December 15, 2015 by Born To Organize

Squirrels Stop by For Lunch and That Strange Polldaddy Link

How’s that for a catchy title, eh?

Before I get to the cute squirrel photos, I wanted to thank Lisa and Kelly for pointing out the odd polldaddy url. It started showing up in front of posted comments. Weird.

Originally I ignored it. These things tend to pop up now and then, then disappear without notice. Who am I to question why. This odd feature however refused to budge.

I contacted the WordPress Help team, and here’s what they had to say:

We’re aware of this issue and our developers are working on a fix! The URL is related to the Ratings feature being enabled in comments. A recent update has broken this link. If you’d like to avoid seeing this, you can disable ratings. Otherwise, our developers are already on it!

If this shows up on your own blog comments, know that a fix is under way.

Now on to the cute squirrel shots.

I asked one of the boys to strategically locate three tiny pumpkins from my Halloween display to the top of my garden bench. I knew the squirrels would enjoy the treat. The top of the bench gave me a front row seat to their cuteness.

Back in October, three small pumpkins were part of a display

Yum!

I love the way she/he’s holding on to the curled stem.

Double Yum!

Plump and happy, a bit like me after spending six weeks on the couch while helping myself to Hershey’s Kisses.

Footnotes

I had my six-week follow-up with my doctor this week. She’s delighted with my progress! I am free of the cast at night, but will continue to wear the surgical boot/brace by day. I’ve also started to walk with crutches. She wants me to continue the exercises and to begin to put about 25% of my weight on the foot. It’s painful to walk, but necessary for healing, so I’m following orders and looking forward to continued healing. I’ll be on crutches for two to three weeks, and if all continues to go well, I’ll be back in real shoes by early next year.

December 14, 2015 by Born To Organize

Snoopy in a Snow Globe

Growing up in the late sixties and early seventies, we all looked forward to the once-a-year Christmas specials. Long before Netflix and DVRs, if you wanted to see a Christmas special you had to be in front of a TV at 7:30 pm sharp. We didn’t always have a TV so we would often watch at a friend’s.

My favorite Christmas specials included How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the iconic A Charlie Brown Christmas. I related to Charlie Brown’s underdog status. I went to school with unkind girls like Lucy. But the real joy came from the wonderful scenes with the ever-confident Snoopy and Woodstock. Snoopy’s scenes, animated to Guaraldi’s extraordinary music, are what made it special.

So when I decided to reprise my snow globe this year, Snoopy and Woodstock made it to center stage.

Snoopy and Woodstock ornament

Several years ago, my friend Marcia gave the boys an acrylic globe. We’ve used it as a terrarium for a while till the plants outgrew it. Another year we filled it with round, silk ornaments. It’s also beautiful unadorned.

Two years ago I made my first snow globe with Snow-in-a-can, a gift from my friend Kelly.

This year I filled the bottom of the globe with a scrap of poly fiberfill. I added a piece of cardboard cut to size. For some added sparkle, I covered the cardboard with a piece of iridescent cellophane I saved from last year. It once wrapped a plate of brownies from a friend. It reminds me of ice under a sunny sky.

Snow Globe: Setting the Stage

I opened a packet of Snow-in-a-can, added water and voila. I rolled a few tiny hobby shop trees in the snow to set the scene.

Rolling a tiny tree in some artificial snow

Santa’s sleigh came together using a pair of felted stickers.

Felt hats become a small sleigh

Tiny hobby shop trees rolled in “snow” and a sleigh made from craft supplies

Our darling snowman is one of the tiny ornaments we bought our first year of marriage. His scarf is a gift from Kelly.

The wee snowman is an 20-year-old ornament. His red scarf is a gift from Kelly and Alyster the Gnome

Here is the snow globe all put together. Now sit back and enjoy the falling snow, brought to us by WordPress this time of year.*

Photographed outdoors to get the good light. The snow globe now sits in our living room. Mouse sits wherever he wants to because he’s a cat.

Mouse always has something to say

*WordPress should figure out a snow alternative for our blogging friends in the Southern Hemisphere.

December 9, 2015 by Born To Organize

Seeing Red

A beautiful shade of red

Did you know that red is the highest arc of the rainbow and the first color you lose site of at dusk? Red evokes love and passion, as well as anger, joy and enthusiasm.

Growing up as a “redhead” my mom steered me away from the color entirely. “Redheads don’t look good in red,” she advised. Red’s pastel cousin Pink was a fashion no-no as well. I had it drummed into me from an early age that redheads do not look good in red or pink.

It’s hard to say if those biases colored my experiences going forward or if our color preferences are inborn. My passions fall to blue, green and purple.

