I’m going through a family crisis I’m absolutely desperate. Please!Please! Please consider buying a piece and supporting an artist who’s work you love. If you have a birthday buy a painting; wedding buy a painting; engagement; housewarming; congratulations on graduations or promotions please at least consider buying a painting. Buying a painting and supporting an artist who’s struggling more than usual.
Hey guys! I’m about to post things I knit that I’m selling for less than I paid for the yarn. I’m doing this because I knit more things than anyone I know needs. I need more room and I need funds for moving out, therapy, self care, medications, and just life happened a lot in June things.
Here’s a couple of things to know:
I will post a picture of a thing I have knit with a price underneath that includes shipping. If you want it, you message me with your venmo/paypal name and address. I will then charge you for the item and ship it out. All things posted are already finished and ready to be shipped out. I will try to delete things that are already sold, but if you message me before then I will let you know as soon as I see the message.
I can’t remember every yarn because some things were knit a little while ago and they yarn band was lost before that in some cases. Just assume everything is wool. I tend to use merino wool but I can’t guarantee it fyi.
Pricing will be less than what I remember the yarn costing. Things will cost more for more colors used and gradient yarns. This is just due to 2 balls costing more than one ball of yarn/gradient yarns being more expensive. The point here is not to make a profit off these pieces but to recoup some of the cost of the yarn.
Just for some background: my mom taught me how to knit when I was five, so at this point I have been knitting for 2 decades. If I don’t think something is nice enough, I won’t post it.
Imagine, for a moment, that the last six years of your life have pretty much been this:
[Star Wars: Princess Leia’s “Help Me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope” holo on repeat.]
And the person you’re talking to has understood your plea for help. They really have! They’ve been sympathetic, and tried to help with things about the house and with the kids and with Adulting…but they haven’t really understood yet why you keep repeating the same thing over and over again. When you’ve said that you’re depressed because you can’t go outside (allergies, hives, difficulty breathing) and masks aren’t an answer (I tend to freak out with things strapped to my face, long story, but it also involves Maine). They don’t get why you’re so anxiety-ridden/stressed about having to wear long pants and long sleeves and layers 12 months out of the year now, as your immune system is so utterly worn down that it can’t regulate body temperature, so if I go sleeveless, I get chilled, even if it’s 90 degrees F. When I break out in hives indoors, when I get horrific inflammation from what should be safe foods (which causes brain issues as well as intensely painful ulceric issues), when I’m losing my vision, when I have to take all of these supplements because I can’t eat local food, when I do everything possible to live here and I’m still slowly suffocating…yep, Princess Leia is still on repeat. Then it become discussions about how I’m borderline suicidal because of all this but I’ve been sitting on it (displacement, not dissociation) because I have kids and a mate who need me. That I’m actually in a state of constant despair that I also displace because Podlings. That I want to cry all the time but I’m so used to feeling this way that I can’t. Obi-Wan Kenobi the Mate nods, but he still doesn’t get it, even though he wants to fix it and make it better. He does! He just doesn’t actually do anything that would make it better.
Saturday morning on July 8th, the Mate woke up to the sudden realization that he is watching me die. Not only that, but it would be a slow and utterly miserable death. And he was just twiddling his thumbs and letting it happen.
Suddenly the “You’re my only hope” track repeat became
[Star Wars, Princess Leia’s hologram: “This is our most desperate hour.”]
The Mate went from “I know we need to leave but for Reasons we can’t right now” to “We are getting the absolute fuck out of Maine because I will not let this place kill you.” And he is entirely serious. Intense and driven. The escape dates are set and not to be changed because to change them means that he might keep finding excuses to stay, and he will no longer allow that to happen.
[Rose, Doctor Who: “You don’t just give up, you don’t just let things happen. You make a stand, you say no!”]
We’re going to St. Augustine, Florida. That’s home for me, and the Mate didn’t hate it (despite hating heat) and the kids fell in love and wanted to be outside in a way that they don’t want here. (I’ve always found it odd that they don’t like being outside here, but…maybe not so odd, given that it’s starting to drag their health down, too.)
Our set leaving date is July 21st. Yes, this July 21st. Thirteen days from now. We are seriously on the fucking move to move. He really means it, and I’m right there with him because I wanted to go home years ago.
Of course, escape is not cheap. This really is our most desperate hour: we need your help.
We need a full-size moving truck (omg 26′ fuuuuck) to be able to move everything, even compactly packed. No stuff gets left behind!
We have to cover the cost of four different hotel stays: Here, because the mattresses will all be packed and two of us have back injuries, the sort where if you sleep on the floor and try to drive the next day, you just want to whimper; Trenton, NJ as the first stop; Fayetteville, NC as the second stop, and at least one night in St. Augustine on arrival because Must Fall Down and Sleep because by the timing needed, the moving truck has to be unloaded the next day.
