Cuddle Party

Everyone needs contact comfort sometimes. Not everyone has ample opportunities for this in facetime. So here is a chance for a cuddle party in cyberspace. Virtual cuddling can help people feel better.

We have a cuddle room that comes with fort cushions, fort frames, sheets for draping, and a weighted blanket. A nest full of colorful egg pillows sits in one corner. There is a basket of grooming brushes, hairbrushes, and styling combs. A bin holds textured pillows. There is a big basket of craft supplies along with art markers, coloring pages, and blank paper. The kitchen has a popcorn machine. Labels are available to mark dietary needs, recipe ingredients, and level of spiciness. Here is the bathroom, open to everyone. There is a lawn tent and an outdoor hot tub. Bathers should post a sign for nude or clothed activity. Come snuggle up!

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Birdfeeding

Today is cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds.  I haven't seen much activity today, but they sure put a dent in the hopper seed.

EDIT 2/7/24 -- I cut brush in the parking lot.


 

Holiday Gifts

Today I received the last items ordered from holiday money. :D I went out to Vena's Fizz House to look for a couple of things, realized they had a bunch of stuff on sale, and decided that I might as well just kill off the rest of the fund there. The shopping cart on the website is kind of a pain, but the products are worth a bit of extra bother. Also, while the prices are higher, the quality and selection are much better than our mega-liquor-store has. I was disappointed to see that Friar Tuck's had only a dozen or so different bitters and most of those didn't list ingredients beyond the dominant flavor. :/  Anyhow, these are excellent not only for the usual cocktails but for making nonalcoholic ones just as exciting as the alcoholic ones (for folks who don't mind a trace and are just trying to avoid beverage levels of alcohol).

Also, I don't know why the hell people gave up on complex flavorings for cooking. Most modern American kitchens seem to have one savory option (Worcestershire sauce) and the extracts are all simples now of which the commonest by far is vanilla extract. A few people might have peppermint, almond, etc. if they are avid bakers. To find good other options you have to jump the fence, either to a different cuisine (soy sauce! oyster sauce! coco aminos!) or a different branch of consumables (1001 things to put in your alcohol to make it worth drinking). Happily I have discovered that not only are bitters alive and well and still useful in cooking, but people have begun to experiment with them again, making new and exciting things that I don't actually know from farmemory. :D 3q3q3q!!!

Plus I found a few other things that are not bitters ...

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