CD Craft Idea

I have a pile of obsolete CDs that I’ve been wanting to use for some kind of craft project. I cut up a few the other day and decided to use them to decorate a flower pot.

I used super glue to fasten the CD pieces to the flower pot. I wasn’t sure if this was the best adhesive for something as porous as terra cotta, but it seemed to work well.

I had this magazine picture of a piece of art from Rome in 1683. Its called “El Sol de Nuevo Mundo.” I decided to cut this into segments and use them for decoration around the middle. The adhesive I use for this was Mod Podge (Excellent product, by the way. Great for puzzles and decopage). I have the gloss variety, but I believe they come in matte.

What do you think? Any suggestions for something I could have done differently?

Houseplants

I have all of my houseplants at my north-facing living room window to catch the last of the summer sun. I’ll probably have to use some artificial lighting  this fall and winter because I don’t have any south-facing windows.

The pots on the windowsill are all babies: two aloes, two  jades, one spider plant, one umbrella tree, one salvia (icterina), and one oregano. Then of course the bottom row is banana, aloe, spider, and dracena.  

Glass for a Coffee Table

We found a coffee table the other day. It’s a nice one, but there were two empty places where glass should go. Since I had a large piece of glass, I decided to have it cut down for the table. I took it to this place in West Eugene called Eugene Mirror and Glass Co, where they charge $5 per cut.

The guy there asked me if it was treated glass. I had no idea. He said that he could still try to cut it, but if it was treated it would burst into a million pieces. I said yeah ok, let’s try it anyways. Turns out my glass was treated. It was the strangest thing to see. One minute I had this sheet of glass and the next minute I had a fine layer of glass fragments.

They had a mess to clean up after that, but they were really nice about the whole thing. We paid for two new glass pieces cut to size and the pieces were perfect for our project.

Crater Lake

I went to Crater Lake for the first time ever. It was beautiful, of course, and extremely blue. I read in the visitor guide that it’s the deepest lake in the world (as calculated by average depth, and not counting lakes below sea-level.)

Oregon Zoo

My boyfriend, his friend, and I were in Portland and we decided to go to the Oregon Zoo. It was a hot day and the place was packed with people. Many of the animals were hiding, and I don’t blame them.

A pygora goat is a mix of two breeds: pygmy and angora. They are popular as pets due to their small size. They also make good fiber animals.

This is a Ringtail.

Aren’t the colors on this snake amazing? I wish I could remember what species he is.

Oregon Loggers Conference

I went to the Oregon Loggers Conference on February 21st, 2009 (“Family Day”). The trip was for a school assignment. I needed to document instances of place, space, landscape, and power. A loggers conference is not something I would normally attend, but it ended up being fun.

One of the most interesting exhibits was reanactment of old-time logging practices. The following photo shows a man racing from one log to another nearby in order to tie has cable around it.

And of course free stuff is good. There was free popcorn, soda, cotton candy, and environmentally-friendly paper towels (although I’m not sure how they figure that last one).

Cascades Raptor Center

The Cascades Raptor Center is dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of birds of prey, while providing educational displays to share with the public the 30+ species of birds in residence. Located on Fox Hollow Rd, this three acre site is an excellent addition to the culture and attractions of Eugene, Oregon.

Bald Eagle

White-Tailed Kite

White-Tailed Kite

Golden Eagles

Burrowing Owl

Fate vs Destiny

The situations and trials that we now have to face are determined, in part, by the choices we have made in the past. This is our fate and it is unavoidable. But as human beings, we are blessed with free will. We can choose to succumb to our fate, or we can choose to defy it. By claiming complete responsibility for our actions, by living in a way that upholds our own standards of morality, and by striving to better the world, we fulfill our destiny. Fate is what is to become of us, based on the current record, while destiny is the result of responsible and complete utilization of free will.

My Beliefs

 §  I believe in the Holy Spirit as a sacred energy that permeates all existence and sustains life on earth.

§  I believe in Jesus Christ as a spiritual leader and Son of God.

 

§  I believe in God as the force of creation.

 

§  I believe that modern religious organizations are based on a core philosophy or set of truths that are universal, but that each has become encumbered with rules or rituals that are not necessarily conducive to spiritual understanding. 

 

§  I believe that by reading the Bible and the Book of Mormon, I can learn more about Jesus Christ and his teachings.

  

§  I believe that through God’s creations (the world, humanity), I can better understand God.

 

§  I believe that human beings have a right to freedom of choice, including the freedom to choose that which is commonly considered “wrong,” so long as those choices do not cause direct, unnecessary harm to others.

 

§  I believe that sacrament is symbolic and serves as a reminder of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and renewal of the covenants made at baptism.

 

§  I believe that baptism is a ritual for repentance and purification of the soul.

 

§  I believe that the earth and all living things were created by the arrangement of pre-existing “matter.”

 

§  I believe that souls exist before they are born into a mortal body, and will continue to exist even after physical death.

 

§  I believe in the devil as personification of evil.

  

§  I believe in evil as that which contradicts God or nature.

 

§  I believe in hell as the absence of God.

 

§  I believe in heaven as reunion with God.

Lane County Historical Museum

The Lane County Historical Museum is located on West 13^th Avenue in downtown Eugene, Oregon.  It is a very small museum, but there are some interesting displays on the history of the area. The entrance fee was three dollars.