Karen Conlin

Owner of GRAMMARGEDDON LLC Editing Services, providing professional editing for independent authors (especially spec-fic and horror/weird fiction, other genres considered!)

Professionally irreverent, irreverently professional

American English user (spoken, written)

Favorite = acknowledgement, not necessarily agreement

PFP is me, a silver-haired white woman with glasses, with cat

Banner is a partial image of the US flag upside down signaling distress

#TransRightAreHumanRights
#Resist

Pronouns: she/her
Religion: kinda
Politics: Life is politics
Swearing: Fuck yes, when appropriate

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npub16f9u543cra33eskpeatj29f3e08rcnt254zh8u9rktkq7dsk3znsgdy7at

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsdyj722cup7ccuctqu74e9z5cuhn3uf44223tn7z3m9mq0xctg3fcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsa3rykg

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

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Last Notes

2026-03-24 20:24:17 GMT

DO NOT REGISTER FOR A PROTEST
DO NOT DO IT
SHOW UP AND PARTICIPATE
NO ONE WILL SAY YOU'RE UNWELCOME
#50501NoKings

2026-03-24 15:19:12 GMT

What in blazes is an "arborwright"???
If he's a woodworker, why not say that? My first thought was "this guy works with entire trees, does he? Shaping them from saplings? Oh, no . . . he's a woodworker."
This penchant for coining nonce words (they'll not appear outside this book or perhaps the series) is maddening. We have so many cromulent words already! USE THEM!
::deep breaths:: Ropesman. Assemblageman. (Not "assemblyman." This is a wholly different context.) More I can't recall at present.
::more deep breaths::
#AmEditing #DevelopmentalCritique

2026-02-14 15:12:56 GMT

Cat's not out of the bag yet.
#Caturday #CatsOfMastodon
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/069/620/878/003/485/original/55c5a2a726344210.jpg

2026-01-15 02:45:35 GMT

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Okay . . . I wasn't expecting rigor.
I was expecting fun, and I got it. ::shrugs:: YMMV, obviously.

2026-01-15 02:34:33 GMT

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Then I am in good company, as I also got 16/24

2026-01-15 01:28:35 GMT

My grandpa used to make cough syrup with brandy, rock candy, honey, and horehound candies.
The aroma of brandy still makes me think of that.
Dad and I used to sneak sips of it every now and then, "coughing" every so often to make it all look legit.
Man, that stuff was tasty. And it did help with the itchiness.
#GrandmaCandy (and Grandpa, too)

2026-01-01 15:36:57 GMT

Someone should write MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN on a highly visible wall at the White House.
Just saying.
#OldTestament #IYKYK

2025-12-26 03:12:20 GMT

I have now eaten a dozen shortbread cookies.
I still have no regrets.
And the cookies are gone. So. Moving on.
#Baking #NomNomNom

2025-12-25 03:16:31 GMT

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Give it time, you'll get there 😁

2025-12-23 00:04:39 GMT

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I was in college.
Gutted me then, still does now. And yet I love hearing it.
Just not when I'm in public.

2025-12-22 20:23:03 GMT

Oh no
Dan Fogelberg, "Same Auld Lang Syne"
So I am crying in the bakery aisles
#ChristmasSongs

2025-12-15 20:44:42 GMT

Last night during the watch party, I said that John's/Nigel Terry's face in the scene in the dungeon when Henry/Peter O'Toole has a dagger to his throat reminded me of the cover for "In the Court of the Crimson King."
You be the judge.
#TheLionInWinter
#KingCrimson
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/725/511/508/507/441/original/927b597658e8de08.jpg

2025-12-04 16:32:06 GMT

#GUMmyStuff
Reading another self-published novel and sighing inwardly.
"Horseshit" so styled on one line.
Two lines later, it's "horse shit."
I don't particularly care which way is "correct," but I wish there were consistency. Readers notice when there is none.
And, while I don't much care which way is right, Merriam-Webster (the app, 11th Collegiate) shows the closed styling. When I'm being paid to care, I check all the things.
Readers don't notice unless something is amiss.
#RealEditorsProofBetter

2025-12-04 03:07:55 GMT

If you're going to use "A.D." for dates, please, PLEASE, remember it goes *before* the year.
e.g. A.D. 2025
Because it means "in the year of our Lord," Anno Domini, it makes no sense to put it after the year. Would you say "2025 in the year of our Lord?" Of course you wouldn't.
#GUMmyStuff #Pedantry #CopyEditor #RealEditorsProofBetter

2025-11-19 03:02:19 GMT

Nothing much beats finishing a project, getting paid the same day, and then hearing from another client that a) they'll have a project for me next year and b) they're referring someone to me.
January is shaping up pretty well.
#RealEditorsProofBetter

2025-11-12 02:34:14 GMT

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Gulab jamun is my downfall. Every time. SO GOOD. @npub1kyd…jltj

2025-10-30 14:06:27 GMT

An em dash is said to be the sign of AI-written trash, but an en dash? That tells you an actual human editor got their hands on the text.
#GUMmyStuff #RealEditorsProofBetter

