trying to make some little digital zines and collages again~ missing blogging and design. got so discouraged about Al and realized i don’t care. i can still make my silly art.
AND do any of you still blog or have websites? for a bit i was obsessed with Neocities ~ nothing hits like the early internet days.
www.instagram.com/p/DPNOphCAF1S/
When I saw Welcome Way, a delightful renovated vintage motel in Coloma, Michigan, I thought it was cute, charming, and great for a small family that wants to get away on a budget. It’s an adorable retro motel that has been turned into 3 condos. It has a central location with easy access to beaches, wineries, golf courses, and more.
Well. It happened. A bat got in my house. And not just one bat, but two. And one of them? It spent the night with us, tucked away somewhere in the house, without me having a clue until I woke up to find it screeching and swooping in our hall at 3am. Poor baby. And poor us, namely my ocd and anxiety.
I’ll admit, my first reaction was panic, followed by a wave of “how do I get this beautiful little night creature out safely without causing more chaos?”
So let’s talk about it. Because if a bat ever ends up in your home (and it happens more often than you’d think), there are some really important steps to take, for both your health and theirs.
Bats are not villains. They’re pollinators, mosquito-eaters, and generally misunderstood little cuties. If it’s flying around, it’s scared, not scheming. Open windows and doors if you can, turn off the lights, and give it space to find its way out. If it’s landed and still, you can gently cover it with a container and slide cardboard underneath to release it outdoors.
But, and stay with me here, sometimes, it’s not that simple.
Even though rabies in bats is rare, the consequences are so serious that it’s never something to shrug off. If a bat was in your home overnight, or if there’s any chance at all it could have touched someone (including kids or pets while you were asleep), you must treat it as a possible exposure. Unfortunately for us, the state health department told me a bat was found in a home in my state that tested positive for rabies just last month.
As precious as bats are, we don’t actually want them swooping through the house. Their guano causes allergic reactions and they can harbor many diseases due to their special immune system. Contact pest control or a wildlife specialist to find out where they’re entering your home (tiny cracks, vents, chimneys, dryer vents, window air conditioners) and have it repaired immediately. This keeps both you and the bats safe.
It’s worth repeating: bats don’t want to hurt you. They’re terrified of us, and most of the time they just want to get out. They’re vital to ecosystems, eating tons of insects and even pollinating plants. Protect them at all costs.
Sometimes it’s just a confused little bat who took a wrong turn into your home. If you’re certain no one was exposed, here’s how to help it get back outside safely:
Never throw or fling a bat into the air. They need to take off on their own.
When I found out that little bat had been my secret overnight guest, my stomach dropped. But now that I know what to do, I feel calmer. Bats aren’t out to get us—but rabies is something you can’t gamble with.
So, if a bat ever comes to stay the night at your place? Wish it well, keep yourself safe, and then call in the pros to make sure it never happens again.
I simply enjoy these creative acts of kindness and scavenger hunt-style activities that involve inspiration, connection, and surprise. They’re meant to bring a little joy to others through small, colorful creations hidden in public places. I wanted a place to list all of these types of activities as well as offer an opportunity for visitors to leave notes about found items!
My daughters and I have started painting rocks after finding a few. It’s important if you take an item to supply more so others can enjoy the whimsical sense of community around them. Let’s continue to weave magic and whimsy with our everyday world.
If you have participated in any of these activities OR you want to, please let us know. You can also leave a photo.
People who paint rocks may choose to leave them in public spaces, such as parks, sidewalks, or trails, for others to find and enjoy. Sometimes they have QR codes on the bottom (ours do) where you can scan them and leave a message about finding them. This has led to the development of community-based activities and movements like “The Kindness Rocks Project,” where individuals paint rocks with positive messages and hide them in public areas, encouraging others to discover these small, personalized works of art. When you take a painted rock, place another in it’s place so others can keep enjoying finding them.
