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Last Notes

2026-10-15 13:51:45 GMT

For anyone who has never witnessed an #autistic #meltdown I imagine from the outside it looks frightening as hell.
I live alone, so my only witnesses right now are my animals, but I fear the day that my new housemate might stumble across me in the middle of one.
I am going to have to have a sit down with him sometime after he gets here and explain to him that he may encounter me in one at some point, and that the best response will be to ask me if there is anything I need from him when I'm in the middle of one -- and to assure him that I will be OK!
Today I've had two so far. One was in the middle of the night, triggered by a terrible, terrible nightmare, after which I took the maximum amount of my anti-anxiety drug that I am allowed to take. Then because of the drug, I was able to get three more hours of decent sleep (albeit with wildly weird and intense dreams).
Then, unfortunately, I slept all the way through to my first alarm, which I had not been doing lately. Lately I had been waking up fairly refreshed about an hour before, so I had the luxury of time to get things done not on an strict alarm schedule. But when all of my morning task alarms started going off every five to ten minutes today, I lost it again and ended up in a 45-minute rage meltdown.
The odd thing about me now is I can go into autopilot and get chores and other tasks done even if I am screaming and raging and crying. In fact, that's incredibly helpful to me to do.
That ability is a deflection tactic that I worked very hard to make myself switch to a few years ago so I would not self-harm during a meltdown. I need to move and handle things and hit soft things (and throw things!) in order not to hit myself -- especially my head.
I have vertigo now and have been having a severe bout of it this past week, and in 2021 I triggered a severe bout by hitting my head in a meltdown. I had to put a sign up in my bedroom that I could see without my glasses on that said: DO NOT HIT YOUR HEAD!
Hitting my head is something I have done since childhood when melting down. I would either bang the back of my head against a wall or, later, as an adult, I would actually slap myself silly or bash my own head with my own hands (and I am wicked strong, so I did damage).
My phone, which was the focus of my rage today because the alarms I have set for each task I realize now are completely unrealistic if I actually try to follow them, is often the victim of a hard, angry throw. I do retain the presence of mind not to throw many things that will break anymore, like I did when I was younger, but I did crack the phone screen protector (again) today and one of the cats' feeding plates (the cat is fine! I just slammed the wet food can down too hard on the fragile plate and it shattered).
All this to say: Even though I am older and fully aware during my meltdowns and can guide myself not to self-harm most of the time, it has to look like the worst mental breakdown ever from the outside. I've got to look like a madman!
It's no wonder our people were thrown into institutions to rot rather than approached with curiosity and compassion in the past. It's no wonder that parents who are not autistic who see these rages in their children freak out and want to put them through torturous "therapy" to break their spirits and make them stop. I have a sneaking suspicion that it is other people's discomfort that has caused most of our problems -- besides the self-harm that some of us do.
We are lucky to live in a time right now where we can't and shouldn't go back to social and institutional isolation. The egg has cracked, and now many of us are out in the world and striving for understanding and community. It is a travesty that most of us who are older were completely missed, and that there are no supports available for us. We've had to create our own community and our own supports and our own understanding, which actually has been amazing for me to experience.
We have one another. We get us. I wouldn't be here and able to understand myself and my neurology without the tireless advocacy and work of every autistic person who has fought for their self-advocacy and rights over the years. I wouldn't be here without stumbling across the information I needed on the Internet more than 10 years ago and realizing holy shit, I'm not broken, I'm autistic. There's a difference! Then, to have it confirmed in real life by a few other fellow autistic elders felt amazing, even though I'm no longer in contact with my autistic egg crack person. It doesn't mean that we all get along just because we have similar neurologies!
Also, I wouldn't feel that I could share all of this with you if we were still persecuted and shunned and shut away the way we have been in centuries past.
I know there are forces out there who believe us to be aberrations who are only pitiful and meant to be "cured", but we are SO not that. We are living, breathing, feeling, sometimes very intense human beings who deserve love and respect and kindness and work to do in the world as well as the space to let our neurologies balance themselves out in the way they need to -- even if that means we have to go through meltdowns.
The end result after a meltdown for me is as if my brain has been purged for a little while of all of the stress, tension, fear, worry, anger, anxiety, and toxic shit that builds up on a daily basis.
It's a hard-won shore to wash up onto, and it can't be triggered in smaller ways to release the stress less dramatically. Trust me, I've tried to "hack" myself, tried to trigger smaller, more manageable episodes, and it just does not work. I am an avid daily meditator, a trained meditation teacher, a trained yoga teacher, a lifelong body worker so I understand somatic and neurology, and I know everything I can possibly know about calmness and breathing techniques and everything you can even think of that people think are these wild magical techniques to hack the brain.
Autistic meltdowns defy all of those things, can't be avoided, and just have to be ridden out. I'm lucky that I have an anxiety medication prescription that I can use to blunt the edges if I can get to it. But it doesn't stop them. Mine usually lasts 30 to 45 minutes if they are a major one. And then it's like the sun came out again after a storm.
The unpredictability of meltdowns, though, does become a big issue. They often have a huge price to pay in the regular world, especially if we've broken things, missed work, missed a deadline, or had a witness to the event and that has disrupted *them* uncomfortably.
That has happened to me in the past, having a witness who didn't understand, and there have been a variety of responses from them, including rejection and abandonment.
I'm now behind on all my morning tasks, so I'm going to have to shift some of them to later in the day because I have to go to work in about an hour.
But I am back to being cogent, calm, and, of course, exhausted. My brain feels clear, even though I can feel the anti-anxiety drug still in my system.
I will spend some time later today resetting my morning alarms so they are not as unrealistic anymore in case I actually sleep up to my first alarm again. That may mean setting the first one a little earlier so I have the grace of more time between tasks in the morning.
I may also put all of the dozen tasks that I get done in the morning before I even sit down to meditate on my checklist because I realized today that only one of them is on there as an umbrella checkbox, and it's not satisfying AT All to only check off one of them when I've been working around the house and for the animals for 45 minutes straight! 🤣😩
Thanks for reading. I hope you are well today. Love you.

