Cara Bruar

Fantasy writer and poet. She/her. Lover of plants, water and sky. I'm a very visual person and love images, art and design. I try to grow things and make things out of yarn. Living on Wiradjuri country in the Riverina in south eastern Australia.

I also write mysteries and romance as Jai Baidell.

Web: https://carabruar.com
Web: https://jaibaidell.com
Buy books from: Kobo, Apple, Kindle, Barnes&Noble, Booktopia, ebooks.com

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Last Notes

2026-04-29 06:01:33 UTC

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We all really hope they meant 'secreted'

2026-04-28 02:37:05 UTC

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in a meeting once the woman next to me suggested I I should moisturise dry skin on my arms. The nerve of her. I said I didn't care if it was dry. She shut up.

2026-04-25 05:01:30 UTC

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you're going to need a bigger bird feeder 😂

2026-04-22 07:55:06 UTC

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so much for social cohesion. Disabled people should just disappear. Too bad if they don't have supportive families.

2026-04-22 07:22:35 UTC

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I assume this is an example of the Australian values people keep going on about?

2026-04-20 02:46:53 UTC

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or any activity really 🙂

2026-04-20 00:30:43 UTC

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that CIT Boulevard needs some kind of roof. It's not psychologically welcoming. Maybe a red tent kind of thing to cheer it up.

2026-04-19 23:50:47 UTC

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not as windswept and unwelcoming as Belconnen.

2026-04-19 23:14:54 UTC

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looks just like the old one but a little cleaner

2026-04-16 03:45:14 UTC

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incredible colours

2026-04-15 03:52:59 UTC

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continually over reacting to everything. Many allergies, t2d, kidney disease, skin allergies, arthritis. I had covid in March 2020. It didn't cause these things but now they are all much worse. Not a gamble I want to take.

2026-04-15 03:47:06 UTC

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My immune system is a mess.

2026-04-15 00:15:00 UTC

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yes. That was my plan too until Covid. Now I am mostly housebound.

2026-04-14 23:27:57 UTC

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I"d like to see a law that you can't stand for election or be appointed into Senate vacancies if you are over 60. I'm older than that and have not observed the so called wisdom that comes with age. The median age of parliament should be the same as of the population generally, about 38 I think. #auspol

2026-04-14 05:45:51 UTC

People in rural Australia often oppose renewable developments. That is their right. But they don't help their cause by talking about the ruination of 'prime agricultural land' which is in reality infertile semi-desert. In one case they opposed a battery next door to an existing substation located in an old gravel pit. Amazing how prime agricultural land is suddenly being discovered all over the place. They never mentioned it when coal mines were proposed. #auspol

2026-04-12 22:35:15 UTC

Morning songs
The lonesome peep
Of a reversing truck
#poetry

2026-04-10 07:37:11 UTC

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sympathy. Had it for about a year once. Treatments of the foot failed but physio loosening calf and other leg muscles fixed it in the end. May not work for everyone 😊

2026-04-09 05:20:48 UTC

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It looks incredibly intimidating

2026-04-09 04:02:09 UTC

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very serious mountains. Are they granite?

2026-04-09 04:00:09 UTC

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your climate is less hostile than mine. They were killed in turn by lack of water with 47C heat, a minus 9C frost and waterlogged soil. 3 different sites. I was a bit depressed. This is a plant that grows happily in roadside ditches all over the Monaro. But not in Cootamundra apparently.

2026-04-09 03:24:11 UTC

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not hardy enough for me. I have killed 3 of them.

2026-04-09 01:27:28 UTC

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same with aged people. Right now my husband and sister in law between them are spending 12 hours a day supporting my mother in law. No help available apart from a couple of cleaning hours a fortnight. What would happen to her if they couldn't do it?

2026-04-09 01:24:57 UTC

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not only the affected person but their entire family. Without the NDIS the assumption seems to be that families will do all the support that people need. This is not always possible, leaving people unsupported. State support is random and insufficient. Not ok to treat people that way.

2026-04-01 02:07:37 UTC

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there isn't much consistency. Dealing with state or fed govt or different banks had difft rules. There is a state photo id you can get but the same govt that issues that won't accept it to order a birth certificate online. Also differences in in person vs online rules. Also these days you must have the new watermarked holographic birth certificates and marriage certificates. All costs money.

2026-03-31 07:56:11 UTC

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the whole 100 points of ID thing

2026-03-31 07:51:59 UTC

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apparently it's to do with preventing terrorism or something

2026-03-31 07:51:05 UTC

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same as the rest of us. On demand from banks, Centrelink, Aged Care.3 weeks ago a bank demanded she turn up with proof of id.

