No. 36 Car Seat Covers

Making car seat covers is one of craft projects that I would like to start very soon.
This summer, I went for hiking a lot, and every time when I got into my car, I thought, “Gee, I should have a seat cover.” After taking a hard walk, I became very sweaty, and, the car seat might be absorbing great amount of my sweat. My husband says, “Smell like roses to me,” but, to be honest, I have a concern that my car might smell like a wet dog driving.
I have found a book, Victoria Romantic Touches by Gillian Haslam(Hearst Books, 2004), from whose chair cover projects, I could get a good idea how I would make car seat covers.
I am very excited that I have already found several vintage sweet floral print sheets and pillow cases that could make pretty car seat covers like the one attached above.

No. 35 Applying Sink Drain Nets to Kitchen and Bathrooms

Covering sink drains with an old style simple net was one of the best things that I had started to do. I applied the nets to the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink and the bath tub. The nets collect the garbage very well and it is so easy to clean up them.
Regarding the bathroom sink that I had a drainage problem, after cleaning up the drain, I replaced the former drain device to this simple net. And, the problem was resolved!

No. 34 Hand Washing Summer Light Weight Clothing

I hand washed light weight tops in a bathroom sink right before taking shower. It is so dry in Colorado, so, the wet light weight clothing would dry overnight. It was a good way to reduce the amount of dirty clothing for laundry. But, on the other hand, the soapy water seemed to slow the drain in the sink, and, I needed to give the really good cleaning. Less than 1 year before, our great house maintenance guy cleaned the drains of the sink and the bath tub and replaced the main pipe, so, before starting to hand wash the summer clothing in the sink, the drain was in the great shape. I assume that hand washing was too hard on the skinny sink pipe.

No. 33 A New Cooler, Kuur Aire

I didn’t have any cooling system and this summer for the first time, I had tried a portable evaporative cooler, Kuur Aire. The referenced portable evaporative cooler worked just fine for my need. I had several reasons why I didn’t want to set up a permanent swamp cooler, which is one of the common cooling system in my area: I live in a two story house and didn’t want to have a swamp cooler on the roof where I wouldn’t be able to go to put a cover on the swamp cooler for winter season, I didn’t want to lose a window in a hallway to set up a swamp cooler which was an alternative location except on the roof, and mostly, I didn’t need a big swamp cooler to cool the whole upstairs since I usually spend my day using only one room. The referenced Kuur Aire has 8 gallon water capacity and cools up to 400sq ft according to the box. My room is bigger than 400sq, so, I set up the Kuur Aire near to my desk and felt cool enough while working at my desk. The best efficient way to utilize the Kuur Aire was to put some ice cubes with water to make the air coming nice and cool. While working, the Kuur Aire would make noises, and, it was a little bit too loud to listen to music. But, for overall result, I am happy with my new portable evaporative cooler. I have already cleaned up the Kuur Aire for the next summer. It wasn’t too heavy for me to carry around and it was easy to clean up. And, probably, it saved energy as well.

No. 32 Homemade Strawberry Jams, Yummy!

One of the best treats this summer was homemade strawberry jams made by ME! I purchased fresh strawberries from a grocery store, King Soopers, washed them, chopped them, and boiled with white sugar(1/2 amount of strawberries, for example, 2 cups of chopped strawberries and 1 cup of white sugar) in a sauce pan, and added freshly squeezed lemon juice from a lemon and boiled down for a while, and added a little bit butter right after turning off the stove.
To me, it is sweet enough to add ½ sugar to the total amount of any berries, and to add a little bit butter is the trick to make jams taste so good.
Long and long time ago, for the first time when I entered a blackberry jam, I won the blue ribbon, the first place at a County Fair in California. Yes, believe it or not, I was the blue ribbon blackberry jam lady, but, to tell you the truth, I don’t feel comfortable to make jams preserved in a jar because I am not so sure whether or not I could sterilize enough not to let the jams go bad. So, I always make a jar of strawberry jam and keep it in a refrigerator. My next lesson will be to learn how to preserve homemade jams. And, I sincerely admire anybody who can fill cabinets with a lot of homemade preserves.