2025-10-22 13:51:16 GMT

#AmEditing
#GUMmyStuff
TWEET is not TWEED.
#SpellcheckCannotSaveYou

2025-10-07 13:29:15 GMT

Well. That completes the cold read on "The Wizard's Cat."
Of course, now I want to read the next book . . .
This cat? He's what our Huckleberry would be, if he were like this cat. I don't want to ruin anything for prospective readers; suffice to say, I chuckled a lot and may even have chortled once or twice.
@npub12s2…9gr0
#AmEditing

2025-09-30 13:41:38 GMT

#AmEditing
I'm so happy to type that hashtag again!
I have received the next installment in The Wizard's Butler series by @npub12s2…9gr0, entitled The Wizard's Cat.
The first one was so much fun! I can't wait to see what this one brings.
#SpellcheckCannotSaveYou #RealEditorsProofBetter

2025-09-17 14:45:52 GMT

I love it when I'm reading a novel (in this case, it's "Cleave the Sparrow" by Jonathan Katz) and a character quotes someone, and I seek out the source and find it, leading me to put another book on my reading list.
"Belief clings, but faith lets go." Alan Watts, "The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety," originally published in 1951 by Pantheon Books.
1951. Before I was born. The year my parents we'd. An age of anxiety.
Isn't it always?
#Bookstodon
#Philosophy
#AlanWatts

2025-09-14 19:04:59 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois
Confirmed: Putting an apple (in my case, a Granny Smith) in a brown paper grocery bag with unripe tomatoes will yield ripe tomatoes.
I had about a dozen or so green tomatoes I cut off the vines because it had been so freaking cold, so I tried the apple trick. Now I have about a half-dozen ready to eat, and half of the rest are starting to turn red.
(And of course now it's nearly 90 and supposed to stay that way for at least another week. Whatever.)

2025-09-11 01:12:50 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois
So, it's been unseasonably cold for the last couple of weeks. I ended up harvesting green tomatoes and putting them in a brown paper grocery bag with an apple, in hope they'll ripen eventually and not just rot.
The beans gave up. Better luck next year?
The two parsleys and the sage, though, are happy as pigs in mud. More power to 'em.
And my bell peppers? Three of the four are blossoming AGAIN. I'll keep them watered and see what happens.
Carrots? I harvested those last week and we ate them all, cooked crisp-tender and then coated in melted butter, ground ginger, and a little sweetener, as a side with a roast pork tenderloin.
The chard remains a disappointment.
Still plotting what to change for next year. I have plenty of time.

2025-08-11 18:29:01 GMT

#Gardening
We've gotten just under two inches of rain in the last 24 hours.
Happy, happy gardens.

2025-07-30 17:27:31 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #SquareFootGardening
The first Celebrity tomatoes! And more cherry toms because of course there are.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/943/343/559/518/890/original/24fc06fb88b18ac6.jpg

2025-07-21 14:40:16 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #SquareFootGardening
Good rains over the weekend! I did feed my eggplant, tomatoes, and pole beans this morning, though.
Four lovely Celebrity tomatoes nearly ready to pick, and a couple dozen more on the vines.
One of my bell peppers is turning red! Yay!
In other news, I lopped off the mulberry branches that were overhanging the driveway, and then I went after the vines covering the back porch wall (it's essentially the front, seeing as it's the only usable entry/exit) and threatening to seal the back door. That Virginia creeper, man . . . Those little suckers (literal suckers!) hang on tight!

2025-07-17 14:28:10 GMT

I mowed the front lawn while it's cool and not raining. When the batteries died, I quit.
Then I got the string trimmer and went around the decorative beds.
After that, I checked the garden. About 2 dozen tomatoes on the bushes, many more on the cherry tomato plant. Quite a few blossoms on the pole beans.
And one Japanese eggplant, still too small to pick.
#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #SquareFootGardening

2025-06-30 17:37:42 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #SquareFootGardening
My root crops are jokes save for the Yukon potatoes. Nothing but tops. However . . .
I have one eggplant, several peppers, and a fair number of tomatoes, and my pole beans are blossoming.
I harvested some leaf lettuces and Swiss chard for a salad later.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/773/516/323/864/904/original/72eb52159206ca50.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/773/517/013/847/012/original/0d01e94764fee831.jpg
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2025-06-26 01:31:19 GMT

Yeah, we had that storm. And afterward, my rain gauge has logged .17 inches for the last 12 hours.
::sigh:: I'll be watering the beds again tomorrow.
#Gardening

2025-06-21 18:21:05 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #SquareFootGardening
Pics! Pole beans, cherry tomatoes ripening, bell peppers, eggplant blossoms
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/722/719/336/573/339/original/12af1ab0b5f8cb3e.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/722/718/811/763/644/original/8c6e32a23ed7f4d6.jpg
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2025-06-21 13:24:07 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #SquareFootGardening
Shot out of bed and dashed outside (dressed, YES) to tend the garden before the Big Heat and Wind hits. Tied the cherry tomatoes' cage to the trellis post so it doesn't blow over again.
Noticed a couple of fruits turning color. YAY!
Something has devastated my lovely leaf lettuce plant, the best of the four that grew out of the eight I sowed. I hope the thief enjoyed it.
My eggplant has blossoms!
My potatoes are flowering!
Peppers and tomatoes seem quite happy. Beans continue to wend their way up the wire fence.
Now that I've lost something to pests, I really am a gardener.

