I avoid both by living in LA. We have our disasters natural and human, but our temperature is usually pleasant and always bearable.

Tree bark is too scratchy. Psyllium ftw

When you go to flush and the water looks like borscht

Metamucil time

Probably because when you were a baby you put everything in your mouth, so the data bank is large

With cold, you can layer appropriate clothing. And you can find much better appropriate clothing for purchase in the places that require it than you can find in your shops, along with advice from people who live there. Just don’t follow the example of the cargo shorts at -40° boys.

Oh I agree. It really requires -supported affordable housing. Although the best results come from integrating low-income units into mid-price housing so people can be near jobs and have decent groceries etc. Also mixing mid-price housing into high-end neighborhoods so the people who provide services can also live near where they work.

The real problem is landlords who’d rather sit on empty homes than lower the rent. And collude to keep rents inflated.

I’m pretty sure this is what you were listening to, and yeah it’s a pretty bleak situation:

2024 saw one of the slowest housing markets in 30 years. What will 2025 bring? https://www.npr.org/2024/12/29/nx-s1-5240991/2024-saw-one-of-the-slowest-housing-markets-in-30-years-what-will-2025-bring

The only glimmer of hope seems to be in cities that have put effort into building more homes. Capitalism isn’t going to solve this, because it only gets “luxury” housing built for the Haves.

One thing that is helping in California is the Builder’s Remedy Law projects, where, in cities that haven’t come up with a legit plan to create more affordable housing by the deadline, (usually because they don’t want Poors living there) developers can create huge new projects that don’t have to conform with the existing (overly restrictive and often based on redlining) zoning laws as long as they include 10% low-income units.

Having random superb owls appear in my feed is very cheerful!

That’s all good! From experience, owning vs. renting doesn’t help much to make cleaning any more enjoyable, at least not after the first week. But at least if you decide you just can’t deal with some aspect, you can change it.

Four cats and your jobs, you guys are definitely doing this on Hard Mode!

Maybe you could figure out some sort of rewards system, like cleaning the home => delivery dinner. And of course if you notice something is clean and you didn’t do it, voice your joy!

You might wine up with a mess of shards and stains. Whereas you can pummel an assailant to death and still have Chicken Corn Chowder for lunch. (Just don’t put away any dented cans, use them immediately.)

You should anyway. Especially if you’re walking/taking public transportation.

We can be the change.

Embrace alliteration.

From now on, it’s the Smart Susan.

Yes his mom shouldn’t have to do this stuff for him, but if she’d taught him right he’d have been doing it for himself all these years.

I guess the one positive thing about his “whores” is that he won’t be trying to get you to take your mother’s place in bed. If he catches a disease, at least it can’t hurt your mom now.

Being stuck at home sucks, but I understand you need the financial support to get through university. Do whatever you can to ensure you have a good job lined up before you graduate so you can move out.

Any guys you might want to get involved with, bring them home to test, and eliminate any who don’t tell you, unsolicited, how wrong he is, and set an example by helping you.

I would like to say I use a heavy-duty dry swiffer on the floor (wood) every other day, but honestly maybe twice a week. It gets tons of dust and cat hair and it’s quiet and fast. I have an old fashioned feather duster that does a decent job on shelves of books and knickknacks without moving them, and fascinates the cat. I have a wet mop but don’t use it often. I put MERV13 filters in my HVAC, but I realized the suction was lifting the nearby ceiling tiles instead, so I taped them down.

Consider what contributes to dust in your home: I don’t go out much, and can’t track in mud, but I live over the garage in my apartment building, over a very busy street, and have sliding-glass balcony doors for windows, so a lot of my dust is tires and exhaust. Also pollen year-round because SoCal, and of course cat and myself shedding. Litterbox dust too, at least she’s not a big digger. I don’t have laundry machines in my unit but I imagine they’d make lint dust. You might not be able to change things that add grime, but it helps you feel less like it’s your fault.

When I worked in a china shop, we wiped down every item on every shelf with Windex (spray your paper towels, not what you’re cleaning) every day. But I was getting paid for that. It makes a huge difference, along with knowing someone else will notice.

Ditch the spoon. There’s a reason they’re called whomp biscuits. Whomp the side of the tube hard against the edge of the counter, with enough force to dispel all fear. It makes the pop feel right, expected, not scary. And the tiny violence gives a feeling of dominance.

I don’t recommend OP take on a toddler until they master their own emotions.

Good for you, though! Sending you a hex against other random stress-inducing disasters befalling your family while you’re navigating this difficult passage.

The thing with gifts is to thank them for their intent, even if you tell them why you’re not going to keep the item.

If you don’t succeed in returning it, you might also consider giving it to someone with a movement disability, for whom the assistance might outweigh the privacy issue.

Most of the time I don’t get bothered by typing/autofill errors in others’ posts. (My own often get edited several times.)

But some bring out my inner schoolmarm. I try to restrict my corrections to times when the error is confusing, or if I have a mnemonic that might be helpful. I bear in mind that this is an informal forum, but someone might want to be able to get it right when it matters.

Since you won’t be offended, I’ll just point out that in English it’s usual to say “… someone points out a mistake to me.” (The rest is correct.)