Deborah Makarios

Handwork & history, trees & teas. Cats & chooks, blooms & books (both read and written). Humorous and wholesome, yes; dismal and dispiriting, no.

Apprentice of: Jesus
Wife of: Tim Makarios (npub1ajz…2759)
Writer of: fantasy novels, mostly (CC BY-SA)
Website: https://deborah.makarios.nz
Resident of: Lower Hutt (Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) New Zealand

Public Key

npub1ywv39qwvk8dqavje6k0zdsauyqxm7ulqwl5mj5a6n8734cljp6zq3nezzn

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsz8xgjs8xtrkswkfvat83xcw7zqrdlw0s806de2wafnlg6u0eqapqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dskqscun

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1ywv39qwvk8dqavje6k0zdsauyqxm7ulqwl5mj5a6n8734cljp6zq3nezzn

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Last Notes

2026-07-07 21:28:43 UTC

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If it's a red variety of an originally green plant, you may be getting reversion.

2026-06-28 04:17:03 UTC

"When you say that everyone in that village is a pig…" Porfiry began.
"Yes. Pig. Four legs, little tail, oinks—pig."
The Wound of Words
https://deborah.makarios.nz/the-wound-of-words/
#TheWoundOfWords #books #fantasy #CreativeCommons

2026-06-13 02:47:29 UTC

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Thanks!!

2026-06-12 23:00:26 UTC

This week I had a birthday.
My friend gave me a card.
#tea #birthday
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/116/739/600/690/746/777/original/786e16dbfb6372f7.jpeg

2026-06-09 07:28:14 UTC

I wondered if the classic Ministry of Food cheese scone could be used for a sort of scone pasty/calzone/empanada, and it turns out the answer is yes. (Even if you get flurried and accidentally add the milk before the cheese.)
I made three, lightly filled with a mix of olives, sundried tomatoes, and salami. They needed 20 minutes in my oven, and while not perhaps quite as light as the originals, are far from stodgy.
#food #CheeseScones
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/116/718/941/035/804/518/original/9641ee8e419ad517.jpeg

2026-06-05 01:43:19 UTC

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That bird - a blue jay? - looks like it took a dip in a dye bath!

2026-05-19 07:40:54 UTC

Sigh. This is your regular reminder that ebooks may not be listed on Amazon and yet STILL EXIST.
Creative Commons-licensed ebooks, for example. Banned on Amazon, they nonetheless STILL EXIST.
You can buy them.
You can buy them in mobi format.
You can read them on your Kindle.
Amazon is not the boss of you!
Nor, to return to my original point, is it the sole arbiter of ebook existence.
#ebooks #books #Amazon #CreativeCommons

2026-05-16 08:25:50 UTC

I finished the Lost in Time shawl - pattern by Johanna Lindahl - and eventually blocked it. (If you look carefully you can see blocking wire bottom right.)
#crochet #LostInTime
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/116/583/276/338/550/906/original/b42bc9f84885f9da.jpeg

2026-05-14 21:44:10 UTC

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Thanks!

2026-05-14 07:53:35 UTC

Today marks 15 years since I married @npub1ajz…2759 and he is still my favourite person.
We celebrated by buying our second anniversatree: a dwarf Harwood Late orange.
It will soon be planted on the grave of our late orange cat (who was not a dwarf, though smallish, and was called not Harwood but Boromir).
#marriage #WeddingAnniversary #Anniversatree #cat

2026-05-10 03:28:16 UTC

Sow daikon radishes, they said.
Their roots will break up your heavy soil, they said.
My heavy soil:
#gardening
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/116/548/111/497/902/710/original/4539415ee19f3988.jpeg

