​It is up to you to create your own adventures today!

For my little sewing business, because I use repurposed fabrics from clothing and linens, there are always parts I cannot use.  As a result, I generate a lot of scraps.  While I try to use up as much of the fabric as possible sometimes the volume of scraps becomes, shall we say, OVERWHELMING!   I have recently reached that uncomfortably overwhelmed condition.

Since part of my "mission" is to keep as much fabric out of the landfills as possible, the thought of just throwing it all out was distressing. What to do?  I knew there were companies that take scrap fabrics and recycle them in different ways.  Most of these work on an industrial scale which is not the scale I am.  

So I did some looking on line and I found out that Goodwill will take scrap fabric.  Goodwill gets many items that just don't sell or do not meet their quality standards.  These items go into their salvage stream and in the case of clothing or other fabrics are sold to textile recyclers. ​

So yesterday I loaded up my car with 2 large garbage bags of scraps and dropped them off at my local Goodwill.  They would even have given me a receipt if I had wanted one.

I am very happy to have discovered this. Now I have room to accumulate more scraps and a place to take them when I am overwhelmed again.

Have a fun day!
Cynthia 

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. Proverb

It is the middle of February and you know what that means - time to start the garden!

This winter is certainly not as bad as last winter, despite the -2 degrees temperature we experienced over this past weekend. Last winter, I started my winter sowing in January since it seemed that the winter was going to be relatively mild.  Little did I know we would experience a very, very cold February.  As a result, I did none in February but did do some in March.  The ones I did early did not fare so well, so this year I decided to wait and keep an eye on the temperature.  The forecast is looking pretty good so yesterday I decided to take a break from my regular sewing and start my winter sowing.

The first thing I did was sort through my seeds.  I am a seed collector. There were a number of bags full of seed from plants in my garden - way to many to start in pots. I decided to sow them the way nature does: I went outside and sprinkled the seeds on the ground in areas where I hope they will grow.  We'll see how that works out.

I also had a number of envelopes of mystery seed which I have collected from various places I have been.  Sometimes I remembered to label them with the place I collected them from like these which I collected in Hoboken last fall. The came from a tree that was growing by Sybil's Cave but I have no idea what kind of tree it is.

Very often, however, I was remiss in identifying where they came from so they are  true mysteries to me.

This year I decided to use my mystery seeds, in my first batch of winter sowing.  I set up 9 cartons of seeds, 4 of which are a mystery, 4 of which are seeds from my garden that I know what they are and 1 from a pack of purchased seeds.

Here they are outside in my garden pen.​

I also discovered something which I hope will keep all of my sprouted plants from becoming new mysteries:  fade resistant Sharpies with supposedly super permanent ink.

I learned from my first winter sowing experiment that it was better to number the cartons and record the contents in a notebook then to write on the carton itself because the label rarely survived.  Last year I used a pen and a lot of the numbers faded to the point I could not tell what they were.  Hopefully, this new Sharpie will prevent that.

Last year, if I finished a pack of seed, I just kept the empty package in the back of the journal.  Not that helpful really so this year I decided to cut out the pertinent information and tape it onto the page.

I also found a use for my collection of those hardly used marble notebooks I had to buy every year for the kids for school. This one is from when my youngest, now in high school, was in second grade.

So this year, I am hoping that some of my mystery seeds will sprout and my seed mysteries will be solved. Only time will tell.

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

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When I first started this blog, I tried very hard to post things on a regular schedule.  As time went by, I found this very hard to do.  Thinking about things to write about is hard, as I am not a writer and often life gets in the way.  

I started to feel bad about this, but then I decided that was foolish.  The purpose of the blog is for me to share what I think some one might find interesting, amusing or informative.  Let's face it though, sometimes you just don't have that much to say.  I seem to be in one of those times.

Perhaps, by taking the pressure off myself to say things, I will find more things worth saying.

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia 

Hearts and Flowers for Valentine's Day. What more could a girl want?

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

So let me explain.  

​Over the years,I have saved my fortunes from the Fortune Cookies I have gotten.  I guess it's because I used to do a lot of paper arts and collage and I often used them in my works.  

As you can see, I have quite a few of them!

So, as this is Chinese New Year I decided to share my good fortunes with everyone.  

Now, I originally intended to start a big media campaign on Twitter and Facebook heralding the arrival of Fortune Cookie Friday with hash tags and all kinds of social media hype but, of course, that never happened.  

So without to much fanfare, today is the start of #FortuneCookieFriday.

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

P.S.  I picked one about love in honor of Valentine's Day.

Last summer, when my family and I went to Missouri we visited the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  We were fortunate enough to be there durings a very special event, the  Lantern Festival: Magic Reimagined.  The Garden has a long history of botanical research and collaboration with China.  They had hosted a previous Lantern Festival in 2012.  

The exhibit consisted of huge lanterns constructed out of metal frames and silk coverings.  During the day they were beautiful sculptures but it was a night that the magic happened.  The lit lanterns, as well as some other sculptures that were created out of dishes and bowls were spectacular.  I thought that during this period of the Chinese New Year it would be a great time to share some of the pictures I took.

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

Gong Hey Fat Choy
According to Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Monkey will start Feb. 8, 2016 (Chinese New Year) and last to Jan. 27, 2017. Monkey is the ninth in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac. 

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

Well despite the optimistic groundhog, it seems that winter is still with us.

Have a fun day!
​Cynthia