2025-06-19 14:33:10 GMT

ATTENTION ATTENTION
I PICKED A PEPPER
not a peck. Just one.
I see at least three more growing, and another three or four forming.
The cherry tomato plant looks happier having been dosed with plant food. The rain didn't hurt, but I'm sure the food is responsible for the leaves losing their yellow.
Beans are climbing! Even the "slow plot" that came up about a month later.
More strawberry blossoms! Maybe this time we'll get the berries. I'm hopeful because of the covering.
#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #squarefootgardening
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/710/499/441/544/368/original/b481f1c31a175b61.jpg

2025-06-17 13:25:41 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois
#SquareFootGardening
No photos today, kids.
I want to note that all my plants in the raised beds are doing wonderfully. The only problem child is the cherry tomato, which came in its own pot from the garden center at the local DIY store. Yellow leaves! It's quite displeased, never mind that it's covered with blossoms and has over two dozen fruits on it already (all green, of course).
Naturally, when I searched for why this is happening, I got the utterl unhelpful result: "There are five zillion reasons for yellow leaves." Some refining finally got me to "the most common problem is nutrients." So, I mixed up a gallon of plant food and fed it (not the entire gallon!) . I hope to see improvement over the next week or so. The directions on the food say to use it every other watering. I water daily, as needed.
Point being, "Mel's Mix" is magical, just like the book says. Every single thing I've planted in it, provided it germinated, is thriving. Lightweight row covers have helped minimize pests while allowing 97% of sunlight to reach the plants. I open them up now that the plants are sizeable, and bring them down at night (it's still cool here).
My sad dill plant is the exception. It finally germinated, but it's doing . . . nothing. I'm still debating whether to just buy one and be done. Same with the basil and oregano. Chives are looking good; half my lettuces are growing (the other half never came up); Swiss chard is happy; and you've seen already how well the potatoes and pole beans are doing. The beans in one plot are exploring the trellis; the other plot's residents are a couple of weeks behind.
And once again, a fucking bird got our single strawberry. I'm going to put a cover over the plant. That'll show 'em.
I AM A GARDENER. Not a great one, but still. Mom, I know you can see it; you've got a bird's eye view. ;-)

2025-06-13 13:00:11 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #SquareFootGardening
For not knowing what I'm doing, I have a pretty good garden.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/676/166/292/632/986/original/1f490b5d34a9ef7c.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/676/166/086/480/496/original/80ba9a5becc64921.jpg
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https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/676/166/031/705/099/original/4017c945f2683388.jpg

2025-06-11 13:32:22 GMT

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got it.

2025-06-11 12:56:28 GMT

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My understanding is that screen readers cannot read text presented as an image. The alt text, in these cases, lets the user "see" what's in the graphic.
If I misunderstood, I'm sorry.

2025-06-09 15:05:12 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #SquareFootGardening
Finally the pole beans are big enough to reach the wire fence trellis!
Note to self: Don't plant leeks with potatoes. Those delicate leeks don't stand a chance in all that potato-leaf shade.
Dozens of blossoms on the cherry tomato, and over two dozen fruits already.
LOOK AT THIS PEPPER. LOOOOOK.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/654/006/127/126/091/original/6c689d26c00a2375.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/654/005/588/974/320/original/35a3d0a77e4bb6ba.jpg

2025-06-06 14:50:44 GMT

#WeekendBeige
Checked the raised beds, marigold pots, strawberry plant, and cherry tomato plant.
Unsurprisingly, no watering needed. That two-plus inches of rain a couple of days ago soaked things.
A couple of dozen baby cherry tomatoes are developing nicely. I didn't count the blossoms on the bush tomatoes, but there are many.
Peppers all have blossoms now. One plant is the runt, few leaves, not at all bushy. The other three really took off.
POTATOES. OH. MY. GOD. If what's going on up top is any clue to what's happening underground . . . WOW.
Should be able to help the pole beans grab on to the trellis soon.
Lettuces are disappointing, tbh. Only one plant to speak of. No sign of the rest. Bummer.
Second planting of radishes looks good so far, a week in.
And that's about it, I guess.
#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #SquareFootGardening

2025-06-05 14:40:32 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #SquareFootGardening
This morning everything looks great! Cherry tomatoes; potatoes and pole beans (leeks are there but too small to see); tomatoes, peppers, Swiss chard, and radishes; and my teeny dill plant.
I doubt I'll need to water until the weekend, what with having gotten more than 2 inches of rain on Tuesday.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/631/237/866/264/009/original/501bfeff047bf5fc.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/631/237/941/057/319/original/ea4bcfa1dfe15f3c.jpg
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2025-06-04 14:19:48 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois #SquareFootGardening
Well, I dumped water out of the marigolds' pots, as they were standing in a good half-inch. Marigolds don't like to be too wet. Heh.
Something got our one strawberry. I hope it was good.
However, I have a very happy Japanese eggplant plant and a nicely developing green bell pepper.
And the potatoes continue to grow, and I can see the new crop of radishes coming.
Still no sight of my dill or basil. Might just buy those and transplant.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/625/522/730/448/852/original/d69bf232138ee1b4.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/625/522/213/266/818/original/c1da6c4e41d824e9.jpg

2025-06-04 12:25:52 GMT

#Gardening #NorthernIllinois
2.28 inches of rain in the last 24 hours.
I'll take it! Haven't set foot outside yet this morning, but I'm sure plants are happy.

