#got them from the garden section of dollar tree

[jusiri]

birthday cake for me :)

[anipgarden]

Adding To or Starting a Garden

AKA, the beginning of the Plants-Related section of this series.

This is my third post in a series I’ll be making on how to increase biodiversity on a budget! I’m not an expert--just an enthusiast--but I hope something you find here helps! 

Got an area of lawn you’d like to convert to a wildlife haven? An area you can stick some hanging baskets in? Want to know how your garden of tomatoes and zucchinis is already putting in a lot of work? This is the section for you!

It would be dumb of me to not acknowledge that the act of gardening can come with a lot of costs. Buying seeds, buying plants, buying soil, raised bed materials, mulch, etc. … it can all get a bit daunting, let’s be honest! But there’s quite a few ways to get seeds and plants for free or extremely cheap, which I’ll be addressing in this section! The next section will be all about addressing the other Costs in gardening and how to mitigate or eliminate them entirely.

Also, do keep in mind; there’s no need to try and convert a whole area from lawn to garden or unused to garden at once. In fact, it could actually be extremely beneficial to do it a little at a time--maybe four or five square feet to start out.

Front Lawn (or Managing Principles)

If you live in a place where you’re required to have a grass turf lawn (HOA’s come to mind…), try replacing it with native grasses instead! You could even possibly use a low-growing ground cover plant like clover to a similar effect! Reseeding/replacing an entire lawn can be a big upfront cost, but even just letting the lawn be a little messy and tall helps. If the lawn gets patchy, leave the bare spots for a little while and something different will likely pop up! Pioneer species will fill the gaps and provide benefits to other plants around them, support animals, and more! If you want to take the guesswork out of it, you could always research what the pioneer species are in your area and plant the ones you like most. 

Obtaining Seeds for Cheap or Free

The cheapest way to start a garden is by far via seeds. However, seeds can be a bit complicated to grow, and some sources make them… way overpriced. Fortunately there are ways to get seeds for little to no cost! 

Some places sell seeds for as low as a dollar, 50 cents, or 25 cents! The packets may not have a lot of seeds, but it’s definitely a good start for a low budget! I’ve personally bought cheap seed packets at Walmart--the Ferry-Morse and Burpee brands are not what we’re looking for here. Typically the cheaper ones I’ve found are American Seed (which is owned by Green Garden Products, which also owns Ferry-Morse, Livingston Seed, McKenzie Seed, and Seeds of Change. Do with that information what you will), but they’re rarely stocked near the Ferry-Morse ones in the Formal Gardening Section. I’ve most often found them on end caps near the gardening section, so you may have to weave through a few aisles to find them, but once you do there’s an array of flower and vegetable seeds to select from! Alternatively, I’ve found seeds at Dollar Tree sold 2 or 4 for a dollar in Spring as part of their seasonal product; however, when they’re out of stock, they’re typically out of stock for the year. Try to check them out early in the year!

Otherwise, other seed companies like Urban Farmer or Botanical Interests will often have semi-frequent sales in spring and fall, when people are stocking up on seeds--joining their email lists can help you be the first to know when a good sale is going on!

Some foods from grocery stores will provide seeds that you can use in the garden as well. I’ve had the most luck with store-bought bagged beans, peppers, and tomatoes. Some people have had luck with watermelons, apples, citrus, squash, and more. Do keep in mind that you likely won’t get the same variety of fruit/vegetable as the one you bought--the resulting plant may look different and taste different.

Give it a shot! Pick some beans you like--if they don't grow well, at least you can eat the rest!

If you live in the US, food-producing live plants, bare roots, and seeds can often be purchased with SNAP benefits. But what does growing fruits, veggies, and herbs have to do with boosting biodiversity? While food crops aren’t typically native, they still provide valuable shelter for native insects. Some plants even have intricate relationships with native fauna--like the squash bee, a solitary bee which exclusively pollinates cucurbits like pumpkins, squash, and zucchini. And we get to benefit more directly as well! If you’re planting a diverse range of foods in your garden (as opposed to the swaths of single-plant farms that typically produce what’s sent to grocery stores), you’re supporting high levels of biodiversity by providing a variety of plants for creatures to live and hunt around.

Most of the time, when we think of boosting biodiversity with a garden, we think of a colorful flower garden teeming with pollinator species. However, if we’re striving to use native species, it can be a bit difficult to find some species in stores. I can say from experience that trying to find any wildflower seeds other than butterfly weed, purple coneflowers, and black-eyed-susans is… challenging, if you limit yourself to stores like Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe’s. You might occasionally get lucky with an ACE Hardware or a local nursery, but even then sometimes it can be hard to track down who in your area is selling what--let alone if you live in an area where no one really is selling native plants or their seeds. Not to mention, even once you find a local or online store selling the seeds you want, they can sometimes cost a pretty penny. So what do you do?

If you have the option to, consider gathering native seeds yourself! Get good at identifying the native flora and fauna--or at least, a few target plants and their lookalikes--and get ready to go! Learn where they tend to grow, when they’ll be seeding, etc. Try to identify the plant before it goes to seed (for most plants, it's easiest to identify when flowering), then check back regularly to gather seeds. Typically, if I want to learn how to collect seed from a specific plant, I just search it on Google or YouTube--oftentimes, I'm lead to the GrowItBuildIt Youtube page, so it may be a helpful resource for you as well! Of course, make sure to leave plenty of seed behind so the wild population can repopulate, and seed can feed other creatures in the area. A good rule of thumb is to take no more than 1/3rd of what's available.

Buying seed in bulk is an option if you can afford the upfront cost. Try teaming up with a few friends to buy some bulk seeds and split them amongst yourselves--you’ll get tons of seed! Prairie Moon is a popular site that'll sell seeds by the pound if you can afford the price--though they're in the US, and I believe they focus on Midwest and East Coast natives.

If you want to cheat the system, don’t buy bulk sunflower seeds--buy bags of sunflower seeds being sold as birdseed. They’re typically all black oil sunflower seeds, but they’ll sprout, and they’re fairly cheap for the amount you get!

However, beware generic wildflower seed mixes! Many brands like to sell wildflower seed mixes in big box stores like Home Depot, Target, or even Dollar Tree, but they’ll often include flowers that aren’t native or possibly even invasive in your region! Before you make any purchases, double check to make sure the contained seeds won’t do more harm than good! A quality source of native seeds will provide English and Latin names for all seeds included, and will be native to the region or at least non-invasive. 

See this? I don't trust this.

There’s a good handful of programs online that’ll send you free seeds if you’re planning to start a native habitat project! Poke around online and see what you can find; you might get lucky! The best time to start looking for these is fall and winter, I find--by early spring, many of them are either done or beginning to wind down... though some also start up in spring. Ultimately--just check regularly! You never know what you can find!

Other Ways to Get Plants

Don’t want to start from seed? That’s fair! You can try cuttings! Just be sure not to take too much of the plant while you do so. Make sure you’ve gotten a few leaf nodes on your cutting, and cut any flowers you may have gotten. Make sure to leave some blooms and foliage on the original plant for the creatures in the current habitat--you don’t want to destroy one habitat to make another in your garden. There’s tons of methods of rooting cuttings, many of which have different efficacy rates for different plants, but that’s a topic for another post.

If you find seedlings growing in a place where they won’t be able to sustain themselves long-term, or are in danger of being destroyed, consider relocating them! You may be able to gently dig up and transplant the seedling to your garden. Don’t do this if they’re in a place where they can easily survive--ideally, you’ll be taking plants from sidewalk cracks, heavily maintained public gardens, roadsides, etc. Do be careful while doing this--ensure your safety first!  

You’re totally allowed to join gardening communities like clubs, facebook groups, and more before you’ve even put a trowel to the dirt. These are great places to learn information and advice! Many gardeners are more than happy to help out a new gardener, and will eagerly provide seeds, cuttings, or even baby plants! Talk to some people about your gardening journey and what you’re hoping to do, and you just might find some kindred spirits--or at least get more people interested in the topic! 

Seed and plant giveaways and trades happen all the time in gardening clubs, as well as online! Just poke around and see what you can find! Some are explicitly trades, meaning you’re expected to send something in return, but once you get your feet on the ground with some plant knowledge you’ll be stellar! You may be able to explain you’re just starting out, and someone may send you seeds without expecting a trade, but I’d suggest trying giveaways first. 

Poke around online and see if there’s a local chapter of your state’s native plant society. From there, you’ll likely be able to find a calendar of events--many of them will host plant sales in the spring, with a bunch of native plant seedlings ripe for the pickings if you can make it out and have some money to spare! Fair warning, though, you’ll want to get there early if you can. If they say they’re starting at 10, try to get there by 9:45. Year after year, there’s always record turnout, and they sell out of plants faster than ever. Just trust me on this. I’ve been let down; hopefully you won’t have to be.

Some libraries are beginning to host seed libraries! Check around and see if your library has one! Ideally, the system works best if you also have seeds to contribute in return, but if you’re just starting out I’m sure they won’t mind you taking some seeds! Just consider saving some seeds to contribute in the future and pay it forward. If your library doesn’t have a seed library? Consider asking if they’d be willing to start one! Community interest is a great way to get the ball rolling on projects like these, but they’ll only know the community is interested if the community tells them they’re interested!

Volunteer to Garden for/with Someone Else

Maybe someone in your area wants to garden, but is struggling to find the time/energy. Many elderly people who used to garden simply can’t anymore but still would like a garden. Other people may love to have a helping hand in their garden. You might even find a few people in your area interested in renting and sharing a community garden plot with others, so they don't have to handle it all on their own! They may be interested in increasing biodiversity right now, or may be willing to if it’s brought up to them. You might be just the kind of person someone needs! Since it won't be your garden, you’ll likely need a bit of permission and collaboration to get anything in particular going, but it’s worth a shot and a way to maybe even make friends! 

Again, your mileage may vary with some of these. You may not know where there's a bunch of wildflowers growing in your area, or maybe your local library doesn't have a free seed library. That's okay! Do what you're able to, find what you can find, get what you can get! And there's never any shame with starting small--in fact, starting small can make the project easier to manage and expand when you're able!

That's the end of this post! My next post is gonna be about ways to start growing plants cheaply--low cost seed starting set ups, essentially. There's a lot of good options, many of which I've used myself even! Until then, I hope this advice is helpful! Feel free to reply with any questions, success stories, or anything you think I may have forgotten to add in!

[sigmadolos]

@absolut-blue​​​​ said:  [ WISH ]

soft action prompts [ WISH ] our muses stargaze.

   “  You wanted to see the stars from here, didn’t you?  “  It’s a graceful and easy slip into conversation as Sigma pauses beside the young man. It wasn’t terribly surprising. Sigma had seen him by himself several times, away from his ‘friends’. Hardly the correct word for them as far as Sigma was concerned, but what right did he have? His weren’t exactly....standard. So he said nothing on that front.

   Now the angel watches with an inviting smile, lifting a hand to gesture for him to follow.

   “  There’s a place even better than this area. Although the main rooms and conference rooms offer a nice view, it’s hardly the best. Though few guests visit this area. It’s always open of course, but, well.  “  He trails off with a smile.  “  Visiting a botanical section doesn’t tend to appeal to many when there’s the offer of million dollar rewards or drinks or various other sources of entertainment.  But i’ll show you, I think you’ll enjoy it.  “

   It wasn’t a terribly long walk to the elevators or to guide him towards one of the side branches of the casino. And that was where beauty unfurled like a blossoming flower. The botanical garden was a peaceful space, quiet and lit with a soft glow in the late hour - enough to be able to see without disturbing the tranquility of nightfall. Water bubbled in a carefully crafted steam that led to a pond with graceful koi, and beautiful flowers and trees thrived in the space. But the most breathtaking part was the glass dome ceiling. Away from the noise of the casino and positioned higher than the bright lights of the heart of the casino, the stars shone like thousands of diamonds embedded in black silk of night.

   Sigma gestures for them to take a seat as he sat down himself with a smile. Despite thousands of people filling the aerial structure, here was like a refuge where one could forget it all. Sigma enjoyed it - seeing the stars closer than most people ever got. 

   “  Better, right?  “  He smiles cheerfully.  “  I always keep this open to guess. Sometimes we all just need a getaway, even in paradise. A space to enjoy things ourselves.  “  Sigma tears his eyes away from the stars to look towards Blue.  “  Are you good at constellations?  I know the myths behind many but I’ve never actually seen the constellations.  “

[nuovamagia]

Summer celebrating

I rarely manage to celebrate witchy holidays. But so far it looks like I will this Summer solstice/Midsummer/Litha. Tonight I had a bath, which i rarely do. Had a peach (both color and scent)pillar candle and a bath bomb that was labeled as galactic vanilla berry. Accompanying me were celestite, phantom amethyst, citrine, moldavite, an aquamarine fox, pink aventurine, the emerald in my engagement ring, clear quartz, fluorite (really: all my tiny or small crystals because i have them all in a tiny cute clear treasure chest. lol) Happy Solstice everyone, Enjoy the summer!

Tomorrow’s plans:

Baking bread. I’m thinking a rosemary garlic one I just came across.Making Sun teaCollecting harvestables including from my garden. Maybe weeding and other garden work.Starting a painting I sketched a couple days agopossibly cleanTry to get out and just sit and enjoy the sun, which i rarely do because I hate the humidity Maybe some divination

So it rained so my mom didn’t wanna make bread. But I ate cornbread from yesterdays dinner.

Went grocery shopping this morning, My local grocery store had an OLIVE TREE!!! So i had to buy it. $19.99 though.I transplanted in a slightly larger pot when i got back from the store.

 Then I got some lottery numbers and decided to grab a scratch off, only a 5 dollar one but won 10 buck. the section that says 2x a $5 dollar win, which i dont think ive ever seen when doing scratch offs lol.

I did wear my emerald necklace my fiance bought be for my birthday last year, Added a citrine pendant to it too, wore phantom amethyst and celestite bead bracelets.

Opened my strawberry hibiscus green tea kombucha. No sun tea.

Bought ice for my mom, and decided to grab some non alcoholic guinness, which wasn’t great but i suppose not bad. then got a discounted coffee almond vanilla stout 4 pack.

Had one of each as I painted. Watched Midsommar with my mom. I had seen it already but thought it would be fun to see what she thinks. I told her it was creepy.

[mallowstep]

(nature; nurture)

You know the truth of yourself in pieces.

* * *

You are three, sitting on your mother's lap.

"And you understand this is a life-long commitment?"

"Yes," she says.

"And Mothkit, Frogkit, and Hawkkit, do you want Feathertail to be your mother?"

"She is our mama," Hawkkit says, and the woman laughs.

"That settles it, then."

* * *

Growing up is not a balloon inflating, the way you once pictured it. It is a crab moulting over and over again, exposing its softest parts, in hopes it survives.

* * *

You are the first to go to kindergarten. Only by a few minutes, but still. That feels like it counts for something.

You kiss your mother's cheek, and then drop your bag. A man crouches down beside you. "And what's your name?"

"Mothkit!" you say, and he shows you where to put your bag. You glance back at your mother as you venture deeper into the classroom. She wipes a few tears from her eyes.

* * *

Unlike a crab, you cannot reabsorb what you lose. Your teeth are collected in a box, exchanged for a few quarters, occasionally a dollar. Your hair is swept up and thrown away. You go shopping, and now there are two sections you have to examine. One for you, one for your brothers.

* * *

Stormheart picks you up for school, and no one is waiting in the passenger seat. You all climb in, and you end up stuck in the middle.

"Where's Mama?" you ask.

"She's at home," Stormheart says. He glances back at you for a second, smiling. "She's just having a bad day."

You kick off your shoes at the door when you get home, dropping your bag on the kitchen table. Your brothers are slower, but you peek through the crack in her door before Stormheart catches up with you.

She's asleep, not facing you. Mistyfoot is on the other side of the bed, reading a book.

Stormheart scoops you up. "Come on, bug," he whispers. "Let's go play outside."

* * *

But your soft parts stay the same, just growing between each exchange. You ask her about your father many times, and her answers drift, circling around a truth you want her to finish. You slip into her room after having a nightmare, and find her sobbing. You make a family tree, and stare frustrated at the missing names.

* * *

You follow her out to the garden. Frogpaw spends more time out here than you do, but you're bored, and your mother is here, digging tiny troughs into the earth.

You cross your legs on the grass beside her. She smiles at you. "Are you going to stay out here?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want a hat?"

"No." The sun is warm, and you lean down, your elbows pressing into the dirt. "What are you planting?"

"Poppies," she says. "Do you want to help?"

You shake your head. Feathertail takes a handful of sandy dirt, and pours the bag of seeds onto it.

"Mama?" you ask, and she lifts her brow. "What's assault?"

Feathertail pauses what she's doing, and looks questioningly at you. "Where'd you hear that?"

"It was on a TV show." You fidget with blades of grass. "I wasn't really watching."

Feathertail sighs. "It's -- when you hurt someone," she says. "When you attack them."