No. 31 Successful Cherry Tomatoes

My friend, who has a well taken care of veggie bed, reported me that her sweet cherry tomato 100 has been giving her around 400 fruits so far. Yes, only one sweet cherry tomato 100. Is it amazing? I had a great harvest off of my sweet cherry tomato 100 as well and they were delicious. I will make a note for next summer that the sweet cherry tomato 100 is the winner of the home grown tomatoes.

I had heard that planting tomatoes and basil together is a good paring so did twice last summer and this summer. But, the basil plants next to the tomatoes didn’t grow much. It seemed the tomato plants grew too tall around basil and seemed to dominate the area. I planted 8 basil plants together in an area without any tomato plants around, and they grew much better. So, I will make another note for the next summer: Plant basil in a small sunny spot given only for basil or similar height herbs like parsley and etc.

No. 30 Full Moon

Did you get a chance to see the beautiful full moon?
Actually, I enjoyed watching the full moon at 9:00pm, 10:30pm, and midnight on Sunday, September 11. After watching the moon at 10:30pm, I went to bed, and I woke up at midnight and saw a small bright spot on the floor near to the window. Could it be the light from the moon? I looked up through the window, and sure, the moon was beaming. I went to the front yard to watch the moon again.
For a long long time, I had forgotten to take a moment to enjoy watching the beautiful moon. But, not anymore.

No.29 Full Moon on Monday, September 12

The full moon in the middle of September supposed to be the most beautiful moon in the year. I will enjoy the beauty of the full moon tomorrow night. Hope we will have a special clear sky.

No. 28 Successful Home Grown Veggies This Summer

I planted a pumpkin for the first time this summer.

First of all, the way how I planted several veggies in my garden was not a good way. I don’t have any veggie beds in my garden, so, I planted a tomato here, and then another tomato here, and four basils here, and so on. Feeding those veggie plants made it very difficult to control the weeds around them, and, probably, it was a very inefficient way to water them as well.
Yet, basils, Japanese cucumbers, sweet 100 cherry tomatoes grew well. On the other hand, hot peppers and regular sized tomatoes ended in very poor harvest again, so, I won’t plant them anymore.
For the next summer, first of all, I would like to plan a layout of my garden including a veggie bed and then to make the soil rich before the planting season would begin.

No. 27 Chicken Wire Cages Worked 100%+

The newly adopted method to put chicken wire cages around newly planted bushes worked perfectly to keep squirrels off. The squirrels used to damage the newly planted roses, berry bushes, and etc overnight and I had really a hard time to grow bushes in my garden. I still have several squirrels living in my garden, but, they don’t bother bushes surrounded by a chicken wire cage. For the first time, I made a success to plant bushes in my garden this summer!
My friend in California used to put chicken wire cages around her cactuses and bird of paradise bushes covering with cotton sheets to protect them against frosts during winter. I am not sure whether or not I would need to cover any of my bushes during winter, but, I am going to keep the chicken wire cages since it might be helpful.

No.26 Additional Bird Bath and More Birds and Bees

It’s getting the end of summer season and it seems to be a good time for me to review what worked and what didn’t work in my garden this summer.

The best new addition to my garden this summer was an additional bird bath. It was hard to find a garden store which carried bird baths since most garden stores including Home Depot seemed to stop carrying them. I was fortunate that the Abner’s Garden in Wheat Ridge, Colorado had a selection of bird baths and I could purchase a nice one for my garden. The store staffs at the Abner’s Garden were very friendly and nice.

Last summer, I had one bigger sized bird bath and one smaller sized bird bath under a big tree. Mainly, the doves and the red robins which had nests in my garden used them. And this summer, I added one more bigger sized bird bath under a different big tree and had new bird visitors to my garden, which seemed to be finches, and a lot of bees.
It was a new lesson for me that to put bird baths(water) in my garden would sustain wildlife.

