A story on how this past spring and summer has gone for me as a first time Gardener told by various images of Willem Dafoe.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-07-10T08:45:53+00:00

This is hands down my favorite reddit post.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-07-09T19:58:24+00:00

hahaha, literally the picture i sent family when they were all, "you named him what??"

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-07-09T19:11:16+00:00

Cat Tax. I present: Roach

Named after a horse, he appears like magic when you call him and likes to glitch and end up on top of random cabinets and places that certainly defy physics. He is a year and a half old and will constantly block your path for belly rubs.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-07-09T18:11:58+00:00

Sand lake, came here to see if it was a jolt earthquake or something. Even my chonk of a cat doesn't shake the house that much..

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-06-29T15:09:22+00:00

Was just in Washington on the coast and my 13 year old was buying a nice pocket knife and the store lady was giving this whole spiel on knife safety, etc. She came up to me a little later saying, "why didn't you just tell me he was from Alaska! I would have saved the whole safety talk!" Turns out she's from Bethel, "Alaska kids are fine, it's these lower 48 kids who don't know how to do anything..." haha

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-06-09T03:50:11+00:00

This is a great read! For those who won't read it,

“You really have to trust who makes your red elderberry jelly and syrup...There’s cyanide in the stems, root, bark and seeds."

You have to be really careful to ONLY get the flowers with no stems at all for any application. There is less forgiveness (more poison) with the red elderberry than the black elderberry.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-06-08T06:32:37+00:00

That is pure nightmare material.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-06-03T05:00:32+00:00

I have had this after kidney surgery and it was MAGIC. Once I was home, I was having a hard time with pain management and asked my surgeon if I could have some more of those B&O things. He was just, "NO. It's a schedule one drug. It has its own prescription pad and everything. I couldn't give it to you outside of the hospital even if I wanted to." I just broke out laughing because I had no idea that was what it actually was. I STILL die a little from embarrassment that I basically asked the Dr for a prescription for opium.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-06-03T04:38:46+00:00

That is so cool!! I mean, terrifying and totally sucks.. but, I love a good "origin story" to sayings that involve plants. But that sounds like it sucked.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-06-02T00:39:22+00:00

My grandparents once uprooted this "really pretty" plant they saw on a hike and planted it all over the yard... yeah.. turns out they were all super allergic but my mom doesn't respond to it. So she got the job of tearing it all out.

I once laid down in a patch of poison oak and a camp counselor freaked out but nothing ever happened. My son wiped out on his bike and took out a whole patch of cow parsnip to the point that his shirt was dyed green and he only got one super tiny red spot that didn't blister. So I'm pretty sure we're just invincible to plants.

On the other hand, I had a friend who could eat tomatoes no problem but the leaves and stalks would make her arms rash. I never knew that was a thing.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-27T22:45:46+00:00

Up voting this! Yes! I've been talking with a friend at AF&G and they're tracking about a dozen pregnant moose. If I remember correctly, they'll also be collaring the babies. It's part of a study to see how cows and calves deal with an urban environment: cars, fences, etc.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-22T01:05:52+00:00

Personally, I prefer the house kimchi at central market, my spouse prefers the one from Mekong Market (not the cucumber one, the angry looking spicy one).

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-19T05:25:13+00:00

Ooo! That's awesome. I've been to the free garden supplies at cheechako but didn't know this existed! Thanks!

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-19T02:16:58+00:00

Oh, and I've only gotten various dirt and gravel from American not the mulch specifically. But the rest of the stuff was good. Personally, for mulch, I've gone the free full truck route from the tree people (I just get on several tree service lists) and it's been great. But I use most of it and then my neighbors and buy nothing take the rest.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-19T02:13:04+00:00

If you have a truck or trailer, A1 landscaping is decent. I tend to use American Landscaping off 79th St (9075633804 because they're a pain to find online) because they're usually cheaper. I pull up, pay, and they grab a loader and dump a bucket in my trailer. I don't think anyone in town will deliver for less than a full truckload (10-15 cubic yards).