2026-09-19 16:30:46 GMT

Tempted to change my pronouns to "them/thar" to see if anyone notices.
I only just remembered that it is the day! Yarrrrr!
#TalkLikeAPirateDay

2026-09-06 18:17:10 GMT

OK question for the wider Fedi:
Does anybody actually own an electric push #lawnmower that they like? Corded is okay.
Or even a small electric riding mower?
One of my sound aversions is I absolutely cannot stand the sound of a gas powered lawnmower.
CAN. NOT.
Second on the list is gas-powered weed whackers. There's just something about the sound of those small gas engines that makes me want to burn down the entire world to get away from it.
It does NOT matter if it's me doing the mowing or my neighbors -- the sound sets my teeth on edge and wrecks my brain. (Sometimes with brains like mine, if I'm making the sound, it's OK, but not in this case.)
I do, however, apparently need to get another mower, as I gave away my gas powered push mower a couple years ago to someone who is no longer a friend (so I can't get it back, even if I wanted to).
I'm in the Ryobi ecosystem, but I don't think they have a push mower. I only have weeds, not lawn, so I'm not looking at mowing regular, flat grass.
I do have a Ryobi weed whacker, but it is not up to the task of cutting the entire yard, even with the most tough string.
So I've ended up having to pay my yard guy to come out twice a year, to the tune of about $500 each time, to cut everything down when I haven't been able to manage it all with my measly weed whacker.
That probably means that my budget is somewhere between $500 and $1000. I'm so lawnmower averse though, that I don't even know where to start!
TIA for your thoughts.

2026-09-02 21:35:38 GMT

I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but it is so flipping hot! 🥵
The first potential day under 90°F (32.22°C) will be Friday, September 11.
I've been keeping an eye on the weather patterns and we're basically just in a hole when it comes to any potential precipitation. It is all west and north and east and sometimes south of us, but nothing on the radar for us because of the weird way that the jetstream is moving right now.
Well, at least the weeds that got cut down this week aren't gonna grow back anytime soon?
I am going to order a couple of pounds of white clover to overseed the yard once again to see if that will will take root.
But I will not be able to do that until the heat calms down because it's absurd to try to establish seedlings when it's this hot. #gardening

2026-08-31 22:42:35 GMT

So I guess my neighbors and I are now getting into indoor farming for the fall and winter.
The whole poop lettuce thing and the whole cutting the researchers who study cyclospora thing... ouch.
I didn't think we'd be on our own this early? But here we are.
I have new grow light panels, soil, and a little indoor greenhouse that I've got to find a place to set up, and I still have a bunch of seeds for greens and cilantro from the spring. Yay!
The only thing I forgot was little pots, but I have a ton of pots sitting around outside that I should be able to repurpose.
It doesn't have to be fancy; it just has to work.
#gardening #SelfReliance

2026-08-31 17:29:03 GMT

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This is, of course, taken from Mastodon a couple years ago.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/117/191/291/880/863/456/original/b7552f7ba5ee8998.jpeg

2026-08-31 00:54:44 GMT

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IMO ratty photos are essential to Mastodon!
I've just been going through my entire photo roll for photos that I want to print with my new photo printer, and I found myself getting lost in all of the adorable pictures of my former rat friends (and, of course, all my chicken friends over the years).
I don't have any ratties right now, but I am pretty full up on feathers and fur.

2026-08-25 18:40:37 GMT

Dammit, why take her and not you-know-who?
F*ck this timeline.
#SaintDolly #DollyParton
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/117/157/604/368/869/874/original/3beb3e055e002ffc.jpeg

2026-08-23 22:55:32 GMT

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SO COOL!!!!

2026-08-14 00:22:54 GMT

I've been using this website off and on for years.
In fact, I created a shortcut to it as an icon on my phone. It has really helped me get through some of my toughest years.
It is especially good for us #neurodivergent folks when we get overwhelmed and we haven't eaten and we are dysregulated and we don't know what the hell to do with ourselves.
It walks you through step-by-step various things that you might need to do to take care of yourself and make things better. Some of them are as simple as drinking a glass of water or remembering to take your medication.
I'm glad it still exists on the Internet!
#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #SelfCare
https://philome.la/jace_harr/you-feel-like-shit-an-interactive-self-care-guide/play/index.html

2026-08-14 00:10:02 GMT

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I looked at the comics website, and the cost of the book is amazing there -- but the shipping (plus board and plastic) was 4x the cost of the book.
I have a friend who runs a local comic con, so I will ask him for advice on getting the book locally. He's probably got an in somewhere!

