#sandralyn

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More post office bounty from the Missing Wad Of Letters that didn’t make it to me around the holidays when it should have! There’s one more to come after this as well. Holy shit, I was thinking I might have to discontinue this tradition, much as I love it, because it was such a struggle to photograph and then shout out all of these, but you can all thank Adderall for the fact that I think I can continue to do this. :D 

Up top are a pair of delightful cards from @celticjade13 (Baby Yoda) and @sandralyn (lovely winter horse). I paired them and photographed them because both were sent by DOGSLED! Carried by Blair Braverman, who in addition to being an awesome dogsledder has a new book coming out this fall. Regret to inform that the cats are still highly uninterested in them even if they have fun smells, but I think it’s pretty awesome, and I was so pleased to get two of them. Thank you for the unique holiday wishes! 

lower image has some lovely green holiday trees from D in Florida; I’m so glad the fic and food has entertained! The “Season’s Greetings” card with the cabin and the lovely fluffy fellow next to it are from @innytoes and the delightful Deeks -- I’m very honored to be thought of as a “real” adult since I rarely think of myself as such :D And the Spooky Breakfast Feast, Fresh Gossip envelope, and series of super fun stickers are from E and Niamh (the kitty!) -- love all of it, but especially the Axolotl who hates everything in the upper right. :D Some stickers will go on my kitchen hutch where I collect them, some will probably go on my favorite notebook, but I think I may pry a sticker off my laptop and replace it with the little Axolotl of Loathing. :D 

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arukou-arukou replied to your video “Shadow puppets with Dad. [Description: a short, silent video of...”

“Father. Father, please.”

“You demean us both with this mockery.” :D

verdantnurse replied to your video “Shadow puppets with Dad. [Description: a short, silent video of...”

That *look* at the end. Oh she knows.

I was cracking up inside, because somehow they always know when I’m filming them.

rsfcommonplace replied to your video “Shadow puppets with Dad. [Description: a short, silent video of...”

Do deformed rabbit, Dad! It's my favorite!

I can do “cellphone” and “waving hand” and those are the options! 

dearlazerbunny replied to your post “<p>Wait what pact thing?</p>”

Kentucky here!! Thank you for welcoming us!!! Everyone around us is being, uh, terrible, so we are trying our best!!

You’re doing great, kids. You made the right choice! 

kudilu replied to your post “rdprice29 replied to your post “FYI re: Stimulus Checks” ...”

If the direction is ~part of the name of the street~, I would assume it's not supposed to be abbreviated, but if just an indicator, it should be. For example, #### West Dodge Road shouldn't be because "West Dodge Road" is the name of the street, but #### N 130th Street should be because it's just indicating which part of 120th. 

Yeah, I would understand better if it was like, South Carolina Street or something, but it is a genuine directional -- in Chicago the dividing line is Madison, and at least in downtown everything above Madison is North and below Madison is South, by block (so like, 700 South State is seven blocks south of Madison). Mostly, anyway, there are a couple of little weird patches. And while I don’t live in the actual weird bit, I do live on a street that terminates prematurely, so that could be part of it. 

sandrayln replied to your post “rdprice29 replied to your post “FYI re: Stimulus Checks” ...”

USPS has a page to verify correct addresses - I'd be curious to see if your address in there matches what you had to enter in, per what ibibibi said.

Well, USPS says the formal address is 401 S Starbuck St., but I don’t know that I would trust that to be what they have on their back end either. Last year I wanted to do the postal “letters to santa” where you can pick a letter someone has sent in and fulfill their request, but in order to sign up you have to be pretty heavily verified. I must have tried dozens of ways to write my address but they claimed it didn’t match what they had on file -- even though everywhere on their site, from my Informed Delivery account to my personal profile, listed it as 401 S Starbuck St. 

I dunno, man. Maybe I secretly don’t exist. 

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Post Office Bounty!

The top image is all gifts from @jadesymb -- loved the photos of your family, they're super cute but I figured I'd cover them for the image. :D Thank you for all the art, the pins and the stickers!

