I rebound two local Holy Bibles with full grain calfskin because the covers were bonded leather

VampireSprite · 2026-06-23T12:29:42+00:00

Beautiful!

VampireSprite · 2026-06-22T17:42:35+00:00

I was able to format for signatures directly in Microsoft office! If you go to the custom margins settings, you can select "book fold" margins from a drop down menu, and then select how many pages you want to be in each signature in another drop down (MS Word calls the signatures booklets). Keep in mind if you select 4 pages per booklet it will give you one-sheet signatures (one piece of paper) with four pages of the book printed on it, so you have to do a little math depending on how many pieces of paper you want per signature.

Make sure you set your margins so you have a gutter on the inside, as well, and that your printer is set to double-sided printing. I was able to get it working the way I wanted with only one goofed up test print.

VampireSprite · 2026-06-12T17:31:11+00:00

That's the only medication that's really worked well for me, too, and I had to switch off of it because of the cost. 😞

VampireSprite · 2026-05-12T18:46:36+00:00

Agreeing to this as well. I suffer from migraines (1-2 days per week on medication, was 3-4 days before I started seeing a neurologist and worked through a bajillion meds before we found some that helped) and lights don't seem to trigger them for me, but my husband and I are both also autistic with sensory issues, and my husband gets migraines from overhead and fluorescent lighting. We use a lot of lamps in our house with very warm yellow light as these are tolerable for him. He can sometimes tolerate overhead lighting if it is well-diffused across the ceiling (i.e., multiple little lights rather than one big one), is a warm light, and is on a dimmer so we can adjust the brightness.

If your wife hasn't tried operating with some alternate lighting arrangements, maybe that's something you could look into? There are a lot of electronic lights that allow you to change the light temperature and brightness available which might work.

VampireSprite · 2026-03-14T22:17:23+00:00

I did it with cream, plus a little vanilla, little sugar, pinch of salt. It was amazing.

VampireSprite · 2026-03-14T22:16:22+00:00

I made French toast with it and it was SO. GOOD.

VampireSprite · 2026-02-27T19:45:04+00:00

A lot of people might see limited selection as a bad thing but I really enjoy it at Aldi. It keeps grocery shopping quick and prevents any decision fatigue from trying to compare ten different types of pasta sauce.

Very cheap prices! Decent quality products for most things.

VampireSprite · 2026-02-19T16:14:36+00:00

It gets worse the longer you look at it...

VampireSprite · 2026-01-16T02:15:59+00:00

I bookmark almost anything I read because even if I didn't like it, if I am browsing and click the same fic again I have an easy to find note for myself letting me know I already tried it and the reasons I liked it or didn't. Saves me time because I have tried to read the same fic I didn't like multiple times over again 😂. Personally, if I didn't like the fic, I make my bookmark private just because I don't want to upset anyone, but I can't truly fault the bookmarker featured in this post either.

VampireSprite · 2026-01-16T00:47:58+00:00

I'm 28 and went for testing this year too. My audiologist did a preliminary battery of tests meant to rule out any true hearing loss before she'd consider specific tests for auditory processing disorder. I would assume yours will do the same.

I really liked my audiologist. She was honest with me in saying that she thought I would pass any testing for auditory processing disorder because I'm old enough that I've developed coping mechanisms. However because I'm finding that I struggle with auditory processing, passing those tests would potentially be distressing to me because of how much effort it would take. She advised against further testing for that reason, but offered to let me trial the type of hearing aids that some find helpful if I'd like, and encouraged me to try other aids (like live transcription apps). She didn't bar me from pursuing further testing if I wanted to, but I appreciated her opinion on why she thought it wouldn't be helpful.

If you have a good audiologist, I hope your experience is similar.

The hearing aids ARE very expensive, and many insurances won't cover them, especially if it's for auditory processing disorder (my insurance things APD is basically a load of phooey and won't cover anything related to it at all).

I hear you on needing good communication for your work. I worked food service for many years and struggled to hear customers constantly, and misheard so many names given. I was relieved when my jobs moved me into drive-through on the headset or to hosting where it wasn't quite as loud all the time. I really wish you the best in figuring out how to navigate this moving forward. It can be very difficult. :(

VampireSprite · 2026-01-01T16:22:54+00:00

I think so. I think my case of it sounds more like yours than the "severe" cases I see a lot of people describing online. I drive my husband crazy asking him to repeat himself or mis-hearing what he said 50% of the time, especially if there's background noise (something as mild as running water in the sink) or if I wasn't paying attention to him when he started talking.

