#I gonna need a better storage solution soon too- the bin I have is too small

[raeathnos]

.

[clatterbane]

Thankfully obtained after work today: a cooler for a little temporary non-freezer storage! That's another thing we had, but it must still be sitting in our old house on Plague Island.*

(And yep, I really need to run the Roomba through here. But, I've been staying a tad distracted.)

Plus, some more chill blocks that are now in the freezer. Along with a couple of 1L drink bottles with water in them to help take up the slack as DIY reusable ice packs after he picked up half the commercial ones that I would have. We already had a few reusable ice blocks in there. I wish I had thought of the bottle solution before he even went out, so they could go into the freezer earlier. Ah well!

Currently inside there: that carton of milk I accidentally froze, which I was wanting to set back out to thaw and use anyway. Plus some lettuce I wanted to eat soon instead of throwing away while I was just clearing out the vegetable bin, because it won't hurt it to sit in there.

The milk situation shoud be win-win: it can continue thawing itself out, while also helping chill the cooler down before I add more ice packs to keep it that way! 😎

I decided to throw that insulated shopping bag in there too, because it shouldn't hurt and the little extra insulation might be useful. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Part of my galaxy brain strategic plan here is also that we should be able to grab that bag of refrigerator stuff out, to free up the cooler itself to shovel at least some of the freezer stuff into temporarily when the new fridge is on the way.

We are apparently getting this model instead of the Husqvarna, because it was actually in stock today:

That is also like $400-equivalent less expensive, and looks perfectly fine. Much better than what we've got now even before the fridge compartment broke down, so really not gonna complain.

Unfortunately, we'll most likely not get it until after the weekend. 😭 That store does indeed seem to be part of a smaller more local chain operating under some Elon franchise setup, and they handle their own deliveries/installations. But yeah, the delivery people are apparently pretty booked up through the end of the week and will get back to him tomorrow.

Was hoping for sooner, but we are in SO much better situation in the meantime since the freezer is still chugging along. *fingers crossed*

I am currently trying to get more perishables cleared out of the fridge before they can start stinking things up. Not much is going in the cooler, at this point. Stuff like pickles and vinegary sauces may be fine at room temperature if we use them up soonish, and a lot of other items are already untrustworthy. Mostly salvaging longer-life stuff like cheese and some vegetables.

* Which is indeed still in our legal possession, with a bunch of stuff in it that the moving company just did not get like they were supposed to. 😒 Unless burglars have been in after petty household shit like that, who knows. I am not too happy about Limbo House, but hey. It's complicated. That is indeed one reason why I am still surprised sometimes not to find items that we totally should have, though. I remember packing a lot of them.

[riverboundao3ff]

Riverbound, Chapter 5

You are THE GUARDIAN, and you are currently munching on the most delicious bowl of grubflakes to have ever existed.

You have seen many things over the course of your travels, met all kinds of people and befriended them, been to places most could never even dream of. Space, time, and an entire universe have surrendered to your whim. The heart of an eldritch sun flowed through your veins not too long ago, and you through it.

And yet, you have still to encounter anything as satisfying as a good breakfast.

Yesterday was mostly spent sleeping, only waking up to eat a couple of times and talk to Daraya and her friends. Bronya had also brought Karako with her when she came to check in on you, which had been the highlight of your night. Like Wanshi, he had noticeably grown, and now had a couple of inches on you. There was a new depth to his gaze that had come with the passage of time. He almost looked like that… entity you and Feferi spoke to at her palace.

It was a little unnerving at first, but it had soon become apparent that this boy was still the same young clown you nearly threw hands with seadwellers for. He was still Karako.

That much was obvious as you watch him and Wanshi plot out the next chapter of her Soldier Purrbeasts fanfiction, with Wanshi arguing that Lionstar of ShadeCaste needs to be killed off and Karako drawing out Lionstar eating a bunch of other purrbeasts. It’s very detailed and anatomically correct. You wonder how Bronya even let those books into the caverns, and then you remember reading Warriors as a kid on Earth. Those cute illustrations of cats running around in the woods on all of the covers did a great job of hiding the gorefest that raged within.

