This week is a hodge podge of things I’m excited about right now.
One of my favorite local shops is Wonderfair. They made some postcards to send to politicians, just in time to keep up with InCoWriMo, and express your personal displeasure with political decision makers or anyone else. I like the one that just says “NO”. I feel that way about Mondays, moth holes in my sweaters and stale donuts too.
After a succession of misplacing my keys, my work badge and other items, I invested in the Tile. It is a bluetooth device tracking system that works with your cellphone (and everyone else’s) to help track your missing items. There are several different styles available now that can be attached through a loop, adhered with adhesive or slipped into a wallet or purse. Should an item go missing, you can use your cell phone to “call” the item and it will play a little tune so you can locate it in your home, under the couch or in the seat cushions. If you left it at a friend’s house, at work or in your car, your phone will show you on a map, where your item is. And, if the worst case scenario has occurred and your item was stolen, you might be able to see on a map, where your item is now. In my case, I can just figure out where in my house, where my badge is instead of spending 40 minutes every Monday morning turning my house upside down trying to find it only to discover I left it in the cup holder in the car.
One of my favorite European online retailers is now stocking KWZ inks! Fontoplumo now has all your favorite KWZ inks including the iron galls and the standard fountain pen inks available, starting at £9,95.
I am so nerdy I subscribe to the Star Wars weekly newsletter so I now know I can make Death Star chocolates for Valentine’s Day and that Kay Jewelers makes licensed Star Wars jewelry. Kay created an amazing replica of Jyn Erso’s kyber pendent but it was really pricey and completely sold out. They also make a fancy Rebel Alliance pendant with black manmade diamonds that says “Use the Force” on the reverse side. That’s my idea of Valentine’s Day jewelry!
While we are on the subject of Star Wars, Etsy creator Andrew Brozyna Design & Illustration has made some excellent enamel pins. His C3PO “We’re Doomed” is oddly appropriate presently. But I also like his “Fly Casual”. His lettering is fantastic. He also has some for the bookish crowd and fans of Gilmore Girls. How do you pick just one?
Then there’s the new Sailor 1911 in Fresca Blue. So, beautiful! It’s a North American exclusive available in a standard body or large body and can be pre-ordered at Anderson Pens right now.
I also learned about yarn bombing which is a sort of urban art/graffiti using knitting and crochet and other fiber art that is wrapped around trees, public art, telephone poles, fences, benches and other objects in the urban landscape to beautify, make a statement, amuse or surprise. Kristy Glass Knits has issued a Share The Love Yarn Bomb challenge on YouTube to all the knitters and crocheters out there for Valentine’s Day.
I’ve tried not to get too political here on the blog because I know that it can be divisive and this is a place to disagree about ink colors and nib widths not political rhetoric and ideology but there have been some things that have come up recently that make me roll my eyes back in my head. So bear with me on this one as I feel that this statement is important for so many women… still. I am pleased to see that this downloadable “Nevertheless, She Persisted” Print from Imaginarybeast is donating all the proceeds to The Black Youth Project, Planned Parenthood, and ACLU. I’ve had days I need to be reminded that I need to persist, don’t you?
Since CuteTape joined as a sponsor, I have been trying to figure out what to do with all my many, many rolls of washi tape so I now have a Pinterest board of Washi Tape Crafts. Go forth and washi tape the world!
I get so annoyed with X-Acto and the craft knives I use at work. The quality of the blades and blade holders are subpar. X-Acto, despite being the name most often associated with craft blades isnot very good. I’m thinking about trying out Olfa Craft knives and blades. I’ve heard really good things about them. I need a better quality knife and blade. I make a lot of paper mock-ups of greeting cards.
- Postcards for Congresspersons, 24-pack for Kansas or Non-Kansas $6 (via Wonderfair)
- Tile, 4-pack $70 (until 2/18) (via The Tile App)
- KWZ Ink starting at £9,95 (via Fontoplumo)
- Dress Your Tech Desktop Wallpapers from Morgan Georgie from Ampersand Studio (via Design Love Studio)
- TWSBI Diamond Mini AL Silver Fountain Pen with Fine Nib $62.50 (via JetPens)
- Sailor 1911 Fountain Pen with Rhodium Trim in Fresca Blue $196 (via Anderson Pens)
- Star Wars Necklace 1/10 ct tw Diamonds Sterling Silver $249 (via Kay Jewelers)
- Star Wars enamel pin “We’re Doomed” C-3PO Quote $10 (via AjbdesignShop on Etsy)
- Share The Love Yarn Bomb Challenge (via Kristy Glass Knits on Instagram)
- “Nevertheless, She Persisted” 11×14 Print $8 (via imaginarybeat on Etsy)
- 10 Amazing Things You Can Do With Washi Tape (via House Beautiful) Your source for al washi tapes is CuteTape!
