Pennies from heaven...

I was caught up on painting and cutting all plastic water bottles on hand. When I ran out, I even checked under the furniture since Zuzu loves to steal them and remove the caps. (Dalmatian caught on tape)  I began to panic, prayed, wailed a little, then awakened to RECYCLING DAY!  Dismayed by the gentrification of one of my tried and true recycled bin neighborhoods which has switched to lidded multi-purpose bins, I decided to give a different area a try. Having a late start, I ending up playing 'cat and mouse' with the truck, and considered asking the driver if he would mind if I followed along behind to snag plastic bottles.  None the less, I came home with a stash that filled two bins, then I jetted to a friend's office to pick up her collection. I now have ample supply to work with over the weekend. (Here is a link to a story of my brush with the law in pursuit of the bottle.)

  

When I came home from dumpster diving, a colorful box had arrived in the mail, all the way from the state of Washington. A couple of weeks ago, I emailed contacts who have emailed me over the years with questions or stories about their own recycled bottle projects. The box from Washington contained a lovely, encouraging letter, a hand embellished card, and at least 50 bottles, cut and nested together, ready for me to paint! 

Later that evening, my phone pinged and I opened a text to the  photo of colorful bottles above, bottles someone else is preparing for my 10,000 bottle project.  I replied, " Looking at the photo felt like drinking orange juice with a V8 chaser, metaphorically of course, which is the only way that combination makes any sense at all."

Imagine my bliss.