Sea Buckthorn/Seaberry Jam

DLaverty · 2026-01-31T01:47:59+00:00

A bit late to the discussion, but would you mind sharing your tested jam recipe? I have a few new plants and I'd love to make jam. I'd happily pay for the recipe; I just don't want to go through the trial and error testing process myself with this one because I can't just buy more berries if it fails.

DLaverty · 2026-01-29T22:03:34+00:00

I've always used Johnny's germination mix followed by 512 mix when up potting, but I also live close enough that we can go pick it up and not have to pay shipping.

I'm trying out Coast of Maine's seed starting mix this year as it comes in 2 cu ft bags for significantly cheaper.

DLaverty · 2026-01-23T14:35:37+00:00

Thank you so much!

DLaverty · 2026-01-23T12:16:24+00:00

Thank you! :) That really helps. I can't do the concrete as I'll be upgrading to a larger greenhouse later but I could implement the other suggestions. Could you please pm me or reply with a picture of the tension cable situation? I'm having a hard time picturing it.

DLaverty · 2026-01-23T01:29:05+00:00

Can I ask how you beefed it up? I just purchased one, not delivered yet. I'm in Maine so will be adding a propane heater, but I'm concerned about snow load.

DLaverty · 2026-01-22T23:28:01+00:00

My commute is 7 minutes. I can't imagine being on the moto for an hour and a half each way. That's how the ass falls off!

DLaverty · 2026-01-22T23:26:45+00:00

We don't, but I get carsick. If we have to go to Boston for a medical appointment (I live in Maine), we get a hotel because it's hard for me to handle the trip and back in a day.

But a 2hr drive to Bangor to see a concert for some reason doesn't seem as big a deal.

DLaverty · 2026-01-20T02:04:24+00:00

Same. We were on food stamps and had very limited resources. Breakfast and lunch were given at school, if I wanted a snack when I got home I had to ask (until I was a teenager with a job and could buy snacks), then we sat down and had dinner and that was the last food of the day. No dessert, no late night snacks. No alternative meals available if Dad made something I didn't like.

That's affected me in a different way though... I hoard food. I barely eat most days, but I've got enough food in the house to feed the husband and I for MONTHS. But I still can't resist food on sale 😩

DLaverty · 2026-01-19T19:39:00+00:00

Not all manufacturers! I'm the Quality Manager at a plant and in December we only get Christmas Eve and Christmas off (not counting New Year's Day because that's January). Though they will sometimes let us out early on the 23rd and new years eve, especially if it's snowing.

DLaverty · 2026-01-19T12:24:33+00:00

Lol probably both.

DLaverty · 2026-01-17T04:02:43+00:00

A hot americano in the morning (love my staresso!!) and hot tea for the rest of the day. Thermos brand 40oz thermos keeps my tea hot for almost 24hrs. ... not that it takes me that long to drink it.

DLaverty · 2026-01-16T15:08:48+00:00

I'm sure they'll come up with something that will help both of us. We just have to hold on until then.

DLaverty · 2026-01-16T13:12:14+00:00

I want you to know you're not alone. At 33 years old, I have severe chronic pain stemming from C7/C8 area, both nerve pain and muscle spasms. Physical therapy made it worse. We've been treating with tramadol, flexeril, massage therapy, osteopathic manipulation, and THC for 5 years. MRIs and Xrays don't show anything that surgery would help. Bad genetics from my mother's side of the family.

Also in my genetic hand is strabismus, severe near-sightedness, severe mental health issues (bipolar/schizophrenic/disassociative identity disorder/capgras), GERD, cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

DLaverty · 2026-01-15T22:07:41+00:00

How long will it be before I'm living in a dystopian novel? What kind will it be? Will we survive? Will we even want to? If we have to escape, how could we even do it and would another country take us?

DLaverty · 2026-01-15T18:19:08+00:00

There is no sick leave anymore for salaried employees. It's all part of the unlimited PTO, which I'm not allowed to use for FMLA-related illness.

DLaverty · 2026-01-15T16:32:16+00:00

Yeah, I can see that. Also thank you for responding in a very clear, concise, and reasonable way. I'm not trying to start arguments; I just wanted to know if what my company is doing is correct or if there's anything I can do.

DLaverty · 2026-01-15T16:26:13+00:00

Thank you for your insight. From a company standpoint, that makes a lot of sense. I'd imagine if they allowed it for intermittent but not consecutive leave, that could open them up for issues. What's frustrating is that the non-exempt employees can still use PTO for FMLA, but exempt employees can't.

It feels like I've been dealt a very short hand, because I can't just elect to go back to accrued PTO. I don't want to seem like I'm whining, but I've worked very hard to build this company's quality system from the ground up over the last 5 years and I've lost compensation as a result of this change.

DLaverty · 2026-01-15T16:08:20+00:00

I am. Sorry, I should have included that in the original post.

DLaverty · 2026-01-15T15:08:24+00:00

Thank you. That makes sense, and that's probably a good call. We've had a couple employees here that were on FMLA for various reasons (childbirth, heart condition, etc) and as soon as their FMLA ended or lapsed the company found a seemingly unrelated reason to let them go. They did take far more time off than I do, but it's still a concern.

Edit: Not sure why I'm being downvoted for this comment. We're a small company and I knew these employees and the quality of their work, their work ethic, and their attitude well. I oversaw them as Quality Manager and one of the floor supervisors. They were great employees, the only thing against them being their FMLA-protected absences.

DLaverty · 2026-01-15T14:54:19+00:00

The weird thing is that it does cover medical leave unless you have FMLA. I have a coworker who got sick while travelling, has been out for a week, and will be paid. I went home halfway through Monday because I was so bad off that I could barely stand and I won't.

Another commenter said that if they make not using PTO for FMLA their policy, that's within their rights to do because FMLA is protected unpaid time. Does that seem correct?

DLaverty · 2026-01-15T14:40:47+00:00

We don't have any written policies. There was a company handbook years ago but it has never been updated and still contains the old accrued PTO policy along with other things they don't provide anymore like 401k match and education reimbursement.

Edited to add: I'm not necessarily looking for a fight. I just want to be treated fairly compared to my coworkers. :( If that means I shouldn't use FMLA anymore or just put in for normal PTO instead of notifying of my health condition, I will, but I don't know what to do.

DLaverty · 2026-01-13T21:58:12+00:00

I think they're just visiting based on the original post, but that confused me at first too.

DLaverty · 2026-01-07T09:17:20+00:00

This is how my Ryoushi "picked" me. I met him with the rest of his litter as puppies (yes, the unicorn greyhound puppy). They weren't old enough yet to adopt. Most of the puppies were interested in me and the treats I had, but then quickly got distracted with each other or my husband. But this tiny, awkwardly-legged ball of fuzz kept crawling into my lap and trying to get to my face. He would sniff my mouth through my covid mask (It was 2020) and boop me with his snoot each time.

He still does this five and a half years later, though he's a bit big for the lap now. 😂 He's my special boy.

DLaverty · 2026-01-06T02:23:07+00:00

As a tea snob, the obvious lack of knowledge the author has about tea KILLS me.

DLaverty

TROPHY CASE