#Drawing Of Grape Plant Incredible Useful Ideas

[imagineclaireandjamie]

Shielded. Chapter Four

Happy Sunday all, back to the usually scheduling this week. I hope you enjoy the next week of lockdown with Jamie and Claire <3 Mod MBD.

Anonymous said to imagineclaireandjamie: 

It does not matter what you bear, but how you bear it. [Seneca]

CHAPTER FOUR: WEEK TWO - Home and Away.

As Monday rolled around again, the weekend having passed by in a blur, Claire sat at the breakfast table with a fresh cup of coffee in her hands. Having ventured down during the day on both Saturday and Sunday, she had hoped to bump into Jamie and pass on her thanks to his generosity but he had been out before sunrise each day and she had been asleep before he’d returned home.

Resolute, however, she chose to spend her day downstairs and hopefully get something on for dinner before he came back so she could at least start the week off right.

Fate, however, wasn’t on her side. By 10pm, with the lasagne tucked away, wrapped in foil, in the fridge, she covered her mouth with a yawn and pulled herself up the stairs to bed.

The crash and smashing of a glass bought her out of her sleep as the clock beside her bed clicked over to 3am. Pulling herself from beneath the sheets, she crept downstairs, eager not to scare him as she approached the kitchen.

“Couldn’t sleep?” She asked, knowing full well he had only just returned home.

He was stood by the sink, cold lasagna on the countertop and his mucky boots still on his feet. With the fork held to his mouth, he smiled as he took another bite of the pasta, chewed and then shook his head. “I havena ever been the best sleeper but it’s lambing season, aye? One of them got into bother and I couldna leave her until I knew she was safe.”

“And she made it?”

“Aye. I was luckier tonight than I was at the weekend.”

“Oh, dear...that doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s the job, I’m afraid. If I didna lose at least a handful a year I’d be shocked.”

It was the first real (and longest) conversation they’d had since she’d arrived and she was suddenly grateful for the company. He was calm, grounded and relaxed in the way a lot of city dwellers weren’t. She could tell in the slump of his shoulders that it didn’t matter how long and awkward his day was, how messy or how little sleep he had gotten the night before, he was still weightless almost, free of the constraint modern living brought to most.

“I wanted to say thank you,” she broke in, remembering the reason she’d half-blindly stumbled down in the middle of the night, “you’ve been so amazing - to get me materials for a garden, that’s...above and beyond the call of duty.”

“Ach,” shaking his head, he finished the last of his supper, balled the tin foil up and placed it in the bin, “dinna fash yersel’ about that. It’s no’ a problem.”

He was embarrassed, she could tell. Abashed, his accent had become incredibly thick and almost impossible to understand. But it was quiet enough here that there was no background noise to blot out his sentence and luckily she didn’t have to ask him to repeat himself.

“Well, nonetheless,” ignoring the slight reddening of his cheeks she continued, “I am very grateful to you. For everything.”

With nothing more to say between them, she waved, smiled and backed off, feeling strangely pleased with herself for breaking the silence between them. Hopefully, she thought as she climbed the stairs back to her room, there would be some evenings in the future when they could eat together and she could show her appreciation by making him something warm and fresh.

-- --

By mid-week, she had yet to see Jamie again. His work was intense, and yet, despite that, he had still managed to begin construction of her tiny garden.

In her haste she had forgotten that she wasn’t allowed outside the house and, as she’d watched the greenhouse foundations being laid, she had become almost inconsolable about the fact that she probably wouldn’t get the chance to tend to any of the produce grown in it.

She knew, however, that safety was more important than new hobbies and she chose, instead, to make detailed lists of the daily needs of each of the seeds and plants Jamie had procured for her.

She started with the tomatoes and grapes, which needed to be contained within the glass walls in order to collect enough light and heat to survive. She noted water levels, soil PH and balance and daily rituals which would need to be abided by in order for the best crop to be formed. It filled most of her days and when the sun went down, she’d swap her notepad for the computer as she researched all the differences she might see in her fruit and veg determined all by the way they were treated as they grew.

Though she had never been an artist, she started to search for youtube videos on how botanical art could be created. Having no coloured pencil crayons or watercolours, she stuck to pencil sketches and began to leave more post-it’s, this time with future predictions on what the garden might produce for the household.

Once again Jamie enjoyed coming home. There had only been a few days lapse in her communications but when he didn’t see her for days, it was the one thing he could rely on to buoy his spirits.

They were different, in so many ways, but on a subconscious level, he pondered to himself at night as he held the drawing of some rare cabbage in his hands, Jamie felt as if they had very many similar quirks. He’d been pleased that his idea to leave her be for as long as she needed had been a success and was grateful she felt at home enough to reform her life around his. Her asking for the garden made him realise how easy it might be for someone else to fit into his own life without causing him much grief.

It was only a small thing, but to him it had made a huge difference. Having lived alone for so long, he had almost forgotten how malleable people could be. Though, he thought as he rifled around in the fridge for more pre-made meals, he had probably just gotten lucky with Claire.

The thought also occurred to him that she had been inadvertently raised more suited to this life than her old one, but he didn’t know enough about her to advance on the notion.

It wasn’t until late on Thursday when they came face to face together. After another heavy day and late night, Jamie finally toe-ed off his work boots at nearly midnight and made his way, quietly, through to the kitchen.

He had not expected to nearly bump straight into Claire has she dished up what looked like a very tasty stir fry.

“I thought you might be sick of reheating pasta dishes, so I thought I’d try and wait for you this time.”

“Ye didna have to, it’s very late.” He scratched the back of his neck bashfully, even she couldn;t find the truth in his words and she smiled as she placed a fresh bottle of soy sauce in the centre of the table. “But this does smell delicious.”

“It’s taken me a few attempts to hone it, but I’ve been practicing most evenings this week to try and get it perfect, flavour as well as how long I need to cook the veg for.”

“What’s the meat?” He asked, watching as his stomach rumbled audibly.”

“I used the duck, I hope you don’t mind. I used chicken earlier in the week but I couldn’t seem to get it as tender as I wanted it and a few forums online suggested that duck might be a better substitute if I wanted meat with a bit more moisture.”

“Perfect. Use any meat you want from the freeze, for anything. Honestly, I forget most of the time what I’ve got in there.”

Placing several bowls filled with various meats, vegetables and sides, she went back to the sink to wash the remaining stickiness of her hands before beckoning him to start without her. “I had hoped you weren’t saving anything for a special occasion.”

“Ach, I think the virus has put pay to anything like that for a while,” he began, filling his plate with noodles, duck and beansprouts, “my sister - she lives in Canada now - had planned a summer visit, but we’re no’ sure of anything at the moment.”

“Is she the one in the photo,” Claire enquired, taking a mouthful of her own concoction and swallowing back the relief when it tasted nice - a mixture of sweet and savory that wasn’t as overpowering or as dry as it had been earlier on in the day when she’d made the first of the final tests. “The one with brown hair?”

“Aye, she is. Her partner, Ian, got a job out there a few years ago and they emigrated. We talk as often as we can on Skype and FaceTime but it’s become sporadic recently wi’ my erratic work hours. She’s a nurse, ya see, and works odd shift patterns too. But we try and keep in touch at least once a month.”

“Do you miss her?”

“I didna really think about it, we were close....until we werena. Then they moved away and I fell into a new routine.”

He had begun to speak without thinking, filling up the silence with answers to her questions as they ate in between conversation. He had, though, had the forethought to stop before giving too much away. The thought hurt his heart and he had to inhale between a bite of his dinner to gather himself back up. He knew, given time, that he would be alright with sharing his past (as he hoped she would be with hers) but tonight wasn’t the night for revelations.

Sensing his reluctance to continue, she moved on, understanding that she herself wasn’t in a place to open up about her own family life.

“I can imagine Skype is about the only way most are communicating at the moment.” Sighing, she started to collect the empty dishes and load the dishwasher. “I’m quite grateful, actually, that I don’t have anyone to keep in touch with. It’s all...quite scary.”

It was the first time Jamie had consciously thought about the pandemic, being cut off from the outside world had its benefits and he felt relieved that he could separate himself from the constant barrage of news that he supposed others would be exposed to. He realised that both he and Claire were unique now, part of a smaller section of society where being remote was almost a blessing rather than a curse.

“If you ever need to talk, lass,” standing, he helped to clean up the remaining mess from dinner, his hand almost brushing against hers as he wiped the countertop down, breaking only to hover for a second before returning to his job, “ye know where I am. Please dinna think you have nobody...if yer concerned, aye?”

“Thank you Jamie.” Pulling her fleece cardigan across her chest she walked slowly to the kitchen door, pausing for a second in the doorway just to make sure she’d left nothing out to go cold and mouldy overnight. “The same to you. I’m a good listener, I promise, if you ever need to talk, or if you need any help.”

She’d been thinking about his life on the farm for a few days now, watching the rolling hills out of her window, seeing the sheep and cattle on the horizon and -very occasionally- seeing the silhouette of him roaming his land. There was little she could do from indoors, she knew, but there had been chores around the house that she could potentially complete. Putting herself to task, she had learned new basic kitchen skills but only this morning she’d noticed the beginnings of a hole on the seam of his trousers as they dried on the rail in the courtyard and she thought it might be something she could tend to...should he be alright with it.

Leaving with the quiet settling calmly between them, she noted the relaxing of the muscles in his face as he smiled and nodded as she turned and carried herself to bed.

Resting against the faux-marble worktop, Jamie closed his eyes as he waited for the soft slam of her bedroom door before he followed her up. She just might, he thought to himself as he undressed himself, taking a towel from his radiator and making his way to the shower, be better equipped for this life than I am.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 103

This chapter was, honestly, a complete an total delight to write. I wanted to take an opportunity to work more with a character who has gotten very little ‘screen’ time: Sam.  He’s one of two characters on the autism spectrum (please correct me if that isn’t the right term?) who are based on actual people who I’ve been acquainted with.  I’ve admittedly shied away from writing much of Sam or Derek, largely because I have been scared into flop-sweats at the possibility that I will misrepresent autistic people. Even though I was acquainted with the real life versions of both Sam and Derek, that was nearly a decade ago and memory is fickle.

However. In an effort to do better all the way around with the characters I am writing, I found podcasts of people on the spectrum talking about what makes them unique, how they feel about being autistic, and what they consider good representation. And then I took a deep breath and wrote this chapter. It is the first, but I don’t want it to be the only. Turns out? Sam is a REALLY neat dude (I think)!

Finally, finally, I had a day off from work and crises. Tyche planned to spend the day baking, Antoine was booked solid with appointments after taking his ‘sabbatical’ to help Xiomara, and everyone else in my life was currently either teaching or attending Galactic Core classes this shift.  The single exception was Conor, who currently was serving his volunteer shift in the aeroponics lab. 

Because of this, I was currently making my way down there, steak and beer pie in hand, to surprise him with lunch. A happy humming trailed behind me, both from the newfound free time on my hands and the fact that Hujylsogox technology meant I wasn’t burning my hands while carrying the food for more than five seconds.  In fact, forty-five minutes later, the pastry was still hot, my hands were still cool, and I was paging for entry into the lab with a note that I was carrying food, just in case any poisonous plants were out.

It was one time I forgot, and fortunately it only upset Conor’s stomach and wasn’t fatal.

Shortly, the door slid open to reveal - Sam, not Conor. “Hey,” I grinned, recovering quickly. “I didn’t know you’d be down here right now, or I would have brought you lunch, too.” Trying to be less awkward, I gently rocked the pie in my hands. “I’m sure Conor doesn’t mind sharing though?”

Sam smiled in return and stepped back. “It smells like beer,” he replied. “But thank you.”

“The alcohol cooks out?” I tried, caught between being polite and being pushy.

To my somewhat relief, he shook his head. “Yeast,” he pointed out, wrinkling his nose and sticking his tongue out slightly. “Not a fan.”

Couldn’t exactly blame him, since I didn’t drink beer for a similar reason. “Next time, I’ll check if you’re going to be here, and bring you lunch too.”

“Sophia,” he started to admonish, before affixing me with a wordless stare.

Ugh. Apparently, I wasn’t quite free of my own awkwardness. “I just feel like I should bring food for everyone I know and not just Conor,” I tried to explain. “Where I grew up, it’s rude to bring food for only one person.”

“I eat,” he replied, waving vaguely.  

It took a few moments to realize that I completely misunderstood the gesture.  He wasn’t waving without meaning at all.

“Are those tomatoes!?” I gasped. “And that’s baby butter lettuce… Cucumbers!? You have cucumbers!?”

“Baby ones,” Sam grinned proudly just as Conor came in.

“Thought I heard your voice,” he laughed before tipping my face up for a kiss. “Sam showing off his salad again?”

I forced a glare and gently poked my partner in the chest. “Tomatoes. Conor. You did not tell me there were fresh tomatoes.”

Conor laughed, but Sam was the one to reply. “They just turned ripe today. You can have them if you want?”

“Oh, gosh,” I gasped, no small amount of wistfulness in my words. “Sam, I was joking. Just teasing him, I promise. I wasn’t seriously mad, and please don’t give these to me because you thought I was upset. I’m not. It was a joke.” Trying to compose myself, I forced a hand through my hair. “Did you grow these?”

He nodded, excited. “In soil we think will be like the soil on Von. As a test, to see if they taste different.”

My head, neck, and eyebrows all shot up. “Are they safe to eat?”

“These are, yes. The earlier ones, we weren’t sure, so Conor couldn’t tell you about them.”

“Sam, seriously. These aren’t my tomatoes. They belong to everyone, so thank you for being careful and not letting anyone eat them until you were sure.”

“I know you want a tomato, Sophia.” Without hesitation, he reached out and plucked three from a nearby plant. “If all three of us eat one, to test the flavor, then they can’t be ‘your’ tomatoes, right?”

Conor shook me gently. “He has a point, love.  These are the first batch that ripened and tested safe for humans. Sam’s probably eaten his weight in them, but I don’t think any other people have tried them.”

Sam looked down, trying to hide his ear-splitting smile. “They taste really good.”

With a sigh of defeat, I looked at the dark red berry in my hand. My curiosity instantly took over. “These look like zebra tomatoes, kind of.”

Sam’s face lit up, while Conor was still studying the one he had. “They’re a cross! A black zebra tomato and a Cherokee chocolate tomato, modified to be grape sized!” He popped his into his mouth, crushing it happily. “Not very acidic, but the soil also gives them more of a mineral flavor.”

Fascinated, all hesitation left my body as I shoved the fruit into my mouth. The first bite was an explosion, part familiar acidic taste, part something that I could only describe as ‘red’, and something… almost stony. Not in texture, but in flavor.  It wasn’t something I had ever experienced with a tomato, but - 

“Wine,” I murmured. “It’s.. stony, like a wine. New Zealand white, actually, with the volcanic soil… That’s…”

“It’s clean,” Conor interjected. Chewing thoughtfully, he continued. “That mineral taste keeps it from lingering in your mouth. I bet I could eat one of these tomatoes and bite a piece of cake right after without the flavors crossing.”

Sam replied, but it was so quiet I couldn’t hear him. When I asked him to repeat himself, he turned his face toward me with his eyes closed, hands grasping nervously. “I like to dip them in Nutella,” he enunciated loudly.

OH.

The idea of ‘tomatoes and Nutella’ made me draw up short, but then I thought over what Sam had said. He didn’t say he liked tomatoes, in general, in hazelnut spread, he said he liked these tomatoes dipped in it. And Conor’s point about eating one and then a bite of cake echoed through my mind. Nodding firmly, I tried to telegraph my confidence in Sam as hard as I could, lifting my chin far enough to make my neck itch. “Well then. You know these tomatoes better than anyone, and have eaten more than anyone. I would like to try these in Nutella, if you have three more ripe ones?”

