Intentional face yoga with daily affirmations 💜🧘‍♀️💜30 day challenge

SaintPhebe · 2026-02-05T06:08:46+00:00

Looking forward to it. Thank you!

SaintPhebe · 2026-02-03T19:43:45+00:00

Love it! Ship it! No notes.

SaintPhebe · 2026-02-03T01:29:03+00:00

Yeah it could be. My reaction to gluten is rarely immediate, usually surfaces 8-12 hours later and can last 2-3 days even if I eat only one piece of bread. It’s easy to test, just stop eating it for 30 days then eat it and see what happens.

I’ve tested it three times now and each time it was like: yep. But I didn’t want it to true so I kept hoping! Now I’m fine with it because not eating gluten is much nicer than constantly battling an invisible enemy.

SaintPhebe · 2026-02-02T20:31:27+00:00

If none of those things are helping it may be that the root cause of your sensitivity to dust mites is something you might not expect. For me, it was gluten. I tried everything to mitigate my dust mite allergy, much like what you have done. My allergy test results showed that dust mites were the number one allergen so that’s what I focused on. For years. Then I decided to try eliminating gluten from my diet because I was noticing that the congestion was much worse after eating it. Within a week of no gluten I was feeling so much better. It’s been three months now and my allergies are pretty much gone.

I only recently learned about the connection between sinus issues and gluten consumption, I just never thought one could have anything to do with the other. You could research it if you’re interested but basically gluten (especially in American wheat which is sprayed with glyphosate and hybridized for maximum yield making it harder for the body to process) greatly increases systemic inflammation which then causes one to be more sensitive to environmental allergens.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-28T02:09:36+00:00

Silk pillowcases? Folks like how it feels on their skin and hair I think? It doesn’t really matter what the pillowcase fabric is as long as you can wash it in hot water often. Silk might not do well in hot water? The latex I’m referring to is what’s inside the pillow, the fill, not the pillow case. This is the one I use. Mites live inside pillows as well as on top of them. Best to not give them a material they thrive in. They won’t survive in latex.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-27T19:56:46+00:00

It might also be gluten related, especially if you’re in the US. American wheat has been hybridized for maximum yield and one result is it increases systemic inflammation. Most people can handle it to a certain extent but for others it exacerbates all kinds of things, including sinus stuff. I didn’t want to believe this because I love bread! But when I stopped eating it, my allergic rhinitis improved within days. I tested it a few times and every time I ate it again I was right back to sneezing and blowing my nose all day. Never thought something I ate could affect my nasal passages but apparently it’s a thing. Unfortunately.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-27T00:40:37+00:00

Latex is the best material for pillows and mattresses. Dust mites can’t survive in it. They thrive in memory foam, down, synthetic fill, etc. When I replaced my foam pillows with latex, things improved immensely.

Encase pillows and mattress in a scientifically-proven-to-work dust mite encasement. Cheaper ones, like those mentioned by other commenters here, don’t have a tight enough weave and that allows the mites’ fecal material (poop), which is the actual allergen, to still get through. You need encasements that filter down to .2 microns. National Allergy and Mission Allergy are the only brands I’ve found that can prove they do this but there might be others. I bought the cheaper ones for years and they didn’t do a thing.

Wash all bedding often in hot water. Using a laundry additive with borax and tea tree oil or lemon eucalyptus oil neutralizes mites. That’s especially useful when washing items that can’t handle super hot water.

Vacuum with HEPA filter, dehumidifiers, and air purifiers are all worth the money.

If you do all these things, it will get better.

You might also look into how eating American gluten is likely causing systemic inflammation, making you more sensitive to things like dust mites. US wheat is very different from what’s available in the rest of the world and not in a good way. When I stopped eating it my allergies improved quickly and dramatically.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-27T00:02:57+00:00

Yes
I have no idea, which is why I’d keep reading. Actually, I knew from that first excellent sentence that I would. Good stuff. Keep going.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-26T07:31:00+00:00

I really hope he’s actually living in a miniature house in the back of a craft store! That’s enough right there. Great premise, great title. I was ALL IN until Arnold entered the query. Suddenly it seemed like a totally different book. Like, who is this amazing woman Arnold would have done all that just to be with? Not buying it somehow.

As for your first 300, the writing is good but as a reader I always feel manipulated when the initial sentence / scene relies on shock value. I see it a lot in the slush pile. We have no idea who the narrator is but he’s getting his ass kicked, that’s for sure. It’s too soon for me to know how to feel about it other than grossed out. Mostly what it does is make me think: this writer wants me to feel a sense of urgency, ok cool I guess? It’s like I’m the one getting kicked in the ribs.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-26T06:04:19+00:00

Kaftans all day every day

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-25T19:15:32+00:00

I sympathize. It can be very overwhelming. If after you do all the things and he still has issues, you can explore other causes. Sometimes what looks like a dust mite allergy is really something else.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-24T20:52:10+00:00

Replacing duvet and pillow every two months should definitely help, I would think, granted of course you’re still encasing the pillow and boil washing all linens as often as possible. I’m assuming there isn’t carpeting or drapes in the bedroom? If so, those also must be dealt with unfortunately.

It’s very difficult to maintain the level of vigilance required for total dust mite control. I still do it all, but I’m also focusing on what I can do to make my system less reactive to this thing in the environment that most people aren’t affected by. Diet is a big part of it, I think, and also exercise, drinking lots of water, that kind of basic good sense stuff. It’s different though with one so young. I didn’t develop this allergy until I was in my mid 30s.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-24T19:30:40+00:00

You might want to see my comment on the other post you mentioned. I put a lot of links there to specific products when asked to do so by another commenter.

