u/PassiePandaR

With the holiday season coming up, I thought I’d share a little thing I like to do for my pet-sitting clients! Around Halloween and Christmas, I’ll send out holiday cards to my clients. Nothing super fancy—I usually grab a bundle box of cards or pick out individual ones that remind me of certain clients/their pets.

But my favorite part is the pictures! I have a Polaroid camera that I’ll sometimes bring along to sits and drop-ins, and throughout the stay I’ll snap a few cute/funny pictures of their pets. When the holidays roll around, I’ll pick one or two of my favorites and stick them inside the card! It’s a pretty small gesture, but it makes the cards feel a lot more personal, and clients get a cute little physical photo of their pet to keep.

Thought I’d throw the idea out there for any newbie or regular sitters looking for something fun to do for their clients this holiday season! Would lovr to hear of any gifts you do for your pet-sitting clients? Think it be fun for us all to exchange ideas!

Swamp/wetland themed birthday gift ideas? 🐊🌿🦝

Hi everyone! 💚 My partner and I are huge swamp/wetland lovers and supporters, and his birthday is coming up in December. He especially has a HUGE appreciation for the whole swampy aesthetic and all the wonderful little creatures that come with it. I thought this might be the perfect community to ask: what swamp/wetland-themed gifts would you personally love to receive?

I'm open to pretty much anything—statues, artwork, plants, plushies, decor, books, handmade things, odd little treasures, etc. It doesn't have to be super fancy or expensive either! I'm mostly looking for something fun, creative, or charming.

He especially loves alligators, opossums, and raccoons. We're in Illinois, so unfortunately our options for actually visiting proper wetlands are a little limited, but I'd also happily take suggestions for experiences or places if anyone happens to know of something around the Midwest!

So something I’ve been noticing (and I’ve seen a few others bring up too) is that Barnaby isn’t just a “jokes too hard” kind of character. On the surface, he’s easy to write off as the typical “pushes jokes too far” character. The kind of guy who doesn’t understand boundaries and just keeps going. But when you actually look at his interactions, especially with Frank and Eddie, it feels a lot less harmless.

It’s not just that he’s annoying — it’s that he’s consistently nosey, intrusive, and pushes into spaces where he’s clearly not wanted. And both Frank and Eddie don’t just get mildly irritated — they seem genuinely uncomfortable and worn down by him. Now, considering the series has already made it pretty clear that homophobia is a theme, I'm curious if he might become a walking example of this attitude.

I’m not saying he knows about Frank and Eddie’s feelings or their implied hidden relationship. But Barnaby is observant, and both of them act cautious and guarded in a way that could absolutely tip someone off that something is there. If he suspects even a little, that could explain why he singles them out the way he does. As for why he’d act like that, I think there are two main possibilities:

1. Repression / projection There’s already theories floating around that Barnaby deals with substance use, and if that’s true, it could tie into repression. It’s not uncommon for people who are struggling with their own feelings to lash out at others who reflect something they’re trying to avoid. If that’s the case, his behavior toward Frank and Eddie could be less about them specifically and more about what they represent. (WallyxBarnaby shippers sound off in the distance lol)

2. Genuine discomfort or disgust The simpler explanation is that he suspects their relationship and just doesn’t like it. Which would line up directly with homophobia being present in the narrative.

There’s also some interesting symbolic stuff that adds to this. Credit to u/peridotcore for pointing out: «“His flower is also a dogsbane, which means ‘deceit’, and it looks more like a dog rose… I think this further hints that Barnaby is not all that he seems on the surface.””»

My other suggestion is, what if Barnaby's actor didn’t actually like the show? It wouldn’t be unusual — a lot of people in children’s media are just there for the paycheck. If that frustration bled into the performance, and now the puppet or mascot character has that same disgust as his portrayal did. He hates being stuck in this universe because he's forced to live it out.

That might also explain why he shows up in advertisements more than the others — he leaned into the commercial side of things, even if he didn’t care for the content itself. If that’s the case, then the overly cheerful, rainbow-heavy, “everyone is friends” tone of the show might actually bother him more than we think — and that discomfort could be coming through in how he treats certain characters.

Apologies for the kind of messy presentation - but hopefully people understand the thought process. Curious to hear agreements or disagreements.

This is something I've been curious about for a while, and I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks.

