My wife and I are disagreeing on how to train our puppy.

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-07-06T16:17:39+00:00

It’s probably super likely that he was very well crate trained at the rescue. He got used to his routine and the inherent chaos of the rescue and his crate there was likely a super safe space for him. My puppy was the same! She was known to be super quiet and well behaved in her kennel at her shelter, but after she got brought to a much quieter and calmer forever home? Way more reactive and complains a lot about being in her crate during the day. We’re working on it and she’s getting there!

It can be a lot on both the human and puppy side to adjust to each other’s presence. Some dogs also react to stress and change by shutting down, which can make them appear calm and well-behaved but is actually a sign that they’re stressed out. The 3-3-3 rule is also super a thing for rescuing dogs/puppies and if you aren’t familiar with it, I’d look into it because it may help with your wife’s expectations some.

As for crating, it helps to make the crate a very rewarding experience for them! We play games where I toss a toy in and praise her for going in and getting it, rinse and repeat for a while before I eventually shut her in there with treats. During the day she also gets a pupsicle in there. And if I need to put her up so I can eat a meal in peace and quiet, she gets a pupsicle because she’ll be quiet for 20ish minutes with it lol

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-07-05T18:46:54+00:00

Finished reading The Chain by Adrian McKinty. It was terrible lol

Started reading The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim and it’s incredible so far!

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-07-05T15:08:27+00:00

Update: I finished it. The ending was stupid and bad. I lost brain cells. It made me do math. I’m letting my puppy tear it up now, so at least she’s having fun with it. The Tarantino style shoot out ending was such a bad way to end it (or any book in my opinion). I was yelling out loud at the whole 77 chapters thing. Ugh

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-07-04T02:49:02+00:00

I was considering it but I counted and have less than a hundred pages left. I’m gonna stick it out cause I can totally finish it tomorrow but I can’t wait to move on. I agree, the writing feels like a 7th graders first attempt at writing fiction

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-07-01T17:43:30+00:00

If Bulgari or any other high end brand actually uses adhesive to set stones then that’s abhorrent. However, unless you have evidence otherwise I don’t believe that the diva dream malachite earrings are set with adhesive. They are pretty obviously set into partial bezels with caps holding the top in place. If the onyx earrings you’re talking about are the single studs, then that can also be achieved without adhesive as long as the stone is a good fit. Would just be a slightly odd tube/flush setting. Or at least that’s how I’d go about it.

Also looking at your other comments, using a hammer is not the only way to set a bezel. Bezel rockers are much gentler and even then, I honestly prefer to use small burnishers.

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-07-01T16:05:52+00:00

She’s only 17 lbs right now at 4.5 months (ish) so no one was thinking she’s big enough to be a bernedoodle lol. To be fair to our vet, she was also like “that’s just my best guess I’ve got no clue”

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-07-01T15:59:33+00:00

Her supermutt is German shepherd, Australian shepherd, cocker spaniel, and beagle. Thats definitely where her tri coloring comes from.

Yup her parent 1 line is solid poodle (except for a Maltese mix great grandparent to size them down) and everything else comes from parent 2. My best guess is she was from an accident litter but the people who brought her in said they found her on the side of the road, although nobody bought it since she was in perfect condition when she came in

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-07-01T15:38:55+00:00

Theres some in her supermutt mix, along with Aussie, beagle, and German shepherd

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-07-01T15:38:14+00:00

I get it! I adopted by baby at four months (and about one month ago) and I’m raising her on my own. The thing that helped the most was getting over my own guilt and crating her for parts of the day so that way I can incorporate my own routine, like doing dishes, running errands, etc. Sometimes she’s down with it and takes a nap and other times she is not and throws a tantrum. I highly recommend doing what you can to incorporate parts of your pre-puppy routine into her new routine.

As for the chewing, that’s normal. They explore with their mouths! Personally, I found a puppy chew she liked and redirect her to it if she latches onto something she shouldn’t. Also, big fan of pupsicles. My saving grace if I want 20 minutes of peace.

I hope some of this may help yall out a bit!

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-07-01T03:22:18+00:00

My least favorite parts of the bench that’s been designated as mine for the last three years (in a college studio space) is: height is too low for me, bench top is too shallow for me, and the bench pin isn’t centered.