2026-03-31 05:48:21 UTC

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excellent nurses at Wagga from Nepal and South Africa

2026-03-31 01:08:58 UTC

Mother in law aged 95 recently lost her driving licence. Long overdue. But now she has no ID. The state issued her a proof of age (!) card but most eg banks don't accept that as proof of id. She has an original marriage certificate from 1952, a birth extract from 1930 and a 15 year expired passport. She has to start again. To get any of these docs you have to prove your id. Somehow. It's a nightmare. And will cost, probably upwards of $500 AUD. She doesn't have that so we will have to pay. #auspol

2026-03-29 12:01:47 UTC

Just thinking about our first tv in 1975. It was a second hand black and white CRT which weighed a couple of tons. It had a wonky vertical hold so images gradually slid upwards and out the top right corner, only to reappear at the bottom left. Particularly effective watching spaceships in Star Trek.
Currently watching a Korean rom com from 2004 which is pixel deprived, made me think of the old tv. #television

2026-03-29 04:30:41 UTC

Full cardio workout completed --fitted sheet folded.

2026-03-28 03:49:01 UTC

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the trip used to take us 14 hours of driving all up. Now we have moved to the Riverina it's only 12 hours but we are older now and get tired faster.

2026-03-28 03:04:25 UTC

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yes. And the sun shining directly into your eyes all day pretty much because you are travelling west. Coming home the opposite direction was always much easier.

2026-03-28 02:40:12 UTC

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you just melt into the car seat, become one with it.

2026-03-28 02:36:49 UTC

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also it was usually December or January so getting out of the car was like jumping into a furnace. For a couple of years after the 1970s oil shick we had a fuel efficient small car with no air conditioning. Nasty.

2026-03-28 02:13:44 UTC

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the towns are interesting but if you are trying to get to Adelaide in time for whatever reason there's no time. You just have to drive and drive. And then you cross the river into the mallee, and it goes on and on and on.

2026-03-27 23:17:49 UTC

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I've never driven Hobart to Launceston, so I don't know if its boring.
I'm putting in a claim here for the Canberra to Adelaide trip being the most boring in Australia, although the train across the Nullarbor to Perth has to be a close second. But at least on the train you don't have to drive and pay attention.

2026-03-27 06:28:17 UTC

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I remember some consultation around 1990. Michael Moore was a great listener.

2026-03-26 23:46:30 UTC

#FensterFreitag #windowsFriday #photography
My photo. Windows and sheep chutes in a shearing shed at Shear Outback, the Shearers' Hall of Fame, Hay, NSW, Australia.
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/298/138/031/070/518/original/4ef793529bece54f.jpeg

2026-03-24 08:06:57 UTC

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no. I left another message. I don't have her address. Or full name even.

2026-03-24 07:51:27 UTC

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I'm quite worried about her at this point. Tried phoning and texting but no reply. I hope she didn't drive off to Wagga or something.

2026-03-24 06:48:43 UTC

Giving away something on Gumtree (like eBay). Local person wanted it. I offered to deliver but she wanted to come and get it. I gave my address and directions. She is lost. Phoned once, gave more directions, that was 30 mins ago. This is a town it takes 3 minutes to drive from one side to the other. I am mystified. And still waiting.

2026-03-24 01:36:32 UTC

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I loved that tree but was afraid of it too, it spread right over the house. Our current place has only bushes. Don't like it as much.

2026-03-24 01:27:51 UTC

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we had one like that in our yard at Macquarie. There were two trunks. The one with the scar died in the 2003 drought and had to be removed. The other half is still going strong.

2026-03-24 00:14:27 UTC

I've been publishing under my other pen name, Jai Baidell.
Gullyraker is part of a detective series. My unfortunate protagonist is caught up in political problems around water shortages and the destruction of a water pipeline.
Set in my alternative Australia, although it's not very different.
A gullyraker is a strong and destructive storm of wind and/or water.
Available from Kobo, B&N, Booktopia, Apple, Kindle and other places as an ebook.
#books #bookstodon #newrelease
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/116/281/251/507/414/131/original/7ca86168a7eef90f.jpg

2026-03-23 06:15:13 UTC

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the flowers don't last long and native flies and bees like them

2026-03-23 06:13:38 UTC

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but it has the advantage of being indestructible

2026-03-23 06:10:22 UTC

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people say the flowers do but I have never been able to smell it

2026-03-23 05:02:51 UTC

Watching a road cycling race in northern Italy. Coming around to the belief that the most common hedging plant in the universe is photinia spp. It's everywhere including our front yard (not in Italy). #hedges #photinia

2026-03-11 02:28:06 UTC

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ther's always next time

2026-03-10 23:12:47 UTC

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as a kid I had a book set in Paris called The Red Balloon. I know your little dots in colour in the sky are not really balloons but I was reminded of it. Great sketch.

