Drew this while I was at a low point, right before I had to leave school because of my mental health (and some physical health issues). It is colored pencil, pencil, and a real bandaid! I am doing much better now—ketamine is a miracle drug!—and I head back to school in a little over a week for the first time in a year and a half!
One clove of Elephant Garlic from my grandma’s garden! I used it in my breakfast this morning—super yummy!
I read this fic earlier this year, and it’s since been deleted. I desperately want to read it again. Does anyone have a copy of it?
Thanks! <3
I just discovered this sub, and I’m so excited!
I made this the day before yesterday for breakfast, and it was SO GOOD! I decided on a whim to add a tbsp of miso paste to my usual breakfast sautée, and I will be doing that every time henceforth. Onions and miso are definitely a winning combination!
I have a surgical scar on my knee, and I noticed as I was putting on my compression socks today that it’s bruised. I don’t remember smacking my knee on anything (I normally notice since it hurts the scar), but I guess I must have. I never knew scars could bruise, and this is the first time I’ve seen it happen. My body keeps finding new, whacky ways to surprise me. Does anyone else’s scars bruise?
I have a surgical scar on my knee, and I noticed as I was putting on my compression socks today that it’s bruised. I don’t remember smacking my knee on anything (I normally notice since it hurts the scar), but I guess I must have. I never knew scars could bruise, and this is the first time I’ve seen it happen. Does anyone else’s scars bruise?
I think it’s my tibias that are moving? I can do this voluntarily, and often have to after I’ve been sitting or laying for a while because I have to click them back into place.
When I was younger, I thought this was my knees moving, because they did that frequently and it can be kinda difficult for me to distinguish certain bodily sensations from others but I recently found an MRI report on my right knee from when I was 13 (one year pre-op), and it said my tibia and patella were subluxed, so I thought it could be my tibias.
In my pre-op MRIs taken a year later when I was 14, my tibia wasn’t subluxed but my patella was. Which could mean that as I grew, my tibia moved back into place, except that it still feels like it moves around to this day, and I’m an adult now.
Anyway, it’s possible that this is a totally normal thing that everyone can do. I’m just not sure.
I’ve attached the MRI reports in the comments in case they’re relevant. The first one is from when I was 13, the second from when I was 14. The operation was an MPFL replacement, which I’ve had bilaterally, and a tibial tubercle osteotomy, which I only needed in my right knee. My brother has also had both MPFLs replaced, funnily enough. We really put our orthopedic surgeon’s kids through college, haha.
P.S. Please don’t be weird about my feet. I don’t know how to edit them out and still get a good shot of my knees. If you are weird about my feet, I will delete this.
I’ve had both my MPFLS (medial patello-
femoral ligaments) replaced, and so has my brother, but I’ve never met anyone else who has had this procedure done. (I’m diagnosed with hEDS, he’s not)
I had my right MPFL replaced when I was 14, as well as a tibial tubercle osteotomy in that knee. I had my left MPFL replaced when I was 17, and they also removed a piece of cartilage that had been torn out by one of the subluxations and was just kinda floating around in there. The surgeries were pretty successful—though my range of motion is somewhat limited now—but I recently subluxed my right knee for the first time since the surgery six years ago, so I was wondering:
Has anyone else had their MPFL replaced, and if so, did the ligament replacement last?
I’ve had both my MPFLS replaced, and so has my brother, but I’ve never met anyone else who has had this procedure done. (I’m diagnosed with hEDS, he’s not)
I had my right MPFL replaced when I was 14, as well as a tibial tubercle osteotomy in that knee. I had my left MPFL replaced when I was 17, and they also removed a piece of cartilage that had been torn out by one of the subluxations and was just kinda floating around in there. The surgeries were pretty successful—though my range of motion is somewhat limited now—but I recently subluxed my right knee for the first time since the surgery six years ago, so I was wondering:
Has anyone else had their MPFL replaced, and if so, did the ligament replacement last?
One of my oldest and most disruptive OCD obsessions/compulsions (genuinely not sure which it is) is counting the amount of letters in a word/phrase/sentence I think/read/hear/say and rearranging the letters or altering the tenses or words so that the letters add up to a multiple of three. In the past 3 years, it has changed to specifically be the number 21, though this drawing is a sentence that adds up to 27.
