confuseddragon22

[confuseddragon22]

The closest experience I've ever had to discovering "the vitamin" was buying a 100% wool outfit and wearing it in the winter.

Not only was I not freezing anymore, I was not sweating and overheating either. The horrible sensory nightmare of winter clothes disappeared.

In particular, I bought a pair of wool pants. They were a thrifted pair of fancy dress pants like you would wear at an important office job, and they were easily the most comfortable pair of winter-appropriate pants i'd ever worn. I wore them Every Single Day.

From that point on I realized a lot of my clothes were making me feel bad, and the common thread was polyester. Especially polyester blends.

It's a trap because the polyester clothes are the ones that always feel sooooo silky soft when they are in the store, whereas cotton, linen and wool can feel comparatively rough and scratchy. But when actually wearing them for hours throughout the day, it's the natural fibers that feel more comfortable.

Maybe the secret to sensory comfort is not about the presence of softness, but the absence of overloading sensations. Or maybe the sensory stress and agony is not triggered by texture of the fabric, but by how it breathes and regulates temperature.

Then there's the problem of clothing life span: polyester blends, no matter how soft they seem at first, become rough and scratchy and covered in hard, itchy pills after wearing them 10 or 20 times, whether or not they have been tumble-dried or even washed at all. (I tested it!) Linen and cotton become softer and more comfy the more you wear them, polyester but ESPECIALLY polyester blends become a constant stressor. Polyester blend t-shirts I used to love for their softness now feel bristly and irritating.

So now I'm trying to change my wardrobe to as many natural fibers as possible, and the more natural fiber clothes i have the more I realize that the plastic fibers stress me out. It's so easy to overheat or freeze in them and they're always degrading and becoming less comfortable and it sucks.

[confuseddragon22]

The closest experience I've ever had to discovering "the vitamin" was buying a 100% wool outfit and wearing it in the winter.

Not only was I not freezing anymore, I was not sweating and overheating either. The horrible sensory nightmare of winter clothes disappeared.

In particular, I bought a pair of wool pants. They were a thrifted pair of fancy dress pants like you would wear at an important office job, and they were easily the most comfortable pair of winter-appropriate pants i'd ever worn. I wore them Every Single Day.

From that point on I realized a lot of my clothes were making me feel bad, and the common thread was polyester. Especially polyester blends.

It's a trap because the polyester clothes are the ones that always feel sooooo silky soft when they are in the store, whereas cotton, linen and wool can feel comparatively rough and scratchy. But when actually wearing them for hours throughout the day, it's the natural fibers that feel more comfortable.

Maybe the secret to sensory comfort is not about the presence of softness, but the absence of overloading sensations. Or maybe the sensory stress and agony is not triggered by texture of the fabric, but by how it breathes and regulates temperature.

Then there's the problem of clothing life span: polyester blends, no matter how soft they seem at first, become rough and scratchy and covered in hard, itchy pills after wearing them 10 or 20 times, whether or not they have been tumble-dried or even washed at all. (I tested it!) Linen and cotton become softer and more comfy the more you wear them, polyester but ESPECIALLY polyester blends become a constant stressor. Polyester blend t-shirts I used to love for their softness now feel bristly and irritating.

So now I'm trying to change my wardrobe to as many natural fibers as possible, and the more natural fiber clothes i have the more I realize that the plastic fibers stress me out. It's so easy to overheat or freeze in them and they're always degrading and becoming less comfortable and it sucks.

[confuseddragon22]

on watching a parent age

i saw somebody say “what if you’re gone and i haven’t become anything yet” and basically that broke me on a random thursday evening

[confuseddragon22]

most of being disabled is knowing exactly what’s wrong but not being able to do shit about it

[confuseddragon22]

You know how to love someone, but you don't know how to believe that someone loves you, and that is your tragedy.

[confuseddragon22]

Grinding tree stumps is usually how we deal with them. If you have land to clear on your homestead, it could become quite a chore to get these stumps taken care of. But did you know that you can eat your stumps?

Well, that is not exactly true. If you head out there and start chewing on tree stumps, they won't taste very good. And there is no method of slow cooking that will make that poplar edible or appetizing.

