Journey to 1000 Paper Cranes

  Days 46-50:  Ten paper cranes beaded & flying with butterflies = halfway through one strand.  There will be 20 to a strand, 50 strands in total = 1000 paper cranes.  A handful of paper cranes have flown away to new homes & new origami paper was given as a gift from Jeremy so some new designs will be popping up.  On day 49 I enjoyed stringing up a backyard light show.  The backyard is one of my favorite places to be with the sounds of children playing at the park, the birds that consistently fly over head & travel to our birdhouses or nest in the trees, and the daily fetch/tug of war with the pups.  It is not unusual to hear the neighborhood dogs talking, the stray cats hissing, and the view from the deck has been amazing. 

  My favorite paper crane Day 45:  Hung my first paper crane with beads to my liking.  Fitting on Uncle Hal's birthday, Happy Solstice, and a great way to start the week.  Uncle Hal & Aunt Gayle with mementos from 1996 trip to Bangkok, Thailand, etc   Have been carrying this quote around with me for over a week now.  More beads, stringing, & paper cranes to come!

  After a break on 12/17/20 came Days 42 to 44:  Thursday was rough.  The morning started with unpacking the car insurance deemed totaled.  Then there was the unexpected call that Ming's ashes had arrived.  Oh the tears fell; it felt like losing him all over again.  On Friday my friend Leslie brought over some other needles that I tried however the eyes of both needles were still too large to fit through the smallest beads.  Thankfully Saturday I got a bead kit with several tools including the right needles; the day was spent running errands and catching up on work so I didn't get to stringing any paper cranes. However I've been writing in preparation for another blog post for my private practice which morphed into a second writing that was polished to share with a group today.  All of this during this journey to 1000 paper cranes and so I've decided this one, will go here.   ******************* Through the Woods Over the hill & through the woods... It feels like 20

Day 41:  I was all excited because  I  thought I had it, the answer to get these cranes on a string with beads.  Well after tearing one paper crane (sorry crane!) and folding one to replace it I got two paper cranes on a string....but the beads....my friend had brought me two extra long needles...unfortunately both of those needles plus mine, the head where you string through is too wide to get several of the bead that I'd picked out on!  So now I am on the hunt for the perfect needle and now that I am sitting here I might use bead wire....While I was super frustrated about tearing the crane I really enjoyed folding another crane, I feel like I am even more attentive to that process because it feels good to have mastered that particularly after the disappointing evening of stringing beads with cranes.  However I still only worked on this for about an hour and might not even have that kind of time tonight because I work until 7pm.  Here's to trial and error folks!

Day 40:  Tonight I laid out 20 paper cranes so I could figure out the length of string to use.  I picked my first set of beads and got one crane strung and attempted the second crane only to end up with a ball of string and confusion.  It was too late to do much else.  Still, being able to relish in the delight of the 1000 completed this morning I think I figured out what I did wrong.  I think I'll have better luck tonight.  One of my friends sent me a photo of one of the cranes I gifted her.  I love it!

Day 39:  So excited I just can't hide it!!!  At 9pm tonight I finished folding the 1000th paper crane.  Now I get to start the beading and stringing the cranes.  Will be interesting to see how long this next part takes me.  50 strings with 20 paper cranes a piece.  Not sure how long they will be, thankfully I have a big wall at work.  25 paper cranes complete 1000 today.  

Day 38:  Another full day of things to do, paper cranes to fold, people to check in with, and a bit of work as well.  I really tried to finish my paper crane folding yesterday and then was comforted by the idea I didn't because it is going to be really strange not to fold these!  I have not had one day off from folding since I started. I did a little self-care at the end of the day trying out a new set of Color Street strips .  Love them because they are a slightly subtle red, not like stop sign red (or the light I unknowingly didn't stop for last week).  Keeping this short because the post office is calling my name!  By end of night I folded 26 paper cranes - only 25 to go!  (975/1000)

Day 37:  This day I ran errands including shipping a package to Australia through UPS, getting a new car battery (the guy at Knecht's was nice enough to switch them out for me so I didn't have to go back to return the old battery which would have been an additional charge, a coffee run to the Human Bean where the cashier and I were sharing our holiday decorating goals, and the grocery store for our weekly food where one of the workers told me he ate all the large containers of sour cream with his taco fest LOL.  Generally I enjoy errands, today they were especially sweet as employees seemed especially conversational and kind.  In the afternoon I worked for about four hours trying to catch up on my charting for work; there's more.  But just after 5pm I remembered I was going to put up the lights on the house before dark!  It is dark here before 5 now so the flashlight & I went out.  I haven't done lights on the roof in a year or so but we have two rotating projector

Day 36:  On this morning I mastered folding a paper crane with my eyes completely shut!  I practiced this two or three times the day before unsuccessfully.  I don't know what had me even thinking to try this but I just went with it.  Very grateful this was Friday. After a full week there will be some work to be done this weekend to catch up so I don't stress about it over the holidays.  I was able to fold both in the morning and while at work a bit and by the end of the day 19 paper cranes were folded.  So close to 1000 I can smell it.....(939-1000). The crane folded with eyes shut!