2026-01-29 05:49:22 UTC

Cat-lovers of Lower Hutt and the Wellington region! Do you know of any homes looking for a cat? Because here is a cat looking for a home.
We'd love to keep her, but unfortunately Salix just can't cope with having another cat in the house. She really needs a home where she can be the only cat, and that's not something we can provide.
Her issues with catmates aside, she's timid but a real sweetie once she's got to know you. Loves skritches, bellyrubs, and surveilling the neighbourhood from a comfy windowsill.
She's fully vaccinated, desexed, chipped, litterbox trained, and kind to soft furnishings. She'd suit a quiet household (no dogs or small kids), perhaps especially someone who's out a lot but doesn't want a pet who'll get distressed being on their own. Salix is comfortable with her own company but will also welcome yours (especially if you have food).
Know someone who needs a Salix in their life? Send us a message!
#LowerHutt #Wellington #cats #NewZealand
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/976/629/405/211/980/original/b2eadc7231533d82.jpeg
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/976/636/329/940/049/original/61afe33f2e6236d7.jpeg
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/976/645/137/821/547/original/a6369463bcc8b519.jpeg
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/976/656/163/094/665/original/2bd123c9fdba1125.jpeg

2026-01-25 22:24:54 UTC

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Thanks! The colours are what the local yarn manufacturing company had lots of in their annual clearout sale in 2024, so I can't take much credit for that aspect of it!

2026-01-25 03:58:49 UTC

I like the Lost In Time pattern so much I'm doing another in four colours of donated yarn, not all of which play nicely with each other.
Progress report: first two of four repeats completed. Some discomfort in right arm, possibly because I keep defaulting back to pen hold for the fiddly bits, and forgetting to change back.
The next section will alternate the two colours shown in the cakes, and the final section the blue and dark purple.
#crochet #LostInTime
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/953/698/002/950/207/original/25d86061fdc3d3bd.jpeg

2026-01-24 04:44:49 UTC

How do you hang out your laundry?
#laundry

2026-01-19 02:34:12 UTC

Readers, what do you think of present tense narratives?
E.g. "She sits at the desk and types in the code" rather than "She sat at the desk and typed in the code."
I'm currently reading a novel written in present tense (set decades in the past, ironically), and I find it's adding a layer of friction to the reading experience, making it harder to get lost in the story.
Unnecessary friction, as far as I can tell; it's not like the story is an action-packed thriller needing a sense of immediacy.
Have you read present tense fiction before? What did you think?
#reading #PresentTense

2026-01-16 05:19:07 UTC

It occurred to me today that AI is the result of the human desire for a god who is all-knowing and yet endlessly affirming - a god who never tells you you're wrong. Even when you are.
The result of trusting this false god is deception, disorientation, mental decay, and even death - reminiscent of the work of the father of lies "who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy."
I much prefer Jesus. He always tells the truth, even if it's not what you want to hear.
#AI #Jesus #FalseGods #idolatry #truth

2026-01-12 04:26:04 UTC

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You have the magic power to make people start salivating on the other side of the planet!

2025-12-22 04:59:25 UTC

Second hand shops are great. Today I bought a soft cuddly top, a small ceramic jug for refilling the iron, and an Anglo-Saxon Primer (the 9th edition - printed when my parents were preschoolers - of a book originally published in the reign of Queen Victoria). All from the same shop.
#SecondHandShops

2025-12-19 05:03:09 UTC

The Great Pyjama Conundrum:
You are comissioned by Person A to buy on their behalf a pair of pyjamas as a gift for Person B (for which Person A will reimburse you).
When you reach the shop, you find that there are only two options in Person B's size.
Do you:

2025-12-16 04:51:50 UTC

Kiwis, where do you get your buttons?
Having spent three and a half years knitting a nice dark blue waistcoat for my husband, I want something more than the usual holey pieces of plastic for fasteners.
I'd like silvery buttons (pewter, steel, whatev) that will ornament the garment without being attention grabbers, and they need to be about 13mm.
Research suggests my options are:
Plastic.
Looks like metal but is plastic.
Looks like metal, may even be metal, but is 16mm/falsely claiming to be Chanel/falsely claiming to be "China Police".
I need about 10 or so. Suggestions?
Edited to add: am in Lower Hutt with chronic fatigue, so something local or that sells online is preferable.
#buttons #knitting #NewZealand

2025-12-04 04:30:22 UTC

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I think a big part of the problem is that people tend to assume that being polite means being passive and non-confrontational - in all sorts of areas, from politics to dealing with a man getting handsy. We aren't taught how to be assertive (or how to detect and dismantle false arguments) - only how to be compliant or aggressive, neither of which is healthy.
Our church used to host a Meet The Candidates ahead of the general election, and a certain decency of speech was expected, but if a candidate was so discourteous as to ignore the bell announcing their time was up, the person at the sound desk would cut the microphone, and the big burly moderator would retrieve it.