2026-08-13 01:14:24 GMT

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Omg omg omg omg! Eeeeee!
Sadly, we no longer have a local comic shop. 😩

2026-07-31 17:36:15 GMT

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so glad that everything went all right! He will heal up in no time. Sending him big cuddles!

2026-07-29 21:18:17 GMT

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https://beige.party/@arisummerland/117005335612008176

2026-07-29 19:48:32 GMT

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I am absolutely dating myself here, but when I was a preteen, I loved writing parody/humorous songs. I wrote an entire song about Skylab falling!
I may have to resurrect my parodying skills and write one about Starlink to the same tune. 🛰️

2026-07-16 17:42:26 GMT

Do any of you #tech people know about any #online safety classes for #seniors that I could direct my mom to?
She keeps repeatedly making the same mistakes, clicking on websites that she shouldn't go to, and downloading things to her #computer that end up sending her spammy notifications about how she needs virus protection, etc.
She clicks on those because she believes they are real and they flash up so quickly that she can't see that the URL is a fishy one. Then she puts her card number in -- and then she gets money stolen from her. Then she messages me and tells me that she messed up again and asks if I can come "fix" her computer.
The answer is no! I don't have time right now! I am sick today and I still have commitments I have to meet until 930 P.M. tonight. My sister and I can't figure out if this is just a plea for attention, if she's bored, or just what the hell she's doing.
So here she is, getting money stolen from her because she's bored and clicking on the wrong things -- probably on Facebook.
No amount of conversation or information from her children is sinking into her head. No amount of chiding, putting a post it note next to the computer, showing her what the URLs look like -- that they are clearly not official -- nothing works!
We've had this conversation a dozen times and she's still does the same thing. She's had hundreds if not thousands of dollars stolen from her because she must believe that computers are benign and that *she's* not doing anything wrong online (she's smart, so she thinks she's smart about computers -- but she isn't). We've had so many conversations about bad actors that I feel like a broken record.
I have resorted to taking her computer away from her in the past. I got her an iPad with an external keyboard, which seemed a little bit safer, but she "hated" it.
This last year, she bought herself a MacBook Neo, which runs on an iPhone chip, so I thought it would be a little bit less prone to mom fails, but somehow she's still downloading things that shouldn't be on there.
I wish there were parental controls on computers for seniors! 😩😩😩

2026-07-08 00:31:17 GMT

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I've been meaning to do a photographic series around the cost of groceries, but the subject itself is way too depressing.
For example, I came home from Costco today with two fully-stuffed reusable grocery bags and a small cooler 1/3 full at a cost of about $150 (including dog treats). Ouch.
I already don't drive much, but I'm starting to get cranky about the fact that now I have to think even more carefully about driving anywhere for any reason.
I know it's good to use the car less, yes. But there are uses for the car that my bike with a trailer just can't fill (hauling my work equipment, hauling 50 pound bags of chicken feed, etc.). I have to be super-strategic when I know I will have to make a trip outside of my town to work or do other errands that require 4 wheels and hauling capacity because when the gas prices fluctuate, it can cost $50 for me to fill up.
I used to love road tripping. But I cannot find the time or justify the cost. Driving anywhere for pleasure isn't really a thing for me anymore.
(Now I've made myself really sad!)

2026-07-07 13:39:49 GMT

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I have not checked in on how my favorite state (CO) is doing regarding wildfires this year. ☹️
2012 was an especially bad year in my memory. I was still living at altitude, and driving up the canyon I could often see small fires off on distant ridges. I always wondered if one would reach us. (Then there was the 2013 flood, a few months after I moved back to KS -- and somehow I felt guilty for leaving? So weird!)
Stay safe!

2026-06-17 20:37:21 GMT

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oh ugh, not Gallup!
Why are these assholes taking advantage of these parts of the country where there's already not enough water and there's mostly poorer folks? 🤬
Oh, right. Because they can because there's no regulations anywhere about this ugly crap that they're doing.
I wish karma was more instant, and I wish that hell was real.

2026-06-11 01:27:16 GMT

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Hi, Ken! When will these be in the shop? So cool!!!

2026-06-03 03:48:20 GMT

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https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/684/125/856/429/618/original/06e89dc1e873c803.jpeg

2026-06-02 16:55:06 GMT

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And this is what kept me here.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/681/557/079/160/743/original/bb176057e1f3e844.jpeg

2026-06-02 16:50:39 GMT

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This is what got me hooked.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/681/540/263/016/638/original/dfc1259c9e898f45.jpeg

2026-05-29 22:49:53 GMT

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Ohhh, this is difficult news, for sure! Wishing you both the very best.
My Molly had to have TPO surgery in February after being injured by a cattle dog last April, and I was really worried that she'd have to have the other knee done, but so far, we've lucked out. We may end up needing to do it in a few years, but I should be able to afford it again by then.
Do let us know if you're going to do a fundraiser for your sweet boy, please. I appreciate the updates, for sure.

