Grrrr.....

So as most of you know I am a crafter. I love to crochet and make things. Here lately I have been looking at stuff in the stores with the mentality of "Oh that's cute, maybe I can do that". So naturally I hone in on things..design, cut, stitching..ect.

I was at HEB (Texas based grocery store), they have lots of bins filled with stuffed animals of all different sizes and shapes for the upcoming Valentines day. I didn't really have a whole lot of time to look at them but naturally i glanced on my way by.

The very first bear that I saw had a torn tail!! The stitches were coming out, one good yank from a child and wham there went your 10 bucks (I'm guessing, I didn't really look at the prices) down the drain. The next thing that caught my eye was a tiger hat, I noticed it had an unusual feature and went to check it out. As soon as I touched it, I noticed the piece I was touching was just barely holding on by a thread. All the stitching had come out and it was about to fall off.

Really?! This is what we spend our money on?! Poor workmanship and low quality. Just another piece of junk from China to end up in a USA landfill. These poorly made toys we buy, send our money out of country and for what? A temporary toy that will end up getting thrown away? To me it just clarifies what a wasteful society we have become accustomed or forced to be.

I am just as guilty as the next person...I spent two years in a row buying cheap toys for my grandsons to play with when they came to visit. At least half of those toys have been thrown out because they got broken. Heck even the first day of play one of the trucks broke a wheel!

I have tried to boycott buying anything from china but can't seem to be successful at it. Even the slippers I bought were from china and forget about trying to find a can opener! I am STILL using the old army can opener cause I refuse to break down and buy another one. I did finally break down and bought one a few months back only to have the handle fall off right in my hand!

My point is...Why do we continue to by this crappy stuff? This throw away stuff (you know you are going to eventually)?

Daddy and I were just talking about this this morning. He found a microwave and the only thing wrong with it was that the motor under the turn plate was froze up. Did you know you can't buy parts for those things? If it's broke, you fix it. Right? Nope not anymore...If it's broke you throw it into a landfill and buy a new one.

Am I ranting? You bet your butt I am! It is disgusting!

And how HEB can justify selling such crappy stuff, is beyond me. I guess cause folks continue to buy it. I like to buy things cheap just as much as the next fella but not if I'm just going to throw it away in the end.

Okay, I will step off the soapbox now. Sorry for the rant, thanks for listening.