However, one way you can both eat your stumps and hasten their decomposition is to inoculate them with a mushroom spore. I understand that is a mouthful of words that don’t really mean much to the average person.

What I'm saying is, you can buy wooden dowels that are covered with the spores of certain types of mushrooms.

These dowels can be easily inserted into your stumps and they will begin feasting on the wood. The best part is that you will get delicious mushrooms several times a year. These spores are prolific and will produce enough mushrooms that you will need to dry them.

If you do this to a field of stumps, you better get your e-commerce ready or set a booth up at the local farmers market.

Shiitake Mushrooms retail for between 8$ and $15.

I prefer the Shiitake because it looks very distinct and I love the taste as well. They also preserve well.

Mushroom Nutrition

The Shiitake mushroom is a delicious little cap. It's full of great nutrients like copper and selenium. It's also a decent source of Vitamin B2 and B6. It contains lipids and amino acids as well.

Shiitake have played a role in Chinese medicine for millennia. There are also studies on their ability to fight tumors. For the most part, though, they are just delicious and grow with little to no effort. You can eat them, dry them, or sell them.

Tools and Supplies

Drill and Drill bit of 5/16th inch bit

Hammer

Wax

Vessel for melting wax

Small Paintbrush

Shiitake Spawn (store in fridge until ready for use)

The Process

7. That’s it! It’s not a tough process. If you can melt some wax and use a drill, you can have all the mushrooms you want.

How to Activate the Spore

It takes about 6-12 months for the spore to initially spread through your stump. So, it will take at least a year before you get any production.

Your stumps will produce in spring and in fall. You may get some sparse production in summer, but the bulk of production happens in spring and fall. The spore will need to be distributed through the stump each season and activated.

The best way to do this is to first soak your stumps thoroughly. When I do this with logs, I toss them into a small creek on my property overnight. You can water the stumps a few times a day for about 5 minutes. Just get them nice and soaked.

Next, you will want to bang the stumps. You can use a bat to hit the stump. Don’t really crack the thing and damage the stump, but give it a couple whacks on all sides. This will kickstart production.

Other Tips

After 6 months, keep an eye on the logs or you may miss the first production.

Stumps in the shade will produce best.

Too much direct sun will dry out the stump and they will not produce.

Harvest them when the cap is between 3-4 inches.

To dry, put them in a 200-degree oven until the caps are shrunken and hard.

Of course, the other payoff is that these mushrooms will hasten the decomposition of that problem stump. It won’t work as quickly as a stump grinder, but you will get years of delicious mushrooms out of it!

[confuseddragon22]

@ryebreadgf / The Truth About Grief, Fortesa Latifi / bone deep, m.v.e / Sidewalk, Richard Silken / @fridayiminlovemp3 / 60 hours, m.v.e / @itsblackleader / Salt, Nayyirah Waheed / @heavensghost

[confuseddragon22]

@roach-works // Melissa Broder, "Problem Area" // Mary Oliver, "The Return" // @annavonsyfert // Koyoharu Gotouge, Demon Slayer // Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance // David Levithan, How They Met and Other Stories // Tennessee Williams, Notebooks

[confuseddragon22]

[confuseddragon22]

[confuseddragon22]

[confuseddragon22]

[confuseddragon22]

"talented"

tw- mention of sh

overall pretty rambly, i needed to write i suppose, these feelings come and go for me //

my friends say i'm talented

my parents are proud, they boast,

and my teachers boast right back

i know i'm good at these things,

smartness and writing and being likeable, funny and kind

but i've never much known how to be good enough for anyone but myself

my cousin asks me what i wanna do when i'm older

i say english has always been my thing, but, how to say, it doesn't seem like the smartest choice

how can i follow this love, when everyone is so sure of my success?

just wait 'til i trip; -i'm thinking.

when i stumble, and fall back into being that overdramatic mentally unstable little girl you've all known me to be.

back when i was nothing to aspire to, safe in the confines of my own existence.

because i like this validation, and i've never been much pressured, but i couldn't possibly let go now, of this ledge i seem to be gripping onto.

i don't plan to, no, but i've never much known how to breathe, stay alive all alone out here.

i've grown, adapted, through many things, but please don't state that as proof when you haven't seen me at my worst.

but i get up, don't i? i calm down, but i still have to get there.

i don't know if i'm cut out for all this, this life and these risks, this knowledge and dependance;

because mom, maybe when i've forgotten to take the dog out enough,

you'll realise how unfit i am for it all,

as i burrow my claws into this flesh with these tear stricken eyes,

with pools of water that began at birth, and have never felt fully quenched since,

you'll see how weak your little girl has always been,

how near the cliff's edge remains.

