Quandary...

As I assess my list of potential projects - baby gifts, grown up gifts, kids gifts, toys, treats, functional pieces... I keep having to pause and ask myself, "Self, will they appreciate the work that has gone into this mighty fine crafty project?" And hence the quandary.

I love making beautiful things for people. LOVE it. But I admit, it breaks my heart to think that something I have poured heart and soul into might get shoved into a corner and then carted off to goodwill.

So, crafters, what are your thoughts? When you send your babies off into the world in all their stitched and pursed and finished glory, does that nagging question get you too? Does it affect how you pick projects and recipients, and does it make you reconsider the complexity level of a project you are sending to a tepid home?

I'm torn. I live the process. I love giving the project away. But I want that spark of live and appreciation when they open thd package. I love that too. *sigh*

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Sent from my iPhone.

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Cheap and (quite nearly) plastic free

I finally made something clever that I discovered on Pinterest. (I'm sure I have made one thing or another at some point since joining ages ago, but this was a full-on, beginning-to-end, Pinterest project.)

I'm in love with my mason jars. I'm in love with my Cuppow, in love with my cozy, more in love with the tote-able cozy I made for Toby's teacher, and generally obsessed with jars and canning.

For me, my Cuppow is just fine for ice water. I can also stick a plastic straw in the spout and it works as a sippy. But my Cuppow, sadly, only comes in wide mouth. My poor little young 'uns with their regular mouth 8oz jelly jars are left to suffer with disposable straw cups when the Klean Kanteens are dirty, they are drinking milk or OJ spiked with fish oil, or when, well, I just don't want a mess.

No more!

I made one nice big top for me. That's what is seen here, because Toby really wanted to share my water. I also made 3 itty bitty regular tops, and Toby enjoyed spill-free milk on the couch this afternoon. I did use a shortened standard straw for him, but I might have to invest in a pack of short stainless straws. My long ones are great, now that I have a real use for them!

At about $0.50 each, the rubber grommets that go into the drilled hole are totally worth it, and I'm loving upcycling used canning lids. Before I return this big fat 3/8" drill bit, it's going to do some more holes!

Kidneys are a pain sometimes.

Last Sunday I was awoken about 4am with excruciating pain in my left side/back. I've been having this sort of pain off and on for about three weeks, but after being treated with antibiotics and getting a clear ultrasound (read, no kidney stones) I had moved on from Lortabs to natural therapies.

After going to Ortho-Bionomy twice, I was feeling quite good really, with almost no pain episodes, and feeling really confident that we were working on getting my organs back into a rhythm of descent/ascent inside my pelvis.

Then Sunday morning hit me like a truck. By 6:00, I decided to wake Bret and talk ER. Rather than waking kids, I drove myself to the hospital. While not something I would suggest, the mile drive early on a Sunday was uneventful, even if painful...

Long story short: triage, CT scan, urologist conversation (8mm stone stuck just above your bladder, surgery?, yes I don't like 30% odds for passage in 2 weeks), admission, and a lot of drugs. Visits from the boys, including amazing cards. Surgery early Monday morning, checked out Monday afternoon.

I had to pull out my stent on Wednesday. See that crazy, long, creepy string? It had the blue curl on up in my kidney, the white curl down in my bladder, and the string taped to my thigh. It was dreadfully uncomfortable.

I'm still achey and a bit cranky, fatigued from all the Percocet for those couple of days, and still astounded that I pulled that huge thing out in the shower three days ago. I'm a little disappointed not to at least HAVE the big old kidney stone to show for all this, but they smashed it with a laser while I was knocked out and took away the pieces. I get to find out what they are made of in a few weeks.

In the meanwhile, we are hanging in there. Not terribly gracefully, but it's ok to be crazy town every now and again, right?