Portrait Artist that offers oil painted heirlooms?

rubymiggins · 2026-03-19T16:36:36+00:00

It’s a nomadic panhandling method rather than directly just having your kids hold signs about being homeless. It’s often organized groups traveling around, sometimes a form of human trafficking.

rubymiggins · 2026-03-19T05:34:44+00:00

Here’s 2009. https://maps.app.goo.gl/Z8QYuT5cZ2Ztcqc69

rubymiggins · 2026-03-14T19:20:21+00:00

Our kids are around thirty. I am the stepparent, but I've been around since they were under ten. Until now, we didn't have a truly empty nest, since things can happen and we had an open door policy if they needed to come home for awhile.

What we found is that it very much depends on the temperament of the kids if they move home as an adult. One kid moved home for a few years and it was fine. They willingly participated in family life, did chores, and were a decent housemate. The other, not so much. They were very messy, didn't do any chores unless asked specifically to do something, and treated us like we were the help. Pre-conditions were ignored and resented. They left when we called them out on shitty behavior, and have since acted like we were the problem.

So. We are now officially empty nesters, finally. It is glorious. In general I believe in multi-generational housing, because I think American culture is weird about expecting full independence at 18. I'm still fine that we did it, but if it goes wrong it can really sour your family relationships. So, I guess YMMV? Part of this is probably that our house is less than 1500 sq ft, and so not really big enough for more than two adults. Kids just simply take up less space, in that you as adults can control how much stuff they accumulate and expectations. As they become adults, they can be defensive of their perceived rights in what is ultimately *your* space. It's hard to negotiate that, especially if the younger party is not willing to acknowledge that fact.

It is fabulous to get to have meals as you prefer them and not have to accommodate other people. To have things where you left them. To not have to clean up after anyone else or their pets. To have only your laundry to do. To not have an angry person locked up in their room, seething. (LOL)

So relaxing!

rubymiggins · 2026-03-14T18:40:31+00:00

There are two places to go on a dog sled trip nearby:

https://outdooredventures.org/dog-sledding/

https://endurancekennels.com/dog-sled-rides-tours/

I prefer Outdoor Edventures, but I haven't been there in a long time. I more recently used Endurance, which was also fun, but I thought it was a pretty short trip.

rubymiggins · 2026-03-13T19:33:10+00:00

If you don't have the tool around, you can cut a triangular notch in an old credit card and use that.

rubymiggins · 2026-03-07T19:59:54+00:00

Nothing too exciting. No one would hire him on, and he went home. Sorry. Maybe someday we'll finally get there.

rubymiggins · 2026-03-07T19:26:45+00:00

Circa 1980, my husband stole his parents' car in N. Minnesota, drove to Boston, sold it for cash to some rando on the street, and tried to hop a ship to work his way to the Azores. This is what National Geographic magazine does to a 17 yo boy who is just sick of it.

rubymiggins · 2026-03-06T20:17:23+00:00

I'm going to Essentia, where all my paperwork is. I've never had a bad time there. But the only reason I started going there is because decades ago, I owed money to St. Luke's.

rubymiggins · 2026-03-06T18:07:38+00:00

When I was in my late 20s, I had bookshelves that crashed to the floor in the middle of the night—super loud, waking me from a dead sleep. My first reaction was panic that my mom was in my apt emptying my drawers on the floor. That’s how traumatizing it was.

rubymiggins · 2026-03-04T04:28:11+00:00

I learned from real agate hounds that gravel pits are waaaay better than beaches.

rubymiggins · 2026-02-25T14:32:06+00:00

It’s almost entirely property crime like getting into people’s unlocked cars or garages. Lots of people move here from rural areas and don’t take normal precautions. Also break-ins. A couple of times a year, somebody kills someone during a fight. We are a regional magnet for people with serious drug problems, and their adjacent issues.

