Walking by the Paper

I was at Michael’s today looking for a wreath door hanger when I came across the origami paper section.   I glanced downward at it and kept going without much thought.   In a flash I absorbed the types of papers, sizes of papers and selection of choices for the origami naive or enthusiast that might stop there to make some selections.    I know a lot about origami paper because I’m one of those origami enthusiasts myself.    I’ve had likely some of each of those kinds of paper and even more likely still have some of them in an origami paper drawer upstairs.  

Today though, I just walked by without a second thought.   And then I had one…one of those second thoughts.   I thought how years ago I would have danced in the aisle to find that much origami paper so readily available, so close, so easy to find.    When I was young and in my origami youth I wanted to try it all.   I wanted to find beautiful kami, washi, duo and fiber papers and make models that were a delight fold simply because the paper was the right kind of paper for the model.    But paper was hard to find.    This was pre-internet shopping.  

I would go to cities on business trips and search used book stores for origami books.   I’d troll craft and stationery stores for papers and I’d visit asian markets in the hopes there would be a few packs of paper off in a corner.    Even internationally I was always on the lookout for papers that might be just what I was looking for to make one of my favorite modular balls.   I still have today some wrapping paper I brought home on a plane in a tube from Germany I had found on one trip.   (Not being able to use the beautiful paper you found because it’s too beautiful is a whole other issue.)

Today there are great sources for origami paper online and even the local stores have a reasonable selection.   I had forgotten what an adventure finding good paper to fold used to be until today when I casually walked by a collection of origami papers I would have been in awe of twenty years ago.

The Big Boy Update:  We were at a restaurant for lunch yesterday and the family behind our table had a baby in a high chair.   My son loves babies, just loves them.   He couldn’t stay in his chair he was so excited.   He kept getting closer to the baby and talking to us about him.   Then he started to sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to the baby (my son’s favorite baby song.)   The mother was very gracious about the whole, very cute, thing.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter was mad at her brother in the back seat yesterday.   I didn’t see what was going on but she said very angrily to my son, “just stop pulling me or I’ll hit you in the face!”

Fitness Update:  I know, right?  Where the heck have I been?  Sitting on my butt is what.  Not doing a dang exercise thing since the Las Vegas marathon.   I ran five miles today in some crazy early morning fog in the dark.   It was like Jack the Ripper spooky weather out.