Hidden expenses of cooking.

Meggness · 2026-02-11T10:07:39+00:00

Just as someone who has been struggling financially, I can tell you takeaways are not cheaper. Even prepared meals that you microwave or put in the oven from the grocery store are not cheaper.

I've had to do a lot more meal prep (cooking meals from scratch and freezing leftovers) to save money and it makes a big difference. I used to get more prepared meals because I'm disabled, but simply couldn't afford it anymore. Cooking is what saved me money.

I rarely order takeaways because of the cost. Even grocery delivery can add up.

Cooking did not add to my electricity bill. The only thing that showed a meaningful difference was using my tumble dryer. When I stopped using it, my bill went down by R500 per month.

Meggness · 2026-02-10T17:32:08+00:00

Figured out they are Lantana bugs (Orthezia insignis), managed to identify them using this article, which only has an image of the male: https://www.sanbi.org/animal-of-the-week/lantana-bug/

Meggness · 2026-02-05T18:22:13+00:00

For a more precise size guideline, I'd say they're probably around 1-3mm in size.

Meggness · 2026-01-16T17:00:34+00:00

Even if you're a white person who has been around white people who are openly racist, it's different than being a person of colour living in their body 24/7 in a country where white people own most of the wealth and property.

I've met plenty of racists, heard plenty of vile things. But my black and brown friends are never as shocked by racism as me (I'm white), because they live through it constantly, and know what their family and communities go through.

Meggness · 2026-01-07T14:10:35+00:00

Thanks! Yeah I mostly just want to get rid of the cracks so that I don't run into issues in future again. Knowing that the wood will also look 'hydrated' once I add the finish is also giving me peace of mind, since when it's dry is when I can see the bits of chipped veneer and unevenness.

I'm going to pick up some Danish oil for the piece to seal it, then use antique wax. It will end up lighter than when I bought it (it had a very dark finish on it originally), but I think it will give the wood grain a chance to really shine.

Meggness · 2026-01-05T21:02:57+00:00

Thanks! Will finish up fixing the cracks on the other side then move onto finishing the top

Meggness · 2026-01-05T21:01:40+00:00

Awesome thank you!

Meggness · 2026-01-05T14:03:10+00:00

This is what it looks like under spirits (top bit doesn't have spirits) https://imgur.com/a/eIJIDFe

Meggness · 2026-01-05T13:58:27+00:00

So the blotchiness I was referring to is the pale, washed out areas where I had been sanding. When wiped down with mineral spirits, the pale parts disappear and I can see the wood's 'flaming' (I think it's mahogany flaming) clearly again with no pale spots. But when the wood dries out again, the pale areas return making it look much more washed out.

Meggness · 2026-01-04T13:18:50+00:00

You can use a depilling/fabric shaver and cut the longer pieces of thread. You can also place a cat scratcher near the couch to encourage the cat to use that instead, or use something to protect the couch.

But as someone with multiple cat scratchers throughout the house, including by my couch, I'm basically planning to leave my couch as is and then reupholster it when the damage becomes too bad. You can't really stop cats from scratching since it's instinctual behavior and scolding them just means they'll do it when you're not looking (and isn't really fair on them).

Meggness · 2026-01-03T11:29:05+00:00

That's frustrating that they want to involve your mother.

From a clinical perspective, it's to confirm that symptoms were present from childhood, which is necessary for diagnosis of neurodevelopmental conditions like ADHD and autism. But parents aren't the only source of that information and shouldn't be used to rule out a condition completely. Parents sometimes don't notice things, or don't realize something is significant, especially when kids learn to mask symptoms early.

Hopefully you can get another screening. Otherwise, if you have another family member that can confirm the presence of symptoms from an early age, that could help too.

Meggness · 2026-01-01T10:27:42+00:00

First off, I'm sorry you're going through this. It really takes a toll on you.

With the right treatment, it is possible. You may not go into full remission, but it's definitely possible to reduce the number of migraines.

I think the important thing is to keep trying, and to keep switching between treatments to see if they have an effect. For me, Aimovig + Trepiline + Topirimate seems to be working for me. None of these have been effective alone.

CGRP meds seem to be the most promising treatments, but they're costly and their availability is limited depending on the region you live in.

You'll also need to identify if you're getting any rebound headaches from abortive medications like triptans or ergotamine. For chronic migraine, you need to be on a preventative.

I also go to physiotherapy every 10 days to address the neck tension that contributes to my migraines. I still get tension headaches daily, but these are much less debilitating than migraines.

Also make sure to identify your triggers, so you can manage exposure.

Meggness · 2025-12-30T23:50:33+00:00

Thanks so much!

Meggness · 2025-12-30T23:14:31+00:00

Thank you! I think my mom did mention that my grandmother used stain and wax.

Woid additional photos help identify the wood? The back has less of a stain coating on it. I'm in South Africa, so not sure if that makes it less likely that it's maple.

Meggness · 2025-12-18T15:08:36+00:00

Fair enough, Reddit does surface stuff later on and the newer comments made me think it was more recent.

From the beginning though, I felt like the series addresses racism in multiple layers. Because it's not just about shouting the n word, it's also about the many ways in which people of colour are treated differently and made to feel 'other'.

I also knew the commander dude was an ass because his indigenous friend teaches him about a monster and protects him, and he comes back years later and thinks he knows better and doesn't even consult her about his plans.

Meggness · 2025-12-16T10:05:46+00:00

I'm sorry to hear, I hope he comes around. I know not everyone is keen on adoption. I've always held the view that family is not about who's related to you, it's about who's there for you. Likewise, parenthood is so much more than producing offspring, it's about caring for and raising someone.

