OWL BE BACK: That Time I Stalked My Friend With Gift-Wrapping

A few weeks ago, Karen asked Arielle to switch places at our dining room table.

"K, but why?"

"Because that OWL won't stop staring at me."

We all laughed, the two switched seats, and Karen said in exasperation, "Now these ones are staring."

Then Arielle pointed out the owl next to the apothecary:

And the one on the radio cabinet:

And right after I insisted the room did *not* have an owl theme, I realized there were 2 more in the wreath beside me.

Huh.

And those are just the ones in my dining room.

"Can I sit anywhere in your house without an owl staring at me?"

****

Fast forward to the next week when I had a spare 45 minutes before a friend's holiday party, and I got an idea. An awful idea. I got a wonderful, awful idea.

I knew Karen was going to be at the party, and I also knew she's a fan of the "deceptive gift wrapping" trend on TikTok. (That's where someone wraps something small like a key chain so it looks like a shovel or a dead body - super ridiculous gags for overly ambitious pranksters.)

And I thought, "hey, I COULD BE THAT OVERLY AMBITIOUS PRANKSTER."

So now, in the spirit of the famous "how to draw an owl" meme:

1) Cut some flaps into a long piece of a gift box:

2) Make the rest of the owl:

This is a cursed object of the first order, and it makes me all glowy and evil-giggly inside. Hehehhehehe.

(Its belly is hollow, btw, and holds a small gift.)

Next, WE WRAP.

I found it helps to cut long strips so you can wrap in layers like a mummy.

Hmm. Not... stare-y enough.

There we go.

Perhaps we should pause for a moment to reflect on my life choices.

[....]

No, yeah, I'm still feeling pretty good about this.

PROCEED.

So off we rush to the party, where John and I entertain ourselves - and a few complete strangers - by placing the owl around the house so it's always giving Karen the thousand yard stare.

She still hasn't noticed.

Eventually I distracted her ("KAREN!! HAVE YOU SEEN THE... THING?") while John slipped the owl onto the end table directly beside her.

She turned back to this view, mere inches from her face:

She gave a slight start and a thoroughly exasperated curse, which was everything I could have wanted and more, muwhahahaaa.

WORTH IT.


And don't worry. The two made up eventually:

 


This has been another episode of "What It's Like To Be Friends With Jen," or possibly "Why Jen Needs More Friends To Torment, Because Karen's Getting Sick Of This Sh*T Already." Now accepting applications, must provide your own transportation and Low Fodmap baked goods.

Speaking of which, the party was a cookie exchange - look how pretty:


Nomz.

I hope you're having a delightful New Year's Eve out there, friends. Stay safe, drink extra water, and tell folks you love them if you do.

It's a fresh start tomorrow. Just think of all the shenanigans we can get into. AW YEAH.

'Til next year.

*****

P.S.

Today's the last day to enter the December Squeegineer Give-Away! The prize options are are all geeky treasures I've either made or unearthed in my office closet, and are just a little way of saying thanks.
You can enter for free by e-mail or by supporting us through Paypal - details at the link.

Thanks for coming along on this bloggy ride for another year, bots, and for supporting me with your clicks, comments, and actual dollars. I would do this for free, but I'm forever grateful that you let me pay the bills with it at the same time. I can't wait to spend 2022 geeking out, making things, and sharing life together with you.

HUGS