2026-05-10 21:36:17 GMT

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hah showed my sister and she wants to order! 😊

2026-05-10 21:34:59 GMT

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Aaaaah, so cool! Hoping when you do, you can mail them... cos I will order!

2026-05-05 17:26:16 GMT

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I am always so happy to see them arrive. This year they were a week early!

2026-04-25 22:49:28 GMT

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ohhhh that sweet face!

2026-04-20 22:22:16 GMT

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Ahhh, they got the website and they are already trolling hard. Good on them!

2026-04-19 14:57:17 GMT

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Delightful! When I was learning to work clay, porcelain became my favorite very quickly. I loved hand building with it. It can be difficult on the wheel, but when it does turn out, it is gorgeous!

2026-04-16 15:05:10 GMT

I think this might've flashed across my consciousness at some point in the last 10 years of surfing the web, but doesn't somebody make #merit #badges for #adulting?
I fucking need some of those -- and a fucking ostentatious sash to put them on.
Though I can't say I've really gotten any extraordinary adulting stuff done today, besides taking care of animals, which is rote.
I did get the recycling and trash out on Tuesday morning before the trucks got here. That was something! We had storms Monday night, so I didn't want to put the trash cans out when they might get blown around.

2026-04-04 13:56:20 GMT

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and they still haven't banned the Christian Bible? The Christian Bible contains all of those things that they want banned. Hypocrites!

2026-03-13 19:25:19 GMT

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This is going to be an unpopular opinion, because a lot of adults do this for some reason, but I'll share it anyway:
For a number of decades I have thought that certain shaving and waxing practices, especially aimed at women, are actually promoting pedophilia. Or mock pedophilia, if you will.
To me, a shaved/waxed/hairless pubic area harks back to someone who is prepubescent -- making that, and the trend of lingerie as outerwear, all part of the same paedo-pushing culture in my mind.
Like I said, that's probably an unpopular opinion, and other people will likely want to argue vehemently with me about it, especially if they practice these things and enjoy these things themselves.
I am NOT judging folks who do these things or enjoy modifying their body hair in this way; I am pointing out the larger trend and a larger underlying cultural malfeasance.
In light of the sorts of revelations in this article, it is food for thought.
IMO, grown-ass people should be fucking hairy. Both in the literal and the metaphorical sense. 🤣

2026-02-22 18:14:02 GMT

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Kengo is smiling so happily in that first picture! I'm glad you all got to go out and hike.

2026-02-22 00:27:27 GMT

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I so wish this was actually happening. It's the future I want. Can we make it happen?

2026-02-22 00:27:03 GMT

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Yes! 😍 At every pagan festival I've been to, people were asked (if they were able) to sign up for at least one two-hour shift of volunteering. My favorite iov was being the golf cart driver for the folks who had trouble walking over the rough terrain up in the mountains. It was fun to meet people and do good service for them! Most of the other jobs were done in pairs, though.

2026-02-03 16:07:49 GMT

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Oooh, these are just lovely!
It seems like everywhere else in the world has these fabulous, colorful birds (even the robins in Europe are more colorful and fun than ours, aptly named "turdus") and I'm here noting yet another "LBB" (little brown bird) sighting. 🙄

2026-02-03 14:58:27 GMT

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the writing in this is so tongue-in-cheek. Hilarious!

2026-01-31 16:45:23 GMT

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naturally! Kengo is a star. ⭐️

2026-01-31 15:30:22 GMT

Hey, cool! A friend turned me on to this tool. Haven't tried it yet, but will do so next time I encounter an article that is paywalled.
https://www.removepaywall.com/blog/install-shortcut

2026-01-25 15:53:35 GMT

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Mmmm! I don't have any Portobello, but I'm wondering if I can rehydrate and use the oyster mushrooms that I preserved last year? It'll be a great day to make some soup. Thanks for posting!

2026-01-20 22:35:09 GMT

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Ohhhh, his sweet face...

2026-01-17 17:07:33 GMT

I just liked somebody's photo of daffodils in a vase and it made me remember that I *did* get out there in late fall to plant about 100 bulbs in my front yard -- including many new-to-my-yard types of daffodil.
So now I'm excited for March to see what has made it through the winter and what will come up!
Every year I look at everybody else's ornamental spring flowers and I think aw, I want some of those. This year, I will have them in addition to all of my native flowers. Yay!
Since I don't have any pasqueflower here, the first plant to flower in my yard is usually the clove currant bush. It smells absolutely divine and provides berries for wildlife (I rarely get any).
#gardening #nativeplants

2026-01-17 14:44:35 GMT

It is #Caturday and the kittens are 7 months old today.
It's also #BettyWhiteDay! So don't forget to donate soon to your local animal rescue in her name if you have a few extra bucks.
It is still really difficult to get a picture of Ash when he's awake. So, blurry head it is.
#CatsOfMastodon
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/910/960/111/102/640/original/8a0c7ee95b5fb759.jpeg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/910/960/123/986/266/original/10640a4e8e8c8519.jpeg

2026-01-14 23:41:45 GMT

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Aw, what a sweet selfie with Kengo!

