Riona Abhainn

pollinator
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since Nov 27, 2023
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Biography
I enjoy gardening, using my resources wisely, composting and learning more about permaculture and how to be in better harmony with Creation.
We  have a rental house with a small wraparound yard and a somewhat flexible landlord (won't let me kill the lawn with landscape tarps, but will let me put in raised beds), So I'm excited about what is coming for us.
I do Celtic, fantasy, folk, nature and shanty singing at Renaissance faires, fantasy festivals, pirate campouts and other events in western OR and WA. Plus I do some mental health peer support specialist work which I'm state-certified for. I also have a pop-up garden and vintage+ stand which  I set up outside the house to sell from when weather and circumstances permit.  My husband works at the grocery store, loves his videogames and is good at cooking. He enjoys learning new skills and is what we call a "social introvert", whereas I'm more extraverted.
We're Christians, we love playing in the water, we camp, we're politically moderate, even though we're family oriented and are close to our family we are childfree by choice.Our marriage has a nontraditional structure.
I set out to become good at gardening and permiculture pursuits, and I've made some progress and want to keep learning.
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Milwaukie Oregon, USA zone 8b
Apples and Likes
Apples
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In last 30 days
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Recent posts by Riona Abhainn

Okay I'm loving the thread about positive customs that are more rare now.  And an answer in there got me thinking about positive customs that are being practiced currently that are newer to us.

What are some positive newer customs that you're glad of in society?  What I like might be different than what others may like, and visa versa, but we can see different things as positive.

A newer custom that I think is positive is asking before we touch each other's bodies, like making sure someone is okay with hugs or arm-pats before touching them.  I'm not particular about hugs or handshakes, but people randomly walking up to me and patting me on my arm or shoulder feels like "no thank you icky" to me and I've had to quietly put up with it a lot over the course of my life so I'm thankful things are starting to change with that.
2 days ago
Oh man, porch visiting in the evening after dinner was the best when I was a kid, we'd all show up at the neighbours' house 2 houses down from my house, and it was lovely, I learnt a lot as a young kid watching the adults and interacting with them.  I knew I'd be one someday so I wanted to know how it was done.
2 days ago
Day 4 post-surgery:
In the recovering process which is said to take 2 weeks and I'm hoping that is indeed all it takes.  Still experiencing pain etc. but at least now its because of the surgery rather than because of the problem haha.  Still limited on what I can do, but able to go out and do "simple" things.  No playing in the water at all though until the 2 week mark.  Hoping I can sing on facebook live toward the end of the week though, this time in the picture rather than hiding off to the side like I did that one time earlier this month haha.  Hopefully I start looking better/more like my usual self soon.
I'm not supposed to bend over or even squat, and my husband has to help me by doing some of my usual tasks in our household.  We have a set division of labour here, but its been disrupted so things have had to shift for a while.

I'm Riona Abhainn on facebook if you want to be my friend on there.
3 days ago
Yeah, my husband and I looked briefly at buying a modular/mobile but financing and loans for that are tricky for sure, just like you're finding out.  It seemed like the way we could afford a house, until it wasn't.  Fortunately we're content and happy renting for now.  I hope you can find a right piece of land to obtain deed for and steward, whether that be in a community capacity or not.
There could potentially be adults at some of the stations advising on what's edible and what's not, and for simple things like apples parents would know.  Thornless berry bushes please.  Loving the chimes and xylophones idea too.
I was always taught by my mom to knock on it, the deeper and hollower the sound the riper the watermelon.
3 days ago
Garden boxes/raised beds are also helpful in situations where the landlord doesn't want a person covering the lawn to kill it because it looks "unsightly".  That's a part of my situation here.  But they have okayed raised beds, so apparently they don't mind some grass being unalived they just don't want it to look ugly to randos walking by, haha.
I'm glad that some of your crops have been successful for the community aid pantry, inspite of the droughty weather.
3 days ago
Welcome to permies MacK, glad you're here to share what you know and also to learn with us.  Some people on here live in intentional communities and some don't, in fact the person who started this forum, Paul, has lots of insights into what has worked in his experiences and what hasn't, he has lots of community living experience.
We appreciate people posting these types of conferences and events each year.  Thanks for posting these ones here.