Day 35:  My last client of the day reminded me it was Hanukkah.  The family I nannied for in Pittsburgh from 1997-2001 is Jewish and really the first family I knew really well who observed Jewish holidays.  I got to attend my first bat mitzvah for their daughter, it reminded me of a wedding except that the focus was on her and her family celebrating her, their culture, and each other.  It was very very sweet.  I was paid to attend because I was helping out but I definitely would have done this either way.  They were generous that way and help keep me from needing.  I love them like extended family and wish very much I lived closer to any of them!   My morning started out going to the auto shop to sign some paperwork about the car I crashed the day before and did a walk around with the guy and explained what happened.  While my pride was still hurt, he talked about how things like this happen all of the time.  Realizing I am talking to a guy who sees all sorts of vehicles in all varieti

Day 34:  Driving to work I hit another car about three minutes from my office.  I headed earlier than normal because I worked a new client in (after telling myself not to take any new people for a minute).  Just as I pulled over she let me know she was running 10 minutes late so I responded I was not far but would be a minute as well.  The car was drive-able.....sort of with the frame bent in such a way the wheel was rubbing against it and the driver's side door while not damaged would not open but an inch.  I any case I wasn't hurt and the other driver wasn't hurt.  He was also really really nice.  This brought me such relief because I know people can be really shaken up after something like this and don't always react well.  Information was exchanged, he let me know he too worked just down the street and off we went.  I pulled in at exactly 8:30am at the same time my new client did (on time at that).  I wasn't scared, but I was sweating from the adrenaline dump. 

  My favorite pandemic birthday wish I like to send to a few of my favorites Day 33:  I never imagined that Friday in November that I would be this close to being done with folding 1000 paper cranes.  One thought was maybe I could be done by my birthday, January 12th.  I'll be done within the week, unless something major throws that off.  So excited to start the next part which will be stringing them with blue beads.  It was a long day at work, not a bad day just a long day and I had a couple errands after work so wasn't home until almost 7:30pm.  So appreciated my friend Kendra checking in on me, making sure I was doing okay regarding the grief of losing our dog Ming.  Several clients have been asking as well.  When I got home I had quite a bit of pain in my upper back, neck, shoulders, and that darn wrist so I decided an Epsom salt bath was overdue.  Felt really really good.  On this day I had folded some paper cranes in the early morning, a handful more at work and then a fe

One of my favorites of the origami paper. It's color is similar to the sea foam green my mom's car was but also has Koi which I also grew up with. Day 32:  This day I woke up at 4:30am, my goal had been to sleep until 5am.  I'm blaming the time change.  In any case I had really good energy all morning.  By early evening I was beat.  Full day of clients (7) and was trying to catch up on charting from Friday (unsuccessfully).  I worked really hard to stay up until 9:30pm but probably passed out at 9:15pm.  Woke up and my right wrist, elbow, shoulder were feeling much better but by evening the pain had increased.  So only 10 paper cranes completed today.  I remember as a kid so looking forward to turning 10.  One I loved even numbers but I think it was also turning the double digits.  This was a big enough deal that I had a bigger girl birthday party, which I believe was driving to Willamalane swim pool possibly with snow falling?  If not I do remember it was cold!  I also thi

Day 31:  Got a lot done today because for some reason we were awake before 5am.  Spent some time writing holiday cards in between folding a few cranes.  At some point I got distracted by the idea I could make an origami Christmas tree, super pleased with how it turned out thanks to Pinterest!  It now sits in front of the Christmas tree that I got put up in the evening which you'll see in the 2nd photo.  Loki and I went to Wags! Emporium to donate a dog mat for Health Enrichment for Low-income Pets .  He got himself two treats, one from the clerk and one from me for being a good boy.  Then we got his youngest brother two new squeaky balls because he won't play with any of the balls Mings used to play with.  I ran across this great resource this past summer from one of my fellow rescue moms (that's you Ericka) when I saw a post that one of the older dogs Chef Gordon really needed a ramp to get in and out of his owner's van.  We had purchased Ming a ramp because we have tw

