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PEP 1 OR BUST!

 
Rebekah Harmon
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I only have 33 badges left to hit PEP1. I'm going to CRANK through them! Can I do one a day in the month of June?? My goal is to finish PEP 1 by July 4th.

Anyone else want to work on this alongside me? Come ON! LETS POWER THROUGH!

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
Jojo Cameron
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Hi Rebekah, good post!

I'd like to get to 60 BBs as quickly as possible, so maybe I could keep you company?  I don't understand the PEP 1 thing, though.  Do you need to have 40 completed badges altogether, or what?

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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I think Rebekah means she needs 33 BBs to get enough sand badges to earn PEP1.  You need 16 Sand badges to get PEP1.

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Jojo Cameron wrote:Hi Rebekah, good post!

I'd like to get to 60 BBs as quickly as possible, so maybe I could keep you company?  I don't understand the PEP 1 thing, though.  Do you need to have 40 completed badges altogether, or what?


I hope y'all don't mind me jumping in to answer. PEP1 requires a sand badge in 16 of the aspects (Natural Medicine, Gardening, Food Preservation, etc.) Here's a link that might help. PEP1 is mentioned at the end of the main post: All About SKIP and PEP

My goal this year is to get a Straw badge in Natural Medicine. With so many plants ready for harvest this month, I'm working on cranking out those BBs. Rebekah, you're doing an awesome job!

(Reminder to myself) God didn't say, "well said, well planned, and well thought out." He said, "well done."
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I'm rooting for you and know setting goals was a significant part of my process.  I wanted to arrive at WL in June of 2021 with enough BBs completed so I could earn PEP1 while at the PTJ and SkIP events and ended up finishing all 22 sand badges before I left that summer.
Remember there are still 9 tickets (deeply discounted) for the SkIP event!  

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Thanks for clearing that up, Mike and Nikki.  I took a look at the PEP/SKIP thread, and it seems that PEP 1 and having 60 BBs serve a similar function in allowing one to put one's name on the SKIPpers list, which is basically what I'm aiming at.  Incidentally, I don't know who designed all the badges and the overall look of the SKIP program, but I love it!

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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Yes, Mike is right, I have 33 (now 31!) Sand-level bbs left to finish 16 sand level badges and reach PEP1

I worked on 2 bicycles today to earn tool care bbs. Just gotta turn them in for approval. Progress!

LETS GO, JoJo! How many bbs do you have so far?

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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Nice, Rebekah! =oD

I have 19 at the minute.  I'm re-doing my dishwashing BB, and then I'll have all the bits i need for the nest sand badge.  I've also made butter and am waiting for my hard cheese to mature for a food prep BB.  I have apple cider vinegar brewing, but I don't know if there's a BB for that, and I have everything I need to make soap, which could maybe be an oddball BB.  Actually, do we know anyone who's had practice at making soap?  I have questions about heating caustic soda...

Gonna forage dandelion leaves for the tea BB today.

What are you going to work on today, and what's your main area of interest?

-- Jojo

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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Update:  Posted one Foraging (dandelion leaf infusion), and one Food Prep (two dairy products) BB.  Collecting dishes for day 2 of the dishwashing series I'm putting together for the Nest straw badge.  Hope you're making progress today, too!

Edit:  Also submitted the willow bark decoction BB for Food as Medicine.  I'd already nearly done this one, but mislabelled the decoction and drank it! xD  Anyway, things are easier the second time 'round, hence the productive day.

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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Hi Rebekah -- thanks for the BB verifications.

How are you getting on with your own BBs?

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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Hey Jojo! I've been getting on well. Working on my hugelkultur bb, which is taking several days since I'm doing a lot by hand. Seriously, I'm 12 hours into it now!! Limbing a bunch of the trees and sifting huge rocks out of the dirt that was under the site. I think I'm gonna have to bring in some dirt or other filler (manure? Sawdust?) To make the beds plant-able.

I am still aiming for turning in a bb a day in June, so I turned in the limbing for a bb. June 1st, one badge submission down!! YEAH!

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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I have made soap several times before. Which method are you/did you use?

I believe you can turn in ACV as a bb in the food prep sand level...  something about fermenting a few foods? If not, you can use it to make fire cider, which is a bb. Or vinegar infusions, which are natural medicine bbs.

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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A BB a day sounds like a bold and worth aim.  I submitted 2 yesterday, so maybe I can join you for 30 BBs in June.