2025-05-30 18:58:36 GMT

#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
#SquareFootGardening
Sad itty bitty radishes with lovely tops, and a teeny baby bell pepper
I added a bit of compost to each radish plot per the method, but I replanted with 9 per square (not 16!). I'll be interested to see what happens this time.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/598/299/532/583/388/original/b217377223062799.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/598/299/616/327/530/original/8563ccd3937e6eb5.jpg

2025-05-28 16:02:21 GMT

#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
#SquareFootGardening
This is how it all looks as of this morning.
Radishes aren't showing their shoulders yet. I'm making myself be patient.
My parsley and sage refused to germinate, so I bought both curly and flat-leaf and the sage, plus a Japanese eggplant (the purple and green beauty in the front left corner, in front of parsley and next to sage). I love eggplant, spouse doesn't, so I got the smaller kind.
The Yukon potatoes I had given up on? Yeah. They're exploding.
My determinate tomatoes look good, but I'm not seeing many blossoms . . . I keep the sides up on that bed to allow pollinators access to tomatoes and bell peppers. I also narrowed the width of the plastic wrap protecting the tomatoes.
Spouse chose a cherry tomato bush and a strawberry plant. Both have fruit on them already. Not a lot, but hey. We'll take it.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/586/297/325/058/436/original/dc705b61a2aaef83.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/586/302/489/674/626/original/ed71a0d2933945bd.jpg
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2025-05-23 14:24:16 GMT

#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
#SquareFootGardening
These pictures are from this morning, maybe 15 minutes ago.
I mounded potatoes *again*!
The middle bed with the tomatoes, radishes, and bell peppers looks great.
The salad bed is moving slowly. But it's moving.
Mom would be proud.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/557/580/412/446/822/original/9da8018672c085ff.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/557/581/164/805/137/original/8dcc815be2411736.jpg
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https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/557/580/931/986/905/original/50d5b4e103d4fa46.jpg

2025-05-22 15:10:11 GMT

#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
Mounded the potatoes *again.* They're taking off!
Radishes coming this weekend. I can see luscious red at the bases of a few leafy tops. Exciting!
Thinned the carrots. Square-foot method is to sow two or three seeds per hole (16 holes per plot), then thin.
One Brussels sprout plant is coming along. The other? No sign. Oh well.
Tomatoes, peppers, beans all look good. Still bummed about how few beans germinated, but c'est la guerre.
Dill, yes. Basil, not yet (might be a straightforward "no," but we'll give it another week or two before admitting defeat). Chives and oregano, yes. Lettuces, oh hell yes.
Hey, Mom, I'm a gardener!

2025-05-22 12:28:27 GMT

#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
So glad we put up the hoop houses! Temps have been significantly lower over the past week. We're talking mid 80s to low 60s lower. I'm hopeful that my plants are okay; I haven't checked on them since Tuesday, and that was mainly to see if they actually were getting water through the cover. They were. (Our rainfall topped out at .93 inches.)
Today, though, should see some sun, so I'll schlep out there later and have a look-see.

2025-05-21 23:35:38 GMT

::mounts soapbox::
I will fight the term "fiction novel" with every shred of my being until I am no longer drawing a breath or possessing a pulse.
It's redundant.
Novels are fiction.
Fiction encompasses many kinds of writing, of which novels are but one. If it's made up, it's fiction.
You can have a "biographical novel," which uses facts about a person as part of the invented story. You can have "speculative fiction," novels that fit into science fiction. fantasy, magical realism, and so on. But they're invented, so they're fiction. Novels. Fiction.
A biography is nonfiction. History is nonfiction (even if we don't like the slant the writer/s give it). Textbooks for hard sciences are nonfiction. Business books are nonfiction (I'll wait for you to stop laughing. I get it. Believe me.)
Novels are fiction. It's in the definition. No need to be redundant.
::dismounts, sprains something, hobbles away::
#Editing #Writing #GUMmyStuff

2025-05-20 16:56:17 GMT

Update: Rainfall here at the homestead has reached .85 inches.
I love that the row covers let water through. Those beds are nicely soaked.
#Gardening

2025-05-16 15:22:44 GMT

#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
#SquareFootGardening
Here are all the beds I've planted.
From closest to farthest: salad garden (leaf lettuces, oregano, chives, dill, basil), fruity veg garden (Celebrity tomatoes in plastic-wrapped cages, green and red bell peppers [capsicum], carrots, Swiss chard, radishes), wildflowers (the hyacinth is dying back up there in the front right corner, and nothing else has sprouted yet), and the bean/potato/leek/Brussels sprout bed.
My pole beans aren't germinating as well outside as they did indoors. Only five of sixteen. Sad.
Potatoes are finally showing a little activity. Yay.
I can see one Brussels sprout seedling, but nothing in the other plot. The leeks have started doing things, though.
Such a learning experience! I hope to put up the hoop houses this weekend.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/518/141/324/847/769/original/f0d689e48fbe83e6.jpg
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2025-05-14 15:40:22 GMT

#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
#SquareFootGardening
No pics today. Y'all deserve a break.
Radishes stay happy. Tomato blossoms look good. Peppers are starting to make teeny Peppers!
I can see carrots and chard, finally.
Beans are doing their thing, but fewer than I had expected. Oh well.
I think the potatoes have given up. No action there.
Leeks, though, and a Brussels sprout plant.
Lettuces and oregano and chives, all showing promise. Nothing from the dill or basil yet.
Meanwhile, in the indoor greenhouse, parsley and sage continue to refuse. Nothing visible at all. ::shrugs::
The row cover fabric is on track for delivery tomorrow. That will be lovely.