No.25 Handmade Carrying Jewelry Pouch

I am always so impressed by creative ideas by artists, crafters, gardeners, cooks, and etc. While checking a book, Craft Hope that I had introduced the other day, I was like, “Who could come up with this pillow case dress idea? Oh My God, these sock monkeys are way too cute.” The very idea that someone could come up to make sock monkeys from socks itself is so impressive to me.
This tiny jewelry pouch is one of those creations that gave me the same kind of surprise long time ago. When I purchased jewelry at a store, the store gave me a manufacture made tiny jewelry pouch, and it turned to be a very convenient item to carry in my bag for going to swimming, traveling and etc.
I made the one attached here by hands using a black felt with blanket stitches. This is a tri-fold jewelry pouch measuring with folded dimension of 4” long x 2” wide. It consists of 1 pocket and a strap with a snap on one end for holding ring. A very quick and easy craft project.

No. 24 Mashed Cauliflowers and Castle Rock

After visiting the Cherokee Ranch and Castle, I went to the down town Castle Rock. It was my first visit there, and I was so glad that I did. I stopped at a farmers’ market while they were closing, so I could get a chance to check only 1 stand which still had some veggies on the table. I purchased several kinds of veggies and the water melons were the best of all. I got two cauliflowers for one, but, quite frankly, that wasn’t an exciting offer since, well, to think I would have to eat two cauliflowers rather sounded like a pain. But, the store persons told me, “Oh, no, try mashed cauliflower with butter. It would taste like mashed potatoes and it would be good.” That mashed cauliflowers was new to me, so, I tried with butter and ranch dressing powder and milk, and it turned to be very good and a good way to eat a lot of cauliflowers.
Besides the farmers’ market, I had a great fun time at Bennington Mercantile which wasn’t just a feed store but also carries fashionable western clothing and work clothing and the owner and staffs of the store were very nice and friendly. I was so happy that I found used horse shoes for sale at the store since I had wanted one for good luck. Also, the Barn, which was like an antique and unique gifts mall with style, was a wonderful place. I purchased several high quality cotton fabrics. I am sure that women would love to visit the Barn. And, one more treat at a Mexican restaurant, Yolanda’s Tacos. They served all homemade tacos, and they were really good. I had stopped eating meats at any Mexican restaurants for a while because the meats didn’t taste good, but, the Yolanda’s pork and beef were very good. Probably, the Yolanda’s Tacos would be the only reason why I don’t say that I am a vegetarian.

No.23 Cherokee Ranch and Castle Tour

I took a tour at the Cherokee Ranch and Castle in Douglas County, Colorado for the first time. The castle was built with rocks originated to the Douglas County in a Scottish style. From my perspective that I had seen the Hearst Castle and other Victorian mansions in California, the Cherokee Castle had rather a simple interior with mainly beautiful stone works, not too many furniture and decorations, and the spectacular view.
And, it is great to know that the land is protected as a wildlife sanctuary.

No.22 Good Book: Craft Hope by Jade Sims

I found this book, Craft Hope at a public library today. This is a great reference book for someone who is looking for a way to utilize sewing skills to bring a smile to someone in need in the global community. Jade Sims is the founder of Craft Hope, and this book introduces very cute and simple craft projects such as pillowcase dresses, soft cloth dolls, care caps, burp cloths, and etc. and the contact information of the charity groups which would be happy to receive these handmade crafts. I will be happy to make some, too.

No. 21 Handmade Cotton Dishcloths

I have been using Scotch Brite Heavy Duty Scrub Sponges for washing dishes and cleaning bathrooms. They work great. But, I have a concern that probably it would be better for me to start to use more natural materials because I have to throw away them oftentimes.
Long time ago, my dear friend gave me the handmade cotton dishcloth attached above for washing delicate china dishes. Since it is a handmade gift from my friend, I have been using it as like a doily. I have never used any cotton dishcloths, but, I am going to make some to see if they would work fine for regular dish washing.
At Wal-Mart, I have purchased a Peaches & Crème 100% cotton yarn for about $8.00. It was a good buy for 400g/14oz and seems to be proper for making dishcloths as the label indicates Free Dishcloth Patterns on back. I was so ready to try to crochet a dishcloth, but, Oh My, I can’t pull a yarn from a spool to start. Does anybody know how to find the starting yarn from this huge spool?