1. Let go of your tangible art and bring joy to an unexpected finder.
2. Capture a photo of the art as you place it for release.
3. Share the photo here with fellow members.
The IFAQH community of volunteers anonymously create and place small quilted hearts around the globe to brighten the day of a stranger.
I found a Bench Project bench at Broad Ripple Park overlooking the White River Canal a couple of years ago and it was such a lovely experience for me. I wrote a note inside and glanced at some of the sweet drawings and messages others had left. It creates such a sense of connection in a lovely place and I was very excited to find this is a movement.
Beth aspires that, through The Bench Project, we can rediscover connection and reconnect with the beauty of simplicity.
A Little Free Library is a small, freestanding structure that houses a collection of books that are available for the community to borrow, exchange, or take for free. The concept is based on the principle of “take a book, return a book,” promoting community engagement, literacy, and a love for reading.
Engage in the Travel Bugs game on geocaching.com, where players can trace dog tags, known as “travel bugs,” as they journey from one location to another.
Participate in this game where individuals conceal waterproof boxes holding a logbook and a rubber stamp, and others attempt to locate them using clues or GPS coordinates.
Letterboxing is an outdoor treasure hunt where participants follow clues to discover hidden, weatherproof boxes in public spaces. Upon finding a letterbox, the person stamps their personal stamp and the letterbox’s stamp into their logbooks as a record of them finding it.
I found my first geocache when Bea was a baby and I was often taking her out for hikes and picnics to pass the time (Covid-era), this global game involves hiding small containers, called geocaches, in various spots, accompanied by coordinates and hints for others to locate them. I found my first one in Broad Ripple Park and then got the app to locate all sorts. Once I even found a squirrel nest in a cache so I let her be.
Book fairies are readers who, after finishing a good book, want to share the joy in a creative way. They attach an official book fairy sticker that says, “Take this book, read it, & leave it for the next person to enjoy.” Sometimes, they’ll even tie a ribbon around it to make it feel like a special gift. Once it’s ready, they hide the book in a public spot, waiting for someone to discover it and pass the magic along.
You can always setup your own game for family and friends in your home, yard, etc. It’s also fun for kids to develop them for places such as an art museum or zoo. You can have a list of items to locate in a forest, public place, or even your own back yard.
Experience the excitement of a treasure hunt game, akin to a scavenger hunt, where participants follow clues and solve puzzles to uncover hidden treasures in parks, malls, cities, suitable for both kids and adults. Leave a note in a place that gives a hint to where the next note is located and so on. I got my daughter this Treasure Hunt game as a gift one year and she loves it. We like to hide a treat in the treasure box for the last find!
We both love animals and have different insights on those lifestyles as well as we both support animal rights (and speak out on animal wrongs). We decided to revamp the podcast because animals have lasting power, animal rights (whether the animals are wild, tame, or somewhere in between), will always be something we are passionate about. There will always be something new going on in the animal world for us to chat with each other and our guests about. Tonia is still Chimp Crazy but she isn’t basing her brand on a docuseries that has tarnished her name so much as before. We were even on TBS so Tonia could host Dinner and a Movie with Jason Biggs and Jenny Mullen and I was on briefly to introduce our podcast. How exciting for us that they wanted to feature it!
Thanks again for all of the support.
Well I haven’t been super vocal about this on my own platforms but I have been managing Tonia Haddix online and helping her after everything that went down due to the documentary on HBO Max called Chimp Crazy. This lead to us starting a silly podcast so that she could talk about her own ideas and not just be featured by shows pushing a bias.
This first episode is a little painful and off-beat due to her getting a phone call. It was mostly us trying to answer all the questions we got and figure out how to do this and also go live, it didn’t work well but we figured it out for the second show.
We really work well together as we both adore animals, some similar (pink) aesthetics, and because I am an alt pop culture archaeologist, how could I not help? I have thoroughly enjoyed this journey with her and it has been quite interesting protecting her from all of the hate but getting her good opportunities. I used to manage my husband as well and it reminded me that I actually love doing this work but it’s tough being in the public eye at all. So I may hide from that somewhat but then again, if the haters win it’s a big loss for my own growth.
