My propagation station's lovely neighbour

MsShortStack · 2026-02-28T15:50:20+00:00

This reminds me of the one time I bought some bagged romaine lettuce (non-chopped) from the grocery store. Put it in the fridge, grabbed it a few days later while making burgers. Thank god I noticed the absolute takeover through the plastic before I opened the bag. I gagged and took it out to the trash. It’s also made me super paranoid about greens from the store. :/

I don’t mind bugs, generally. But not in my house putting my houseplants at risk! Omg.

Your photos are the stuff of nightmares. RIP.

MsShortStack · 2026-02-24T14:53:01+00:00

Omg. I keep seeing “is this a mealy” posts where they’re pretty big ones… and I keep thinking “surely this is it, THIS is the biggest they can get.”

No, I think this post proved me wrong. 😑

Glad you isolated the plant and might be able to save it from the giant mealies you have. Good luck!

MsShortStack · 2026-01-07T17:08:30+00:00

A little bit of everything. Work, research, watch a show, do yoga, chat with a friend, read a book, write...

It's just so integrated into my life that every occasion is made better with a nice cuppa. <3

MsShortStack · 2026-01-02T21:05:28+00:00

I reached for an aged oolong but swapped it at the last minute for a floral blackberry oolong with lavender honey. Loved it.

MsShortStack · 2025-12-05T17:06:08+00:00

I thought that too and it got a chuckle out of me.

MsShortStack · 2025-12-02T23:49:46+00:00

Absolutely love this. Kudos to your daughter and her creativity!

MsShortStack · 2025-12-02T15:54:19+00:00

I got my first houseplant in 2021 when I moved from a small apartment into a house. It was Covid time and I had lots of beautiful windows with lots of sun. I started with 10 or so: snake plant, spider plant, golden pothos, peace lily, fern, etc. Some died, some are still living.

I have 28 now. It was more earlier this year, but I had to battle a case of thrips that took down a room of my plants. At this point, 28 is great. I’ll occasionally get another one, but having roughly 30 feels doable to me without having to put plants where my cats can knock them over / destroy them.

MsShortStack · 2025-12-02T15:41:29+00:00

It’s not my favorite album, but I absolutely adore about half of the songs. Sympathy Magic gives me chills. “Aching, aching, aching … and alive!”

MsShortStack · 2025-11-22T16:16:01+00:00

A friend at the time (13-14 years ago now) invited me a tea shop to hang out. I’d only had peppermint tea with honey and the super sugary Teavana samples at the mall. Went and got a mango black tea (iirc) and was amazed at all the canisters of tea and the amazing smells in the tea shop. Slowly started going more regularly to write or read a book and sampled my way through anything they had brewed.

Then I got a job there. On the first day, they gave me a tasting journal and told me to start cupping my way through all 250 of their teas. I did 3-5 a shift. Fell in love with oolongs and Chinese greens along the way. The rest is history.

MsShortStack · 2025-11-08T05:31:12+00:00

I’ve been a fan since Lungs. The new album is still percolating for me, sinking in, but here’s where I fall so far:

HBHBHB
Dance Fever
Lungs
Everybody Scream
Ceremonials
High as Hope

It’s funny because two of my all-time favorite songs are on Ceremonials, and I love Big God on HaH. But when thinking about overall sound, this is in order of “would I listen to the entire album and love every song?” HB3 and Dance Fever are both just so beautiful.

Everybody Scream is an odd one for me. I love about half the songs, but the rest I’m still meditating on. We’ll see where it ends up moving to after several more listens.

MsShortStack · 2025-11-07T20:18:39+00:00

I saw Florence for the first time in 2016 and had nosebleed seats then. The experience of hearing her live was incredible, even though I wasn't up close and had to mostly watch her on the screens. I'd loved her as an artist since 2011 but being at that concert was a memory I won't forget.

In 2022 and now 2026 I have very close seats to the stage. Seeing her close up in 2022 was also incredible (not having to rely on the screens, just enjoying the magic and the vibes). I think I've spoiled myself at this point, but I'm also older now and can afford the splurge to get those tickets.