My brain does this automatically without me thinking about it, and it is most disruptive when I am reading. I try my best to interrupt the process so that I can’t complete it, but when I do, it feels like my head is “full of bees,” hence the doodle. I guess you could also say it feels like my head is full of static. My brain gets stuck and I get a headache when I try not to do the counting. I also get a headache when I do count, though, sometimes, so who knows?
This drawing idea popped into my head ten minutes ago, and while I’m not the best at drawing, I think it came out okay.
We use this cast iron specifically for lamb biryani and arroz con pollo. We cook it directly over our fire pit. It’s always so yummy!
Our first Pooh Cookbook bake is complete, and another is underway!
There was a good amount of trial and error with this one. The recipes in this book have some confusing measurements, and the conversions aren’t terribly straightforward. For instance, this recipe called for “8oz self raising flour (or 8 rounded tablespoons)” but 8oz of flour is 225 grams, which is about 1.5 cups of flour, which is way more than 8 tablespoons.
We also had a little trouble with the bake time, which is why some of the cookies are far darker than the others. Those were the first batch, and they got too much time in the oven. The second batch got less time and we also flattened them for a more even cook.
Overall, definitely a success!
…that I have taken a photo of.
One of the Thanksgiving traditions in my family is that my uncle makes an ice cream cake shaped like a turkey as part of our dessert. Two years ago, he passed that responsibility over to me. The first three turkey cakes are his, and the last two are mine.
Also pictured: my friend and I assembling the cake two years ago and the molds used to make the cakes.
The inside is typically vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate, and the outside is either coffee or chocolate.
My copy of the Pooh Cookbook by Katie Stewart has arrived! My mom and I are planning on making our way through it this summer before I head back to school. We will be starting with the Honey Cookies, which we will be baking tomorrow.
The book is so cute! It’s got illustrations and quotes from “The House at Pooh Corner” by A.A. Milne, and the recipes seem delightful! I’m so excited to get started!
Which recipe should we do next? And which recipes would you guys like to make?
(I am new to this sub, so if this post does not meet the requirements for this sub, let me know and I will take it down. I just thought this would be fun to share!)
I (20F) finally found a doctor in my area who diagnoses EDS and saw him today. I actually cried when he confirmed that he treats it. It was a little embarrassing.
He was recommended by my cardiologist, who he had gone to school with, and I was a little wary since the last rheumatologist I saw at that hospital for an EDS diagnosis told me it was all in my head and prescribed me Vitamin D supplements, but he was great.
He took me through the Beighton scale and the criteria, and ended the appointment on a “maybe.” My Beighton score was 7, but he said he had to check the specific criteria for the Walker-Murdoch Sign because he wasn’t sure how much your thumb and pinky are meant to overlap. Mine overlap slightly. Anyway, without a positive Walker Sign, I only have 4 points in Criterion 2 Feature A, though he admitted that he was unsure what constituted velvety skin, so he couldn’t determine whether or not I had it. Same for the mild skin hyperextensibility.
Anyway, he said he would double check the specific wording on the Walker Sign and get back to me. He also told me that the difference between hEDS and HSD was arbitrary and doesn’t ultimately matter. I mostly agree with this, except that I’ve gotten the impression that many practitioners take hEDS more seriously than HSD.
It feels kinda anticlimactic to me that after years of wondering what was wrong with me (and two MPFL replacements that were the result of years of dislocations without anyone realizing something was wrong), whether or not I have EDS is determined by such a small thing. I know the criteria is specific on purpose, and I am glad I haven’t experienced most of the things in Feature A (prolapse, hernias—yeesh). I guess it’s just putting me on edge having to wait.
In the past year, I’ve received 4 diagnoses that I didn’t even suspect I had (POTS, Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, and IBS), and I (and my diagnosed with various kinds of EDS friends) was pretty sure that I had hEDS, so it feels a little ironic that I might not have it. I’m obviously not sad I *don’t* have the terrible genetic disorder that causes things like prolapse and hernias, but I just feel kinda weird right now. I don’t know. Rant over, I suppose.