* * *

But you are not a crab. You are a girl, and you are changing. Your father sends you a letter and asks you if you're a help to your mother. You grapple with the undeniable proof he's in prison, like she explained a year or two ago. You shoot up past your brothers over the summer, and have to buy new clothes. A new garment comes with it. Feathertail cleans a few things out of a room you can't think of as hers, and it becomes yours. Your soft parts move, find new places in need of protection.

* * *

Sometimes, you want to explain everything to Leafpaw, all in one breath. You want to say, My mother didn't give birth to me, but I know who did, and I was not wanted, except that I was, and my father believes I am capable of nothing, and my period has started, and I don't know what that means, and I think you are beautiful.

You don't say any of that.

* * *

But you are not a crab, so you find traces of your past exoskeletons, the ones that didn't fit. A shirt you wore five years ago. A diary you can barely understand. A folded piece of paper you do not open. They don't make sense with who you are, and yet, they are who you were.

* * *

Shadepelt teaches you how to use make up. Feathertail and Mistyfoot don't wear any, but she does, and she makes it look easy and fun and flawless.

It's much harder when you have to do it.

Hawkpaw and Stonefur arrive home when you are scrubbing it off in the bathroom downstairs. You don't come down here very often, and it is strange to think that this space is a part of your home.

When your face is clean, you trudge upstairs. The air is tense, Hawkpaw and Frogpaw staring across the kitchen table at each other, Feathertail watching them.

"I'm -- allowed to know," Hawkpaw says.

"What do you want to know?" Frogpaw says. "We know everything we need to."

"Maybe you do," Hawkpaw says.

You glance at Feathertail. Her back is to you.

You slide unnoticed into your room, and pull out the stack of letters from your father. You read them all once, exactly, and then add them to the stack you keep in your bottom desk drawer. There's no point in rereading them.

But you run your thumb over them, listening to the way the old, dried paper crinkles.

Frogpaw is asking the wrong question. It's why Hawkpaw wants to know that matters.

* * *

Freshman year draws to a close, and you think you are in your final moult. Leafpaw falls asleep on your shoulder on the way home from a field trip, and you hold hands as you wait to be picked up. You haven't outgrown any clothes in months, and your brothers are now taller than you. You look in the mirror, and realize this will always be the face that looks back at you.

* * *

There is always talk. You try to ignore the worst of it,

("Well, Hawkpaw is a creep," and, "I heard their mother doesn't love them," and, "Bet you can't wait to see your daddy,")

but that's easier said then done.

Leafpaw squeezes your hand. "They don't know what they're talking about," she says.

But they do. That's the problem. They're wrong, but they know what they're talking about.

A junior Mothpaw doesn't know sits beside her at lunch, in Leafpaw's space.

"You should move," Squirrelpaw says.

"No one's sitting here."

"Someone will be."

True to form, as soon as Leafpaw bursts into the cafeteria, she forces herself between Mothpaw and the junior.

The junior rolls her eyes. "I was wondering," she begins, "how you feel about the death penalty."

* * *

There are still old memories you revisit. Feathertail is hospitalized for the third time you can remember, and you log your hours for drivers' ed as you practice making the trip back and forth.

* * *

On Halloween, you take the bucket of candy Feathertail gave the three of you to share and sit on the back porch. Frogpaw and Hawkpaw keep stuffing their faces long after you've finished, and you feel like you're witnessing something obscene.

"I did some math," Frogpaw says. "We were born a month early." He throws a candy bar up, and it lands on his stomach. "Means we were conceived around New Years."

He throws the bar up again, and this time it lands in his hands.

"You ever want to throw a party? Just one. Make a bunch of food for dinner and sit around the table and call all the different dishes courses?"

"What the hell are you saying?" Hawkpaw asks.

"I think i'm just saying something," Frogpaw says. "I think I'm just hoping if I say enough things, I'll find the right thing to say.

* * *

You get your license. It says your name on the card, Mothpaw, daughter of Feathertail, and ask for permission to drive the car.

You don't have a plan for where you're going, and you end up in front of a cathedral.

* * *

The stress of junior year threatens to break you. College applications loom, your classes grow teeth, and you start to bicker with Leafpaw over petty things.

You read over the essay requirement for colleges, and think about what kind of essay you could write. Because there's really only one story worth telling, and it feels wrong, to type out all of your family to a stranger.

It makes you glad you started early. "My mother was fourteen when we were born," you write, and then scratch out. "My father is alive. We know who the other is. I've never met him," you write, and then erase. "I don't know who I am," you write, and then you keep writing.

* * *

At some point, you decide you don't believe. But. You keep coming back. There is something reassuring in routine. Your family doesn't ask where you are going, and you don't volunteer it. Sunday morning. There's some kind of peace, in having the time to sit and think and be.

* * *

"I think I've messed everything up," Leafpaw says. "I've gone about this all the wrong way, and now, everything is terrible, and this is all my fault, Mothpaw, I'm sorry-"

You kiss her, and then lean your forehead against hers. "We're both at fault," you say. "Besides. Maybe the honeymoon is over. We've got lives to attend."

And Leafpaw, inextricably, is part of that life. You can think of the essays you would've written about her. How her hair looks brown until it catches the sun, and then it shines like red glass. How she stomps when she is excited. How she links arms with you and says you're going shopping until you find your family Christmas gifts.

* * *

They invite you to a class, but it feels strange, knowing you don't believe. How do you say, I am here, and I am not, and I don't think you'd really want me.

You don't. You kneel down and offer a prayer to a god you don't believe in. Maybe it will catch.

* * *

Feathertail listens to you practice your speech.

"I'm so proud of you," she says. "You know that, right?"

You nod. She tells you this often, but something about her tone makes your throat catch. You've outgrown the days when Feathertail's arms could surround you, but even so, you start to cry when she hugs you.

"I love you," you say.

"I love you too," she says. She settles back onto the couch, wrapping her hands around a mug of tea.

This is the truth of who you are. This is what you will always fail to capture. How can you describe how the light streams inside at an angle that you've always known, one that makes the dust swirl through it? How can you describe the books on the coffee table, how each book has been read and loved, not merely thrown there for decoration? How can you describe yourself in any way but being there?

* * *

You meet your father's eyes. You know them. You have seen them in the mirror.

* * *

You hold your diploma in one hand, stopping for a photo. You were the first to enter kindergarten, you were the last to leave high school.

The excited chatter in the air is a reminder of what this day is. You have all bought your final yearbooks, signed names and numbers you won't remember in a few months. You're in it a few times -- Feathertail and Leafpaw delighted in hunting for your every appearance -- and you think, maybe it is okay if you are pieces.

There is something whole and solid that is made of them.

[livingcorner]

12+ Ways to Make $1000 a Month from Your Garden (Year Round!)

They say when you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.  Well, I love my garden and given a choice I’d be out there amongst my garden beds day and night.  There’s a big difference between gardening and farming though, and while I love my garden I’m not cut out for the life of a farmer. 

While bringing in a full-time gardening income is a bit tricky, making a side income from your garden is easier than you’d think.

You're reading: 12+ Ways to Make $1000 a Month from Your Garden (Year Round!)

Most people see gardening as a seasonal endeavor, that starts in the spring and ends in the fall, coming and going each year.  Up here in Vermont, our summer growing season is only a sad 100 days or so, and if I confined my efforts to those short months it wouldn’t make for much of a side hustle.  I think it’s important to find a way to earn a consistent side income, so I’m providing options for every month of the year (even in a cold climate like ours).

Beyond that, our land is mostly forested, which means the definition of “garden” is a bit loose.  We grow mushrooms in the shady spots and tap maple trees in season.  We also forage the wild bounty that nature’s garden has provided, meaning that we don’t have to limit our “gardening” to a small tilled section of the yard. 

Even if you’re lacking space in a small suburban lot, expanding outside of the traditional garden into local parks, or taking your garden indoors with salad sprouts, closet mushrooms, and seedling trays will allow you to make use of the space you have year-round.

Here are a few options to earn a substantial side income from your garden every season of the year, with ideas for both city and country folk. 

(Be sure to check local laws and restrictions before you start with anything, as those vary widely from place to place.)

Winter Garden Income

While you’d think winter would be the slow season for backyard garden income, believe it or not, it’s actually the best time for making money from your garden.  You’re generally less busy with planting and weeding, but everyone is stuck inside dreaming of the garden bounty to come.  

Indoor Salad Gardening

January is when everyone’s making new years resolutions to live healthier and eat more salads, but it’s a pretty rough time for gardening in most places.  If right around the end of the year you plan ahead with an indoor salad gardening setup, you’ll be in the perfect position to market microgreens and sprouts when they’re in high demand.

Local farms around here sell winter micro greens CSA’s and unlike summer shares where they net less than a dollar on a head of lettuce, winter greens command high prices.  A small bag of specialty microgreens runs $12 to 15 each.  And I really mean a small bag, maybe 3 cups of at most.

The trick is to grow high-quality, specialty greens that get people excited when the grocery store options are minimal.  The book Year Round Indoor Salad Gardening is a great resource to get started, and covers all you’d need to know to grow your own greens.  At that point, the problem is scaling up and marketing.  

Start a Small Backyard Seed Company

You may think you need to be some kind of multi-national to sell seeds, but in reality, customers are looking toward sustainably grown seed for specialty heirloom varieties these days.  It doesn’t get much more sustainable than a backyard garden, and buying seed locally ensures that you’ll get varieties perfectly suited to a particular growing region.

Choosing the right crops is key to generating a good income selling seeds.  Tomato seed, for example, is very easy to save and a single tomato often has enough seed to supply a dozen seed packets.  The flowers are self-contained, and it actually takes work for plant breeders to hybridize a variety, which means they’ll come true to variety even with many different types grown in the same garden. 

Most importantly, people get really excited about tomatoes.  Ever wonder why 1/3 of any seed catalog seems to be tomato seed?  With all that love for tomatoes, customers are liable to drop $5 for a locally grown packet of seeds for a really great variety.

While tomatoes are really easy, there are many varieties that aren’t much harder.  You need to know a bit about seed saving, not only harvesting and cleaning the seed, but about how pollination and selection works by variety.  Some varieties require a minimum population size to avoid inbreeding in the long term, and all that’s important to know before you get started. 

Seed to Seed is generally recognized as the most encyclopedic book on seed saving, covering just about every variety you can imagine.  It has great breadth to get you started, but not a whole lot of depth.

The Seed Garden is hands down my favorite seed saving book.  It’s well written and covers varieties in great depth.  It’s authored by The Seed Savers Exchange which does great work in the field of preserving heirloom varieties.

The Complete Guide to Seed Saving has a lot of stellar reviews, and it’s the next one I’m going to add to my gardening library.

Even in a small town environment here in Rural Vermont, there are about a dozen local seed companies.  High Mowing Seed started out really small just down the road from us, and now they’re a big national brand.  Milkweed Medicinals sells specialty seed that’s hard to find, and they now sell in all the local coops. 

Find your niche and there’s a great income to be made with homegrown seed.

Selling Cuttings

Even easier than saving seed, selling cuttings is an easy way to make a healthy income from your established plants in the winter months.  There are a number of varieties, like grapes for example, that need to be cut back or pruned in the winter.  Those cuttings are perfect for starting new plants and many gardeners are willing to pay good money for tiny pieces of your established crops.

I just bought 30 elderberry cuttings from Norms Farms at $4 each to propagate at home.  Elderberries grow readily from cuttings, and it’s an economical way for me to get a huge bed of them started.  Elderberry plants from a nursery cost about $30 each, so I’m happy with the transaction and the seller just made $120 off a tiny box of trimmings.

There are a number of plants that grow well from hardwood cuttings, some like black currants, are as simple as snipping off a tip and sticking it into the ground.  Others require a bit more attention and prep work to the cuttings, but they’re still beginner level.

Scion wood, or cuttings from apple trees to be grafted onto rootstock, is similarly lucrative.  All you need is a couple of established apple trees of known varieties and you can harvest cuttings for sale. 

Usually, each cutting is only a few inches long, so shipping them isn’t a big issue.  There’s a marketplace on the seed savers exchange website, and a scion wood cutting sells for about $4 each.

Start by learning a thing or two about plant propagation, first so that you can establish your own cutting beds, and then so you can educate customers on how easy it is to grow plants from cuttings.  Try reading Practical Woody Plant Propagation for Nursery Growers to get you started.

Read more: Why Does My Garden Hose Keep Bursting? | GardenAxis.com

A handful of elderberry cuttings that sell for $4 each.

Growing Mushrooms Indoors

Learning to grow mushrooms is a bit different than most standard garden crops, so this one will take some studying for even seasoned gardeners.  Still, there’s the potential to grow large crops from a small indoor space year-round.

The book Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation describes in detail how to set up a back closet, extra nook or spare bathroom to grow mushrooms with minimal time investment (2 hours a week). 

He has a great breakdown of costs, inputs, and yields…but in summary, you can make about $100 per week from a small setup that takes up a 4’x4′ footprint.  The system scales easily, with minimal extra time investment, meaning you only need slightly more space to increase that to a grand per month.

The best part, they can grow in recycled 5-gallon buckets picked up from restaurants, and they consume waste products like spent coffee grounds, that you can often pick up for free.

If you have access to outdoor space and hardwood logs, growing shiitake mushrooms is also a great place to start for beginners, but outdoors, harvests would be in the warmer months rather than winter.

I don’t know about you, but when I had an office job my co-workers would have loved to buy fresh mushrooms to take home for a fancy Friday night meal.

  Spring Garden Income

Spring is when everyone’s mind is dead set on their own gardens, and it’s a great time to capitalize on the surge in interest in all things green.

Selling Dandelions (and other wild weeds)

While countless suburbanites are spraying their lawns trying to eradicate the dandelions, more savvy gardeners are realizing that one person’s weed is another’s delicacy.  Dandelions are edible root to shoot, and better yet, they’re also highly medicinal. 

Dandelion root tincture sells for about $12 per ounce, and it only takes a root or two per ounce.  The spring greens are highly sought after by local food coops, where they sell for $4-5 per bundle.  Not bad for a pile of weeds.

Beyond dandelions, there’s all manner of early spring green “weeds” that can command high prices if you know how to identify, harvest and process them.  Chickweed is incredibly invasive, but also delicious, and chickweed tincture has plenty of medicinal uses too.  

There’s nothing like making a bit of side income from weeding your garden early in the spring.  You’ve got to do it anyway, might as well make it pay.

Dandelion roots harvested for homemade tincture.

Growing Spring Ephemerals

An ephemeral is a crop that has a very short season, and it may only be around for a few weeks before the plants go dormant (or unharvestable) for a full year.  Ramps, or wild leeks, are a slow-growing ephemeral that’s only around for a few weeks in the spring, but during that time they’re in high demand by both home cooks and fancy chefs.  Knowing where to find a good wild patch is hard, but they’re actually remarkably easy to naturalize in your own backyard.

Growing ramps from seeds just requires the right conditions.  Moist soil, under the shade of deciduous trees.  The more leaf cover the better. 

You’re not growing anything else in that much shade, so growing your own ramps is a great way to earn top dollar from an otherwise unproductive patch of land.  This is a long-term venture though, as leeks are slow-growing, and they’ll require about 5-7 years before your first harvest, but after that, a well-tended and sustainably harvested patch can last indefinitely.

Fiddleheads are another crop that’s generally wild foraged, but it’s remarkably easy to cultivate.  They can actually be pretty invasive, and I spent a long time weeding them out of my garden so I could grow anything else.  I just dug them up and tossed them into a heap, and they kept on growing and spreading from there as if nothing happened. 

Fiddleheads can be really productive, and they sell for about $20 a pound here in Vermont where they’re common.  You might get even better prices somewhere they’re more scarce.

Since they’re productive, fern heads can be pickled to extend their season, so you can market the bumper crop a bit longer.

My daughter holding a harvest of fiddleheads and ramps.

Selling Spring Seedlings

Selling spring veggie seedlings is an obvious choice.  Tomato seeds cost about a tenth of a cent each, but a healthy started plant can easily sell for $5.  Sure, there’s the cost for potting soil and pots, but the profit margin is still huge on seedling sales. 

The trick is, you’re investing your time and energy into starting plants off right, so others don’t have to.  This is one of the most lucrative ways to make money from your garden if you invest in the right equipment and can master the process. 

A greenhouse, even a small backyard model, is essential for producing seedlings early enough in the season.  As for resources to get you started, The New Seed Starter’s Handbook covers everything in detail, including troubleshooting guides if your plants aren’t performing.

Beyond the income from selling seedlings, you’ll also save a boatload by starting your own seeds instead of purchasing starts.  That’s one of those penny saved is a penny earned propositions, and any seedlings you don’t sell can just go right into your own garden.

Take a look at the local market this spring, and see if there are any gaps.  Do all the tomato seedlings sell out quickly, or is the market flooded?  If there’s plenty of other vendors, consider growing something niche like medicinal herbs.

Start a Backyard Nursery

Similar to growing out your own veggie seedlings, starting your own backyard nursery extends the income beyond the busy spring season.  If you’re growing perennials, you don’t have to worry about any unsold plants at the end of the year.  Just tuck them in for the winter and try to sell them next year.