So there you have it. I’m actually not hiding behind the scenes and enjoying it.
I’m sure a lot of you have been watching Chimp Crazy right now on Max. Same. After the third episode was released I had a lot of thoughts that I wanted to share and mull around with you.
Surprisingly, I could finally start to relate with the women who take care of primates and why they choose to do that. I could especially relate with Tonia Haddix as they shared a little more of her story. She had a difficult early life and a difficult or predatory first marriage. She did not feel loved or needed which greatly affects your future in many instances. It is very obvious when you watch the show that she does love the animals that she cares for. Also, if you remember, she did not steal, acquire, or adopt these chimpanzees as babies, but fell in love with them when she visited them. They were already kept in the situation that she was trying to make better for them with her limited experience in the area.
As the show goes on, it becomes aware that the chimpanzees’ care became crazy-making for her. She felt a strong, almost insanity-inducing urge to protect them and make sure that they were okay. Tonka especially had been brutalized when he was housed in more wild-type enclosures with other chimps in the past. It was not her choice or doing for Tonka to be in Hollywood or to be an actor, but she had witnessed him be attacked by other chimps several times. He was missing a lot of his chimp instincts by spending so much time with actors and other humans. Tonia was stepping into this situation and trying to do what she thought was best. She was loving him as though he was her child.
It was incredibly heart-wrenching watching Tonka in his cage, unable to go outside temporarily and sadly looking at videos of other chimps. I felt heartbroken for him, Travis, Buck, Harambe, and all of the primates who have been abused by power. Tonia was hiding him for what she felt was a dire reason. She was afraid of him being injured or killed by PETA or at Project Chimps. So, as any mother would, she did all she could to protect him. Did she make all the most optimal decisions? Maybe she did, maybe she didn’t, but she did the best with what she was able to do. And in her heart and soul, she felt that it was her purpose to protect him.
I have had the pleasure of getting to talk to and to know Tonia better after these early episodes. She raises and rehabilitates a lot of wild animals and smaller primates that are either unable to be released or are captive bread. She even sells small primates from zoo organizations to raise money to care for the endangered animals those zoos house. I am grateful there are people that spend their lives caring for animals that cannot be released. Based on the way that we human primates treat the planet, a lot of animals can’t or wouldn’t survive very long in the wild. It is not so easy to label someone as the “bad guy” and someone else has the “good guy” when making a documentary about such a polarizing subject. Eric Goode mentioned that the owners themselves are also essentially caged due to their devotion for these animals.
We know that while PETA is trying to do what they believe is best for the animals, they can also be extreme. They used to strongly voice that they did believe in anyone having pets of any kind and they are against using absolutely any animal-products in any way. They also have very strict guidelines for the care of absolutely any animal that many everyday people cannot achieve. Even the director, Eric Goode, has mentioned that he does not meet PETAs standards with his own animal care. It makes it hard to choose a side when both sides are so extreme, but as an outsider, it’s easy to see the extraordinary differences between each side and to come to the conclusion that the best solution is maybe somewhere in the middle.
While I feel that all animals, especially a large primate that shares 98.8% of our human DNA should be given all the specialized care that they need, I believe that humans have a lot to offer in conserving animals. Moreover, I selfishly enjoy having domesticated pets of all sorts in my house to take care of.
Another way I can relate to this situation is in my conservation efforts with monarch butterflies. This is a movement that I have put a lot of time, research, and effort in. I work with groups and individuals to conserve these precious beings regularly. Insects also often die in the wild almost instantaneously (please don’t spray your yard for mosquitos) but when you raise them inside, you have a vastly higher survival rate and can release many more monarchs to raise the migration. All animals have much shorter lifespans in the wild. There is a great benefit to zoos and humans stepping in to conserve animal species that are endangered or that wouldn’t otherwise survive in the wild. It’s very valuable that we have so many organizations and people that are dedicated to doing this work.
