All posts by Savvy Spoonie

I am an artist, writer, jeweler, and a Spoonie. Before becoming a Spoonie I was a very busy high achieving attorney and advocate bent on saving the world. Now I'm struggle to redefine my life to fit within my reduced energy level. Some days are better than others. I have fibromyalgia, trigeminal neuralgia, and chronic daily migraine.

32.

I’ve made 32 sock cats and one chicken.

Seven went to Off The Bottle for sale. The rest went to neighbors who couldn’t afford gifts for their children because of the ill advised choices of 47.

The Golden Whisker Society
The Golden Whisker Society

Mom is writing a backstory for the website. I’ve created adoption certificates.

I can’t fix the government. I can’t stop the atrocities being committed by this government every day.

I can make soft, squishy cats. I can make Christmas happen for a handful of children who otherwise wouldn’t get anything.

I’m doing what I can.

A little help from a friend…

The sock cats.

They’ve taken over. They are all I think and dream and do. Each one is it’s own unique little critter. Each one is waiting for it’s own home. I have a website, I have adoption certificates, I have a plan.

I also have a bunch of neighbors on my Denver Mutual Aid site that can’t afford to get their kids anything for the holidays.

So this season I am making cats, putting cats with cards and gift certificates into lovely little boxes, putting golden paw print stickers on them, and giving them away to adopters who need them most.

Because in a time when our leaders are showing us what a masterclass in selfishness looks like we need a village more than ever.

In a time when our government is tearing apart families because of the color of their skin and prosecuting people because of the political party they belong to, we need to hold each other close and build community.

Because now more than ever we all need a little help from a friend.

If you have the ability to help your neighbors, find a mutual aid group in your area and join it. Sometimes the asks are as simple as a jacket and blouse for an interview, or $10 for gas, or a handmade gift for the holidays, or help with a child’s birthday cake.

We don’t have to be billionaires to make this country a better place, we can make it better in small, substantial, life changing ways, every single day.

Handmade Holidays

I’ve fallen into the trash panda handmade holidays.

If I can’t use it for it’s original purpose anymore but I can keep it out of a landfill I’m making decorations or gifts out of it.

All of these involved hot glue, bamboo toilet paper tubes (they are nicer than regular ones) and fabric scraps, broken ornament scraps, or cardboard scraps. I even used some parfait jars!

These use clean socks missing their mates, clean extra filling from a pillow, and thread.

I’m also using my quilling supplies to make ornaments:

All in all I’m spending the day surrounded by craft supplies and animals, driving coffee and making little things out of forgotten stuff.

It’s putting the joy back into my holidays.