No. 20 Organizing Ribbons by Yarn Remnant

I love sewing and crafting and re-organizing my sewing room is one of the high priority projects. My friend once told me, “Someone who loves sewing usually has an enough collection of fabrics and etc to open her own fabric store.” Well, I don’t have that many fabrics, but, it is true that I may already have enough sewing materials that I would be able to enjoy sewing and crafting for the rest of my life. But, I still love finding cute and beautiful fabrics, ribbons, buttons and etc. especially vintage items. To me, it always brings me an excitement and fascination. And, it is also wonderful that oftentimes another shopper would come to talk to me in a very friendly manner, “Oh, it’s pretty. What are you making?” It would be just a very quick exchange, but, I always feel so blessed with a quick connection that we share the same love for making something beautiful.

I was so happy when I had found a package of the ribbons attached above at a junk store. I enjoyed opening the package pulling a piece by piece to see what I had gotten. I tied each piece by a ribbon that I had collected from gifts received or a yarn remnant that was too short to make something and stored them in a vintage tin box.
This is a small start to re-organizing my sewing room.

No.19 Handmade Simple Bed Cover

I made this bed cover with a 33” W x 42” L panel and three other fabrics. I was going to try my very first quilting like project but called complete just for a single fabric bed cover without lining. I have cats and they sleep and play on my bed, so, for a frequent washing purpose, this bed cover is more practical than a bed comforter to be used as a bed cover on top.

No 18. Roxborough State Park in Colorado

I had an unexpected great hiking at the Roxborough State Park in Littleton, Colorado. It was so hot under the shinning sun without much shade, but, the trail was nice and flat and it wasn’t too bad for me to walk. I applied Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 100+ on my face and Coppertone Ultraguard Sunscreen Lotion SPF 70+ on my arms and legs and they worked wonderfully that I didn’t get sun burn. After this trail hiking, I have a greater confidence that I have such a strong heat resistant body to enjoy more outdoor activities.
Besides, the view of the huge red rocks formation was breathtaking. The Roxborough State Park doesn’t allow hikers to bring dogs nor bicycling, so it was also nice that I could enjoy the silence while hiking on the trail. The Roxborough State Park had a special spiritual feeling to me. I thanked Gods for giving me eyes to enjoy the beautiful creation and His presence in the absolute silence.
For the next visit, I am hoping that I would be able to see some beautiful wild animals there.

No.17 Japanese Plush Beanie Maneki Neko Black Good Luck Cat

This is a contemporary Japanese Maneki Neko, Good Luck Cat which will protect you against evil.
Material: 100% Chirimen Rayon / Lining 100% Cotton.

No.16 Black Good Luck Cats Japanese Maneki Neko

I have heard that there are so many cats waiting to be adopted at animal shelters.
Especially, black cats have been having a hard time to find a new home.

Do you know in Japan, Cats(Neko in Japanese) are considered to bring good luck to you?
Have you ever seen cute Japanese cat figurines with one or two paws up?
Those are Japanese good luck charms, Maneki Neko, inviting cats in Japanese.
Ones of traditional Maneki Neko figurines are white calico cats which bring you business success, prosperity and happiness.
Another traditional Maneki Neko, black Maneki Nekos are good luck charms to protect you against evil spirit.

I have adopted a black cat several years before. She is the sweetest cat I have ever had.
Hopefully, black cats at the animal shelters can find a good home soon!

No.15 New Rose Plants and Chicken Wire

I am very happy that several squirrels live in my garden.
They are very playful and fun to watch.
One problem, though is they love to play with or they might be sharpening their teeth with newly planted bushy plants and would kill the plants overnight.
I have lost new hydrangeas, roses, and berry bushes so far and replanted day lilies for a try because they don’t seem to bother leafy plants.
And also, for my first try, when I replanted two rose bushes, I protected them with chicken wires.
Hopefully, the chicken wires work.