- Olfa Limited Art Knife $16 (via Fresh Stock Japan)
Thanks to my sponsors for providing some of the images I use for Fashionable Friday. Please consider making your next purchase from one of the shops that support this blog and let them know you heard about them here. Thanks for your support and for supporting the shops that help keep it running.
Planned Parenthood damages women’s health. You may not be familiar with a disease called Asherman’s Syndrome. This is a complication of surgical termination of pregnancy and can lead to painful scarring and irreversible infertility. Planned Parenthood personnel and extremist supporters continue to deny that surgery can lead to infertility. But mainstream medical professionals confirm women are at risk.
Not to mention this condition is believed to be underdiagnosed because PP patients often don’t have resources to pay for saline ultrasounds and laparoscopic surgery to explore their symptoms.
Please don’t be a trained “abortion rights” seal. Educate yourself on the MAINSTREAM facts about women’s health. Women deserve better than PP.
I support Planned Parenthood for more than just the pregnancy termination service they may or may not offer in their clinics. Many women receive regular screenings and health services in their clinics and are often the only health care professionals that they see. The clinic in my neighborhood gives flu shots and other regular medical services as well. If people can get birth control and a chance to see a doctor before things get to “that” point, then maybe we won’t ever have to have those termination conversations? That’s my hope anyway.
I support Planned Parenthood, even though I am unlikely to ever avail myself of their services. I am well aware of Asherman’s Syndrome, which has been linked with miscarriages and a specific abortion procedure (dilation and curettage), used for abortions in the second trimester and later. Most abortions take place during the first trimester, when vacuum aspiration, an extremely low risk non-surgical procedure, is used. I understand being concerned about medical complications of surgical abortion. However, every surgery has risks, and there are also risks attached to not having said surgery. I have never heard any reports of Planned Parenthood, or any medical professional, deny the risks of surgery. But it’s still up to the individual to decide whether the risks associated with not having the surgery is greater than the risks associated with having the surgery. Moreover, as Ana has already pointed out, Planned Parenthood is sometimes the only insurance low-income women have access to. They also provide birth control (so you can avoid needing to have an abortion at all) and disease screening. It is certainly possible to argue that abortion is bad for women’s health,” but given all of the other services provided by Planned Parenthood, it seems premature to equate the procedure with the organization. Nonetheless, maybe it is true that women deserve better than Planned Parenthood, but for many women currently, that’s all they have. So I’d be interested to know what alternatives you can suggest for them.
The solution is to provide access to truly accountable care for women from TRULY non profit hospital and primary care systems. Planned Parenthood is one of the least accountable “non profits” in the United States because they are a political football. Common misconceptions include:
myth: planned parenthood provides affordable contraception
fact: contraception is usually more affordable from Target or Walmart, for a cost under $10 a month without insurance.
myth: planned parenthood provides breast cancer screening
fact: planned parenthood does not provide mammograms or ultrasounds. They can provide exams where the doctor feels the breast tissue from the outside, but women don’t need an MD to do this, they should be educated to self-exam. A simple google search shows how to do this basic self-care task for free in your own home. Whether you find a lump or your doctor finds a lump, you’ll need a mammogram. But if you examine yourself you won’t be paying a bill you can’t afford to PP.
myth: planned parenthood provides prenatal care to low income women
fact: almost no clinics offer prenatal care. Planned Parenthood recently acknowledged this fact and began updating their website to accurately reflect locations where prenatal is not offered.
myth: planned parenthood provides affordable STD testing.
fact: most STD tests that are available from Planned Parenthood are also available from other public hospitals and public heath clinics at MUCH cheaper prices for uninsured patients, especially in metropolitan areas.
File it under “things our womens’ studies profs never told us.”
The truth is, in many low income communities, Planned Parenthood is the only game in town, just like the only grocery store is a convenience mart with no fresh produce, and the only gas station is an off brand providing low quality fuel. Many privileged white people are shocked to discover that poor people have to pay very high prices for poor quality food, gas, housing and health care in their impoverished neighborhoods. That’s because businesses like PP take advantage of the community and the fact these people have no other options to access health care.
Instead of actually working to increase access to quality affordable care, rich white liberal women work like crazy to preserve the crappy option of PP, and then expect poor women to be grateful for the slop they’re given.
And I’m sorry if my comment isn’t to your liking, but you said yourself that going off topic to be political can be devisive. I rarely meet PP supporters who aren’t ignorant about infertility and reproductive endocrinology. Truly, for women who have had their bodies wrecked by them, without being warned about what could happen and without acknowledgement afterward, it’s devastating to have them casually associated with “women’s rights.” I sincerely hope you will educate yourself – and with that I’m back to lurking.
I appreciate your getting even just a little political in this post. Your, blog, your voice!
Oops. There’s a stray comma there.
Thank you for highlighting ways that we more introverted folks can still make our voices heard with our representatives. Those postcards are fabulous!