2026-03-08 04:14:41 UTC

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wow, that's a big ocean

2026-03-04 22:50:29 UTC

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Canberra Day is for the nearly half a million people who live there, almost as many as the whole of Tasmania. Nothing to do with FIFO politicians.

2026-03-03 00:49:26 UTC

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maybe a leopard or a lion? Must be old.

2026-03-03 00:07:41 UTC

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fascinating. Is that a goat on the top of the coat of arms? or a cat? apologies if I have it wrong

2026-02-28 04:58:55 UTC

#auspol. Australian politicians all raving on about restoring social cohesion. If they want it, they are going to have to work on economic equity. There's no getting rid of the 'them and us' mentality while govts pander to big business and write tax laws that privilege only the wealthy.

2026-02-27 09:33:51 UTC

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dam fillers

2026-02-24 02:40:39 UTC

15 minutes of weeding the garden, 48 hours of swollen knee. So demoralising.

2026-02-23 21:42:56 UTC

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you do great work, thanks for showing us

2026-02-07 04:23:39 UTC

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now I need a sleep just thinking about it 😊

2026-02-07 02:47:15 UTC

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I wonder how many miles a day she's doing? Sleeping like a baby.

2026-02-04 04:11:33 UTC

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so many govt decisions are about carving off profitable sections of society and giving them to mates. And then since these systems basically succeeded due to volunteers who are then excluded the profit opportunity turns into a loss. At which point the mates hold out their hands for subsidies

2026-02-04 03:57:45 UTC

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Yes. My mother in law is in a commercially developed one, all the problems you mention. My other half is an expert on the SA Retirement Villages Act now. For my brother we are looking at non profit ones run by Uniting Church. No exit fees or refurb fees at all. Pricing seems joined at the hip to Centrelink requirements. Checking everything. I think it will be ok but a lot to do. He is in Adelaide, his support siblings in NSW and Victoria. His strata title at present place is useless.

2026-02-04 03:19:14 UTC

My brother, autistic, in his sixties, is being harassed by a neighbour. Bastard stole his identity, now throws rubbish into his yard and much verbal abuse. I live interstate or would be over there explaining the error of his ways to him in no uncertain terms. However, this option is off the table.
We are considering helping him move into a retirement village fairly promptly.
Much to consider. The financial side alone, the interaction with the welfare system on which he depends, is labyrinthine.
I have covered five sheets of paper with calculations, started a new folder on my desktop to save all the dozens of relevant pages from Centrelink, and looked at oh so many village websites.
Not having any fun.
#retirement

2026-02-03 03:37:34 UTC

Incredibly funny story from Rick Morton about plumbing. Worth subscribing to his newsletter. https://rick-morton.ghost.io/plumb-and-plumber/ #australia #france #plumbing

2026-01-31 02:43:35 UTC

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I love your sketches. I have never been to any of these places but you seem to capture the feel and essence of them. Thank you.

2026-01-30 01:46:21 UTC

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probably true for many of us 🥰

2026-01-30 00:44:10 UTC

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looks like muscle to me. She looks very healthy.

2026-01-29 23:24:53 UTC

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great photos. She's got so big!

2026-01-28 03:18:00 UTC

The weather in inland Australia is referred to by the media as sweltering. May be technically the right word but for me to swelter implies humidity and sweating. It's too hot for those. We have 43 degrees C and 15% humidity. Baking would be a better word. #australia #weather #heatwave

2026-01-21 00:38:45 UTC

Grammar help please. Is this apostrophe in my wip correct? This is a blind spot that I have not been able to overcome.
**
The gnome, it's ear broken off during the affray, had no case for compensation at all.
**
#grammar #amEditing #wip

2026-01-19 05:41:05 UTC

True story from this morning (names changed).
Doctor calls out to waiting room, "Peter?"
My spouse, Peter stands up.
So does another man.
My spouse asks him, "Are you called Peter too?"
"No. I'm Jack," says the other guy, and sits down.
Much confusion.
🤣 🤣 🤣
#humor

2026-01-19 03:45:02 UTC

Excerpt from my wip. My hero is receiving surveillance advice from a nosy old lady.
"Have you tried watching from there yourself?"
"Sometimes. If anyone ever asks I will just tell them I'm looking for my cat. Of course, no-one has ever asked. Nobody cares."
"Does your cat wander over there often?"
"I don't have a cat."
For some reason this cracks me up. 🤣 🤣
#wip

2026-01-18 23:42:51 UTC

#writerscoffeeclub 19 Talk about something (even if very small!) from your own life which made it onto the page.
There was a time when you couldn't turn on the tv without seeing some earnest but dreary nature documentary.
In my current wip my characters argue about watching a documentary about estuaries.