Invariable, when Christmas rolls around the color red is suddenly everywhere. Santa’s suit and his tiny elves wear red from head to toe. Green wreaths sport red bows, red sweaters go on sale and controversy aside, Starbucks’ serves coffee in a red paper cup. I wonder if my slight aversion to red contributes to my sense of relief when the holiday season is over?

In all fairness to red, it’s probably not the color but the excess. Too much of anything is, well, too much.

How are you managing the holiday season?

Footnotes

Sporting some fancy footwear

My left foot is healing well. Still no weight-bearing for another week or so. I see my doctor next week, and hope to get the go ahead to begin physical therapy.

December 2, 2015 by Born To Organize

Just Call Me Grace

The good news: I’m fine.

The embarrassing news: I took a dive on the sidewalk this weekend. Human error. It almost always is.

I was heading down the ramp on my knee scooter, moving from the deck to the sidewalk. I was planning to sit in the sun while my husband hung lights on the house. As Mike backed out the car, I slowly headed down the ramp, hand breaks fully applied. That scooter can really pick up momentum on an incline.

Just as I reached the curb, the front wheel of the scooter made a small detour. The wheel found it’s way into the corner of my freshly tilled garden. Gravity took over from there.

Every cliché applied.

I knew I was going down.

Time slowed to a crawl.

My brain screamed, “Protect your foot!”

As the scooter stopped to re-calibrate in that freshly tilled hole, momentum carried me forward. I felt myself sliding over the top of the handles.

All sorts of awful things could have happened.

None of them did.

I landed in front of the curb garden bed, managing to drag part of the scooter with me. My injured foot flipped up in the air, but escaped further damage. I rolled on my back, stunned and scared, newly bruised and feeling utterly ridiculous.

Mike got out of the car, found me lying on the sidewalk, and said “What have you done now?” before helping me up. He doesn’t rattle easily. He brushed the leaves out of my hair and helped me back into the house.

Five days later, I have a sore neck, a bruised shin and a renewed respect for gravity.

I know it could have been so much worse.

Now it’s your turn. Surely you’ve made a fool of yourself at some point in your life. Do you have a juicy morsel to share?

December 1, 2015 by Born To Organize

Rear Window

Have you seen the movie Rear Window, the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock classic? It’s one of my personal favorites.

While I’m happy to report that nothing too suspicious is going on outside my rear window, I’ve found myself thinking about Jimmy Stewart’s character, a photographer convalescing with a broken foot. Through the view of his rear window, he gradually pieces together a murder.

As my surgery-addled brain clears and my energy slowly returns, I’m feeling the limitations of my restricted mobility.

In the movie, Stewart’s character Jeff starts to suspect the neighbor across the way of killing and then burying his own wife. At one point he tells the detective:

“Those two yellow zinnias at the end, they’re shorter now. Now since when do flowers grow shorter over the course of two weeks? Something’s buried there.”

This got me thinking. There is something suspicious outside my rear window. It looks like a small sinkhole to the front of a newly planted shrub. Like Stewart, I’m unable to investigate on my own. I waited for Mike to check it out. He topped up the recess with a handful of soil, but the next day the sinkhole was back.

It’s quite possible that I’m spending too much time in my head.

In any event, I miss my garden and my mobility.

San Jose summers are too hot for daytime gardening. Mid autumn is where the action is. I long to be out there raking leaves, pruning branches, and tidying the garden for the winter ahead. I love the way the crisp air reddens my cheeks and reminds me that I’m one with the elements. The bouquet of autumn decay centers my soul.

This is the time of year when my garden gloves wear out. Even the toughest gloves are no match for wet earth and rough leaves. Once the fingertips have worn through, it’s time to put them to rest, thanking them for a job well done.

As the garden rests, part of me comes alive. I spent the first six years of my life in Ontario, Canada, a home with four distinct seasons. I think those changing seasons are part of my early imprinting. Autumn in San Jose connects me to my early sense of home.

As I heal from surgery and sit this season out, here’s the view from my rear window.

This blushing pink Hydrangea darkens to a beautiful cranberry before dying back for the winter. I’m looking down on it from our living room window

Splitting the view: indoor shelves display assorted succulents; outdoors, Abutilon grows along the fence with dollops of ground cover and a peek-a-boo Hydrangea

These window decals “contain a unique component that reflects ultraviolet light, which is brilliantly visible to birds, to alert them of glass without obscuring your view.”

Ana’s hummingbird has a drink at the feeder while a competitor swoops in for a turn

Foreground: Alyssum, Pink Geranium and Begonia. Background: New Zealand Flax

November 30, 2015 by Born To Organize

The Luck of the Draw: Fairy Gardening 101

You won’t believe my luck!

Sheryl Normandeau, the blogger behind Flowery Prose, hosted a book giveaway. Yours truly, lover of all fairy gardening, won!

