ready to mail!

IMG_1712A few weeks ago, I was asked if I’d like to donate an item to a silent auction to benefit the American Cancer Society.  I jumped at the chance.  My mother is a cancer survivor, so the subject hits close to home for me.  Encouraging people to bring a healthy lunch from home, rather than eating out so much, is one of the main reasons I make these bags and patterns.

I tried to think of ways to make it a really special donation.  I asked my Facebook people, and got lots of great input.  My first instinct was to include some actual food, but then I realized that I have to send in the donation months before the auction.  No telling what could happen to it by then.

So then I tried to think about it this way:  If the concept of carrying lunch in a jar was completely foreign to me, what would I need to know, and what would I need to get started?  So here’s what I came up with.

The bag is the blue ticking, my best seller.  I included the napkin, of course; 2 wide mouth jars; a bandana placemat; some simple silverware; and a Cuppow lid.  There’s also a one-page explanation of the mason jar meals concept complete with ideas for what to bring.  And some business cards, of course.  If I have time before I pack it all up, I may print out some recipes as well.  (Does anyone know where that Salad in a Jar diagram came from? I’d love to give credit for it, but I can’t find the original source anywhere!)

Did you notice that thing on one of the jars?  What’s that, you ask?  It’s a jar cuff, coming soon to the shop!  They’ve been a long time coming, and I’m so happy they’re almost ready!  😀

Vote!

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My girls have worn this shirt to the polls for many years, first the 15yo, and now the 7yo. They like it because they can put their own little messages on it; I like to see their enthusiasm. We always bring them along when we vote, and make an event of it. I am thankful we live in a country where they will have the right to vote when they are old enough. And because they are already forming opinions of their own, I know that they will. But they can’t, as irate as that makes them. Not yet.

But I’ll bet YOU can. So do it!

ferns

My favorite place in the “tiny forest” is not one you might guess.  It’s under the porches and overhangs, the shady places where ferns and moss have come up volunteer.  Especially beside the back steps, under my kitchen window – it always looks so cool and green and lush.

Gradually, though, something happened.  The backfill around the basement settled, and we needed more dirt there to avoid water problems later.  That meant burying my favorite place in the whole yard.  We also had to jack up the porches, because they had settled too.

But I was proud of myself.  I didn’t cry or beg or get upset.  I got a shovel and dug up my ferns and moss.  The men who came to help with the porches and the dirt offered to dig them up for me.  I said no.  If I dug them up myself, I’d have no one to be upset with if they don’t make it.  We put the ferns in boxes in the shade to keep them safe.

The plan is to put pea gravel under the porches, with the ferns around the edge of that.  But days passed and we couldn’t get to it, and the ferns were looking more stressed by the day.  So this morning we decided we could work around the ferns when we spread the gravel – they needed to be in the ground.  So here are the poor ferns in my favorite place now:

I wish I could find a “before” picture to show you how it used to look.  The ferns look pretty crispy right now, but I think they’ll perk up.  They will probably even benefit from being thinned out a bit.  I’ll keep you posted.

Even after all the upheaval, look what I found coming up as I worked under the porch:

Life just finds a way.  🙂

It’s comin’ up a cloud right now – they should like a nice long drink.  🙂