The cat toys, sparkly city card, and giant candy canes in the second image are from @sandralyn -- the cats love the mice, but I couldn't get a good picture of them so instead I snapped a shot of Polk being VERY interested in the candy canes. Thank you for the good wishes!

The Darkwing Duck toy (OH MY GOD), Emoji stickers, lip smackers and bookmark are from @shirokou -- and I've already told you but I love the Hallmark Channel Avengers fanfic :D

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I AM FINALLY, NEARLY CAUGHT UP :D Thank you again for all your Christmas Cheer and I am...so sorry it is February. :D 

Top photo, the delightful punny Wise Men card (No well, no well, no well!) and giant candy cane are from @sandralyn - I do like peppermint and I love how sturdy this candy cane looks. 

I got a jar of Joy from @papercraftingfan, who I am guessing made that card themselves -- it’s gorgeous and I love the rhinestones that are TOTALLY NOT VISIBLE IN THE PHOTO, sorry. So glad you enjoy the writing!

The snowflake and awesome crocheted (? I think crocheted?) wreath are from @sparrowhawk17 - glad I could bring some joy to 2017. Hope I bring some to this year too. :)

DUBIOUS CON-SANTA-CLES coming down the chimney is from @nowordsforthis - we both know why I always laugh a little harder when I get a card from you :D 

The mince spies come to me from Lynne -- thank you for the New home wishes! 

Someone is thinking of me during the Apocalypse and it’s @niamh (I believe that’s your handle? If not please correct!) who sent me AMAZING morbid patches as well. At least one of them is going straight onto my Bag Of Authority (what do I keep in it? WHATEVER I WANT.)

SECOND PHOTO, SAME AS THE OTTO....or something like that...

I got two Narwhale cards this year for a total of FOUR NARWHALES, and since they arrived together I figured I’d photograph them together. The one with the Captain America sticker is from @sagedarkwoods and I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the streaming and recipes and writing! The one with the cool cookie stamp is from @drownedinlight and I am so glad you are a mutual! Thanks for the good wishes. :)

The second photo is my Amusement Photo because it has both narwhales and a lovely letter and recipe from Rebecca...which was hand-delivered to me by Scifigrl47 after it went to her PO box instead of mine :D Thank you so much for the recipe and I wanted to let you know the letter arrived safely! I’m glad you’re enjoying Leverage, both the show and my fics :) And while I do like stickers I ALSO LOVE SNACKS. 

And finally...okay, I am a bit of a hare-brain these last few weeks. The Screaming Goat came from S. in Somerville. AND WHAT A SCREAMING GOAT IT IS, io saturnalia to you too.

BUT the wonderful postcards and tattoos did not come from S in Somerville, as I thought, but from Lynne! I have to tell you, L, the complex carbohydrates postcard made me laugh SUPER HARD. 

I have one more photo to post, but it’s going to involve the Mysterious Fistbump, so I have to wait until tonight to take a picture of it.

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Answers About the Renovation

justalurkr replied to your photoset “Kilz latex primer does battle...”

Having read through the tag since the keys on the windowsill, I gotta ask: Sam, are you absolutely about this?

Well, if I’m not, it’s way too late now :D Payments come due February 1st! 

sandrayln replied to your photoset “Kilz latex primer does battle...”

I... am not sure the primer is winning there.

It’s trying hard, poor thing! Coat 2 looks better:

spaci1701 replied to your photoset “Kilz latex primer does battle...”

I actually like the red - as an accent wall. Saw a 6'x6' powder room that was that shade of red, though. With 10' ceilings. Gave you a serious esophagus feeling.

It’s really photogenic -- in person it’s a lot more....intense. And the small accent wall would maybe be ok, but the other one is like 30 feet long and stretches from the front door all the way down to the windows. 

froofie replied to your photoset “Kilz latex primer does battle...”

Just clocking the orange sheets...cuz my bed is still rocking that color. :)

Aw yay! Yeah, I saved those out, all the rest of my sheets except those on my bed are packed. I lie on the air mattress when I need to stretch out for a bit. 

niennanir replied to your photo “Death ladder doubles as lunch table!”

Hey, 'big' hole patch looks good there.

