It’s different depending on the flavor you’re going for, I believe.

Used to. They’re far away now. But it reminds me of him when I see birds.

Originally Posted by R u b y

Rei you look lovely!

Thank you! <3 I bought a new dress off the Marketplace, so figured I'd give it a shot. Also trying to relearn what I have in my inventory, haha!

---------- Post added 02-14-2023 at 11:15 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Suona

@Rei: Yes, it’s easy to say but much harder to implement. I have 3 roommates and 2 are definite takers. I have to try to get on myself a lot because it can become maddening. But I also feel like takers aren’t the type to be as accepting of being told respectfully no.

I love that. Also, Ever After is my favorite movie. Can’t even count how many times I’ve watched it. Absolutely beautiful film and so quote-able. I adore when she quotes utopia to the prince about thieves.

There is SO MUCH excellent social commentary in that film! And it's a great movie - what a lovely coincidence that it's a favorite of yours!

Unfortunately, you aren't wrong in that assessment of people who tend to "take". Especially if said takers are extroverts and want someone with them at all times. It's really hard having roommates to start with, let alone knowing that you have to go against your innate nature for your actual well-being. No easy solution either... Just, try to keep taking time for yourself. You got this.

I'm always shocked how few people know about it. Wonderful movie. Adore Drew Barrymore.

Yes, like you said, assess your health and try to look at situations like that. What affects your decisions have on your well being do matter. It's hard also to not get upset when people aren't as considerate too. Like I try to remind myself people function differently, but it always feels so selfish.

Originally Posted by Suona

[B]@randeh: right? My eyes are so swollen today from it. Can’t sleep well either. But that’s also because I have several roommates that always wake me up early using the bathroom and I can rarely fall back asleep.

Definitely difficult to follow

That’s definitely a bonus of being in a tropical location. Can garden all year. Haha. Still figuring it all out though.

I had never heard of them before. It’s moth larva. They will plant eggs on different squash and also cucumbers and they bore into your food and eat it from the inside. I was so distraught when I went to harvest and they were full of larva. Sprayed with BT, which is supposed to help, and hoping the ones growing now make it.

Kick the roommates out too!! My hubby has a cold right now and he was snoring like crazy last night I almost kicked him out LOL

I'm envious! What else do you have planted in your garden?!

That sucks! I've thankfully never had that worm here. I've had little green worms all throughout my broccoli...and I only noticed them after I ate part of one but that's it! Fingers crossed I don't find any of them pesky worms on my cucs!!

Bahahaha! Luckily I don’t believe I snore. The main issue is my dog has had too much energy because I’ve been laid up around the house. So she doesn’t want to go to bed when I go. So I leave the door open. So then I can hear our ungodly squeaky bathroom door (it’s directly next to my bedroom) and every noise my roommates make starting at like 5am or so. It’s just enough to agitate my addled brain.

I’m trying to get lettuce started, but it’s been so damn windy that they’re all thrashed. Half died and the other are wilted. I’ve got more seedlings starting up and I think I’ll wait until they’re sturdier before I transplant them this time. Waiting to see if any of my strawberry seeds will germinate. I’ve also got a few herbs germinating and they seriously aren’t taking. I think the seeds are too old. Otherwise I have several varieties of tomatoes that I never get to eat because the birds eat them all, I’ve got several dragonfruit plants, a stupid amount of green onions, some garlic is growing, lemongrass, mint, oregano, sage and several pineapple plants. I am trying to propagate some Thai basil, but it’s not rooting. And I need to take a trimming from a neighborhood rosemary bush to try to propagate too. Oh, and I’ve got a large eggplant plant that keeps growing and producing so many flowers and yet not making eggplants haha it’s finally growing one right now though. They’re supposed to be self pollinating but it’s not the best at it

The moths are only found in warm areas like the south. So apparently they’re common in like Florida, Georgia, Alabama. And unfortunately they’re here in hawaii. No doubt came here in produce. What do you usually grow, though?

Ohhhh the poor pupper! I have one of those but I am so grateful she's lazier than I am

Something I do with in my indoor seedlings to get them better with the outdoor wind is when they get going inside, I put a fan on them (a moving fan so it's on them and off them and on them etc.). That usually helps them get used to the wind so they are better prepared for outdoors!! :)

Oh my goodness my strawberries come back every year and they get bigger and take over more real estate every year...be careful with those ones! I never get any berries though because the chipmunks eat them . Our birds don't touch our tomatoes, thank goodness...but at the same time not a blessing because I grow too many and always have to make so much sauce to use them up LOL! I am SOOOO envious that you can grow dragonfruit and pineapple!!! Our summers are way too short for that! You're giving me serious spring vibes HAHA! It's supposed to snow 10 cms tomorrow though, so I'll be brought back to reality soon enough.