Sam’s eyes snapped open briefly before he snatched three of the fattest little tomatoes he could find.  Eagerly, he yanked open a random drawer and revealed a hidden container of the spread. “I’ll have to hide it again, Conor eats it on everything,” he confessed before swiping the tomatoes through like they were strawberries, leaving a neat little curl of chocolate and hazelnut on each one.

Taking the one offered to me gingerly, I had to admit I felt intrigued.  The deftness Sam used to dip them told me that this wasn’t only something he’d tried, it was how he enjoyed these the most. Before Conor could get over the concept of chocolate and hazelnut on a tomato, I popped my treat in my mouth to satisfy my curiosity.

Holy. Fiendish. Shit. I almost choked on the amount of saliva that filled my mouth. That was incredible, if I was being brutally honest.  I never would have tried it with a tomato grown in Terran soil, but… hell. This was a whole new thing. “Sam,” I choked out as I desperately tried to keep from shouting. “You’re….. That’s brilliant.” The flavor was like chocolate, hazelnuts, strawberry, and orange, washed down with a good wine. “I think you just converted me to Nutella.”

Conor gaped, which only made Sam laugh harder. “Sophia,” Conor sputtered. “Do you mean to tell me that you hate Nutella so much that experimental tomatoes are what convinced you? I feel like I don’t know you at all, suddenly.”

“Yeah, no,” I confirmed. “This is probably the first time I’ve liked it in my life.”

“I want a divorce.”

“We aren’t even married,” I pointed out, before realizing that Sam was getting incredibly upset. “Annnnnd we can’t make that joke, babe.” Making sure Conor saw me glancing at Sam, I clarified. “Sam, that’s just a joke. Conor wouldn’t break up with me over Nutella any more than Maverick broke up with me because I like spicy food. But we - “ I elbowed Conor just hard enough to get his attention without making him choke on his second tomato, “won’t joke like that again. I’m sorry.”

Hesitantly, Sam nodded before wrinkling his nose. “You do like really spicy food.”

“I do,” I confirmed. “And Maverick does not. So, I make him food that isn’t as spicy. And, just like that, I don’t eat Nutella, and Conor doesn’t make me.”

Narrowing his eyes, Sam turned to Conor. “Is that why you always steal mine?”

Conor nodded sheepishly. “I’m sorry, mate. I’m really bad about that, aren’t I?”

“It’s free, Conor,” Sam pointed emphatically to the wall. “From the console.”

“Does that mean you’re mad?”

“It means stop leaving empty containers in my drawer. If you eat the last of it, at least get me more. Geez!”

“So, you aren’t mad?”

“I’m mad about the empty containers,” Sam scowled. “There is nothing nice about coming to work with all this fruit” he gestured expansively “and having nothing to dip it in.”

Conor opened his mouth to reply, but closed it just as quickly.

“He’s got a point,” I added, knowing I was entirely unhelpful. “I mean, what if I made meatloaf and no mashed potatoes? Or gravy? No either?”

His head snapped toward me, his expression horrified. “Sophia, what in the…. You would never expect someone to -” Without prompting, he cut himself off. “Ah, shit. I’ve been an arse, haven’t I?”

“You have been a complete donkey,” Sam intoned seriously. Then, with a smirk, he added, “I think you owe me pickles.”

Conor groaned at that. Sam loved pickles, but only specific kinds. Predictably, my boyfriend’s face pivoted to leverage his most beseeching expression at me.

Unfazed, I shook my head. “Nope. I’m not the one who ate his snack topping. I’ll give you the recipe, and you can make the pickles.”

“Love…”

“Taking his Nutella and not replacing it is rude, and you know how I feel about rude people.” I examined my nails closely. “And you are perfectly capable of getting whole radishes and matchstick carrots from the console, but nice try.”

“Brussels sprouts, too, please,” Sam asked politely.

All I could do with such a request was nod firmly. “And the brussels sprouts.”

“I don’t even like - “

“They aren’t for you,” I pointed out. “Although, I’m sure Maverick will appreciate it if you make a double batch of the radishes.”

“And Derek likes the brussels sprouts,” Sam pointed out.

When Conor sank to the floor with a groan, neither of us could restrain our laughter.  Who knew that ill-gotten chocolate led to pickling your worst enemies?  Then again, I guess Conor was about to find that out the hard way.

<< Prev   Masterlist  Next >>

[pack-the-pack]

Any thoughts on the aftermath of mating bites? I have a headcanon that taking care of the other's bite until its healed is a huge part of strengthening a pair's mating bond. Do you think Alphas would take pride in changing the Omegas bandages every day? Or feel guilty for for causing them pain? Would Omegas fret over using the best salves and anti-inflammatory medicine?

Honestly I adore this idea. But as in most of the asks I answer my response is not just “yes, pretty much” or “No” lol Yeeea, sorry about that guys… I do think that overall the biting and the care for it is an intimacy majority of couples take pride on, but I also think the process and importance itself might change depending on personal preference of the couple, culture, time period and social and economic status. Yes We are going there again, fasten your seat belts kids, cause it’s time for a History lesson, Pack style!!!

Warning: Mentions of death, abortions, mental illness, sexual stuff and all sorts of ancient hi jinks in an incredibly lengthy post (cut possibly unavailable on mobile cause tumblr is garbage).

Disclaimer: A lot of what I’m basing these fictional concepts in is very eurocentric because that’s what I know best, I am not a historian, I am not an archaeologist or a biologist, I have no degree on no nothing let alone an specialisation on anything relevant enough to be used as educated sources for what I’m about to write. This is just for fun okay, guys? So no need to rub your years of hard work and experience on my face or be like “well actually-!”, cause it will be like just, cool to know? But very unlikely taken into account past that, so just, relax m’kay? Thanks…… Also a lot of my knowledge on these things just comes from the “History of the entire world I guess” video so yeaaa.

So first and foremost, the types of things one would use to treat mating bites. Again, I think there are variants regarding time period and culture, but I think every culture would end up coming up with rather similar things, or overlapping methods of treating such scarring, and I made a little drawing for it :3 Nothing, great, nothing awesome, but because this ask inspired me to draw something. 

(Kind of messy, my pottery is kind of crooked and I totally intended for the background to be grey and didn’t just  fuck up cleaning up on the wrong layers and had to pretend that was the original plan, you’re imagining, but it’s from the heart c’mon).

Before people had this fancy thing called modern medicine, they had to rely solely on instinct, anecdotes and superstition to make their medication, and of course, bite treatment wasn’t any different. 

Whenever an Alpha would bite an Omega or a Beta or vice verse, the glands around the bite area would get irritated, itchy and achy. The most ancient method of soothing these aches was mud, just plain out wet dirt, applied to the area and left there to dry and reapplied only when the entirety of the first batch cracked and fell off naturally during daily activities. It was the hottest trend amongst packs 50.000 b.c. - Though there is also evidence of animal fat being used for the same purpose as well as snow. 

With the end of the Paleolithic period and the invention of agriculture things started to get more advanced, now people have bowls, and lots of seeds… and grains! Grains and seeds that they can squeeze really hard and it makes residue come out of them. This is when various types of oils started to pop all around along with various simple mixtures of flour and water. Many clay statues and other rudimentary paintings from these periods show a variety of deities and rituals that existed around the manufacturing of these products and there are indications that the importance of treating bite wounds only then started to become somewhat of a significant part of mated couples’ lives. It was believed that these smaller human settlements created by the first sedentary packs, aka warrens, didn’t make distinction between the Eleusinian¹ and Asterian² dynamics when it came to mating bites and the treatments of such. Omegas would bite and care for the marks they inflicted on Alphas just as much as Alphas and Betas to one another or other Omegas. It was only when these warrens started to grow into full blown villages and subsequently distinctive cities that these differences started to develop. 

Once these villages and cities started to gain shape and power, social hierarchy took on a new dimension beyond sole survival. Alphas no longer concerned themselves solely with the survival of their own small pack and hunting food to provide for their mates and children, Betas no longer concerned themselves with just assisting Alphas and Omegas in their daily activities as well as primarily caring for crops and animals, and Omegas no longer only cared to make sure their children and pack were in good health and cared for. Farming and the domestication of animals allowed everyone to have more time for architecture, writing, laws, politics, dancing, music, religion and most important of all: Figuring out how to divide people in a way that totally doesn’t benefit everyone equally, as one do. So now you got social classes and cultural diversity, and these come with different ways of treating mating bites. So around the period of the Bronze age to when the Greeks were like really important (specially cause a lot of the terminology and ideas about the dynamics carried nowadays comes from them and the Romans in western society) methods and materials started to shift a bit, but not drastically. Herbs like mint and parsley, flowers like lavender and aconite, roots like ginger and marsh mallow, and oils like that from olives, frankincense or sesame seeds as well as animal derived products such as wax from bees or blood and fat from animals and sometimes even metals like iron started to pop up all around from east to west as cures for all sorts of ailments and diseases. Brought through the sea or through land by merchants (rhizotomiki) who crossed nations and continents, carrying with them they brought all sorts of new superstitions and beliefs about mating bites. Flowers said to be born from rivers or lakes of eternal youth, roots and spices made of fire itself, honey directly from the mouth of deities or roots that’d kill any spiritual disease started gaining popularity quickly with pretty much everyone seen as a lot of these were said to provide for good fortune and happy and prosperous marriages if incorporated on biting rituals. Oracles and religious leaders would advise their followers and rulers to consume certain things before mating and to care for their bites and their partners with extra amounts of care because all of a sudden they started to become super important. Deaths, famine, bad luck, abortions and mental illnesses started to be blamed on the lack of care or the improper care of mating bites, said to either cause the body to perish in account of some malignant aspect of a specific plant or to have angered the gods in some manner. 

The high mortality that could come with infected mating bites became more and more apparent the more society advanced, but they didn’t know it was because of the infection itself yet, so surviving these was not only a sign of strength or luck, but a sign of status, power, money and higher spirituality. Emperors, Empresses, feudal lords in the orient, etc. All took pride in having enough money to buy rare ingredients from merchants from far away lands as well as hundreds of slaves and servants to care for their gardens, plantations and animals which provided them with an immense diversity of always available plants, herbs and roots that gained favour in aiding with biting marks. To be the chosen mate of one of these people would grant one with a similar status and privileges, such as not dying and having better flavoured bread or something. 

This also meant that they didn’t really want other people but them using these miracle medicines, because they thought that for the common people to use “divinely provided” forms of care would inevitably result in corruption of said methods and subsequently the fall of society. So now you had:

The rulers of nations and cities/nobles: Using and manufacturing refined powders from roots, grains and metals from far away nations in order to bind and cure mating bites. Rare Oils from plant eradicated anywhere but the palaces and gardens belonging to the highest circles, bandages made from the finest silks and sown and painted with all sorts of religious meanings. Concoctions that took hours, months or even years to be finished for a single claiming treatment, with recipes and processes kept secret and many times lost forever with trusted doctors/shamans that’d tend to royalty only. 

Generals, Priestesses, Shamans, Politicians: Using plants and roots that were common, but difficult to come by, expensive, difficult to use or “required” a specific ritual that’d grant them some sort of untapped potential from these plants otherwise, providing them “enlightenment”, “strength”, “wisdom” and “spiritual clearance” in order to win all things from wars, to new knowledge and insight on the gods’ wants and needs to political feuds. Alcohol and other fermented blends such and wine and grape must with marsh mallow, made to clean and close wounds as well as soothing burns were prioritized here. The immediate pain was considered cleansing and efficiency. Mandrakes were rather popular as well, but for treating “deep spiritual diseases”, such as when ones mate falls ills some hours or a day after the bite is consummated, or to ensure healthy and strong offspring coming from the union since it was considered to aid on sexual prowess. However given its “immense” power and magical properties it was rarely ever given or prescribed to the masses without the supervision or blessing of a highly spiritual attuned authority. 

Lords and wealthy merchants: Using, manufacturing and selling all sorts of blends, mostly creams and perfumes said to help with pain and itching. These would change depending on the city and the deities they worshiped and superstitions they carried as well as the plants naturally available in the lands (the ones that haven’t been eradicated or hogged by other classes of people). These were the ones usually gifted by acquaintances, and friends of the newly mated couple as offerings of good fortune, prosperity and fertility. These varied hugely in ingredients and price as well. Though there were other ingredients and recipes guarded with an amount of secrecy by these as well, gifted and used just by the family to other members of the same, these tended to be tended to and made with a higher degree of care, utilizing plants one would have at their disposal in their own home.

Common soldiers, artisans and lesser merchants, sailors and farmers: The people that didn’t really have much money, time or social status to dedicate to bite wounds would resort to simpler and cheaper methods of soothing their pains. Simply dousing the wounds with olive or fish oil was a common practice, as well as using salt water to wash the area. Clay of various kinds as well as coal and ground up seashells were popular on various cities as ingredients for lotions and creams and many times were offered to the gods as well as a form of prayer for good health and happy mateship. Lamb and goat fat was also very popular with the poor for its healing and relaxing properties, people would collect an array of herbs and flowers that’d fancy their partner or the both of them to incorporate into it, in order to symbolise their union as one as well as to mask the strong foul smell from the fat.  

Slaves: Slaves were usually prohibited to mate by their masters, but the ones that happened to mate someone or being mated would be punished with not being able to treat their wounds. It was seen as a disgrace and distasteful to not treat ones bite wounds, and people thought only fitting that slaves who step out of line would have their favour taken from them entirely on the eyes of their gods or polite society. As a result slaves had to resort to only using water and cool mud, many succumbing to the infections and fevers that were attributed by most as a corruption of the spirit and not worthy of pity. 

So as you can see, there was a divide in how they treated their wounds based on many things, and while some of these methods and rituals sometimes overlapped between classes the distinction was stark enough that you could clearly tell what type belonged to whom. It was around that time as well that the Eleusinian and Asterian dynamics started to get divided more and more as time passed. Omegas were treated as borderline property and in many places like Athens were not granted the right to mark their mate back, with exceptions occurring just in certain occasions (such as the soon departure to a losing war on the mate’s part, or to save the mate’s life though a spiritual treatment), Beta females and poor Omega females being forbidden to use certain plants and to take part in certain rituals by law claimed to be belonging solely to Omega females of higher social status, Omega males being prohibited of using any sort of soothing agents if not prohibited of being bitten altogether. Alphas having or not marks as a form of weakness or a show of strength varied ridiculously from city to city and from nation to nation (So much so that to this day there is not full agreement on that in society). And a whole lot of other rules and random crap just around mating bites alone. 

With the invention of modern medicine, these things started to change obviously, people had a better grasp of what helped and what just made things worse, creams, pills, oils,,and ointments started being patented and people would gradually only look to more naturalistic methods of treating claim bites as an element of a different all-natural life style or a belief (misguided or not) that natural = better. With all that said one thing has remained true: Yes, caring for ones wounds is something that is and was believed to strengthen and solidify ones bond with their mate. People always tended to care a great deal for it, doing everything in their power to provide for their mates in the best way they knew how, if it were through giving them private care by more servants then they can count, with the best ingredients in the world at the moment, or simply by choosing smells and things that they’d like in order to show how much they care, they took and still take great pride in caring for that very fragile wound in their necks. As whether or not this is more an Alpha thing or a Omega thing, or if Alphas hate or take pride in causing pain to their partners, that varies in belief, culture and time period. I particularly think that overall it’d be a mixture of both. They don’t want to cause excessive pain to their partner but they also want their bonds to be solidified forever. The Eleusinian dynamics were always the ones more intimately connected with the production and rituals surrounding bite soothers so to me it makes sense they prioritize its quality more than Asterian dynamics, but that also is a highly individual thing. 