Propagating plants from cuttings is remarkably easy, and all it takes is a bit of time and patience.  Those elderberry cuttings that sold for $4 each (above) as trimmings will sell for $25 to $30 as full-sized potted bushes in a few years.  Just the patience, time and space required to grow out the plants pays back in dividends later. 

This is actually a big part of our retirement plan, and we’re putting in perennials throughout our land to serve as cutting sources later when we open our nursery.  In the meantime, they’re beautiful, and most are edibles like elderberries, so we’re harvesting the fruit for our table while we patiently bide our time to retirement.

Backyard plant nurseries don’t require that much space, as potted plants can be stored fairly close together.

Summer Garden Income

Summer is peak growing season and it’s a great time to earn income from what you’re growing at home.  The big farms and CSA operations have the lettuce market cornered, but backyard gardeners can break into the market by offering really novel crops.  Start by focusing on high-dollar items and unique crops that get people’s attention.

High Dollar Specialty Crops

You’re never going to compete with the 100 acre organic CSA down the road on most generic crops, but those big operations cant grow everything.  They can grow a lot of the staples most families use every day, but backyard gardeners can grow small amounts of truly specialty crops that demand high prices.  Here are a few good options:

Husk Cherries – Also known as ground cherries, these plants produce huge crops of sweet pineapple/strawberry flavored fruit.  They grow on plants similar to tomatoes, and each bright orange fruit is wrapped in a papery husk.  Just one taste and you’ll want more. 

Before we were growing our own, I’d buy them for $5 a pint…now I know that each plant can produce more than a gallon of fruit even with neglect.  If you hand out samples, these will sell themselves.  It also helps if you give people creative ways to use them.

Cucamelons – Also known as mouse melons, these tiny little grape-sized cucumbers taste like a cross between a cucumber and lime.  They’re really wonderful fresh out of hand, and they make great pickles or mixed drinks.  The cuteness factor means that these sell for about $5 per half-pint.

Berry Pick Your Own

To complement our backyard nursery retirement plans, we’re also planning a pick your own operation.  This requires more space than most of the other ideas on this list, but after the initial setup, labor is pretty minimal. 

A while back I calculated the rate of return on a raspberry pick your own, and you’d need about 250-row feet to produce $1000 worth of raspberries.  For us on 30 acres, that’s a drop in the bucket, but that may be more space than you can devote to any one crop.

Strawberries are similar, in that a plant generally yields about a pound of fruit in a season, and requires 1-row foot.  At $4 per pound, you’d need the same amount of row feet as raspberries.  The benefit there is, strawberry rows are much more closely spaced so this may be more practical for some.

  Read more: 37 Garden Border Ideas To Dress Up Your Landscape Edging

Garden Tours, Tea Times & Classes

Though it’s not my cup of tea, garden tours and country tea times are a good option for flower gardeners.  A local nurseryman around here makes a good side income hosting tea time in his home garden, and runs an annual tour of his extensive plantings, along with specialty days for big blooms (like daffodils).  Our gardens are more down-to-earth and “homestead” than they are attractive, but many people’s are just the opposite.

All it takes is a few tables, a decent scone recipe, and a few good teapots, and you’re ready to run a weekly afternoon tea time in the garden.  Add in tours and maybe a few gardening classes and you’ve got yourself a ready source of income from your own beautiful backyard.

Medicinal Herbs

With the increasing demand for more alternative remedies, there’s never been a better time to grow medicine in your backyard.  Locally grown herbs are still hard to find in most areas, but plenty of people are looking for them.

Many medicinal herbs are perennials, which means you plant them once and you can harvest them for years.  And the same compounds that make the plants medicinal also make them resistant to deer and insects, which means less maintenance than garden veggies.  For the most part, they’re perennial, persistent and more importantly…profitable.

There’s a high demand for medicinal tinctures since they’re ready to use, and our local coop has half an aisle dedicated to them.  Tinctures sell for $8 to $12 an ounce, but they only cost about $1 to $2 an ounce, even if you’re buying in the herbs rather than growing them. 

Add in another $1 for the tincture bottle, and you’re still making a pretty sizable profit per bottle.  Choosing crops that are common and in high demand, like echinacea tincture can help you break into the market.

As you’re just getting started, I’d recommend Backyard Medicine as a way to dip your toe into harvesting and making your own herbal remedies, especially from wild crops.  If you’re considering growing herbs for profit I’d highly recommend The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer: The Ultimate Guide to Producing High-Quality Herbs on a Market Scale.  It’s written by farmers that grow just a few towns over from us, and they’ve inspired a lot of people to take up growing medicine for the market.

The Herbal Academy of New England also has a course designed specifically for herbal entrepreneurs.  The course walks you through the basics of creating your own brand identity, marketing, sourcing herbal ingredients, manufacturing herbal remedies and creating a business plan around herbs and herbal remedies.

Fall Garden Income

The end of the garden season, fall is generally when the crops come in.  In my mind though, it’s one of the more challenging times to make income as a small producer. 

There are a lot of products on the market,  and it’s hard to stand out.  With the holidays right around the corner though, marketing yourself as a niche producer of really unique homegrown gifts can work to your advantage.

Honey & Bee Products

Gardeners need bees and bees need gardeners!  Raising honey bees is a great way to support pollinator communities, but with all the challenges that face hives these days, it’s best to be educated before you start.  There’s a really great book called Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture that covers just about everything you need to know to keep your bees healthy naturally.

In a good year, with our short Vermont growing seasons, bees can produce as much as 100lbs of honey for harvest.  The current bulk price at our coop, meaning bring your own container nothing fancy…is $7 per pound.  Pre-packaged just in mason jars, honey goes for $10-12 per pound, and considerably more in specialty gift packaging.

Add in things like bee pollen or propolis for medicinal use, or comb honey, and you have yet more high-dollar items to market.

Honey, especially locally sustainably raised honey is in high demand just about everywhere.  People are realizing that bees are important to our environment, and many will be happy to pay for local honey just knowing that it means supporting someone who is stewarding such an important resource in their neighborhood.

Apples, Cider and Cider Press Rentals

My doctor has a small apple share side hustle that she runs with her sister, selling harvest shares to neighbors in her spare time.  They have a few full-sized apple trees, and each one produces around 100 to 120 pounds of apples per year.  These days, conventionally grown supermarket apples are about $3 per pound…and locally grown apples fetch a premium above that.

She sells shares ahead of time and then divides the harvest as each tree comes to bear.  Distributing them to shareholders every week or two as each variety ripens over the season.

We have other neighbors who sell fresh cider that they press from their trees, at $12 per gallon.  Last year we pressed nearly 80 gallons from our trees, most of which went into hard cider and homemade cider syrup (like maple syrup), but we easily could have sold it instead.  Instead of selling our cider, we have a different strategy for earning our income during apple season. 

We invested in an efficient double-barrel cider press, with the thought that we can rent it out to other small apple producers.  People with one or two trees in their backyard love the novelty of pressing their own cider, and around these parts a press rents for about $50 for the afternoon.  Over the course of the season that can really add up…

Year-Round Garden Income

Beyond different things you can do seasonally to earn a few thousand a couple of months a year, there are things you can do year-round to earn a steady income related to your garden.  

Garden Blogging

I know, making income from blogging seems too good to be true, but writing about diy, gardening, and self-sufficiency is now my full-time job. Within 6 months of starting this blog, I started making an extra $1000 a month.  After 9 months of writing, I was able to quit my day job, and now at 18 months in I bring in more each month than any job I’ve ever had.

The best part?  All I do is write about what we’re already doing here in our daily lives, and I spend my days playing in the garden and out foraging in the woods with my kids.

I was inspired to take the leap into blogging when I read the book Make Money Blogging at Any Level by my blogger friend, Victoria at A Modern Homestead.  She outlines in detail how to earn a substantial income, even from a very small blog.  

She was able to retire her husband and supports her family exclusively with her blog.  If you’re considering blogging as a source of income it’s worth the investment.  It’s $27 for the book, and I made that back in my first week with my blog following her tips.

She also has a much more comprehensive blogging e-course that takes you through everything you need to know to launch your own profitable blog.  It’s a bit more of an investment, but it’s the perfect way for a beginner to learn everything they need to know to launch their blog fast and start earning money.

Garden Micro-Influencer

Making money on Instagram is all the rage these days, and you’d be surprised how many companies are willing to send you free products just for a promise that you’ll post at least 1 picture of it to Instagram with honest feedback.  Once you have even a small following, companies will pay you for your time reviewing it (and you still get to keep it for free…)

Looking for a little inspiration?  You can always follow along on my Instagram for ideas…

Hopefully, this helps inspire you to turn your gardening passion into a meaningful side hustle.  If you have any other ideas, let me know in the comments below.

More Income Inspiration

How to Make a Full-Time Income Off-Grid

8 Ways to Make an Extra $1000 a Month on a Small Homestead

Making Money with Small Scale Maple Sugaring

Related

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/12-ways-to-make-1000-a-month-from-your-garden-year-round/

[aellynera]

Mr. & Mrs. Cooper (Part 1 - Bud Cooper x Reader)

MR. & MRS. COOPER - PART 1

(okay guys I was really not planning on this being more than one part but it’s gone rogue and gotten a life of its own so, yep. here we are.)

Word Count: 1438

Summary: You’re married to Bud Cooper and your life is a perfectly kept secret...until it isn’t.

Warnings: None for this part. Like a single minor sexy time reference.

Your house w as immaculate. Pristine. It looked like it should be the feature spread in Better Homes & Gardens, maybe even have its own special commemorative issue. The walls were light, the wooden furniture dark, the upholstered sofas stylish. Chrome and metal accents around the semi-open floor plan. Elegant, modern, sophisticated.

Just like you, with your modest yet attractive knee-length, short-sleeve dress. Your low-heel pumps in a matching color, just a shade darker. A string of pearls, a perfectly coiffed updo. Just a touch of mascara and ruby lipstick.

Perfect wife, perfect life.

Just the way your husband liked it, and keeping him happy certainly had its benefits.

That’s what you firmly believed until about an hour ago. That’s when you were cleaning upstairs, straightening out the office. Normally your husband would insist that you didn’t need to clean the office, that he would take care of it, but he had been working so much and such hours that he was often never home until late into the night, and it had finally gotten to the point where you couldn’t stand the clutter and decided he would just have to deal with it. You would make it up to him later, lure him into the bedroom or maybe even let him take you on the kitchen counter (something he had been very much into lately, not that you were complaining.)

You decided to clean the office, and that was that.

Until you knocked over a stack of papers and in the midst of trying to straighten them back up, saw the contract. A puzzled look creased your forehead. You recognized the name at the top. It was impossible not to, everyone in town knew that name even if any decent person never spoke it aloud. But why was this in your husband’s office? It wasn’t an insurance contract. Your husband worked in insurance. This was a contract with a lot of names on it and an absolutely ridiculous amount of dollar signs. Names crossed out in red. Names that you knew had been printed in the obituary section of the newspaper over the past few months. This didn’t make any sense.

Your husband worked in insurance.

You mused that technically, in its own way this could be considered insurance, just of a...morally dubious variety. Then your eyes traveled down the sheet and your mouth dropped open when you saw the last name you expected - your own.

Your husband worked in insurance.

His career had afforded you these finer things in life. Things he told you should want and desire and that you deserved. Things he gave you freely, without hesitation, almost without you having to ask. Almost...too willingly.

Almost like a sweetener. An enticement. Like a lure..

And then it all clicked. All the dominoes fell. You didn’t know if you should be unbecoming, unlady-like, and royally pissed off at your husband...or if you should be suitably impressed. You loved your husband, you truly did, but this wasn’t the way the game was supposed to be played. This was against the rules.

You pursed your lips, carefully folded the paper, and slid it into the pocket on your dress. You finished clearing up the office, careful not to disturb anything else if you didn’t have to, then shut the door behind you when you finished. You paused for a moment at the top of the stairs, smoothed your skirt, and went back down to the kitchen to begin preparing dinner.

Bud Cooper was going to have a hell of a lot to explain when he got home.

*****

Bud Cooper’s office (his actual work office, that is) was immaculate. Pristine. Anyone who came into the brokerage looking for insurance would feel welcome and secure in his office, and more likely than not would be more than inclined to purchase a policy or up their existing limits. He wasn’t technically a salesman, but most people just couldn’t resist.

It wasn’t a huge office, but it did have a sizable window with a nice view of a field and some trees. The walls were light, the wooden furniture a medium brown, the black leather sofa stylish. Chrome clock on the wall and metal accents on the desk. Elegant, modern, sophisticated.

Just like Bud, with his dark suit, crisp white shirt, and coordinating tie. His dress shoes, polished to a perfect reflective shine. His silver watch, a tie pin, a handkerchief folded in his jacket pocket, and his dark, slightly wavy hair slicked back just so. His perfectly groomed mustache and just a hint of stubble on his chin by the end of the day.

Perfect man, perfect plans.

Just the way he knew you liked it, and keeping you happy certainly had its benefits.

That’s what he firmly believed until about an hour ago. That’s when his secretary had brought a package to his desk. She had attached a note explaining the mailman didn’t know what else to do with it; apparently the envelope had gotten wet at some point and the address was washed out, blurry and illegible. The only thing that could be read was the return address which only said “Mrs. B. Cooper”. Must be a new mailman, he thought, or they would have known where your house was to return it properly. So many new people coming and going around the neighborhood these days, he mused.

So this is where the package had ended up and, Bud being Bud, naturally he had opened it. Mostly he was just curious about who you would be sending a package to. Curious...and a little suspicious. That was just part of his nature. He decided that since the package was given to him, he had the right to open it at any rate, and that was that.

Another, smaller envelope fell out as he opened the flap. Once he opened the second envelope, a stack of photographs landed on his desk. A puzzled look creased his forehead. He recognized pictures of the houses surrounding yours, and particularly the one directly across the street and the one catty-corner to the right. It was impossible not to, even if most of the houses looked the same - the porches were decorated differently, and there was no way Bud wasn’t going to recognize that goddamn pink flamingo stuck in the opposite yard. But why was the vantage point from your house? Bud’s hyper-skeptical, hyper-analytical brain could already tell that’s where most of the pictures were taken from, but you didn’t even have a camera. It didn’t make sense. You were a housewife. You weren’t a photographer.

The last few pictures made him pause. His eyes widened slightly and he just flipped through them again. And again. And again. They were of him, leaving the house in the morning, getting in his car with his briefcase. Stopping at the mailbox, retrieving a package. Arriving at a nondescript cinder block building (a building that definitely wasn’t his office) and handing the package to a man in a dark coat. A few of the pictures were close-ups, a few were more observant. All of them had dates and times noted on the back.

Well, shit.

But you were a housewife.

Bud mused that technically, in its own way this could be considered housework, just of a...morally dubious variety. Really, technically, you hadn’t left the house and you were awake at that same time and starting your own workday...

You were a housewife.

Bud had been pleased his career had afforded you these finer things in life. Things he told you should want and desire and that you deserved, because he honestly thought you did. Things he gave you freely, without hesitation, almost without you having to ask. Things you readily accepted, and it made him feel good to give you these tokens of appreciation.

Almost like sweeteners. Enticements. Like payoffs.

And then it all clicked. All the dominoes fell. He didn’t know if he should be righteously outraged at his beloved minx...or if he should be suitably impressed. Bud loved you, he truly did, but this wasn’t the way the game was supposed to be played. This was against the rules.

He pursed his lips, carefully put all the pictures back in both envelopes, and slid package into his briefcase. He glanced at the clock on the wall. He imagined that right now, you were in the kitchen getting ready to prepare dinner. He had about an hour until he was done here for the day.

Mrs. Cooper was going to have a hell of a lot to explain when he got home.

[elliethesuperfruitlover]

yes i did this during my lunch break (and in english)

General:

Rate the Ship -   Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs

How long will they last? - Mm, if not lifelong than like a good amount of years. They occasionally also see other people though (poly coded)

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - T had to think about actually dating Klaus before getting into it. She looked into his past, everything. She didn’t want to be hurt. Klaus, however was like “mm, personality, shes pretty, smart, im in.”

How was their first kiss? - It was pleasant, it was random, after T met Klaus’ siblings. It wasn’t out of nowhere, but she was like :Thank you for introducing me to your broken family. *smooch*”Casual, but not casual.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Klaus did. It wasn’t big either, he was just like “do weddings appeal to you?” and she’s always been on the fence about getting married, but she figured to might as well do it.

Who is the best man/men? - Klaus had Diego as his best man actually.

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - T had her mom as her maid of honor.

Who did the most planning? - They both did equal planning. They’d talk it over and everything, but T likes to have everything exact, so she looked over everything, over and over until she found it fine enough.

Who stressed the most? - Klaus, actually. T enjoys putting things in order, and planning, but Klaus was worried about how everything would go. He wanted to make sure everything went right, and that most of all, T was happy.

How fancy was the ceremony? - Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.  It was a forest wedding, so kinda big, but small enough as to where it felt special.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding?- Anyone that even remotely made T feel uncomfortable. If they were gonna cause issues, they can do it elsewhere. The trees didn’t want to hear arguing. (her one aunt who didn’t want her marrying a white man)

Sex:

Who is on top? - Topazi Um, they’re both switches, but it honestly depends on the mood. If one of them had a rough day, then the other would be the top. 