We need a post office box in St. Augustine to be able to get our mail transferred. (If they make me drive down there in person to do this, I will scream, because how can I change my address without a fucking address??)
We will need at least one month’s rental on grabbing a vacation rental (waaayyyyyy cheaper than a hotel) until we are sitting in a proper rental property that accepts cats, because we’re not leaving them behind, either.
Even with all the free boxes I’ve been scoring after making friends with the Pet Department Manager at Wal-Mart, packing supplies are expensive. SO much tape. So much bubble wrap. Oh hey I need a special box for Micah’s dresser mirror. Mattress covers! Fuck a doodle.
This is sort of why I’ve been trying to sell posters and what shinies I could make when not utterly flattened, because…we need to go. We need out, and I hit desperation several years ago.
Without help, this might well describe out success rate:
[Cat missing a jump]
I don’t want to miss. I need to go home because I’d like to live. Please. I will get down on my hands and knees and literally beg. Please.
[Simpsons: ”I need you to take care of me, to put up with me…”]
We’re trying to raise enough money to survive, to get out, because that
way we can thrive. Right now, this isn’t thriving. This is barely
surviving, and it’s pain.
I’d give you guys the world in return for helping us, but mostly what I have to give to you is words. I have stories that I can give you like pouring rubies from a golden vase. I’ll grant you all the words I have within me, to the best of my ability, to tell the stories you want to read because they make you feel like you’ve come home.
The current house is going on the market. Buyers will have a second floor that is now structurally rebuilt, but they can customize it however they like.* (Yes, that is all we could afford to do after you guys were so helpful in February. We were able to get the structural repairs done…and that was it. Depressing shit, yo.)
Some detail about the medical stuff below. Let’s just say that @thebibliosphere and I call each other our beloved Clone Sister for many, many reasons. Tags #thedeadcat speaks or #state of the deadcat will grant you more info.
Pro tip: if an evangelical stranger approaches you asking to pray for you, there’s inevitably something about you that they see and want to change. [Ex: I attend a very conservative, very religious uni and am clearly tomboyish/lesbiany, and thus am constantly attracting evangelical strangers] If you can’t shake them (usually very difficult), then turn the tactic upon them by asking if they mind you leading the prayer bc “I have a few things on my mind.”
Then talk about whatever it is that’s making them uncomfortable. I ask god to protect all the lgbt+ kids that are lost, isolated or homeless. I mention my non-Christian brothers, sisters, and siblings that have to fight for recognition and respect in a monoreligious nation. I pray for the protection of immigrants and refugees, reminding my evangelical friends that their savoir was once one of that number. You can pray for pregnant mothers to find the resources and abortive care that they need, if they need it, if you’re feeling particularly brave.
This achieves two things: 1) there is no response to this, esp if you wrap it up with “amen, thank you guys so much for doing that with me. I hope y’all have a blessed day” and leave them no room to continue the prayer. But more importantly 2) that group will NEVER bother you again and you will show them, using their own method against them, that their prayer isn’t an act of faith, but of power.
Just thought I’d share bc I know that I used to be accosted by evangelical strangers once a week on my uni campus and never had a good response or ‘out’. This is by far the most effective method of shutting that sort of behavior down real quick.
Do what Jesus would have done and scare the “people of faith” away by doing the thing wrong.
Guys, this is really important. Until now, Google collected your data, but did not attach your name to it. Now, they can, and will. This new thing they’re doing will allow them to collect your data across searches, your email, Youtube, Maps, Google+, and all their affiliates, and build a complete profile of YOU.
If that doesn’t bother you, maybe this will: they own and can sell all that data, including anything you create and send (artists and writers, take note).
There is a way you can opt out of this ridiculousness. It’s described in the link, but if you’re still not sure about it, please ask me and I’ll guide you through how to turn all this off.
This is my wake-up call. I’ll be locking down my devices and scaling back what I put through the big Google machine, which means you may see less of me across social media. I’m going to keep researching this, but it may mean in order to keep the rights to my creative work, I’ll have to keep it out of Google’s hands. And that may take some doing.
Duckduckgo is a nontracking search engine….may be worth a try.
So according to the article there is an opt out for this. Instructions are I the last paragraph. I’m on mobile so I’ll edit this more later. EDITED TO INCLUDE OPT OUT INSTRUCTIONS
To opt-out of Google’s identified tracking, visit the Activity controls on Google’s My Account page, and uncheck the box next to “Include Chrome browsing history and activity from websites and apps that use Google services.“ You can also delete past activity from your account.
An Unkindness of Ghosts, my debut novelabout a young (disabled, intersex, lesbian/queer) Black woman living in the slums of a generation ship, came out October 2017.
I’ve been really honored by the overwhelmingly positive response; however, I wanted to do a little bit of book-related outreach, to make sure anyone who might be interested in Unkindnesshas at least heard of it! So this is my little masterlist post of all the reasons you might want to buy this book or pick it up from your library! tl;dr, it’s gay as shit.