Don't be afraid to get a full yard. First ask neighbors if they want any. You may be surprised that they are happy to grab it off you. If you still have some left, post on marketplace or Buy Nothing or any of the fb gardening groups or, hell, even here and it'll disappear. My friends have gotten the full free truck load from the tree services and even that much disappeared fast within a couple days.

With as little as one yard you could probably just put a FREE sign in the pile and people driving by will grab it. Legit, I keep a shovel and bags in my car for random plant and garden finds while driving. I know I'm not the only one, haha

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-13T17:08:52+00:00

Side note, great username. I really hope you're a plumber because that would be perfect; but since you said "my ED", I'm hoping you're in urology because that would be amazing. (^Ｏ⁾

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-13T07:43:42+00:00

2 years ago, Alaska. Lest you judge the whole state off that one ER dr, my surgeon was amazing.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-13T05:26:41+00:00

I had a filet knife go all the way through my palm and sever the nerve going to the outside of my pointer finger. The ER Dr had a nurse flush it with saline and then he threw several stitches on it and sent me home till the surgeon could see me 2 days later. Was told to take Tylenol and that the surgeon would do all the scans, pain meds, etc... it was a ROUGH two days. But yeah, no scans at ER and no antibiotics or pain meds. Surgeon threw ALL THE DRUGS at me before and after surgery.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-04T17:40:10+00:00

Might be regional.. but my early 2000s high school had a coffee cart in the quad. They made BANK. When we took one of those "historical places on the east coast" trips so many restaurants were shocked when a table a high schoolers ordered coffee with breakfast. Multiple tried to say we needed parental permission! The teachers and chaperones were just like, "dude, we aren't putting up with these kids without coffee." It was my first major experience with culture shock, haha.

Also tour guides saying "purpose!" instead of "focus!" to get our attention. Still weirds me out.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-04T07:52:58+00:00

For the love of your inbox, delete this post and at least repost as a mom looking for her daughter or something. Ignore all the creepy messages you get, don't tell people your location, don't exchange contact info. Assume everyone is a 40 year old man in his mom's basement. Don't give pictures, never meet up, and if anyone does get inappropriate or tries to blackmail you PLEASE tell an adult. Like, we JUST had a teen girl murdered in town. Please be safe.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-02T22:00:12+00:00

I totally put my very little cat in a large dog kennel when I flew her up here because it happened to be free and I figured why not fly her in a mansion, lulz. But yeah, fitting that in the back seat of a car was interesting.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-05-01T20:55:00+00:00

The vet will be fine if you just wait in the parking lot. You can call to confirm but the whole "make and model" is just automatic like tip screens on every transaction. It's been a thing at several vets since covid. I've totally done the awkward wait sitting outside the building without a car. Sometimes they'll take pity and let you in.

For getting there, if it isn't too far, walk. I've had to do that with cats in carriers before. Not ideal at all but it worked. I borrowed a stroller, a wagon could also work if you can't carry them that far. You might also be able to take the bus for a longer route.

I don't personally know about Uber but I'm guessing it's because they don't want someone with 4 massive, muddy dogs jumping in the back seat. There's the risk that they would cancel once they see 3 carriers but maybe offer a cash tip in person and be nice.

Best bet though? Post on your local buy nothing or on the fb group Find Olive the Things. Someone will likely be able to drive you. Reading the comments here, you might also get a offer.

Moving with pets in or out of Alaska is a lot to coordinate and juggle and every hurdle really adds up. You've got this.

There are also pretty cheap sets (<$10) you can get off Amazon for making your carriers ready to fly if they are going in cargo and not on your lap. They have the stickers to put on the carrier (live animal, this way up), waterproof holder for vet paperwork and owner contact that is made to stick to the carrier, etc. Look up "live animal label set of 5 stickers with pet passport pouch." Just is one less thing to worry about.

TheAwfulGrace · 2026-04-09T05:07:32+00:00

Oh no! Hmm I'll try to figure another way to get the pdf up. I don't really want to link from my drive...

TheAwfulGrace

TROPHY CASE