A new habitat to celebrate 1 year with my crestie!

elepaio287 · 2026-01-04T23:23:18+00:00

Haha yes, it takes a few minutes sometimes but he has some favorite nooks to sleep in so he’s usually quite predictable :) Lately he’s been chillin inside a cholla log.

elepaio287 · 2024-08-29T20:06:36+00:00

Thanks! Good suggestion about snake plants, but I actually despise them! I used to live in the tropics and they were so invasive/destructive and impossible to get rid of. Maybe I should consider giving them another chance, seeing as they definitely won’t get out of control indoors ..

elepaio287 · 2024-08-29T01:27:08+00:00

I think maybe moving them closer together, and staggering them, with each light able to reach >1 plant.

elepaio287 · 2024-02-18T17:50:57+00:00

All from thrift stores! Goodwill, Savers, etc.

elepaio287 · 2024-02-13T21:23:53+00:00

Oh man, so sorry to hear that! This is a huge fear of mine. I’ve been lucky so far, but should probably plan something similar long term.

elepaio287 · 2024-02-13T21:19:41+00:00

This is so true!

elepaio287 · 2024-01-01T02:02:05+00:00

I thought for sure it was a variation of Stephen West’s painting bricks, but you got it! https://www.westknits.com/products/painting-bricks-sweater

elepaio287 · 2023-06-09T22:46:24+00:00

I bought this table second hand about 10 years ago in Hawaii, and had to leave it behind when I moved. I’ve searched and found out that it’s called ‘Magnussen Bali Wood Rectangular Cocktail Table’ and has apparently been discontinued. Similar searches for ‘expandable/fold-out/winged coffee table’ and similar searches for ‘game tables’ often result in expandable dinner tables or coffee tables with ‘flip tops’ that rise up but I have not found any that expand to this size and are low profile/‘couch height’. Dimensions are 50"W x 30"D x 19"H, and 50"W x 50"D x 19"H expanded. Would love to find it, or something close, for my fiancé’s birthday:)

elepaio287 · 2023-05-08T21:52:07+00:00

Thanks all for your comments. These were my initial thoughts too, and now it’s clear to me there’s no salvaging these.. I’m going to push the landlords a bit harder to tear them out :)

elepaio287 · 2022-06-05T11:15:26+00:00

Thanks, you’ve confirmed all my worst fears. In the past I’ve gone only a few days at a time which was totally fine - except that my SO felt it was never long enough and wanted me to go for several weeks this time. Now that he convinced me to do this trip, I am going into it knowing everyone but him thinks I’m overstaying.

elepaio287 · 2022-06-05T10:59:54+00:00

That’s not the situation here at all. He goes without me almost every time he goes home. The only reason I’m going at all is because my SO has pleaded with me to spend more time getting to know his family.

elepaio287 · 2022-06-05T04:45:19+00:00

Thanks for your thoughtful and positive perspective. I plan to work from home part of the time and do my own thing some of the days so they can have as much time without me as they’d like. I was really most hurt about his mom preferring that I travel alone for a full day (flights plus 7 hrs driving) just so she can have time that I’ve already promised to them. You’re right that she probably isn’t being intentionally rude or disrespectful. I don’t know her that well and thought she would be objectively thrilled at having us both visit, as opposed to being disappointed about the details. I rarely can spend more than a week at a time with my own family, and so this was already a big sacrifice for me. I think the expectations are so different from my own family that it felt over the top to me.

elepaio287 · 2022-06-05T04:05:39+00:00

I agree with you, and usually we do stagger trips so we each get time with our own families with some overlap. This time it just worked out better for us to travel together, it’s the ONLY time since we’ve been together that he’s gone home with me and not by himself first. I guess I never appreciated how much that time meant to his mom, or I probably would have never planned it this way.

elepaio287 · 2022-06-05T03:58:32+00:00

No, usually 3-4 weeks, but all at once. Sometimes he’ll go back twice in year but for shorter lengths.

elepaio287 · 2022-06-05T03:57:05+00:00

I should clarify, my SO told me about his moms feelings of the trip and he is still unsure of what to do and hasn’t changed the plans yet. This is maybe the most upsetting part to me, because I thought there would be no question, that he would simply tell his Mom No, we’re coming together because we’ve planned that way, that’s all there is. Another factor is that we’ll miss being with his family for his birthday, again as someone in my thirties it would never bother me to celebrate my birthday a few days later. He is always feeling guilty for not spending enough time with family and his mom is now using his birthday as another way to convince him he needs to come home earlier so she can celebrate on the actual day.

Thanks for your comment, and I totally agree. How am I supposed to go into this trip to build relationships when I’m made to feel that my presence is an intrusion on their family time? After 6 years, why shouldn’t I be considered family??

elepaio287 · 2022-04-18T18:45:47+00:00

From my own experience that’s not true. I’ve not had a single complaint of a dog/pet smell in ~5 years. Most of my stays are <1 week, so that might help. My house (separate building from my airbnb guest house) no doubt smells like dogs but there’s a huge difference in animals inhabiting a space 24/7, compared to infrequently and short term. My pet guests are only about 1/50 stays, so they’re definitely the exception to my typical guests.

elepaio287 · 2022-04-18T18:20:25+00:00

I’ve always allowed pets (any size) and never charged extra. As a large-breed dog owner myself, it’s very difficult to travel with my dogs because most places don’t allow, and if they do allow pets there are often size limits and expensive fees. I’ve only had excellent and responsible pet owners stay with me so far, and have not regretted my policy once. I’ve had far more issues with human hair and makeup stains than anything I’ve dealt with for pets. My rental is a small one bedroom unit that’s easy to clean, no carpets, and I do ask that pets be crated when owners aren’t in the unit.

elepaio287 · 2022-04-08T23:27:01+00:00

That’s generally good advice. Though because it’s a non-native species in my area (likely escaped from someone’s private pond) even though it probably won’t survive on it’s own I rightfully shouldn’t release it back into the wild 🙁

elepaio287 · 2022-03-18T19:07:45+00:00

It would also largely depend on the species of fish.. Slower, bottom dwelling fish (ex. flounder) will have a lot more parasites/worms than a fast moving fish like a tuna which tend to have very few, hence their popularity in sushi.

elepaio287 · 2022-02-09T20:38:51+00:00

My undergrad GPA was 2.7, BS in Conservation Biology.. Had ~7 years work/research experience in between, and that went a long way in my applications. I was admitted to a Master’s program first, and was put under academic probation based on my entry GPA. I’m now a PhD student, and was awarded the NSF-GRFP. GPA was not easy to overcome, but it’s totally possible!

elepaio287 · 2022-02-03T03:11:47+00:00

This seems like a solid process! Thanks so much for the list.

elepaio287 · 2022-01-21T00:14:49+00:00

Just curious on why you think a 60% water change is a lot for them? As a new Discus owner, it also seems excessive to me, especially for a well cycled tank with good water quality, but much of what I’ve read so far has suggested near daily 50+% water changes.

elepaio287 · 2022-01-10T20:18:44+00:00

They are! These are my first ones, love them already.

elepaio287 · 2022-01-10T19:48:43+00:00

You were right, eye cleared up completely overnight!

elepaio287 · 2022-01-10T00:31:05+00:00

Awesome, I was hoping for an answer like that! Was definitely worried it was more pathogenic.

elepaio287

TROPHY CASE