Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning
Marilyn P. Johnson
February 14, 2008

As our lives get more filled and busier, organizing is more than a task-it’s a full -fledged strategy for bringing the clutter under control in our homes.

My computer art room needed help and I even had to ask Kay to help me. Willingly he took down the curtains from behind the shutters they needed the annual washing with bleach. New they look snowy white and smell fresh. The next solution was to get rid of some of the clutter. The keeping stuff goes in baskets, bins, and shelves on all four walls, and the closet system with a simple plan for using them.

Even though I have been retired from teaching for seventeen years, it’s still my annual challenge to get organized. My life is constantly evolving. Health problems like my heart and, especially my leg surgeries, are slowing me down. But my spirits are high and I am enjoying hobbies in the art field, such as Scrapbooking. Oh what a kick I’m getting out of writing about my children, grandchildren and great grands. Soooooo many pictures of fun occasions, holidays and my garden and my senior years with Grandpa Kay.

As our lives get fuller, organizing has become more than a task. It’s a full-fledged strategy for getting the clutter under control. With all the things I like to do and my collection of pictures of vacations and everyday life, I love to take pictures, especially of family and friends. I’m even writing about the many paintings I have done over the years. So clutter control has worked its way to the top of my priority list. And, in its own way, it is as much a creative pursuit as cooking and gardening and now trying to pull together a beautiful but useful room.


Working hard on the visual approach to order has opened my eyes to the beauty of storage in plain sight. Scrapbooking is important to me and good habits for my personal love to share and leave for my family. I do so enjoy getting a page or two done each week about my life today and yesterday’s memories.

Now back to the job of visually organizing the four walls of the 12 X 12 foot art room. Thank heaven for the tape Love is Spoken Here by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Choir 2006, Craig Jessop Mack Wilberg conductors 19 favorite hymns and songs.

"A creative mess is better than tidy idleness."

Blogging Down Memory Lane

Halloween and Melinda’s birthday
By Marilyn Johnson
October 20, 2008


The mind jumps around like an uncharted path, picks up pieces of the past.

Halloween - Melinda was born on Halloween 1962. I loved making her costumes when she was a child. Her favorite costume was a green M and M. But when she was very young we had Halloween parties at our home. The year she was four we had a special party and six young girls in the neighborhood came in witch costume and Melinda was a witch, too. Kevin helped with this party. He put dry ice in the punch bowl and stirred it. But the next year she went to school, all day kindergarten. She came home crying because she found out Halloween was for every one. Time marches on.

Getting Ready For Christmas

Hi family, only ten weeks to Christmas. Grandma Marilyn is writing a book about her paintings. 10 copies. One to keep and the other 9 are going to our nine children. I'll write about each painting. You will recognize some of the paintings. Some of the paintings are of our grandchildren, before they were five years old. I love the innocent look of the young ones. There will be one of Kay and his big fish. I have done only a few pages and I'll send more paintings and stories next year for Chrismas 2009, so keep this book on a shelf. All our grandchildren will have to go home to their parents' homes to see this book. Love Is Eternal.

Grandma Marilyn & Grandpa Kay


Anniversary Picture 31 Years