2025-11-26 21:26:07 UTC

"An epic fantasy without needing to be a trilogy. Every character is superbly written and I was totally invested in every one of them.... I gave this book 5 stars - I loved it to bits and I can see it being a constant reread in the future."
The Reading Ruru reviewing Amiant Soul
https://deborah.makarios.nz/amiant-soul/
#AmiantSoul #books #fantasy #review #CreativeCommons #PWYW

2025-11-26 04:55:42 UTC

I always thought I wasn't the lace knitting type, but Old Shale ain't bad.
Which is a good thing, as this baby blanket has a long way to go yet.
#knitting #lace #OldShale
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/614/199/737/787/237/original/a59b66f13b65db5a.jpeg

2025-11-24 19:43:47 UTC

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It would be quite a sight to see!

2025-11-23 19:52:00 UTC

"propane powered flaming sousaphone" is definitely on my list of phrases I never expected to encounter. But I did.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sousaphone
#sousaphone #wikipedia

2025-11-23 08:06:52 UTC

Pirate jellyfish (accompanied by tiny parrotfish, naturally).
#drawing #FountainPens #pirate #jellyfish
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/597/968/486/157/544/original/93b756ac5f5bb8ba.jpeg

2025-11-20 20:47:49 UTC

Drawing jellyfish by candlelight at bedtime (as one does).
My brain: put a top hat on the next one. And a monocle.
Mine not to reason why...
(Diamine Woodland Green in a TWSBI Diamond Mini, F nib)
#drawing #FountainPen #jellyfish #ink
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/583/968/571/690/297/original/4a88aa07a40a7b18.jpeg

2025-11-19 05:23:15 UTC

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A second knitted snek. Same pattern, different yarns, seen from the other end.
#knitting #snake
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/574/678/535/947/771/original/53624d74b72a326d.jpeg

2025-11-18 01:22:17 UTC

I'm surprised to see publisher Quentin Wilson claim that authors rely "heavily" on tools like PhotoShop and Grammarly.
I've never used either, although - full disclosure - I do use the GIMP for building my book covers (typography excepted - that's done by a real live human graphic designer).
Quentin Wilson, on the other hand, publishes books with AI-generated covers.
Guaranteed AI-free fantasy ebooks here: https://deborah.makarios.nz/works/
Also some paperback stock available in NZ - drop me a line if interested.
#books #AI #publishing #AIFree #NewZealand #GIMP #NoAI

2025-11-11 06:07:12 UTC

It turns out our cat has the same reaction to being drawn as she does to being photographed, viz:
1) what is that noise?
2) what are you doing?
3) I'm leaving.
So here is a drawing which started out as a drawing of our cat and then became a drawing of an imaginary cat.
#drawing #cats #PenAndInk #FountainPen
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/529/544/252/944/908/original/a36b43bfd6d81077.jpeg

2025-11-09 04:59:59 UTC

I just read a website's privacy policy prior to making a purchase, and discovered that they quite openly state that they will share or sell my personal information (including contact details) with other businesses for advertizing purposes, and that those unnamed businesses will use said personal information in accordance with their own privacy policies, whatever those may happen to be.
I have emailed the business I actually want to buy from, and asked if an offline transaction is possible, as otherwise, I will be taking my custom elsewhere.
Easier said than done, however, as I am not aware of any other NZ retailer selling a fude nibbed dip pen - or any fude nibbed pen at all, if it comes to that, actual brush tips aside.
#PrivacyPolicy #FountainPen #NewZealand #DipPens #fude

2025-11-06 23:47:22 UTC

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😄

2025-11-06 20:21:11 UTC

What makes a garden small or large?
In the novel In This House Of Brede (1969) a character describes a housing development with ten homes to the acre as "iniquitous".
Our house (built 1943) is on a tenth of an acre, and people nowadays seem to think the garden is a big one.
What would you consider a small garden?
What would you consider a large garden?
#gardening

