I found an outdated origami calendar at the thrift store the other day. Some of the origami papers in it had been used, but only a few. Most of the papers were still there and they were in perfect condition so I bought the calendar on impulse. I have always wanted to do origami with Norah, but I have been waiting till I felt she was old enough to follow the directions without any difficulty.

Note: I was in an origami club after school when I was in elementary school. I loved origami. But there was one thing I hated about it, too. I was never able to remember to bring quarters to buy pieces of the beautiful, perfectly square origami paper the teacher sold for the projects. I always had to make pieces of origami paper by folding and cutting (or worse, folding, licking and then tearing) the edge off a regular piece of typing paper. So all my projects were made with plain, white paper, while all the other kids had their choice of smooth, vivid reds for roses, purples for cranes, greens for frogs! Oh the frustration with myself over never remembering to get an extra quarter from my mom! Oh the envy I felt over those kids who always had more than enough quarters! Oh the sound of their fingers sliding over the velvety, thick, authentic origami paper! Therefore, origami always dredges up memories tinged with bitterness. And, therefore, now, when I see any origami paper in any store, I have to fight the overwhelming urge to buy it all!! so I will never have to go without origami paper again!! (Shaking fist at the sky). I guess I should speak to a therapist about this or something...

But, anyway, this is really the first time I've given into that impulse to buy origami paper. The back sides of these papers have instructions for origami projects, but most of them are too complicated for us since we are just beginning (or beginning again, in my case) so we are just using these papers to make simple projects that I can find online.

We found a pattern for a box online and we made several of those. Norah took the little boxes to her room and she is using them to organize her sea shells and jewelry on her dresser. The next day made tulips that we are displaying in our sunniest window. We'll try more designs that we find online in the days to come.

If we ever happen to run out of these papers, I may order some online (or give in to the urge to buy it all!! when I pass some more at the store again), but only if Norah shows a genuine interest in origami by then.