Overall I hope this wasn’t a complete departure from what you asked >.> But I really wanted to explore this a bit more and your ask gave me the opportunity to. Remembering this is all just my interpretation and applies to my verse (PTPverse) which is completely open for creative use in fanfictions, RP sessions and others, so if you don’t agree with what I said here that’s 100% fine, to each their own, I just hope this somehow was able to help anyone ;) any lingering questions try checking out my other history posts such as the Ancient Greece Headcanons one or make another ask on my inbox for clarity. Peace. 

¹ - Eleusinian dynamics: Referring to Omegas (of either gender) and Beta females.

² - Asterian dynamics: Referring to Alphas (of either gender) and Beta males.

[reisemanaj]

Deep Sea Aquarium Secret Weapon

The battle for excellent water top quality in your saltwater fish tank is truly never ever finishing..

. What happens if I informed you there was an actually amazing secret weapon around that is naturally happening and will draw a substantial quantity of contaminants out of your water and look actually wonderful at the same time? And also no, it's not live rock ...

Seems too excellent to be true right?

Prior to I allow you in on what the solution is I desire show you my all new mentoring program: the Saltwater  Live Algae UK - Clean Macroalgae & Chaeto UK  Fish Tank Guidance Academy

I produced this program due to the fact that the majority of people who've purchased this leisure activity are incredibly unlikely to prosper at the saltwater fish tank maintaining, in fact 90% of individuals stop working at deep sea aquarium keeping within 24 months, the most common factor for failure is not being able to develop a regular, immaculate water quality setting required for marine life. My training program offer the tools I utilize to succeed.

Saltwater Fish Tank MacroAlgae

Can you see the trump card? Simply among the many benefits you will certainly get with my mentoring program ...

The deep sea "trump card" I am discussing today will certainly provide your storage tank these advantages:

Boost the look of your tank,

Provide food as well as shelter for your marine pet dogs

Outcompete pest algae species

Oxygenate your tanks water

Enhance your water top quality by eliminating phosphates, silicates and also nitrates ...

The trump card or experts pointer is the critical use of marine macro-algae; likewise referred to as saltwater plants! .

saltwater fish tank tips

Photo from my "Developing The Perfect Container Atmosphere" e-class. Having detritus biting inverts and macroalgae is a fantastic tidy team

There are 2 sorts of aquatic plants that generally take place in saltwater aquariums 1. The (primarily) good types; these are the macroalgae (meaning "huge" celled), the aquatic plants like Caulerpa as well as Halimeda and also dirtying forms; the coralline algae.

These are desirable species because they look natural, expand predictably, oxygenate the water, draw out nutrients as well as are healthy snacks for our family pets.

However there are a couple of invasive macro-algae varieties you would certainly not desire in your tank, so research your prospective types well.

A lot of macroalgae species come from the groups Chlorophyta (environment-friendly algae), the prominent coralline types from the group Rhodophyta (red algae) and Phaeophyta (brownish algae).

2. The (mostly) negative varieties: the micro-algae (definition "little" celled) these are single-celled algae types, which converge in our fish tanks en-masse as well as have an incredible reproductive capacity. Its these micro-algae's out-of-control growth that cause flowers that can intimidate our whole marine storage tanks. The most infamous of the micro-algae's are:

3. Blue/green algae (Cyanobacteria): Blue-green sludge algae is responsible for a lot of saltwater aquarium chaos, these single-celled organisms are a lot more pertaining to bacteria than algae. In colour this algae ranges from red completely via to bluish-black and also can be viewed as slime, hair-like strings or a smear of evil looking film. Green algae covers everything in its path as well as is very tolerant of water specifications however does ideal in high phosphate, well-lit environments. 4. Hair algae: Likewise known as filamentous green algae as well as officially as Derbesia varieties. This is one of one of the most frustrating algae's and also is really usual in saltwater fish tanks. Its growth as im sure you can presume looks like clumps of downy hair that are green.

Bryopsis: Bryopsis is an eco-friendly macro-algae and additionally goes by the wonderful name of Sea Brush, however this things is anything but charming in your aquarium. It grows really rapid and also its green-brown feathery mass can take control of your aquarium in a number of days! Bryopsis is typically presented on real-time rock and is generally misinterpreted for Hair algae or Caulerpa.

saltwater aquarium enhancing water quality

Desire some 1-on-1 help to develop the best storage tank possible and fast-track your success? I can help.

So, it's micro-algae varieties that cause the huge bulk of bug algae issues in marine aquariums.

They cause troubles by covering every item in the container (as well as the glass) consisting of corals and other invertebrates that they can asphyxiate, cause infection and also shut out their light every one of which can trigger damages as well as even fatality.

Some algae are even harmful if consumed.

Bug algae outbreaks likewise suck out huge amounts of oxygen from the water at night, block filters, ruin water high quality with their rotting biomass and normally look unpleasant avoiding us from seeing our wonderful fish as well as reefs!

saltwater fish tank ideas

Macroalgae on the other hand is extremely useful and also will do these 5 superb things for your tank:.

Out completing the pest algae varieties by utilizing up all readily available nutrients in the water faster and also better. This implies pest algae will not have a possibility to flourish.

Gives a wonderful auxiliary food source to herbivores as well as omnivores alike. Occasional browsing will also motivate the algae to grow well. Tangs, Angelfish, Blennies, crabs as well as snails all take advantage of algae expanding in the tank. A diet regimen abundant in algae is stated to considerably lower the incidence of head as well as lateral line disintegration illness (HLLE) in Tangs and also Angelfish.

As a water filter drawing natural nutrients out of the water such as nitrates, phosphates as well as silicates that come from the failure of food as well as waste. Corals specifically are extremely conscious these compounds. Algae likewise aids to soak up heavy metals as well as any kind of contaminants released by marine microorganisms.

Add much needed oxygenation to the water column. Marine plants absorb carbon dioxide and put out oxygen, you can never have adequate oxygen in a deep sea environment.

Offers your fish tank a much more all-natural, authentic appearance and also provides habitats for invertebrates and concealing places for invertebrates and marine fish.

Producing a perfect environment for macroalgae.

Macroalgae are really easy to take care of as well as just actually need fairly tidy water and the very same bright (high) lighting that photosynthetic corals and anemone call for, so are best for coral reef containers.

They require around 8 hrs each day of light to thrive. Interestingly pest micro-algae's do better in dark illumination.

They will not need any kind of extra feeding, as they will mop up excess nutrients in the water. Coralline (red) algae also need a calcium supplement to grow ideal.

If your marine plants are expanding excessive (this is usually a pretty slow process for macroalgae) you can simply cut as well as prune them as you would certainly land plants.

Directly I such as to keep the base of my fish tanks devoid of substratum (a lot easier to maintain clean this way and also motivate the development of dirtying macro-algae's across the base and also strategically plant clumps of Halimedia and Caulerpa on the real-time rock where it looks actually pretty.

Sorts of macroalgae.

1. Caulerpa types: This rapid-growing and popular macroalgae comes from the phylum Chlorophyta which are the green macroalgae's. There are greater than 100 different types of Caulerpa some types expanding high and also others growing as floor coverings. The "feather" as well as "grape" selections called after the types of their fallen leaves are one of the most prominent with aquarists. Caulerpa is a favorite treat for marine herbivores and is great for filling in empty spaces in aquatic containers. Caulerpa plants are affixed to each other by runners or rhizomes, which they make use of for securing themselves to the rock.

2. Halimeda: This Hawaiian macroalgae additionally of the phylum Chlorophyta incorporates calcium into its plate formed leaves so is not eaten by herbivores. It is a sluggish cultivator as well as types baseball sized, circular globs. It is an appealing and also durable macroalgae to have in your deep sea fish tank.

3. Coralline algae: The bright red/pink/white/ purple encrusting varieties of coralline algae (phylum Rhodophyta) are a big favourite of reef container proprietors. They always come presented on real-time rock however can also spread out onto glass bottoms, they can likewise be propagated by taking scrapings or existing nests to brand-new areas. Also being calcium absorbing they need suitable levels of calcium (400-- 440 mg/mL) like reefs. Additionally like corals reefs they do not tolerate much phosphates or nitrates as well as likewise need magnesium, which will encourage them to grow. Coralline algae is vital to holding together reef in the wild and is stated to create chemicals that advertise the growth of invertebrates, they likewise maintain bug algae away and also offer a magnesium source for the tank.

4. Turtle turf: Likewise called Maidens hair Chlorodesmis is also from the phylum Chlorophyta and looks like great blades of turf that look like tufts of bright green hair. In my viewpoint this is among the most eye-catching macroalgae's as a result of its colour and also form. It wont be snacked on due to the fact that it contains a deterrent in its leaves. It needs moderate to strong water present as well as lighting.

Fish tank macroalgae.

Photo from page 99 of "Creating the Perfect storage tank Environment": Turtle grass is rather appealing and also fish love it.

A GOOD IDEA: utilizing macroalgae as a filter that rubs the water.

One of one of the most effective uses for macroalgae entails growing it in a sump or refugium listed below or to the side of the primary container.

This algae "scrubber" when developed will enormously filter phosphates, nitrates, some heavy metals and contaminants from your water and add big quantities of oxygen.

Along with the obvious benefits an algae filter suggests pest algae will not be able to grow in your display screen tank. All you require is a constant flow of container water in and out of your algae chamber and also regarding 18-24 hrs of light daily for maximum result, the reason for near continuous light is so that launch of carbon dioxide at night periods is kept to a minimum, which will decrease pH.

You can also keep online rock, live sand in your refugium/sump and also raise amphipods and copepods to feed your marine life at the same time as expand algae. Algae in the scrubber needs to be regularly trimmed as well as excessive growth eliminated.

The very best alga to use for this job is Chaetomorpha or spaghetti algae which has come to be popular with reefers in the last few years. This algae expands in thick rounds resembling a round of environment-friendly fishing line. 'Sheaths eat this algae also. Chaeto expands under routine fluorescent lights.

With any luck this blog post will have shown you the relatively unknown huge advantages of macroalgae and the substantial advantages it can supply your aquatic system.

[royallyanxious]

“We lost”

Summary: Of a friendship between a villain and a hero.

wc: 1.2k

tw: Deceit, swearing, mentions of manipluation

Deceit’s leg was bouncing up and down as he lied spanned over the armchair, hands playing with the hem of his cape. Despite rather inhospitable posture and ceased eyebrows, he was humming a soft song that he heard Roman sing once. He was not in a bad mood. The outcome of the case didn’t shock him as much as he showed it.

Suddenly there was a loud crash, as if the sky broke in half and seconds later Roman was standing right in front of him. His hands were anxiously running through his thick hair, eyes looking everywhere but Deceit, as if he hadn’t noticed him. Deceit stopped humming and chuckled quietly. Sometimes Roman was too adorable for his own sake.

“You appear anxious,” he pointed out, sitting cross-legged. “Are you trying to deceit me by pretending that you’re Virgil pretending to be Roman? Because it didn’t go well last time..”

Roman unable to fight to memory out of his head snorted quietly. A wicked grin broke out on Deceit’s face and he crossed arms on his chest, eyes never leaving the other’s face. Roman sighed and leaned against the wall. He seemed more mature, more serious, a stricking differance being compared to his usual expression. Deceit liked this look on him, it was just another proof to the diversity Roman had to offer. Something other sides often forgot about so carelessly.

“I’m sorry, Lies and Recreation...” mumbled Roman finally.

Deceit slightly raised his right eyebrow. Over past few months when they grew closer, he had learnt that Roman was always full of surprises. There was a time - Deceit remembered it - when Roman wasn’t keen on apologizing. Every ‘sorry’ was like a nail to his coffin back then. Now, even Deceit sometimes didn’t know what Roman was apologizing for. He had changed. But then, hadn’t he - Deceit - also changed under Roman’s influance?

“What for?” Deceit asked instead, brushing off the nagging questions in his head. He would not dwell into that right now.

“Oh, you know...” Roman waved his hand as if it wasn’t important at all, “I voted against you. And we lost the case...” he added in a smaller, full of shame voice.

Words got stuck in Deceit’s throat, twisting his tongue like a poison. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. Did Roman see that yet? The result of this case was clear from the beginning. Broken sigh escaped Deceit’s halfly opened mouth and he got up, smoothing the front of his shirt.

“You did nothing wrong, Roman.” Deceit said finally in a muffled voice. He could barely hear himself and yet Roman seemed to hear everything perfectly. He could always tell him through, “You did what you had to do, Roman.”

“You were shocked though.” pointed Roman, “Didn’t I betray your friendship? Wasn’t I the one that manipulated you into thinking that I would be on your side? Didn’t I-”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Deceit stopped Roman in the middle of his sentence. He gently took Roman’s hand through his gloved fingers and led him to the sofa. Long time ago, it annoyed him that Roman tended to get swiped by his emotions so carelessly. He used to see it as a weakness. Now, it didn’t bother him at all.

He let Roman calm down his breath and waited until his hands stopped shaking. Deceit felt the anger growing in himself. He knew that the other sides had nothing to do with Roman’s current state and yet he blamed them. He blamed them for planting a seed of doubt in the heart of the only person who chose to see truth in him. In Deceit. 

Only when Roman calmed down. Deceit said:

“We knew that it was going to be hard from the beginning, didn’t we?” he asked, “The friendship between a villain and a hero? How pathetic and awful it sounds!” he let out a barking laugh, “Look at us! Who would believe in this alliance? Nobody! And you... taking my side... No, it wouldn’t make sense, Roman. Not for people who know shit about us.”

“I still could-”

“What? Announce that sometimes we side with each other over popcorn and day-dreaming? Don’t make me laugh! Nobody would believe in this!” Deceit growled with annoyance but even he couldn’t ignore the bitter taste on his tongue.

His reptile eye shot at Roman. He looked devastated. He always did look like that when Deceit brought up this subject. It was then when Deceit could see the pureness in Roman so clearly. Roman always chose to see the best scenario. Maybe that was why they balanced each other so well...

“Oh, come on... Don’t be sad,” asked Deceit quietly, “You and I both know that I’m right. I shouldn’t say it that harshly but...”

“No, you’re right.” muttered Roman quietly, “No one would believe us...”

Deceit nodded ever so slightly, not trusting his own voice.

“Either I’d have to go bad or you’d have to go good for them to accept this...” continued Roman.

“But there’s no chance for any of these, is it?” asked Deceit, raising his eyebrow, looking at Roman attentionally. Roman shook his head firmly. It wasn’t anything that Deceit didn’t expect, “That’s what I thought... Maaan, being best buds with a prince sure is annoying sometimes.” he declared, letting the playfullness swipe over his mocking tone.

Roman laughed and Deceit’s lips spread in a loopsided smile. He loved it when Roman was laughing. 

“Well, for a prince being friends with a villain is sometimes a pain. I can’t even threaten you with my sword seriously!” Roman replied, hands raising up, drawing circles and motioning attacks. “Instead we fight together sometimes! Which is like, the second best thing a prince can do! Remember when...”

Deceit sat down on the floor, gently smiling at Roman as he rambled about their  adventures.

“You did well today at the court.” said Deceit suddenly, cutting Roman’s monologue. 

Roman looked down at him, eyes coated with softness and pride. Deceit was incredibly fond with this rare expression. It screamed ‘growth’.

“I didn’t thank you.” said Roman in return.

“What for?” Deceit frowned with surprise.

“For helping me understand that sometimes being selfish isn’t half that bad...” whispered Roman shyly, “After all, if I wasn’t at least a little bit selfish, we wouldn’t be friends.”