2026-01-13 00:03:13 GMT

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unfortunately, I had a cache of a bunch of old punk rock zines and posters and I lent them to a friend who was cataloging these things, and the history of the music scene in our town, etc. And he died before I was able to get them back! He had my only copy of the art zine that my friends and I put out in the 1980s. 😬

2026-01-07 15:46:54 GMT

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Nope.
But, as another commenter mentioned, many feel powerless to stop the juggernaut they've built so they can be the baddies now.
It's been a systematic effort for years and years to put most folks on the rails, so, as we can only struggle to keep our heads above water, they can amass great fortune at the world's expense.
It is a schozoid split of a country, and unethical, greedy, lawless dipshits are at the wheel now. It's what the republicans have wanted for decades, apparently. Not a republic; an extractive capitalist machine that sucks the world dry for little green pieces of paper and gold-plated toilets.
They can't eat gold. It will take the working and serving class stopping feeding their delusions and stopping serving the billionaires to start change.
That won't happen; a general strike would only hurt us, not them. They can wait it out in their bunkers and on their yachts. We would starve, because we don't have systems for mutual aid and community care in place, and we don't have much wealth to distribute amongst ourselves to keep us afloat.
To put it mildly, it's quite the pickle.

2025-12-29 16:02:39 GMT

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Luckily with these, it actually looks really straightforward. I found a fabric that I love, love, love on Spoonflower; I just have to decide what weight of fabric to get, because it's really pricey.

2025-12-29 15:13:16 GMT

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Birds of a feather... due to my sister, I have two MCM chairs with terrible 1980s fabric on them, so they're just sitting in the storage room in the garage. I keep intending to replace the fabric with something cool from Spoonflower, but I haven't gotten around to setting up the sewing machine. I probably already said this to you before, but your posts about fixing things and sewing are very inspiring!

2025-12-29 00:55:14 GMT

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my word those are lovely. Don't let my sister see them; she would drive all the way to (redacted) just to have these. (She has a small problem with acquiring chairs...)

2025-12-28 23:39:28 GMT

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Here's the basic recipe!
https://www.recipesfromitaly.com/castagnaccio-recipe/

2025-12-28 22:33:54 GMT

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oh and Italian chestnut cake, which isn't really cake at all. It is ground up chestnuts combined with raisins and rosemary and pine nuts and some other spices (and no added sugar). Kind of like a cold polenta? Weird but compellingly tasty.

2025-12-28 22:29:04 GMT

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oh yeah they turn into gravel! It's an easy mistake.
My first year working at the chestnut orchard, I thought I would make some kind of shortbread cookie with chopped chestnuts on top for our harvest party. Nope! It was like chewing on sand with gravel nonpareils. Total fail!
My successes have been when I've made chestnut crème, and rolled that into things like chestnut Mont Blanc, chocolate chestnut pie, and this year, I made chestnut crème brûlée.
they're fantastic as a noodle substitute in minestrone. What I do is blanch and peel them, and then throw them into the soup around the same time that I throw in the green beans to cook.

2025-12-28 22:22:41 GMT

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as long as they're still in date, absolutely! I described Chestnuts as a cross between an acorn and a sweet potato. There's really nothing like them. They're not really nuts. They do well either cooked in fats or cooked in liquids, like braising. Since they have very little fat themselves, they need some kind of liquid to stay plump and edible.

2025-12-24 17:30:06 GMT

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Ahhhh, Kengo is not amused, but he sure is cute!

2025-12-21 14:23:42 GMT

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I like the back seat cover for Kengo! For a second I thought "What, a new dog companion for Kengo? But that's Kengo there?!" (It is early and I haven't had any coffee). Then I saw the comments re the new car. Enjoy!!

2025-12-12 03:35:10 GMT

I haven't had enough time over the past two days to work on learning more about #chess and it's totally making me cranky!
I have still been able to grind on Duolingo to keep my top spot in the Diamond league tournament, but I dearly want to get to my chess set on my kitchen table to set up some games scenarios and play some more historic games. I can lose myself for hours this way, and I don't have those hours over the next three days. UGHH BEING A GROWNUP SUUUUCKS
I just got a whole new set of cards ("The Chess Deck" by Levy Rozman) that outline the openings of numerous famous gambits, and I'm itchy, itchy because I haven't had enough time to physically practice (that is, with an actual board and everything, not just on the phone or iPad).
I guess this means that I like it and I'm going to keep doing it?! Unless I lose steam and the DHD of my #AuDHD side wins. If I'm still loving this in three weeks, that will be a victory.
Right now, the autistic side is more in control, thank the gods, evidenced by the fact that I've been keeping all of my dishes washed as I go and keeping up on some other household tasks.
Except vacuuming. I fucking hate vacuuming. 🤣

2025-12-10 16:29:37 GMT

I've had this coat for 3 winters so far.
It was a free hand me-down of an REI recycle/return (the name and phone number of the original owner, not anyone I know, are still written in multiple places on the tags inside!).
It is hands-down the best and warmest puffer jacket I've ever owned, but the zippers on the pockets were blown out when I got it.
I have lost multiple gloves out of these pockets over the last 3 winters, so today, I FINALLY mended the zippers.
(Burnout is a helluva thing!)
Yay for winter number four WITH pockets that zip again! Hopefully I won't lose my favorite gloves now.
#VisibleMending
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/696/198/796/267/859/original/993a5d08dce57420.jpeg

2025-12-10 02:04:50 GMT

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Aw, this is just the best! What a cool image. Thanks for sharing!

