2025: Day 37....."Warm Self-Care I deserve"

 

I'm telling 'ya...this is yummy.

I bought this 50" x 60" heated 

throw back in October when we 

started heading into Michigan's winter joy.

Every night I re-experience anew the great

decision I made in October all 

over again when I crawl under it.

It's really as soft & fluffy as it looks.

It heats up fast. I use level 2

most all the time even though

it has 5 levels.

It's on the top of the bed with 2 blankets

underneath it and in a couple of

minutes they are all warm just 

from the heat of this throw.

(Literally the time it takes to brush your teeth.)

I like that it doesn't cover

the entire bed because I'm the only

one that loves this level of self care.

My first reaction to it out of the box was

that it was very light weight and the wires

seemed almost non-existent. I felt some

disappointment because it was not like my

Costco one with thicker wires and felt 

more stiff and was not fluffy at all.

But the Costco one broke and that was

ok because the fabric was looking ratty.

I'm not sure if it broke because the 

controller went bad or the wires broke. 

(I'm careful not to sit on it for that reason.)

I can say for sure that this throw was

definitely the right choice for me and will be used 

tonight because it's damn cold here in Michigan

and even though I sleep inside I keep

the heat in my bedroom in the 60's.

2025: Day36....."Till the Cows Come Home"

Clipart.

Make your own Valentine's Card.

There's still time if you start now.

Or add words

Click it or

email me if you want me to send this

over to you directly:

marlyss@mac.com

2025: Day 35....."Reflections"

 My garage sale flower light I got for $5

because it needed a small repair 

and my new plant glowing under

the grow light I installed in the light 

for some winter help.

Both reflecting in the window with 

the outdoor solar faux fire lights that I

enjoy so much all summer and still

like looking at even in the snow.

2025: Day 34....."Lickety Split Split Leaf Philodenron photo fun”

 

Glorious Leaves!!!!

I mean..... did you ever!

It's called Lickety Split or

more ordinarily known as

Split Leaf Philodendron.

They say it's easy to care for.

I so hope so cuz I'm in love with it.

If I was going to design a leaf this

would be it.

But everyone would say..no...

that's not a leaf.

Yeah. It is and I get to look at it

every day and I just order another plant

light bulb just for it to keep it

happy until Michigan returns to the

land of sun and shine.

I put a piece of foamcore behind

one of the leaves to get this 

photo to play around with on my

Live Collage app.

2025: Day 33....."ZZ Plant Story"

Our Commerce Library has a plant swapping area.

I picked up this little guy.

A lonely little stem.

I put it in some perlite and waited forever.

After months this is what I had.

A few roots on a few leaves.

On another trip to the library 

I got another lonely sibling.

Waited again and stuck it in the pot with

it's sibling who was just standing there

 doing exactly nothing. Or so I thought.

More waiting.

What's going on.

Just doing nothing but not dying. 

So there's that.

Then a baby popped straight up!

Then another one popped up a few days later like

they were twins or something.

They showed me.

The twins grew like crazy.

Within days I had a family.

These kids were almost as big

as the parents.

Now I have 4 stalks in the pot.

Do I care that my little family 

doesn't look like the big families

I saw at Carlson's Greenhouse

this weekend?

Nope. 

Those rich college kids got a lot of greenhouse treatment.

They'll probably go to someones house and

get into a big fancy pot.

I love my little guys.

They have high potential and they 

are just graduating from kindergarten

and I get to watch them grow.

2025: Day 33....."Syngonium Albo Variegata makes me nervous"

Syngonium Albo Variegata 

This plant makes me teeter on edge.

The leaves are beautiful but feather thin.

Delicate.

The lighter colors can melt with

too much sun so it's a tricky balance 

where to place it.  

In the winter I can place it in a south

window but 6' from the window.

But the summer is harder to figure.

Only one stem is coming out the dirt.

So...all the eggs are in one basket.

Yikes.

I need to take a top cutting and try 

to root it and have another vine going on.

But....not yet. Not yet.

 I hope I can before something goes south.

It's like a fragile person with a beautiful face

and not very sturdy limbs.

The wispy curly willow branches 

are all that is holding it up.

2025: Day 32....."Neon party GUITARS"

Hey Universe......

This would make a spectacular

party centerpiece for a family or

corporate business event!

A neon glow party is 

bold and exciting.