I finally found a doctor in my area who diagnoses EDS and saw him today. I actually cried when he confirmed that he treats it. It was a little embarrassing. He was recommended by my cardiologist, who he had gone to school with, and I was a little wary since the last rheumatologist I saw at that hospital for an EDS diagnosis told me it was all in my head and prescribed me Vitamin D supplements, but he was great. He took me through the Beighton scale and the criteria, and ended the appointment on a “maybe.” He said he had to check the specific criteria for the Walker Sign because he wasn’t sure how much your thumb and pinky are meant to overlap. Mine overlap fairly slightly. Anyway, without a positive Walker Sign I only have 4 points in Criterion 2 Feature A, though he admitted that he was unsure what constituted velvety skin, so he couldn’t determine whether or not I had it. Same for the mild skin hyperextensibility. Anyway, he said he would double check the specific wording on the Walker Sign and get back to me. He also told me that the difference between hEDS and HSD was arbitrary and doesn’t ultimately matter. I mostly agree with this, except that I’ve gotten the impression that many practitioners take EDS more seriously than HSD. It feels kinda anticlimactic to me that after years of wondering what was wrong with me (and two MPFL replacements that were the result of years of dislocations without anyone realizing something was wrong), whether or not I have EDS is determined by such a small thing. I know the criteria is specific on purpose, and I am glad I haven’t experienced most of the things in Feature A (prolapse, hernias—yeesh). I guess it’s just putting me on edge having to wait. In the past year, I’ve received 4 diagnoses that I didn’t even suspect I had (POTS, Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, and IBS), and I (and my diagnosed with various kinds of EDS friends) was pretty sure that I had hEDS, so it feels a little ironic that I might not have it. I’m obviously not sad I *don’t* have the terrible genetic disorder that causes things like prolapse and hernias, but I just feel kinda weird right now. I don’t know. Rant over, I suppose. (This post is not trying to figure out if I have EDS or HSD. It’s just about my feelings towards having either of them. Please don’t report me as having broken that rule.)
It’s pretty much what it says on the tin. I’ve been watching GBBO with my mom, and I’ve been getting into baking these past few weeks. I decided to give monkey bread a try, since I loved it so much as a kid.
It turned out a success, and everyone in my family ate it! Even my brother, who is a super picky eater!
This recipe was even yummier than the kind I ate as a kid because the monkey bread is covered in caramel sauce instead of icing, which was also my first time making caramel!
All around a very exciting baking adventure for me! Hoping for many more successes in the future! :)
I just baked bread for the first time! My mother and I have been watching Bake Off, and I was inspired to try my hand at bread baking. The first three images are of my practice run mini-loaves, and the last two are of my big loaves! I was very happy with the results, though the bread needed more salt than indicated in the recipe. Next time, I will add extra salt so it’s not so bland.
The recipe I followed was this: https://alexandracooks.com/2012/11/07/my-mothers-peasant-bread-the-best-easiest-bread-you-will-ever-make/
INGREDIENTS
4 cups (512 g) unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
2 teaspoons (10 g) kosher salt
2 cups (454 g) lukewarm water (made by mixing 1.5 cups cold water with 0.5 cup boiling water)
2 teaspoons (8 g) sugar
2 teaspoons (8 g) instant yeast (you can also use active-dry yeast. That’s what I did. Just activate it with the sugar and hot water first.)
room temperature butter, about 2 tablespoons
INSTRUCTIONS
Mixing the dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Add the water. Mix until the flour is absorbed.
Let it rise. Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Grease two 1-qt or 1.5-qt oven-safe bowls with about a tablespoon of butter each. Using two forks, punch down your dough, scraping it from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. As you scrape it down try to pull the dough toward the center. You want to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, and you want to make sure you’ve punched it down. Then, take your two forks and divide the dough into two equal portions — eye the center of the mass of dough, and starting from the center and working out, pull the dough apart with the two forks. Then scoop up each half and place into your prepared bowls.
Let the dough rise again for about 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop near the oven (or near a warm spot) or until it has risen to just below or above (depending on what size bowl you are using) the top of the bowls.
Bake it. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375º and bake for 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and turn the loaves onto cooling racks. If you’ve greased the bowls well, the loaves should fall right out onto the cooling racks. If the loaves look a little pale and soft when you’ve turned them out onto your cooling racks, place the loaves into the oven (outside of their bowls) and let them bake for about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
For my mini-loaves, I simply quartered the ingredient quantities and followed the instructions exactly as written. It does make for a good amount of bread when using the full quantities, so make sure you have plenty of people to share it with!
This was so fun!