Summer will come all too soon!