What I Really Covet Most...

I made my last month's Etsy Covet List from the hospital while being treated for my chronic migraines. My friends and family visited and fussed, but I said my usual "It's not cancer and it can't kill me."

Five days after I was discharged, we found out my mom has breast cancer.
In a matter of weeks my new medication had me retaining water to the tune of a fully increased cup size, and my mom had both of her breasts removed.

Consequently, my escapist Etsy browsing has taken on a different tone. I'm not looking at pretty things and imagining them in a life that takes me away from my own loud, hyper-present pain. Instead my mother's renewed mortality and sudden inabilities are sufficient distraction from my physical issues. Now I search for something less frantic, more numbly, and despite my dreamy glaze I keep coming back to the practical.


We expect the pathology report tomorrow to confirm things, but my mother is expected to make a full recovery.

I had no internet for almost four days and my head exploded.

Two of my prettiest handles in one of the prettiest treasuries (by lostsentiments):

Craftopolis: A Treasure Unto Itself

If you use Etsy and don't already know about it,
http://www.craftopolis.com
It tracks views, hearts, (my favorite) if and where you appear in treasuries, and when the time-dependent treasuries will "open" for new creations.
Some of us remember scrolling through each page of the treasury list, just hoping to see a star. Treasury creators weren't allowed to convo treasury includees to let them know they'd been featured. The forums were filled with debates on whether or not it should be considered spam and people posting "Have you seen me??? My item suddenly has a ton of views! Was it on the Front Page or in a blog or something?"
You know, waaaay back in 2008, when Bush was still president and you actually knew what that thing was at the back of your freezer.Well, now I pop into Craftopolis and check the treasure hunt with my shop names and voila! Treasuries featuring me, not hunting required!The original treasuries had a finite list to check, but Treasury East can go on forever and there's no easy way to see if you're featured unless the creator tells you. For the new Treasury East searching feature on Craftopolis, you have to have Google Analytics installed and at least one person has to have clicked on your item in the treasury, but hey, it's better than nothing. (Full disclosure: I'm a Treasury East fiend. Love it. Very useful as wish/idea/giftlist, and without the time pressure and gambling I can do way more creatively.)
So here's some of my current stardom. What's yours?