Thoughts on a Monday

I learned to love felt way back in kindergarten. We had a Sunday school teacher who had a felt board. She would tell stories by putting the people from the Bible stories on the board. They were made of felt and so was the board.....so they would stick. We were born during the depression and most of us had very few toys....so going to Sunday school and getting to use the felt board was fun for us.
The closest thing that my kids had to a felt board was Colorforms. These plastic cutouts stuck to a board made of cardboard covered with plastic. There were houses with cupboards where you could stick little dishes and cups and saucers. Colorforms for boys and girls alike. The little plastic things would fall off and get dusty and dirty and not stick. We were forever looking for a little piece, when the board was put away for the day.
Now back to felt....I used felt when making a big wall hanging for Christmas one time.....and I used it for a country scene in the Grandma Moses style that was framed on our family room wall.
I made a replacement jacket for Winnie the Pooh one time out of red felt. I hadn't really used felt all that much...until now. We are making our Woodland Critters out of felt...and I have found a couple of other places where I will learn to make birds that are really detailed. It's fun to work with, because it holds it's shape and doesn't ravel. No finishing the edges...
When we came home from the pool today, I hopped out of the car and decided to start my spring cleanup. I saw the clematis in the front garden swinging in the breeze...held on to the trellis by a couple of tendrils. I got my clippers and cut it down....no new growth was showing....I hope it survived the harsh winter. There are really two together...and they were so pretty the last two years.
I picked up a few sticks and added them to the trash, picked up the pumpkin, left there for the birds. I decided to rake a few of the pine branches away from the perennials....and look for signs of life. Things look a little more tidy and later on I will be glad that I got in there and did these few chores. When things start to green up...I hate to step on everything. This way I can just lightly rake away the leaves that are covering my plants. Before I came in, I took a soft broom and swept up and down on the evergreens that were brownish in the front. I saw that the dead needles fell off easily and hopefully the trees  will be OK after they start their spring growth.
A little at a time....that's how I'm doing things this year. That way it will all get done...a little slower, that's how I move.
Balisha