2025-12-07 16:33:20 GMT

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oooh, this one has been on my list for a while. Can't wait to see what you think!

2025-12-06 16:43:45 GMT

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I remember those days. They were ugly!

2025-12-06 16:40:10 GMT

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That is unbelievably wrong. Wow!

2025-12-06 16:32:39 GMT

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Wait, they blamed the vaccines for mutations?
Total facepalm, I literally just facepalmed. I couldn't not facepalm.
Willful. Ignorance. 🤬

2025-12-06 16:11:37 GMT

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Omgs, just the idea of being chronically infected sounds hellish! 😞
That is one thing I've found that most ordinary people don't understand and/or willfully ignore: mutations happen in human bodies. They don't happen magically out in the air or on the ground or because of sky fairies. You can't "positive think" your way out of potentially being a Petri dish.
Mutations. Happen. In. Living. Bodies.
Early on in the pandemic I was trying to remind people that if they got sick, they could potentially be a host for mutating the virus and passing it on in a mutated form to somebody else.
Nobody wanted to hear this! Everybody took it waaaaay too personally, like I was accusing them of somehow intentionally manipulating the virus to infect other people.
I don't understand why people can't understand basic facts about how viruses replicate. I guess that goes hand-in-hand with how they don't want to understand how viruses are transmitted.
They don't want to take personal responsibility for any of it. I'm so very tired of all of the willful ignorance.

2025-11-29 15:45:36 GMT

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Oh haha! Okay. Well, good luck!

2025-11-29 15:04:47 GMT

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Cheese cubes and cut up turkey hotdog are the things I use... but cream cheese does also work! So far mine haven't figured out that there's medication in them... (I'm assuming this post is about a dog?)

2025-11-28 19:48:21 GMT

New fren!
Arrived waaaaay earlier than I expected.
Its federation #beige, bebbes!
#plushtodon
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/629/040/452/599/601/original/de7a3b5c313cf812.jpeg

2025-11-24 15:31:44 GMT

This whole last week, all of the wild #birds have been making what I would call "springtime" sounds, especially the robins. We're just about to hit meteorological winter on December 1. I guess the birds don't have internet.
We have had some gentle rains, mild temperatures, and a lot of fog, which is more common in the fall around here than it is in the spring. But to me, the birdsong is distinctly spring-like.
Maybe I'm just associating their songs with spring, and they're actually their songs of optimism and "yay we have water in the sky", which can be spring, summer, or fall. They just all sound really chipper for some reason!

2025-11-12 02:38:07 GMT

Omg omg omg Northeast #Kansas #Aurora
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/534/397/674/883/697/original/6beb382d42af3c40.jpeg
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2025-11-09 16:45:34 GMT

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Yeah, it's... earthy. I don't mind the smell, but oils do help!

2025-11-09 16:41:10 GMT

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Thanks for posting the recipe. I'm probably going to have to handmake gifts for people this year. This will go over well!
I just had another brain fart where I foolishly bought some lotion that looked okay, ingredients-wise, from the grocery store.
The scent is HORRID! I do not know how people put up with crap that is scented so heavily and so terribly!
I seem to do this about every five years or so, try a new brand of lotion just because it looks good only to find out that it smells like axe body spray and dawn dishwashing detergent had a baby.
I'm going to put the bottle in a little free pantry because I can't even stand to think about using it.
I should've known better, but sometimes I forget that I have the capability to make my *own* lotion and hand creme that is *way* better.
Thanks for the reminder!

2025-11-05 23:25:39 GMT

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Ohhh. Look at Kengo's sweet, sweet face!
The leaves are lovely as well.
But that face!!! 🥰🥰🥰

2025-10-28 00:46:31 GMT

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Honestly I wish the world was such that the most sensational thing I had to post about was a cute tiny frog.
Thank you for posting the cute tiny frog!
These kinds of posts are essential to helping us continue to trudge along.
We have to see the tiny bits of beauty.

2025-10-26 16:01:11 GMT

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Happy Birthday! My dogs were born 4 years ago today. 🎉🥳

2025-10-19 00:04:15 GMT

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And holy crap we're already on Facebook. 🙄
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/397/900/083/935/239/original/b411cbe6bdb85651.jpeg

2025-10-19 00:00:08 GMT

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Hey! My friend's ex got a photo of us!
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/397/882/550/211/976/original/69735d170cdd2539.jpeg

2025-10-18 23:51:46 GMT

Woooooooooo!
The inaugural dance party of the Inflatable Unicorn Fight Club is officially done and dusted.
I tell you what, moving around in one of those costumes in a park with uneven ground and lots and lots of people and noise while you're sweating and dancing and fogging up the little window in the costume is one helluva challenge.
But we all survived, exhausted from dancing, but relatively unscathed. I was so proud of my friends coming out to do this with me! My speaker set up worked fairly well, too. My playlist wasn't long enough, which I thought was odd.
Tons of people asked for their photos with us. There were at least six other inflatable costumes that we ran across including a hippo, a chicken, a guy riding a chicken, three more unicorns, and a T-Rex. I can now see the appeal of those costumes that look like you're writing them. Only your midsection and legs are in the sweaty part. So I might consider getting one of those costumes. I don't prefer having my face exposed, though.
I don't have any photos because I did not go with my phone, but our pictures got taken so much that I expect to find us in the online paper -- if not tomorrow, sometime next week.
#NoKings

2025-10-16 03:09:22 GMT

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How did Kengo do in your absence? I am sure it's lovely to be with him again.