No.14 Whole Wheat Seeds and Whole Oats Seeds

The trial for growing cat glasses from the steamed crimped oats seeds didn’t work.
What was I thinking? It seemed to be obvious.
Probably, it may be the same thing that I can’t grow rice glasses from the steamed rice.
So, I went to Curve Feed & Supply in Lakewood looking for wheat seeds and oat seeds in bulk from which I would be able to grow cat glasses.
And, I was lucky!
The store owner was very nice and kind and let me understand that I would need whole seeds to grow glasses and actually showed me the wheat glasses grown on the ground.
I purchased whole wheat seeds and whole oat seeds for 3 pounds each.
If I remembered correctly, they would sell the seeds from 1 pound, which was also nice, too.
Whole Wheat Seeds.

Whole Oat Seeds.

No.13 Update Homegrown Cat Glass

It was very hot day yesterday, and the Nibble-Licious cat glass seeds by Petlinks System have grown up to about 2 inches (3cm) tall now.
They look very healthy and good glasses.

No.12 Bean Sprouts by Sprouts Extraordinaire

I had purchased a package of bean sprouts(8oz, 227g) at the King Soopers in Lakewood. The package indicated just “Bean Sprouts” so I checked the website of the producer, Sprouts Extraordinaire in Denver. I assume the bean sprouts that I had purchased were Mung Bean Sprouts.
The package also indicated these bean sprouts contain Vitamin C 20%, Iron 4%, Fiber 4%, Protein 3g, Sugar 7g, while no fat, no cholesterol and no sodium. Sound like a very good veggie, isn’t it?

For lunch, I made the attached bean sprouts salad with Japanese dressing.
I suppose to be able to eat the bean sprouts fresh but I prefer to soak veggies in a hot water about 1 minute or so to make them a little bit tender and rinse them by running cold water in order to make this salad.
The Japanese dressing was made of Japanese Sushi Su(Japanese rice vinegar which is a seasoned mild vinegar for sushi and salad and etc. Mine is Mitsukan Sushi Su), sesame oil, soy sauce, and white sesame.

I am very happy to find out that there is a local company, Sprouts Extraordinaire which produces natural and organic sprouts.
Great fresh produce!

No.11 J.W. Pet Company Grip Soft Cat Brush

It’s suddenly a hot summer day, and my lovely cats need a good glooming.
I purchased the attached Grip Soft Cat Brush by J.W. Pet Company at PETCO in Lakewood.
Originally, I had purchased the brush for my long haired cat, but, as usual, she didn’t want to get brushed. So, I have tried to brush other short haired cats and they loved it!
The handle of the cat brush is nicely fitted in my hand and very comfortable to use.
The pins of the brush are very nice and soft and they seem to be giving a nice massage as well as a gentle brushing.
Because my cats love the feeling, they stay still and that makes easy to give them brushing.
One minor problem is the pins of the brush have a round ball top, and I assume these round ball tops make the brushing soft and gentle but also make difficult to clean up furs caught in the middle of the pins.
Nonetheless, “Thanks, mom,” my cats gave me a thumb up!

No.10 Cat Glass Seeds

For my dear indoor cats, I have purchased a package of cat glass seeds, Nibble-Licious by Petlinks System ($4.99 for 5oz.) from Pet Smart in Lakewood.
The package indicates the cat grass seeds are 100% oats seeds.
I had started 3 small cat grass pots using the Eko Organic All Purpose Potting Mix.(This soil is so nice and soft. Purchased at O'Toole's Garden Center in Lakewood.)
Let’s see how they will grow in my sun room.

I went to check the Wardle Feed & Pet Supply in Wheat Ridge if they were carrying cat grass seeds (could be barley grass seeds, wheat grass seeds, or oat grass seeds)in bulk. But, I didn’t have a good luck.
I purchased a 10oz package of steamed crimped oats seeds for $3.99.
These seeds should be for birds(I guess) and probably are not good for planting, but, anyway, I will try if they can be used as a cat grass seeds.

My cats love to spend long hours in a sun room even on hot days. The ready for eating cat grasses in the containers could stay fresh just 2-3 days in the room. So, I am on a mission to find good sources to purchase cat seeds in bulk.