Who is the one to instigate things? - Either of them, it depends.

How healthy is their sex life? - Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now. One look and the clothes are off (or on they’re kinky fucks)

How kinky are they? - Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head. T’s fairly kinky, and so is Klaus, so they combine it to create just *sighs*. Their closets have a specific section for sex toys, spicy clothes.

How long do they normally last? - It depends. If they start when they’re high energy, it’ll be for longer, but if it’s later in the day, or after work, it’s for less time. an hour or so.

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - Mm, sometimes. If T gets frustrated with herself, and she might be in a bit of a tizzy, Klaus’ll step in and she’ll focus on his pleasure instead of her own. But T usually has more than Klaus, usually 2 more.

How rough are they in bed? - Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it. If the mood calls for it, Topazi won’t hesitate to absolutely ruin Klaus. She really likes it rough, and so does Klaus, but they like being gentle every now and then.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? - No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory. T is touch oriented, and rarely ever doesn’t want to be touched in some way. She wants all of the hugs during aftercare, and Klaus is very happy to give it to her.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - None. T thought about having kids, but she doesn’t trust her body, or herself, so she just doesn’t do it.

How many children will they adopt? - They have pets. (a snake and two kitties)

Who is the stricter parent? - T. She’ll be like “Miko, I told you not to jump off the counter.” but Klaus is like “let him be, he’s just a little shaken up.” but no like water bottles, just a mild scolding.

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - T used to do a lot of cooking, but Klaus also tag teams her. Especially if it’s a huge meal. 

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Klaus won’t do oatmeal, or anything mushy. But T is like “if this even looks wrong, I’m not eating it.” It doesn’t matter who cooks it though, she’ll eat from anyone, but if something looks or tastes different than how she’s used to eating it, she’ll eat some out of respect, but in the end may just get more safe things like water, fruit etc. 

Who does the grocery shopping? - Both of them. T writes the list (bc she’s very detailed), and they both get half of the list and tag-team. But T has told Klaus what’s safe, what’s not, all that. 

How often do they bake desserts? - Almost every weekend. They’re both a bit impulsive, Klaus more than T, so they have an entire fridge dedicated to baking items.

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - T rarely ever eats red meat, and Klaus’ll eat anything, so it’s a big mix between the two of them. She tries to get everything balanced, then she gets cravings and everything is thrown out of the window.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Klaus. He likes repaying T, and whenever T tries to do something nice, something pops up and she can’t. It’s also best for him to do tiny things, not big things, so she doesn’t feel like it’s a competition between the two of them. 

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Klaus. Topazi wants to go out and everything, and she’s impulsive, but never really does anything about it.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - Klaus because he almost fucked the kitchen up when he was high and forgot to put his blunt out (the paper towels caught fire, yada yada)

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - T does a lot of cleaning. Not that she feels like she has to, she just enjoys it, plus it gives her a sense of completion.

Who is really against chores? - Klaus sometimes. It’s not that he doesn’t want to, they usually just creep up on him when he really doesn’t want to do them.

Who cleans up after the pets? - Both of them do it equally. Klaus moreso than T though, because one wrong inhale and she’s ill.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Klaus. He can forget about something and it’s just gone. His object permanence is shitty.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Neither of them. T likes company, and people over, but she does try to make sure no naughty things are left out for people to see.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - T almost threw it away, (it was balled up), but she was like “hmm my brain is trying to tell me something” so she was like “oh hells yeah money”

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Depends, but mostly Klaus, because he does his thinking in the shower (like his dad). T, however, knows she’s gonna look like a fucking cherry when she gets out, and she needs to keep her skin not flaky.

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - Um-. If they had a dog, it would be either one of them, but Klaus more often than T, because when she’s painting or gardening, she can’t be bothered to focus on anything other than what she’s doing at that moment.

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Very lack-luster. For xmas, they have a tree, but T puts stupid shit around the house. For Easter, she painted an egg pink and labeled it as “the easter bunny’s left testicle” and for Halloween, they have a spooky corner. She can’t do pranks though, she understands them, but she’ll scream then immediately kick to defend herself.

What are their goals for the relationship? - T wants to enjoy what life she has with Klaus. She just wants someone to love her and keep her company.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - Both of them. Topazi likes cuddles, and sometimes the sleep is so good you have to just stay down. Plus, she’s her own boss, and their animals are smarter than they initially thought, but if she hears the fucking snake tank open, her eyes are wide fucking open. 

Who plays the most pranks? - Even though she gets a bit frustrated from them, T likes to do cute pranks. You know those toys that you throw and they stick to something, she’ll do those. And Klaus throws like sticky tack at the wall. Those she can handle. But she doesn’t understand the purpose of someone fake sneezing on her. (like me, please dont do that shit, i dont like it)

[smlyds]

Sam x Reader (stardew valley)

Dandelion

I stepped off the bus, breathing in the fresh air, filled with a new hopefulness for my future in this new town, Stardew Valley. A sweet, dewy smell filled the air and water droplets glistened on the greenery. Taking in a deep breath, I began walking through the path in the forest toward my new home, the cabin my grandfather had left me.

The walk to the cabin was a long one, but I was greeted by two new welcoming faces, Robin and Mayor Lewis. Robin was a little bit rude about the state of the farm, though I did have a lot of work to do! Lewis informed me that I needed to place things in a shipping box beside the house in order to sell them, so he could pick them up every night around 8:30. He also suggested I try to get to know the residents of the town while I was there. After they left, I walked in the house and got settled in. I unpacked my bags and looked at the house. It was small, only one room, but it would do. It had an old tv, a small bed, a dresser, an old fireplace and an oak table with a decorative bowl neatly placed in the center. I sweeped the floors and dusted everything off, since no one had been in the house in ages, and while looking around afterwards, I notice a small present on the dresser. It was wrapped in yellow paper with a blue bow and had a note that read,

To help you get started!

-Lewis

I opened it to find 15 packs of parsnip seeds. I smiled, and made a note of thanking the Mayor the next day. That saved me the trouble of going into town to buy seeds the next day. Looking around a bit more, I found some old tools including a pickaxe, hoe, scythe, an axe and a tin watering can. Eventually I would have to get some new tools, but these would work at first. After I finished cleaning and looking around, I decided to go to bed and start fresh in the morning.

In the morning, I took out a small purple journal I had brought with me and wrote some basic plans for the day.

1. Plant parsnips

2. Clean up the farm

3. Thank Mayor Lewis for parsnip seeds

4. Introduce yourself to other residents

I found that making lists of what I needed to do helped me get things done. I stood up from the chair I had sat at and walked out my front door with the tools I found the day before, and the parsnip seeds. The farm really was a mess. Weeds, rocks and an annoying amount of trees covered the farm. A breeze floated by, carrying light pink spring pedals with it. The morning air was a little chilly, but not horribly so.

I spent a little over 3 hours cleaning up the farm and planting the parsnips until I felt satisfied with my work. Taking my journal from my small red backpack, I crossed off the first 2 things on my list. The farm looked nice, and I could see 3 paths at the northern, eastern and southern sides of the farm. The southern one led to Cinder-sap Forest, the north to the mountains and the east to the town. I needed to thank Mayor Lewis as well as try to meet a few people. I wiped my forehead and walked towards the east path. It was a very peaceful walk to the town through thick forest. On the way I saw the bus stop I had been dropped off at the day before, feeling hopeful that I made the right choice moving here. When I got to the town, I saw the town square, which had a clinic and a store the the north, houses, the graveyard and a river to the south and a saloon, as well as two more houses to the east. I walked towards the store and saw a board with a request section and a calendar. The request section was empty today, and the calendar was marked with birthdays, which had pictures of the people whose birthday’s it was, and town events. I noticed that this month, the Mayor’s birthday was on the 7th, and today was the 1st. I should get him a gift, I thought to myself. I noticed two events this month, the Egg Festival and the Flower Dance. I flipped it up, seeing the schedule for the month. I quickly scanned it and stopped at the 17th day, a person named Sam’s birthday. I looked at his picture a while longer than I had everyone else’s. He had blonde hair that was slicked up, clearly using a lot of hair gel, which made me giggle. He also had green eyes with blue and yellow specks, and a warm smile. Looking at the picture, I felt myself blush a bit.

“Hello! How’s it going on the farm,” Lewis asked, to which I responded with a jolt and a slight gasp, the calendar quickly closing back to the page for this month. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yes, sorry sir, you startled me,” I said in response, my heart beating fast. “It’s going well on the farm, I cleaned it up a bit and planted the parsnips. Oh, that’s right! Thank you so much for the parsnip seeds! They were really helpful. I can’t afford a lot of seeds after the move, so they’re very helpful!”

“No problem! You’re the granddaughter of a good friend, so I wanted to make sure you would do well,” He said cheerfully. “Well, I have to go, but before I do, I noticed you looking at Sam’s picture. He lives in the blue house over there,” He paused and pointed toward a house to the southwest. It was light blue and sat beside a red house. “You should introduce yourself! They’re a lovely family!”

“O-okay, thank you,” I said meekly, waving goodbye. Lewis chuckled and walked away. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment as I looked at my watch. It read 11:36. I decided to go into the store, which was named Pierre’s. I pushed the door open and heard a bell ring. The store was small, with a section for cooking supplies, produce, seeds and other general items. I looked at the seed packets and decided to take 3 Jazz packets, 4 tulip bulbs, 4 potato packets and 5 cauliflower packets. It wasn’t much but I didn’t want to spend too much, so I walked toward the checkout at the back of the store. A man with short, light brown hair and glasses, who looked to be about forty, greeted me.

“Hello! You must be the new farmer everyone is talking about,” He said as I set down my stuff on the counter.

“Yeah! My name’s (y/n)!” I said, trying to be friendly as he rung me up.

“I’m Pierre! I hope you’ll be a regular costumer here rather than going to Joja Mart,” He said, a sour look on his face at the last part. “Anyhow, your total is 8 dollars and 56 cents.”

I quickly fished my wallet out of my bag and took out the money, to the exact change and said, “Well, it was nice meeting you, Pierre! I hope you have a good day!”

“You too!” He said as I put my now bagged stuff into my bag and left the store. I looked at my watch again, 11:42. I decided to go to some of the houses and introduce myself as Lewis has suggested. I walked toward the southern part of the town to the red house. It had a small garden with seasonal flowers growing inside beneath a large window. The door was brown dyed maple, I thought. I walked up to it and knocked, wondering if people would be home in the middle of the day on Monday. After a moment, the door opened to a woman with blue hair cut in a messy bob and brown eyes that were almost pink. She wore red lipstick that matched her long red dress.

“Howdy! I don’t believe we’ve met,” She said with a bright smile on her face.

“Hi! I’m (y/n), I just moved here. I thought I should introduce myself,” I said nervously.

“Well it’s lovely to meet you! I would invite you in for tea, but I have to get to the saloon soon! Oh, I’m Emily by the way!”

“It’s good to meet you too! Also, I don’t mind, I don’t have much time either,” I replied, set at ease by how nice she seemed to be.

“Well, maybe we can have tea another time, as I would like to get to know you better. Is Wednesday at 10:30 okay for you?” She asked.

“Oh, sure!” I responded, surprised she actually wanted to have tea.

“Great! Also, my younger sister Haley lives here as well, but she’s out at the park right now, so you’ll have to meet her another time,” Emily replied, a smile still on her face.

“Alright! Well, I have to go, so I will see you Wednesday! It was great meeting you!” I said.

“Yeah, you too! Bye bye,” she said waving and shutting the door softly. I sighed, wondering why I agreed to meet her even though I had no idea if I would actually be able to come. I knew now, however, I was going to make it no matter what, because I would feel to bad to cancel. With that thought, I walked a few meters down the sidewalk to the blue house that the blonde haired boy, whose picture I was looking at only a few minutes earlier, was supposed to live. For some reason I didn’t know, the idea of meeting him made me nervous. Taking in a deep breath and gathering my courage, I knocked on the house’s large front door. A woman who looked to be around 45 with long, light brown hair tied into a ponytail, which complimented her blue eyes, answered.

“Hi! I’m (y/n), I just moved here!” I said, waving shyly.

“Hello there! I’m Jodi. I heard someone new was moving into the old farm! You’re not quite what I was expecting, but that’s alright,” she said kindly.

“It’s nice to meet you Jodi.” I said, trying to smile, but not too wide.

“It’s nice too meet you too, (y/n). Why don’t you come on in, you look like you need something to drink,” she said.

“Oh, I would hate to bother you with that,” I said quickly.

“Nonsense, come on in,” she said, motioning inside. I walked in and looked around. The room was pretty small, there was a loveseat, a small chair and a mahogany table with papers and books all over. I could here someone playing guitar from somewhere in the house. “Do you mind taking your boots off? I just cleaned the floors.”

“Oh sure!” I said, slipping off my muddy shoes and placing them on a mat beside the door as Jodi closed it.

“Please, take a seat and I will get you something to drink,” she said, guiding me to the chair. I sat down and she said, “What would you like? I have water, milk and orange juice.”

“Water is fine,” I said, getting comfortable. Jodi walked through a doorway to the right of the loveseat and quickly came back, handing me a glass of water. I took a sip, and it was ice cold, the way I preferred it. “Thank you.”

“Oh it’s no problem! You’re a guest. Anyway, how is the old farm?” She asked curiously.

“It’s good! It took a while to clean up, but it’s a very nice area,” I said with a genuine smile.

“That’s good! So, how old are you, (y/n)?” She asked.

“I’m 20,” I answered, wondering why she had asked.

“Oh, really? My oldest son will be 20 on the 17th of next month,” she said, and I wondered if that was Sam.

“Oh, that’s nice! I would love to meet him,” I said, taking another sip of the water.

“I should introduce you! He’s just in his room practicing guitar right now, I will go get him,” she said, standing up and walking to a door on the right side of the room.

“O-okay,” I said nervously. She knocked on the door and opened it.

“Sam, there’s someone here I want you to meet!” Hearing his name made my heart jolt, though I didn’t know why. The guitar halted and he walked out of his room. It was Sam from the picture on the calendar. I quickly stood up to introduce myself. His eyes were very striking in person.

I felt my face warm up and meekly said, “Hi, my name’s (y/n).”

“I’m Sam, it’s good to meet you!” He said in a bubbly tone, holding out a hand for me to shake. Nervously, I stretched mine out to his and shook it quickly.

“(Y/n) is the new farmer, and she’s your age! I thought you two could be friends, or maybe more,” Jodi said, saying the last part a little quieter. I could feel that I was really blushing now.

“Mom!” Sam said, looking at Jodi. She chuckled at him.

“You know I’m just joking,” she said, smiling at us.

“It wasn’t very funny,” he said, sounding annoyed now. I looked down, hoping they wouldn’t noticed how red my face was now.

“Well, I have to go now, thank you for the water Jodi. It was nice meeting you both,” I said, walking quickly to the door and slipping on my boots.

“Oh, so soon? Well that’s a shame. Come by again sometime, (y/n),” Jodi said.

“Alright! Bye Jodi, Sam,” I responded walking out the door. Closing it with a bit of a slam, I took a deep breath, trying to calm my fast paced heartbeat and cool my cheeks. Why is this making me so nervous? He’s just some random guy, I thought, walking away from the house. I knew then though, that I would be seeing a lot more of him.

I spent the rest of the day getting to know other residents. The most notable were Evelyn, who was an old woman who worked on the town flowerbeds, Abigail, a weird, somewhat goth girl with purple hair, Elliot, a dramatic writer, and Sebastian, a geeky guy who likes frogs. At the end of the day, I worked a bit more on the farm, then drifted into a deep sleep.

[po1ypear1]

Always: Be greatful for the happiness feelings you feel every single day. 

Recognize when the right opportunity is before you and say yes. But if you dont, know the boat will come again, and know your reason for missing it.

Plans and day dreams are nice, but let them be free. Watch out for getting to attatched. We prefer general headings. 

Remember watching, “How To Be Single” and feeling like this was your time to enjoy being single while in this stage of self descovery. To remember learning how to date, how to talk to people, and how to hold onto your own identify.

Find and Do No Matter Where You Are: 

Play with improv people. 

Take singing lessons

Keep making your moon calanders! Study Astrology.

Everything written here has placed a call to me, and is currently waiting, patiently on hold.

Make movies. Research bus channels. Consider yours.

Act/Perform. Read poetry, stories and speaches to people from mobile sets in character. 

Once Home: Set Some Shit Straight: 

Invest! Talk to one of those guys who makes your money make money.

Sort out your taxes, health care, and province of residing. Get GST number for a small, legit paper trail and to justify the cerb minimum income requirements. 

Lazer hair removal.  

Get a proper ear stretching kit. Good quality solar powered, phone charging, water proof, blue tooth, multi speaker linkons, portable speaker. 

Books: Anatomy for the artist.  A massive “learn to read the stars” astrology book, total “yoga poses” reference guide.  

Home for Christmas would be nice. 

Ask grandma and grandpa a hundred questions. 

Watch tissue movies with mom. 