2026-01-17 21:44:39 UTC

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love your sketches

2026-01-17 03:56:45 UTC

Dear fellow author I am currently reading -- it is fazed, not phased. It is retched, not wretched. If you know you can't spell, get someone who can to check your work. #spelling #proofreading

2026-01-05 23:45:55 UTC

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all the kids are inside playing on their devices? We never went away in summer, too expensive and crowded, much nicer at home.

2026-01-05 23:29:29 UTC

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Canberra has beautiful summers. Mostly clear sunny winters. Winter nights can be a bit chilly. They can't ALL be at the coast.

2025-12-29 23:16:49 UTC

Old stuff. We have had this Seiko analogue wall clock since the 1980s. It runs for 18 months on a single AA battery, is easily adjusted for daylight savings time, and is quite accurate, gains about one minute a year. Large numbers are easy to read. I still like it.
#clocks #vintage
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/805/387/460/213/757/original/5bc7f59b55982ccf.jpeg

2025-12-27 00:26:59 UTC

Loose cover I made to cover up hideous ottoman. Also has the advantage of clearing a space in the cupboard. #sewing
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/788/691/282/701/494/original/33d25ddb587fafaa.jpeg

2025-12-25 01:17:48 UTC

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it's amazing how much ovens vary. I hope you have a great Christmas.

2025-12-23 00:07:02 UTC

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terracotta is hard to beat in any context, very warm and restful

2025-12-22 23:48:02 UTC

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green and terracotta, a great contrast, thank you. I love your sketches

2025-12-20 22:06:41 UTC

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you both look great. Good decision on the 'friends' so-called.

2025-12-17 03:48:37 UTC

In southern New South Wales is a town and natural feature called The Rock.
It is large, dominating a mostly flat or gently rolling landscape, see picture from https://www.visitlockhartshire.com.au
My brother and his teenage kids drove past this and DID NOT NOTICE IT.
Back in the day we went on holidays and there was nothing to do but look out the window and see what was there. Apparently this is not done anymore.
#australia #socialMedia #travel #SocialChange
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/732/846/973/598/269/original/1ed35446dbfd94d1.png

2025-12-15 02:36:59 UTC

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I did that. Also kept my original name after marriage which was legally complex

2025-12-14 22:59:35 UTC

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I can't understand that either. I have become more radical with every decade.

2025-12-07 22:35:11 UTC

Australia Post emailed me today to tell me that a package I am expecting is on its way to Australia. Very polite.
Except I know from the sender's site that it landed in Sydney and was handed over to local post last Thursday, 4 days ago. That's some sluggish system they are operating there. #australia
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/680/659/478/157/753/original/2d51d7758f5dd375.png

2025-11-27 01:01:32 UTC

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I love these little paintings, thank you

2025-11-21 23:44:03 UTC

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other bad mistakes I have heard over the years -- taLANGuta (Tallangatta) and Goomararcha (Gumeracha). You had to be there.

2025-11-19 08:52:18 UTC

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what are these Australian values? Must you still love cricket? Be a white supremacist? Support the monarchy? See real estate as the path to salvation? What?

2025-11-15 22:14:10 UTC

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allowing these tests by a foreign power on our soil with no regard for people living there was an act of treachery by the Australian government. How many people died of cancers as a result? Fury. #auspol

2025-11-10 08:19:21 UTC

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no no, not content warnings. I agree with you. Hashtags would be useful though. That way people can eg block anything with a hashtag they don't like while other people can find those posts more easily. I follow #auspol for example.

2025-11-10 08:06:44 UTC

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I want to see your posts. I certainly don't agree with the people piling on, and cw seems like overkill when you are discussing all the same topics that appear in mainstream news. It would make filtering easier if you were able to add a hashtag like uspol.

2025-11-06 05:52:37 UTC

After seven decades I have discovered the existence of bra extenders. Sometimes I think I must have lived my entire life under a rock.

2025-10-17 23:46:06 UTC

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your reward for all your efforts

2025-10-17 23:39:07 UTC

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now comes the hard part digging holes 😊

2025-10-17 21:58:13 UTC

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did you get all the plants you wanted?

2025-10-13 01:44:10 UTC

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I feel the same and it's only lunch time

2025-10-12 23:30:36 UTC

I am about 60 years older than the target market for my new doona cover, but I love it anyway. It makes me happy. #joy
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/115/363/796/252/269/558/original/53ec12ee1e2b433c.jpeg