Brining chicken for salads! I eat a salad every day for lunch, which sounds boring. But if you brine your chicken breasts in a salt solution for about an hour before baking, it gives you amazing salad chicken, like you’d get in a restaurant. Just pat dry, brush with olive oil, season with your vibe of the week, and bake for like 45 minutes. Then you can mix up what else you put on your salad greens - different nuts, cheeses, veggies, dried and fresh fruits, etc. I also eat pretty seasonally/locally so salads change with the seasons. But in general, brining meat is a game changing kitchen hack that few people take the time to do.

Ha. Anyone who’s farmed knows that ag leases are such a different scenario and very negotiable, especially if you are working with someone who wants to see the land in production or help young farmers etc. I WISH there had been more willing landlords when I was farming, it took me two years to find a place at all. Lemmings can hate once they’ve negotiated their own ag lease 👀 👩🏻‍🌾

For now? Lease as much of that land as you can. Cover crop the rest. You do not want bare, tilled soil sitting there for a year+ as you figure out bigger plans.

We were recently in Vancouver, and people were happy to have us! You shouldn’t worry. We did some extra shopping in solidarity and they appreciated our support.

Yes!! I love picking up little tidbits in other languages while traveling.

It’s also amazing how ubiquitous English has become in the last 20 years, thanks to the internet. Back in the day, French or Spanish was required for some countries that spoke zero English, and that isn’t really the case anymore.

Speaking a foreign language badly, not knowing a word for something, or only knowing the most basic greetings. People all over the world are generally delighted that you bothered at all, and are eager to teach you more. This has been true for me in big cities (even Paris) and tiny villages. The more obscure the language, the more delighted they will be. I have botched so many languages and conversations with strangers at this point that I am immune from embarrassment about it.

Also in N Seattle, also got some TJ’s eggs for $3.99 today! Hi neighbor!

My cat does the same thing, but uses both paws like the little troll he is.

My dog is a leftie, for sure. Anytime he touches his face, raises a paw to ask for pets, or pees, he favors using his left paw.

Right there with you. I believe Gaiman was using her as a smokescreen for exactly that reason. (I’m being generous and assuming she wasn’t actively and deliberately trafficking women for him.)

And yes, there are a lot of song lyrics / tweets / media that aged like milk for both of them.

This is why women choose the bear…

Idk how to format, but I want to save you from reading if you need that. So here’s a brief list of claims in the article:

• she frequently and repeatedly recruited homeless, impoverished female fans to provide childcare without any payment
• she repeatedly left these women alone with Gaiman, without the child present
• she warned Gaiman to “keep his hands off” at least one woman
• she said that at least 14 women had come to her for help with Gaiman
• she subsequently wrote a song about how much of a chore it was for her to deal with the multiple “suicidal mess”es Gaiman created
• she routinely controlled employment/housing of these women and knew Gaiman was, at best, sleeping with them (this cannot be consensual when housing/employment are in the mix)
• when notified of an assault that happened with her child present, only questioned whether the child was “wearing headphones”
• refused to cooperate with at least one police investigation
• refused any material help to assaulted women after repeatedly assuring them she would “take care of” them, get different housing/employment set up, etc.

Just…awful stuff, and this is best case scenario, FFS. She is fucking trash.

I didn’t heed the warning and regretted reading the whole thing - there are very detailed and gruesome first hand accounts of his alleged assaults on multiple women. Excellent reporting throughout, which only makes it more sickening.

Also, as a former Amanda Palmer fan, fuck her, too. It’s clear she enabled this and committed, at minimum, wage theft crimes. Both of them deserve to do jail time with even the most generous best-case-scenarios. I’m sure she was also abused by him, but that is not an excuse to abuse other women. Some feminist.

• Ireland and Italy offer citizenship by descent, but it is a long process
• The Netherlands and the US have a treaty called DAFT that allows you to start a business in NL
• France offers a self employment visa
• Check skill shortage lists for countries of interest - almost all European countries need skilled trades, truck drivers, etc. that wouldn’t require a degree
• Study abroad; it’s possible you could apply and receive funding for a degree since many countries have free education + work study arrangements for your living expenses
• Teach English abroad
• Look at international NGOs, you could possibly get hired as an admin/etc. without a degree but that might be a stretch

We have similar taste and you need to listen to Kalush (and Kalush Orchestra) - Ukrainian hip hop! The “Orchestra” group has more folk influences but all of it is just banger after banger. I don’t understand a word of Ukrainian but I love these guys.

I think others have covered the economies of scale and niche products creating the disparity.

But I wanted to suggest that if your grandpa is regularly eating gluten free bread, we have found that making it at home is SO much more affordable than buying a loaf at the store. (Even though gluten free flour is also more expensive.) Most of the gluten free flours have their own sandwich bread recipe, either on the bag or their website. I don’t know what flours you have access to, but they can be wildly different blends, so using their tested recipes is always best.

We’ve mastered our favorite so it takes only 15 minutes of “work” and then just time in the oven. It’s also much better than store bought! I don’t know if that’s possible for you, but it could be a lovely weekly ritual for you and your grandpa.

Also, to anyone suggesting we just eat rice and beans, I’m an old celiac. We went without bread, pasta, cake, pastries, cookies, brownies, pizza, and crackers before these products came to market. These are mostly “fun” foods that I don’t eat regularly, but usually pop up in social situations. Do you know how many sad birthdays with no cake we’ve had? How often we’ve watched our friends and family eat things we could never have? I am so grateful to the “fad” gluten free people who made it possible to have culturally/socially important foods we were missing out on for decades!!

My pleasure. Let me know if there are other resources I can recommend!

We ALL need to hear it! You’re so welcome. I try to keep reminders near me when hustle culture rears its head, and it always helps :)

I always find that starting any new job is exhausting! There is so much to learn - not even the “work” itself, but processes, personalities, and systems that differ from workplace to workplace. Unless you are struggling hard financially, give yourself some time. For me, it takes at least 4-6 months in a new job to feel ready to add something else. (Now that I own my own business, it’s just adding the next thing in the business…then 4-6 months later, the next thing…). You will have to feel out your own balance and where you can draw the line. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to make more money, if that’s a goal. But you can’t do it at the expense of your sanity, relationships, health, etc. Make it sustainable.

I’m in the US for context, but have lived all over the world, and don’t participate in the hustle culture here. I work hard for my clients and there are crunch times, but on average it’s about 30-35 hours a week. That’s a sweet spot for me! I hope you find yours.

Willpower IS a thing and there is some really interesting research about how it is an exhaustible psychological “resource” we have! In other words, we can exercise our willpower up to a point, but it’s not infinite. Highly recommend reading “Switch” by Chip and Dan Health which goes into willpower as a concept if you are interested in this.