Organize family activities, skating, toboganing, holrac park. Snowboarding trip?  

Propose bio mobile bus/prototype build to dad  

Have a Dance in Golden and visit kyle…   

First summer with the bio-biel. Climb mountains. Serve A Vapassana.  Learn Gin Shin Do from a master. Visit the landing. 

Do you still wanna train hop? this is probably a better sooner then later activity.  

Winter town! Seasonal job. Collect thousands of dollars for passing go.

My Karman Line: Learn about starting a business. Event Organizer/Project Manager. Online Careers. How to become a home care assistant. 

Stationary Routine breads clarity and focus. New Places are exciting, stimulating, inspiring, and distracting. 

Biofuel Home Bus:  

MIDNIGHT IDEA* bus so I dont have to pay rent while going to school/studying to get the job that will allow me to work and live around the world. hense vegabonding after bussing. No roommates, no rent, no part time job money worries, small space, less mess, fewer distractions. I can work part time if I want to, not cause I have to. I can be close to school, no comute, close to my kichen, less money spent eating out. I feel the time for study is getting closer.

I like the idea of bus before boat, cause when I get land the bus is home base while I build. Then the bus is safely left on the property. The boat is a little less safe left in the water.

You’d think I would vegabond before biofuel, but i just got a craving…. then I got an incling, “maybe these arnt one time phases.” Sail boat life, Bus life, House life, Back-pack life. and they keep heluxing round and round. And there’s always new hobbies, interests, self discoveries and purposes. With constant sweet notes of good food, friendship, discovery. And never ending curiosity. 

 There’s no correct order, or direct timeline. Remove the 5 hinderances, and listen to what the moon says is best for you right now. 

Vegabond. Live, Work and Study in so many other countries.You can do this after 35 aswell. You can find amazing work oportunities that don’t require the permit, that will sponsor a permit, that wants to marry you. Or you’ll fit into the specialist or exeption section. You’re not necessarily looking for a typical, need a working vissa job anyway. Plus, some countries might not have this restriction, you never looked for your self. 

We were talking with Josie the other day and we got on to the different types of lives on the security-adventure scale. For argument sake, we named 4 main ones. The people who never leave the towns they grew up in, the ones who do but settle some where, the ones who move every so often, keeping it fresh and the ones who never stop, who, say live out of a back-pack or travel the world on a bike, throwing them selves into the unknown. When she spoke of these people, my heart fluttered…..  

House sit, wwooff, work-away when the world alows open travel again. And maybe Do it by bike? As few planes as possible. LIVE in the cities of the world, get to know them, be a part of them. Know the public places, the baker on the courner, where the oldest trees and stairs are. 

Entreprenuer. Have your own business. Work for your self. 1 (of many, ideas) multi functional bobcat/tractor owner and oporator. 2 Bulk goods supplier.

Homestead. Own Property out right. I will pay for everything up-front, all the money I save on interest by waiting will be trippled by keeping the money invested till there is more then enough for the propert, land and home development. Enough will be left over, and remain invested, to continue growing at a steady, live a comfortable life and travel as I wish, take what ever courses i wish rate.

Kitchen Hack: design cooking area to be re-panted every few years. window sills for herbs to grow. sinks with water spouts that fill in the middle and swivel.    

what an ideal comunity looks like to me: lots of greenery, big old trees, bike and walk friendly, inviting public spaces, big enough that I want to go out and be apart of it, that i have places and people to visit

Raise your kids here, with stability providing safety. Routine creating tradition that will be imprinted in them for ever, every pumpkin pie will make them feel their childhood in fall, and the excitment of starting school again. Let them grow conected to nature and their food. Atleast till 7. Then ask them what they want to do? wanna go to school in the city? wanna live in a bus and travel across the continent? Wanna live in a boat and sail around the world? 

Sail around the world with an electric assist bike and a survival libraray

Return to the nice place, with enough acres for privacy, gardens, animals, out door hot tubs, a green house, all within a food forest and be within walking distance of neighbours and a satisfying community hub. Some people watching spots and art events can be a comfortable scooter ride away. maybe this is the same place as the homestead. Maybe my parents are with my by this point.  

Bio Bus. I’ve been in the office 6 months now, and im starting to want a change. Change just might be my nature. So maybe it’s back to the bus. This time with Gatto, Pero, Pollo, bicicleta and creator machines. Traversing the continent selling soaps, teas, hot snacks wrapped in bees wax at ski hills, soaking potions, spa days at tree planter camps and tickets to movie nights.    

[borderlandscast]

the vault hunters go to ikea

takes place during the epilogue. this took a while because i have no idea how normal people behave when going to ikea.

after nanosounds ordered that deep clean crew, arsenal and his wonderful volunteers (i.e., any surviving bandit who didn’t want their stuff thrown out) made a list of everything that could be kept and not kept. they marie kondoed the frigate from top to bottom.

bandit construction is mostly dumpster diving, improvisation, fixing or stealing things from one another. so the vast majority of furniture within the frigate is junk and isn’t space-faring quality (that is, won’t hold together if it accidentally smashes into a wall during ascent or if someone takes a good swing at it).

fun fact: the only objects in vast quantity deemed to pass this test are the bunk beds within the common, shared troop quarters. however, all the mattresses and sheets had to be stripped down and carted off to be deep cleaned as well before anyone felt remotely comfortable using them. in fact, almost all of the mattresses and sheets were donated to the bandits staying behind. after the cleaning, of course.

runner-up objects are lockers, chests and storage containers. for obvious reasons, arsenal let his own troops claim what’s what but they had to do it in a non-violent way or else it goes to him or worse, parvis’ bandits.

when the frigate finally left pandora, the frigate was in short supply of multiple bits and pieces, almost all of them cosmetic. people slept on the floor, in cots or shared beds, even making cardboard box forts.

before undergoing repairs at the planet hecatoncheires, all spacekea furniture was able to be stored in vox’s digistruct system and popped back into place, no big deal. the captains also made another cleaning mandatory so that the repair crews couldn’t be impeded by anyone’s giant stash of snacks kept in a ceiling high locker.

anyway, arsenal gave everyone a thousand dollars (sponsored by sipsco.) and told them to ‘go nuts’ when they finally docked at spacekea. they’d dock for a week or so, and then leave. after that, future visits would have to be by special request.

spacekea is one of the joint markets that’s one of the only places in the galaxy that megacorporations share. all of them manufacture and sell some sort of commodity, not always furniture. for example, jakobs may produce the majority of generators but they also produce the widest range of wooden furniture. maliwan produces the ‘friendliest’ sourced tea and spices. tediore has the monopoly on one dollar items.

everybody bought a new mattress. and sheets, plus sheet covers. there’s a lot of neat designs (all of them owned by one company or other).

arsenal refused to buy a new couch, but he did buy two extendable children’s beds for his kraggons. having two kraggons trying to hog the same space on his bed is exhausting. hence, the beds.

the other reason why the frigate had to make a stop at spacekea is because some of the stuff being sold fills a particular niche called ‘holds plenty, good for tiny spaces’, given that the frigate is big but not exactly spacious in certain places.

martyn (who’s also the safety officer) had to veto a lot of the trophy and wall shelves since they post a safety hazard. he didn’t say no to paintings, holo frames or wall hangings though.

without a doubt, almost the whole frigate’s passengers ate at the cafeteria, every single day. and stocked up in bulk on the snacks and frozen food. this was one of the first stops they made, and everybody loves food that’s not pandoran. in fact, some of the bandits who’d been born on pandora and never left were trying to find their feet via food. they got hooked, very fast.

the frigate’s passengers all became very recognisable, very quickly. everybody has to wear a name tag identifying what ship they’re from for deliveries, troubleshooting, etc. it also meant that parvis’ literacy classes shot up in attendance a week beforehand.

the whole place is divided into multiple sections. first is the docks, which is divided up by ship size and function. thanks to daltos claiming the registration for the blackrock, the frigate enjoyed a cushy space close to the entrance. not many military ships dock at spacekea, so. and they got free parking due to the length of their stay.

sherlock had to give an orientation about spacekea. it‘s one of his best presentations, and his favourite. it was mostly about etiquette, since more than half the crew have never interacted with civilians before (with threats, murder and bloodshed not counting).

the docks are linked to the cafeteria, warehouses, display rooms, hotels and the market. instead of it all being laid out in one direction, the designers went with a much more helpful design: a four way, multi-leveled behemoth of interlocking buildings.

hotels are there to help people who flew smaller ships who intend on staying awhile, or families on vacation, or anybody who wants a bed to sleep in for a day. hotels are divided into classes, which range from five star to one star, even down to rentable capsules.

after the hotels (mostly arranged on the outside perimeter), people enter via main hallway. from here, omnidirectional lifts, elevators, escalators, turbolifts (only for express, staff or richer clientale) can take people to where they want to go.

the cafeteria serves up a massive menu that’s uniform to every spacekea. the menu boasts that there’s always something for someone. the hot dogs, soft serve, meatballs and desserts, to name a few, proved especially popular with the blackrock’s crew. rythian enjoyed the dairy free soft serve.

the display rooms are dioramas that are filled with sample living spaces designed to inspire ideas from those passing through the hallways. they all come with holographic clipboards, a catalogue and a pen. the pens are all chained to the clipboards to discourage theft.

how it works in theory is that if there’s a piece someone fancies, they jot down the item number, price, quantity and name so that they can pick it up at the warehouse or the market.

in reality, sherlock had to lead groups and track every single one of these clipboards since not every bandit could write legibly or in a decipherable manner. he’s never been so well-acquainted before with so many bandits until this moment. don’t worry, minty, hollie sparkles, parvis, ravs, daltos and arsenal helped him out, in shifts.

you can go into the dioramas and display rooms. this the crew did, in varying ways.

rythian wanted a king size bed since he’s tall. and he’s tired of having to make himself fit. also, ravs is buying for him. he also bought the highest grade book storage unit available, and a miniature hammock for junior.

ravs spent an hour testing the display bar, fermenting and barrel rooms, and had five different salespeople attending to him at once, owing to his manners and charming personality. he ended up buying a deluxe suite, and wrangled a fitting service for free since he’s buying so much in one go. he also bought a spacesaving bird loft/avairy for the pigeons and quails.

lalna and xephos spent three days alone in the tech section, pressure testing the hardware and systems in that area. people kept mistaking them for salespeople and customer service. they eventually got paid by spacekea because of their EFFICIENCY. both turned down offers of employment.

honeydew and nilesy performed an impressive interpretative dance within the kitchen and cat rooms. both are no pushovers when it comes to cooking and cat care, and nilesy has about fifty cats to house and entertain. nilesy also brought along lyndon (his own diamond kitten) to test items, and had to have honeydew with him to fend off people who wanted to interact with the kitten.

minty almost got kicked out because people thought thought she was a part of the displays since she kept putting her feet up on the desks. she found a desk she liked, and even bought the display one since she ‘felt a connection with it’, which didn’t impress sherlock when he had to sort it all out.

honeydew also took his gardening team on a serious quest to maintain the grass room and hydroponics (i.e., veggie patch). this took four days to complete from start to finish, involving picking out new turf, chairs, trees, benches, fences, pots and seedlings. the grass room looks like a proper grass room now, and not just a lone field of grass with a sad looking tree in the middle.

lomadia bought a small bed for her still to hatch egg. it was doll-sized, and a lot of people gave her strange looks for buying a bed specially for it, until she pulled out the incubator capsule to prove that she was serious about it.

zylus bought a chef grade bread machine. this daltos tried to prevent since he had deja vu about too much dough being made, and which zylus rebuffed. his premonition proved correct since the crew ended up eating bread for whole two weeks, and didn’t even mind.

daltos bought a portable, handheld hologram kit intended for engineering projects. it’s the one he carries around with him in the epilogue, used for tracking a ship’s condition and status. vox sends him stuff through it. he also secretly uses it to watch movies and a n i m e.

since parvis is staying with will, he tried to buy a water bed to replace his own shoddy bed/cot. will couldn’t stand all the wobbling and sloshing, and had to convince parvis to buy a different bed. parvis bought a fancy bed with hangings and velvet trim. will facepalmed. will also bought a handcrafted tie rack. parvis made fun of him. will bought five more just to own it.

saberial strongarmed panda into buying a lot more organisational stuff since their ship and room is obnoxious to hang out in, given their habit of leaving stuff lying about. panda sticks to organisation for about a month and then goes back to their own haphazard system.

hatfilms act out wine or cheese within the display rooms, which leads to security being called on them twice, one casting call by an agency and many applauds by passerbys. all of them end up in an advertisement, and get a buttload of free goods, mostly food.

lalnable kits out his medical office with an adjustable standing desk. lalna also buys one to be a copycat. lalna also buys one of those stuffed toy sharks. lalnable hates it because it’s so obtrusive to see.

sherlock buys a whole kit of stationary, shelves, boards and office goods. he spends the next month slowly integrating them into the offices. he’s the happiest he’s ever been. bandits dub him the best nerd.

nanosounds decides to renovate the home office in her mother’s place as a sign that she’s a good daughter, but decks the wallpaper and carpet in varying hues of purple. her mother is secretly thrilled by her independence and modern thinking.

teep just buys one of the best mattresses available, and nothing else. this drives all their friends nuts, who then spent the whole trip trying to convince teep to splurge. teep eventually buys...one black coffee from the cafeteria.

[windingriverherbals]

NEW CRESCENT MOON IN ARIES

We have passed through the Dark Moon in Aries into the New Crescent Moon today. We passed through the Spring Equinox last week, which is the official start of the lunar year, and have moved into the New Moon in Aries which is the official start to the lunar year. We can all feel the palpable energy of Mother Earth at this time of year as we watch the seeds push upward and out of the topsoil. As they make this upward movement, they meet resistance! Yet once they break through they receive the reward of the sun’s warmth. The sun’s light even when they are scarcely born fills them with a great desire to attain full growth.

Under the Aries Moon, we can tap into Aries ability tot face our fears in new ways, to find the courage to live a full and meaningful life. This is a time to follow our internal wisdom, our intuition with every ounce of courage we have been given because it takes courage to move deep into our wisdom. Because once we do this work, it becomes difficult not to be true to our hopes and dreams.

Everything moves in cycles and this turning of the wheel at the Spring Equinox is springs reminder that we are always moving and flowing. And whenever old growth is stripped away we make the space for new shoots. We can find inner and outer resistance, yet, patters can be broken and living from the energy of your core is stronger than your apathy!

  For this New Crescent Moon, I want to share the story of the Celtic Alder Tree. The Alder Tree falls under the New/Waxing Moon Phase from March 18th – April 14th. So if you are born under these dates, this is your tree. The Alder tree is known as the Tree of Fairies and is associated with courage and our expanding spirit. It grows near the water in swampy, bog areas. Its wood is flexible and resistant to the rotting effects of water as when it is left to soak in water, it actually becomes hardened! This made it a perfect wood to use for bridges and it is said mythology, that the Alder tree bridges the magical space between earth and the heavens.

It is a tree that teaches you to follow your instincts and is symbolism is about the release, determination, and inner confidence. It is also a tree that supports and protects you physically, emotionally, and physically. It teaches us to blend strength and courage with a generosity of spirit of compassion. Can we not relate to the teachings of Alder in these times?

It is also the tree of the Spring Equinox when seeds awaken. It calls us to plant seeds under this spring energy. To hold it in our hand and envision a world in which we live in balance with nature, in peace with each other, where creativity and love flourish together. Placing your seed in the earth and watering and tending to are actions we can take to bring her qualities to birth in the world. It is the Alder tree that helps us to find a way to express our hopes and dreams at this Lunar New Year.

With this Lunar Fire, we can mix water and fire to influence us in finding the clarity, action or determination to complete the actions we desire. There is energy now that illuminates your understanding, it circulates endlessly behind and through your emotions. You know it as an inner light that burns clearly and steadily ~ this is a light that radiates out into the world from inside.

Planting & Designing Your Moon Garden

Under the heightened energies of the New and Full Moons we experience our highest tides ~ but did you know that it is a time when the waters beneath the earth are also affected? The same gravitational pull that is placed on the waters of the ocean also pulls the groundwater upward bringing moisture to the soils at the surface, encouraging your seeds to swell and burst into sprouts!

You can plant your flowers in a circle or a half-moon shape so that when they bloom the shape of the Moon is revealed. Find space in your garden, start some seedlings indoors, or plan your garden for the next New Moon. Whatever you do, it will carry the energy and intentions of your heart ~ so don’t wait, start today.

Planting a garden of white and silvery flowers that bloom at night can add a radiant, shimmering energy to your evening rituals. Here are a few flowers I love.

These flowers are fragrant and so if you can place them close to your home, you can also enjoy their evening fragrance on warm summer evenings when your windows are open.

Evening Primrose (Oenothera) ~ a night bloomer that attracts moths and nocturnal bees. The flowers are said to be from the ethereal realm of fairies and have a sweet fragrance that can be enjoyed during the moonlight hours. The symbolism of primrose flowers is patience, kindness and gentleness ~ connecting you to the solar plexus and heart chakra.

