Creampuff Revolution

The Shoebox Project is Back! And Creampuff Promises Not to Curse in This Year's Post About It.

First things first: This year's Shoebox Project Vancouver deadline is December 5th.

OMG DECEMBER 5 IS NINE DAYS AWAY you guys!!!

Why is the deadline so early? Because the shelters have requested that we get the boxes to them earlier so that they have them sorted through and available for their seasonal parties in mid-December.

So if you're interested in putting together some Shoebox love this year, this weekend is a good time to do it!

Katr has a great post up on her blog with all of the Shoebox Project details but here's a Coles notes version.

What is the Shoebox Project for Shelters?

The Shoebox Project for Shelters is a not-for-profit initiative that collects small gifts that are packaged in shoeboxes, and distributes them to women who are spending the holidays in shelters. These shelters provide emergency and transitional shelter and services to women who are homeless because they are fleeing abuse or difficult living situations, because they are poor or afflicted with mental illness or because they are new Canadians who require assistance.

These shoeboxes brighten the holiday season and let the women know they are special and not forgotten. That their community cares about them. That someone went shopping and put together a pretty box of nice things with them in mind. The boxes are filled with little luxuries that a woman would enjoy but would not splurge on for herself in times of difficulty.

How awesome is the Shoebox Project?

Yeah, pretty awesome.  

What should go in my shoebox?

Each shoebox should have an approximate value of $50. Here are the official tips for what to include in your shoebox:

• Nice socks, gloves, scarves, or hat
• Compact (travel) umbrella
• Rain ponchos
• Gift cards in $10 or $20 (coffee shops, drug stores, movie theatre, grocery stores - include receipts!)
• Anything chocolate or candy
• Full bottles of personal care products - a nice lotion, body wash or scrub
• Hair stuff: brushes, hair ties, clips
• Simple jewelry: earrings or bracelet
• High-end razor (e.g. Venus)
• Face pads/cleansers
• An inspirational card or note in the box
• If you are crafty and make your own jewelry or knit or sew, handmade items are welcome! 

I also have some personal tips for what NOT to include in your shoebox. As some of you may recall, I lost my shit a little bit in my rant about this last year but in the end, it comes down to three basic "don'ts":

• Don't include items that are used
• Don't include items that are old
• Don't include items that are used or old

Shoeboxes! They are a fun group project.

This year a lot of folks are making shoeboxes a group effort. This project lends itself well to all kinds of groups of humans, such as: 

• Co-worker groups
• Crafting groups
• Religious groups
• Book clubs
• Hiking clubs
• Bowling teams
• Families
• Friends who like doing stuff together

 The great thing about taking a group approach is that if putting a $50 gift together is prohibitive, you can team up with a group and each contribute, say, a $10 item to a box. 

What if I can't put a whole box together but I have a few things I'd like to contribute?

We're  very happy to receive loose items that we can use to supplement other boxes - we try to make sure that every Shoebox recipient gets an equally excellent box, so having extra candy or lip glosses or a couple of pairs of earrings to tuck into a box is very welcome!

Where can I drop off my box (heh heh "box")?

You can drop them off at my house! Or any of the Vancouver drop-off locations. 

I'm thrilled to report that last year's boxes were a huge improvement over the first year and this year, every box we've received so far has been beautiful. We got 400 boxes last year and we're hoping to get a whopping 750 this year - so every contribution helps!

Questions? Concerns? Leave a comment or check out the Shoebox Project Vancouver page for contact info!

Creampuff and the Crow

Today is Katr and my 7th wedding anniversary! It was a beautiful day in Vancouver and we celebrated the same way we celebrate our love every year - by being fucking ADORABLE. I love you, Katr!

ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEO THAT FOLLOW WERE PROVIDED BY KATR

On a break from being adorable, I took Emmy out for her pre-lunch sniffins today. As she staggered arthritically around, whizzing on everything, I kept hearing this weird scrabbling noise:

At first I didn't know what the hell it was. Then, I looked up and saw this:

What's that? Well, it's a crow. Trapped. In the eavestrough. On the 3rd floor. Here is an old realtor photo of the exterior of our house, just for reference:

Huh.

When animals are trapped and in distress and I cannot access them, my first instinct is to call the City. I don't know why. I feel like the City should handle it. So I made Katr call the City. 

The City was useless. Just, nothin'. No suggestions, no number to call. Sweet tweet. You suck, City of Vancouver.

Next, Katr called the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. They had a volunteer who could come help get the bird out - but he couldn't come until tomorrow. And he didn't have a ladder. HAHAHAHA

They did say that if we managed to get the bird ourselves and it was injured, we could bring it to them and they would try to rehabilitate it. Which is LOVELY but still left us with a trapped, freaked out bird and no way to get to it.

People were stopping on the sidewalk and giving us advice. One of these sidewalk people called the BC SPCA, who also had nothin'. One of our upstairs neighbours, Jeea, suggested that he could climb out onto the roof from the juliet balcony and get the crow that way, but that seemed like a good way to fall off the roof holding a crow, and, as a strata, we are not insured for that.

Then we remembered the people who came out and pigeon-proofed another area of our house about a year ago - the good folks at AAA Wildlife Removal (tagline: "The animal's choice")! So Katr called them and within an hour, Dan was here.

Dan had thick gloves and a big ladder. He also liked crows. He beetled up there and dislodged the frantic crow, then carefully carried him down the ladder. Here is a photo of Dan and the crow and apparently, Jesus behind them.

Dan was very nice to the crow, who was clearly a little effed up. 

Dan put the crow down. As you can see, the bird was not doing so hot.

It eventually tried to bounce away, but it was clear that his wings were all fuckered up. So Dan got his nets and we got a Shiraz box and Dan caught the crow and is going to take him to the wildlife rescue. Godspeed, crow! I hope you recover and return to our neighbourhood to caw annoyingly and pick apart leftover Subway sandwiches in the alley with your murder soon.

Is it crazy that I feel that the City should provide some kind of animal control services? The strata spent nearly $300 to rescue this crow! What if we didn't have $300 for crow rescue? Would we just have to listen to the death throes of this poor animal for a couple of days and then smell it until gutter cleaning season? Maybe I just have these expectations because of the socialist utopia we live in.

Anyway, the crow is free and it's back to being adorable for the rest of the day! Happy anniversary, Katr - I would marry you all over again if we hadn't spend all our jack saving that crow.