Sitting next to you on the couch is Daraya, typing away furiously on her palmhusk, and Lanque, who is trying to judge how well your ribs are healing by poking your side.

You dodge another perfectly manicured claw in time to see Daraya receive another text from Tyzias, saying that she and the others would be at the bottom of the mountain in an hour or so. “Tell her I said hi!”

“You’ll see her pretty soon,” Daraya says, a little confused.

“Yeah, but I’m excited-ow! Lanque, quit it!”

“I’m feeling for the break.”

“You’re gonna be feeling my fist up your flat ass if you don’t stop.”

“They said a bad word!” Wanshi yells.

You freeze. Your mind races for a solution that doesn’t involve Bronya reaming you out for cussing in front of the kids. “If you don’t tattle on me you can say a bad word too.”

Her big black eyes widen. “Really?”

“Really.”

“‘Cause Lanque taught me a really good one!”

“I taught you nothing of the sort, young lady,” Lanque growls, slapping a hand over your mouth to shut you up. You contemplate licking it just to see how he would react. Better yet, you could throw your empty bowl at his head and see how thick troll skulls really are.

Wanshi takes control of the situation by hopping up to you and leaning into your ear. “Lususfucker.”

You squeal into Lanque’s palm, and Daraya’s jaw drops. Even Karako looks impressed.

“Wanshi Adyata!” Lanque scolds, but the corners of his eyes lift in such a way that tells you he’s not actually angry. You wiggle out of his grasp and stand, taking a couple of slow breaths to test the pain. It’s still sore AF in there, but as long as you take it easy you’ll be fine. You’ve had a lot worse for a lot longer.

Taking your bowl and putting in the sink by the bathroom, you turn to your friends and do your best impression of having your shit together. “Alright, so I know it’s only like a fifteen minute walk down to the bottom of the mountain, but I’m crippled so I say we head out early.”

“Bronya won’t be here to pick up Wanshi and Karako for an hour,” Lanque says, tapping the armrest he’s leaning on.

“They could come with us. Tyzias is bringing Tirona, she’s around their age,” Daraya points out.

“Won’t Bronya be mad?” you ask warily. The last thing you want to do is drag her student and her adopted clown son into a possible Situation™. It’s not like you’re going out tonight looking for trouble, but this is Alternia.

Lanque considers it, and then leaps to his feet with a smirk. “Nah. I’ll be coming with you guys, and I’ve taken the children out plenty of times.”

“Bronya didn’t-” Daraya begins to say, huffing in amusement, but Lanque cuts her off with a dramatic twirl of his suit jacket that slaps her in the face with a perfectly pressed sleeve.

“Daraya, dear, if I don’t get out of these godforsaken caves soon I might actually lose my mind. Wanshi, Karako! Come, we’re going on an adventure.”

You watch with a smile as the kids look up with sparkling eyes and instantly abandon their project to scramble over to Lanque. Daraya glares up at the older jade, nose still scrunched up from being smacked, but finally heaves herself upright to follow. You join her as the five of you head out the door and bump your shoulder against hers. She must have grown a little as well, because the top of your head now barely reaches her jawline.

The stairs are kind of a bitch, but you persevere long enough to get to the main level of the caverns. Your ribs are throwing a Karkat-worthy bitchfit, though, so when Lanque halts the group at the end of the corridor for some reason you don’t complain.

“What?” Daraya mutters, impatient.

“Hush. Just because we can leave the caverns doesn’t mean we’re supposed to, and Bronya is supervising tonight’s shift. Do you want to explain to her who we’re going to meet?” he shoots back.