2025-11-03 00:52:31 UTC

Westerland in the sunshine.
#BloomScrolling #roses
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/483/016/834/934/718/original/7b57cafb501b9e4e.jpeg

2025-10-19 23:35:35 UTC

TIL that kingfishers nest in tunnels in decaying trees or clay banks...and that they make these tunnels by repeatedly diving on their target beak first.
Gotta say, hurling yourself at a wall of earth until it gives way before the barrage of blows from your face is a pretty hardcore way to prepare for kids, but each to their own.
#birds #kingfisher #TIL

2025-10-01 02:01:49 UTC

I always thought the word "smith" was inextricably connected with metalwork, but it comes from the Proto-Germanic word smiþaz, meaning a craftsman or skilled worker.
So "wordsmith" might not be so figurative after all.
Just think of all the variants we're missing out on: yarnsmiths, numbersmiths, codesmiths, plantsmiths, claysmiths, clothesmiths...
#words #smith #crafts

2025-09-30 02:24:52 UTC

Knitted toy snake.
Based on the snake pattern from Knitted Wild Animals by Sarah Keen (adapted by me to knit in the round as I dislike sewing up).
Man, eyes are hard.
#knitting #snake #FinishOrFrogAlong
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/290/848/210/553/585/original/8be79341dc211c09.jpeg

2025-09-15 09:14:00 UTC

There is so much enjoyment to be found in a seed catalogue.
#gardening #SimplePleasures

2025-09-11 00:32:37 UTC

"there is one thing that seems more and more 'in the air' - the realisation that the supremacy of the machine, which is rapidly making robots of humanity, must be faced. And the machine must be put in its place as a servant to do the servile work only, freeing humanity to exercise its birthright of imaginative creative work. ...
Art may indeed be under a cloud. But if it is not the spirit of the Creator working in us I do not know what it is. And it cannot be eternally killed."
Arthur Rackham, August 1939
#art #ArthurRackham #creativity #AI

2025-08-28 09:40:41 UTC

You CAN refill a TWSBI Swipe with an eyedropper. I don't say it's wise, but it's possible.
#FountainPens #ink
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/115/105/716/510/151/150/original/bdf89cba0224c1e0.jpeg

2025-08-21 23:30:55 UTC

I think I've spotted a tinge of rust...on the nib of a pen recently filled with J. Herbin's Rouille d'Ancre (Anchor Rust), ironically enough.
I had to use a magnifying glass to see it, and the pen still works, but it's a bit worrisome.
I've never been much of a one for pinks (in inks or otherwise) but Rouille d'Ancre is really quite nice.
https://mountainofink.com/blog/j-herbin-rouille-d-ancre
#FountainPens #ink

2025-08-09 04:13:00 UTC

Looks like the end of the road for my Pilot Birdie pencil - it keeps snapping the lead about half an inch from the writing end, and it hasn't fed in new lead in years.
Does anyone have any advice and/or opinions on:
Lamy Logo 106
Filofax Barley Mini
Leuchtturm Drehgriffel nr 2
bearing in mind that I have small hands and may carry the pencil in a skirt pocket?
(#FountainPen enthusiasts, does your knowledge base extend to mechanical pencils?)
#MechanicalPencils #pencils #stationery

2025-07-31 00:53:46 UTC

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What an impressive frown! If I was a gopher I thnk that would scare me off all by itself.
Not being a gopher, however, it just makes me think how soft and plushy Summer looks.

2025-07-13 05:15:01 UTC

Me: Ah, the infinite potential of the blank page!
Cat: Ah, the perfect place to sit!
Me:
Cat: Infinite potential.
Me:
Cat: I'm expanding the breadth of your intellectual assumptions.
Me: *click*
Cat: Hey! You know I can't get comfy with that thing pointed at me.
Me: *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click*
Cat: I will now expand into exploring the infinite potential of somewhere else.
#cats #stationery #FountainPen
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/114/844/149/716/993/255/original/b41f5392ef42e478.jpeg