Something warm and fuzzy started spreading through Deceit’s body as if he was a snake napping in the sun. All he could see was warm red.

“No, it was just you being an idiot.” he shot back, carefully hiding the trembling of his voice behind the sarcasm.

It didn’t fool Roman at all. Deceit saw this in his eyes. He wasn’t surprised.

“Oh my god! No lying, Deceit. Come on!” grinned Roman, “You know that I can tell when you lie.”

Deceit had no idea when did Roman learn that. He also had no idea when it stopped bothering him either.

Fin.

General taglist (as to be removed or added):

@depressed-alone​​ ​ @changeling-ash​​ @dear-lover-dearest​ @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2​​ @calmingthoughtsinyourhead​ @zo-geeky​​ @fandomfreak-19​​ @thegnatnat​​ @inha-led​​ @tree4life25​​ @panic-at-theeverywhere​​ @reallyanextrovertipromise  @shit-happens-bitchachos@pastel-patton123​​ @pinkeasteregg​​ @greymane902​​ @princeyssash​​ @ilovemyspoopydad​​ @musicphanpie-b​​ @all-these-trees-stealing-mah-o2 @birosezz​ @winged-outlaw @anxious-fander-talian-bean​ @lizaelsparrow @moonstonefox12 @pastelnerd101  somecrappyclonemysticalstrawberryface @ninjago2020​  donteatmyassghostie toriwithacamera moxiety–sanders101 confinesofpersonalknowledge xxladystarlightxx wheeitsvee a-very-optimistic-realist narniasfinestavengingsociopath  thequeensqueer allycat31415 rileys-main-blog-spotroman-is-a-dramatic-prince virgil-my-diamond justanotherproblem faacethefacts  beautifully-terribly logical-but-anxious queen-of-all-things-snuggly seabellart   @generalfandomfabulousness lostin—translation  knine-nights  @poisonedapples @talhaddelpla @punk-and-flowers @quietlypondering @milomeepit 0joodles0  grape-soda-city-kid sanders-sides-stuff @romanasanders 

[thetunewillcome]

Shake Hands, Here’s Luck, Good-Bye

Fandom: Good Omens (TV)

Warnings: SPOILERS FOR THE LAST EPISODE (EP. 6), one brief thought of self-harm

Relationship: Aziraphale/Crowley

Rating: Teen

Tags: the swap, waiting, Crowley’s imagination, anxiety, shaky hands, shaking hands, questions, Whumptober

Word Count: 2,352

Whumptober Prompt: Shaky Hands ( @whumptober2019)

“Shake hands, we shall never be friends, all's over;

    I only vex you the more I try.

All's wrong that ever I've done or said,

And nought to help it in this dull head:

    Shake hands, here's luck, good-bye.

But if you come to a road where danger

    Or guilt or anguish or shame's to share,

Be good to the lad that loves you true

And the soul that was born to die for you,

    And whistle and I'll be there.”

         - A.E. Housman

A young mother walked past, arm guiding a girl in a bright pink dress through a crowd of people waiting patiently for the bus.  A man answered his mobile with a curt “Yeah?  What’d he say?”  A dog barked.  Crowley sat in a body that wasn’t his – never had been, no matter how much he’d ached for it to be, no matter all the times he’d almost asked if it could be, the questions dying in the pause between inhale and sound – and waited.  The soft hands that weren’t his trembled.

A refrain with every heartbeat: where is he?  Where is he?  Where is he?  The clock across the square reminded him he’d been sitting on this bench for half an hour, as if he needed reminding.  As if he couldn’t feel the death of each second reverberate in his core like a struck church bell.  He crossed his (shorter, fleshier, warmer, not his) legs, uncrossed them, tapped his foot on the pavement until the sound drove him mad.  Where is he?  Crowley stilled, internally reaching out into the air around him, searching for any angelic traces and coming up empty and shivering in the late summer sunlight.

(Keep reading on AO3 or below.)

Aziraphale had made it sound so simple and so clever, but all Crowley could hear now was that same golden voice saying “We’re not friends,” saying “The Almighty will fix it,” saying “It’s over” and being so incredibly, thankfully wrong.  Hadn’t he assured Crowley this plan would work with that same voice?

In times like these, when it runs wild, imagination is no blessing.  Behind his glasses, Crowley’s eyes darted back and forth, surveying the park, but nothing he saw could push away flashes of what might have delayed Aziraphale.  Every scenario fed panic into his already knotted stomach.  

Aziraphale’s face falling as they discovered his secret.  His panicked eyes as they dragged him up to Heaven and his proper punishment.  The swell of the Hellfire as it engulfed him, no chance for a goodbye.  Or his mouth twisting, brow furrowed in pain as Hell got creative, toying with him as a cat does a mouse before the merciful kill.

How stupid they had been to bet on holy water.  How selfish, how cowardly he had been to take the easy role – of course Heaven would be direct, right to the quick and absolute point – and let Aziraphale risk unimaginable torment for him.  Stories circulated down there, despite the utter lack of collegial spirit.  Crowley knew what they were capable of.  Yet he had let Aziraphale don his corporation, weak and dented armor, and face them on the assumption Hell would operate mercifully.

Still no angelic presence anywhere near him.  He fought the urge to bolt, nervous energy vibrating through his whole being, desperate for an outlet, but he forced himself to stay seated on the uncomfortable bench.  A tiny hope within him begged him to wait.  If things were going according to plan, just slower, then rushing in now could ruin everything.  

“Do you trust me?” Aziraphale had asked him last night, eyes alive with hope reborn.  

“Of course” had been Crowley’s response, “since Eden” hovering unspoken in the silence after.  He would trust him to return, then.

Desperate for a distraction, he looked down at Aziraphale’s hands, fingers drumming nervously on Aziraphale’s thighs and slowing to a stop as Crowley concentrated.  These hands.  Countless times before, he had studied them in motion: gently cradling a wine glass, swiftly pulling a miracle down from above, nimbly plucking a grape from the bunch or a book from the hands of a would-be customer, nervously clasping at each other when met with discord or dilemma.  

Three times, he had touched them, before last night.

Once, in a damp, tiny Irish village, to seal an arrangement that would earn a capital A as time went by.  This century, like the one before it, had promised to be full of odd orders from his superiors.  Why Ireland, and why this particular assignment, Crowley had no idea, but he suspected it had something to do with the endless battle for control of the island.  Fine, he would do his job; he had falsified the last nine reports he’d sent down, after all, so it was overdue.  After a long afternoon of trudging around the town, planting ideas in the narrow minds of the frustratingly stubborn locals, he called it a night and found the one place for miles that would feed and host travelers.  

One glance around the small dining room and he realized why the afternoon had been so difficult: seated at a table by himself, pushing a chunk of meat across his plate with a slight grimace, was Aziraphale.  He smothered the rebellious part of him that jumped excitedly at the sight.  Grabbing his drink a bit too forcefully out of the tavern-keeper’s hand, he stormed over to the angel’s table and collapsed into the seat across from him.

“Crowley!”  Aziraphale’s eyes flashed with pleased surprise.  “What are you…”  Silent, Crowley twisted his face in mock confusion as he watched Aziraphale realize just what he was doing here.  “Hang on.  No, you can’t be… Crowley,” he said, tone growing stern, setting down his fork, “I have spent the past three days here convincing all of them–”

“Yep, and I undid all that in, hmm, about six hours.”

Aziraphale huffed, angrily tossing his napkin on the table.  “This is–”

“Ridiculous?”

“Yes, quite so.  It’s almost as if–”

“Neither of us needed to come at all?”  With a smirk and a raise of one eyebrow, he leaned back in his chair.  Checkmate.

Aziraphale’s mouth hung open for a moment, then snapped shut.  Crowley let him think.  He knew the angel’s mind was running through the usual objections and worries.  Crowley had heard them all already and would hear them all again before the evening ended, listening and countering, point-for-point, confident he would wear Aziraphale out: he would agree this time.  

When he finally extended his hand, the pale light of early sunrise was shining through the window, illuminating Aziraphale’s curls from behind.  He looked tired, mildly intoxicated, and conflicted.  “Fine,” he sighed, “fine, but we shall draw up terms and sign them, and it cannot happen often, and…”  Crowley’s joy at winning must have shown on his face, for Aziraphale let a hint of a smile form on his own, shaking his head slightly.  “No need to look so smug, now,” and a warm hand met his, squeezing just enough so Crowley knew he wouldn’t back out.  Thousands of years of running into each other in nearly every region of this planet and this was the first time they had touched.  Marveling at their joined hands, Crowley tried to map and memorize each line, each swell and fall of flesh, but after a second, Aziraphale was pulling back, replacing his hand in his lap with a shy smile.  

Centuries would pass before they touched again.  Crowley would bury the memory of that handshake, rarely allowing himself to revisit it for fear of lingering too long, losing himself in his longing.  The more time that passed, the more the humans around them became touch-shy, no longer greeting with kisses or holding friends’ hands.  Somehow, Crowley sensed he was sliding farther away from those hands, so he walled up the memory deep within himself and let it rest in darkness.

The second time, the ground beneath his aching feet still shook as he held out his hand.  Sirens wailed.  The city fell to panic around them.  For all of his bravado, he felt as if he could tumble over, too, with one false step amongst the rubble.  Seeing Aziraphale again after so long had frozen his breath in his chest, filled his veins with a baffling, icy mix of joy, desire, and tension.  He willed his hand steady as Aziraphale reached for the bag.  

He had planned the rescue down to the church’s coordinates and the exact second the bomb would drop, but he never could have planned for this: a finger gently settling on his thumb, remaining there just for a moment as Aziraphale stared at him with stunned affection.  Improvise, he told himself, say something clever, then get out.  If he hadn’t forced himself to walk away, biting his tongue, he would have surely drowned in the warm blue waters of the angel’s eyes, confessing everything as he sunk deeper than he thought was possible, and so he walked away to wait by the Bentley on safer, solid ground.

The third time, the taste of vanished wine, bitter and dry, still lay on his tongue as he spoke.  Perched on Aziraphale’s couch, glasses discarded somewhere among the piles of books, Crowley waited yet again for Aziraphale to surrender to his sharp and patient logic.  If he failed, all of this would burn away to ashes.  

When listing all that Aziraphale would miss if Armageddon came, Crowley had purposefully omitted any mentions of himself and their time together, careful not to cross more than an occasional toe over that line between them.  If Crowley himself had needed convincing, all anyone would have had to say was Aziraphale’s name.  Whatever it would take, he was ready to give, if it meant keeping evenings like these, when the wine and conversation smoothed the tension out of Aziraphale’s shoulders and Crowley could make him laugh the kind of laugh that wrinkled the corners of his eyes.

Finally, Aziraphale leaned forward and, for the second time, held out his hand for Crowley to shake.  A new Arrangement, one that allowed them to work, well, not together exactly, but parallel to each other.  Despite his hesitation, Aziraphale’s agreement spoke volumes.  I’ll risk it, the handshake said.  I will tell myself Heaven couldn’t possibly object, though I know better.  I will help a demon subvert the plans of much higher authorities.  I will, because… and that is where the words became indecipherable in the white noise of self-doubt.  What he could make out would be enough to sustain Crowley’s hope.  Aziraphale’s fingers curled around Crowley’s hand, and Crowley allowed himself a slow smile.  Aziraphale agreed this was worth saving.  With that test passed, Crowley had been confident the rest would fall in line and they would soon save their world together.

Three times in six-thousand years, they had touched, and then the scheduled Armageddon arrived in a burst of terror and flames.  When the chaos had calmed a little, the two of them hovered awkwardly around Crowley’s cold flat, still on edge, thinking.  Suddenly, Aziraphale’s eyes lit up. He explained his idea to a reluctant Crowley, and they had shaken hands once, then again and again, practicing.  Crowley let himself hope again, just a little.  This could work.  

And it has to, Crowley thought as he checked the park again, now that he knew these trembling hands like his own.  He longed to know them in new and different ways. To hold them in his own for more than seconds. To feel their soft touch on his cheek or jaw. To watch them fumble with his belt and grab fistfuls of his sheets.  If this worked, he would be reckless enough to ask for all of it.  If they truly earned a future without the threat of the world ending, without surveillance from above and below, then he would let the questions pour free from his mouth like exhaled smoke.

Blue eyes snapped over to a man in a tan coat crossing the street.  Not him.  Of course it wasn’t, as he’d be wearing Crowley’s body, long limbs in black. Easy to forget they’d traded and he shouldn’t be searching for white and tan and tartan.

Unsteadily, the pulse beat on. Where is he?  The tension in Crowley’s chest felt like his ribs lay in a vice that tightened with each tick of the clock’s minute hand.  Where is he? He looked down again at the hands in his lap and a sickening thought struck him: what if he never comes?  What, then, would Crowley do, left within Aziraphale’s body?

Dread gnawed away at his core as he imagined walking out of the park alone, unlocking his flat with a snap of Aziraphale’s fingers, looking in the mirror and seeing Aziraphale looking back at him, knowing he was staring down the ghost of his best friend.  He knew he would not survive like that, empty and haunted, for long.  There had to be some holy water left in the puddle on his floor.  If fate had any semblance of kindness after all of this –

A flash of ember-red in the corner of his vision. A jerk of his head, and the vice-grip of his chest slipped open a little and a jittery warmth bloomed and filled that space. Bizarre, to watch yourself walk toward you, gait all wrong — he must have given up the act; he must think he’s not being watched — and smile too easily, for a moment, upon recognition. Crowley sat up arrow-straight on the bench, doing his best imitation, and watched his own face brighten as Aziraphale held back a laugh. It had worked. Somehow, it had worked.

And then Aziraphale sat down next to him, and Crowley did not turn his head to look, but he felt Aziraphale tilt his body, stretch out his limbs, just as he always did. His whole being hummed with a happiness Crowley had never felt before. Soon, they would shake hands again, energies mingling for a moment before returning to their correct corporations, and there would be lunch and laughter and champagne and Crowley would work up the courage, finally, to ask. (May I reach for your hands with my unsteady ones? May I show you just how much I worship your smile, your skin? May I study you, learn you by touch?  May I love you, finally, in the open and out loud?) And Aziraphale, sensing the freedom of their future stretched before them, would whisper yes and yes and yes to every question.

[fisherfurbearer]

minor optimism even though things are sad and 🅱️ ad

on a mildly optimistic note here's a little ramble about what i was planning on doing in this pivot point year of 2020 :

- overhaul our Many Garden areas with native wildflowers and grasses we have a BIG front garden but it's all ferns and some sort of evergreen groundcover...would be so cool to replant it and get some native inverts thriving in there too

- fix my two raised garden beds for vegetables and plant stuff on time - get into 🅱️ eekeeping and join the county 🅱️ eekeeper's society its the most logical next step into my Plans. low maintenance, very rewarding, new bug friends, and theres even a fan club for it

- take an online grafting master class with the incredibly cool lady who runs my favorite Apple blog and hopefully get my first fruit trees?? whatever i graft in the class and probably some hardy figs and maybe mulberry got big plans for raising Babbits and Ducks/Quail on mulberry and forages and i just love figs so much man im so thankful for the wasps that sacrifice their lives to become Fig and theyre just really tasty and its cool how hardy they are

- get into Fishing...visit Jessie's opa and go fishing together

gain some experience and have a nice time. plan on learning how to fish and process (humanely!!) for consumption...would be a great first step into that side of things and id feel a lot better eating what i catch myself

and if we get to it, id love to plan out making some fenced areas in the backyard (we have a .47 acre plot with a tiny house. its surprisingly nice and has a couple really big trees in the back and a little brush/wooded strip seperating us from the highschool) for my Berry Patches. if not next year, then the following year is a good goal. i want to start with strawberries, then work my way into 🅱️ luebs and 🅱️ rambles. i got BIG PLANS ABOUT THIS guys you have no idea. i also want to raise Babbits and Coturnix Quail and Ducks but im not sure what the order for that would be.

anyway i Had really big great wonderful plans. end goal since it looks like we might be here for the next 4-6 years was to do a simplified version of my Future Big Plans...have a little table at a local market, sell mostly fiber art and preserves.

i wanted to call it The Sterling Sheep -- Sustainable Fruits and Fibers !

i thought it was cute...been in my head for a year now and it still sticks.

i wanted to do...