There’s something in his voice that tells you there’s more to this than either of them are letting on. You want to ask them what’s up, but even Wanshi and Karako are silent, so you keep your mouth shut and trot after Lanque. Teleporting is sounding more and more appealing by the second, but you know you’re still a little high from the painkillers Lynera gave you before she left for work. You learned the hard way that teleporting while drunk/high/otherwise incapacitated is a bad idea, like the time when you and Lanque had to ditch a party because the drones showed up and you, in a panic, zapped the both of you right into a river outside of Thrashthrust. That was the night you also discovered that landdwelling trolls are notoriously poor swimmers.

The next twenty minutes are spent dodging from building to building like you’re a group of spies trying to escape the government. It’s fun at first, but when Daraya has to yank you down behind a garbage bin to avoid being seen by a group of girls on their way to class, you wonder how often these trolls have to resort to sneaking around just for a glimpse of freedom. How many jades had never even had a friend that wasn’t of their own caste? How many haven’t seen the stars in the night sky, felt the wind in their hair, had the opportunity to pursue something they chose for themselves instead of being thrown into a life entirely dedicated to others?

Kids raising kids. That’s what this is.

The world outside of the caverns is cruel, devoid of justice and mercy for even those whose blood ran cold in their veins. But when you look at it, really look, the caverns aren’t much better. It’s a prison with bioluminescent cells.

You focus on keeping up with Daraya so you don’t get even more pissed off than you already are. Being angry would have to wait. Right now, you’re going to meet your friends.

… This isn’t the way to the main entrance, though? Where are you guys going?

Lanque answers your question by leading the way down an offshoot behind what you think is a storage unit. No more fungi grows to light the way, so you simply trust him to know where to go. There aren't many other options. In less than a minute it’s pitch black and strangely damp, and the temperature has dropped far enough to make you wish you’d brought that nice jacket Vriska gave you.

“This is how I get out,” Lanque whispers. You hear his footsteps stop, so you stop as well. “It’s a bit of a climb, but it’s the fastest way to the surface besides the main entrance.”

Your heart sinks at the word climb. Also, you can’t see balls. “I’m assuming there’s another tunnel? I'm as good as blind down here.”

“You seriously can’t see? How is your species still alive?” Lanque chuckles.

“Because we’re diurnal, pretty boy. We do our business with the light of our nice, not-lethal sun shining down on our backs. And just because I can’t see doesn’t mean I can’t do anything.” To prove your point, you take a careful step forward and feel for the walls of the tunnel. It’s narrow, and you can already feel the rock sloping up to the surface.

How the hell does Terezi do this?

You feel the challenging spark of Lanque’s gaze on the back of your neck. Nice Boy hours were over, it seemed. Time to return to the regularly scheduled programming of roasting each other until he let you in behind those meticulously maintained emotional walls for a moment or two, or you doing something especially stupid to spite him.

With one foot in front of the other, you lead the way into the darkness.

Fifty steps in and you can tell that if you hadn’t taken the painkillers earlier you’d be on the ground crying. One hundred steps in you trip and almost eat shit. One-hundred and fifty steps, Lanque is right up in your business, trying to make you go faster.

Keyword being trying. You wait until he’s got one foot up on the rock slab you’re standing on and pretend to trip again. He grunts and grabs the walls for support as you slam back into him, using the weight of your frankly magnificent ass to knock him off balance.

“My bad, sorry,” you tell the blackness.

“Do I need to carry you? Because I will carry you. Like a little wiggler.”

“No, thank you. You can wait for the poor injured alien without self-combusting for a little while longer. Unless… Daraya? Kids? How are you guys holding up?” you call back.

“We’re good! Take all the time you need!” Wanshi announces, giggling.

“Yeah, dude. Don’t push yourself,” Daraya adds.

“Honk!”

Lanque growls, and you grin.

Luckily, he doesn’t have the time to come up with a plan for revenge when Wanshi yells that she can see the end. You can’t see anything for another half-minute or so, but when you do you, moonlight illuminates the bend in the tunnel you’re rounding like a searchlight. The slope flattens out, much to the relief of your aching legs.

