Anti-Consumerist X-mas Prezzies

Now that Christmas is over, I can share with the interwebz what I made for some lucky friends without ruining the surprise.

As per usual I opted not to buy gifts because I am both poor and thrifty. But this year I thought I'd step up the anti-commercial symbolism a notch - by making elegant jewelry out of high interest credit cards.

Of course, I had to be a consumer in order to get the hardware for these stunning ornaments. (Here's where I plug Dava Bead and Trade, which has every imaginable piece of hardware for jewelry making you could possibly imagine for ridiculously small prices.)

Below is a gallery of some of the pieces I made. I'd consider marketing these, but I'm (thankfully) almost out of credit cards. Unless someone wants to commission a piece using their own cards, but that might be weird.

Christmas!

I have one box of Christmas decorations, so every year I see how far I can make them stretch. This year, I think I did alright. I made a wreath from my backyard cedar tree, and a Christmas tree from some sticks.








Happy Holidays!

Fish Channel 24/7

A couple of years ago I conceived of an idea that was, just a few weeks ago, finally carried out to near-completion.

The 24-hour fish channel:



I finally found the right TV to gut at the bins about 2 years ago. We brought it home and I convinced boyfriend to take out all the innards - and he did me one better: he connected the lights to the power switch!

Then, he convinced me that it would be way cooler as a terrarium of carnivorous plants. He painted this vision of a Mario world, with Venus Fly Traps poking out of green pipes... We even put it all together and it was fabulous!

But we were missing a water delivery system, and eventually the poor plants withered and died. We decided that we needed a) a door in the top for easy access and b) a terrarium that fit the cabinet.

So, the TV sat outside in our craft-carport for a year. Until our fish pond froze over last month.

I thought all of my fish must have died, but one day, after it thawed out, I peered into the pond and saw a goldfish face! So, I bullied boyfriend into finishing up the access door and fished all the fish out of the pond.

And now they are warm and happy!



Most of them. Four of them died immediately after the move indoors. I tried my best to get them acclimated to the temperature change slowly, but goldfish can be sensitive.

Obviously, it's not yet finished. We still need a properly sized aquarium, LED light bulbs (instead of incandescent in there now), probably a filter and boyfriend wants to get the speakers functional.

But in the meantime, Whiskey really loves this show.

3 Weeks Sick and Counting...

3 weeks ago, I biked home in a rainstorm so heavy that I felt like I was biking upstream. And then immediately got sick. An annoying cold has turned into obnoxious bronchitis, which according to medical experts on the internets, should be leaving me soon.

So, I haven't been able to get much of anything done, much less blog. When I finally get well, I've got a to-do list about 3 miles long.

In the meantime, I've been using up all my sick days and vacation time and then, when that ran out, working very slowly. One of my co-workers, Super-Sweet-Shawna, has been bringing me oranges everyday and making sure I have hot tea.

When at home, I've been resting and watching old episodes of Psych (Ooh! There's a new one!) and playing a game of Secret of Mana that I started a year ago. Neither I, nor Crayon, have been getting any exercise. By the time I'm finally well enough to bike to work again, I'm going to be so ridiculously out of shape that I won't be able.

Boyfriend made me turkey stew. When that ran out, we got some Vegan Ramen.

Now I have a whole weekend to rest! If I'm not better by the end of it, I guess I'd better actually use this health insurance I've got. After almost a decade without insurance, it's not really my first reaction to call a doctor. Or even second or third.