2025-05-13 14:38:43 GMT

#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
#SquareFootGardening
Tired of me yet? Radishes and pole beans.
(I might have reversed the captions for the pole bean pics. We'll pretend I didn't.)
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/501/016/685/598/592/original/53a0c57c4ffd85f5.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/501/016/621/603/864/original/0f3da850f82070c8.jpg
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https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/501/015/664/276/397/original/6be95df8dc6fd7d6.jpg

2025-05-11 16:33:13 GMT

#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
#SquareFootGardening
Radishes, tomato blossoms, and a Brussels sprout seedling
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2025-05-08 19:26:22 GMT

Frost warning tonight.
Seriously??
I just put frost blankets over my raised beds. Cross fingers my tomatoes and peppers come through. Nothing else has germinated yet.
Frost tonight followed by a week of summer temps (80s daytime, 50s nighttime). What a crap shoot.
#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
#SquareFootGardening

2025-05-07 17:35:54 GMT

#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
#SquareFootGardening
I went back out a bit ago and put the second garden hose in place, so I can use the sprayer head on the far bed. Took some doing, as it had lain on the gravel that filled the old cistern for a year or so. Lots of kinks to straighten. But it's done, so yay!
I found a good-sized piece of chicken wire to place over the salad bed. It doesn't cover 100%, but it will help, I think. Maybe not. I'll try it, though.

2025-05-07 14:46:21 GMT

#Gardening
#NorthernIllinois
#SquareFootGardening
Got out there early to water. Good moisture under my cheater domes for the chard and carrots. Peppers and tomatoes look happy. Planted dill and oregano (like i could see those seeds, jeez they're like grains of dark sand). All that's left now are the parsley and sage.
Then I dumped the two partial bags of potting mix/garden soil leftover from . . . (Mumbles) and mixed that well. Scattered wildflower seed over it, watered it. Filled four concrete block openings with the same (because that's how much I had) and planted Key Lime marigolds.
I think Mom would be pleased.

2025-05-06 22:22:17 GMT

Dinner is a slow-cooker pork chop recipe made with cream of chicken soup, ranch seasoning, and other tasty ingredients. On the side are sautéed halved Brussels sprouts with bacon and red wine vinegar.
#HomeCooking
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2025-05-06 21:36:36 GMT

#Gardening
Honestly, my biggest fear right now is underwatering my beds. I've never dealt with anything this big, let alone three of them.
I'll be okay once I see green things coming up. Carrots. Chard. Leeks. Pole beans. Radishes (they're supposed to be mature in less than three weeks! WHAT). Lettuces. Chives.
There's more but you get the gist.
The tomatoes and peppers seem happy enough. For now.
I still have to do the flowerbed . . .
Tomorrow. Right now it's time to make dinner.
#SquareFootGardening

2025-05-06 18:30:39 GMT

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/latest.html
May Q&A is up at CMOS!
#GUMmyStuff

2025-05-05 18:15:51 GMT

#Gardening
Tomato cages are wrapped in plastic (cling film!), and peppers are protected with cheesecloth for now.
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2025-05-05 17:07:16 GMT

#Gardening
Planted the rest of the Yukon Gold potatoes, the two kinds of leaf lettuces, and the chives.
Then I watered my little potted tomatoes and peppers, and they looked quite ready for transplantation. So I did.
My row cover fabric hasn't shipped, so as a temporary fix I'll use cheesecloth. Only six plants to cover for now, so that should be fine. Anything to deter critters. Landscape staples to hold it down.

2025-05-04 17:58:19 GMT

#Gardening
The grids are in place for planting. Over the next week or two, I'll get everything into the beds.
I paid for a year of the Old Farmer's Almanac garden planner, and I'm so glad I did. I get regular emails with planting schedules based on the vegetables I chose. It's great support for a n00b like me.
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2025-05-01 17:28:56 GMT

While I know full well that "fine lingerie" is happiest when washed by hand, I'm a lazy beeyotch.
It goes in a lingerie bag, in the washer, on delicate (cold water wash and rinse, light agitation, minimal spin-dry).
But I draw the line at tossing it into the dryer, even on delicate (lowest heat, short cycle). I hang it all on a drying rack set in the bathtub.
Same with expensive casual wear that heat can harm. Drying rack. If it takes a day and a half, so be it.
#IHaveMyLimits

2025-05-01 15:32:04 GMT

#Gardening
I'm going to plant this weekend.
Our temps are still on the cool side, but nights no longer mean freezing.
I'm sure the pole beans will do fine, as will the tomato and pepper plants. The rest? A crap shoot, I suspect.

