Goodbye 2011. A Formal Send-Off.

My last project of 2011 was the first of its kind for me.  But it will not be its last.
Earlier this week, I bought some origami paper, thinking I'd like to make 1000 paper cranes.  Mathematically, this shouldn't be hard, as long as I make a few every day for a whole year.   Realistically, I had never made one before.
The directions on the origami packet were terrible.  So I Googled it.  And this video did the trick!  I made a successful paper crane!  And then I did it until I didn't need the video again.  The result:  my first 8 paper cranes!
Now, I may be a pack rat, but stockpiling paper birds all year seems a bit extreme even for me.  Not to mention a little pointless.  So I cut another piece of paper into 8 strips and wrote a fortune one each one.

I assigned each bird a message, hung from its beak.  They were also equipped with a piece of thread for hanging.  I tucked the birds in my bag and went for a bike ride.
Being birds, their ideal home would be a tree.  I wanted to leave them where they would be found by someone going about their normal day.  A special surprise.  I found the perfect spot, in a dead tree in front of a falling-apart house a few blocks from mine. 

This house actually gave me a gift, once- a huge, beautiful, white window frame which hangs on my bedroom wall.  So I like to think of these birds as a thank you note. 

Those bright little birds danced in the breeze, holding their bright little messages.  It was a joy to ride by them.  And if you look closely, each fortune has a special note on the back, "Take me home OR pass me on." 

It was a joy to be able to brighten up that sad little corner.  I can't wait to do it again. 

Goodbye, 2011.