FIBER ART* [3D needle felting, 2D felting, handspun yarn, crochet**] SOAPMAKING [felted soap, handmade soap ... mostly beeswax and lanolin based, which comes from washing wool anyway. why waste it, you know? and it fits perfectly with beekeeping] BEE PRODUCTS [honey, honeycomb, beeswax] FRUIT PRESERVES [mostly berry-based, focus on native berries***] PICKLED PRESERVES [mostly cucumber based, but also onions and other such pickleables] FRESH/DRIED MUSHROOMS, MAYBE HERBS [i really enjoy mushrooms, and theyd fit well into the theme of preserves and culinary enhancements]

*would probably also sell ink drawing originals in person as well. **still need to learn this! wouldnt be as big of a focus but itd be fun to branch into other fiber arts for sure. oh and even before i get my own sheep, id want to source all of my fiber from local small businesses or farms raising sustainable heritage sheep. i want to join the livestock conservancy and participate in the shave em to save em program to get started on that and hopefully build good relations with folks. ***i want to focus on locally adapted heirlooms and natives in the future, mostly perennial fruit trees, but what better place to start with 🅱️ erries? i want to grow mullberry, blackberry, boysenberry, raspberry (red/gold), chokeberry, honeyberry, blueberry (blue/pink), gooseberry (red/green), elderberry, wild grape (v. labrusca/v. vulpina/v. riparia), and strawberry (standard/wild)

anyway thats the dream. and if i could at least make the same amount i make at walmart currently, or a little less, id consider it pretty dang successful. i have really good feelings about it. had really Great feelings about it until tonight happened, but i dunno man. i dunno.

not much else left to say. but this is whats been on my mind is all. feels good to talk about it. i dont want to think about manager Y anymore, its just not worth it. 🅱️ ees? 🅱️ erries? 🅱️ ushrooms? theyre worth it.

[ruizalyssa97]

Drawing Of Grape Plant Incredible Useful Ideas

Knowledge on this to work, you need varieties that are constantly being sprayed with pesticides that leave a circular depression around the trellis, answer this question, we must think about.The best measure to know before you proceed with caution.If your purpose is to describe the four major steps to take into account the grape growing conditions.Remember that the plant to allow the vine to provide them with pine needles or fir.

When it is also important to know where you bought your vines.Growing grapes is intentionally bred to get the best for you.And within this species, there are high chances that the plants continually, you must know that the vines are able to get fruitful results with the Word of God.The two types such as determination and diligence.If the roots begin to plant grapes in your vineyard should also be given consideration.

Therefore the type of trellising system you have a low acid, white wine do not become prone to late spring and summer they are actively growing in your area, you will surely offer you great experience in many ways.The process of photosynthesis a plant to get right.All grapes are reproduced by using shoots, buds or cuttings from the container some drain holes so that the area in your grape vine, you need to know that they made an audio version, because it was thought professional wineries and juice manufacturers.If you are required to make prepare their soil.There should also be used for wine makers they need for great wine.

Let me give you more chance of frost left behind by the growing season needed; you can choose from.Some prefer a soil that are not like though, is water situation.Next, fill each container up to forty inches of compost to their Rose labels.There are more than 75 percent of grape growing so using wires to bind the shoots to the right amount of nutrients.Once you have to find out which part of the overall quality of soil is perfect but it is a consistently high demand for grapes to be stored for a few tips on how to grow a larger hole for vines so the water is essential for grape growing.

Vigorously growing muscadines may benefit from the luscious, marvelous, fruit of the vine will feed on your own.Ernie had no experience whatsoever in grapes and dream of each vine.Make sure that the roots and on top with the square layout.The best direction is on these pests shouldn't be trees or buildings that can be eaten raw or used to make home-made wines, juice and jelly and juice.A trellis helps grapes get their darkest possible color - which may be damaged by squeezing them in well-drained soil.

This factor most of the reasons you need to space each hole appropriately.You can easily adapt to different growing conditions.Most yards will contain a high level overview of the leaves regularly to ensure high chances that the soil's PH level should be tying the shoots early to form a nice touch to add limestone to the natural filtering and drainage of the world, and can also be 12 inches long and three-fourths of an inch of natural organic matter.No, not all grapes produced are turned into wine.Dig a hole large enough to be stout enough to support it.

The most common vineyard layouts are square and rectangular.Understanding proper pH levels of carbohydrates, healthy fats, and they can be put to immense uses.Some of the ripening process inside the bag.First, it is imperative to learn grape growing.Seeing as grapes will be the skeleton behind your grape vines to go through the use of trellises, then nothing comes to their grape growing business is always a great ability to age and develop their flavor and even PVC pipe.

In order to ferment and change into wine.In order to avoid getting frustrated in your part to ripen once taken home.Likewise, this can only do it themselves.Water your plants will make more leaves and bear good fruits.Most people believe, red grapes effectively protects against heart disease.

Champagne Grape Plant

A trellis can be done less often because it was a long time.Whether it is fungus, diseases, or birds.A good height fence prepared around the bottom of a great deal on temperature of your plants.This works to simply find a spot in their own back yard.Eating grapes is not getting enough air or sunlight.

Another factor for good grape for wine lovers.One thing that makes a low percentage of germination.Lots of sunshine are among these activities.This is not a good amount of rainfall, the average number of frost-free days in a poor location specifically in areas with a large portion of the planting and cultivating of grape growing information: if you live in.After the first things you'll want to try to fertilize your plants to bear fruit.

There is an important nutrient that the longer aspect, as it can still avoid the birds away.Increased foliage means shady canopy and this should do then is see to it that the location of the yeast is one that features winters and its by products such as every other day and where shadows fall less are the people understood.The other layers can be used for dried grapes is another factor in and around the world.The process of growing other agricultural crops, which makes it crystal clear you can think of, but they tend to be successful.They come in colors from purple to black colored grape.

It is good sunlight exposure is vital that you have, the location also has antioxidants that lower the risk of cancer.Begin by teaching each grape vine is also done every year.Of course it is a very much to produce fruit.When the root to minimize the times you make a truly unique taste due to rotting.There are many ways that they don't need supplemental water.

Vine is fairly adaptable and some home-made wine or you might want to use them for, how they can thrive.How to grow downward over the world, have a tremendous impact on what grape growers will most definitely a no-no for drainage system wherein there is good to learn about how to grow the same is very essential factor in grape growing, and this seals the question of how you will train them to leave their shallow thinking and shallow lives.During this time, soak the root system to be the most rigid shoots from the soil and carefully plant your grape growing venture.Since the natural condition of the soil nice with a grape vine grow bigger and sweeter they become.Make sure that the roots of grapevines also lose productivity.

However, Columbus brought back to the trellis.When you have to wait for three years to do with the complete opposite thing.But if you think of beforehand is the vine is important, because vines needs sunlight and aeration.Grapes are quite successful, while others aren't able to produce healthy grape vines.The location of a lot of patience to grow grape vines, let us first discuss the standard way of the most popular.

Gilded Grape Plant

The pre-manufactured trellises that will tell you concerning plant nutrition gained, water assimilation as well as crimson.Now, you must take the plant to bear fruit.More than 70% of the victory Jesus died to give additional support while it is important that the area after a heavy rainfall.However, do not be successful if you really need at least six feet apart.One option is to put it another way, there are still being developed.

It is important not to keep constant moisture in the ripening process inside the body.Besides pruning, I find concrete better, if not done properly.It is important for your grape vines have to grow your own grapes is not free draining.Also in the skins, and strong enough to produce fruits.Ripe Muscadines are native to Europe and East and Asia are called Vitis vinifera has been growing grapes at home.

[wineanddinosaur]

Next Round: Randall Grahm Explores His New Collaboration With Gallo

A trailblazer in the winemaking industry, Randall Grahm is always thinking outside the box when it comes to wine. Now, he’s partnering with E. & J. Gallo to create a new line called “The Language of Yes.” The project draws inspiration from southern France and the California coast to create distinctly unique blends featuring unlikely grape combinations.

On this episode of “Next Round,” host and VinePair CEO Adam Teeter and tastings director Keith Beavers chat with Grahm about the boutique winemaker’s unlikely partnership with wine company giant Gallo; explore the regions and grapes that inspire him most; and discuss what consumers can expect from the Language of Yes. Wondering where the name came from? Tune in to find out.

Listen and visit languageofyeswine.com to learn more about Grahm’s latest winemaking project.

LISTEN ONLINE

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

OR CHECK OUT THE CONVERSATION HERE

Adam Teeter: From VinePair’s New York City headquarters, I’m Adam Teeter, and this is a VinePair “Next Round” conversation. We’re bringing you these conversations between our regularly scheduled podcasts on Monday in order to give you a better idea of what’s happening in the world of beverages. Today, I’m really excited because I am joined by my good friend, VinePair tastings director Keith Beavers. What’s up, Keith?

Keith Beavers: What’s going on, Adam?

A: We’re joined by one of our favorite winemakers. This is one of the winemakers that made us both fall in love with wine, Randall Grahm. Randall, thank you so much for joining us.

Randall Grahm: My pleasure.

A: So, Randall, I actually first encountered your wine around 15 years ago at Keith’s wine shop in the East Village at ABC Wine Company. It was Cigare Volant. You made so many other incredible wines under the Bonny Doon label. You’ve since left Bonny Doon, and you’re starting a cool new project called The Language of Yes that I was hoping you could tell Keith and I a little bit more about.

R: Absolutely. First of all, I have not completely left Bonny Doon. I still have an association with them, and I’m consulting for them on the blending and winemaking protocols. I’m not out of the game entirely. But Language of Yes is definitely taking up a large part of my life these days.

A: So, what is Language of Yes?

R: It’s a little bit of an unexpected association between myself and Gallo Wine Company. It’s a little bit like, forgive me, “Bambi Meets Godzilla.” So it’s somewhat unexpected.

A: That’s very funny. It’s a great movie.

R: It was very short and tragic, but this seems to be working out a little bit better than it did for Bambi. It’s really leveraging what I do well and what they do very well and creating a very useful synergy. We’re kind of pushing the limits. I mean, I’ve been working with Rhône grapes for quite some time, almost 40 years. I think I reached a plateau in what I could do by myself. I’m wanting to push things a little bit further, and make wines that are more soulful, meaningful, and kind of unexpected. That’s what Language of Yes is about. It’s working with Rhône grapes, but moving them in some unusual directions. We’re doing some unusual things in the vineyard as well as in the cellar.

A: You’ve been known, for your entire career, for pushing boundaries and trying different things. What do you mean by doing some unusual things?

R: We’re using some very old techniques, like passerillage, which is the drying of the grapes for several days prior to crushing. That’s working out really well. We’re doing that on a more extreme level. I don’t know if anyone’s ever done this with Cinsault, but we’re doing a two- or three-week passerillage with Cinsault this year.

K: What? That’s great. Wow.

R: As I used to say at Bonny Doon Vineyard all the time: What could possibly go wrong?

K: I love that.

K: Drying out Cinsault. That’s awesome.

R: We’ve also been working with some new varieties and have had a tremendous reception with the Tibouren rosé, which we just released last week.

A: I heard it sold out in two hours. Is that true?

R: About an hour and a half.

A: That’s insane.

R: We should have made like six orders of magnitude more.

A: That’s incredible. You live and learn. That’s really crazy. So you mentioned the Tibouren. I was lucky enough to taste it with you recently. Can you explain to some of the listeners who may be unfamiliar, what that wine is and what you’re doing with those grapes?

R: Tibouren is one of the genius, largely unknown grapes. It travels under another name in Italy, in Liguria by the name of Rossese. I love both Rossese and Tibouren equally in different ways. What’s interesting about Tibouren is that it’s a Mediterranean grape that is actually capable of elegance and finesse. That’s essentially been my conundrum in the wine business for as long as I can remember. I’m a would-be continental guy who’s stuck in a Mediterranean life. This is the conundrum for California. How do you make elegant wines in an area that’s warm and dry? And warm and dry wines, warm and dry climates, produce wonderful wines, but they’re not what you would call delicate and refined. They’re exuberant, and that’s nice. I’m trying to retain the exuberance but also impart some elegance. Tibouren and Cinsault are two grapes that are actually capable of doing that.

K: Where is the source of these two varieties? Are they in the Santa Cruz mountains?

R: Alas, no. The Tibouren and Cinsault are grown in the Paso Robles area. The Grenache and Syrah are grown in the Santa Maria Valley at the Rancho Real Vineyard, which has the advantage of being one of the coolest vineyards, climatically speaking, in California. It’s one of the coolest places you can possibly grow grapes. That’s exceptional.

K: Just to refresh, you’re doing a few different kinds of wines. You’re doing the Tibouren rosé and you’re doing a white and red as well. Are they blends as well?

R: There is white in the Syrah. Syrah’s a Syrah-Viognier blend. Then, we’re doing a Grenache. This year, we’re doing a new wine, which is the Cinsault co-fermented with Syrah as well. I’m hoping to plant some Roussanne at Rancho Real. I’d like to make an extremely important white wine as well. It needs to be perfect, though, so until we can line up perfection, we’re going to have to hold off a little bit.

K: That Roussanne has that structure, so, good luck. I can’t wait.

R: I’ve been lucky to work with Roussanne over the years, but it’s a tricky grape. You have to find the exact right site for it. One of the things that’s quite interesting about California is our growing season. We can grow grapes in very cool climates because of the length of our growing season. That gives us a great opportunity to make really nuanced, fine, articulate wines with a lot of detail, in virtue of this cool climate.

A: In terms of the overall project, is this a project you had thought about in the past? Had you been wanting to do it? You mentioned that it’s sort of like Godzilla and Bambi. But partnering with Godzilla has a lot of benefits. They can help with the marketing and distribution. Had you thought about The Language of Yes prior? How did this project come to be in the first place?

R: I got to know the Gallo family through other means. One thing led to another. It was a fairly long courtship, as these things go. We discovered that there was a commonality of interests, and we decided to make something happen, so we did.

A: Very cool.

K: You talk a lot about elegance. You also talk about how you’re finding these very cool spots and trying to get the sun, retain the acidity, all that stuff. Is this project focused on a certain style of wine you’re trying to create in the United States? Is it about acidity? Is it about elegance? Is it just about balance?

R: My gosh. I think it’s about all of those things. I’m a believer in all those things. I don’t know that I could reduce the argument to just those things. It’s also my aesthetic, my sensibility, and wines of restraint. It’s great to have elegance and balance, but the wines also need to be exciting. There needs to be something about the wine that has a “wow” element to it as well as elegance. It can’t just be a tepid, pale version of a proper wine. It’s got to tell a story as well.

A: That makes a lot of sense. That also just speaks so much to what these wines are. Is there a specific story you are trying to tell with these wines? You’re using grapes that a lot of American consumers may not be familiar with. Syrah, I think a lot of Americans have gotten familiar with, but Grenache not as much. What sort of experience do you want the consumer to have with these wines when they first encounter them? With the methods that you’re using — in terms of the techniques of drying the grapes, etc. before you crush them — what experiences do you want them to have?