You're probably right about how they got there!

We grow a lot of potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, string beans (green and yellow), snap peas, carrots, kale, pumpkin (just 1 for carving but this year we'll see how many we get lol), strawberries and radish. We also have an apple tree! For herbs I only grow cilantro, chives and dill as I don't really use the others! I start a lot inside but some like beans, snap peas, carrots, kale, radish and the herbs I start by seed outside around mid May :)

Holy crap I missed so much D: I suck at checking on things

Yeah, it’s been awfully rainy and today there was some sun and we went for a walk. She was so excited to be out that she was walking so fast that I had to be doing a light jog to go the same speed lol it’s good PT though.

Great idea. My seedlings are all grown outside in seedling trays. I rotate the tray a few times a day so the stalk gets stronger from moving around to the sun. Maybe I’ll try having the lid off sometimes to let the wind reach it more controlled.

I’m always renting, so I’ve never been able to really grow much more than simple potted things. Where I live now we finally have a yard but it’s a seriously shit yard. At least I have the space to put potted plants and I’m thinking about starting a raised garden. It’ll just be a bitch to save whenever I move again. Renting is a drag. I’m starting the strawberries in one of those tiered rolling planters. Did you start yours from seeds from strawberries or did you buy strawberry seeds or plants already grown? No one here sells them. Lots of tropical though. Bananas grow like crazy here too. And papaya. I’m so jealous you get your tomatoes. I give up on even growing mine because I get enraged that they’re all eaten by birds.

I love that! So many good things! One day I really want a nice home with space to build a beautiful garden. But don’t want to live somewhere it snows lol

Originally Posted by PWEEP

Holy crap I missed so much D: I suck at checking on things

LOL It's allowed!

Originally Posted by Suona

Yeah, it’s been awfully rainy and today there was some sun and we went for a walk. She was so excited to be out that she was walking so fast that I had to be doing a light jog to go the same speed lol it’s good PT though.

Great idea. My seedlings are all grown outside in seedling trays. I rotate the tray a few times a day so the stalk gets stronger from moving around to the sun. Maybe I’ll try having the lid off sometimes to let the wind reach it more controlled.

LOL sounds like a great jog haha!

Ah yes, I forgot you'd be able to start your seedlings outside...so you don't need a fan! HAHA!

Originally Posted by Suona

I’m always renting, so I’ve never been able to really grow much more than simple potted things. Where I live now we finally have a yard but it’s a seriously shit yard. At least I have the space to put potted plants and I’m thinking about starting a raised garden. It’ll just be a bitch to save whenever I move again. Renting is a drag. I’m starting the strawberries in one of those tiered rolling planters. Did you start yours from seeds from strawberries or did you buy strawberry seeds or plants already grown? No one here sells them. Lots of tropical though. Bananas grow like crazy here too. And papaya. I’m so jealous you get your tomatoes. I give up on even growing mine because I get enraged that they’re all eaten by birds.

I love that! So many good things! One day I really want a nice home with space to build a beautiful garden. But don’t want to live somewhere it snows lol

Renting is tough because you're right, starting over when you move sucks, but if you find the right place you could potentially rent there for a very long time/forever?! Do you plan on staying in Hawaii forever? My grandfather has decided that after his first ever trip outside of Canada this April (we're going to Mexico), he wants to go to Hawaii. But it's SOOOO expensive to go there lol. Is it just as expensive to live there?

I've done many potted gardens before owning my own home! And I've had raised beds too! They are fun, but you have to remember for me, very few of my edible garden is perennial, so they all die in the winter and I have to restart in the summer. So moving things here is easy since you have to restart every year anyways LOL. I started my strawberries from a small plant someone gifted me, but then I started them by seed in another section and eventually merged them together! I wish I could grow bananas and papayas!! Our summer season is too short to actually be successful at that though haha! Here is an album of some of my gardening pictures!

I even have some gardening videos on my TikTok!

I'll have to check out your gardening album! I don't have Tiktok, to be honest. I tried a single potted plant last year; just a cherry tomato tree. I have a tiny little apartment and I started it inside, then moved it outside when it got warm enough. That's one of my favorite snacks; teeny tomatoes in a baggie with a sprinkle of coarse salt, and maybe marinated in Italian dressing. Always good on a salad, too!

My stepmother usually does a full garden every year at their house. Zucchini, squash, watermelon, big and small tomatoes, all sorts of bell peppers and a few spicy pepper plants as well 'cause my brother and I love hot stuff! Potatoes, too, of course, though they rarely get very big due to the sandy soil of their backyard. They do other stuff sometimes, but those are the only ones I can remember right now.

I LOOOOVE cherry tomatoes!! So so tasty! They burst in your mouth with their perfect flavour .