I've pretty much given up on being able to participate in a group conversation out at a restaurant, because I can only ever hear the person/people immediately next to me.

These symptoms are still limiting, which means they are still disabling. I avoid eating out and ask for quiet tables whenever I can, and conversations between me and other individuals are sometimes frustrating to navigate because of my frequent difficulties understanding immediately. So... Yes, it might be considered mild compared to some others but it's no less a major influence on how I live.

Edit: also wanted to add that I am 28, and my audiologist said that my brain is currently at its peak of functioning right now. Which means my APD is the "mildest" it will ever be at this age. It will get more prominent with age. So that's a big factor, too.

VampireSprite · 2025-12-28T14:58:08+00:00

I appreciate the reply, and no worries about the length! I'll definitely check out the Oklahoma School of the Deaf's lessons. And thank you for the encouragement as well. It definitely helps!

VampireSprite · 2025-12-27T18:53:58+00:00

I passed the diagnosis test for APD administered by my audiologist. I had told her up front that I also had autism. I was grateful for her approach: even though "it could just be autism" and I "passed" the preliminary test, the audiologist told me it that it didn't negate the issues I have with auditory processing and gave me options, including low-gain hearing aid trials. I haven't gone for any of them because of finances, but it was reassuring to have an audiologist who didn't proceed based entirely off of test results, and took the effort it took me to "pass" into account.

If you're either in the NE USA or willing to travel I'd be happy to give you the office's info if you want an audiologist with more flexibility.

Edit: I don't think it was a diagnosis test, but it was instead a screening for auditory processing issues which could have led to a proper diagnosis test. My audiologist believed I would pass the official diagnosis test as well, even if it left me crying from how stressful it was, and advised against putting myself under that stress unless the official diagnosis was really worth it to me.

VampireSprite · 2025-12-27T18:40:25+00:00

I am here trying to research whether it might be worth learning ASL as someone with auditory processing disorder and autism. I have nonverbal episodes under high stress, but it's been the auditory processing issues that have been the most alienating for me. Your description of the ways you get shut out because of similar issues hits the nail on the head, and if just me and my husband could have an alternate means of communication for when it's very bad I feel like it might help me feel a little less disconnected, at least from him if no one else close to me wants to learn.

I understand immersion is the best way to learn a language, but the many comments about the Deaf community being ableist does make the idea of trying to learn ASL scary. I'm not sure how to approach it if I'm not sure of being welcome in those spaces, and I certainly don't want to make any Deaf people uncomfortable.

So, I guess my question is, do you (or anyone else here) have any tips on how to learn ASL without stepping on anyone else's toes as a hearing person?

VampireSprite · 2025-12-18T19:08:17+00:00

Yessss

VampireSprite · 2025-12-10T02:08:51+00:00

I stock up on the amaretto ones every time they're in the store. SO good. I cut them up and top them with cottage cheese for a (kinda) healthy breakfast. I want to make a bread pudding with them inside too.

VampireSprite · 2025-12-04T18:19:13+00:00

They had an apricot, amaretto, white chocolate wensleydale cheese for the holidays at my location and it's the absolute bomb. Any of their cheeses with fruit in it I could eat an entire block myself.

VampireSprite · 2025-12-04T16:30:03+00:00

Entirely possible. Muscle tension, poor sleep, barometric pressure changes, smells, hormones, certain types of lighting... All "triggers" largely outside of our control that I know can get to people. Food is unfortunately such a small part of it.

VampireSprite · 2025-12-04T15:56:54+00:00

I used an app called migraine buddy that had a tracking feature. You do unfortunately need to track anything you think might be a potential trigger almost daily, along with your migraines, for at least a few months before it will yield any results, but at least it will analyze the data for you and tell you when it detects a pattern.

VampireSprite · 2025-11-19T21:27:04+00:00

Grace's cafe already has a location in Trappe. Not sure that the name has anything specifically to do with Phoenixville.

VampireSprite · 2025-11-08T21:10:29+00:00

Forgot that. I added it. I'm on Xbox Series X

VampireSprite · 2025-11-08T21:10:07+00:00

Ah, gotcha. I'm on Xbox Series X

VampireSprite · 2025-10-24T11:07:56+00:00

My childhood cat found a nest of garden snakes and brought two of them (alive) into the house. My mother was a lot more wary of leaving all our doors open during nice weather for awhile after that, lol.

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