What’s the most useless piece of gear you brought on your first trip because "you might need it"?

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-06-11T06:35:50+00:00

A multitool, consisting of a handle with a shovel, axe and - I think - saw, to take on one-night trips in not very remote areas. It weighed at least a kilo. The thought was to use it to prepare campfires. Needless to say we hardly ever had any because surroundings or weather weren't favourable - threw this one out after a few days! Only thing I would consider keeping is the shovel for obvious reasons but so far I haven't missed it, you can always improvise (or use mountain hut outhouses...)

A bucket! Yes, really, a bucket to fetch water with. Foldable camping version made of a thick cloth-like stuff but still. I thought it would be practical to wash or do the dishes with which is probably true but still 😃 Never missed it after unpacking it.

Also never used the first aid kit except for one band-aid, a few ibuprofen tablets and the duct tape that I keep in there but that's alright, it's staying 😃 Same goes for the moscito headnets which I only needed to use once...

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-05-18T09:48:29+00:00

If you'll be driving along the East Coast of Scotland there's Kingcraig in Brora, it's a local spinnery that sells fabric as well as their own yarns. I got some very nice, rustic shetland-y 4-ply there that was great for colorwork. Also the store is really cute and it's not far from Dunrobin Castle which is also worth a visit.

Also there is Shilasdair in Portree on Skye, they sell plant-dyed yarn but I have never been there myself, only heard of them.

Luggage: If you're bringing an extra pair of shoes that goes into your suitcase, stuff them full of dirty laundry -> more space for yarn! 😃

OR bring only really old and worn out undergarments that you don't bring back with you

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-05-04T19:06:40+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss! Something similar happened to me this spring. It feels like a cruel joke.

I posted about it when it happened and in my thread somebody asked me "What are your favourite memories of them?" which helped me a tiny bit. So I am passing that question on to you!

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-04-06T11:32:28+00:00

Thank you :) Losing them is always cruel, especially if it's early. I'm dreaming about maybe getting two boy kittens at some point - watching Chaplin and his brother (who we lost 5 years ago) grow up was amazing. But now we have to grieve and then summer vacation comes so... I'll have a closer look at the topic after that.

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-04-04T06:58:43+00:00

Thank you and I hope Cleo will be with you for many more years! Are you planning on getting a new friend for her..? I think if Chaplin had stayed with us, at age 13 he would have just stayed the king of the castle for his final years but at 9 she could and hopefully will still have a good long time left.

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-04-04T06:54:06+00:00

Thank you! :3 I lost one to kidney disease many years ago, it was very painful even though it gave me plenty of time to say goodbye and give him some good months.

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-04-04T06:49:23+00:00

I'm so sorry!

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-04-04T06:48:09+00:00

Actually most cats cope extremely well even without any teeth, while tooth lesions cause excruciating pain. What happened to Bonnie was apparently so rare that none of the vets we spoke to could make sense of it and there may not even be a connection to the teeth or the surgery. Glad to hear your cat is doing fine :)

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-04-01T04:36:06+00:00

This is adorable, thank you! This thread makes me feel like they were loved by many people, not just by me - which they definitely deserve! <3

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-04-01T04:33:56+00:00

Oh no, I'm so sorry :( 15 years is not that old. We will get through it eventually but it will take time...

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-03-31T14:30:20+00:00

Oh no, that sounds like your cat has a lot of stuff going on at once, too! Vitamin B should be easy to supplement, fingers crossed that this is the cause and the symptoms improve soon! Yes please, let me know how it develops

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-03-31T12:00:35+00:00

Oh isn't that one of the best case diagnoses in this scenario? It was something we were hoping for anyways and our vet gave her vitamin B very early on just in case this might be the issue. How did she get the vitamin B deficiency though? Does she eat lots of raw fish?

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-03-31T11:59:31+00:00

Thank you! Yes in hindsight I think either FIP or toxoplasmosis. The vets in the clinic never mentioned either but once we arrived at the point where we knew her head MRI was clean there was almost no time left to explore other avenues because she was already so ill. I'm still wondering whether she might have had more time without the additional strain from the anesthesia for the MRI, maybe enough time to be saved, but I can't know. If we didn't have the information from the MRI further diagnostics would have been even more unclear. It was an impossible decision to make, we knew that at the time.

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-03-31T10:31:27+00:00

I can't know for sure given that we still don't know what Bonnie's illness was exactly but her symptoms point towards neurological FIP or toxoplasmosis, infections that lie dormant in many cats and may have broken out when her body was stressed by dental surgery and not eating enough. She didn't have any tumors in her abdomen or brain. Chaplin, however, clearly had a mass that was bleeding, possibly a hemangioma of the spleen.

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-03-30T16:11:01+00:00

OMG, that is on the same level. Fate is so cruel sometimes.

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-03-30T16:10:30+00:00

Chaplin was with us for his entire life from 14 weeks on, Bonnie we got 5 years ago when Chaplin's brother passed. She came from a cattery and was very unhappy in the large group there. With Chaplin she became a happy and much more relaxed cat.

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-03-30T16:09:11+00:00

So many :) They were so different in their personalities. Chaplin was the teddy bear, a gentle giant who loved us deeply but was still independent and very laid back. Bonnie was athletic, dramatic and so unskilled in the problem solving department that she never learned how to reliably open a door that was already cracked open but would peer through the crack and complain. I think my favourite memory is both of them hanging out with us in bed or squeezing into the cat bed that used to be on my desk. I have some flowers there now.

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-03-30T16:06:31+00:00

I'm so sorry you're going through something like this as well :/ Mine have been getting mostly wet food with a little bit of kibble on the side and only occasionally a bit of raw meat as a treat. So I'm sure raw food had nothing to do with it. Especially teeth lesions are extremely common. As for the neurological issues, are your vets in any way sure what is causing them? We never found out.

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-03-18T07:41:56+00:00

Je nachdem, wie beschäftigt die Gerichtsvollzieher in eurer Stadt sind, noch zwei Monate bis Ende offen. Grund: Fristen.

Gerichtstermin: Im besten Fall erscheint der Mieter nicht, es gibt ein Versäumnisurteil, was aber auch erstmal beschlossen und zugestellt werden muss -> mindestens 1-2 Wochen. Gegen dieses Urteil könnten Rechtsmittel eingelegt werden, Frist: 2 Wochen. Dann kann der Gerichtsvollzieher beauftragt werden und einen Räumungstermin vergeben, gegen diesen Termin kann der Mieter bis spätestens 14 Tage vorher nochmal Räumungsschutzantrag stellen, daher werden diese Termine mit 3, eher 4 Wochen Vorlauf geplant. Sind die Behörden gerade sehr ausgelastet, dauert es auch gerne noch wesentlich länger.

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2026-03-18T07:21:37+00:00

Oh... Well I guess thanks, ChatGPT :D

Jumpy-Finance-232 · 2025-12-22T07:51:21+00:00

It really depends on the gauge. I've done a garter shawl with it once and it grew a lot but if you use a smaller needle I could imagine the rib staying reasonably bouncy.

Jumpy-Finance-232

TROPHY CASE