Moonflower (datura inoxia) ~ catching her unawares in the moonlight hours is magical, as you can be sure to experience the full glory of her blooms; the night air swirling with her rich, intoxicating scent. Glowing like the moon these flowers contain the mysteries of your intuition and connect you with the mystical movement of the stars and moon. She will connect you to your crown chakra.

Note: these flowers are cousins to morning glories so they will need a trellis or support to climb.

Night Phlox (zaluzianskya capensis) ~ also known as midnight candy; the fragrance of the night blooms is reminiscent of honey or vanilla. Coming from the Greek meaning “flame” these beauties will also connect you to your crown chakra AND are known to stir inner courage and honesty to all that look upon them.

Jasmine (jasminum nitidum)~ the sensuous scent of Jasmine has a fragrance that invokes passion, sensuality, and love (the world needs more love!).

A second way to plant a Moon Garden is to bring the Moon out during the day by planting these sweet plants

Dusty Miller (senecio cineraria) beautiful silvery, a velvety soft plant that is wonderful for contrasting dark foliage and is also a great bed plant ~ represents happiness and delicacy.

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) this plant is not only connected to the Moon but is also known for enhancing your dreams.

A few other day plants for you to consider are Lambs Ears, Silver Thyme, and Silver Sage.

And I could not leave out this most auspicious herb!

Moonwort (lunaria annua) ~ in the language of flowers this plant represents money, sincerity & honesty. It has dried pods that are beautiful and can be used later in the ceremony. However, please note that this is a biannual plant ~ meaning it lives two years and will flower in the second year. Its flowers will be followed by a dollar coin-sized flat pod that changes from green to brown and then as the seed drops, to the beautiful silver color… so planting these for the first two years will ensure flowering each year.

Planting & Designing Your Elemental Garden

Before you plant anything, you’ll need to figure out how much space you have to work with. Ideally, you’ll want to make your elemental garden in a circle. To make a circle in your yard, figure out first where you want the center to be. Mark the center by driving a temporary stake into the ground. Next, figure out what diameter you want the circle to be. Using a piece of string tied to the top of the stake, walk around in a circle, marking the perimeter. You can do this with birdseed, a handful of dirt, or anything else you like. Once you’ve marked your circle, till up the soil. Although it’s a good exercise to use a shovel, it’s also backbreaking work. If you’ve got a large space to cover, you may want to invest in a good rototiller.

Once you’ve tilled up the soil, figure out which way is north. You can do this easily with a compass, or if you know where the sun rises and sets, it shouldn’t be too hard to determine which way is east and which is west. After you’ve figured out your directions, divide your circle into quadrants, so that each direction has one-quarter of the circle, and mark your spaces with stones.

Choosing Your Plants

Each of the four directions is associated with an element. North is connected to the earth, east to air, south to fire and west to water. To plant your elemental garden, figure out which plants are connected with those particular elements — and this will vary depending on where you live. For example, the earth is associated with stability and security. Why not plant some herbs there that carry the same associations? Bryony, cinquefoil, honeysuckle, and pennyroyal* are all related to earth.

For the east section of your garden, which is tied into the themes of air, use plants connected with inspiration, wisdom, and knowledge. Sage, marjoram, mugwort, and members of the mint family are perfect for this quarter of the circle. In the south, select plants related to the passionate qualities of fire, such as basil, betony, rosemary, and rue. Finally, the west quadrant is where your water-related plants should go — hyssop, yarrow, chamomile, and ivy will do well in this section.

Offering Blessings

As you dig a hole for each plant, you may wish to add a blessing. Get your hands in the dirt, dig in, and feel the soil. Thank the earth for the gift it’s going to give you. As you place the plant or seeds in the hole, you might want to offer something like:

Or, you may prefer to offer a specific blessing for each quadrant – for the southern section, offer a blessing of fire, for the west, a blessing of water, and so on. In some traditions, it’s popular to smudge the garden or perform some other purification rite after planting — after all, a garden is a sacred space.

If you’re going to spend any time in your elemental garden — and you’ll need to if you don’t want your plants to die — it’s not a bad idea to add accessories that make you feel at home. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but you might want to consider some of the following:

Statues of the gods of your tradition

A gazing ball

A fountain or other water feature

A fire bowl

A small altar

A bench or chair for meditation

Wind chimes or bells

A prayer pole or decorative flag

To tie in the accessories to the elemental theme, consider a water feature in the south corner, a small brazier to the west, a pile of stones in the north, or a decorative flag on the eastern portion. Any of these will be perfect for bringing you closer to the elements in your garden. Make your garden a place where you can sit and reflect, and it will indeed be a spiritual and magical place!

Ways that you can use your flowers after they have blossomed under the energy of the moon are many! You can cut and dry the flowers to use in creating mandalas or artwork or add them to your sage bundle; pluck the flowers at the height of their bloom and place them in a bath to catch their healing energy. I encourage you to explore the myriad of possibilities in which their energy speaks to your creativity. by Wigington, Patti. Learn Religions

The beauty of flowers has been shared throughout time as a way to evoke feelings and thoughts that are sometimes difficult to find words for ~ using this time to place or invoke your intentions can bring you grounding, joy, and keep it flowing throughout the summer.

A few thoughts to consider while you are planting or planing ~

What is the beginning? Where is the growing center and how can you tap into your courage? What is just beginning to germinate? How can you follow your inner wisdom more closely?

Spring is a time to replenish, a time when the rains come, plants grow, animals drink ad the Earth replenishes herself. Heed the lesson. We each need time to replenish ourselves as well. Allow yourself to be replenished; get out into the rain, put your bare feet on the earth, remember the joys of being young and free and feel the happiness it brings Plant seeds, plant joy. Spread love and hope.

THE COURAGE TO TRUST YOUR INNER WISDOM NEW CRESCENT MOON IN ARIES We have passed through the Dark Moon in Aries into the New Crescent Moon today.

[unholyhelbiglinked]

Dead Ivy | Chapter Six

CHECK IT OUT FROM THE START | AO3 LINK

Her fingers ran against the edge of the bark. Its surface was old and withered, the scent of premature rot pressing against the back of her throat like a blade with a sharpened edge. If she were daring enough to swallow it would cut into soft skin and draw the faintest color of blood. Vibrant against the rest of the fenced in back yard.

Sweat soaked into Beca’s shirt, wicked in a pattern with dirt. She was panting, the summer heat cloying as she struggled to run the paintbrush evenly to the wood- a distraction, she thought. Fixing up the back yard in exchange from the house that loomed across the bridge next to the old woman with the growing weeds. Her father wouldn’t mind the extra work. And she certainly couldn’t’ fault herself for keeping busy.

Beca had mowed the lawn, taken away the brush that had been overgrowing in the light of the day. Her father, he had forgotten most things. To mow the lawn, to drink water, to put gas in his car and pay the electric bill. Her heart ached for him these last few weeks. Painting the fence was the least she could do- even if it was a deep pasty white that reflected the sun. speakers blaring a soft rock in response to nature.

She was halfway through the perimeter when a slight knock pulled her away from dragging the brush evenly down the wood. Beca drew in a hot breath and turned towards the break in the fence. A falling archway made of thin white material stood in all its glory- like a gateway to a mystical garden that had fallen slave to an evil ice queen with freezing powers. Under that, stood a young girl.

Blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and a dark crystal stare lit up at the sight of Beca. She wore overalls and a striped shirt; her fingers grasped a plain white paper bag that was crinkled from the ride over here on a bike- Beca was guessing. Riley, beaming in all her glory. Beca let out a breath and couldn’t’ help the smile that formed against her lips.

“I brought you some lunch, or you know, breakfast,” Riley said as she walked across the expanse of the yard. Beca rose to her feet, feeling the exhaustion from the early morning rise. Her clothes were speckled in paint and dirt and she couldn’t help the way her stomach clenched the second she got a whiff of pastry. “To thank you for yesterday… the groceries.”

She took the bag gratefully “How’d you find me, kid?”

“Small town, remember? What are you doing anyway? It’s like a thousand degree’s out here.”

Beca shrugged and reached for the food. A small apple fritter that was coated in a warm icing, even after the long ride over here. She couldn’t help the moan that escaped her mouth as soon as she took a bite. Her taste buds squirmed as she breathed in the soft cinnamon smell. Riley beamed and let out a scoff. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

She decided to shove the rest into the bag for a snack later before she rubbed her hands on her already spotted pants. “I’m fixing up the backyard, making it look less like a war zone.”

“Humph, I’ve seen worse.” Riley wondered aloud. “Mind if I help? Last summer I painted houses with my aunt for my allowance.”

The older girl rose a brow and looked around. She had been at this for hours and had only gotten halfway across the yard. Guns and Roses started to blast from the speakers under the large oak tree and her newfound resilience to sitting still was starting to waver. So she nodded towards a brush and knelt back down in front of her own plank of wood, Riley starting from the top of the one on her right. They painted in silence for a few moments.

“Jenny said you were from Los Angeles.” Riley finally said, dragging the bristles across the length of the wood, sloppy white paint dripped but she was agile enough to catch it before it hit the grass. Beca frowned. When did the band leader have time to say that? “What’s it like?”

Beca glanced over. “Why, you planning on making that the destination of your bus ticket?”

“I never said anything about a bus ticket. You did. I’m just curious is all. I’ve only ever seen here, you know. Small town charm and all. You’re a stranger. At least to me.”

“You mean a trespasser.”

“Either way, you’ve seen more of the world than I have. So, tell me, what’s LA like? I bet you see celebrities every single day.”

Beca smiled and laughed. She thought that’s what it would be at first too. At the supermarket, or at the gym. But instead, she rolled into town with four dollars in her pocket and a studio apartment that had a futon and one light that barely lit the tiny space. The walls were cracked and laden with mold- but it was home, and she didn’t happen upon any famous faces.

“Not every day,” She settled on her words, dipping the brush in the paint again. “I did see that girl who’s in all those Lifetime movies during Christmas at a stoplight one day. But honestly, I was more interested in her dog.”

Riley laughed with a nod and they fell into a rhythmic silence for a few more minutes before the young girl found her footing once more. “Was it hard?... to leave here?”

She sat back on her heels and stared at her paint-covered hands for a moment. The white was speckled across slowly reddening skin. Beca frowned and Riley stopped painting altogether, her eyebrows lifted in the pursuit of an answer.

“This town is kind of like a snow globe. You’ve seen one of those before, right? It’s gorgeous and small, and there’s just the right amount of glass to keep you protected from the outside world.” She glanced up, staring at the girl. “But breaking out… it’s almost unheard of. Like you’re betraying the people who are daring enough to shake it up and make it snow. Does that make sense?”

Riley crinkled her nose in familiarity, her freckles defined in the sun as she shook her head. “No,”

Beca gave her a sad smile and a sigh “When I moved, there was one thing left for me here. And back then, I didn’t think it was enough but now… I think it was the only thing that I’ve ever needed. And now that I broke that glass, I don’t think it can ever really snow again.”

The soapy water washed over soft skin, a thick scent of lavender and mint toying with her lungs as she sunk her aching body into the tub. The porcelain was frigid, and she flinched against the way it clung to her skin. She hissed but eventually settled against the water.  Her toes barely touching the far edge.

“This tub is perfect! And so is the backyard, oh my god! Do you see that view”

Beca could almost hear her mothers voice. It was happy then, barely cracking under the pressures of the world. Her father still had most of his hair and Jason was dashing around the same backyard that she was renovating now- his shoes pulling in mud but none of them really cared. It was one of her earliest memories-

The way her mother balanced her on her hip while she held her stuffed bunny close by the neck. The woman, the beautiful soul that she remembered as her mother, leaned down then- she set her on the floor by the white paneling of the bathroom. The realtor tapping her foot impatiently as they studied the popcorn ceiling and the wrap around porch.

“Don’t worry little one,” She beamed that classic smile “One day you’ll be tall enough for us to mark on this wall right here-“ She stretched her hand all the way up “You’re going to grow up here, would you like that?”

Beca did like it- for the most part. Her parents moving away from the big city so her mother could work at home and her father could open his own business. It was the tub, the tub that sold it and the faint pencil markings that kept them here all this time.

Goosebumps rose against pale skin as she reached blindly for the towel that rested by golden carved legs. She wrapped it warmly against her mid-section before stepping carefully from the tub and over to the wall. Her mother kept adamant on her promise.

Beca let out an even sigh and ran her fingertips over the heights written in her mothers’ script… Jason was always taller. He’d purposely put things on higher shelves- but Beca was crafty back then, they both were. Devising plans to see what Santa had brought. To get the fruit snacks on the top shelf.

“I’m sorry,” She whispered, drawing her hand back as she turned away from the writing. “I’m sorry.”

[pbandjesse]

Today didn't go exactly as planned but it was a really good day. This was a nice little vacation. I didn't spend to much money and i feel really happy. Im sitting in my hotel relaxing and enjoying my night. Im really looking forward to going home though. I miss my cat and my apartment and my boyfriend.

I slept really well last night. I woke up with the sun and I was so cozy with my feather pillows abd blankets. I stayed in bed until 830. Playing on my phone. Being comfy. It was really nice.

I got up and got washed. My makeup looked great. I felt really cute. It was a bit colder today but it was still beautiful. I had breakfast in the hotel's restaurant. I listened to my podcast and just wanted a chill morning.

I got my backpack and headed out into the world. I tried to walk out of the parking lot from the back side and i got turned around and while the veiws were beautiful I was annoyed with myself for going the wrong way.

I walked up to a local park that has a small museum on the property. But it was closed. Thats okay. I kept walking. Then I decided I would go to the Garden of the World. A private park that is set up to emulate different cultural landscapes. Cool.

I walked up to a 711 to make it easier for a lyft to find me. And I got there in less then 15 minutes. California is funny. It would have taken me 2 hours to walk to this place but it was a less then 15 minute drive. Everywhere has been like that. Its bizzare.

But we get out there and its closed. Until 1. Okay im bummed but its fine. Not a huge deal. I walked around that area and found a neat little store and got myself a hair clip that I have had on my wish list for a while. And I got Jess a present. I still had like a half hour until I needed to be at the meeting thing. So I walked.

I ended up finding a really awesome Portuguese cafe and I got their signature pastry which was essentially a warm baked pudding. Almost like a creme brullee. It was great. When I was done I called a car and headed to the meeting.

The gps got confused and me and my driver had some trouble finding the building. But we did it and I was on time. The lady at the front desk wasnt very nice to me. I told her what I was there for. Who I was supposed to meet. And she just said. I dont know what that is is who that is. And i tried to show her my itinerary and she snapped at me. And I was about to get upset but someone leaned over the wall and figured out what was going on and solved the problem. Thank you nice lady.

The meeting was funny. When they asked me to do it they said it would be about 10 to 15 people. And that was fine. But when I got there today it was only one person. Well the one person and the person running the meeting. I don't know what happened but it was funny to me. Like I still had a good time and it was nice to talk to them both butt they spent $300 a night for this hotel for me. And they flew me across the country. And it was only one person. We could have done this over Skype guys. Like I'm not going to turn down what has been a really nice couple days but it was just pretty funny.

I told you my story. I told him about my art and my history. Medication and trials and errors. Insurance issues and finding a doctor. All the scary parts that go around being a patient. Even though it was only the one person I was talking to I really hope that my story can be impactful enough that she will really understand when she's out trying to get doctors to carry this medication and to prescribe it to people that it's a big deal. And financially it's a lot. That just because it works doesn't mean that everyone can take it. It's not just about filling a prescription with this kind of thing. There's a lot that goes into it.

But it was a really nice hour. I was there until about 1 and then I went to call the car and head to my next thing. It was funny while I was sitting outside waiting for the car a guy walked past me and told me it was too cold for me to be sitting out there. And I'm not going to deny it wasn't chilly. But it was still about 55°. It was funny people were walking around and basically winter coats. And I had a sweater and a jacket on. I didn't even have double tights on! It was beautiful. Californians art week.

I took the lift up to the Thousand Oaks Mall. According to the internet there is a branch of the California Art Museum there. Cool. I decided to just wander the mall for a while first. It's a nice small. Have an indoor and outdoor apart. Lots of pretty fountains. I walked around the Disney Store and I'll look for new shoes. Because the shoes I wore are killing my feet. They will not be travel shoes ever again. I didn't have any luck with shoes but I was enjoying just walking around. And then finally I found the branch of the museum. Was to galleries. Except they were closed for a private event. Awesome. I was pretty dejected. This was now the third thing I had been to today that was closed. I went and sat down and called James. I just needed to talk out my feelings because I was feeling stupid.

He made me feel better though. I think I was starting to feel like other people were going to think I wasted my trip. Like I didn't go to the beach and I didn't see a ton of things. But I don't actually feel bad. I had a great time. I walked around. I cried at mountains. I bought little Trinkets and got to see a bunch of antique stores. I decided while we we're talkin that I would go back to the gardens of the world. It said it would be open to the public again at 1. And it was about 2:30. So that's what I did.

First though I decided to buy myself a present. I know it's just a couple days after my birthday and I said I would stop by myself things but I was a little upset and I bought myself a stuffed lion from the Japanese store. And I love him so much. He's so soft and he's slightly under-filled. He's just perfect. So I don't feel bad about my purchase at all. He's great. His name is Daniel.