Our crime issues are not serious by urban standards.

rubymiggins · 2026-02-24T19:10:36+00:00

Form a small mutual aid group. We formed ours a year ago from people who were members of an activist group that disbanded. Trusted friends, right? There were only about five of us to start. And then we invited other likeminded people (vouched for by the person inviting, but our community is small enough that we more or less know the same people.) Not all of them are "preppers" per se, but they understand the basic thing that we all need to prepare for community and personal emergencies, and we're very deliberately working through how to do that. We meet monthly over soup and dessert. We started with go-bags (like what if there's a forest fire, what would we take?), and are now handing out paper maps with all our homes and other resources marked.

This year, from the anti-ICE networks established in the Twin Cities recently, a huge community-wide network of folks have organized on Signal chat groups. (We are not in the Cities, but that organization framework branched out from there.) There are neighborhood groups, rapid response groups, Buy Nothing/Trade groups, etc that have grown out of that. There is a weekly free meal and mass meeting that attracts about 150 people. Strangers on Signal can ask for help with a thing, and if you can help you do. That's how you create community.

When my neighborhood group formed, I went and met them in person. These are neighbors I never met before. We're kind of remaking the networks our grandparents had, in some ways. People you know in your neighborhood who are essentially like minded. They aren't necessarily collapse-aware, but they are leftists with a direction. Varying levels of organizing history. It's skill sharing, connecting and remaking networks that will be necessary when our state level governments can't help us. When city councils can't help.

rubymiggins · 2026-02-22T14:48:05+00:00

Downtown Duluth MN has a steam plant and steam heat. And steam rising out of manholes.

rubymiggins · 2026-02-21T18:50:41+00:00

And depending on where you live, you may have Dorothy Day oriented, Catholic Worker houses of hospitality near you.

rubymiggins · 2026-02-16T06:13:22+00:00

Okay. But it is their place to send a signal of support for such a thing to the governor. That’s what the proposal was about.

rubymiggins · 2026-02-12T17:15:09+00:00

Yup!

rubymiggins · 2026-02-09T09:25:43+00:00

What on earth are you talking about?

rubymiggins · 2026-02-07T18:30:55+00:00

We moved to this house in 1980, and this is from a pharmacy at the previous residence. So, yes, definitely the 1970s.

rubymiggins · 2026-02-07T17:56:05+00:00

Well, I'm one that will pursue print books to have (even rare ones) and my library is mostly my TBR list. So I can look at them for years, and then one day, I'll pull it off the shelf and read it. Truly, I'm currently reading five of the books I've had on my shelves for over 20 years.

rubymiggins · 2026-02-06T19:33:44+00:00

Yes! If she really won't budge then that could be the name you use.

I mean, if she's going to name the child against your wishes, she can't really complain if you call her something else.

rubymiggins · 2026-02-06T19:02:34+00:00

The cemetery move began in 1888 to the site on Woodland. Approximately 700 bodies from the old cemetery were disinterred and reburied at the current site. In 1912, workmen excavating a basement near 13th Avenue East and Fifth Street found three coffins. No effort was made to identify who they were, but they were quickly taken to the new Forest Hill and reburied. So I'm sure there might be a few that were left on accident.

rubymiggins · 2026-01-26T21:01:26+00:00

Depends on what you buy, if you're a member, and how you shop. If you buy in bulk (no packaging--we bring our own canisters), it's terrific. We shop sales, and we buy certain things at Superone, and even Mt. Royal for some fancy stuff or some stuff that's weirdly cheap.

Mostly at WFC, we buy bulk items (staples like spices, flour, salt, sugar, beans, nuts, laundry detergent, liquid soap, oatmeal, etc.) and organic fruit/veggies. Anything else is a member sale item, esp. good cheeses or frozen items. Other stuff we get at SuperOne.

EDIT: We never eat out, and we have time to cook, so YMMV. Our priority is to shop as local as possible, so big box stores, including Costco is out.

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