Thanks! I feel like I’ve got the hang of this patching business now. :D 

lacylu42 replied to your post “The Death Fridge”

Having only ever lived in apartments before, I kind of assumed our home would be clean when we bought it. NOT SO. I remember starting to cry when I realized how filthy it was. The people before us had cats, and they kept the litterbox in the under-sink cabinet in the downstairs bathroom. There was SO MUCH LITTER and worst of all it was IN the floor vents. SOO GROSS. In other words, I empathize.

Yeah, I was a bit dismayed to find as much filth as I did, though it’s nominal comparatively. I might at some point actually hire a professional cleaning service for the kitchen, it’s...grody. 

tzikeh replied to your photoset “Turns out the hardware store opens at ten...”

is that red wall... load-bearing? Because I know an easier way to get rid of the color--you just need a sledgehammer....

Well, I don’t know if it’s load bearing, but my neighbors might object to me knocking out the wall between my unit and theirs :D 

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shirokou replied to your photo “Kilz and the Red Monster”

I'm so proud of you, Sam.

Thank you! This is not the only super-supportive message I’ve had, but I am using it to stand in for all of them -- thanks for your encouragement guys, it helps me out! 

sandrayln replied to your photo “Kilz and the Red Monster”

That... is not an accent wall. That is 20 feet of aggressive guest deterrent via blinding.

It’s the first thing you see when you walk into the condo. Like you have to pass down a hallway with all that red for a good 15 feet before you come into the living room. And the thing is even the red wouldn’t be so bad but it’s SUPER HIGH GLOSS, and when the light comes in from the west through the GIANT windows, it really uh, it lights up. 

realmarysue replied to your photo “Kilz and the Red Monster”

When you said 'accent wall' I wasn't expecting 20 feet of murderwall.

It occurred to me today that I had never shared the Giant Red Wall of Doom with you guys, when I thought I had. I feel like everyone must have thought I was CRAZY OBSESSED with eradicating the red from the wall, without the vital context that the red actually runs the entire length of that wall including covering the door.

Yeah.....THE FRONT DOOR

chibiesque replied to your photo “Kilz and the Red Monster”

That's a lot of wall... How big is your new apartment? :)

It’s basically a 30′ square box with a small entryway glommed onto one end. The red wall is the north wall, which runs essentially uninterrupted from front door to living room (26′). The west wall that connects to it is a full 30′, stretching the length of the living room/dining room area, and then the south and east walls are 30′ each but broken up by the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom walls. 

niennanir replied to your photo “Kilz and the Red Monster”

Wow, questionable taste in light fixtures too. They should have taken the money for the red paint and bought a respectable hall light.

I mean, it’s relatively harmless as globe lights go. And the other globe light in that hallway, the one you see on entering, is significantly more...unique.

tyrannosaurus-trainwreck replied to your photo “Kilz and the Red Monster”

I wonder if the person who picked out the color was colorblind. My stepfather couldn't be trusted in the paint section because he had problems with the red/green section of the wheel.

That could possibly also explain why it’s high gloss, I would imagine saturation and gloss might be more important to someone with colorblindness. 

avenreyamidala replied to your photo “Kilz and the Red Monster”

So is the wall 28 ft by 8 feet? Can’t think of other dimensions that make sense. Or I guess 10 ft by 22.4 feet, but that seems weird in my head

Technically it’s 26x8, but there’s also a two foot connecting wall past the coat closet.

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Answers Mostly About Food

docbeeski replied to your photo “Dropped off my earnest-money check at the realtor’s office and then...”

Wondering why it has a spoon *and* a stick? I would have thought those two ice cream delivery methods were relatively mutually exclusive...?

Well, it’s....it’s complicated but essentially the stick is pretty coated with chocolate and toppings too -- they haven’t quite worked out all the kinks yet I think. The way you do it is, you order the flavor of ice cream you want, then the dip you want (white chocolate, dark, milk, etc) and then the topping you want it dunked in. So the chocolate hasn’t 100% hardened by the time they hand it to you, and it’s just...a bit easier to eat with a spoon. 

dorkilybeautiful replied to your link “What’s your state’s favorite Halloween treat?”

YES. YES GOOD. JOIN US ON THE SOUR PATCH KIDS TRAIN.