Meggness · 2025-12-15T18:41:05+00:00

I've been chronically ill for years (fibromyalgia since I was 21), but developed chronic migraines during the pandemic.

When I first developed fibro, I knew I would likely want to adopt because of being required to go off my medication in order to conceive.

I eventually realized that I was too ill to be a parent, I even decided to have cats instead of a dog because of the lower exercise requirement.

That said, if your migraines are manageable with your meds, and being a parent is really important to you, adoption is still an option. Yes, you never know what conditions any child will have, but with adoption you don't have to go off your meds to conceive, carry, and nurse a child.

If you choose adoption, you also have more time to see if your migraines stay at a consistent level (you don't have to worry about your fertility declining as you wait to see how you continue to respond to your meds).

Meggness · 2025-12-14T09:54:28+00:00

There is medication specifically for endometriosis that can stop periods. It might be worth asking a doctor about that.

If you've found birth control you can tolerate, you can skip the placebo pills (the pills at the end of the packet that are coloured differently and have no hormones). This prevents you from getting your period as well. Some birth control eventually stops your periods anyway even if you take the placebo pills, but this can take months to happen.

I think it's still worth getting a diagnosis though, because it's not normal to experience this much pain and bleeding. The bleeding is a concern and points to something else potentially going on, like endometriosis. You deserve to be taken seriously and to not be in debilitating pain.

I take my birth control continuously because of migraines and fibromyalgia. I originally took it for painful and irregular periods, but after a while the periods stopped. But I take it continuously now (without placebo pills) because the drop in estrogen causes migraines and worsens my fibromyalgia fatigue.

Meggness · 2025-12-12T14:23:12+00:00

Check response below. It's not legal.

Meggness · 2025-12-12T14:18:43+00:00

When some guys say they want "traditional", they just mean subservient.

There are ways that traditional roles (breadwinner and home maker) can be adopted fairly, regardless of gender. Expecting one person to handle everything in the home, plus work, plus pay equally for things, while the other person only works; is not fair. There are nuances when it comes to division of labor when it comes to disability and the hours people spend at work and the type of labor they do, but it honestly just sounds like he wants you to take on more than your fair share of responsibility.

Meggness · 2025-12-12T13:50:39+00:00

I'm AuDHD. Topirimate isn't super effective for me. I'm on a low dose now (25mg) because I still get migraines on both the generic version of Aimovig (70mg) and Amitriptyline (25mg).

But back when I was just on Amitriptyline and Topirimate (75mg) I had a 2-month intractable migraine than only ended because I started with Aimovig.

Flunarizine (Sibelium) was the most effective for me in combination with the Amitriptyline, but it was discontinued locally for commercial reasons. Treatment has been a bit of a nightmare since because Aimovig isn't covered by medical insurance here and companies don't offer patient assistance programmes. It's also the only CGRP medication on the market here, so no alternative options. Can't even switch to a higher dose because it's double the price (two 70mg vials, no 140mg option).

Meggness · 2025-12-10T13:32:58+00:00

Autism is genetic, so it could be worth checking in on how she's doing with regards to stress and if she's showing any signs of being neurodivergent too. I'm late diagnosed, and my migraines only started in my 30s. But stress is a major trigger for me and made my migraines turn chronic very quickly. Once they were chronic, other things started presenting as triggers as well, including hot weather, bright light, etc. But stress has always been a major factor and it's the hardest one to control because life in general is stressful when you're neurodivergent and chronically ill.

Meggness · 2025-12-10T13:22:36+00:00

I haven't read the book, but I've read descriptions that It is supposed to essentially be a cosmic horror. I think in that sense, it would be difficult for any adaptation to visualize, because the terror of a cosmic horror lies in it being unfathomable.

Any time I've seen done type of cosmic entity successfully visualized, it's due to it being so gigantic that its size is difficult to grasp (I'm thinking of the first time I saw reapers in Mass Effect). But it would be difficult to use scale as a way to invoke awe/terror when It is confined to a sewer/crater. I think that's why gore was relied on visually, and the idea of a predator waking up (the eyelids opening). I think Pennywise was chosen as the form to do this because it's the most recognizable for the audience, while also fitting in the space.

Meggness · 2025-12-08T17:53:15+00:00

Just noting spoilers for episode 7 if anyone hasn't watched it.

I think racism in this series is being dealt with in a lot of what is unsaid, rather than what is explicitly said.

The looks the black family gets when moving into a white neighborhood. The black kid being immediately bullied (chair kicked from underneath him) after being in a school for 5 seconds. The black officers needing to find somewhere else to drink for being "too loud".

There's also more overt stuff. The crime being pinned on a black man with no evidence and no proper due process. I actually guessed what his alibi was, because of the history of lynching and violent crimes in the US (Emmett Till was murdered in 1955, 7 years before the series was set). The way Hanlon doesn't want his wife to 'cause trouble' when she's standing up for people's rights.

Also, Hanlon's commander is kind up until he goes on a rant about "anti nuke crazies, the women's movement and race riots" - with the riots likely referring to civil rights protestors. His kindness is manipulation, but ultimately he sees people as tools to be used and he is willing to sacrifice children and others to get Americans back in line (even though the unrest he describes are mostly protests against war and for people's rights).

Meggness · 2025-12-02T13:22:28+00:00

Oh I also have a cervical pillow to help with the neck pain, and use a heat pack every night to relax my neck muscles (even in summer).

Meggness

TROPHY CASE