I myself enjoy volunteering at the Humane Society and doing my part to conserve all species that are at risk. Giving my time and energy in aiding animals and wildlife to thrive has been a lifelong passion of mine. I have had such a strong feeling that although the black-and-white thinking and extreme sides on the documentary make for shocking reality TV and emotionally riveting entertainment, there is so much more missing information and so many more nuances. We miss all of the nuances when a director tries to show us the same old tale of the hero triumphing over the villain. Sometimes these documentaries like to leave out the gray parts that help us relate more to the “bad side” but they also leave out the not so savory parts that help us see the flaws in the “good side.” Although all journalists and documentary film makers are supposed to be the watch dogs of society, many are ultimately loyal to the success of their work and the fortune or notoriety it may bring. While I believe Goode does an amazing job at presenting both sides, I know that even the cutting room floor can be biased.
It’s easy these days to be the next “armchair advocate” and feel that you know the truth, the best way, and the only option. It’s much harder to look inside, accept that all other humans have flaws, and realize you don’t really know another’s path. – Amber Renee Cunningham
(Photos by Eric Goode)
I have always preferred to refer to Indiana as OZ. One of my favorite movies growing up was “The Return to OZ” (it never gets old) and when I would share photos of “home” my friends from elsewhere (mostly from California, my home away from home) would call it OZ due to the bright green grass, saturated yellow goldenrod, and cheerful blue skies adorned with fluffy white clouds. Indiana has a lot of issues, as most places do, but it also has a lot of sweet spots. One of those sweet spots is the state fair which its only 6 blocks away from me!
I have always been a fair and carnival girl, I love the kitschy lights, balloons, and over-the-top sweets. I also chickens. The goat and chicken encounters are a must-see for me and I cannot leave without having the holy trinity: an elephant ear, a candy apple, and a pineapple whip cone.
So my daughter, Colette, has finally released a song with her signing and I am obsessed. She has sang, wrote lyrics, and composed music since she was 5. I have always been proud of her but her growth these days is insane.
I have finally updated my portfolio after so many years of not updating it. But guess what? A lot of my work is on a hard drive that I cannot locate and so a lot of my work that I really would like to show I can’t seem to find.
It’s no secret that I took a hiatus for probably six years at a minimum, and I have been here and there briefly. Sporadically you may say. After my second pregnancy, I was restricted to bed rest but I just couldn’t focus on work for some reason. Or my online life. And of course, after I had my baby and covid lockdown happened, it was just even more sporadic.
Honestly, I’ve been very spacey and flakey since 2010 when I gave birth to my first daughter. The two years following that beautiful life-changing event, my shaky marriage to my “high school sweetheart” finally ended in the worst way I could’ve anticipated. The blind love and trust of youth is so wonderful to experience, but it makes it difficult to see when things are unhealthy or toxic. Unfortunately I did a lot of things to just get through and it started to feel like I was just a problem no matter what situation I was in. I started to feel I was unlovable.
This has sent me on a journey to build a life that I truly want and choose which I never felt I was able to do before in my life. So since around 2012-2014 when some more extremely traumatic things occurred in my life (some of which being an emergency life saving surgery, the death of my one stability: my cat I lived with since age 11, and some things I can’t even mention here) I decided that it was time. It was time for me to face all of the horrors that I was hiding from. I decided that it was time. It was time for me to face all of the horrors that I was hiding from. That I was stuffing down. Sometimes I imagine writing a memoir, or even a fiction book about some of the things that I experienced in those years, but because I have had my daughters, I’m not necessarily sure that would be good for them to have access to at these ages. Or probably any ages. Maybe one day I will write under a pen name, but I have so many large projects that I am already behind on that. I just can’t imagine adding that to the list.