Y'all, the end is near. I just got this email from my father in response to my email to my aunt (who has not responded). Yes, he's the one who was a Southern Baptist clergyman. Who studied at Jerry Falwell's seminary. No, really.

Hey Chris,
I hear you loud and clear. I have a similar view than yours. And am truly sorry for the offence . I guess aunt linda's heart is in a good place but her words and forwards are not biblical . This email was from fallible minds. Some people don't see the forest because the trees are in the way. Gods view and man are probably very different but i prefer the k.i.s.s. Theory in religion . And God gets pissed and shakes his head at our more often wrong interpretation of his word and direction of it. I love you Chris and am very proud of you. Go with what you know you are intelligent enough to hold on to truths in your heart.
I love you
dad.

P.s.
Way to make a stand!
And great way with words but be a little less angered and more passionate .

Well, I was passionate. Passionately angry counts, right? But still... not at all the response I was expecting.

So, to sum up-- in the last week, both of my parents told me that they're proud of me, and my stepfather told me he thinks I'm awesome, and my ex-stepmother invited me to Christmas dinner.

Wonders never cease. I don't know what crack's been in their water lately, but I think I like it.

Dear Certain Etsy Suppliers, And You Know Who You Are,

I could get most of my supplies from commercial sites. Instead, I make a habit of putting most of my supply money back into the independent sellers on Etsy, because in these crappy economic times, the little guy needs the dollar more. So do me a favor-- if you don't have a certain item in stock, don't list it for sale. I shouldn't have to email you two weeks after the date of purchase to ask what's up, only to have you say "oops, sorry, it wasn't in stock and still isn't in stock and it'll be about another week until it is in stock." If you don't have it, don't sell it. Sounds pretty simple to me.

Also, if you're gonna take longer than 48 hours to answer an email, you damn well better have a vacation notice up in your shop. It's just bad customer service, especially right before the holidays.

Christina