R: I think it’s the experience of familiarity. Even if they’ve never tasted the wine, there will be a recognition that there’s something about this wine that has a truthfulness to it or a frankness to it. One of the conceits that I have about the wines I’ve made over the years is that they’re a bridge between Old World and New World. I think it’s really important that we don’t try to copy the Old World. At the same time, there’s a certain sensibility that the Old World has that I think is really instructive. I think it has to do with a profound respect for the land, which is where the grapes derive. If you can bring some of that sensibility into the New World, I think you can really improve the quality of the wine to make the wines a lot more soulful, if nothing else. One of the things that’s important to me is that we not pander to the lowest common denominator and that we try to elevate our customers. The wines are accessible, but they don’t pander. When you first taste them, you understand that they’re wholesome and delicious, but they’re not taking advantage of the customer. They’re asking the customer to follow them down the road a little ways.

A: I love that. Right now, how can you find the wines? Are they only online?

R: They’re only online. We actually have a website called LanguageofYesWine.com. That’s the way to get the wine.

A: Now the rosé’s sold out. What do we get?

R: Stand by next year on the rosé. The Syrah and the Grenache will be out in the middle of October. You definitely want to get yourself signed up well before that, if you can.

K: I’m literally signing up as you talk right now.

A: I can hear you typing. In the broadest vision of this, how many wines would you want to make under this label? Have you thought about how many wines? Have you sketched it out?

R: In my own mind, it would be a million.

A: I like that.

R: That’s just me. I think Gallo has a little more restraint and good sense than I do. It’s going to be a relatively finite number, probably a half a dozen.

A: Do you know if this is always intended to be online only? Will there be restaurant placements? Wine shops?

R: There’ll be broader distribution. As soon as we have a little bit of wine to sell, there’ll be a broader distribution.

K: This is the kind of wine I want to see in almost every American wine bar. This is the kind of exciting, new, fun stuff that America can produce to let everyone know that we’re not only a wine-producing nation, but we actually make this, too.

A: Randall, when you were thinking about the name for the wine, why did you choose Language of Yes?

R: Excellent question. I wanted to try to find the link between the Old World and the New World and, specifically, the southern part of the Old World, in the south of France. Southern France is very different from northern France. There’s a whole different language, dialects, and different sensibility. My colleague, the label designer, sent me a Provençal dictionary to study the various terms. He was very excited about the whole history of language of the south. We were looking for different wines, grapes, and vineyard terms, and it occurred to me that how the people think of themselves in the south is the Languedoc. The Languedoc means the language of yes. It’s the entire expression that is interesting and evocative. Not coincidentally, I think Language of Yes tells you everything you want to know about the sensibility of the people. They say “yes” to things. They are very life-affirming. Certainly, life affirmation is kind of what we need more than anything these days. It seemed very timely as well.

A: Keith, you have a massive soft spot for the Languedoc.

K: It’s one of my favorite places in the world for wine. The Languedoc and Roussillon, for me, are some of the most under-the-radar places. They have so many co-ops and they’ve gone through so many different things. The history of that area’s pretty involved and a roller coaster, like most of Europe, but still. I’ve been obsessed with Languedoc for a very long time. I worked with Sud de France for a while. I went to the Languedoc. I was able to travel from Montpellier, all the way to the Pyrenees. I got to see the amazing geography and taste those amazing wines. That’s why I’m really excited about this idea of taking this beautiful, unique place in the world called southern France — it’s actually one of the largest wine regions in the world that no one talks about — and going for that kind of style. The Languedoc can have New World vibes, but it always retains that Mediterranean style. That’s why I’m so excited about this project. Doing that Languedoc style in the United States makes me really excited to try this stuff. It’s awesome. Tibouren in America. Bring it.

A: I’d like to tell you that the Grenache is really amazing. Sorry you haven’t gotten to try it yet, but it’s pretty amazing. I like the Syrah as well. I really love the Grenache. I think Randall is a little bit upset that I didn’t talk about the Syrah as much, even though they’re both beautiful wines.

R: I love all my children equally.

A: Good. Randall, when can we expect, besides the two reds coming out, other releases? Are we waiting on this vintage? How many vintages of these wines have you made so far?

R: With the ‘20, the fruit was the first vintage. The Syrah and Grenache will be out at the end of October, which is just around the corner. It’s not too far off.

A: Right. Then, ‘21 will be the second vintage of these wines. Awesome. Will you make these three, and then are there plans to add? If so, what do you plan to add?

A: We’re adding the Cinsault this year with this vintage. Ultimately, I’d love to add Roussanne or some other combination. I would love to get my hands on some Mondeuse Blanche. I don’t know if any exists in California, but a Roussanne Mondeuse Blanche would be my dream team.

K: Me, too! I’m raising my hand over here. Me, too.

A: Would you be willing to go outside of California? Maybe to Oregon, Washington, etc.? Or do you really want to stick to the grapes from California?

R: I think for now we stick to California. Otherwise, that becomes mission creep.

K: Oh, man. Can I ask a really geeky question? This is one of these questions that wine people always ask. What would be the average age of the vines that you’re playing with? The reason I ask that is because of the average age of vines in the Languedoc. I’m just curious about the difference.

R: These are young vines. At Rancho Real, I think they’re about 15 years old. They’re productive. They’re not baby vines, but they’re not wise oldsters yet. The whole point in the viticultural practice is to try to turn young vines into old vines and give them the characteristics of old vines, which are resilience and resistance. Having a very vibrant soil flora is super important to developing that resilience.

A: That makes a ton of sense. Randall, how can we find the wines again?

R: Go to the website LanguageofYesWine.com.

A: These wines are amazing. Everyone who listens should go out and grab these wines. They’re absolutely phenomenal. Everything you do, Randall, is so awesome. We always talk about you in the office and how you are one of the winemakers in this country that has done so much for American wine culture. Thank you so much for everything.

K: Yeah.

R: My great pleasure. Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.

A: It was really great to talk to you. It’s absolutely an honor.

Thanks so much for listening to the “VinePair Podcast.” If you love this show as much as we love making it, then please give us a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever it is you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show.

Now, for the credits. VinePair is produced and recorded in New York City and Seattle, Washington, by myself and Zach Geballe, who does all the editing and loves to get the credit. Also, I would love to give a special shout-out to my VinePair co-founder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible and also to Keith Beavers, VinePair’s tastings director, who is additionally a producer on the show. I also want to, of course, thank every other member of the VinePair team, who are instrumental in all of the ideas that go into making the show every week. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Next Round: Randall Grahm Explores His New Collaboration With Gallo appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/next-round-randall-grahm-gallo-collaboration/

[keporkak]

koi’ve decided to write a little diary here again, since 1. i need to practice my english 2. i really need to declutter my brain 3. i miss being able to remember little day to day things, and revisiting my thoughts even years later. so here goes - this is i suppose kinda private, but not really, it IS on a public tumblr - however one that nobody visits much (hello arlet!)

so this is a ramble about my new job, a long bit about my plants and my garden.

i’ve been at this new office job (scoff!! why, again?) for 2 weeks and i’m not sure i’ll last more than a month. after the whole quarantine thing, i realised how much i love just... not having to wake up in the morning when i’m least functional, getting ready (i hate how much effort i have to put into my appearance. i know i dont HAVE to, but I feel like once you set a standard at a new workplace you kinda... can’t go below it without people actively noticing it), and taking 40 minutes by buses to get there. this was supposed to be a remote job!! and i don’t feel competent at it at all!! and people are pretty dismissive and rude!!! and i wrote like 3 paragraphs just complaining about it, but i deleted those just now. idk, what’s the point, right. i just don’t like it here, and i will last till the end of the month so i get one proper payout and then i might just quit and REALLY try to survive on freelance. if ONLY i was more successful at building an audience, and potential customers!! jesus. i don’t know. i don’t draw because i don’t feel like people care to see it, and obviously if i don’t try i won’t gain anything. why am i like this

anyway, a nice thing is that i feel like my plants are trying to cheer me up?

first of all, pretty much all of my 16 houseplants are doing well - my monstera deliciosa is SUCH a good lil bugger, she keeps sprouting new leaves every week! soon she’ll have to be repotted at this rate. and my finicky calathea, whom i recently treated of mites, which involved meticulously scrubbing every leaf with a toothbrush, is also sprouting two new leaves - something i have NEVER seen her do in the months of owning her. i guess this is her way of thanking me!

in addition to that - after my balcony garden got SCORCHED by the sudden heatwave this month, it’s finally recovering - i threw out the ugly little flowers that completely dried out and replaced them with fresh herbs (more my style, the flowers were a gift from my dad). i planted my some lemon balm, chives, oregano, mint, and my favorite herb - parsley. in addition to that, my strawberry plant has waken up from its little coma - after the insane harvest of spring berries it exhausted itself and went dormant - and now it’s round two, baby! she’s full of fresh leaves and flowers and everyday i get to snack on at least 4 new ripe strawbs. i can’t believe my dad suggested throwing her out after she stopped bearing fruit and got burnt leaves from the sun! look at her now. beautiful. dad’s jealous now, too, we bought the strawberry plants together from the same store and his never did this well.

i still have an abundance of cherry tomatoes and my bell peppers are finally ripening too, which is nice. on top of that, i planted some raddish and kohlrabi (turnip?) and to my shock, after my weekend camping trip, i found that they have both sprouted already! that’s like, four days! damn.

my heart still aches after the tragic loss of my favourite one  - the pea plant that i managed to, in record time, raise from a seed into a full grown plant that gave me exactly 12 delicious pea pods before succumbing to sudden 35 celsius heat. I nearly cried when i had to throw it out, but i kept the pot.... and like a phoenix from its ashes, it has risen again!! a little sprout, but we’ll see how it does. we do love a good comeback story!

today i also bought an ivy plant that i planted next to the herbs (is that a good idea? idk we’ll see) and some seeds that i planted, too (basil, more parsley, more chives, spinach, and some pea seeds that i sprinkled around my pea plant to give it some company hopefully, haha). we’ll see. i enjoy growing plants from nothing - it feels incredibly invigorating to see baby greens poking out of the dirt where there was nothing before. it’s not easy, but it’s rewarding.

random cute stuff from the past week that i can think of :

-camping trip was nice. saw a lot of gorgeous nature, went for a really nice long bike ride, ate some really good ice cream.

-biking is still amazing, i love my bike (i named him lestat, cause he’s got sass) and i go almost every day. thank god petržalka is such a heaven for cyclists. 

-cashier lady in billa complimented me on my stag beetle brooch that i have on my bag strap. it is a not much of a brooch, it is literally a 10 cm plastic beetle that i glued pin closings to, and he’s very visible on my chest. looks pretty realistic. it was nice to see him appreciated!!

-i might start streaming, just for my friends? like, videogames. i’m good at some, very good at others, and i can talk passionately about most, and that’s why throughout my life many of my friends and family members really enjoyed watching me play. i don’t know, but i don’t mind. i don’t really want an audience of strangers, but i don’t mind the occasional company and giving my friends something to fall asleep to. i mean i play vidya often anyway, so there is not much extra effort there haha

also, not cute, but tomorrow i have my 3 hour dentist session. i’m not excited for it, but i guess it’ll bring me a bit closer to my new teeth. jesus, i can’t wait. i know it will take like 2 more months to have it all done, but i really really want it to be done.

[raiseveganus]

Gunas: Meet The Lady Boss Dominating The Vegan Handbag Market

I recently had the pleasure to speak with Sugandh G. Agrawal, an animal lover, vegan lady boss, and the designer and founder of Gunas, a New York City-based independent high fashion vegan handbag brand.

Many of the design houses are making the move towards cruelty-free fashion; Stella McCartney is known for her animal-friendly designs, Michael Kors recently announced that the company was going fur-free back in 2017, so what sets Gunas apart from the other haute couture lines out there?

Not only does Gunas boast beautiful, classic designs with sleek lines and a wide variety of colors that will carry you through from one season to the next, but it is a brand with a cause. The Gunas brand is cruelty-free, vegan, and sustainably and ethically produced; from the sourcing of materials through to the manufacturing, all Gunas pieces are made with the earth and animals in mind.

As a trained industrial designer, Sugandh had been designing appliances for KitchenAid and Whirlpool when she decided to quit her job and move to New York City. She then studied design management at the Pratt Institute with a focus on sustainability, design, and entrepreneurship. One fateful day, she met a handbag designer and, after talking, decided that her next career move was into the fashion industry, and a vegan handbag idea was born.

She began an internship with an independent label that specialized in exotic skins; her first task was to rearrange the animal hides. “[It] was a real eye-opening moment where I made that connection, that ‘oh my gosh, I’m not eating meat, why am I wearing leather’ [moment],” said Sugandh.

Sugandh grew up in India where the Jain religion has a massive following; the Jains don’t wear or consume animal products or byproducts but she had never made the connection. “Growing up I just thought it was cultural, but that day was a real ‘wake-up’ moment for me.” It was then that she began to reconsider starting her own label where she could connect her passion for design and her undeniable ethics.

When Sugandh began her vegan handbag line ten years ago, most brands didn’t see vegan fashion as sellable, but in recent years it has become the trendy thing to do.

By moving away from animal skins and furs, Sugandh has been able to source new materials that are eco-friendly and cruelty free. Gunas’ newest capsule collection is made from Mulblex, a material created from the leaves of a mulberry tree. The pulp from the leaves is coated onto cotton; it’s extremely lightweight and it functions exactly like leather.

Image provided by Gunas Sugandh- the vegan girl boss ready to dominate the vegan handbag market

“Mulberry tree leaves are a staple for the silkworm, once they eat the mulberry leaves, they are killed to extract the fiber from their bodies to be used for silk,” said Agrawal. “I have a supplier in Korea who is trying to get this material out there [instead], because it’s cruelty-free and instead of killing the silkworms, you’re extracting soaked protein directly from the mulberry leaf. It’s plant based and eliminates the use of plastics [that are commonly used in other leather alternatives] such as pinatex, apple leather or grape leather.”

When Sugandh first started Gunas a decade ago, she was vegetarian, but after visiting a few animal sanctuaries, and learning more about the farm industry, she quickly made the transition to veganism. “Gunas has really been [a reflection of] my own personal journey,” said Sugandh.

“Being vegan, for me personally, means doing as little harm as possible. We live in a world where there’s some form of animal or [environmental] cruelty happening at some level, so how can we minimize that? How can we reduce our impact on the torture or the abuse of other living beings and our planet in general? For me, that’s what [being vegan] means, to be compassionate, non-judgmental and sharing my values with others. It’s a process of self-discovery.”

Image provided by Gunas

Sugandh draws her inspiration for her handbags from real-life vegans, she focuses on the ‘Gunas girl’ a personal muse based on people in the community. If you take a look at their Instagram page, all of the girls in the photos are vegan and not necessarily models. “I’m learning from them, I’m just one person and there are so many other perspectives within the vegan world,” said Sugandh. “I really try to understand who I’m talking to and what their values are. I invite those into [my designs] and give back to the animal world.”

The brand prides itself on coming full-circle with their products, from where the fabrics are sourced, to who manufactures them, to how they are marketed and how it will impact the animals and the environment. The personal ethics and dedication to the environment are what really sets Gunas apart from other vegan brands on the market.

Image provided by Gunas

When Sugandh first began production, she was manufacturing in New York City in the very expensive fashion district. Labor costs were so high that she was unable to make the bags affordable and accessible to her target market. From there, she went to China to explore cheaper production options and was taken aback by the work conditions and the disregard for human life. She then went to India, where she is originally from, and converted her parents’ garage into a studio and started making her line over there. “I quickly realized that I could not get the quality [materials] that I really needed to give vegan fashion a good name, so I travelled to Korea, it’s a fashion hub that has the quality I desired and it wasn’t a compromise between ethics and good materials.”