Where are you located Pweep? I tried watermelon a couple years ago and it never got bigger than a golf ball LOL! It was so cute though!! That sounds like a fantastic garden though!!

Chili peppers are also a GREAT thing to grow yourself in a little planter pot. They're not too delicate, and you can put your harvest into a freezer baggy to just pick one out of it whenever you want. If you get a really prodigious chili plant, it ends up providing you with beautiful goodness for almost a year.

Our watermelons get to be maybe a soccer ball size, little smaller than a basketball. They don't get very big but they're just as cute

I live in the Midwest; Wisconsin, in fact. We're just too cheap to buy vegetables and such all the time, so Mom usually chops up bags of various mixes so we can just pull them from the garden freezer when we need them.

Originally Posted by R a n d e h

LOL sounds like a great jog haha!

Ah yes, I forgot you'd be able to start your seedlings outside...so you don't need a fan! HAHA!

Renting is tough because you're right, starting over when you move sucks, but if you find the right place you could potentially rent there for a very long time/forever?! Do you plan on staying in Hawaii forever? My grandfather has decided that after his first ever trip outside of Canada this April (we're going to Mexico), he wants to go to Hawaii. But it's SOOOO expensive to go there lol. Is it just as expensive to live there?

I've done many potted gardens before owning my own home! And I've had raised beds too! They are fun, but you have to remember for me, very few of my edible garden is perennial, so they all die in the winter and I have to restart in the summer. So moving things here is easy since you have to restart every year anyways LOL. I started my strawberries from a small plant someone gifted me, but then I started them by seed in another section and eventually merged them together! I wish I could grow bananas and papayas!! Our summer season is too short to actually be successful at that though haha! Here is an album of some of my gardening pictures!

I even have some gardening videos on my TikTok!

Haha. Indeed it's about as enjoyable of a jog as one can be. Always great having a dog along. Just wish it could have been in the mountains or the beach, but that'll have to wait until I'm improved.

lol Yup! It's basically always in the 70's here, so perfectly well to keep them outside. They're awfully leggy, though. I think a close grow light likely would be better for their health to make them stronger.

It is ungodly expensive to live here. Where I'm currently living is not somewhere I plan to stay long term. Perhaps if I found a nice spot with a partner, but I have several roommates now and I don't wish to stay with them long. It's just extremely difficult to find anywhere here that will allow large dogs, let alone places that also have a yard. It's rare to find nice available spots with a yard, and rarely do they permit pets. Then they're usually really really expensive.

Yes, I'm trying my best with potted. Still figuring out what works best to keep them in good health. My cucumbers plants died after I tried treating them. My eggplant plant just gave me a good sized eggplant today, but I tried treating it for bugs and it destroyed the leaves instead. Still figuring it all out. Not sure how long the plants usually stay alive, but thus far they've certainly given me trouble. Need to see what suites them best in a tropical location. I've got to swap the dragonfruit into sandier soil because it rots easily. I've been too lazy to do so thus far. I'm wondering if our sun is a bit too intense for some of these plants. Bleck, I hate papaya. It's so gross to me, but they grow like weeds here. Sprout up so fast. An easy thing to maintain. Banana trees are all over too. You can even buy some from Home Depot. lol

That's good to know! I've tried planting strawberry seeds and none have germinated yet. I've read they take a long time. What did you find was the most successful? I can see it being a little frustrating having to restart every year and plan out the exact times to start growing to have success. It's definitely an art. And your home and garden are beautiful. I would love to have that some day, but not likely to happen until I potentially move back to the mainland.

Originally Posted by ReiyukaE

Chili peppers are also a GREAT thing to grow yourself in a little planter pot. They're not too delicate, and you can put your harvest into a freezer baggy to just pick one out of it whenever you want. If you get a really prodigious chili plant, it ends up providing you with beautiful goodness for almost a year.

The ONLY problem with this, is I'm a massive wimp and I think black pepper is spicy HAHAHA! But my husband would love this!

Originally Posted by PWEEP

Our watermelons get to be maybe a soccer ball size, little smaller than a basketball. They don't get very big but they're just as cute

I live in the Midwest; Wisconsin, in fact. We're just too cheap to buy vegetables and such all the time, so Mom usually chops up bags of various mixes so we can just pull them from the garden freezer when we need them.

LOL I love it! So we get similar weather then, a little colder/snowier here but not by too much! I love that you have a garden freezer!

Originally Posted by Suona

Haha. Indeed it's about as enjoyable of a jog as one can be. Always great having a dog along. Just wish it could have been in the mountains or the beach, but that'll have to wait until I'm improved.

lol Yup! It's basically always in the 70's here, so perfectly well to keep them outside. They're awfully leggy, though. I think a close grow light likely would be better for their health to make them stronger.