I mean, I was never against them, I just never HAD them as a kid, like I feel like they weren’t....around. And I still don’t see them on candy shelves or whatnot, I don’t know where one procures them other than bulk bags at halloween :D 

sandrayln replied to your post “so i've been thinking about making some sloppy joes and was just...”

And if all else fails, the pre-made guacamole is usually next to the dip and sour cream.

OH BUT -- don’t put premade guac in your sloppy joe. The point is to use the guac seasonings, you don’t want avocado in your sloppy joe.

I mean. Maybe you do, but it’s probably better to put slices on top rather than stir in guacamole. :D 

kissmeagainarthas replied to your photo “Today’s nouvelle cuisine: salted egg over hot rice! Now in convenient...”

How'd it taste? :D

It was pretty good! Needed a sauce, I think, because a bit dry on its own, but tasty nonetheless. 

onemuseleft replied to your post “I just bought $29 tickets to the Arclight’s Last Jedi “fan event” on a...”

Remember when you didn't know what an X-Wing was?

IN MY DEFENSE, THE ENTIRE ORIGAMI SHEET WAS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. :D 

jupitersmaughart replied to your post “I just bought $29 tickets to the Arclight’s Last Jedi “fan event” on a...”

But you will have trading cards if it is like the Last Jedi fan event here. :)

Trading cards were mentioned! I’m mostly in it to a) stare at cosplayers and b) get free popcorn. 

screwds replied to your photo “Today’s nouvelle cuisine: salted egg over hot rice! Now in convenient...”

...that is a lot of salted egg, good sir!

It just looks like it ‘cause you can’t see the scale, really -- that’s a single chopped up egg, sitting on about a quarter cup of rice :D 

inexplicablesatsuma replied to your link “Celery Soda Recipe on Food52”

Strengthening the flavor of your syrup with celery seeds also a candidate for getting enough celery flavor into your jelery - if you’ve still got some syrup lying around toss in a teaspoon or so and leave it overnight (heat makes the extraction process faster but its /usually/ not necessary) and see how you like the taste

I’m gonna have to experiment with celery seeds for sure. I wanted to but all I had was celery salt, which....would not have gone well, I think. :D 

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walburgablack replied to your post “hey sam! i don't know if you've been asked this before, but did you...”

do you have to be in residence for your doctorate, though? my advisor did his in two years because he'd already been mostly prepared on his own

I have no idea. I assume not, like I’m sure there are expedited doctoral programs for people who’ve already done most of the work, but that would really be the only option for me, and there wouldn’t be a point in paying for it, really, no PHD would help me in the work I do. So I may as well just learn the shit I want to on my own :D

sadiehaleheart replied to your post “thewittiestpartition replied to your post “When you travel, do you...”

For consideration - Ikea toftbo bath mats are great to reduce litter tracking. (Highly textured to catch all the stray clay bits, machine washable, tumble dry, cheap ish, and they come in a wide range of colors!)

sandrayln 

Sam, for the litter problem, this thing is magic: Moonshuttle Blackhole Rectangular Cat Litter Mat, 30 X 23-Inch, Dark Gray https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G67FD6W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_x9PFBb03A7PZK    I’ve had other litter collecting mats, and they’ve all been… Mediocre, at best. This one? Holy crap. It actually collects the litter. And cleaning it out is just a matter of squeezing the sides together and dumping it out. Honestly, the worst thing about it is that some of the color options it comes in are atrocious.

Oh, I’ll take a look at both of these options! Right now I’m using a cut up yoga mat, which actually works remarkably well, but Polk likes to kick litter around, the little punk :D

terrie01 replied to your post “thewittiestpartition replied to your post “When you travel, do you...”

I think it's the same with books. Some of it is also hype backlash. If you've heard over and over about how awesome a movie or book it, and then it's... decent, it's hard to feel let down. I read Ender's Game in college, after multiple friends were horrified I hadn't. It was a book. Parts of it I liked, parts of it I really didn't. Wrong time, wrong expectations.

Oh for sure. Catcher In The Rye is the same way; I love it but I know a lot of people who don’t, and I suspect it’s because it caught me at the precise correct psychological moment.