Sounds like you've been very busy!  Hugelkultur mounds are huge.  They should call it huge-l-kultur. 0=oD  I can see why it'd take time.

I can't figure out how to keep my apples below the surface of the water, so my ACV turned into slime.  Like, the most purely slimey substance I've ever seen.  There was no non-slime in it -- it was impressive.  Annoying, though.

I'll check out the fire cider thing, and making an oil infusion is on my to do list.

I haven't made soap yet, because I want to make sure that heating lye to 50 degrees C isn't going to destroy my lungs.  I'm also going to have to make my own lye, because nobody sells it around here, so I need to buy an iron pot.

Today's task is to water a willow with pee-pee!

What's your BB for today, Rebekah?

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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Oh!!! The experimentation of Fermentation is a journey full of surprises! 😆 I usually make ACV in the fall when I have 5 gallon buckets full of apple cores and skins. I dont think I have submerged them, just stirred them twice a day...ish. but I live in a dessert where mold isn't easy. Do you have a wetter climate?

You can make lye in wooden containers, too. And *don't look, Paul!* in plastic containers. Sally Pointer made a good video about making lye from scratch.
https://youtu.be/B5KLWPSMot8?si=9SXz7lYgZFkY3r-1

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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Today's bb is cleaning an oven!

Doing a bb a day takes planning, since some, like oil infusions, require days in-between start and finish. Last week, I knocked out a bunch of tool care bbs, which only take an hour or so. The last bb for me for that badge is to make a wedge-style handle. I dont have any tool heads that need a handle, so I have to look/ask around for one.

In the meantime, I'll finish the nest badge. Oven, here I come!!

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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Well, Monday is laundry day. I was hoping to do the laundry by had bb, but it's a rainy day. The rug bb is out, too. I guess I will clean an oily dish, instead. I don't usually have oily dishes, because I do not fry things even, on account of my gallbladder being feisty. But since my teenager made fry bread yesterday, I have an oily dish.

So June 3rd. Clean an oily dish bb. Getting close to finishing the nest badge.

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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Time to beat a rug. June 4th's bb
And hopefully finish building my hugel beds! I can't get soil all the way up there with a shovel, so this weekend I hope to bring in a backhoe. Today I will also dig up the comfrey and sunchoke roots to plant into the hugelbeds.

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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Today I started the bucket of water in my shower for the greywater badge. Only about a gallon of water made it in the bucket from today's shower, so this bb will take a few days. I have to admit, I have reservations about going no-poo for the bb. I have done it before, and by 3 weeks, my head is a grease ball! But I didn't use poo today. I will at least make it through the week for the bbs sake.

I also got a pickaxe head to make a wedge-style handle for the tool care badge. It's bigger than a hammer, so I am intimidated. But hopefully I can find the right wood today for it.

I still probably won't finish either of these bbs today. So my plan is to make a mallet for the round wood wood-working badge.

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

Staff note (Paul Fookes) :

Hey Rebekah, loving your posts striving to PEP1  Can you go to this BB you mention and add some more water so we can get another one certified for you.
Cheers
Paul

 
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You're really going for the BBs, Rebekah -- good work!

And thanks for the great info and link re. making lye!  I'll check those out today.

Yes, Scotland's about as damp a place as you'll find anywhere.  Things don't really get mouldy, unless you really neglect them, though.  The vinegar didn't mould, it just turned into slime.  I could market this as an eco-friendly kid's toy. xD

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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I'm so annoyed: just whittled a spoon out of a branch, but I messed up the documentary photography.  I'm guessing there's no point uploading this for a BB?
IMG_6407.JPG
Branch and saw.
Branch and saw.
IMG_6408.JPG
Sawn branch and knife.
Sawn branch and knife.
IMG_6421.JPG
Finished coffee spoon and tools.
Finished coffee spoon, after I figured out the photo settings were messed up.

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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ah! I've done that on many bbs, Jojo. Can you edit the photo to lighten it?

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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Today, I finished the club mallet! I ended up turning in a natural medicine badge yesterday, but it wasn't one I needed to finish my PEP 1, since I already have that badge. But I still got in a bb!

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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Good idea!  I've tried it, and the difference is amazing, but still not good enough to upload.  I'll just have to do it again. =oS  At least I know how to lighten an image with GIMP now, though.

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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True, Jojo, and maybe this one will be faster and better! Eh?

Today, I plan to remove unwanted, old fence for the homestead badge. Maybe I will also fogure out how to do a wedge-style handle and get that rolling along!!