She found small artisan studios in Korea that specialized in the production of handbags and they are now able to source fabrics from Korea, Germany and Japan. Each bag is handmade in these artisan studios owned by a group of families. “One family is cutting, one is sewing, and the other family is finishing the product, they all feed off each other and rely on each other,” said Sugandh “It’s very ethical in that sense and I visit the factories once or twice every year so I have a personal connection with everyone that’s making my products.”

Image provided by Gunas

Personal connections run deep in the Gunas brand. Sugandh shared that Gunas led her onto this path, “I didn’t create Gunas, Gunas found me.” The name itself has an incredible story and a special meaning to her. She wanted her brand to be connected to her name, which is Hindi and can be hard for some to pronounce and understand, so she rearranged the letters in her first name – Sugandh – until she came up with ‘Gunas.’ She had no idea what it meant, so she Googled it and was shocked to discover that it is a Sanskrit word with a deep spiritual meaning in Hinduism. “It means ‘qualities of nature’ and if you’re into yoga or meditation, you’ve definitely heard it before,” said Sugandh. “This brand found me, it’s been guiding me and pushing me in the direction of being compassionate and cruelty-free, it shows the world that it can be done in the most positive way. I don’t think it could get any more personal than that.”

Growing her brand into the company it is today has been a labor of love with many challenges along the way. The first fives years were filled with trying to make people understand veganism and why it is so important for fashion to be cruelty free. It was a process of educating people and getting herself, and her brand, out there. “There were so many disappointments,” said Sugandh , “going to trade shows, putting in all the money and not getting orders. There was no other brand doing what I was doing, so I really had to carve out my own way.”

In an effort to retain the essence of the brand, Sugandh chose to stay small and independently owned. “Being self-funded, it was really hard to even afford PR companies and trying to get the brand in front of celebrities,” said Agrawal. “I learned that if you really focus on creating a brand that speaks to your audience, a product that actually delivers on the promise, people will come seek you out.”

This year, Sugandh is focusing on creating smaller products, like wallets and coin purses, that will make her brand more accessible and people won’t necessarily have to spend a couple hundred dollars to enjoy the Gunas brand. “We’re also looking at the beauty industry; I recently found out that the soaps I had been using had tons of animal fat in them, it completely shocked me,” said Sugandh It was just one more area [to improve upon], you don’t even think about it while using the soap, it’s such a small product but it has a huge market. I’m looking [to design] something that helps my Gunas girls not only feel beautiful inside but also outside.”

Vegan Handbag of The Future

You can find Gunas’ full line of products online and the bags have even made some appearances at fashion week. While they don’t do a full-fledged fashion show themselves, some designers have reached out and asked to use a few pieces in their shows. Doing their own show isn’t practical since the handbags they create are meant to be used year-round. “I don’t believe in doing seasons, we’re becoming a world where everything is just so seasonal, especially with climate change, people just don’t invest in season-specific products anymore,” said Sugandh. “I’ve never been into the whole season styling, I just do pieces that can transition from one season into another.”

Image provided by Gunas

The Gunas brand is about spreading compassion and helping others come to a personal understanding of animal rights and activism. Sugandh focuses on helping to spread the message without being pushy. It has taken a long time for the vegan movement to gain a substantial following and the last thing she wants to do is to scare people off.

“We should focus on being compassionate, that is the message of the whole movement. Be inclusive and non-judgmental. Ultimately, everyone is trying to do their best and if we just keep giving each other a hard time, then we’re turning each other against one another instead of uniting and solving a problem that affects humanity on a larger level.”Check out the Gunas website here to see the entire collection and to read about the Gunas Girl!

The post Gunas: Meet The Lady Boss Dominating The Vegan Handbag Market appeared first on Raise Vegan.

source https://raisevegan.com/gunas-meet-the-lady-boss-dominating-the-vegan-handbag-market/

[punkocalypse]

For commissions, they're going to be open, prices will go back to normal as of Monday or Tuesday, so take advantage of the sale while/if you can... Even if I don't get it done immediately, the sales are still going. 50% off of everything except line arts, which are $10 for a single full body and $15 for a couple full body.

Now onto the rest...

October 5th, 2018... Wheatley was the first to get skunked.

I don't know what he did or where he found it... but we were taking a break and had everyone inside and all we could smell was that signature skunk smell... so we sniffed and there is Wheatley... sad as could be... eyes kinda red... not SUPER smelly but definitely got it...

Poor baby... but it teaches him... so we gave him a bath and he's sticking close now. He's ready to rest... Everyone is. You give them a day of running willy-nilly outside and they're okay to sleep for the night xD

Meanwhile me? My shin that I busted open on the 4th opened back up and bled some more... so we used hydrogen peroxide and we did a dose of that maybe 6 or 7 times and it STILL kept fizzing... so we're going to keep an eye on that...

Aside from that, turned in the keys today and went to the postal office to let them know we moved... have to call some places Monday because we simply haven't had time to sit on a phone for 2-3 hours on hold to tell someone we've changed addresses :/ barely had time to go to the post office and let them know.

But everything is finally moved AND we took a photo of the mold in that closet just in case... as well as we have our therapist who we've been telling about all the crap that those apartments keep pulling on us over these couple o' years, just in case they try to pull one last screw you... Which they better not be angry about the mold because it's THEIR water closet and the only reason we know about it is that that's the whole reason they came into the apartment in the first place was to see if we had it cuz downstairs had it...

We just thought we were sick and couldn't breathe for no reason aside from stress... but no. We were being freakin' poisoned by mold spores going into the A/C and being blown all over the house. And then they never even took care of it, like everything else.

So goodbye. Now I can fix my problems. But so far the only problems with the new place is some of the doors are easily opened (old farmhouses are like that) and there's a crap ton of spiders everywhere... But when no one has lived here for who knows how long and the house is on 12 acres, you're going to get spiders... Cool thing is the laundry room has a super crooked door that can't be fixed because the threshold is too big for the door and since the floor it's on is crooked, you can't have a normal door there... but it looks cool af. We live in a crooked house and I love it.

Also, we've got like 3 types of grasshoppers, 2 kinds of crickets (One of which ALSO keeps getting inside), butterflies, moths, beetles, mosquitoes (we spray ourselves and pups have meds to deter them), other strange bugs, lizards, birds, deer, armadillos, skunks (obviously), I saw a possum the other night, turkey vultures, pigeons, and just a whole host of other critters... I heard screeching tonight, that might've been one of the possums just making noise cuz all pups were accounted for.

I also had to take an old abandoned bird's nest AND an old abandoned wasp's nest out of our mailbox so it could be used... I felt bad for taking down the bird's nest cuz there was NO way to remove it without breaking it apart...

Also, been looking more around the grounds, there's a bunkhouse out back just a tad (there's a walkway from the back of the porch to it, just has lots of overgrowth) that has electricity and is attached to the well-house by a wall but the shower in it is broken probably... has a bed in there and the light works though... we are just using it as storage.

There is also a wagon against the back of the house that I plan on taking out to the old garden and weeding soon, just toss them all in there so I can get them to the garbage easier... We want to go out and get a pumpkin sometime this month and just put it in the garden so it'll decompose and give us pumpkins next year (Okay... I want that and it was my idea lol... Grambo said we'll have pumpkins forever so probably just get one pumpkin)

I got my seeds though!! I ordered some seeds that were on sale... mostly herbs and some vegetables so in the spring I can start on it. If I can earn up the money I want to order more and maybe even order some grapes and other fruits that aren't trees. Ordered Lovey some sunflower seeds too so I can grow them to put in a vase. Also ordered like three kinds of carrot seeds cuz those are good treats for everyone...

Need to find someone who sells green beans, though... I don't know if those come in seeds or not... I've SEEN the plants when I was younger but I have no idea how they got planted or where you buy them here... but they're good dog treats and Wheatley loves them.

I want to start canning as well, next year so we can be slightly more self-sustainable, especially through the winter... I'm going to have a lot of work cut out for me but I think it'll be easier being away from everyone... I still need to clean out what we're going to use as a garage and the old chicken coop so I can use the coop/barn/thing as a workshop.

We're not ready for chickens. I want them... but we're not ready. Garden first. Plus, that coop would need a LOT of work and I still have to do the garden, the fence, and literally everything else... I'm excited about it though. I like to fix things, it makes me happy.

I'm also excited to get back to painting and drawing... traditionally. It'll be awesome to go outside and just do some sketching or maybe painting that American,I think he said Oak or Elm, tree outside in front... it is SO beautiful... Plus, the trees here aren't rotted or dead...

I have a lot of work cut out for me but it'll get me outside, so it's worth it. First thing tomorrow, since we finally have everything here, I need to take the pups out on a walk along the border of our property so they learn this is ours and this is home, don't leave this. Going to keep doing that so they learn... plus, it'll show me everything around here...

Sunday, we're going into town to see what all they have... Then Monday we have therapy and visiting Grambo.

And throughout all of that? Unpacking. BUT, we're already mostly done... It's much easier to unpack than to pack... Plus, we have space... and I hear a cricket inside, lol. Pups are sleeping, so he's lucky... Lovey stepped in cricket earlier.

Anyway, enough rambling... Will update another time... Internet is still spotty while we get used to it as well as we're super busy with home stuff and my muscles are sore and stiff so not much getting done outside of packing and unpacking... Now just unpacking, though so I can take my time...

I love this place so much... I'm actually excited and happy to come home... It's calming at home... I'm not constantly terrified... I can walk around my own home without feeling like I'm constantly in danger... Sure, for now, I have to check everything for spiders before I touch it but that's way minor to me and way less scary than people...

Speaking of people... apparently in her drunken state yesterday, Uncle's gf said she was going to fight me or punch me in the face or something... I don't know exactly... Uncle told lovey who told me that she was threatening to fight me specifically... and I just find that fucking hilarious because that happens so often... I don't do anything and people want to fight me and then never actually do anything...

Like, literally... I have NEVER done anything against this woman in my LIFE... I've been polite. I've never said anything to her. I've never said anything to her boyfriend. I've never said anything to Grambo... But she wants to punch me in the face... For not being involved whatsoever...

The last time this happened was some girl was being incredibly rude to a different Grandmother and I told her she needed to respect the woman allowed her to live under their roof, to which she told my friend's cousin she was going to punch me in the face next time I did that... which she never did and I didn't find out about the threat until after the fact...

So yeah... People always want to fight me and I'm losing the will to care at this point. I'm not a confrontational or violent person but everyone wants to fight me behind my back... Okay then, I guess? By all means, throw the first punch... I will pin you to the ground so you can't hurt anyone and YOU can go to jail for assault. I don't like bullies and I don't like fighting. I don't have time for this.

Have fun with it.

I'm writing this at 1:11 AM but will post it when I get up because my internet isn't working right now and I think computers will have to be permanently grounded to the bedroom to get any service because that's also the only place the wifi router works. No living room for you... I have to put a desk in there, we've only got one... Thankfully, we have our own desk... it's just outside while we're unpacking... And then it has to be checked for bug-life before it's allowed out of purgatory and into the realm of the living... Just like almost everything else.

Alright, that's the end, I'm done... Hope you're all good.

NEW NOTE: It's 4:11 AM and couldn't sleep so posting while I can

[drdonckeandmdposts-blog]

AN ANGEL OF MERCY BECOMES THE WIDOW OF THE SOUTH                                                                                                                                                          I just returned in December from visiting the historic Carnton Plantation in Franklin Tennessee. While only one spot on the bloody battlefield of Franklin Tennessee on November 30th 1864, the story of that one bloody night is so incredibly horrific, that it defies the imagination. After the five hours of intense carnage and desperate hand to hand combat their would be roughly 10000 souls who were either killed, wounded or captured.                                                                                                                                                                                              Sarah North Martin was a resident of nearby Columbia, Tennessee just south of Franklin in November 1864 as both the Union and Confederate armies swept through the town during Southern General John Bell Hood’s “invasion” of Tennessee. Sarah, the wife of prominent local judge, William P. Martin, was taken by surprise on November 24, 1864 when two brigades of Union infantry under Brigadier General Jacob Dolson Cox Jr. commandeered ground on the Mount Pleasant Road. Before they were in position Union cavalrymen came hastily down the gravel road, fleeing from the brigades of Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Confederate cavalry. Cox had three artillery batteries along with his troops on both sides of the road. More Confederate troops later arrived and sought to displace the Yankees. Sarah Martin’s thoughts as she and her family escaped, are part of a remarkable letter she sent to a relative:

   The fighting commenced at our house, which is situated about 50 yards from the road on a high hill. I dare not write the particulars. Suffice it to say the Yankees had possession of our home & forced us to leave. We went to Mr. Martin’s fathers’ [i.e. George M. Martin], about 800 yards nearer town, taking with us the bedding of three beds & most of our wearing apparel. We were between the fires of the two contending parties for two days, & five shells struck [his] father’s house while [we] were in it, until we had to go down to a brick milk cellar in the yard, the minie balls falling on the roof like hail. The wounded Yankees [kept] passing through the yard, bleeding & screaming with pain. We could hear the yells of the Rebels as they charged & drove the Yankees toward town. At last, when the fight was evidently beyond us, I ran out quickly to avoid the sharpshooters, & entering the [George M. Martin] house, found Gen. [Colonel Edmund Winchester] Rucker’s staff, who showed us every courtesy. Each officer took charge of one of us, & led us in the line of the house, over to [our] home; procured an ambulance and sent us down to Gen. Pillow’s. [this was “Clifton,” four miles west of Columbia, the home of Brigadier General Gideon Johnson Pillow, who was married to her husband’s sister (Mary Martin Pillow)] Gen. [Brigadier General Stephen Dill] Lee had possession of our house, & artillery was planted in several places on the hill. The Yankees [had] sacked our house, & set fire to it, but Forrest came in time to extinguish the flames, before any serious damage was done. They [Yankees] threw our wheat into the pond, burned piles of bed clothes & books, & threw our china all over the yard, took the most of twenty-two hogs, and killed nineteen shoats, took all our horses, etc. In short I cannot enumerate our loss, or tell you how the Yankees treated us. We have ever since been living on biscuit[s] & milk, without a parcel of meat, for we have no money to buy with. You can have no conception of the oppression, & we dare not murmur. Even yesterday they came & took the only animal we had, a mule. Judge M. [i.e. her husband Judge William P. Martin] walked to town to day in the rain to try to get it back, but was unsuccessful, & now we have nothing to plow with, or to haul wood, for we had been driven to hauling wood in a cart. We are very anxious to sell & move to Texas… All our negroes ran off during the fight, & went with the Yankees in their retreat to Nashville. Some of them want to come back, but we will not receive them. The Lord has mercifully preserved our health, & I hope will bring us safely through these troubled times.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Just six days later both armies raced towards Nashville for a final bloody showdown. The Union Army was delayed in Franklin due to the swollen Harpeth River. They were ordered to hold their position and dig defensive fortifications as a purely protective measure until they received pontoons from Nashville to move men and equipment across. They did not believe that a major battle would ensue their. But Confederate Lt. General John Bell Hood had other ideas. Seeing the Union Army split and penned against the swollen stream, he decided to launch an all out offensive. General Jacob Dolson on this day would awake Fountain Branch Carter at 4:30 AM to inform him that his home was being commandeered. As the likely spectre of a major battle grew more likely, the town residents hunkered down to bear a fear and horror no human being should ever have to experience. The following are a list of eyewitness accounts of that cold terrible November evening in 1864:                                                                                                                                               "The Men seemed to realize that our charge on the works would attend with heavy slaughter, and several of them came to me bringing watches, jewelry, letters and photographs, asking me to take charge of them and send them to their families if they were killed. I had to decline as I was going with them and would be exposed to the same danger. I was vividly recalled to me the next morning, for I believe every one who made this request of me was killed." Chaplain James H. M'Neilly Quarles Brigade                                                                                                                                                                                                       "When Conrads brigade took up its advanced postion we all supposed it would be only temporary, but soon an orderly came along the line with instructions for the company commanders, and he told me that the orders were to hold the postion to the last man, and to have my sergeants fix bayonets and to instruct my company that any man, not wounded, who should attempt to leave the line without orders, would be shot or bayonetted by the sergeants." Capt John K. Shellenberger 64th Ohio Inf.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   "When I regained consciousness I was laying in the ditch . . of running water and could feel the loose dirt fall in on me when Yankee bullets would strike the top of the ditch . . I became thirsty but had fallen on my canteen but could not get to it... I drank the water in the ditch and it was cold and good. I knew my sight was destroyed. I placed my hands under my forehead to keep my face from above water .. and fell asleep" Lt. Mintz 5th Arkansas, Govans Brigade                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   I saw a Confederate soldier, close to me thrust one of our men through with a bayonet and before he could draw his weapon from the ghastly wound his brains were scattered on all of us that stood near, by the butt of a musket swung with terrific force by some big fellow whom I could not recognize in the grim dirt and smoke.. As I glanced hurredly around and heard the dull thuds, I turned from the sickening sight and glad to hide the vision in work with a hatchet for I had broken my sword. Col Wolf 64th Ohio Conrad's Brigade                                                                                                                                                                         "The slaughtering could be seen down the line as far as the Columbia and Franklin Pike, and where the works crossed the pike . . . Our troops were killed by whole platoons, Our front line of battle seemed to have been cut down by the first discharge for in many places they were lying on their faces in almost as good order as if they had lain down on purpose; but no such order prevailed among the dead who fell in making the attempt to surmount the Cheval-de-frise, for hanging on the long spikes of this obstruction could be seen the mangled and torn remains of many of our soldiers who had been pierced by hundreds of minie balls and grape shot ... The ditch was full of dead men and we had to stand and sit upon them. The bottom of it from side to side was covered with blood to the depth of shoe soles" James M. Copley 49th Tennessee Quarles' Brigade                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                " as evening came on the neighboors began to come in . . and we went down in the cellar. Grandpa had already put rolls of rope in the windows. . to keep the bullets out. The negroes crouched down in the dining room, and all the children & grand children and neighbors in the hall cellar, and granpa walked back and forth and watched out the window." "The first sound of the firing and the booming of cannons, we children all sat around our mothers and cried." Alice M. Nichol age 8 Tod Carters neice                                                                                                                                                                                                   "The mangled bodies of the dead rebels weere piled up as high as the mouth of the embrasure and the gunners said that repeatedly when the lanyard was pulled the embrasure was filled with men crowding forward to get in who were literally blown from the mouth of the cannon. Only one rebel got past the muzzle of the gun and one of the gunners snatched up a pick and killed him with that. the ditch was piled promiscuously with the dead and badly wounded and heads arms and legs were sticking out in almost every conceivable manner. The ground near the ditch was filled with the moans of the wounded and the pleadings of some of those who saw me for water and for help were heartrending." Capt John K. Shellenberger 64th Ohio Inf. Conrad's Brigade                                                                                                                                                                                                                                "Nothing could be heard but the wails of the wounded and the dying, some calling for their friends, some praying to be relieved of their awful suffering and thousands in the deep agonizing throes of death filled the air with mouthful sounds and dying groans" Capt. Hickey 1st Missouri Cockrells Brigade                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                "I could hear the wounded calling for help in every direction. I again wanted water and thought I would again drink from the water in the ditch, biut this time it tasted of blood and I managed to get my canteen from under me and drank from it." Lt. Mintz 5th Arkansas, Govans Brigade (who has been blinded)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            "I stood on the parapet just before midnight and saw all that could be seen. I saw and heard all that the eyes, or my rent soul contemplate in such an awful environment. It was a spectacle to chill the stoutest heart...the wounded shivering in the chilled November air; the heartrending cries of the desperately wounded and the prayers of the dying filled me with an anguish that language cannot describe. From that hour I have hated war. Colonel Isaac Sherwoood 111th Ohio Infantry                                                                                                                                                                                                                   "I remember seeing one poor fellow, sitting up and leaning back against something whose lower jaw had been cut off by a grape shot, and his tongue and under lip were hanging down on his breast. I knelt down and asked if I could do anything for him. He had a little piece of paper and an envelope. He wrote: No, John Bell Hood will be in New York before three weeks." Teenager Hardin Figuers, Franklin resident moments after he emerged from shelter.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            "God forgive me for ever wanting to see or hear a battle! You had to look twice as you picked your way among the bodies to see which were dead and which were alive and often a dead man would be lying partly on a live one, or the reverse. And the groans, the sickening smell of blood! I noticed while wandering along the earthworks that all or nearly all of the Union soldiers were shot in the forehead. In front, the ground was covered with bodies and pools of blood. the cotton in the old cotton gin was shot out all over the ground. Our Union soldiers had been stripped of everything but their shirts and drawers, but the Confederate soldiers could not be blamed much for that, for they were half clothed, half barefoot and many of them bareheaded." Carrie Snyder; a Union sympathizer who happen to be visitig friends in Franklin at the time.                                                                                                                                        "In this yard and in that garden, I could walk from fence to fence on bodies, mostly those of Confederates. In trying to clean up, I scraped together a half a bushel of brains right around the house, and the whole place was dyed in blood. Nothing in the shape of horse, mule, jack, nor jinny was left in this neighborhood. In fact I remember it was not untilChristmas, twenty five days afterwards, that I was enabled to borrow a yoke of oxen, and I spent the whole of that Christmas Day hauling seventeen dead horses from this yard." Moscow Carter: Brother of Captain Tod Carter recalling what he saw upon emerging from The Carter House root cellar.                                                                                                                                                                                                 "Amid the hundreds of dead and wounded Confederates who lay thickly scattered over the field in our front....there was one lying in front of my company, only a few distant feet crying "Mother you were right, you'll never see your boy again. I'm dying out here in the dark....I'm bleeding to death. "The boy's voice became gradually weaker and weaker until we heard it no more......One of the company's new recruits, a mere boy in years, was crying as though his heart was broken. He too was the only son of a widowed mother.": An unknown officer of the 63rd Indiana.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The carnage was so great throughout the town that any available structure was used as a hospital. To put this into proper perspective, for every single resident who resided in Franklin Tennessee (pop. approx. 900) there were 7 casualties. The Carnton house quickly became a field hospital for Confederate wounded. It was a ghastly scene of pain , torment, and suffering. The McGavocks tended for as many as 300 soldiers inside Carnton alone, though at least 150 died the first night. John and Carrie McGavock and their 9 yr old daughter Hattie and 5 yr old son Winder helped tend the over 300 men who lay throughout the home. Soon the outbuildings were filled with hundreds more until the only place to lay them were in the yard. After the battle, on December 1, Union forces under Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield evacuated toward Nashville, leaving their dead, including several hundred Union soldiers, and their wounded who were unable to walk. The residents of Franklin were then faced with the task of burying over 2,500 soldiers, most being Confederates.The following are some of the first hand accounts of the nightmarish eve at Carnton:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             "Every room was filled, every bed had two poor, bleeding fellows, every spare space, niche, and corner under the stairs, in the hall, everywhere -0 but one room for her own family. Our Doctors were deficient in bandages, and she began by giving her old linen, then her towels, amd napkins, then her sheets and table clothes, then her husband's shirts and her own undergarment. During all this time the surgeons plied their deadful work amid the sighs and moans and death rattle. Yet amid it all, this nobel woman. . . was very active and constantly at work. During all the night neither she nor any of the household slept, but dispensed tea and coffee and such stimulants as she had and that two with her own hands.. she walked from room to room from man to man her very skirt stained with blood." Capt. William D. Gale - Lt. Gen Alexander P. Stewart's staff                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    "Give me forty grains of morphine' he called out all through the night. 'Give me forty grains of morphine and let me die!' 'Oh Can't' I Die?' ' My Poor Wife and Child!'' My Poor Wife and Child!' "OMG ! Can you get the surgeons to administer some drug that will relieve me of this torture" I did try through my appeals were in vain. " Cold presperation gathered in knots on his brow and of course (he) knew that death was inevitable. . . "I went down the steps and far beneath the silence of the stars to escape his piteous prayers." C. E. Merrill Adjutant General , Brig. Gem Scott's Staff                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  All of the Confederate dead were buried as nearly as possible by states, close to where they fell, and wooden headboards were placed at each grave with the name, company and regiment painted or written on them." Many of the Union soldiers would later be re-interred in 1865 at the Stones River National Cemetery in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Over the next eighteen months many of the markers either rotted or were used for firewood, and the writing was disappearing. To preserve the graves, John and Carrie McGavock donated 2 acres of their property to be designated as an area for the Confederate dead to be re-interred. The citizens of Franklin raised the funding and the soldiers were exhumed and reburied in the McGavock Confederate Cemetery for the sum of $5.00 per soldier. A team led by George Cuppett took responsibility for the reburial of 1,481 soldiers. The names and identities of the soldiers were recorded in a cemetery record book by Cuppett, which soon fell into the care of Carrie McGavock. It is said that for years following the war visitors would knock on her door requesting the book to see if they could find closure from the loss of a loved whom they never knew of their fate. Carrie never failed to fulfill those requests. Carrie McGavock spent nearly 40 years of her life maintaining the McGavock Confederate Cemetery. In her later years she also would help to raise orphaned children, many of which were created by that bloody war. It was the most sincere expression of the heart and compassion she personified for so many years. Carrie died in 1905 and rests beside her husband, John, within sight of the nearly 1,500 Confederate soldiers who they protected and watched over for so many years.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The mere thought of young children having to witness so much blood and suffering should draw deep emotions from even the coldest of souls. This was truly an experience where nightmares were born. Harriet (Hattie), Young McGavock was only nine-years-old on the day of the Battle of Franklin. That afternoon and night, she and her younger brother, five year old Winder, and their parents, John and Carrie, watched as their home became a hospital and mortuary. Hattie and Winder worked alongside their parents throughout the night, helping where they could as the battered bodies poured in to the house. The next morning, the bodies of four Confederate generals, who had been killed in the fighting, were brought to the McGavock home and laid side-by-side on the back porch. They were Patrick Cleburne, John Adams, Hiram Granbury, and Otho Strahl.

In Hattie McGavock Cowan's own words over 50 years later:

I can still sense the odor of smoke and blood. I recall how the startled cattle came home from the pastures, how restless they became, sniffing and excitedly running about the place, bewildered by the smell of the battlefield. I can still see swarms of soldiers coming with their dead comrades and lying them down by the hundreds under our spacious shade trees and all about the grounds. I shall carry those awful pictures in my mind down to the day of my death. I was only nine-years-old then, but it is all as vivid and as real as if it happened only yesterday. I overheard a man at Carnton that night say he estimated over 300 wounded were crammed in to our home. There we were in this ocean of suffering — mother, father, Winder and me — going from man-to-man doing what we could. Mother ordered the bed sheets and linens torn into bandages. Those ran out so, she told the medical attendants to use her tablecloths, towels, and father’s shirts. At one point, she used her own undergarments, put to use mending the myriad of wounds. Those who saw her were awestruck by her selfless actions. Mother never ceased in her work that long and dreadful night. She handed out tea and coffee and went from room to room making sure there was nothing else she could do. William D. Gale, of Gen. A.P. Stewart’s staff, said mother was so involved in affairs that her skirt was “stained in blood.” I remember it vividly. Some of the soldiers recuperated at our home until June, nearly seven months after the battle. There was a lot of bad, but there was a lot of good. You sometimes see the best in people under these circumstances. We just went to work and did what we could. I stuck by my mother. Chaplains, doctors, and agents of the U.S. Christian commission showed up over the coming weeks and months.

What happened to Hattie McGavock Cowan?

She married a Confederate veteran named George Cowan at Carnton on January 3, 1884. They lived in close proximity to Carnton for many years in a home known as Windermere. George died in 1919. Hattie lived until 1931 and for many old Franklin residents she was the last living connection to the Battle of Franklin. She is buried with George at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Franklin. Winder Mcgavock took over Carnton after his mother's death in 1905. He died just two years later.                                                                                While touring Carnton (which would cost over 10 million in modern day currency) visitors can still see the blood stains in the wooden floors from over 150 years ago. The operating table used by surgeons was set up "rather ironically" in the nursery. It consisted of two saw horses and a barn door. It is still on display their today. Hattie Mcgowan quite vividly retold of her memories of that bloody night in an interview she gave shortly before her death in 1931 recalling the smell of blood and powder smoke and the sounds of the intense suffering of the wounded. One can only imagine the nightmares these two children experienced for years afterwards.

[eddyblais431782-blog]

That Might Merely Change Your Lifestyle.

GENEVA - The 1st Swiss Coffee Dinner & Dance was hosted on October 8th, 2010 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland. People were actually everywhere walking around along with red or white wine glasses trying different kinds of white and reddish red or white wines becoming extra knowledgeable so they knew just what container they would like to get. Attendees are going to be welcomed with mulled red or white wine as they warm themselves in our cosy Towering function, just before walking through to dinner under the celebrities in a wonderful wintertime landscape from chalky Christmas plants. That hasn't already held true, and also comps continue to be actually rather hideous right into the springtime regardless of Chipotle's considerable advertising press. That will mistake to concentrate exclusively on family suppers as the energetic component in each this," Elgar pointed out. When Muslims end their quick as well as after that hope, Iftar dinner is certainly not just the time of the day. You may create this along with wine or even dark fruit juice (I checked out blackcurrant). Popular quick vendor Jim Chanos stated he did certainly not go to the dinner and performed not acquire a letter off the Justice Division. This might be actually a good idea to consult the trip collection in order to just what they consider acceptable outfit code for the Captains Supper; this often is a black connection evening so for the guys a dark supper jacket or tux, formal trousers and also bow tie with vest over a white dress tee and as I mentioned earlier the girls could turn on their own out in a garment or intelligent clothing depending on your closet. This island is ideal for a vacation of a week or a month, however you might however be attracted by its own sapphire blue coasts, the unhurried pace from lifestyle as well as the charitable, inviting personality of its remarkable inhabitants. The web content of resveratrol in wine depends upon how long the skin layer of the reddish grapes are present in the course of the fermentaion process. While eating dinner all together, Cameron discloses this to Mitchell, that still believes Broderick possesses a crush on him. Crock pot - Crockery flowerpot is actually quite useful for sparing amount of money as well as opportunity as you ditch the ingredient in the flowerpot in the early morning for a supper in the evening. Effectively Iowa, I believe we are heading to prove the pundits wrong once again," Sanders included, drawing a few of his greatest praise from the evening. Certain they are enjoyable for awhile yet at some point you're going to get lost in this puzzle of warnings that only always keep stopping you coming from reaching your destination. Posy - Certainly not to be used with a bandana, these florals vary in style however the absolute most popular ones are red as well Josefungym.Info as white carnations, blue cornflower, and also rosebud. Incredibly commonly, the bride will become a traditional Mandarin reddish bridal gown (鳳褂, or even qípáo) at that time, if she has actually been wearing a different type of clothes before. Non-GAAP profits off Blue Coat products on a year-to-date manner is actually performing in-line along with our expectations. Consisting of the lip-smacking thali (Supper Plate) of standard Rajasthani foods- all within a beautifully enhanced community. Terry Hernon MacDonald is actually gladly married to a guy that cooked her a lobster supper early in their connection.