Tag : gift

51 posts

Once again I’m playing catch up here on my blog. Spring definitely gets away from me. School gets more demanding as we near the end which leaves me too tired to do anything beyond feeding my family and preparing for the following day.

This spring we also have the added pressure of Mini-me graduating from high school! Stressing over whether or not there will be a graduation ceremony, a choir concert, grad parties, etc. And if there are…how comfortable do we feel about it. We finally got the answer to a couple of those question marks. There will be a concert but it will be single choirs to limit people and possible exposures. There will be graduation which will look similar to those in the past due to since our governor announced a step down in restrictions taking effect before graduation. This does make me nervous even though we are all vaccinated. Mini-me will not be having a graduation party.

Last week was an eventful one. Wednesday was my birthday…next year is a big one… I was spoiled by friends and coworkers with kind words and thoughtful gifts.  Thursday, Mini-me and I drove to Duluth to move J home from college for the summer. It was a quick up and back trip.

We had to take a quick detour into Canal Park before heading to campus…we love Duluth so much. I wish we could have spent more time there.

If you look closely there are two ships in this photo. The closer one is a “salty” meaning it traveled in from the Atlantic Ocean. The other one on the horizon is one of the Great Lakes fleet of ore boats.

I did manage to fix my journal. I plan to add some beads along the spine to cover the extra holes but decided that it would make the most sense to wait until the journal is complete.

Look at all the pretty papers! I can’t wait to start using it. I know my birthday cards and notes are going to have a place right away.

I have been sewing too..no surprise there. It is so satisfying to be making a major dent in my scraps. I have yet to decide if this will become a bed size quilt or a couple of throws.

I had to share the mug J bought for me. He said it was a combo b-day and mothers day gift. So sweet.

This summer appears to be getting more back to normal. Both kids have jobs…thank goodness! Mini-me will actually have two. J currently has two but his school job will end in June obviously and he will be able to put in more time at his internship. It’s so very exciting to see them both taking those next steps in life. Although I’m not even going to pretend to be completely ok with being “empty nesters” next fall.

 

What are you doing today?

Over 30 years ago, I mined these lovely black rocks and since then they have resided in an old Christmas tin…such a shame. The other day I decided that I wanted to gift another rock loving gal with some of my treasured Apache Tears.

Technically they are obsidian but the ones found in this particular area of Arizona are named Apache Tears.

The Apache Tear is named after a legend of the Apache tribe. In the 1870s, a small group of Apache warriors met the US Cavalry in a battle. They were horribly outnumbered and it became clear that they could not win the battle. Instead of conceding defeat and being captured then murdered, they decided to ride their horses off the side of a mountain to their deaths. According to the legend, when the wives and children of these warriors mourned, their tears turned to stones when they touched the ground where their warriors fell. Those stones were the Apache Tears so we would always remember what happened.

My friend’s mom is waving at us from our high vantage point….likely worried we’d scare up a rattlesnake or fall from the cliff behind us. But teenagers are fearless.

I took these photos during our time adventuring around at the mine. It is honestly one of my favorite memories of my spring break trip to AZ my junior year in high school. Getting to use a small pick ax to gently tap away at the perlite unearthing the rounds of obsidian was so much fun. I can see how miners could get “gold fever” very easily.  It’s my understanding that this mine is now closed to the public. So glad I had the chance to experience it when it was available.

When I came across this glass jar, I was instantly inspired to create a lovely displayable gift. The rubber stopper is removable so she can take out the stones to admire them any time she wants. I used an old dreamcatcher earring as decoration along with a specimen tag. I plan to make another for myself as soon as I find just the right bottle again.

It’s almost here! Winter break. Christmas. Mini-me’s sweet sixteen. New Years. It’s all just around the corner. I’m so ready and not ready all at the same time! So much excitement…so much to do.

Saturday Mini-me and I got up early, grabbed coffee and breakfast( sorry not photographic proof) then drove to Duluth to pick up J for his winter break. Finals are over. He’s off for almost a month. 

The weather was beautiful…42°F and sunny! Mini-me and I took a brief walk around canal park before heading to the university to get J and his gear.

The weather is continuing to be very unseasonably warm as we sneak up on Christmas. In fact, Mr. G and I removed the screens and washed windows on Sunday afternoon. Now I know you are all super jealous of our momentous afternoon date. :)

Last week we had a team party at work. We were all asked to bring a $5 giftcard in disguise. As soon as I read the email the cartoon bubble in my head went to work.

Behold…my giftcard in disguise. I had really wanted to make the eyebrows and mustache more “furry” but since I was so sick I wasn’t able to find anything more than some black ribbon.

Since the grass is showing green outside with very little snow anywhere to be found I am looking to our tree to bring up the festive spirit. Maybe some of these words will inspire me more.

What are you doing today?

After nearly a week of perfect weather we are now stuck in system after system of rain. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal but I’m trying desperately to get a garage sale together. Last Tuesday afternoon we made that decision after the two charity organizations I had lined up fell through. No one could get the stuff out of mom’s apartment by the deadline. So guess what…everything is in our garage.

