2026 OneThing #10 - Decrease Fleece

This one was a "progress not perfection" thing . . . I started with four boxes of fleece. I cut many 12 1/2" squares to make a couple of baby blankets, but wasn't happy with the way the layout was going. My main goal is to use up the fleece! Secondary was to have a few finished baby blankets to give as gifts when occasions arise. 

 

I consulted with my sister Louise over the phone, but she and I don't always speak the same language . . . and she is amazing at color and design. So I boxed it up to meet with her in person to help me figure out how to arrange the pieces. I had made one of these for Joshua when he was born (seven years ago!) and I made one for my daughter-in-law's nephew. But I think I started with a larger block . . . like 14" square. 

 

Once you sew an X across two pieces, then sew the pieces together and cut the fringey parts, the blocks are much smaller. I got the idea online, but apparently didn't keep track of where I found it! 

 

You sew two squares of fabric together with a big X, then sew all of these together with the seams all to one side of the blanket. Then you use a scissors to cut fringe. This step is the one that takes a really long time! You end up with one side being relatively flat and the other being fringe-y and much more dynamic! It's pretty easy to make and will use up a fair amount of fleece.

 

Once I was done with cutting the squares, my remaining fleece fit mostly in three boxes . . . with a few bigger pieces on top. So my OneThing wasn't achieved the way I envisioned. I hope to get two baby blankets done this week, but that still leaves a lot of fleece. At some point, I plan to make a bunch of mittens. And perhaps I should just toss the smallest pieces . . . 

 

Because I love photos, here's some of what I sent my sister:

 

2026 OneThing #9 - Blog about Costa Rica

We went to Costa Rica with Brad and Amy Gustafson in April 2023. It was fabulous! I kept a journal while we were there, but I also had a little pile of maps, wrappers, and miscellaneous stuff that I kept intending to deal with. So even though it certainly isn't time-sensitive, I decided to set it as my OneThing and finally do it! We had Brad and Amy over yesterday (Saturday, March 7) but it wasn't completely done then for me to share with them. Here I am, on Sunday, March 8th, 2026, ready to wrap this up and move on.

 

My only "regret" from the trip is that I didn't go on a coffee plantation tour. None of the others were interested, so it will remain on a "Someday" list for me. I did thoroughly enjoy the coffee, though! Every single day. I have finally thrown away the bag from the beans we brought home. (Since then, Brad has given us another bag of Costa Rican coffee beans!)

 

I have pictures of all four sides of this bag in my Vacation / Costa Rica file. I have hundreds of pictures in there!

 

 

Only one part of a story from my journal (I'm so glad I wrote each day!):

Monday, 4/24/2023

 

We were trying to figure out where to go to get a boat tour. Our map isn't very detailed. Thankfully, Amy knows more Spanish than the rest of us and we were on our way. As we drove, a guy on a motorcycle pulled out in front of us! Later, he pulled off (to see a horse, I thought), and we passed him. Later, he passed us and waved us to follow. There was a big building with lots of tour buses and vans, but the guy kept driving and we kept following. I was confident we could have gotten boat tour tickets there, but I wasn't in charge. (Thankfully!)

We were laughing so hard at the notion we were following a complete stranger into a National Reserve . . . but then we saw the parking area, bathrooms, and pier into the river with boats!

Oh! We were at Villas Sol Resort in Guanacaste, and we did two days of the "all inclusive" option. If you tell me I can eat and drink as much as I like . . . oh my goodness! Did I ever indulge.

 

 

From my notes:

Fly in to Liberia

Resort is Villas Sol in Guanacaste

An overnight in Monteverde (pic at left)

Jenifer stayed at Dreams Las Mareas earlier in April 2023! (further north on the west coast from us)

We flew down from MSP to Houston (IAH) on flight #UA2345, then IAH to Liberia (LIR) on #UA1737.

Our return trip was #UA1516 from LIR to IAH and #UA1491 from IAH to MSP.

Brad booked the flights for all of us!

 

Videos:

Shuttle Bus Trip Top to Bottom (7:03)

Shuttle Bus Trip to Restaurant, Beach, and Front Desk (5:48)

Shuttle Bus Trip from Front Desk to Our Villa (2:00)

Random Monkey Video (:17)

 

I'm realizing that there is so much more I could include here (stories, photos, memories, etc.) But this is enough. I have my file folder with maps, a postcard I sent to myself, a Costa Rica wildlife guide, etc. And I have my journal, filled with stories and memories. One more photo here (because I do love photos) and then I'm calling this done. 

2026 OneThing #8 - Finish Sorting Cards and Envelopes

Praise God! I was able to complete the sorting and matching last Sunday afternoon! While we were doing our taxes, I sorted. I kept the cards I wanted to use. I filled a big envelope with Christmas cards and matching envelopes, another with birthday greetings, a third with miscellaneous special occasion cards, and a fourth with cards missing matching size envelopes along with extra envelopes. Woohoo!

 

These cards were in Lou's papers. There was a mix of cards that had been sent to Betty and Lou, blank cards, and random envelopes. It was a lot of stuff to sort through and took up a good sized space on the pool table.

 

Then on Wednesday after teaching, I went to Mala Strana in New Prague and found a lovely person in the assisted living portion of the building who was happy to take the cards! She also accepted a box of random "medical" stuff from Lou's possessions. It makes me feel lighter and happier to get rid of stuff.

So on Sunday, I set a new OneThing for the past week: Sort through recipe box. This one took me longer. I had a shoebox FILLED with recipes that I hadn't touched in over a decade. I don't even try new recipes very often! Right now, my recycle bag is filled with newspaper clippings, recipe cards, magazine pages, etc. I have a file folder with some recipes I'd genuinely like to try. I have a small stack of recipe booklets to put in my donate bag. I wrote a letter to my friend Kathy on the back of a printed out recipe (for molten lemon lava cakes - sound delicious, but I'm unlikely to try making it!). 

I'm not printing a photo of the box (before or after), but this has freed up approximately one cubic feet of space in the household closet in my studio. I feel good! (And I have a file folder of recipes to try. Perhaps I'll go through my cookbooks next.)