When I was a kid, my brother and I were absolutely terrified of La Nouba. We both had a pretty big fear of clowns, and just walking anywhere near the theater was enough to make us nervous and beg our parents not to take us inside. I can only imagine the deadpanned expressions they've must've had lol - But also the whole atmosphere around it felt mysterious and weird in a way that was honestly kind of intimidating.

Then we got older and finally saw the show, and it completely changed our perspective. The music was incredible, the performances were insane, and while there wasn't really a traditional story to follow, I think that was part of its charm. It just embraced being bizarre, artistic, and unlike anything else. It felt like its own unique experience. Fast forward to Drawn to Life, and from everything I've seen, it feels like a much more relaxed production. I haven't actually seen the full show in person yet, so I'm trying not to judge it too harshly. I've watched the official previews and behind-the-scenes videos on YouTube, and that's just the impression I've gotten so far.

Part of me has wondered if they intentionally leaned into a brighter, more recognizable Disney style to make it less intimidating for families and kids. If that's the case, I totally understand the reasoning. But at the same time, I'm a little sad that some of the weirdness and uniqueness of La Nouba seems to be gone. I always thought it was cool that it wasn't really a Disney attraction—it was just this incredible Cirque show that happened to be on the Walt Disney property. Like the vibe was, "Come see this if you want, but don't expect any Pixie Dust".

Another thing I've noticed from the previews is that the stage doesn't seem to be utilized in quite the same way. With La Nouba, there was always multiple things happening at once, and your eyes were constantly darting around because you didn't want to miss anything. Drawn to Life seems much more focused on individual acts, and aside from the Double Wheel of Death, nothing has really struck me as being on the same scale. Again, that's just based on what I've seen online, and I'm reserving final judgment until I can actually experience the full show.

For those of you who've seen both, or just one over the other - how do you feel?

Whenever I get house-sitting gigs from middle class or even seemingly wealthier people, one thing I genuinely always appreciate is when they tell me to help myself to whatever’s in the fridge, freezer, or drinks. It’s a super kind gesture and I never expect it. I also always make sure to bring a decent amount of my own food and beverages because I’d feel weird relying on someone else’s groceries.

But this isn’t a complaint at all — more of a funny pattern I’ve noticed and I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this.

Why is it that when someone sincerely says, “Please help yourself to anything!” the fridge almost always contains… a half-finished box of La Croix (or some other sparkling water variety), maybe a few random leftovers, and your standard lineup of condiments?

Then you open the freezer and it’s like: packages of uncooked meat, (which I personally would never touch anyway because groceries are expensive and that feels way too generous to accept), one frozen pizza… except it has toppings you hate, and an already open container of ice cream 😹

I’m never disappointed when this happens because again, I bring my own stuff anyway — but it’s become such a specific thing that my partner and I joke about it now.

Like: Him - "Oh wow, they said help yourself?" opens fridge Me- "Well… looks like tonight I'm having a singular celery stick."

At this point I almost expect it and it makes me laugh more than anything.

Has anyone else had funny “make yourself at home/help yourself!” experiences where you opened the kitchen expecting options and found… almost nothing?

I'm trying to find an old virtual world game that I used to play on my browser in the mid 2000s. So, it was 3D and you'd create a normal human male/female. Afterwards, you were thrown into a small grassy town and there was a fountain, a burger restaurant and a tall apartment tower. In the apartment building you could find your room or other people's rooms by riding the elevator. Inside the burger shop you could eat and potentially work the register?

There was this one mini game outside where you had to collect garbage bags and dispose of them, but all the while pigeons or crows would try to stop you. They also gave you a butterfly net to occasionally collect bugs. And for the final mini game there was a warehouse where you'd have to navigate through it til the end.

Outside of the minigames, you could walk around the outside which lacked any BGM from what I recalled, it did have ambience though. You could buy clothes and then chat with anyone if anyone happened to be around. It really wasn't very exciting, considering the lack of environments. But that's all I can really remember. And to save some time:

No its not: IMVU - Meez - Habbo. Happy to answer any questions!

So, I have a regular client that I house sit for a couple times during any given new month. Today they requested a house sitting gig for a few hours. But, as I hit the book it button I was prompted by a Rover safety reminder that "Never bring unsolicited guests, be mindful some owners have webcams that can check logs when a door has been opened." And I had never received this before when usually hitting the "book it' button. And bearing in mind, I've been there sitter for about half the year now. Does this mean they reported or spoke to Rover about me? Or someone in GENERAL did?

I've never gotten any emails or complaints from the Rover team or themselves. So, I don't know - it feels a bit targeted to just be an innocent safety reminder.