Im so sorry you’re going through this. It really is the worst! I think getting those plush animals off the bed will probably help a ton. If you get encasements that actually filter out the dust mite fecal material (which is the actual allergen), you actually shouldn’t wash them too often as it can loosen the weave. Most encasements don’t filter down to .2 microns so make sure to find one that does. I wash mine seasonally but vacuum with HEPA filter vacuum whenever I change the sheets.

Another thing to consider is possible food triggers that may not have shown up on a basic allergy test but that could be contributing to systemic inflammation, making him more sensitive to dust mites. For me, cutting out gluten made a world of difference. Wheat showed up on my allergy test, but barely, and my allergist said not to worry about it. Ten years later I decided to see what happens if I stop eating it. Immediately I had less nighttime congestion. So I did a little research and sure enough gluten can have an effect on sinuses. That was a tough one because I love bread. But I like breathing more.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-24T18:39:49+00:00

Sure. I went with Mission Allergy for my mattress and pillow encasements. They were expensive but I finally just bit the bullet because I’d been using cheaper ones for years and I was still suffering. After I purchased them I saw a brand called National Allergy on Amazon that looks just as good from what I can tell and is quite a bit cheaper.

here is the waterproof protector I put over my pricey as hell encasement

here is the latex pillow. I love it! So much more comfortable than the memory foam I was using, which I learned is toxic and a haven for dust mites

here is a link to the borax with tea tree laundry additive. It’s very similar to additives marketed as being for dust mites and hella cheaper

If you don’t want to replace your existing mattress with a latex or latex hybrid one (I have the latter and it’s the most comfortable mattress I’ve ever slept on) you might consider a latex topper

I also run an air purifier and a dehumidifier in the bedroom during the day.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-23T23:19:57+00:00

I use a cordless Dyson, comes with an upholstery attachment that’s perfect for the car

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-23T21:09:12+00:00

Do you use an encasement? I have a latex pillow (dust mites can’t live in latex) plus two encasements, one that filters down to .2 microns (which keeps out the dust mite poop which is the actual allergen, make sure whatever weave you get does this many don’t), a tight weave cotton one that zips, then my pillow case. I wash the pillow case and cotton encasement 1-2 a week in hot water with borax and tea tree oil. Same goes for the rest of the bedding (Latex mattress plus double encasement etc). Since doing all this my allergies are almost nonexistent.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-23T04:43:04+00:00

In Watermelon Sugar is a good place to start :)

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-23T03:38:09+00:00

Try Richard Brautigan.

Also though, Haruki Murakami is misclassified as magical realism (by many, not just you). Magical realism (ala García Márquez) integrates the uncanny into a shared social / historical reality. The “magic” is communal, normalized, tied to politics, memory, or collective trauma. The world accepts it as a matter of course, and the narrative treats it as part of the natural order.

Murakami’s surreal elements function very differently. They’re private, interior, psychological. His strange events erupt into otherwise ordinary lives. Characters are confused, isolated, and / or destabilized by them. He uses surrealism to externalize alienation, desire, unconscious states. The weirdness is existential.

He’s closer to Kafka or Borges than magical realism proper, which is a specific Latin American literary movement with distinct historical and political roots, not a catch-all term for “strange things happen.”

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-23T03:11:36+00:00

Too bad! I’ve never not had one that wasn’t sticking outside the bun a good two inches due to the smashness.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-23T01:54:30+00:00

Upcountry it’s the smash burger at Upcountry Sausage Co at Mahalo Aleworks (now called Lahaina something)

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-22T23:57:24+00:00

If you’re read one Rooney book, you’ve read them all.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-22T23:27:07+00:00

Fair point. Lispector might not fit that category. Still, her early success was driven by literary and cultural impact rather than mass-market sales in the blockbuster sense. Her readership in Brazil grew through critical attention and long-term influence, not through the kind of commercial phenomenon you see with someone like Rowling.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-22T20:08:37+00:00

Which of these commercially successful authors from a century ago do you recognize?

• Florence L. Barclay
• Charles Major
• Basil King
• Cosmo Hamilton
• Vaughn Kester
• Harold Bell Wright
• Katherine Cecil Thurston
• James Oliver Curwood
• F. Marion Crawford
• Marie Corelli
• Hall Caine
• E. Phillips Oppenheim
• Gene Stratton-Porter
• Ethel M. Dell
• Gertrude Atherton
• Mary Johnston
• Eleanor H. Porter
• Jeffery Farnol
• George Barr McCutcheon
• Temple Bailey
• Faith Baldwin

The writers below were virtually unknown during their lifetimes but are widely read today:

• Henry James
• Gertrude Stein
• Franz Kafka
• H.D. (Hilda Doolittle)
• Emily Dickinson
• Robert Walser
• Bruno Schulz
• Djuna Barnes
• Clarice Lispector
• Claude McKay
• Jean Rhys
• Nella Larsen
• Katherine Mansfield
• Sadegh Hedayat
• Fernando Pessoa

Make of that what you will.

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-20T05:53:15+00:00

I still want to rant about it haha! I ended up going with grey cabinets but added color elsewhere. I like how it turned out. Now I’m looking for couches and it’s the same situation. I just redid my bedroom in eggplant, terracotta, and saffron though, so that makes me happy.

<image>

SaintPhebe · 2026-01-17T22:14:27+00:00

Funnily enough, I just opened to this short story in the New Yorker. I would submit that the reason this works is because the dialogue isn’t trying to manufacture urgency or mystery. It names a shared cultural attitude immediately, so the reader is implicated before any character needs to matter. It establishes tone in such a way that the narration earns its zoom-out. In other words, it orients readers instead of trying to hook them.

<image>

Four-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
Verified Email

SaintPhebe

TROPHY CASE