2025-04-27 22:17:18 GMT

Toast the Pomeranian surveys our handiwork. Today, daughter and granddaughter helped me with the two remaining 4x3x1 raised beds.
That concrete one is for flowers that attract pollinators. Daughter brought me a lovely purple hyacinth 🪻 that's now tucked into a corner opening of a block.
#Gardening #DogsOfMastodon
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2025-04-25 14:29:17 GMT

Tomato seedlings are on the patio. Cooler today, so I might bring them in sooner.
I admit defeat by the alpine strawberries and bell peppers. Threw it all out. I'll try standard everbearing berries instead for the hydroponics tower and look for pepper starts to transplant.
Delivery of our soil components is set for tomorrow morning. I expect to get the beds ready over the weekend, and I hope to be planting by May Day.
#Gardening

2025-04-24 17:30:14 GMT

I took my tomato seedlings outside and set them on the patio in the shade. Come dusk, I'll bring them back inside. Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler; I won't leave them out long then. But we're suddenly getting late spring/early summer temps!
#HardenOff
#Gardening

2025-04-24 00:04:49 GMT

Still waiting on that vermiculite from Menard's so they can deliver all of the materials for our raised beds.
I have a sneaking suspicion that all we'll manage this year is prepping and filling them, honestly. My tomatoes are still in the greenhouse, but it's finally warming up enough for me to start hardening them off. They might wind up in grow bags, if we can't get the beds prepped soon.
I've given up on the alpine strawberries doing anything at all. It's been five weeks and nothing. No. Thing. Water, light, and warmth all as they should be per the hydroponic information. Nothing happening whatsoever.
My one tiny bell pepper plant is unhappy. None of the others germinated.
Start slow, right? Maybe getting the beds set up is enough. Let them sit for a year, and get busy next year.
Flexibility is key. I keep telling myself that.
#Gardening

2025-04-13 03:00:21 GMT

Oooh. I need to harden off my tomatoes before planting.
Time to read up on that and figure out the method.
#Gardening

2025-04-10 16:18:41 GMT

No LinkedIn
No Bluesky
No X
No Facebook
No Instagram
NO BILLIONAIRES
You won't find me at any of those sites. Only here and at my little blog. That's how I roll these days.
#GUMmyStuff #RealEditorsProofBetter #SpellcheckCannotSaveYou
#IndivisibleIllinois
Https://grammargeddon.com

2025-04-05 12:34:39 GMT

https://aceseditors.org/news/2025/jamaal-d-pittman-wins-the-2025-robinson-prize-aces-highest-honor
Congratulations to Jamaal! He was the head judge the year I won, so i was utterly delighted to congratulate him last night.
After the awards ceremony, our keynote speaker, @npub17sj…c4ng , touched our hearts, minds, and souls with a personal talk about his experiences as a queer Black man and a journalist in our country.
We have to do better.
#ACES2025

2025-03-24 19:58:59 GMT

Got myself a new shirt.
Get yours from https://GodAintPetty.com, a Black woman–owned business.
See AltText for full wording
#YoureProbablyDEIToo
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2025-03-18 20:56:39 GMT

#Gardening
The experiment continues.
The beans are growing perilously close to the grow light. I just swapped that one out for a different kind entirely, with red/blue LEDs on three goosenecks. The red is for blooms, the blue, for vegetables. This one has a timer, too. Tomorrow I'll fiddle with that. Right now, I'm just glad the beans aren't in danger from a hot light.

2025-03-18 18:25:11 GMT

#Gardening
As of this morning, I have fifteen Rattlesnake pole bean plants in the greenhouse. One refused to sprout. So be it.
The eight Pink Brandywine tomatoes seem happy enough so far.
Nothing yet from the two varieties of sweet peppers, but that's not at all unusual. Maybe in a couple of weeks, something will poke out of the vermiculite.
I had forgotten about the Yukon potatoes, which are on backorder until the 25th or so.
Meanwhile, my rockwool is making its way here. No rush. All good.
#SquareFootGardening

2025-03-17 14:05:16 GMT

#Gardening
OOPS.
I should've started my sweet peppers (King of the North and Carmen) last week as well.
And maybe not have bothered with the pole beans.
Oh well. I'm a total tyro at this, so I'm making notes in my calendar and next year I can do better. Peppers are now in their bowl of moist vermiculite, on a heat mat, under a dome in the greenhouse.