Once I bought my lion I wandered out of the mall in search of the Goodwill that I read was on the other side of the mom. I did find it. It was a pretty good Goodwill but I didn't find anything I wanted. I was mostly looking at shoes anyway. There was a very cute bear shaped rocking horse and a small Hello Kitty car for toddlers. But I wanted to get to the gardens. And they were only open till 5. I didn't know how big they were and I didn't want to feel rushed so I called a car.

This is the first time ever I had that was chatty. He was really nice and asked me all about my life story. And we talked all the way until we got to the gardens and then dropped me off. It was nice.

The gardens were beautiful. Free to the public. Privately owned by an elderly couple. They had apparently owned a travel agency and when they sold it they decided to take their millions of dollars and open this 44-acre public garden. It was amazing. Completely privately funded.

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take pictures. There are a couple signs that said stuff about like photographers and that you need a permit but I wasn't sure if they were talking about like pictures of people like wedding photos and then I saw one sign that said something about cell phones but I was confused so I only took a couple pictures on the down low. Just in case. It was mostly empty. A couple small groups besides me. I walked the whole ground and it was beautiful. There was a section that look like an English garden and one that looks like an Italian Villa with Italian cypresses in a fountain. Lots of fountains. Each little cultural section had a water feature. The Japanese pagoda was really pretty and it was just so nice. I walked it twice. The first time around just kind of sneaking pictures of my Furby and enjoying the quiet. It was a little cooler and clouds were rolling in but it was still very nice. I got to see a lemon growing on a tree for the first time in my entire life. That was really cool. And then I found a volunteer. He was a really nice guy. I asked him to tell me all about the gardens and he did and then I told him where I was from and got to tell him about ships and he turned out to be a volunteer at the Reagan Library. So that was cool meeting another Museum professional. And so I walked it one more time and really enjoyed myself. And then I headed out. I wanted to see what else I could do with my day.

When I had left from the gardens the first time I had made a left. So this time I made a right I walked and walked and then I was just too tired to walk anymore. And I really lucked out because as soon as I call the car it started to drizzle. And then it started to rain. Thankfully I was right next to a Starbucks and they had an umbrella outside so I didn't get all wet. And my driver was very fast. But I got in the car and it started pouring.

I have the car take me up to the Target. And the rain had started to Peter out by then. But it went into Target and I found some sneakers. They have memory foam insoles. And they're very comfy. I also got a juice that is fine but kind of grassy tasting. And then we just walked around the shopping center. I went and all the little stores. Enjoyed the scenery. I was kind of on the top of a hill and I could see the mountains on all the sides and it was just so pretty. I don't know what it is about the mountains here but they make me want to cry when I stare at them for too long. I just find them so beautiful. It's different than the ocean which causes a different reaction in me. If I had another day I would probably try to get out to one of the mountains again like I did last time I was here. But It's okay that I didn't do that this time. I'm a little too sore from all the other walking I did to get lost in the mountains where I can't call a car when I run out of steam.

I just had to get something to eat and was a little frustrated because I couldn't find just like a grilled cheese sandwich anywhere. But I ended up at a brewery in the shopping center that was really cool on the inside. I liked the big silver Brewing machine things. And the food was good. My waitress was really nice. And I just listen to my podcast and enjoyed myself.

It was really running out of steam though. I thought the food would help but it didn't pick me up as much as I was hoping. I was a little disappointed in myself because I had tried to find the postcards or something to give as gifts to people. And I just completely failed. I couldn't find anywhere that sold anything like that. Thousand Oaks isn't really a tourist destinations they only have anyting. And so I kind of wandered around the shops longer to try to see if I can find anything similar to that. But I didn't have any luck. I'm hoping maybe tomorrow at the airport I can find a couple things but I'm not holding out hope. Because I have assumed it's going to be incredibly expensive if I can find anything at all. We'll see. I was trying not to be too hard on myself though. No one's going to be mad at me. Even though I'm afraid that they will be.

But like I said I was getting really tired. I went back to the Target one more time just to see if I can maybe find any California type stuff there but like I said Thousand Oaks isn't really a tourist place so no luck. I tried on a sweater and then I just decided it was time to go back to the hotel. I caught a car and then I got back and I was very happy to be here.

I ran a bath and I'm packed my bag. Started packing my actual suitcase bag. I might have to use both backpacks. I haven't exactly figured out that part yet. But I'm not that concerned. My bath was really nice. I got a bloody nose while I was in there but it wasn't too bad. Mostly just surprised me. Put away things and put my outfit out for tomorrow. I packed what I could. Put all my receipts in one bag. And now I'm just kind of sitting here and watching videos. I'm going to go to sleep soon though. I'm really tired and I got to wake up early to get the ride to the airport. They're coming to pick me up at I think 8:15. My flight is in two parts. I think I'm flying to Chicago and then from Chicago to Baltimore. I'm not positive it's Chicago though. Wherever it is I have an hour and a half there so I get to at least get a snack if not dinner. It's going to be a long day though. I don't get back to Baltimore until about 10 p.m. and then I work Friday morning at 9 at ships. So that's like a whole thing. Pussy town Much sleep I can get on the airplane but I'm not holding out hope. I hope you guys all have a great night. Wish me luck tomorrow. It's going to be a long travel day. I'm really excited to be in the same city as my boyfriend and my cat. Though I am a little sad I missed the snow storm today I'm glad that it's not going to affect my flight tomorrow. I hope it's just a really nice day. Sleep well everyone.

[dentalinfotoday]

Want to comfort and celebrate your child losing baby teeth with a memorable tooth fairy tradition? Well, don’t tell anyone…But, since he’s a dentist, my dad knows her personally. 🧚

I’m here to fill you in on the best ways to celebrate the tooth fairy, plus what she’s paying out these days and how to get her to email your child a personal congratulations on losing a tooth.

(Want us to send your child an email from the tooth fairy? You can skip to the section on how to write a tooth fairy letter, or just fill out the form right here.)

Get an Email from the Tooth Fairy

Disclosure:

Ask the Dentist is supported by readers. If you use one of the links below and buy something, Ask the Dentist makes a little bit of money at no additional cost to you. I rigorously research, test, and use thousands of products every year, but recommend only a small fraction of these. I only promote products that I truly feel will be valuable to you in improving your oral health.

When the Tooth Fairy is Your Dentist Dad

The tooth fairy remains one of my most vivid memories from childhood. Perhaps having a father as a dentist will do that.

When I was seven years old, I accidentally swallowed a loose tooth during a baseball game. I was devastated that the tooth fairy wouldn’t be able to come. My parents acted disappointed along with me.

Yet, lo and behold, that night, she did come. The next morning, I woke up to a hand-written note explaining that she had flown down my mouth to retrieve the tooth. This magical visitor warned me to be more careful next time, as it was quite the ordeal for her and she had many other children to visit that night.

But this was all over 20 years ago. As I prepare to carry on the tradition with my own daughter, I wanted to find out—what’s changed? What hasn’t? What does playing the tooth fairy for my child look like in 2019?

And, to be honest, I had some reservations about “lying” to our daughter. Personally, I was devastated when I learned that Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, and the tooth fairy weren’t real at the ripe old age of 10 (I know, I know).

What does a tooth fairy do?

First, a child loses a baby tooth and places it under their pillow or on their nightstand. The tooth fairy visits while the child sleeps, taking the tooth and exchanging it with a coin, a note or receipt, or a few dollars.

But is that all the tooth fairy does?

I’ll be honest…Even though I had happy memories of this mystical experience from childhood, I questioned whether I wanted to carry on the tradition with my child. Isn’t it lying? And isn’t it a bizarre thing to be exchanging old body parts for money?

But the more I learned, the more I realized that the tooth fairy is actually a crucial part of a child’s development during what can be a scary time.

Perhaps that explains why the origins of the tooth fairy extend hundreds of years back. Some report the Tooth Fairy showing up in print as far back as 1927, and perhaps as far back as the beginning of human history.

According to Michael Higston, a reporter from Salon, “Every recorded human culture has some kind of tradition surrounding the disposal of a child’s lost baby teeth.”

Here are a couple stories shared with me in a Facebook group of fun tooth fairy experiences:

“I didn’t grow up in the U.S. and there’s no tooth fairy where I come from. You sing a song for the mouse to take your tooth and bring you a nice, shiny one instead and throw it on the roof. That’s what I’ve been doing with my kids. Nowadays they ask why the tooth fairy doesn’t come to our house.”

“Our tooth fairy is named Lucinda. She’s a good fairy, but she’s a bit absent-minded, as fairies tend to be. Sometimes she’d lose her way and may take a few days to get here; sometimes she’d leave a coin but forgets to take the tooth. Last night she took only 1 of the 2 teeth under the pillow but left a few gold coins. We talk about Lucinda’s antics endearingly. We think she is Lucinda in Ella Enchanted and we think she will come back for the tooth she absent-mindedly left behind last night.”

To Provide Comfort in Pain & Fear

The tooth fairy myth offers comfort during this strange and uncomfortable time, and provides magic and even meaning for children in a developmentally appropriate way.

Losing a tooth can be quite scary, especially for younger children.

This is something I had forgotten as an adult—but there’s the anxiety of the long period where you have a wiggly tooth and you’re waiting for it to come out. I remember refusing to let anybody touch by wiggly tooth, even as my parents begged me to let them just take it out—it got so loose that it was actually leaning to one side!

I was protective of the tooth, anxious about the pain, and unsure of what it would be like to lose it. Once the tooth did come out (my dad had to pull it out), there was pain and blood.

The tooth fairy is the celebration of a milestone as well as comfort to children through what can be a scary or uncomfortable transition. It’s traumatic for a child to lose a body part, especially for the first time!

To Celebrate and Motivate

And for other kids who aren’t afraid, losing a tooth is something to celebrate. The tooth fairy marks the occasion for both parents and kids. Who could complain about adding a little magic to a child’s life?

Some tooth fairies leave a note along with money to praise the child for good dental hygiene habits and oral health. This can be extremely motivating for a child and provides motivation to brush and floss.

What does the tooth fairy look like?

Depending on where you live, the tooth fairy might not be a “fairy” at all. Children’s teeth are taken night after night by mice, tissues, and even trees. We share some stories from around the world in the next section, but here’s a fun map of a few of the ways the tooth fairy is depicted.

Ask your child! “What do YOU think she looks like?” Guaranteed, you’ll get an interesting answer!

Tooth Fairy Stories & Traditions Around the World

Since nearly every culture in the world marks the loss of baby teeth in different ways, I searched for what this looks like in countries around the globe.

In Spanish-speaking countries, France, as well as Belgium, children leave their lost teeth under their pillow for a little mouse. The American tooth fairy is not dissimilar from el Ratóncito Pérez. This mouse collects the tooth in exchange for a coin, similar to the tooth fairy.

In many Asian countries—including India, China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam—children throw their lost tooth on the roof or bury it, depending on whether the lost tooth came from the upper or lower jaw.

Hence the title of this book, which details traditions from all over the world when children lose a tooth: Throw Your Tooth on the Roof.

Here are some of the ways the “tooth fairy” celebrates lost baby teeth in various countries, quoted from Throw Your Tooth on the Roof:

North America

United States/Canada: We celebrate with the tooth fairy, who visits during the night to pay us a few dollars for losing a tooth. Sometimes, she leaves a note!

Mexico: “I leave my tooth in a box on the bedside table in hopes that El Ratón, the magic mouse, will take my tooth and bring me some money. He leaves more money for a front tooth.”

Navajo: “My mother saves my tooth until my mouth stops hurting. We take my tooth to the southeast, away from our house. We bury the tooth on the east side of a healthy young sagebrush, rabbitbrush or pinyon tree because we believe that east is the direction associated with childhood.”

Yellowknife Déné: My mother or grandmother takes my tooth and puts it in a tree and then my family dances around it. This makes certain that my new tooth will grow in as straight as a tree.

Central America & the Caribbean

Costa Rica: “My mother takes my tooth and has it plated with gold and made into an earring for me to wear.”

Dominican Republic: “I throw my tooth on the roof of my house so a mouse can come take it away and bring me a better one. Sometimes I get money when I do this.”

El Salvador: “I put my tooth under my pillow. My father says that during the night a rabbit will come. It will take my tooth and leave me some money.”

Guatemala: “I put my tooth under my pillow and wait for El Ratéon to leave me some money.”

South America

Argentina: “I put my tooth in a glass of water. During the night a little mouse called el Ratóncito will come and drink all the water, take my tooth, and leave me some coins or candy in the empty glass.”

Brazil: “I throw my tooth outside and say this poem: Lovely birds, dear birds, take away this tooth of mine and bring another one to me.” The birds only take clean teeth so I must brush my teeth every day.”

Colombia: “I put my tooth under my pillow and wait for a mouse called El Ratón Miguelito to take my tooth and leave money in its place.”

Chile: “I give my tooth to my mother. She will have it made into a charm, set in gold or silver, so I can wear it as a necklace or an earring.”

Venezuela: “I put my tooth under my pillow. While I am asleep, a mouse will take the tooth and bring me some coins.”

Europe

Turkey: “If my parents want me to grow up to graduate from school, they might bury my tooth in the garden of the university. If they hope I will become a doctor, they bury it in the garden of a hospital, or they bury it in a soccer field so I will be a good soccer player.”

Denmark: “I put my tooth under my pillow at night and wait for the tooth fairy called Tand Feen to take my tooth and leave me some money.”

England: “When I go to sleep, I put my tooth under my pillow and wait for the Tooth Fairy to come.”

France: “I put my tooth under my pillow. A mouse, La Petite Souris, will come to take it and leave a gift for me.”

Sweden: “I put my tooth in a glass of water. In the morning my tooth will be gone and a coin will be in the glass.”

Africa

Cameroon: “I throw my tooth over the roof, shouting, “Take this bad tooth and bring me a new one.” Then I hop around my house on one foot and everyone laughs.”

Egypt: “I wrap my tooth in some cotton or a tissue and take it outside. I say, “Shining sun, shining sun, take this buffalo’s tooth and bring me a bride’s tooth.” Then I throw the tooth high up, at the eye of the sun. (The Arabic word for bride is aroussa, which also means a candy or sweet.)”

Mali: “I throw my tooth in the chicken coop. The next day I might find a big fat hen in the coop and my mother will make chicken soup.”

Nigeria: “I hold my tooth in my fist with eight stones to make a total of nine (a girl will hold six stones and her tooth to make seven). Next, I close my eyes, say my name out loud, count to the number in my fist, and say, “Oh, I want my tooth back!” Then I throw them and run away. It is very important to run away.”

South Africa: “I leave my tooth in a slipper in my room. Tonight a mouse will come, take my tooth, and leave me a gift. My sister is afraid of mice so she left her slipper outside her door. The mouse left her a present anyway.”

Asia

China: “I put my upper tooth at the foot of my bed and the bottom tooth on the roof. My parents say that it will make my new tooth grow in faster.”

Kazakhstan: “I drop my tooth under the bathtub and say, “Mouse, mouse, bring me a new tooth, please.” We don’t have any mice in our apartment but I do it anyway.”

Kyrgyzstan: “I roll my tooth in bread and give it to an animal, preferably to a mouse because they have healthy sharp white teeth that grow quickly. If I feed it to a dog, I might get ugly yellow dog teeth.”

Russia: “My mother said to put my tooth in a mouse hole in the ground.”

Lithuania: “I keep my tooth as a keepsake.”

India: “I throw my tooth on the roof and ask the sparrow to bring me a new one.”

Sri Lanka: “I close my eyes and say, “Squirrel, squirrel, take this tooth and give me a new one.” Then I throw the tooth on the roof and run into the house without looking.”

Philippines: “I hide my tooth in a special place and make a wish. A year later, if I can still find my tooth, I can make another wish.”

Australia & New Zealand

Aboriginal Australians: “My family helps me put my tooth inside the shoot of a pandanus plant so that when the pandanus grows into a tree, my tooth will grow too. There are spirits in the pandanus leaves that will look after me while my tooth is growing.”

Australia: “I put my tooth under my pillow and wait for the Tooth Fairy to take my tooth and bring me some money.”

New Zealand-Maori: “I put my tooth under my pillow. My parents will collect the tooth and give me a small gift. Then they will throw my tooth into the mighty river, the Waikato. My tribe is named after the river.”

Want to see more countries and beautiful illustrations from these stories and more? I highly recommend sharing Throw Your Tooth on the Roof with your child!

8 of Our Favorite Tooth Fairy Ideas to Celebrate Losing Baby Teeth

1. Use foreign currency.

A coin from Canada or Mexico could indicate where the Tooth Fairy’s last visit was, and maybe spur a fun conversation for a kid who loves travel or geography!

2. Give a toy or book instead of money.

You know your kid best—and hey, wouldn’t it be fun to get to be Santa more than once a year?

I also love this toothbrush to encourage fun toothbrushing time, if you’d like to get a more dental-specific gift.

3. Use Sacagawea coins for added whimsy.

Go to the bank and stock up with a roll of gold Sacagawea coins. A $1 coin costs $1 and you can get them at the bank. They’re legal tender!