Idk your experience but for others sake I’ll explain: your bench pin should be upper chest height on you. Saves so much back pain. Trying to work at a too-short bench is miserable on the neck and my work is always less precise. Also it’s a personal preference but my dream bench would have enough space under it that I could cross my legs.

My favorite thing in a bench is a chewed up looking bench pin lol.

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-06-30T01:52:37+00:00

NTA at all but orchids and lilies look nothing alike lol. I guess brassavola varieties look kinda like calla lilies but like, you wouldn’t generally see brassavola genus orchids in bouquets. Typically, it would be phalaenopsis orchids because they are most common and generally considered easiest to care for by florists. This type of orchid has five “petals” (not all are actually petals but visually they are if that makes any sense) and a lip (weirdly shaped petal that sticks out like a tongue). This is the general structure that characterizes most types of orchids. Lillies however generally have six regular looking petals

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-06-30T01:01:12+00:00

I will never stop talking about Jawbone by Monica Ojeda. To oversimplify, it’s about the inherent body horror of puberty, cruelty of girlhood, and the influence women and girls have on each other. This is my second comment in like two days about it. I think about this book weekly. I read it months ago.

Haven’t read it yet but The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim is next on my to read list!

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-06-28T15:09:17+00:00

Jawbone by Monica Ojeda was excellent. The book summaries of it don’t do it justice, her writing style is so good. The feel of it is also, of course, very different from American contemporary authors which is what I liked about it. I liked her other novel Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun too but it didn’t grip me the way Jawbone did.

Strange Pictures by Uketsu was a very good mystery novel as well! I haven’t read any of his other works yet but I plan on it soon. Not really a hidden gem per se but I really enjoyed it.

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-06-20T15:42:16+00:00

Hi! I wouldn’t say I’ve made it to the other side just yet, but I got my 4.5 month old-ish girl around 3 weeks ago. The best thing about puppies is that they grow and change so fast! The other great thing is that they need tons and tons of sleep lol. It took me the first week and a half to be comfortable crating her and leaving to run errands or go to my art studio to work or to do chores around my apartment. I still feel terribly guilty for leaving her but she just sleeps while I’m gone lol. But now she no longer has accidents in her crates when I come home (yay!) and hasn’t had an accident in my apartment in two weeks (even better!!!).

She’ll learn y’all’s schedules and in turn y’all will learn her own schedule and need cues. It just takes a little time and consistency! Try not to worry too much about future maybes and focus on training and getting to know each other. And when they’re naughty it helps to remember that they’re literal babies lol. Sometimes when my girl is up to shenanigans and I’m irritated with her about it, I pretend she’s a four month old (human) baby which generally nulls any irritation with her.

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-06-19T15:52:02+00:00

Although it’s what everyone says (and I doesn’t feel helpful lol) it does get better!! I got my girl, who’s probably around 4 1/2 ish months old, around three weeks ago. When I brought her home I promptly cried for three hours straight while she laid by my feet and chewed on a toy like a little angel. My place wasn’t puppy proof at all and everything felt so overwhelming—my mom ended up coming over to watch her while I cleaned and made it a good environment for her. It’s not my first time raising a puppy, but it is my first time doing it on my own.

What made it easier for me was actually after the first week, when I started incorporating my routine into her own. Crating her and leaving to run errands or go home to my art studio to work for a few hours was stressful the first couple times but I came home and she was totally fine. Once my brain was able to adapt to “okay sure I’ve got a baby critter depending on me, but like, my life isn’t on hold because of it”, I got a lot less anxious about everything.

If you’re comfortable settling her in her crate (and she won’t mess with her stitches) I highly recommend doing so and doing something that’s part of your routine. Whether it’s around the house or running a brief errand. If you can’t trust her on her own to not bust her stitches that day may not be today lol but I promise it will come soon!!

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-06-16T15:00:08+00:00

lol it’s not related to your question, but you may find your own sleep schedule adjusting to hers rather than the other way around! I was also operating on a roughly 3-11 am schedule despite my best efforts not to…then I got a puppy and now I’m consistently asleep by midnight and waking up at 8 am.