It is ungodly expensive to live here. Where I'm currently living is not somewhere I plan to stay long term. Perhaps if I found a nice spot with a partner, but I have several roommates now and I don't wish to stay with them long. It's just extremely difficult to find anywhere here that will allow large dogs, let alone places that also have a yard. It's rare to find nice available spots with a yard, and rarely do they permit pets. Then they're usually really really expensive.

Yes, I'm trying my best with potted. Still figuring out what works best to keep them in good health. My cucumbers plants died after I tried treating them. My eggplant plant just gave me a good sized eggplant today, but I tried treating it for bugs and it destroyed the leaves instead. Still figuring it all out. Not sure how long the plants usually stay alive, but thus far they've certainly given me trouble. Need to see what suites them best in a tropical location. I've got to swap the dragonfruit into sandier soil because it rots easily. I've been too lazy to do so thus far. I'm wondering if our sun is a bit too intense for some of these plants. Bleck, I hate papaya. It's so gross to me, but they grow like weeds here. Sprout up so fast. An easy thing to maintain. Banana trees are all over too. You can even buy some from Home Depot. lol

That's good to know! I've tried planting strawberry seeds and none have germinated yet. I've read they take a long time. What did you find was the most successful? I can see it being a little frustrating having to restart every year and plan out the exact times to start growing to have success. It's definitely an art. And your home and garden are beautiful. I would love to have that some day, but not likely to happen until I potentially move back to the mainland.

WELL while it is very expensive there, it sure is beautiful! So you have that at the very least! Do jobs pay comparable salaries due to the expense of living there at least?

It's funny because the stuff that grows here with very little care such as cucumbers, eggplants seem to struggle there! BUT what I'd give to grow a banana! LOL Could you potentially put little netting over your plants to keep the bugs away? Or little sun umbrella's during the hottest part of the day? LOL I didn't know you guys had Home Depot out there!! You could also buy a banana plant at our home depot in the summer, but they only grow leaves because they don't live long enough to bare fruit HAHA! I actually bought one for my step mom for mothers day this past year, it got SO big! The foliage was beautiful!!

I'm sad to say that for strawberries, I just threw the seeds in soil and watered LOL They eventually started growing little plants...SORRY!

We are going to start our indoor seedlings in about a month! I can't frikken wait, once you start that, spring is in the air vibes come in fully haha. We have about a month left of this wretched winter and then things will start to very slowly thaw...and I'll be out there shoveling the snow off my yard and onto the road for it to melt faster

Is there a stronger sign of love than growing something for them? I kid, I kid! If you're not a fan of spicy things, it would be a bit silly to grow them. Then again, there are varieties that are basically just miniature bell peppers?

Originally Posted by ReiyukaE

Is there a stronger sign of love than growing something for them? I kid, I kid! If you're not a fan of spicy things, it would be a bit silly to grow them. Then again, there are varieties that are basically just miniature bell peppers?

LOL To be fair, we have grown peppers before specifically for him! Last summer our neighbour thought he was growing green bell peppers but they turned into jalapeno peppers, so he gave my husband a giant basket (as they don't eat them). We ended up making jalapeno jelly and a peach, mandarin jalapeno jelly! They were good!!

Just stopping in to say your list of things to talk about made me giggle

My stepmother did that by accident the first year of our garden She thought she got a bunch of green bell peppers, but it turns out some of them were jalapenos. My brother and I are the only ones who like spicy stuff; no one else does. So we dared each other to eat them raw and whole. I got three down; he got four, so he won So she still grows a couple plants for us, even a habanero plant and chili peppers too!

Omg that's so sweet!

Originally Posted by PWEEP

My stepmother did that by accident the first year of our garden She thought she got a bunch of green bell peppers, but it turns out some of them were jalapenos. My brother and I are the only ones who like spicy stuff; no one else does. So we dared each other to eat them raw and whole. I got three down; he got four, so he won So she still grows a couple plants for us, even a habanero plant and chili peppers too!

This is really sweet of her

Oh, sure it is, I'm glad she does it. It's the zucchini we all die for though - she makes amazing fried zucchini slices. She can't keep up with frying them as we are constantly snatching them from the pan when she turns her back We've all gotten a smack on the back from her spatula for doing drive by snacking.

That's such a universal thing, getting smacked by a utensil for digging stuff out of the pan. Fried zucchini slices, tho? Never heard of that before, but that's gotta be good!

I've recently been frying tofu as a little snack - just add on some salt en pepper after frying them and it's SO GOOD.

yesss tofu is so good. i always bake mine with a little bit of soy sauce. if you take them out and put them back in halfway through they end up extra crispy.

Ooooh, I've never "double dipped" 'em like that! I tend to just let them soak up a soy sauce and lemon juice mixture and then bake them nice 'n golden on all sides. I'm truly becoming a massive fan of tofu as time passes. Will have to try that double baked method.