[confuseddragon22]

I need a gun because how is Katara not winning by a landslide

Katara helped Raise Korra, train her in her first element, incorporating not only combat techniques, but also valuable skills and aspects of their culture like healing. She went on to oversee Korra's training even after she graduated to the other elements, and when she saw that Korra was losing steam, she intuited that Korra needed to leave. She encouraged her to do so, and I know that meant a lot to Korra. Especially as everyone else insisted on handling Korra and trying to control her (even with good intentions), Katara was the one who encouraged Korra to take her destiny into her own hands.

Katara : Aang's time has passed. My brother and many of my friends are gone. It's time for you and your generation to take over the responsibility of keeping peace and balance in the world. And I think you're going to be a great Avatar. Korra : [Hugs Katara.] Thank you. Katara: [Close-up of Katara's face, still smiling with her eyes closed.] Goodbye, Korra.

Katara was there from day fucking one, and her and Korra's bond is a treat to observe. Its also so visible in how Korra carries herself, her values and opinions, that Katara had a huge part in shaping the person Korra is. They're both confident, strong women with a firm belief in their ideals, and a burning desire to help others.

Korra: But I couldn't just sit by and do nothing. It's my duty to help people.

And this is all not even getting into the fact that Katara helped Korra walk again, healing her physically and starting her on her mental health journey. Without Katara, Korra wouldn't have even been able to make it to Toph!

And this still remains one of the most powerful scenes in the entire Avatar franchise to me. It is such a wonderful crowning of Katara's core character traits- hope and resilience. That stubborn, unyielding faith in the good in the world and belief that things will get better because you will make it so- this scene reminded me why Katara is my favourite character in atla, and how important she is to both shows.

This scene is also so wonderful about Korra's character, and I know so many people struggling with mental issues resonated with her here. And I know that Katara's words meant a lot to them, as they did to me and to Korra.

Also, I just adore that Katara's necklace seems to have Raava's pattern on it, it's just such a cool detail and it really makes sense for these two to be symbollicaly intertwined in Korra's story.

And not to discredit Toph, because there is some merit to be found in her time with Korra, and it is ultimately what helped Korra heal. But also beating up a 20 year old for a few weeks, not too long after said 20 year old was paraplegic seems like a steep price for a few nuggets of wisdom.I also have personal gripes with how this part of the show was handled but thats neither here nor there.

[confuseddragon22]

genuinely wild to me when I go to someone's house and we watch TV or listen to music or something and there are ads. I haven't seen an ad in my home since 2005. what do you mean you haven't set up multiple layers of digital infrastructure to banish corporate messaging to oblivion before it manifests? listen, this is important. this is the 21st century version of carving sigils on the wall to deny entry to demons or wearing bells to ward off the Unseelie. come on give me your router admin password and I'll show you how to cast a protective spell of Get Thee Tae Fuck, Capital

[confuseddragon22]

@duckbunny on wanting to live

companion weave

[confuseddragon22]

It’s frustrating when your body can’t handle the amount of activity you want or need to do- and I’m not talking about exercise, I’m talking about activities as in the things you do everyday: showering, hobbies, work school, chores, hanging out with friends, watching tv, etc. Now just imagine not being able to do all of those things, even if you absolutely need to, imagine having to pick and choose every single day what you can do, and what is worth pushing past your symptoms for. Will I shower or do the dishes today? Cook dinner or do a hobby I haven’t been able to get to in a week? Rest or ignore the symptoms knowing I will feel worse later if I do so? It may seem like a silly, inconvenient, even stupid way of doing things to you, but to me this is my everyday life, if I do not make these wagers I will suffer for it, and oftentimes I will still suffer for it despite these sacrifices and my best efforts.