1) Okay, so it feels decidedly notgood to me to simplify complex social locations into a laundry list of identities, but I do think Unkindness will speak to folks looking for books exploring the following topics & experiences:
– being trans, nonbinary, genderweird, genderantagonistic, gendertraumatized – being a dyke, dykegender, loving women, wanting women – being autistic, adhd, psychotic, “not otherwise specified,” borderline, PTSD – being a descendant of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, a refugee, & diasporan
2) A lot of folks have had nothing but kind things to say, and here’s a little blurb that gives you a better idea about what An Unkindness of Ghosts is actually about.
“Solomon’s big, unflinching and poetically detailed sci-fi debut tells the story of Aster Grey, an orphan raised on the slavery deck of a starship called the HSS Matilda as she searches for answers to her mother’s death and the mystery of the forces who control the starship. Aster is both neuroatypical and queer, and these elements of her characterization work seamlessly and nonexploitatively into a plot that mirrors so many of our own world’s greatest injustices, probing at our ideas about classism, racism, abuse and tyranny. A stunning first novel by a writer I can’t wait to see more from.”
Amal El-Mohtar’s stellar review in NPR said of the book:
What Solomon achieves with this debut — the sharpness, the depth, the precision — puts me in mind of a syringe full of stars. I want to say about this book, its only imperfection is that it ended.
It’s been favorably reviewed on several blogs and other venues as well!
3) It made more end-of-year lists that I can count, including
You can read an interview with me, the author (Rivers Solomon) about the book at The Rumpus: Magical Systems and Fusion Reactors, and you can read an excerpt in the Rumpus here.
ANYWAY, my cat almost deleted this whole ass post so I think that’s a sign I should quit while I’m ahead. Thanks for your support. Please reblog if you feel up to it.
CVS will charge $109.99 for a two-pack of the generic version of Adrenaclick, a lesser-known treatment than EpiPen, which can cost more than $600, the Associated Press reported. The products are auto-injectors that contain the hormone epinephrine and provide emergency treatment for potentially deadly allergic reactions to foods such as nuts and eggs and to insect bites and stings.The drug store chain said it cut the price of the generic version of Adrenaclick nearly in half and that the lower price is available in all its stores. The new price applies to both insured patients and those who pay cash without coverage, and is what customers will pay at the pharmacy counter, the AP reported.
$50 each is still entirely too expensive, but it’s better than nothing. Readers, take note!
theres a new product by verzion called “hum” that allows your parents to track your car and places you go, if your parents are controlling like mine please check under your steering wheel to make sure that they havent installed this
here is what it looks like installed:
you can read more about it here, and here– this excerpt sums up what information Hum will send:
“a car’s owner will be able to get notified on their phone when the vehicle leaves a pre-determined area or drives faster than a set speed… [Hum] will enable location tracking and a driving log, which measures travel times, engine idle times, and average speeds.”
People in abusive relationships, please check your cars.
DO NOT TRY TO UNPLUG IT BY YOURSELF!
To add to this nightmare, I’ve just heard of a thing called ForceField where people get to monitor and block internet sites that you’re going on if they don’t approve.
It tells the user what sites/apps you’re going on, for how long you’re on them, and WHERE YOU ARE ON AN UPDATING MAP.
So you know if you’re in an abusive household and use sites like tumblr to escape and talk to friends, you could be cut off from that.
They say “it’s not spyware” but it sure sounds controlling and creepy to me.
signalboost
God. Fuck. That’s scary.
Life 360 is another tracker. My parents have used it on me, not allowing me to delete it from my phone, and sometimes even demanding selfies to prove I was where the map said. (As if I’d go anywhere without my phone)
SpectorPro is another one. Afaik it can’t track location, but it takes screenshots roughly every 20sec to allow the installer to watch a video of your computer activity. It also tracks all keystrokes, so passwords aren’t safe, and records any website you visit + the duration. It’s incredibly creepy and a huge violation of privacy, and was one of the cornerstones of my abuse as a kid.
even if you’re not in an abusive relationship/family, please spread this because you might have just saved someone’s life
This article is too important for me to just post a link that you probably won’t click through to read. THIS is why you DO NOT EVER pet service dogs. They are working and it can mean serious injury or even death if you are distracting them from doing their job.
This is a summary of college only using two pictures; expensive as hell.
That’s my Sociology “book”. In fact what it is is a piece of paper with codes written on it to allow me to access an electronic version of a book. I was told by my professor that I could not buy any other paperback version, or use another code, so I was left with no option other than buying a piece of paper for over $200. Best part about all this is my professor wrote the books; there’s something hilariously sadistic about that. So I pretty much doled out $200 for a current edition of an online textbook that is no different than an older, paperback edition of the same book for $5; yeah, I checked. My mistake for listening to my professor.
Steel Phoenix Studios 