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.

 

2025: Day 23....."Mamie Eisenhower Bangs"

 You know that saying:

 "She's got Bette Davis eyes".

Well.... not in my case.

"She's got Mamie Eisenhower bangs"

She's got some attitude also but

it's not about the 50's bangs.

(It was a picky uncomfortable

dress and I wasn't happy about

wearing it or getting my picture taken.)

But in 2025 I think it's funny.

(Both me and Mamie's bangs.)

No wonder Mamie is smiling.

It's because her sleeves don't look picky at all!

Apparently my Mom wanted me to look

fashionable because she was in charge of

my hair in the 1950's.

Thanks Mom.

Sorry for the attitude in my 8 year old self.

Stylin' Mamie Eisenhower:

2025: Day 22....."Sweet Treats Gift Card Box"

 So colorful!

Just like candy really is.

Except chocolate. 

So brown.

Yet delicious.

This gift card box is more like the sticky

sweet colorful kind of candy.

I have a hugely large file of images of

candy that tastes like foamcore 

when we make it because it is.

We don't eat it but it looks delicious.

Foamcore candy is the kind the dentist likes

because it doesn't affect your teeth even if

you did decide to eat it. You'd be so disappoint though.

Foamcore is not tasty.

But it makes a lovely Gift Card Box to 

collect party envelopes. Then you can dig

into the trapdoor in the base and get out

those delicious gifts that folks left 

for you at your party.

And your teeth will love you for it.

2025: Day 21....."Dill Pickle Beer"

Tell me this doesn't look so delicious!

The little red dots are hot sauce.

There is a pickle on the bottom soaking

in the beer.

I love this creativity.

It's available at the 

Great White Buffalo Brewery in

Northville.

If you like beer, give it a try.

If you like to read reviews, check

out reviews I've made on Google.

I get no money for this. 

I read reviews before I decide to go somewhere and

I honestly review places I have been.

I find it's helpful and sometimes saves me some grief 

and gives me some insight.

Google Local Guides Reviews

 

2025: Day 20....."A squirrelly interloper"

 Scott woke up in the middle of the 

night worrying about a squirrel that

may or may not be in his condo that he

checks on weekly. The fireplace screen

was suspiciously open a crack and he saw a quick

glimpse of a squirrel.

He opened the front & back doors and hoped it ran out.

I said go back to sleep and 

we'll go there tomorrow. We did.

We walked in the door and here's what we saw.

• 

Uhhh....Oh..not a good first impression.

Then I glimpsed a little face under a big pillow on

the couch where he had settled in and

taken ownership of the condo.

Little did he know that Scott was not going

to allow that and feed him like a homeless person.

He no longer lives there. 

He didn't even fill out a rental agreement either.

 

2025: Day 19....."Silver Squill aka Leopard Lily & another really long name”

I couldn't resist this plant.

It has all the things I like in a plant...freeform, 

swirly and designs on the leaves like 

they've been painted.

And it was flowering too! 

It has 3 names:

Leopard Lily

Silver Squill

Ledebouria Socialis

Aren't those leaves so unique~!

It's from the hyacinth family and the tiny flowers

do resemble the look but are pretty delicate 

and produce no delicious smell like hyacinths do.

It makes bulbs which can be separated to

make new plants. That's always a plus for me.

I like to propagate, watch them grow and

then share...especially at the Lakes Area plant swap 

in the spring and fall.

I already figured out how to do that

when the time comes because You Tube

makes learning that stuff so easy.

I found it at Willow Greenhouse in Northville, MI 

If you live in the area let me know if 

you'd like to trade a plant.

(marlyss@mac.com)

2025: Day 18....."Winter Action on the Lake"

My view out the window. 

We have some energizer bunnies out there

 on Wolverine Lake.

Ice rink. Pretty nice size one too.

Snowmobile swirlers and twirlers.

You go people.

I'm reading a good book.

2025: Day 17....."Syngonium Little Star/Real/Unreal"

Took some creative license. 

Used the Apple feature that crops out the background.

I love the way it races around the outline of the

part you want to crop. 

Not perfect but then there are

apps to erase its mistakes and gives me a chance

to use my Apple Pencil and Snapseed to 

brighten things up.

Added some frosted windows in the background

 and made them blue-ish.

Unreal. Fake. Yet a real plant I have that's 

from the rainforest in Central America and I

purchased it from Home Depot.

That's how the world works in 2025.

2025: Day 16....."I spy with my little eye"

 I'm that person who wonders what other

good books people are reading.

I would be that person on a plane looking 

more at the book in your hand than your face.

I was at Panera and I noticed a lady my age sit

down with her lunch and a book.

I was so curious.

I was ready to leave so I casually (I hope) put on

my coat while closer to her table and took a peek.

This is the book I am now reading.

Thanks Panera Lady.

I'm on Chapter 7 and it's good.

I like the Panera Lady's choice in books.

Recommendations are helpful and they

all can't come from 

Amazon or Facebook Book sites.....

or Susie next door.