2025-10-16 02:45:15 GMT

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i've heard waaaaay too many stories of people just setting out completely unprepared to do something like this and ending up dying in horrible ways. 😞

2025-10-11 23:07:23 GMT

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I'm glad it turned out all right! Those near-miss meltdowns are brutal.

2025-10-11 00:26:11 GMT

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If they start gassing the boomer hippies that do the protests here, shit's gonna get too real.

2025-10-10 23:13:02 GMT

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I've been wanting to experiment with what kind of filter material I could put on the inside of the intake without reducing the inflating capacity. I have some surgical duck bill N95s that might work if I can figure out how to secure the material around the intake.
Regardless, I will be wearing an N95 under the costume.

2025-10-10 19:30:59 GMT

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Also they are made of nylon, like a lightweight tent. You basically have to have the intake fan going the entire time you're wearing it in order to keep it inflated.
I got this to stand up in my living room (so I could take this picture of it) by putting rubber bands on the ends of the arms and legs.
Yes I'm wearing it to the protest on the 18th. I'm trying to convince another friend of mine to get another one so we can dance around together.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/351/524/442/224/115/original/70ab7adecba70afa.jpeg

2025-10-09 17:52:42 GMT

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I can't even wrap my head around why somebody would want to do this as a service. (I don't need you to write out an explanation; I don't want to take up your time that way. I will look it up.)
I think this is one of the stupidest things I have seen proposed recently. Next thing you know we'll have LED billboards in space or... whatever.
That's not the future I want! I want dark nights and to be able to see the Milky Way from my house, and for birds not to get lost in their migration paths and healthier sleep and... I guess I want to time travel back to the 1200s, when there were no satellites and no electric lights. Grrrr.

2025-10-06 19:27:35 GMT

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I would be really happy if you "photo bombed" us with more of these gorgeous pictures! But it is also very important that you enjoy your time at home. Thank you for sharing these.

2025-10-05 16:11:27 GMT

In #gardening news (other than my complete failure at being a potato farmer this year because of interpersonal conflict), we were trying to add nitrogen to some bare fill soil that is along the sidewalk at my mom's house. So we over-seeded with white clover seed a few times, and it was doing really well!
Then, without telling her they were going to do it, the lawn company that does the lawns in their neighborhood sprayed the clover and the few dandelions with a broadleaf weed killer last week.
Mom is livid! We were actually trying to do something with that soil in a non-chemical, advantageous way so that she can have plants grow there and not have these big, bare patches of soil that even stupid grass can't take hold in.
I don't know what to do now. I guess wait until the half-life or whatever of the broadleaf herbicide used passes because we won't be able to plant anything until that happens. 🤬🤬🤬
Yes, we have tried over-seeding with grass numerous times. The grass did not take. The soil is AWFUL, which is why we were trying to improve it with a nitrogen-fixating plant.
She said she doesn't want flowers in that area, but I really think throwing down some flower seeds and flagging it off is the only way to go. I'm going to start shopping for bulk native seeds that need overwintering and probably spend too much time manually removing grass clumps to cultivate those seeds. she said that they are allowed to cultivate flowers a few inches (maybe 12?) out from their sidewalks? So I'm going to use that regulation to her advantage.
The natives that I planted alongside her house after she moved in, pictured below -- which has the same exact fill soil -- are doing really well. People actually like them! She was even featured in the newsletter a few years ago. They're not a formal garden, but they are a solid pollinator garden. I'm trying to get her neighbors more on board with natives and pollinator gardens, but it is an uphill battle.
I have not had much time to devote to this crisis because I'm working every day right now, but it's on my mind because I don't like seeing my mom upset about things like this. She actually said that sometimes she regrets living in the neighborhood, even though it's the one she wanted to live in when she moved back here.
I've been trying to find an equivalent house in my neighborhood since before we moved her, but they go too fast. I have told her for years that if she did move up here, I would take responsibility for her yard work. What that means in my book is, as a little lawn as possible, and as much food and native plants as possible. She's on board.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/322/401/667/168/178/original/b11eaa577c99a5a4.jpeg

2025-09-21 11:57:11 GMT

#Kitten update:
They managed to unplug two fans and almost unplugged my router overnight. Fortunately I had put anti-chewing protection on the optical fiber line that's coming through the wall and hiked it up well off the floor so that they can't chew through that. The router is actually up in the top of the closet.
I got, I don't know... fewer than six hours of sleep? I am loathe to check my sleep stats, honestly.
These buggers are also impossible to photograph unless they are sleeping.
Here are some "action" shots. 🤣
Enjoy!
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/242/123/105/001/316/original/0da05f3ba825673f.jpeg
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2025-09-19 13:17:44 GMT