2025-05-23 05:57:52 UTC

Turns out it's easier to draw something when you can see it. (Possibly even easier if you do a pencil sketch first, but I haven't built up my patience to that level yet.)
Here's my exceedingly imprecise attempt at copying the work of Arthur Rackham, using a Moonman/Majohn Wancai loaded with Jinhao Black.
Original here: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allies_Fairy_Book-098.jpg
#drawing #PenAndInk #FountainPen
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/114/555/580/259/094/120/original/618432d197fe2f5c.jpeg

2025-05-12 06:14:16 UTC

I thought it would be fun to learn how to draw.
And by "learn" I mean read a few books on the subject and then just make something up.
Drawn with a Majohn Q1 filled with Pilot Iroshizuku Syo-Ro, for those of you who are interested in such points.
#drawing #DailyDoodle #FountainPen
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/114/493/363/616/218/395/original/2fd625ca4565a578.jpeg

2025-05-08 02:08:32 UTC

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It occurred to me to suggest that if he wants to control what someone else wears, maybe he should get himself a dolly to play dressups with - but it didn't occur until it was far too late. Which is probably just as well.

2025-05-08 01:58:51 UTC

After five years of regular mask-wearing, today I experienced my first negative reaction: some random coming out of the supermarket said "Still worried about covid? Freak."
Now I can't decide whether to feel sorry for the vulnerable fool, or offended that he thinks unmasking would be enough to defreak me.
#CovidIsNotOver #masks #WhoWasThatMaskedFreak

2025-05-02 05:42:53 UTC

They say fountain pens are addictive, but I'm not so sure. I got my first fountain pen in 2007, and after 18 years I'm up to 10, most in regular use.
But no one warned me about dip pens! I got my first nibs and holder a month ago today, and already I have 3 holders (one of which fits 0 nibs in my possession) and 144 nibs! One hundred and forty-four!! In a month!!!
Which is quite appropriate in a way, as nibs for dip pens in their heyday were sold in 1 gross boxes (1 gross=144), and most of my nibs were made in the days when they were widely used.
Still, I think that's enough to be going on with.
#FountainPens #DipPens

2025-04-16 04:53:26 UTC

Nib: Esterbrook 969 Radio
Inks (in order): Diamine Autumn Oak, Jinhao Black, Sailor Jentle Chu Shu, Waterman Havana Brown, Diamine Kensington Blue, Diamine Meadow, Diamine Monaco Red, Diamine Pink, Jinhao Pure Blue, Jinhao Red, Pilot Iroshizuku Syo-ro, and Diamine Syrah.
#FountainPens #DipPens #ink #SwatchWednesday #handwriting
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/114/345/826/794/561/718/original/57aafe7d17de3a27.jpeg

2025-04-13 07:03:24 UTC

Pen experiment: I tried the nib from a Jinhao 992 in a dip pen holder.
First dip: two lines of text. Not bad.
Second and subsequent dips: half to one line.
Why???
#FountainPens #DipPens

2025-04-05 04:52:43 UTC

Today we're making crabapple jelly with the first crop from our Jelly King anniversatree.
Starting to, anyway. The actual jellification will be tomorrow, if the Lord is willin' and the creek don't rise.
#crabapple #preserving #anniversatree
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/114/283/547/980/834/936/original/a5c325a65f852fd9.jpeg

2025-03-29 03:21:36 UTC

One barrel. One cap. Multiple nib sections. I'm not sure how the makers of this calligraphy fountain pen set thought this was going to work.
Any suggestions on how to keep a nib/section (with cartridge or converter) from drying out without the usual cap on barrel scenario?
#FountainPens #calligraphy

2025-03-08 04:15:38 UTC

It is forbidden to have durian on your person on board an Air New Zealand flight.
It is also forbidden to have durian in your carry-on luggage.
Furthermore, it is forbidden to have durian in your checked luggage.
Durian "does not travel well" - and neither, I suspect, do those in its vicinity.
#durian #food #travel

2025-02-18 04:15:30 UTC

I can't decide what to call this new pen. Poll follows in next toot.
#FountainPen
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/114/022/912/574/963/659/original/e87e4cd8a4afa0ec.jpeg