There are 20 primary teeth, so get 20 coins if you don’t want to make a second trip to the bank.

4. Have the tooth fairy send your child a gift.

Gift a tooth pillow or a fun monster pillow with a tooth fairy receipt notepad. I love these for anyone worried their child will recognize their handwriting but who still wants to leave a note! Plus, it comes from the tooth fairy herself.

Have a more tech-loving child? Especially as your little one loses baby teeth and is learning to read, we’d love to send them a personalized email from the tooth fairy.

All you have to do is click the button below and enter your email, name, and child’s name.

Get an Email from the Tooth Fairy

5. Use a printed tooth chart.

Print out a chart to let your child see their tooth losing progress. This lets them take an active part in their mouth.

When kids do this, they take care of their teeth for life, so it’s much more than just a fun tradition!

6. Write down how it fell out in a little journal.

These stories are fun! Snap a photo of your child for the baby book for memories they’ll one day be able to share with their children.

7. Share the reality of why the good fairy is a celebrated fictional character.

For parents like me who are worried about “lying” to their children, check out this book which was recommended to me by several moms: The (Wonderful) Truth About Santa.

One reviewer put it best:

“Miraculously, this book tells the real truth about Santa Claus in a way that makes it even more joyous and beautiful. If you have young children and celebrate this aspect of Christmas, you need this book at some point.

“If you’d rather not deceive your children about the reality of Santa, you can begin reading this book to them now. If you prefer to take the “Santa is real (and literal)” approach, this book can help you explain it to them once they discover the truth.”

8. Go all out with the fairy experience.

Amazon sells pixie or fairy dust that you can sprinkle on the money left by the bedside, around the house or, if you really want to go all out, you can sprinkle the dust outside the window and down the street!

Whatever your particular brand of whimsy, leaving “evidence” of the tooth fairy’s visit can help create a magical and exciting experience.

How much does the tooth fairy leave these days?

Ever wondered what the going rate is for the Tooth Fairy? We decided to run a tooth fairy poll of over 1700 US parents and find out…

Here’s a chart of what we found. Scroll below to see the map!

State Average Payout Alabama 3.08 Alaska 3.83 Arizona 2.97 Arkansas 3.72 California 3.61 Colorado 3.47 Connecticut 3.23 Delaware 4.46 District of Columbia 3.71 Florida 2.97 Georgia 3.7 Hawaii 3.57 Idaho 3.36 Illinois 3.41 Indiana 3.42 Iowa 3.91 Kansas 3.62 Kentucky 3.2 Louisiana 3.22 Maine 3.06 Maryland 3.2 Massachusetts 2.56 Michigan 3.33 Minnesota 3.29 Mississippi 3.12 Missouri 3.43 Montana 4.35 Nebraska 3.27 Nevada 3.93 New Hampshire 3.77 New Jersey 3.21 New Mexico 3.6 New York 3.53 North Carolina 2.97 North Dakota 4.15 Ohio 3.11 Oklahoma 3.86 Oregon 2.87 Pennsylvania 3.28 Rhode Island 4.02 South Carolina 2.75 South Dakota 3.62 Tennessee 2.8 Texas 3.56 Utah 3.25 Vermont 3.98 Virginia 3.12 Washington 3.23 West Virginia 3.86 Wisconsin 2.74 Wyoming 4.33

How to Write a Tooth Fairy Letter

There WILL be a time when you are busy and forget…so tell the kids you have to email the fairy for a tooth pick up. That way, they know to blame you for forgetting to notify the tooth fairy instead of the fairy for having fallible magic.

If you’d like to send us an email, we have a partnership with the Tooth Fairy herself and will respond to your child! Just click the button below to enter your information.

Get an Email from the Tooth Fairy

Have a forgetful Tooth Fairy in your house? You’ll want to hang on to this email address so you’ll be able to send a note to her supervisor and act just as disappointed along with your child. (You’ll even be able to respond to the tooth fairy’s email here at Ask the Dentist!)

The tooth fairy also sometimes leaves notes in tiny cursive, written with a sparkly purple gel pen. The notes can answer anything! Think about these options:

Questions left by the kids (Where do you live? How old are you?)

Comments on how long it had been since she has visited

Plights about how tough it was to get to our house on a windy night

How excited the tooth fairy was to see a clean room

Resources

If you love printables and creative giveaways as much as me, you’ll love these resources for celebrating the tooth fairy:

Scholastic’s Letter to the Tooth Fairy — Help your child write a letter to the fairy about their lost tooth experience and teach them good vocabulary!

Party with Unicorn’s Printables — From a tooth fairy certificate in pink or blue, to a printable door hanger, to a box to store a lost tooth, these free printables are a ton of fun.

Party with Unicorn’s Tooth Fairy Coloring Pages — Got a little one who can’t get enough of creating art? These sweet coloring pages are perfect for celebrating a visit from the good fairy.

Momdot’s Tooth Fairy Receipt — Train ‘em young to keep those receipts! 😉 Seriously, though, your kid may love a personalized reminder of the tooth they lost.

Tooth Fairy Pressed Penny — No printer? Want a more tangible gift your child can keep through adulthood? This pressed penny keepsake is a perfect option.

Celebrating Childhood

It’s not just an outdated tradition—it’s important to help kids with a major milestone.

Some parents don’t make it so literal—they tell the kids, “we pretend the Tooth Fairy comes.” Some parents go all out. Some parents abandon the tradition altogether—who needs yet another thing? You know your kid and yourself best.

“For this kind of thing, we love to do the traditions, but I say something like “we pretend the tooth fairy comes and does x y z” instead of “the tooth fairy comes and does x y z”. It’s like a fun game we play together which kids love to do with adults, and still feels real and very magical to small children, but also doesn’t set us up for a potential moment of betrayal down the road.”

Our daughter is only two years old, so I don’t know what we’ll do for her when she loses her first tooth.

But what I do know is that the Tooth Fairy will definitely be paying her a visit—whether it’s with a toy, a note, a little Tooth Fairy door, or a shiny gold coin.

I can’t wait to give her the same magical experience that I shared with my dad when I was a kid. Yes, it’s kind of an odd tradition, but why not create a new memory with your child and have fun with it? Otherwise, it’ll be just another day.

My advice—you do you! With our daughter, we like to make every tradition our own with a little spin on it. Lower your expectations and see where it leads you.

You and your child may have funny stories to laugh about years from now!

The post 8 Fresh Tooth Fairy Ideas + 2019 Rates by State [Parent’s Guide] appeared first on Ask the Dentist.

from Ask the Dentist https://askthedentist.com/tooth-fairy/

[onisionisacanceronthisearth]

The Swamp Chronicles: The Appeal (Department of Engineering)

Ok, both appeals are a fucking riot. Like I am so surprised his lawyer was even remotely involved with it but her additions were also marvelous. It is riddled with lies, misunderstanding of facts and the law, irrelevant facts, and stupidity. It’s glorious and so damn obvious as to why they ended up settling because they would have lost and gotten a much worse deal. If it’s in italics it’s a direct quote, if not it’s a paraphrase or my thoughts + government rebuttals. Please enjoy everything wrong with this appeal from choice phrases to every argument they made

“Factual” Background

1.3 Pierce County claimed that the Avaroes had cleared a wetland area with a bobcat. In actuality, the Avaroes were clearing-off noxious weeds - blackberry, devil’s club, and nettles in their garden

So this starts their argument that work was only done in a very specific area that was a pre-established garden on their property. We know this is a lie because work was done much more than in a garden given the video and photographic proof but also, either way Greg needed a permit to use a bobcat to remove anything off his property and only himalayan blackberries are considered to be noxious weeds in his area so he’d need permission for the others as well even if taking them out by hand. By mentioning the other two as weeds being pulled up Greg has accidentally incriminated himself. Glad to know his lawyer gives a shit. Also their garden would have to be in their already landscaped front yard because everything behind their house is classified as a wetland. And regardless you’d need permits to use a bobcat on your yard

1.5 Such noxious weeds endangered the safety and health of Mr. and Mrs. Avaroes’ children

This contradicts Greg telling the government worker that he was giving himself a view of the water which was in the initial reports. This argument comes up over and over in different phrases. Honestly this is such a redundantly-written appeal. Also, cool, let’s say this was their true intentions and the plants they pulled, they still illegally used a bobcat on the property and pulled plants they shouldn’t have. Who assumes they can bring a bobcat on their property? Why didn’t Greg google this? Pulling weeds accidentally without permission? Yeah, understandable, and the county is lenient on this letting people off with warning about this all the time.

1.7 Pierce County has issued an Order to Correct without having the slightest idea about the area in which alleged wetlands are located - Avaroes’ front, rear, or backyard

Um, yeah they do, it’s literally their job and they included an aerial photo of their property showing their property lines and where the wetland is (most of their backyard). This is also followed by 3 more points making the claim that by ~definition~ they don’t live on a wetland and acting like the county is saying all the non-wetland plants on their property was what they planted and making arguments based on that (They have an unequivocal right to maintain such existing landscaping). Again, this is irrelevant because they still got no permits, this is not the argument they are making (this is about their clearing the property and nothing about planting and clearing isn’t maintaining), and legally most of their backyard is a wetland.

1.12 Apparently, Pierce County officials sent Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife to search Avaroes’  property and see if their gardening activities had impaired fish and wildlife habitats. 1.13 Without Mr. or Mrs. Avaroes’ permission, two WDFW officers went to their home and conducted a search of their front and back yards. The Fish and Wildlife officers found no violation. But, they passed-on information derived from their illegal search to County officials. Mr. Avaroe had denied County officials permission to search his property

Ok, so here Greg doesn’t seem to understand that he was under investigation initially by two departments (ecology and engineering) and the engineering department reffered his case to other agencies who might find violations like the Fish and Wildlife one and that agencies talk with each other. Greg denied the Ecology department’s head to check out his yard when she visited in August, that doesn’t mean he denied everyone from other agencies. The Fish and Wildlife officers knocked on his door on a totally different date independent of her, no one answered the door so they did a quick look around back and obviously they saw his front yard as they walked up to his door. Greg released a Patreon video showing this from what I assume is a security camera. Besides that this is legal (it’s in his property agreement that government workers can visit the house without permission, they’ve just asked out of politeness), they were there for all of a few minutes to see if he was working in the pond. They saw he hadn’t so they were not involved in the legal action taken against Greg. Nothing in either Notice of Order to Correct involved what these people did or didn’t find so these points are totally moot

“Illegal” search

All this says is that the county can’t use any “illegally-seized materials or information”. Besides actually admitting earlier in the appeal that the Fish and Wildlife people found nothing (and therefore had nothing to do with this appeal), they still say the nothing that was found by these people must be thrown out. I feel like they think that following this trainwreck of thought will cause everything to get thrown out. Not sure why the lawyer didn’t take out the part where they admit nothing was found or used from that department but ok. Btw, choice quote: ”All of the evidence derived from WDFW’s illegal search of Avaroes’ property is tainted and must be suppressed”

“Vague” as Applied

This is my second favourite part of the appeal, here they say the two notices were vague while listing all the codes the notices actually included!

I’m sorry but no, the first part of both notices start with a “violation” section and even I could read the notices and understand what they meant when they specifically list their violations. I included links to both previous posts on this if you don’t believe me or need a refresher.

3.4 The Order to Correct indicates that the Avaroes must obtain wetland approval, fish and wildlife habitat approval, and “obtain permits and approvals in accord with Title 18E or other Pierce County Codes” to authorize their garden maintenance activities (3.5,3.6,3.7 are varriations of this too)

Um, yeah. Certain activities on your property require approval because you live on sensitive land and right on the wetland. And you get those approvals or permits from the appropriate department... What do you not get about that? This is simple to understand, and again, most people wouldn’t think they could just rent a massive machine to work on their yard. Also, adding in the knowledge we have that Greg has cut down trees (the proof is literally on his channel and the aerial shots I’ll add below), who here thinks you can just casually cut down a tree on your own without proffesional help or a permit? Also 18E is all about living on sensitive land, so yeah, it’s the most applicable to yard work in your yard. Take note of the law Greg, then you’ll know when and how to get the approvals and permits you need for any further destruction yard work

3.8 The Order to Correct specifies that if the Avaroes fail to comply with the Order to Correct, that penalties will be imposed in the amount of $1,000, $4,000, and $10,000. It does not specify what acts will trigger the above penalties (note, they did forget the quotation mark after $10,000, that’s not me) 3.9 In addition, noncompliance with the Order to Correct will trigger misdemeanor charges

Another point where I’m convinced the lawyer didn’t read any of the information on the case because even I understood this point. Also because the lawyer would understand that Greg got two notices not one. If Greg does not comply with the requests from the Dep of Eng and Eco then he is fined a a total of 15k for each day of non-compliance. This could be anything from continuing to work (look on his youtube and leaked patreon videos and you’ll see that he did) to every day he is late in doing any of the tasks he was asked to like hiring a specialist. Also 3.9 seems weirdly tacked on afterwards

Correction notice violates Avaroes’ right to use nonconforming property

This is just lying that all the work done on his property was not Greg but the previous owners and that they are punishing them for it (except they admit that Greg did illegally remove plants with a bobcat earlier...). They are saying that because the previous owners did some landscaping Greg can do anything he likes on the nonconforming land. They also say that their house and lot were created before the regulated area was created. Again, they’re not being targetted for things they didn’t do, and not being targetted for owning the damn house. But at least here they admit that their property is on regulated land but they’re claiming the fact that the regulations were created after the property means they should be exempt from any yard work after the fact as well. At one point it wasn’t illegal not to talk on the phone while driving, so can I continue if I used to talk on the phone before it was illegal? No, of course not

4.9 Mr. and Mrs. Avaroe should not be obligated to spend thousands of dollars on permits and studies to authorize them to weed their yard

Dumbass, if you were just pulling the legally noxious weeds that wouldn’t require any permits. If you pulled some fucking dandilions no one would give a shit. You cleared the fuck out of your property with a bobcat! And, the stuff you admitted to was illegal anyways. Also the studies you are being asked to do would not have been necessary for the permit in most cases. It’s called for now because they need to assess the exact damage you’ve done. Of course if you’re doing total landscaping of your property (like you actually did), they will likely call for a specialist to oversee the development to make sure you don’t fuck up (the previous owners had to do)

The rest cries that they should be allowed to maintain their yard and the law allows them to do this. Again, that’s not what they were doing and they already admitted to removing plants not considered noxious or weeds. They also claim that aparently the county regulations are infringing on their right to due process and fairness... in their legal appeal they were permitted to start if they felt the county got the facts wrong. Also ignoring that one of the things they have to do is hire a third party to do impartial judgement on the damage to their property. They also finish off claiming the county didn’t tell them they live on wetland (the contract they signed when they bought the house did though) and again that their nonconforming rights have been violated (when they don’t fall under that ruling)

Additional “defenses”

6.2 Mr. and Mrs. Avaroe were innocent purchasers for value; they had no idea that they were prohibited from weeding their backyard

In both the Notices of Order to Correct the definition of what qualifies as innocent purchasers is explained. It means if you innocently buy a house where the previous owners have broken the law you are not to blame. It does not mean that if you are ignorant of the law you are exempt from it. WTF? Again, did his lawyer not give a shit?

Prayer for relief

7.1 The Tribunal should exclude all evidence procured from the unauthorized search of the Avaroe property

That search found nothing as you yourself said, if nothing is found it means no evidence of wrongdoing, unless there is a blank space on the notices I didn’t notice that aparently represents the fish and wildlife’s search, IT’S NOT PART OF EITHER NOTICE

7.2 The Tribunal should declare that the Order to Correct violates Mr. and Mrs. Avaroe’s right to due process

I have yet to see any reason why, no argument was presented

7.3 The Tribunal should declare that Mr. and Mrs. Avaroe have a right to maintain their existing yard

Even if you were dumb enough to think that removing trees is a normal part of maintaining your yard, 1. why did you tell the government worker you were giving yourself a view of the water, and 2. both notices explain that what you did wasn’t normal maintenance (which they themselves include a definition for in the appeal). Normal maintenance includes mowing lawns, removal of noxious and invasive species (not two of the three plants mentioned and the only permitted removal of natural plants), harvesting and replanting of garden crops, pruning (not removal) and planting of vegetation (must be indigenous native species). Also they need to provide proof that the work was all done before they moved in and they were just upkeeping what they thought was legal work. One way they could have done that is emailing this claim to the biologist of their area who can, with permission, go through the records for aerial photos of their property before and after purchase

7.4 The Tribunal should declare that Mr. and Mrs. Avaroe are innocent purchasers for value

Again, an incompetent lie

7.5 This Tribunal should accord Mr. and Mrs. Avaroe any other relief which is just and equitable

You would have gotten it if you didn’t lie, didn’t keep working past the don’t work order, didn’t send multiple emails of bullshit to both departments, were compliant, and accepted your mistakes

My conclusion

I think you can see why Greg and his lawyer gave up trying to push this bullshit. But we have the other appeal to deal with next up, and from it, I can’t say that Greg has never made me laugh in recent years. Too bad it wasn’t a joke