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I honestly could have written this post myself.
I deep-dive all sorts of medical and scientific topics. I find I have really solid comprehension of even very dense reports, and I am able to draw conclusions and suppositions from them that can help me and other people (part of why I do the reading I do is because of my work).
I'm in a medically-adjacent profession with a deep knowledge of the structure, function, and pathologies of the human body, but I am by no means a medical practitioner.
Yet I do often know way more about whatever condition I've looked into (or experiencing) than the medical professionals that I encounter. I seriously often have to tone it down.
I have long wished that medical advocacy was a thing. Having a deeply knowledgeable, compassionate, yet dispassionate third person in medical conversations would be so helpful to most patients! They're often overwhelmed by the gaps in communication styles and the infodump word salad of medical terms from doctors (who tend to be very siloed and forget their patients aren't trained in the way they are).

2025-09-14 21:40:32 GMT

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Stunning!

2025-09-10 02:51:54 GMT

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I gave one of the prints that you sent me to my sister for her birthday and I wanted you to see how she framed it. 🥰🪺
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/177/722/008/612/993/original/b784b80b23e44539.jpeg

2025-09-10 02:47:21 GMT

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Oh gosh, you are reminding me how much I love working with porcelain. I have got to get back into clay. It is a goal... your work is very inspiring to me!

2025-09-10 02:44:49 GMT

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Wow! 🥰

2025-09-08 22:37:23 GMT

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It was a distressingly busy day here as well.
I just got back from a short trip yesterday and I prefer to have at least one day to decompress, but I didn't get it.
I always love the photos you post of Kengo!
I hope the rest of your week goes smoothly and calmly (assuming that is what you prefer...)

2025-09-07 20:55:55 GMT

#SilentSunday
Siblings reunited and sleeping!
#DogsOfMastodon
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/164/998/122/478/869/original/a5bbf520af8367c3.jpeg

2025-09-02 22:54:30 GMT

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Oh laws this is my FAVE Mac ever!!! But mine is sitting in a tub in the garage bc it needs a new motherboard installed.
It won't accept either of of the drives, floppy or CD. I can no longer connect it to the Internet, either.
But that keyboard for writing. Was. The. Best!

2025-08-26 01:38:45 GMT

Please read this entire thread. The truth remains the truth no matter who wants to stick their heads in the sand. This is powerful and sobering.
From: @npub1h30…z24y
https://mstdn.social/@mcnado/115090143137860449

2025-08-26 00:14:31 GMT

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I learned today that they *are* supposed to notify us, because the person at the streets department blamed the subcontractors!
Everybody at City Hall is really good at blame shifting. It's really tiresome.

2025-08-25 22:04:57 GMT

I LEVELED UP IN KAREN TODAY!
This is the second time in as many months that I have come home and I couldn't easily access my front driveway because some subcontractor for the city has blocked off my street and dug a big hole in the street.
This time I'm escalating it with the city.
If I had clients coming over in the next two days? I would have to reschedule them -- thus these subcontractors would have lost me money. That is what I'm going to tell the person if they call me back. All I want is notification so I can prepare for disruptions like this. They *are* supposed to notify us ahead of time when they are going to block our streets off. They never do so.
The last time I talked to the streets department, the person I talked to admitted that a lot of the times they don't even know where their crews are on any given day.
I live in a part of town where we don't have street parking, and a lot of us don't have alternate parking spaces -- we've got driveways either in front of or behind our houses. The city rarely blocks off the alleys, fortunately.
Blocking access to my driveway without telling me and leaving a big hole there for who knows how long is just maddening.
Spitefully, I got around it this afternoon (yay, off-road tires and really knowing my car's edges) and got into my driveway, but I will have to move my car tonight because they will have equipment out there in the morning doing whatever they're going to do with the fucking hole that they've left.
I stuck a typed note on the closed road sign. Oh yes I did.
If they put in concrete (which is what I think they're going to do because it's around a sewer cover?) I'm absolutely going to go out there with a stick and write antifascist slogans in the concrete when they leave. 🤬🤬🤬
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/091/655/595/138/918/original/98d0c159c71b6cc1.jpeg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/115/091/655/557/648/111/original/dd8c09058079bc7a.jpeg

2025-08-25 13:56:25 GMT

One of my closest friends telling me not to use the word "fascist" except to talk about the people in power.
No.
Fascist tactics are permeating every level of society at this point, and the neighbor that has used state (city) power to cite a friend of mine on their overgrown garden is using *fascist* tactics to control outcomes that have NO ACTUAL IMPACT on them.
They just want to get all up in someone else's business rather than actually find out what is going on and perhaps helping their neighbor -- because that is how the fascists roll. They use the law as they see fit and to punish others and then they hide behind it when it suits them.
I call it like I see it. Also it's easier to type than "authoritarian".

2025-08-24 23:40:16 GMT

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Nicely done! That really sounds like fun.