2025-02-16 04:14:33 UTC

A historic day: I finished the last of the Majestic Purple ink I bought back in 2013 for hand-drafting my first novel.
The novel: https://deborah.makarios.nz/restoration-day/
#FountainPens #ink #RestorationDay #writing
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/114/011/593/987/481/737/original/b9fa9e5702b84703.jpeg

2025-02-15 06:53:44 UTC

Another old technology I love: the fountain pen!
Pros, cons, and why this is an Old Technology for everyone:
https://deborah.makarios.nz/2025/02/15/in-praise-of-old-technology-the-fountain-pen/
#FountainPens #OldTechnology #EcoFriendly

2025-02-06 04:51:52 UTC

In honour of Waitangi Day, a native New Zealand bloom: poroporo.
#BloomScrolling #WaitangiDay #NativePlants
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/113/955/128/510/556/014/original/d342135c8d7f43e0.jpeg

2025-02-02 04:05:13 UTC

A Westerland rose.
#BloomScrolling #roses
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/113/932/304/330/345/467/original/c480787a3771c534.jpeg

2025-01-25 04:47:01 UTC

On this day in 2023 I fell ill with COVID-19.
In the two years since, I've developed chilblains, IBS, CFS, and alopecia.
For the love of all you hold dear, do not give up the battle against this virus.
Become a clean air aficionado.
Stay away from others as much as possible when either you or they are sick.
And #WearAMask - for yourself and for others.
These three things really do make a difference. Our household average is 0.5 infections per capita.
#CovidIsNotOver #covid #health

2024-11-17 19:09:06 UTC

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That's very on-brand for ants! You may just be an incompletely developed blob, but by golly, you're going to be a helpful and productive blob who is Making A Contribution!

2024-11-15 03:27:35 UTC

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We found 60+ bars of soap when we cleared out my grandmother's house after her death. Every branch of the family got a share. Mine lasted me for years.

2024-10-17 00:53:53 UTC

Readers, what are your comfort reads?
I generally reread the Queens of Crime: Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Patricia Wentworth...
#books #ComfortReading

2024-09-03 02:19:28 UTC

I write my books myself. When I first started writing, I never dreamed that I would ever need to say that.
But here we are. I write them myself, without the aid of the Great Plagiaristic Texcretor.
At present, that mostly means lying on the sofa with a large blank book and a few fountain pens, with a couple of hours at my desk every week or two when I feel capable of sitting up.
(It turns out there is a distinction between sitting up and sitting down, and it is an important one.)
So if you are keen on supporting books that are 100% AI-free (also Creative Commons- licensed! CC BY-SA), you can get them here:
https://deborah.makarios.nz/works/
AND you can choose how much you'd like to pay for most of the ebooks. ($0 is an option. Reading should not be constrained by lack of income.)
#NaNoWriMo #AI #FountainPens #CreativeCommons #books #writing #disability

2024-08-28 09:43:56 UTC

TIL that there's a power station in the UK fuelled by meat. I read this in Gardening For The Zombie Apocalypse, where they theorize that it could potentially convert zombies to electricity.
I looked it up, and sure enough, Glanford Power Station in North Lincolnshire runs on meat & bone meal.
Which raises a question I had never considered before: is electricity vegan?
#TodayILearned #electricity #meat #GardeningForTheZombieApocalypse

2024-08-07 05:16:48 UTC

I'm normally not a fan of saying something/someone is "on the wrong side of history" (predictions of the future are notoriously unreliable), but when it comes to slavery, I feel like the jury of history has been in for a while now.
This week the coalition government has said that the issue of modern slavery is not a priority for them. (From the mouth of a minister who notoriously said human life had been overvalued in NZ's Covid response.)
If you believe slavery IS an important issue, you can:
a) do your grocery shopping with guides from JustKai.org.nz
b) do your clothes shopping with the Ethical Fashion Guide from BaptistWorldAid.org.au
c) email the government and tell them how messed up their priorities are.
#nzpol #slavery #ReprioritizeSlavery #WrongSideOfHistory

2024-08-03 02:16:51 UTC

Never hurts to be prepared.
#gardening #zombies #books #GardeningForTheZombieApocalypse
https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/thereslife/media_attachments/files/112/895/666/575/897/845/original/30f2d1b39e69d89e.jpg