Maryanne

I'm certain of it. I buy the cheap tape off Amazon, and it's identical to the tape for my mom's old label maker, and to the tape I sold at an office supply store 25 years ago. 3/8 embossing labeller tape is universal.

Yesss! I got my kid an old school Dymo embossing label maker for her 10th birthday and it was the best choice. Those things are awesome, and the refill tape is incredibly cheap and easy to get.

My brother-in-law, when he was a toddler, tried to get out of the car because he saw a golden eagle. "I'm gonna go scare that bird!" My MIL locked the car and drove away, telling him that THAT bird could carry him away.

It's not good!!

I think it's more likely the seed company's fault. It seems pretty common, based on r/gardening evidence. I once had a bit of chervil seed in with my packet of parsley seed, and didn't notice until the accidental addition of chervil turned a stew very bitter.

It might be? It also looks like a dark version of nemophilia (baby blue eyes). I wonder if a single seed of something else got into the packet.

I think you'd like the 70s books that were lent us while our daughter was small: a bunch by John Vernon Lord (I mostly remember The Giant Jam Sandwich), as well as My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes by Eve Sutton. (Newer-ish book rec: the rhythm in The Gruffalo is satisfying to read aloud.)

It's the weirdest! I first heard about this from a Texan friend who was complaining about the summer being too hot for tomato ripening. Who knew that my home in Saskatchewan, Canada would be the optimal tomato ripening environment (other than the short growing season).

I'm a giant nerd and checked the Portland weather report, compared to extension resources about tomatoes, and I'm seeing highs there above 85F, which is the point where tomato ripening comes close to temporarily halting. They'll catch up at soon as it cools off slightly.

Hasn't your summer been hotter than the usual for the PNW? My understanding is that temps above 25C slow down lycopene and other things involved in ripening. Tomatoes are so picky about temperature and light levels.

I'm sorry that we're having to miss seeing you on your way through the regicide city. Next time, my friend.

It's the only way, sadly. I bought a box of 5 bottles of sunscreen from Costco this spring, thinking "now we won't spend all our time looking for the sunscreen." (I can only find one bottle now, so you definitely need 10 bottles and not 5.)

Ha, I was about to say "sorry to spindleypete that I set off a Canadian existential crisis but I just really like thinking about this stuff." (I've now been thinking about how I shift between a flat city accent and something that's almost Scandinavian when I'm talking about the farm.)

Okay, I would agree with this. I say something that's a cross between "owt" and "oat." (I'm in the west.)

Haaaa I'm in the prairies and was thinking I hear it less here but more out east.

Haha oh no Letterkenny and Red Green as the accent examples

I'm saying "out out owl owl" out loud right now and it sounds the same, but maybe I say both weirdly. Maybe it's a rural Ontario accent that says "oot"? Like Bob and Doug Mackenzie. I've heard this as a stereotype but haven't encountered an American actually catching us say it for real!

I didn't even know it was available in the US! The whole show is Canadian. (Do we really say "oot" for real? I need to listen for it better.)

It's been days of suddenly plummeting barometric pressure. My head and neck and just a mess.

Those blackberries make me miss living on Vancouver Island SO MUCH. I used to get them for free everywhere, just on the side of the road! Now I have to pay like $5 for a little clamshell, like a chump.

I'm going to try vermiculite with my seed starting next year, after watching this much Gardener's World. (I use old berry boxes as my seed starting trays, but also frequently use cells.)

I think perlite might actually be our closest equivalent to grit.

Do they sell the British style horticultural grit there? I've been looking it up (thanks, Monty Don) and apparently the best equivalent in Canada is chicken scratch?

Their little overalls make them look like train conductors. So cute.

Every year, I go through the cycle of "Where did all the jars go? I have to buy more" to "We have too many jars and need to find more places to put them" and back to "Where did all the jars go?" (I'm still in the second phase because I am a month away from canning, but they'll all disappear soon.)

Oh no!!

I should have guessed that it was both.

I see that Io climbed into the sensory tub tummy-first, based on available evidence. Excellent. (That, or Iggy dumped water straight onto his brother's tummy.)

I actually shouted, when I saw the pass through built into that buffet. SUCH satisfying original features.

I love this! Ours is a giant heavy metal one (it turns out we can't transport it on the top of our car because it makes the roof start to cave in), which used to belong to my MIL. Bright orange, named Li'l Tiger, and we primarily walk it (with a little cart) to the urban lake near our house.

We use those cheap garden kneelers that we find at the dollar store! Cheap and lightweight and not a tragedy if gross lake water gets on them. (I love canoeing so much and started taking my kid out quite young too.)