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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Rebekah, when you say 'wedge-style handle', I see a hammer head on a door wedge.  Clearly my handle-related literacy could use a spruce-up!

Did you remove your fence posts?

I have about 7 BBs I want to do quickly, but it all takes time, and/or I make mistakes.  The dish-washing BB for the Nest Sand Badge is a slog.  This is the reason I always do my dishes immediately -- I have a stack staring at me that I just can't be bothered washing, and I need to do about another 13 of them.  Bleargh!

I do have some nettles drying, though, which I'm going to turn into an oil infusion, so that should be two BBs in one, sometime soon...

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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I didn't finish the 100 foot section of fence. After two hours, my kids' patience playing at the neighbor's house wore out. I was pretty tired, too. I estimate I still have another hour to go for this bb.  At least I had the greywater bb to turn in that I'd been showering on for 3 days!

I am starting to have feelings of tiredness concerning bbs. I'm spending 10 hours or more a week on them. So far, I've chosen to do bbs that needed to be done around my homestead anyways, so no "wasted" time. My husband has even been pleased that some of the work which normally falls to him has been picked up by me. Bike fixing, chimney sweeping, tree limbing to name a few. Other bbs, like carving a spoon or mallet, are pleasing to me to do, and although they're work, I'm the kind of person who enjoys spending leisure time learning new things. Some of the bbs I have left in order to finish badges don't need to be done at my place, and I'll straight up be serving someone else in the community in order to accomplish them. It will end up being quite a few hours I spend cleaning someone else's tractor implement, or cutting down a tree for them. I'm telling myself that it's community-building time, so it's well spent. However, there is a hint of worry that my time is going into a bb black hole. Will I actually ever finish PEP 1? Or higher? Surely, the time investment will feel satisfactory if I inherit land at some point. I'm sticking to that positive hope for now.

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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I share the feeling of tiredness.  For me, it's the fact that I don't seem to stick to my plan, and the stack of items seems endless.  However, picking the simplest one that's closest to hand and doing that one is helping me nudge forward.

Keep going.  Just put one foot in front of the other and don't think about the overall badge.  It's a mountain you only have to climb once -- having the PEP1 Badge with definitely be worth it, and it'll be permanent.  The struggle might be overwhelming now, but just pick out the next manageable item and focus on that, rather than the entire beast.  If you do this every day, then look back at the end of the month, things will look a lot different!

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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Just submitted a greywater BB.  I've been using a maximum of ten gallons of water to shower with lately, and it took a lot more than that to catch the three gallons needed for this BB.  Makes me feel good about my normal habit!

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
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Tried to do two BBs in one:  Drying nettle leaves, and using them in an oil infusion.  Surprise, surprise -- I messed it up by not separately labelling and storing the leaves before making the infusions.  *Sigh*.  At least the oil one should count, though.

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
Jojo Cameron
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How's it going, Rebekah?  Have you managed to finish the fencing and/or greywater BBs?

I've had the oil infusion one approved, and have just submitted the Wooden Spoon Mk ii and Soupmaking BBs.  These, with the Greywater BB, should take me to 29, so nearly halfway there, and it'll be 10 BBs since the start of this (very helpful) thread!

How many are you at this month, so far?

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
Rebekah Harmon
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Thank you for your encouragement, Jojo! Yes, I am glad I had the greywater badge "brewing" because it took me awhile to finish the fence. I'm actually still working on that fence. On a different bb, the wedge-handled tool one from tool care, my husband found me an old maul with a broken handle! That's a relief, since I didn't have any old tool heads laying around that would work for this bb. I started making the handle yesterday, and was hopeful to finish it today, but my hands/wrists hurt from pulling weeds (chop and drop) for 3 hours yesterday. I'll have to finish it tomorrow.

In the meantime, I had some pictures saved to turn in a couple bbs in the commerce badge. I scrounged them up and turned them in. It's not one of the 16 badges I planned to finish for the PEP1 certification, but as I work towards PEP2, I have to get them all. So it will help in the long run. That means I've turned in 8 bbs during the 9 days of June. Roughly a fourth of the way to my June goal. I'll keep working on them, even if I don't finish til sometime in July. I won't be able to finish the rocket badge til I go to Wheaton Labs for their SKIP event in July.