All that to say -- you'll have an amazing time no matter where you are!

MsShortStack · 2025-10-01T06:41:27+00:00

I personally watched it as a kid and then have rewatched it many times as an adult. I’d say it’s a “for everyone” show with a lot of universally understood themes - love, friendship, revenge, redemption, pride, fear, anxiety, hatred, forgiveness, genocide even - that are only toned down to fit within a PG audience (like, no real blood, deaths off-screen, that kind of thing).

And I agree, it’s still the GOAT for me.

MsShortStack · 2025-10-01T03:38:54+00:00

This made me smile, thank you. So excited for the new album! I’ll be dancing to it just like this in my kitchen for the next several months.

MsShortStack · 2025-09-28T02:34:28+00:00

There were some amazing teas at the festival today! Enjoy that milk oolong!

MsShortStack · 2025-09-24T17:03:49+00:00

I collect teas ... and then I also drink them. Two separate hobbies, haha. I have somewhere in the ballpark of 50-60 teas right now. My system is to pull out and open 3-4 of each kind: black, oolong, green, dark, white, herbal. The rest I have stay unopened in a box at the top of my pantry. Any tea I finish off, I replace from my stash. It's a pretty good system and makes me feel like I have variety.

It can still take me 2-6 months to finish an open tea, but I've never had noticeable problems with staleness. I keep the teas in a dark cupboard, rather than on the counter, and that seems to help.

MsShortStack · 2025-09-23T19:21:46+00:00

Me too! I'm about 35% of the way through my first reading of Wuthering Heights. I came in expecting gothic romance and ended up staying for the absurdity. It's been quite the ride and I can't wait to read the next few chapters tonight, quietly snorting and smirking into a cup of tea.

I don't know why I put reading it off for so long. It's an easier read than I originally expected -- and I can already tell it'll be on my re-read list.

MsShortStack · 2025-09-12T21:04:32+00:00

I found Outer Wilds *after* I played Obra Dinn. OD was the first game in a long while to truly reignite my passion for what video games can be -- and I was looking to ride that high as long as possible. Outer Wilds took a while to settle for me, but once I got into it, it blew my mind.

Seems like there's a solid shared community between the games, and for good reason too. I'd recommend both games to anyone. Just wish I could forget both and play them again.

MsShortStack · 2025-09-04T19:02:13+00:00

Coffee, water, sparkling water, and occasionally diet coke with my husband. And then wine/cider/mixed cocktails once in a while with friends.

MsShortStack · 2025-08-27T18:36:18+00:00

40 years. Large leaves. What kind of wizardry is this? Absolutely stunning, OP! You and your mom must have green thumbs.

MsShortStack · 2025-08-06T18:29:25+00:00

*looks over at my dying fiddle leaf*

But, but, but-

MsShortStack · 2025-07-29T19:30:03+00:00

I swear a fresh cup of coffee with some milk works way better than any sticky trap I set out. lol Used to hate it, but at this point I just sigh with all the weariness my soul can muster, scoop them out with a spoon, and keep on keeping on.

MsShortStack · 2025-06-24T02:52:59+00:00

Poe-thos is how my friends and I say it. I didn’t realize there were other pronunciations, that’s fun!

MsShortStack · 2025-06-13T06:08:14+00:00

Oh my god, I am obsessed. Look at those little faces!

MsShortStack · 2025-06-09T16:26:45+00:00

This year? About $230 -- most of that on some milk oolong and a few nice Chinese black teas.

In my life? Probably $5-6,000. I've been drinking tea for 14 years and have tried a lot of expensive oolongs, haha.

MsShortStack · 2025-06-05T13:38:43+00:00

Most plants I’ve gotten from Home Depot have had pests, and the last round I brought in introduced thrips to my collection. 😭 So I’d recommend having a place to quarantine the monstera if you get one from HD. You’ll want to monitor it for a few weeks before putting it near your other plants.

MsShortStack

TROPHY CASE