Journey to 1000 Paper Cranes

  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 & thro...

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...

Day 24:  Today I focused on folding,  I put away the stickers and folded my little heart out.  I did take a nap.  I had a sweet conversation with a dear friends.   I joined the public for a bit but mostly I was home, snug in my pajamas with my dogs.  It has been nice as I've made a point of reaching out to friends this week.  I've needed them and they've been a great comfort.  Back to work today, I'm looking forward to the routine of it.  While I didn't quite beat my daily best I got within 2 with 62 paper cranes completed by the end of the day.  (793/1000)

Day 22: I had not realized until the previous day that my husband to work on Friday.  He's a game reviewer and has three deadlines on Monday, so it makes sense.  Not that I had had any plans in particular. So I spent from just before 9am until 1pm running errands. Returning bottles for my friend whose battling cancer, dropping off a package and picking up mail from my USPS mailbox, going to the bank, returning items at the UPS Store, as well as picking up a prescription at the pharmacy.  Came home briefly to put air in two of the tires, picked up the new crate that was delivered for our pup that we just put down so I could return it, and then started the second half of my errands which included returning the crate, getting an oil change, picking up a few groceries, and getting gas.  I knew it was Black Friday but totally forgot the grocery store I go to (which also has apparel, furniture, a garden department, and more) would also be slammed with people.  I reall...

Day 17:  The previous day I had made a blue bead request of my friends because my inventory was short.  I plan to string a series of beads at the top of a string, maybe 2-3 inches worth then will start stringing paper cranes with maybe three beads between each crane.  My friend Leslie found a great peace of wood, looks like a walking stick from my childhood Camp Myrtlewood.  She's going to be drilling 50 holes in that and I am going to hang it via a curtain rod holder.  Leslie had told me she had beads, I should not have doubted the amount whatsoever! She gave me a large stash to choose from that I sorted through last night. I love organizing things, not everything mind you but certain things.  Beads are one of those things.  After going through them all I set aside a group of beads, which will certainly be more than I need.  Also have a couple friends who might add to these, it makes it more special adding touches of people who are dear to me....

Day 14:  One of the unexpected things that brought me a smile was that a good friend and former co-worker sent me a photo of the crane I sent her sitting on her desk.  She let me know it was helping spread peace.  Andrea was one of two who had guess correctly on how many minutes it took me to fold 10 paper cranes (see previous posts).  She also sent me this photo. I was pretty tired this day as I have been waking up with one of our dogs every night for almost a week now.  We're thinking he's experiencing the early signs of dementia as his sleep schedule is totally off and he wakes up and then is barking until one of us is with him.  Previously we thought he was experiencing more pain because he has severe hip dysplasia as well as a progressive neurological disorder.  We are going to start him on a new medication to address cognition.  Fingers crossed we find something that works.  This day I also practiced stringing my first paper crane....