No.9 Planting Tomatoes and Basils

It’s a summer treasure to harvest ripe tomatoes from our gardens, isn’t it?
My husband is the person who is so willing to dig several holes in our garden, where the soil is so rocky and just to dig a hole is really a heavy duty, hoping for the best BLT sandwiches ever that he would get after this hard labor.
But, unfortunately, we didn’t think that we would have a long enough summer the tomato plants get ripe.
So, for this summer, we had planted only two red cherry tomatoes and one yellow pear tomato in 6” pots as the cherry tomatoes became ripe and tasty in shorter weeks while the bigger sized tomatoes didn’t turn to red last summer.



As far as for basils, it was our first experience that we really enjoyed homemade pesto from fresh basils harvested from our garden last summer. We don’t want to let this summer pass without the delicious pesto in our mouths, so, we had planted three 6 packs of basils.

No.8 Low Maintenance Gardening Moss Phlox

Every summer, I had planted several kinds of annual flowers in my garden such as pansies, marigolds, petunias. This summer, instead of my regular annual favorite flowers, I chose to plant perennial plants so that every year my garden would grow with more flowers, and this part is appealing to me, I would not have to do a physically heavy gardening to dig new holes to plant new plants every year. (Gardening is fun, but, I am not getting younger every year, you know.)

So, I have planted two kinds of Moss Phloxes, Scarlet Flame and Candy Stripe, which are perennial flowers. One of my neighbor’s front yard has been partially covered by a pink Moss Phlox flowers and Moss Phloxes seem to be a very good choice to plant in my area. Also, in Japan, Moss Phloxes are called lawn cherry blossom, I hope I am right about this, because their flowers look like. I had grown up with enjoying Moss Phloxes and I would be happy to see the Moss Phloxes would make a beautiful flower carpet in my garden and would help bees' population.

No.7 Feng Shui Green Plant

Long time ago, I have read one of Feng Shui experts said that green plants represent life and it would be a great way to start a day to see fresh green when I wake up.
By contrast, dried flowers are not good to decorate rooms as they don’t have any more lives.
So, I put a green plant pot in my bedroom.
My bedroom is not sunny so I chose a green which doesn’t need much sun.
And, I recycled an antique china plate for the pot saucer. (I am going to utilize my favorite china for daily use to enjoy them more instead of keeping them in a cabinet unused.)
Now, I am thinking that it could be a delightful thing to multiply this green plant to make more green pots. I suppose to be able to cut a little part of this green and to put into a cup of water until it starts rooting.
Living with fresh green indoor, that will refresh my room.

No.6 Celestial Fruit Green Tea

Celestial Seasonings 100% Natural Teas
Antioxidant Max Green Tea Dragon Fruit Melon
Wellness Supplement
20% RDI Vitamin C per serving
35% more flavonoid antioxidants than other leading brands(as well as strawberries, kale, red wine, dark chocolate and almond)

I haven’t been caught cold for several years (I am so lucky!) and I think it is because I intake Vitamin C through drinking lemon water or eating a lot of oranges.
But, it’s hard to make it a year round wellness habit because lemons and oranges are out of season during summer and actually, I have already suspended to purchase them.

I have found the above-referenced tea at a grocery store nearby my house and have started to drink as a substitute to the lemon water.
It has a very nice fruity mild flavor mainly melon.
Highly recommended!

No.5 Good Morning to Smiling Shirley Temple

I have been very diligent with doing a light exercise every morning for several years.
Including a recharging exercise, Japanese radio exercise, balancing one foot, push up on the wall, stretching legs and arms and deep breathing.

I have hanged the attached vintage Shirley Temple’s photo right on the wall where I do the balancing on foot.
I would count 20 for each foot watching straight at the Shirley Temple’s cute smile.
It’s a nice way to start a new day with exchanging smiles.

No.4 Night Time Prayer

I used to pray right before going to bed, and I shouldn’t say this loud, but, as quickly as possible because I was too sleepy.
So, I changed the time.
I started to have a short prayer moment sitting on the floor comfortably after finishing dinner any times when I would feel comfortable.
It is more relaxing and like taking a meditation.
I am going to make it a custom to ring a small bell praying for the world peace.
Love and peace to all sisters and brothers sharing the same this mother earth.

