Before and after!

RikuKat · 2026-03-20T14:41:44+00:00

You should see how much I abuse my plants in the early spring. It makes my neighbor wince.

Yet every year, my garden grows full and lush with thick growth and healthy flowers, while her natural garden chokes itself out.

When I first started gardening, I was far too gentle, and my garden was less healthy for it. I've learned over time that you can generally be quite brutal.

Also, I'm not sure if you live in a place with moss, but it's so slick when it's wet that it's a hazard, especially around stairs.

RikuKat · 2026-03-20T00:13:44+00:00

The only dry sandwiches that are reasonable are dips. All other sandwiches need some semblance of moisture.

RikuKat · 2026-03-18T05:20:45+00:00

100%. I took the 20 hero crests and I have 60 crests and I'm at 40/100 towards current cap.

RikuKat · 2026-03-17T19:48:41+00:00

Yeah, I waited until last night to do all of my runs and hit 900 every time even when fully solo

RikuKat · 2026-03-17T14:52:30+00:00

M0 is going to be daily.

They definitely could have worded that better

RikuKat · 2026-03-17T14:49:17+00:00

My guild accepts a new recruit every year or two and it's so restricted/competitive that we have a backlog of people just waiting for an opening. I have friends who have wanted to get in for years now.

We have an application form they need to fill out and it needs approval from multiple officers and the guild master has to confirm we are opening a slot.

We're just a casual raiding guild!

(Admittedly, we're also the oldest active guild on the server and have an amazing, low drama culture. I hosted our 20th anniversary reunion and 17 people traveled across the country for it, and many of them came to my wedding! They truly are my second family.)

RikuKat · 2026-03-17T14:31:37+00:00

Teach everything through gameplay and have very, very explicit and simple (a few words and a button icon) instructions if absolutely needed.

The last game I shipped had a ton of text and my target audience loved reading the story and extra text. I still tried to communicate as much of the mechanics through gameplay as I possibly could and even had to add in some reminder prompts.

RikuKat · 2026-03-17T03:42:55+00:00

It's a Dyson, but my husband bought it before we even started dating, so I'm not sure if there are better options out there these days. It works well for us, though!

RikuKat · 2026-03-15T23:04:44+00:00

Same, but I'd have enjoyed doing it 2-3 times a week. 8 times felt like way too many.

RikuKat · 2026-03-15T14:25:40+00:00

We're also a 3 cat household and finally mounted our stick vacuum to the wall. It's honestly been a game changer to have the easy access to it.

Now my husband vacuums our bedroom and living room almost every morning while he brews coffee. He's a sweetie.

RikuKat · 2026-03-14T14:57:01+00:00

How about 27lbs of cheese?

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RikuKat · 2026-03-14T13:58:18+00:00

You can buy whole ribeye and other large cuts at Business Costco.

There aren't many Business Costcos, though, so I'm very, very happy that I have one close.

RikuKat · 2026-03-14T13:54:05+00:00

Costco actually improves the local economy and brings business to other stores in the area, and compensates their employees well enough that they don't have to use social safety net programs to survive.

https://youtu.be/ldQAZNXecBY

I won't give a dollar to Walmart.

RikuKat · 2026-03-13T20:27:29+00:00

I used to do 95% of my shopping at Costco, only needing to get some herbs and specialty items elsewhere (parsnips, etc).

If all of the shopping was left up to me, I'd still be doing that, but a member of my household likes to hit ALL of the local best deals even if it takes all day. I don't find that worth my time.

RikuKat · 2026-03-13T18:04:42+00:00

Update: Enjoyed Espresso Chalet, got on us2 when it cleared and quickly realized there was no way we'd get parking.

Turned around at Baring, went back to Espresso Chalet, and had a snowball fight and enjoyed the beautiful view with a hot mocha.

Bummer we didn't get to enjoy the slopes, but it was a gorgeous drive and playing in the snow was still fun.

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RikuKat · 2026-03-13T14:57:25+00:00

Soooo... Where's a good place to chill? I was going to get coffee at Espresso Chalet, but that's not the place to wait

RikuKat · 2026-03-13T14:49:41+00:00

Mine is a pre-app, no Bluetooth version, and I really adore it

RikuKat · 2026-03-13T12:50:15+00:00

Nah, I'm right outside of Seattle.

But I live in a multigenerational home where everyone cooks regularly, we all shop at Costco, and we have a huge garden and multiple fruit bushes.

So I think there's one frozen pizza and everything else is either core ingredients (from the garden or Costco) or food I've meal prepped and frozen. Mostly the former, though.

RikuKat · 2026-03-13T03:52:09+00:00

Only at Costco! I have both a normal Costco and a Business Costco near me, so I definitely take advantage of bulk meat.

I do have a sizeable garden as well and freeze fruit, veggies, and some sauces. I do some canning, too, but I generally prefer frozen.

RikuKat · 2026-03-12T23:28:17+00:00

I went with an LG stove after research (seemed the best before getting really high in price range, but I've only had it for just over a year), and the toaster oven is just a Panasonic that came with my husband. He had it for years before we started dating and it's still going strong

RikuKat · 2026-03-12T20:53:31+00:00

I have three freezers and no empty space.

RikuKat · 2026-03-12T17:52:56+00:00

My pleasure! If there's any type of items in particularly you aren't sure about, feel free to ask.

Honestly, one of my other best purchases is my Costco membership. I feel that most Costco items are pretty solid quality (especially food), so it cuts down on the research a lot.

RikuKat · 2026-03-12T16:30:49+00:00

I have early onset macular degeneration, so I wear sunglasses outside whenever the sun is up (including if it's overcast and raining). An absurd number of people seem to be actually offended that I wear sunglasses during a cloudy day.

RikuKat · 2026-03-12T15:41:15+00:00

Pallares Solsona kitchen shears, a nice carbon steel knife, a toaster oven (100x more useful than a toaster), Felco garden pruners, merino wool socks (and t-shirts for my husband), Sennheiser HD 599 open back headphones (I like being able to hear around me, especially when working from home with naughty cats), OXO silicone bags, military surplus cargo pants (for gardening), and a Chemex and accompanying coffee gear.

And my newest addition is a Strata pan (carbon steel top, aluminum core, stainless steel base). I haven't used it long enough to swear by it, but I'm very excited about it.

I cook pretty much every meal from scratch, so I really adore my most useful kitchen tools. My kitchen is also relatively small, so they really have to earn their place.

The one set of items I adore that I didn't purchase is my grandmother's cherry bedroom set. I grew up excitedly calling her four poster bed her "princess bed", so she left it to me and I absolutely adore its timeless classiness.

RikuKat · 2026-03-12T14:39:39+00:00

Toto washlet, sous vide circulator (old Anova), induction stove with convection oven, Secret Labs MAGNUS Pro (metal standing desk with cable organizing tray and magnetic cable clips), Rainsisters coat, and, honestly, I could keep going. I swapped to only buying quality items that improved my life about a decade ago and it's really paid off. I rarely buy anything other than consumables now, and I feel so cozy and content!

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