If you combine guitars, 

musical notes and maybe some 

neon microphones and an event logo...well, 

WOW!

We also have some other styles but

this first one really makes me glow.

Maybe put it on a faux

AMP box with a cord?

We can add a logo on the front of the amp.

Looks like it's lighted up and

that's the point.

I love this look!

It's been one of my favs forever.

2025: Day 31....."Coordinating Party Stuff"

A Party Set.

What starts somewhere should go somewhere.

Things look like they started in our workroom.

But no.

Before that colors and a logo were picked.

We just follow thru 

and do some coordinating.

 

2025: Day 30....."Ring of Fire House Plant with a new Baby coming up"

 Variegated 

RING of FIRE

house plant.

Such a beauty.

I love when the variegations are 

not too white because the plant seems

so much weaker with too much white.

This one has such a 

beautiful shape and 

perfectly named.

I'm glad the price of this one has

come way down in the past year

"cuz I ain't about that craziness".  

I doubt I'll ever let this one go out and play

because it doesn't like harsh sunlight.

2025: Day 29....."Plant Light Take-Away"

 I have 7 plant lights scattered around my house.

Various kinds. Long ones. Round bulbs. Red ones.

I've found it doesn't matter. None were expensive.

They all work.

I thought I'd find a favorite but no.

My least favorite is the eerie red one.

But even that one works well and seems 

 to really help this fern from

dropping too many fronds.

I'm trying to keep it alive until I

can hang it outside for the summer.

It's doing surprisingly well in all it's eerie-ness

and here it is almost February.

I just stuck the light on a photo tripod.

Another one is this Swiss Cheese plant which

has given me challenges in the past

but look how green it is!

This inexpensive bulb from Amazon is working it's heart out 

on the above Monstera Adansonii.

It was a 2-pack so I stuck one here over this fern 

that has never grown in the winter before.

It has only lost leaves in the past.

Now it's thriving.

My take-away is get what works easiest with 

what you already have. A shelf to clip a light onto or a 

floor tripod if there's nothing to use or stick 

it in an existing lamp.

They all seem to work about the same.

Makes me wonder why I never did this before.

I think I thought it would be too expensive but

I don't think I've spent over $40 for all of them together 

and I actually love turning them all on in the morning

and checking everything out.

I know I could do timers but I need to say 

Hello to each one. (Only a plant lover would get that.)

Here’s 2 bulbs in my 

Rocky Mountain Juniper lamp

and a different kind under the tv.

I love plants. 

2025: Day 28....."Gardening in Michigan in the winter"

 

This is what you grow in Michigan in January

while waiting for spring to arrive.

My crop output would likely feed only one person

who will hardly want to cut anything and will

prefer to watch it grow than eat it.

Because watching it grow is a fun part too.

The garden looks like this. 

Where the only pop of color is a 

metal gecko.

We're waiting for your glorious return.

2025: Day 27....."Deep holes in Wolverine Lake"

 Wolverine Lake has some deep holes.

Kinda looks like deep tunnels though to me

boring down into the earth.

52', 33', 26'.

Why does my mind visualize some

really big fish down there?

Ugh.

I know there are 

Northern Pike.

If one came up to the surface

and near me

while I was floating in a raft I 

would consider it the Loch Ness monster.

2025: Day 26....."Paper or Plastic"

 

Paper or Plastic?

Ok...paper stands nice & upright.

 That's good.

Ok...only carry it by the bottom or

you get this.

I can carry 6 plastic bags all at once.

I think I made my choice.

And there's this:

2025: Day 25....."Valentine's Day LOVE Clipart"

Valentine's Day is coming up.

If you want to look like you drew 

some cool artwork maybe you could use this.

You can drag this one here onto your computer or

go to a fun site for more ideas:

Creative Fabrica.

 

2025: Day 24....."Gambling & Casino PARTY STUFF"

We've done a pile of gambling & casino

PARTY STUFF!

I mean a really big pile! Just looking at

that picture and I feel like I want to take a nap.

But what we do most of is foamcore

SLOT MACHINES.

We now have 3 different sizes to fit

3 different budget price points because

we try to fit in where folks are at.

We can do any colors but red & black rules.

Here's a page I send out with some prices in

each category to help folks decide because

describing things without a picture just isn't adequate.

We've even done them for weddings.