2025-03-16 15:42:58 GMT

#Gardening
Moved all but two of my Rattlesnake pole beans into pressed paper pots. Those last two are being very stubborn 😣 I need to top off the pots with more soil.
Later I'll move the Pink Brandywine tomatoes. First, though, I'll have to fill another set of paper pots with Mel's Mix and bring in extra.
I can hardly believe this is all working (so far). My black thumb apparently is spotted with green.
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2025-03-15 14:55:04 GMT

#Gardening
HOLY CROW Y'ALL
Lookit these Rattlesnake pole beans go!
The Pink Brandywine tomatoes have peeked out, too. Difficult to see, they're tiny and pale green.
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2025-03-14 12:28:00 GMT

#Gardening
Rattlesnake pole beans, day 2
I continue to be stunned.
Meanwhile, the tomatoes show no signs of activity.
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2025-03-13 19:58:00 GMT

#Gardening
Just over 24 hours in the greenhouse and I'm seeing pole beans germinating.
I am STUNNED.
#PoleBeans
#Rattlesnake
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2025-03-13 14:30:49 GMT

#Gardening #Greenhouse
If you squint and look closely just above center, you can see the lavender doing its thing.
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2025-03-11 19:26:59 GMT

#Gardening
As threatened (promised, but it feels like a threat), I have started the Rattlesnake pole beans and Pink Brandywine tomatoes in vermiculite, per my book on square-foot gardening. When they're ready, I'll move them into Mel's Mix in peat pots until they can be put outside.
Here's my indoor greenhouse and the shelf with the beans and maters.
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2025-03-11 13:35:28 GMT

#Gardening
Spouse tells me that according to his USPS email this morning,
THE SEEDS ARE COMING TODAY.
This means I need to procure more vermiculite (a small bag will do) for starting them in the "greenhouse." It's nothing more than a metal shelving unit with a fairly heavy plastic cover, in which I have three heat mats and three grow lights. Right now the only things in it are the alpine strawberries (for which I have lost hope, because I honestly don't think those foam cubes are doing squat) and some lavender seeds in a small pot.
Nothing is germinating yet. I have hope for the beans and tomatoes, though. And once the rockwool I ordered arrives, I'll start over with the strawberries.
Later today I'll prep the little peat pots with Mel's Mix, for the bean and tomato seedlings.
Things. Are. Happening.

2025-03-10 18:48:35 GMT

#Gardening
I HAVE DONE A THING
Just mixed my first (small) batch of Mel's Mix for my seed starter.
Am out of vermiculite. If the seeds do arrive tomorrow, I'll run into town and get a small bag. They'll begin in shallow bowls (I have cheap plastic pot drainage dishes) in a layer of vermiculite with a small quantity of water. Once the cotyledons pop, I can put them into the actual starter pots.
This is the first time my gardening gloves have gotten dirty. Heh heh.
Getting real now, folks!
#SquareFootGardening #MelBartholomew

2025-03-10 16:52:03 GMT

No treadmill yet, but that will happen this afternoon.
I started a new ebook. Same author as before, different series. Still Victorian England.
I like what I like.
Waiting on UPS to deliver my compost, after which I can make up a small batch of Mel's Mix for starting my seeds. I can only trust that it won't affect them too adversely when planting time arrives.
If I order anything next year, which, frankly, is unlikely, I know I'll have to do so in January.
#SelfCare #Gardening

2025-03-10 12:50:02 GMT

#Gardening
THE FEDCO ORDER IS NEARBY
REPEAT THE FEDCO ORDER IS NEARBY
It finally left Indianapolis last night and has reached the Palatine hub. I might get it tomorrow.
Which is late to be starting beans and tomatoes, but so be it. Next year it won't be an issue.

2025-03-07 16:00:35 GMT

Related to my Amazon-avoidance post that is apparently quite resonant with a couple hundred of you ...
Yesterday I wound up ordering vegetable-matter compost through them, from a place one state over that does not ship out of state from its own site. It's a family-owned organic farm business. I wanted to support them directly, but that wasn't an option.
When you can't source something locally (I know, I was appalled), and you can't get it directly from the place that does have it, the evil 'Zon is a last resort.
See also my post yesterday about bozos trying to sell me potting mix when I specifically asked for vegetable-matter compost. These are not the same thing. Don't think I'll fall for it.
#Gardening #BoycottAmazon #BuyLocal

2025-03-06 20:15:31 GMT

- reply

Time for us to try composting again with our food scraps and yard waste.
The last batch (our first) was not successful. We have a tumbler-style double-bin unit. Right now, I can see and identify leaves and grass clippings. The rest, kitchen scraps in compostable bags, looks to have mostly broken down. Those leaves, though . . .
Maybe some starter? Need more research.

2025-03-06 19:06:40 GMT

#Gardening
I swear . . .
Garden-center owners who try to sell me potting mix when I specifically ask for bagged compost that is not manure or mushrooms are a breed apart.
If I want potting mix/soil, I'll ask for it.
#SquareFootGardening has special requirements for its mix. The vermiculite and peat moss are simple. It's the compost that's proving tricky. Needs to be a blend of at least three kinds, five is best. I've finally managed three.
From three separate sources.