Sheryl reviewed two books on her blog, Fairy Gardening 101 by Fiona McDonald and Fairy Gardening: Creating Your Own Magical Miniature Garden – Julie Bawden-Davis and Beverly Turner, then generously gave both of them away.

Here is an excerpt of her review of McDonald’s book:

Side by side: My Fairy Garden and a book filled with future inspiration

This purposeful how-to book gives you all the information you need to create a fairy garden, with lists of supplies, suggestions for interesting containers or settings, and tips for successful long-term maintenance of your beautiful creation. Easy to follow, step-by-step instructions cover the making of miniature furniture, fences and other garden structures – and, of course, even the fairies themselves! What I’ve always loved about fairy gardens is the use of recycled/upcycled materials and found objects (either natural or man-made) that you discover in your home, yard, neighbourhood…or garage or thrift sale! The sky truly is the limit when it comes to sourcing materials for your mini-garden – and that’s half the fun!

In addition to blogging from the Canadian prairie, Sheryl writes numerous articles and short stories. She is a contributor to the forthcoming book “Growing Gooseberries” in The Prairie Garden 2017: Fruit and Berries available this month.

One of my favorite chapters gives instructions for building your own fairy garden furniture, including a fancy looking canopy bed. Once I’m back on my feet I’m going to give that a whirl. Another chapter features fairy garden kits to give as gifts. Isn’t that a fun idea? I don’t know if I’ll be able to muster the energy between now and Christmas, though I know two little girls that would delight in one. I might put something together next spring.

Thank you, Sheryl, for this treasured gift!

Fescue yurt and an orange peel umbrella

Little Free Library, Fairy-Sized

Garden kitten

Fairy Garden Birthday

Ladder to the garden

One spooky Halloween night

Autumn pumpkins

Replanted Fairy Garden, The Long View

Christmas Fairy Garden

Reindeers on the rooftop

Fairy garden path

Tiny hands visit the fairy garden

November 25, 2015 by Born To Organize

Wild About Washi Tape

Have you joined the Washi Tape craze?

I first spotted this colorful tape on a wall at MyMaido, a Japanese stationery store at Santana Row. An artist used the strips to make a small mural. Though intrigued, I couldn’t see myself using it in that way.

Over the next few years the colorful tape started popping up in crafting stores, the Scrapbook Island and on Pinterest.

The tape has been around since 2006. In a nutshell, it’s masking tape made beautiful. It’s easy to apply and easy to remove. According to Tofugo

Washi is made of up the Japanese characters 和 (wa) which means harmony and is often used to symbolize Japan, and 紙 (shi) which means paper. So put them together, and it means Japanese paper. Unlike western paper which is made from tree pulp, washi is made from Japanese shrubs. Washi can be made of almost any plant, but is typically made from ganpi, kozo, mitsumata, or sometimes hemp. Washi is known in the west for the beautiful designs that are printed or painted on it, and its differences from other papers through its light weight and textured feel.

I’ve always loved stationery, especially stickers and tape. It’s hard to describe the appeal, but it’s been there my whole life. I bought a couple of rolls of Washi tape at Scrapbook Island to use on a card, but then the rolls sat in my craft stash on standby, wondering what to do next.

Now I can’t get enough of it. The prices have come down while the variety of colors and prints has multiplied exponentially. Some of the earlier tapes didn’t adhere as well, but that’s improved too.

My friend Kelly uses colorful Washi tape to outline her gorgeous package labels. I capitalized on her idea and do the same. I also like using it to cover the ugly markings on a reused box before shipping.

My friend Stephanie crafted a gorgeous card using the tape, and from there, inspiration struck: I used a similar pattern to cover a plain brown box with a friend’s favorite colors before sending it as a gift.

No room is safe from this tape. Several years ago I hung a framed magnetic board inside a kitchen cabinet to keep phone numbers and coupons at hand. Eventually the frame broke from constant use. I re-framed the board with Washi Tape, then added a few contrasting strips like a shelf under the cards.

Framing a magnet board

When I converted my son’s bedroom into a guest room this fall, I spruced up the wall lamp shades with postage-themed tape. It really added a nice finishing touch and was fun to do.

A bit of lampshade bling

It was nice receiving this free letter-opener in the mail but it’s not much to look at. I covered the advertising with Washi tape, beautifying an otherwise utilitarian object.

Beautifying my office supplies

Even the tiny house in my fairy garden got a new set of floral Washi tape drapes.

Can you tell I’ve been having fun?

How about you? Do you have a favorite something that you just can’t get enough of?

Newly Hung Washi Tape Drapes

November 20, 2015 by Born To Organize

How to Add a Word Document to Your Post

A fellow blogger posted this question earlier in the week, so I decided to investigate myself. You can always cut and paste text to a post, but sometimes you want to save a document as a link. Here’s how.