The secret exit leads out underneath some huge tree you have no name for, shielded from sight by a thick layer of roots that twist all over the place. You squeeze through an opening in the mess and hop aside to let Wanshi and Karako through. Lanque hauls himself up and over through a bigger hole above you, and Daraya does the same.

You take a moment to suck in fresh air. The trolls come to stand beside you, and together you all look out towards Thrashthrust. Two moons hang low in the sky, lighting up the planet below in shades of pink and green.

It’s beautiful, but you know the kinds of danger that beauty can hide.

Karako is the first one to hop off the ledge, with Wanshi close behind. You opt to carefully shimmy down as far as you can before sliding to the forest floor. You’re left breathless nonetheless as the impact sends stabs of pain through your torso, but you shake it off and follow the kids. Daraya and Lanque come up on either side of you to lend you support.

“I’m fine, guys, really,” you protest.

“I saw that flinch,” Daraya mutters. “Besides, if we show up with you limping all over the place the teals will have my ass.”

“You just want to impress Tyzias,” Lanque snickers.

Daraya hisses like a feral cat, and you turn to her, interest peaked. “Wait. You and Tyzias?”

“No! We’re just friends!” she snarls, swatting at Lanque.

Lanque has a knowing grin on his face, though, and he wraps an arm around your waist to lean down to your level. “They’re so pale it’s disgusting.”

You look back to a green-faced Daraya and wiggle your eyebrows. Daraya gives you and Lanque the finger and stomps ahead to catch up with the kids.

“We gotta set them up,” you tell Lanque. “How far along are they?”

“Oh, you’ll see.”

You want to demand more information than that, but then Wanshi calls out a greeting from ahead. Somebody farther down the path answers.

“What’s with you and good timing?” you ask, your heart rising to your throat. Despite your ribs you quicken the pace, and when you don’t feel like you’re going to pass out you break into a jog.

“Oh, so now you want to hurry it up?” Lanque snarks, but right now you’re more interested in seeing your friends again than coming up with a good comeback.

You follow the path as it turns, and boom, there they are.

Karako, Wanshi, and Tirona are all saying hi and introducing themselves, Daraya and Tyzias are hugging each other (Oh, worm?), and Stelsa and Tagora are standing back like proud parents, even if good old Gor-Gor looks a bit scandalized by all the pale stuff going on.

It’s Stelsa who sees you first. Her hands fly up to cover her mouth and she squeals in delight. Tagora jumps at the noise and turns to see what she’s looking at before breaking out in the biggest smile you’ve ever seen on him, not the customer-service smile that’s all fangs but with his eyes as well.

You manage to haul your crippled ass over to them in time for Tyzias to pull away from Daraya, spot you, and pull you into a desperate but careful embrace. Daraya must have told her about your injuries, which is great because you don’t think you would have survived a whole gang of teals jumping on you all at once.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she croaks. “Fuck, we searched everywhere for you but you were gone and I thought you died somewhere all alone-”

You squeeze her tighter. “Hey, hey. I’m alive. I’m back.”

She sniffles and pulls back in time for Stelsa to wrap up the two of you in her ridiculously buff arms. Not for the first time, you can’t believe how much your friends missed you. It makes you feel so whole to know that you have so many people who care about you, and at the same time you’re crushed with the guilt of knowing that they all thought you were dead. Damn.

“Please, people, not in front of the children,” you hear Tagora complain, but his voice is a little thicker with emotion than you remember it being. You turn and stick your tongue out at him.

“What about me?” A frantic hand smacks your arm. “Hello? Gimme a hug, alien!”

“Hi, Tirona,” you laugh, reaching out behind you to bring her into the group. She squeaks in protest before letting it happen.

“Better,” she mumbles into your hoodie. You graciously pretend you don’t see her using it to wipe away a stray tear.

“Daraya told us everything and I could hardly believe it, it all sounds so… it sounds too much,” Stelsa says, wrapping her arms around herself. “Before all of this the world was so much smaller, and now you’re back because you escaped from a bunch of gods!”