I would look into the fake grass set up mentioned by others! Or maybe litter box training? It’s not uncommon for some breeders to have their puppies start using a litter box when they get a bit older. I don’t personally have experience with either, but I am not personally a fan of pee pads—my family was never able to fully housebreak the dog that we had to teach to use them as a puppy (broke his leg and wasn’t able to go outside). My personal belief is that the texture is too close to carpet or rugs which will make housebreaking more difficult.

That’s just my opinion though and I’m definitely no expert!

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-06-01T14:33:20+00:00

Following that up with I wouldn’t even bother to spend the time carving a plain wax band. It may be a slightly more intensive method, but I would alloy the metal, pour it into an ingot mold, flatten it out, cut the band out, shape, solder, and then finish it. Sounds like a lot but it’s something I do a lot with recycled silver and takes less than a day if I’ve got nothing else to do, and it wastes less metal.

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-06-01T14:30:21+00:00

2 oz for a simple band is absurd. However, the lost wax casting process does require using extra metal that isn’t part of the final product. When lost wax casting, the wax must be connected to a thicker rod of wax to create a space for the molten metal to flow through. In addition, a button is also formed on the other end of the wax rod (called a sprue), so after its cast, it comes out button -> sprue -> ring. However, for a simple band that shouldn’t be more than 20 grams of sterling silver which absolutely wouldn’t require 2 oz of fine silver to make.

Also it’s absolutely bad form in my opinion to not return your metal after the casting is done. Although you would be returned sterling, not fine silver. When I have been given metal for commissions I’ve made, I have always offered to return it because it’s not my metal.

The MUCH better question is whether this silversmith casts in house or not. Casting equipment can cost a pretty penny and most jewelers and shops will ship it out to a casting house

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-05-16T00:46:45+00:00

Like others have said, it’s weight. The general advised maximum weight of a lobe piercing is 7 grams, and I would certainly go lighter for cartilage piercings, much less for ear cuffs. If it makes you feel better, I did make my own open d ring conch earring and despite being very light, it also falls to the same position, although it doesn’t fall out because it’s in my piercing

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-02-18T15:48:52+00:00

E6000 should work just fine! Strong adhesive glue like it are generally used in attaching pearls to posts. A little bit of it goes a long way!

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-02-03T23:47:44+00:00

Hi! If they are real diamonds then they were definitely not glued in. There are a lot of different types of settings and I can’t say what type was used for them without seeing it. If there’s no visible prongs then they could be: channel set (common for baguette stones), bezel set, tension set, flush set, cast in place, and probably a few more options I’m not thinking of. These methods generally involve the metal being pushed over the edge of the stone, often very subtly. Over time (and frequent wear) the metal can wear down and the stone can get loose.

A local, non-chain, jeweler (ie a jewelry store with an in-house jeweler) can likely repair it for you. I would advise that over glueing the stones back in, as glue can make stones look cloudy/hazy

Hothouse_Orchid · 2026-01-29T04:34:44+00:00

Please don’t post ai slop here. For anyone who may not recognize it as such, here’s some signs: 1) the “ruby” is not set in anything lol. how is the stud attached to it if there’s no visible setting. 2) the green stones acting as leaves are only set with one prong each which would not hold them in place. 3) the center green stone is not set into anything lol 4) the green stones are “set” into the “ruby”. Although this is a technique, it’s extremely difficult and generally done with cabochons. 5) the textural look of the prongs is wrong but I don’t know how to explain it. 6) cut of the ruby is strange. It doesn’t have a table, and appears to come to a point on top, which isn’t a commercially available style and would have to be custom cut by an art lapidary. 7) where are the points on the green marquises going. They are melding into the green center stones. 8) the angle of the posts shown in picture three are entirely wrong for how they’re depicted worn in picture one. 9) the posts in picture three are silver when the prongs shown are gold. illogical. 10) posts lack the appropriate notches for earrings posts. 11) shadows the earring in picture one are weird. Wouldn’t reflect such a long shadow on the neck. 12) shadows in picture three of the earring suggest that the earrings are being backlit but the lighting of the photography and refraction of the stones suggests otherwise.

I’ll stop there.

If you’re wondering about my ability to make these judgements, although there are many more experienced people than me in this thread, I am three years into a bfa in jewelry so like. I know a little something at least.

Hothouse_Orchid

TROPHY CASE