Most documents saved in MS Word or Word for Mac will have the .doc extension, for example:

A Quarter Here, A Nickel There.doc

You want to “save as” then select PDF from the drop down menu.

Using my example, your document now looks like this

A Quarter Here, A Nickel There.pdf

Now add a new post and save it as a draft. We’ll come back to it in a bit.

This is where it might get confusing. There are two places to Add Media in a post. One appears at the top of post drafts. It’s how most of us upload photos.

To the left of this draft under Dashboard, there is also a place to add Media. Hover over the word Media. You’ll see two options: Library and Add New. This is where you’ll add your document.

Click on Add New. You’ll see the option to browse and from there you can upload any document on your computer.

Once you’ve uploaded and saved your document, return to your draft post.

In the body of your post, click on Add Media, this time from the top of the edit screen (where you upload photos). Your document will appear there at the top of the list.

To confirm, simply preview your post and click on the link.

Here’s an article I wrote a few years ago for my organizing blog and linked to this post:

A Quarter Here, A Nickel There

It’s fun trying new things. Let me know if you’re inspired to add a document to your own posts. It could be a list of all the plants in your garden (a huge project for me but it’s on my list), a knitting pattern, or even a mini e-book.

Please let me know if you have suggestions for improving this post to make the instructions clearer or easier to follow.

Happy media sharing!

November 18, 2015 by Born To Organize

Native Garden, My Left Foot and a Bit of Bad News

Our new and sustainable native garden is moving into the home stretch. The last swath of lawn is history.

Native Plantings will grow up to fill this space Design by Bergez & Associates, Installation by R. J. & Associates

Trichostema ‘Midnight Magic’ Hybrid Blue Curls

This didn’t happen over night. First to go was the sidewalk strip almost two years ago. It took some convincing around here as both my husband and younger son like the look of the lawn. While I too can appreciate the lush, green swath of suburban grass we grew up with, it’s not sustainable. Four years of drought and mandatory water-rationing helped my case and the lawn is finally gone, replaced with California native plants that are more than happy to spend a summer without water.

Last fall, Mike agreed to removing half of the lawn in our back yard. When the boys were young they played for hours on the grass. As teens, their interests lie elsewhere. So over the course of a few weeks, I gathered cardboard and leaves and gradually sheet mulched the area. It worked beautifully. By spring of 2015, the lawn was history, leaving behind a nice, healthy, organic swath of earth. Calls for further rationing this summer meant turning off the sprinkler system entirely, leaving a sad-looking patch of dead grass in front of the house.

For years I mowed the grass myself. I had a manual push mower like my dad used to have and spent an hour each weekend mowing to and fro. I hated edging, but that had to be done too. Weeds grew among the turf, so out they went as well. Mowing a lawn week after week, I realized is less like gardening and more like mopping the floors. It had to be done, but it was tedious at best. Then I had a baby, and three years later his brother. My husband traveled extensively, sometimes gone for a week or more. We eventually hired a lawn service to come once a week and in local parlance, they did the “mow, blow and go.”

Now that all that grass is gone I feel liberated, but it’s come at a cost. I’ve put a friend out of a job. Nick took over the job of maintaining the lawn after Mr. Tran retired. Our sons went to school together. I hired Nick to build our little free library and I refer him to my clients for handyman jobs as well. Everything we do has a price.

My Left Foot

I saw my super-cool doctor again this week for my second post-op visit. She removed layer upon layer of bandages and gauze, the brace and finally the stitches. My foot looks other-worldly. The wound site is still tender but she’s pleased with the progress. They used cryogenic amniotic tissue to graft the damaged tendon. It’s supposed to reduce inflammation and speed healing while suppressing scaring and adhesions. Amazing! There’s a short video explaining the technology via the National Institute of Health I think it’s fascinating. Dr. Sheth sets a high bar for patient care and bedside manner. I’m so fortunate to have her on my team.

Dr. Sheth (left) and a medical student shadowing her that day

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Two days before my foot surgery I had a skin biopsy on my arm. The dermatologist suspected squamous cell carcinoma. I got the call last week confirming the diagnosis and asking me to schedule surgery. It’s a thirty minute procedure, done by a skin surgeon in their office. They layer down till they get what they call the margins. With early diagnosis, there is a 95% cure rate. The scariest part of this for me is how quickly it appeared. I have skin checks twice a year because I’m at high risk for skin cancer. One day I was fine, and then a large, painful sore appeared on my upper arm. I was pretty sure I had some sort of insect bite.

If you’ve been putting off getting something checked, please schedule with your medical provider today. Early diagnosis is key.

Front Garden in Process

I sat outside on the deck for about twenty minutes yesterday after the crew finished mulching. It was brisk but a welcome change of scenery. As you can see, I had company. These kitties bring me comfort every day.