5 gallon tank with live vegetation Day 30: How about that? Thirty days since I started this project. Something I fell into in an evening of just looking up what I could do with the origami paper I had purchased. This has brought a lot of joy into my life. Has allowed for some present moment awareness that gets documented with the blog updated daily. The blog was also an in the moment idea I think on day three or four on a drive into work. It has been a way to focus when I am stressed, sad, grieving, grateful, determined, and more. On this day I had a list of errands I wanted to run, not really thinking they would be the better part of the day I still had fun and some unexpected surprises! I had a gift for one of my close friends (early Christmas) that I didn't want to mail because it has glass. Decided today would be a good day to see if I could drop it off at her house. She let me know she would be home and then offered to go on a walk with me. This was a blast because

  Lau, the snuggle bug of the crew Day 29:  Our youngest dog, Lau turned 8 on this day!  He is the sweetest most snugly dog I have ever owned.  Literally 80lbs of dog will come and climb on the couch to rest on my chest and while I could never sleep that way it sure does keep the blues away.  I decided to take our oldest dog Loki (14 yrs) to work with me.  He's the lucky one that always gets to come because Lau with his long legs is insane to take in the car.  I've had to buy a dog seat belt just to keep him from jumping up front and trying to drive the car!  He's a bit rambunctious as well and is my husband's favorite work companion.  Zen would be great to bring in but he does tend to shed a lot and his gas is horrendous, really it can clear a whole room easy.  My mood is always elevated when Loki is with me.  Every client seemed to appreciate him, watching as some got right down on the floor with him, watching as he snuggled up to them or went to snooze on his blanket

  Day 28:  Have I told you about my right wrist pain?  Well it is something that has come and gone prior to this project but boy oh boy the pain has been more present with this project.   Thankfully I started my day with Sarah, my acupuncturist and ended with Adrian, my new massage therapist .  How come I had never thought of doing this before?  I mean to start and end a work day like this was glorious!  On this morning I challenged my friends to guess the date of when I will complete the folding of 1000 paper cranes.  So far the earliest date is 12/10 and the latest date is 12/23.  There are a few dates that would be meaningful to me like Emily's birthday, Uncle Hal's birthday, or Jeremy's birthday.  Today is our youngest dog's birthday!  Lau is 8 today, I think we have to celebrate.  By end of day I folded 17 paper cranes.  I was able to fold some at work again.  Can't wait to start stringing beads with them!  (832/1000)

Day 27:  This day went pretty well.  Was happy to donate some of Ming's washable dog diapers and dog treat toys to Unbreakable Rescue Allies. I had eight clients on the docket but my last client didn't show, checked the clock and decided tonight was the night to get my fish!  The store I wanted to go to closes at 6pm so I knew the only way to get there during the week would be if someone cancelled.  This store is downtown Springfield and the first tank I see has some neon tetras.  The guy running the store quickly helped me pick out the fish I wanted and let me know an otocinclus catfish would be better than a coby catfish because they are a little smaller and I only have a five gallon tank.  He did tell me they are social and like to hang out together, he recommended I get a second one but he gave met he last one he had with more coming in next week.  I was super impressed that I got all five fish for $20, props to The Nautilus Tropical Fish Store! Went home and let them float

Day 26:  My nine client day turned in to eight, which I was thankful for because I got the much needed break and a little more time to get myself focused and organized.  After a long weekend, I really wanted one of my daily naps by late morning.  I had brought my origami paper hoping somewhere I might fold a crane.  That didn't happen.  I got home later than I had planned and found the rest of my fish tank supplies here.  So much of my evening was spent cleaning the decorations that were to go in the tank and then slowly filling the tank up with two 32 oz cups at a time.  Doesn't it look nice?  I really like the LED light and it has a blue tint and then regular lighting.  I'm so excited about getting my fish.  Also hoping the driftwood I have in there eventually sinks to the bottom but I guess fish can swim around it!  Did some more reading and they recommend one gallon per fish so I am only going to be able to fit five in here.  While I had planned on neon tetras I think I

  Day 23:  This day was one of my college best friend's birthdays.  We became fast friends our first year in college and she is one of the most loyal, fierce, friends I have ever had.  She lives in Virginia with her spouse and two sons, my heart aches that I am not able to visit them now with COVID restrictions because I'm in a place financially and have the freedom with work to work remotely if need to.  Something to look forward to.  I've been wanting a kitten for awhile.  Our kitty Sensei ran away in September, I'm fairly certain she isn't living any longer.  I love young animals, not thinking we'll have four dogs again but a kitten - that would make my day.  In the mean time after checking in with my Aunt Gayle and hearing how my cousin Micah got a fish tank and is enjoying watching his play I decided it was time to get one myself.  Last night the tank arrived.  The rock should come tonight so I'll be able to get everything set up as it needs to prep for