“That’s the gist of it, yeah,” you agree.

Tagora pats your shoulder, which you know is his version of a hug. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. We’re just glad to have you back in one piece.”

Doc Scratch’s calm voice agrees somewhere in the back of your memories, overlaid by Dirk’s- no, not the goofy, lonely young boy you helped feel cared for, the other one-! “Thanks, Gor-Gor. I’m glad to be back, too.”

“Well, there is one thing I hope you’re willing to share,” Tyzias begins hesitantly. “Daraya said something about you being able to do some… interesting stuff. For… ah, screw it. We all know why we’re here.”

You meet her sharp, tired eyes. “What’s that?”

“We’re rebels.”

All of the trolls turn to glare at Lanque.

The tall jadeblood just shrugs and shoves his hands in his pockets. “What? It needs saying. Words are powerful, you know.”

“Yes they are, Bombyx, which is why you need to be more careful with them,” Tyzias drones.

“I can’t believe you guys are dragging me into this,” Tirona whines.

Tagora gives her a withering look. “Hey, you wanted to come, kid.”

“Yeah, ‘cause I wanted to see my friend-!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” You throw your hands out in a hold up motion. Your mind frantically replays what the fuck just happened. “You guys are saying that all of you are rebels?”

“Don’t say it out loud!” Tirona stage-whispers, ears flattening against her head.

Daraya sighs and comes up to pat your shoulder. “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time.”

She and Tyzias look at each other, seemingly come to a silent agreement, and then look back to you.

“You might wanna sit down for this,” says Tyzias.

[raystart]

When Your Non-design Hobby Becomes Your Hustle

Justin Fuller has spent plenty of mornings fly fishing for trout on Boulder Creek before heading into the offices of his Colorado design firm, Good Apples. In 2013, he gave his co-founder Dan Storch a minimalist tenkara rod for Christmas, and pretty soon, the two had hatched an idea for their second venture.  

“With fly fishing, you’ve got all this equipment you’ve gotta lug around with you—it’s almost like golf, but without a caddy,” says Fuller. “So much depends on the species of fish, the time of year, and how long you’ll be out there—you don’t want to end up without the equipment that you need.” To hold all that gear, anglers generally choose between a cheap plastic storage bin and a $400 bag with dozens of straps, pockets, and zippers.

Fuller and Storch decided to fill the gap with an $89 bag made from remnant wader material they’d discovered in Japan, forming Yakoda Supply in the process. The company’s first product offers storage and durability at a reasonable price, but it also solves one more problem: the pricy Neoprene waders required for fly fishing are so delicate that anglers can’t set foot on a gravel trail or asphalt parking lot; most jump out of their trucks and change on a garbage bag, floormat, or an old piece of carpet. Each Yakoda bag includes a removable foam pad to class things up a little. The two are now designing their second product—a $10 pocket-sized tin with foam and magnetic storage for flies, which splits the difference between the typical jury-rigged container made from an Altoid tin and a $20 box made of molded plastic and silicone.

“We’re looking at all of those small but meaningful elements that have been over-engineered, to put a few products in your quiver without breaking the bank,” says Storch. “The idea is that you can buy some of our stuff then have enough money left over to put gas in your car and go fishing.”

Their design background helped them understand market niches and positioning, and they quickly recognized that Instagram is the perfect place for fly-fishing nature porn. Living in Colorado, they’ve also found inspiration and guidance from friends who once worked at Mountain Hardwear and Black Diamond.

The entire experience has piqued Fuller’s interest in all things entrepreneurial. In conversation, he references Shoe Dog (the biography of Nike founder Phil Knight), NPR’s How I Built This podcast, and idols like Yeti and Howler Brothers who have built powerful brands focused on the outdoors. Until they reach those heights, they plan to spend their days focused on clients, and their evenings and weekends selling fly-fishing gear bound for a river hundreds or thousands of miles away.  

