Notices by Deborah Makarios (dmakarios@theres.life)

Ellyanne Wanjiku Chlystun has planted over a quarter of a million trees. She's 14.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c05gn47n69eo
#trees #Africa #Kenya #ShareGoodNewsToo #ClimateChange

A bit of cheerful music to start the weekend: Wherever We Go by the Newsboys.
"Wherever we go...that's where the party's at."
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sn26k_Jmyts
#JukeboxFridayNight #ItsMyParty #Newsboys

The bud of a Blue Moon rose, showing the first hint of blueness.
#BloomScrolling #roses

The Blue Moon begins to open...
#BloomScrolling #roses

I write my books myself. When I first started writing, I never dreamed that I would ever need to say that.
But here we are. I write them myself, without the aid of the Great Plagiaristic Texcretor.

At present, that mostly means lying on the sofa with a large blank book and a few fountain pens, with a couple of hours at my desk every week or two when I feel capable of sitting up.
(It turns out there is a distinction between sitting up and sitting down, and it is an important one.)

So if you are keen on supporting books that are 100% AI-free (also Creative Commons- licensed! CC BY-SA), you can get them here:
https://deborah.makarios.nz/works/
AND you can choose how much you'd like to pay for most of the ebooks. ($0 is an option. Reading should not be constrained by lack of income.)
#NaNoWriMo #AI #FountainPens #CreativeCommons #books #writing #disability

Never hurts to be prepared.
#gardening #zombies #books #GardeningForTheZombieApocalypse

@rose_myrtle 😃 Enjoy!!

@rose_myrtle Thanks!

MeMade or Mended today: dress (mended), hat (crocheted), petticoat (upcycled), bandanna and drawers (sewn), cardigan and knee high socks (knitted).
#MeMadeMay #knitting #sewing #mending #crochet

@rose_myrtle Good meat in a roo tail. Lean, boneless...

An interesting study just out in Australia:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/515266/what-kind-of-diner-are-you-6-types-of-diners-who-avoid-plant-based-meat-dishes

I think I'm closest to a Type 4. I prefer to eat vegetables that are honest about their identity, and not heavily processed into masquerading as meat.
That said, when I go out for dinner it's a special occasion, and I'm more likely to order something with meat.

I don't know why the study focusses on restaurant meals instead of the more common home meals. At home I eat meatless dinners about 3/4 of the time (and always meatless breakfast & supper).

What type are you?
#PlantBased #environment #food

"The ancient Egyptians, incidentally, treated arthritis with electric catfish—or, as the hieroglyphics call them, 'angry catfish'. Remarkably, electric catfish can be trained to stun on cue, which seems like something coastguards and river police should be looking into before a supervillain does."
—The Ambition of a Potato
https://deborah.makarios.nz/the-ambition-of-a-potato/
#books #fish #history #AncientEgypt #TheAmbitionOfAPotato

@rose_myrtle That's further than we got. Thanks!

Can any kindly reader of Japanese tell me what this paper bag is so desperately trying to communicate? Many thanks!
#Japanese #PleaseTranslate

Pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa). Sometimes called the New Zealand Christmas tree due to its flowering season.
Just about every NZ scenic calendar's December page features a pōhutukawa on a sunny day at the beach. Here it is on a cloudy Christmas Eve.
#BloomScrolling #NewZealand #trees

@rose_myrtle The chickens are assisting, but they don't seem to dig deep enough to get at the mint roots. Maybe I need to confine their activities to a smaller area?

Seeking gardening advice and encouragement!

Some previous occupant of my house planted a more or less inedible member of the mint family which has since spread to infest the entire back garden.

I've tried digging clear patches (heavy clay: backbreaking, and it just grows back), and building no-dig beds (worked for a season, then failure to thrive due to root competition).

Does anyone have any suggestions that don't presuppose either a fat budget or boundless energy? I'd prefer not to do anything that is going to destroy all soil life, but I'm getting desperate and am open to suggestions.
#gardening #InvasiveSpecies

If, like Gandhi, you were to have one thing in your daily life which symbolizes what you're trying to achieve with said life, what would it be?

https://deborah.makarios.nz/blog/2023/09/07/gandhi-chaplin-and-the-symbol-of-non-violence/

#Gandhi #Chaplin #Luddites #SpinningWheel #LifeGoals #History

I still haven't got over supermarkets labelling green coconuts as "dry" (you can hear them slosh for pity's sake!!) and now we have this!
If only there was some simple, natural way of protecting the delicate wee coconut from the hardships of life...
#packaging #food

Today I learned that Louis XIV of France had seven sons named Louis and four daughters named Louise. (And that's just counting the ones of whose names history is certain.)
So I'm pretty sure Louis still holds the record, despite George Foreman with his five Georges and one Georgetta.
#history #names #LouisXIV #GeorgeForeman #TIL