No.3 Dusting and Covering Electronic Equipments

For cleaning, vacuuming is the first priority and I have a hard time to make an extra cleaning time for dusting furniture.
I remember somebody said something like take it easy, relax, just to think a little bit dusts would be good to protect furniture.
Um, that was nice to hear, that was what I thought, but, I knew it was getting too dusty in my room and it had been bothering me.
So, today, I took a time to dust a TV, a CD player, a DVD shelf and a printer and found it difficult to clean the all dusts out from electronic equipments due to the small holes and such and the heavy weight to move.
And, I came up with an idea, “Why didn’t I cover them with some kinds of fabrics?”
After cleaning them up, I used Japanese furoshikis and vintage lines to cover each of them.
I hope this will keep them from getting dusts and make a cleaning easier in the future.

No.2 A Cup of Tea Time

It was really a cup, but, instead of having a tea for breakfast in the kitchen, I brought the tea to my room and sat in the chair that I had put a new slip cover yesterday and had a cup while listening to a Michael Jackson’s “Hold My Hand” from a CD, Michael.
It was so comforting. It was just several minutes, but, Michael Jackson’s voice was so soft and warm, and it was like shimmering in the music for several minutes.
Starting a day with just listening to a beautiful singing for several minutes was a rich experience.
And, I am going to make it a daily habit.

Today, I made an easy and quick picture frame utilizing a February sheet from a 2011 calendar that I have been using.
The paper says, “Live the Life You’ve Imagined.”
That’s a perfect motto for me to read every day.

Starting 365 Small Steps No.1 Spil Cover

Re-organizing and de-cluttering my rooms have been always in my mind. Probably over two years, I had enjoy checking in books and magazines regarding re-organizing, interior designs, garden designs and such but couldn’t start to do anything. And, it was my fault.
“O My God,” just recently I have noticed, “Another spring cleaning season has been passing.”
It’s really time for me to start to clean up my mess with 3Rs in mind and will transform my rooms into comfortable and lovely ones.
“Let’s make it a project and start to make a detailed plan.” This will not work for me.
“Every day, just do something small that I usually don’t do.” This is what I am going to do.
And, starting TODAY. (I told myself in an assertive voice to let me start.)
So, today is the day.

Today’s small thing: Putting a slip cover over a chair in poor condition.
My cat used to own this chair and scratched all over the surface.
I had checked several stores in order to buy a slip cover but I found only few selections were available and they were too pricy. Actually, I couldn’t find any designs I liked.
I have several curtains (43”w x 46”h) that I don't use at home.
I covered the chair with 4 pieces of them and put a vintage dresser liner. No sewing was necessary.
It was easy.
I like to keep the 4 pieces unsown so that it would be easier to wash.
And, I will keep the edges loose so that my cats can enjoy hiding behind the fabrics.

Replacing Broken Glass Frame

I purchased a vintage framed print for $4.00 at a thrift store. The original glass was broken. I wanted to keep the original frame so I took the artwork to a local glass store instead of a frame store. The glass store could take out the broken glass without damaging anything and replaced a new glass(41"W x 17"H) for $20.00. It was much better deal than reframing at a frame store. I am very happy with the result.

Foothills Animal Shelter

I have been visiting the Foothills Animal Shelter for several months.
The new building is a very nice shelter for cats and dogs and other small animals who are waiting for a new home.
Especially, I love spending a time at the cats adoption corner. All cats are so daring, and actually, I can get a chance to socialize with some cats in person. Every time when I visit the cats, I feel so recharged with happy feeling.
And also, it's a great place to know there are so dedicated volunteers who work for saving animals and sharing their love.

Foothills Animal Shelter
http://www.foothillsanimalshelter.org
Hours and LocationFoothills Animal Shelter is open to the public:
Monday – Friday: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Address: 580 McIntyre Street, Golden, CO, 80228
Phone: 303.278.7575