2025-03-05 19:27:57 GMT

I'm seeing a lot of folks making the same suggestion, and now I'll say it too:
Use Amazon like a catalog you browse.
Find a thing you want.
Go to the manufacturer's site (NOT their Amazon "store!").
Buy it there. Often you'll find coupons or discount codes NOT present on Amazon.
#Boycott

2025-03-05 13:41:18 GMT

#AmReading #Gardening
We picked up this book at Menard's last week. I finally have a little time to read it, while I wait for seeds and grow lights to arrive.
Forest School for Grown-Ups: Explore the Wisdom of the Woods (ISBN 978-1-7972-1528-0)
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2025-03-04 17:32:50 GMT

I walked for 13 minutes on the treadmill at 1.9 mph.
I tended the lavender and mushrooms (pearl oyster).
Breakfast dishes are washed and in the rack. Dishwasher has been run and everything put away.
I moved the good Dutch oven unto the pantry with a smaller pot, and now the cube that had held it is filled with the gardening books, seed catalog, and almanac. All in the kitchen, under my three shelves of cookbooks.
The Fedco order is delayed, because Indianapolis. Of course. Good thing planting has to wait for the end of April. I'll still have time to start the pole beans and tomatoes.
I need to get my three kinds of manure by the weekend, so I can make a small batch of Mel's Mix for the peat pots. The extra from it will end up being used to "feed" the garden as we harvest.
#SelfCare #Gardening

2025-03-03 22:30:59 GMT

These three books have been my chosen browsing materials today.
Compost Science for Gardeners, R. Pavlis ISBN 978-0-86571-976-7
Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits and Vegetables, Bubel ISBN 978-0-88266-703-4
Plant Partners: Science-Based Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden, J. Walliser, ISBN 978-1-63586-133-4
Tickled pink to discover that my plan to plant tomatoes next to radishes (alternating squares) is done for "trap cropping," offering flea beetles the radish plants so they're less likely to ravage the tomatoes.
#Gardening
#AmReading
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2025-03-03 02:05:27 GMT

- reply

That young John Heard, when he was desperate, I guess
#Monsterdon
#CHUD

2025-03-03 02:00:07 GMT

- reply

I saw this at a drive-in.
#Monsterdon
#CHUD

2025-03-03 01:55:45 GMT

Fair warning
#Monsterdon begins in 5 minutes
#CHUD

2025-03-02 21:25:28 GMT

#Gardening
Well, there'll be three 4x3 raised beds and a 32inx32in also. The small one is wildflowers and Canterbury Bells. Two of the bigger ones are mixed vegetables, and the third will hold leaf lettuces and herbs.
Currently I'm sourcing 5 different kinds of compost in order to make Mel's Mix (if you know "Square-foot Gardening" you know the mix). So far I've located a basic manure compost, a humus-manure blend, "Black Gold" vegetable matter compost, and mushroom compost. One more . . .
Today I started my Alpine strawberries, which will go into the hydro tower. Two consecutive trays will do it (16 per tray).
Once I get the composts, I can make the mix and use some for starting my beans and tomatoes.
But first, vermiculite! Shallow dishes of it, water, and seeds. Once the cotyledons pop out, I can pot them in the trays of mix. Transplantation will come in late April or very early May.
Bless the Old Farmer's Almanac.

2025-03-01 23:51:03 GMT

#Gardening
My Fedco order is supposed to be here on Tuesday, the 4th.
Let's hope it arrives, because it's tomato-starting time! I ordered a packet of Pink Brandywine organic slicing tomato seeds, and I'm excited about them. We found Mom's tomato cages, so I grabbed two.
Because I'm using Mel Bartholomew's square-foot system, I'll plant just two plants. Radishes will go between them. As it happens, the Easter Egg radish seeds are in this order, too.

2025-02-28 20:16:08 GMT

#Gardening
I'm working on the new layout, with two 4 ft by 3 ft raised beds. (Originally I had planned a single 4 by 8.)
I like this better, honestly. I can put companion plants in the same bed, and next year swap beds for rotation.
Right now, version 2 has pole beans, potatoes, leeks, and Brussels sprouts in one bed, and tomatoes, radishes, peppers (bell and Corno del Toro), and carrots. Come fall, parsnips will go where the carrots had been.
Maybe we'll build a concrete block walled bed between them for pollinators and other flowers. I'm having to rethink that a bit more.
Waiting on the square-foot gardening book to arrive before I feel close to being ready, though.

2025-02-28 18:47:36 GMT

#Gardening
Very much early stages, and far from the final configuration, but we need to start somewhere.
A reusable seed starter tray holds the "cotton" cubes that came with the tower. (That's what the packing list calls it. It's not rockwool. Feels more like packing foam. But reviews were good, so I'm running with it.) I got a relatively inexpensive grow light for that (the triple-armed gadget to the left). The cubes are soaking up water at the moment.
Tomorrow or Sunday I'll put in the first of the seeds. The tray holds 16, and the tower 30, so I'll need to fiddle a bit with what goes in when. The vertical grow lights are due to ship soon (the tracking information email came this morning), and they will replace the tray and clip light. Those two items will go into storage for the next season. Might be fall, as I'm wanting parsnips in the outdoor raised bed.
This isn't the best, but every windowsill we have is a cat-resting place. That happens when your house has 18-inch-deep windowsills. Hence having to swap the tray out for lights at some point.
It's almost like I'm serious about this, this time. It's a process.
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2025-02-28 17:51:54 GMT

#Gardening
Moments ago I got the shipping notification email from Fedco.
Making a note for next year to order earlier. I expect I'll be better prepared after I get a year of experience under my bib overalls.
So to speak.
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2025-02-27 16:20:03 GMT

#Gardening
Ed from Fedco tells me that my order is "in shipping status" and that I should watch for the tracking information email.
Meanwhile, the order from Johnny's, placed minutes apart from Fedco, is out for delivery.
I'm taking notes. In ink.