What will you do with your nettle infused oil, Jojo? I made that for my mother, who has neuropathy. It really helps! But I noticed it helps more if I do the dehydrating and the oil infusions both cold methods. I also added cayenne pepper and cypress essential oil. I guess you'll have to harvest more nettle! Not like there's a short supply, right? ;) Actually, in Argentina where my parents are staying, they can't find stinging nettle!! So my mom can't make her oil! I'm sending her dried nettles, which, even though I wildcrafted them, will end up being 30$ a pound to ship them to her! LOL! 30$ a pound for nettles feels CRAZY! But not if you can't get it.

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
Rebekah Harmon
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I still have 26 more to go to finish PEP1

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
Rebekah Harmon
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Today, I washed laundry by hand! I've had the plan in my head to do it for awhile. And the system lined out. It's just been rainy on laundry day recently. Anyways! If that gets approved, I'll have all the bbs for the nest badge. Finally!
What have you been working on, Jojo?

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
Rebekah Harmon
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Yesterday, I finished my beautiful tool handle! And I hosted a tea workshop for one of the community badge bbs.

Today, I am sourcing the hand auger tool so I can make a compound mallet. And hopefully, the log so I can make a 3- log bench! Everyone chunks up the trees they cut for firewood, seemingly immediately! It's hard to find a large enough log to use.

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
Jeremy VanGelder
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It's natural to feel some burnout after such a long effort. But you are so close, Rebekah. Keep moving forward and you will make it across the PEP1 finish line.

Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.

 
Rebekah Harmon
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Turns out, I found a log at a friend's house that more than 7 feet long and fat enough for the 3 log bench! I learned the basic process of hewing and sharpened an old axe so I could begin (level 2 tool care bb) Yay! I went over with a chainsaw to start the process (cutting the log into 3 so I can start hewing) but learned that my chainsaw needed some work. I spent the evening working on the chainsaw. Not the bb, which upset me. I was bummed not to have done one of my 21 bbs left. So I cut down a dead tree that's been waiting for just such a day. Still got a bb, and one lined up for tomorrow!

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
Jojo Cameron
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[Disclaimer: Vent-rant incoming!]  So, I re-did the wooden spoon BB, and apparently it's not spoon-like enough.  What the heck is that about?  I use it for measuring out my coffee all the time.  If it carries stuff inside it, it's a spoon -- any other requirements should be in the design brief.  Really not impressed by this!  

They say time's the great healer, and that's true. It's just not a very good anaesthetist, is the problem,
Whose lunar deity is not male is destined to be dominated by his wife. -- Old Hindu proverb

 
Paul Fookes
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Hey Jojo,
I understand your frustration when BBs do not go the way you thing they should.  The way I see the spoon you made and the comment is that it is not the spoon capacity but the external shape.  The handle needs to be shaped more so it resembles a tea spoon.  The certifiers are all volunteers who give freely of their time to do what is often a difficult task.  I have completely screwed up submissions so just had to start over.

I would think that reshaping the handle is the way to go.  Hope this helps a bit.
Best wishes for PEP 1

Failure is a stepping stone to success. Failing is not quitting - Stopping trying is
Never retire every one thinks you have more time to help them - We have never been so busy

 
Rebekah Harmon
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Ah! Jojo, I feel ya. I've had several bbs "rejected" before. Like 35 of them! I am probably the BB Reject Queen! 👸Most of them I forgot an important picture, or my picture was blurry, like your other submission. Or I used a tool or utensil that's not allowed (teflon/plastic in the cooking bbs, particle board in the wood bbs) All those failures were technically my fault. I fought some of the others. Only a few of them went in my favor. Looking back, I probably just made everyone involved grumpy to hash it out.

I took some of my rejections, my fault or not, pretty emotionally. A person's pride can only take so much criticisms sometimes! It usually comes with a delay in between my next bbs.

Paul (wheaton) would say that failing at an attempt or two would give you tons of experience to do a better, more advanced submission the next time. He feels that the Otises are expecting us to go through a refining process in the SKIP program, of failing and trying again. To be DAMN SURE we are top-notch, bad-ass skilled permies. 🤸‍♀️

The best advice I can caringly give you is to encourage this kind of mentality: Ok, that's not the spoon SKIP is looking for. I still like my spoon and learned a lot from making it. My next spoon will be shaped differently, on purpose, to meet Mike's expectations.

Whichever way you choose to go with this experience, I have probably been there. Totally get it. Keep yoir chin up 😘

Being weird is easy. Making it mainstream is hard. Be brave! https://www.youtube.com/@healthygreenbrave

 
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