I’ve been pricing what I can, shifting things from here to there. What a nightmare. To top things off I’ve got two home sick today. Mini-me and Mr. G…some sort of horrible virus. Sore throat, fever, cough. I’m trying my best not to catch it from them…I don’t have time for that!!!

On the bright side I got a sweet gift from our hostess Elizabeth for my birthday. 

Such cute vintage kiddos in the corner. Thank you!

On a day like today I’d like to be living the life of leisure like a cat. Marvin has the right idea. A little nap, then a snack, some bird tv out the window then back to nap time. I could definitely give that a whirl.

Thanks for sticking with me through the chaos of my life right now.

What are you doing today?

This week has been filled with a roller coaster ride of emotions and events…frankly, I’m exhausted. I wasn’t even sure I was going to play along with T stands for Tuesday but I’m here and will share the highs and lows with you.

Let’s just get the low over with so we can move on to brighter things. My mom has Stage 4 Melanoma so her time left with us is limited. Exactly how limited, we don’t know. Now my absences from blogland both in posting and visiting make a bit more sense. Anyway…mom is determined to live what life she has left on her own terms which I highly praise her for.

She has a good friend in her building that has taken a big sister role in her life. She is such a sweet lady and I am so grateful for their friendship. I wanted to show some appreciation to her and put my nervous energy to a creative use.

(Note the wine glass as my beverage for T stands for Tuesday)

 I think it turned out pretty well and when I delivered it to her apartment I learned that yellow is her favorite color! I love it when things work out that way.

I also got my plants started…well some of them. I still want to start a few more.

I used old kid cups that were just going to hit the recycle bin as my planters. I literally had them in hand over the bin when I realized they could be used for my seedlings. I just drilled a couple holes in the bottom for drainage and ta-da…mini pots.

You may also notice the markers in each pot. I cut down container lids and wrote on them with sharpie marker. Since it’s April (Earth month) I thought I’d point out those little recycling tips.

Now just about a week later I have this! 

Do not adjust your screens….that is the full spectrum UV light you see in action. The different color LED’s all combine to cast a pinkish purple light and obviously the plants love it!

On Thursday last week the kids and I drove to Fargo, ND. We spent the night in a hotel before taking a tour of NDSU in the next morning. J said he thought it was a little too big for his taste but is still planning to apply since they have really good guaranteed scholarships for students with high GPA and ACT scores. Fingers crossed that he does well on the ACT this month. Mini-me said she didn’t like NDSU at all. Ok…check that one off the list for potential schools for her.  I, myself, spent a brief time at NDSU as a freshman. The campus has certainly changed since then.

I also did some work on this painting.

I am letting it sit for a few days to decide if its done or not. I’m thinking it is…what do you think?

Today has a repairman coming out for my stove. Luckily I called in just days before the warranty was to expire. Also lots of phone calls and emails to take care of since I pretty much took yesterday off. I really needed a breather day after last week.

What are you doing today?

I was going through photos on my phone and realized that I never posted about the gift box I created for J’s birthday. The major gift he was getting from us and his uncle was a subscription to Loot Crate. Since there was nothing physical to give at that point, we thought a coupon of sorts would be in order. Loot CrateThen the wheels started turning and I thought how about a 3D crate that he could keep as a memento on a shelf as well. A physical reminder of the subscription.

I started with black foam core cutting it down to create the box.Loot Crate

Next I stamped a wood plank rubber stamp on the back side of a cereal box with Staz-on ink.Loot Crate

I then used walnut ink and watered down acrylic paint to make the cardboard appear as wood.Loot Crate

After assembly I added more light stamping for a distressed appearance. I wanted to make it look as if that crate had traveled the world. Loot Crate

It was a fun little project and had much more impact than a plain old coupon.

Loot Crate

Last week I worked on a piece for possible publication and sent it off to meet a deadline. I wish I could show the whole piece because I was so happy with the way it turned out.

This is just a piece of a corner.

I’ve also been working on my scrappy quilt again. I decided to change how I am doing the binding so I needed a solid border around the whole quilt. I got that finished yesterday and started making the binding. I’ll share my quilt progress in another post.

I also had to share my traditional gift to my neighbor for his New Years eve birthday. They generally have a party with all the neighbors invited. It’s really great since it’s right across the street. No driving required.

Each year I give him some sort of beer but in recent years I’ve been trying to be clever about it. Last year was Rein-beers.

And this year I got him some Canadian beer…of course, it’s cold there so they needed some hats to keep them comfortable.

I’m still chuckling at the little hats although I am easily amused.

Today is more sewing, laundry and cleaning. And shoveling. It’s currently snowing and we are expecting 2-4 inches. Hopefully it will stop and the roads will get cleared before the teen has to drive home from school. It was bad enough that he took off for school as the mess was beginning. The grey hairs have started from worry with a kid driving. Glad I’m blonde…..I should be able to go gracefully into grey. HA!

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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