Fishing gear from Yakoda Supply.

When UX designer Brian Marchand and his family left Toronto for a suburban home with more elbow room, he built a small workshop in his backyard so he could devote more time to his favorite hobby: woodworking and carpentry. And after selling his own small digital firm to another company and serving out his three-year contractual obligation, he was handed the perfect opportunity; the CEO of Filament, a friend since childhood, asked if he’d like to work as a senior designer four days a week, with the goal of gradually devoting more time to woodworking if things took off. A no-brainer.

Some new employees bring a dozen donuts to the office early on, but Marchand did even better. After noticing that nearly every one of his Filament colleagues propped their computer monitors on stacks of books or empty boxes, he created monitor stands out of walnut, cherry, and ash, complete with storage compartments for pens and sticky notes.

When Made By Marsh was ready for paying clients, Marchand got referrals from his mother-in-law, who owns a Toronto home and garden store. Custom night tables, speaker cabinets, and shelves eventually led to walnut dressers, kitchen islands, and built-in benches. For now, his biggest expense is equipment: a mitre saw, drill press, and dust-collector set him back $700 each, and he’s got a long wish list with bigger and better toys, including a $4,200 cabinet saw and a $2,300 edge sander.

Although the tools in his workshop are nothing like the tools on his desktop, Marchand says woodworking has a surprising amount in common with web design. “I’ve always enjoyed building things that may actually solve a customer’s frustration or problem,” he says.

“It’s much like UX in that I’m asking questions like: Who is my audience? What do they need? What can I do to create a better solution?” 

He’s growing his social media following slowly and organically, and he’s constantly learning new things, like how to budget for projects that grow in complexity long after he’s quoted a price (once again, see web development). And he’s been surprisingly happy with his new role at Filament, which means he’s in no rush to abandon Sketch and Slack for the tablesaw just yet.

Custom wood sound system, by Marchand

Nashville graphic designer Matt Lehman and some friends had been kicking around ideas for a small business when one of the more enviro-friendly members of the group suggested making stylish home goods from recycled materials.

“We’d all talked about the fact that the recycled space is full of products that mean well, but [often come down to] bowls made out of candy wrappers—no one in the Crate & Barrel realm is really using repurposed materials in a meaningful way.”

There’s a reason for that. It’s expensive and time-consuming to source recycled materials at scale, which meant Lehman and friends had a long journey ahead of them. They looked to Europe, where small companies have been creating recycled products simply because they lack America’s wide-open spaces (a.k.a. future landfills). During a family vacation to Spain, one of the founders took the RV on a detour to check out a small shop outside Valencia, where everything is fully recycled and hand-blown. Lehman’s company, dubbed Newly, now offers wine glasses, whiskey tumblers, and pitchers manufactured in that small Spanish village.

Newly’s founders have learned a lot since opening for business a year ago. Hiring a local company to fulfill orders is worth every penny, and no amount of work is likely to pay off in January and February, whereas a healthy holiday season can make an entire year. The last of these reasons was the impetus for a series of photos created in October. Newly used a guerilla-style approach, renting out a hip Airbnb as a set and employing family and friends as models. Lehman’s wife is a fashion stylist for Nashville recording artists, so she’s been persuaded to lend her eye to photo shoots and video productions, too.

For now, Newly is close to break-even, with minimal debt beyond the founders’ initial investments. Like the founders of Yakoda, they know they’ve still got a long way to go. “Anyone who’s starting their own business thinking that they’re gonna be writing themselves a paycheck a few weeks after they start selling their product is crazy,” says Fuller.

“Even if this thing is more successful than we can imagine, we’re years away from it being our day job.”

Fortunately, all of these entrepreneurs are more than happy mixing business with pleasure. “We’ve realized we’re only one or two degrees of separation from someone we might want to talk to,” says Fuller. “And the best way to connect with those people is to take ’em fishing.”

Glasses, by Newly