Tereza Okava

i ran this through perplexity and this is what it spit out.

Yes, lambskin condoms are still manufactured and available as a niche product in 2026. They remain popular among those seeking a natural, latex-free option for a more skin-like sensation, despite not protecting against STIs due to their porous membrane.
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Current Manufacturers
Major producers include:

Church & Dwight (known for Trojan Naturalamb line).

Ansell and Sir Richard's, offering premium natural varieties.
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Specialized brands like Shandong Geamay Latex Technology and Sagami Rubber Industries contribute to global supply.
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Market reports project steady growth, with the lambskin segment valued at around USD 60-80 million and expanding due to demand for hypoallergenic, biodegradable alternatives.


Ansell apparently markets "natural latex" condoms, you can search on Amazon. So does Sir Richard's https://www.instagram.com/sirrichards/?hl=en
I didn't go much farther than that but there must be people with latex allergies who want alternatives, it might be worth further research. Good luck!
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ooh Burra you're a superstar!! thank you!

The golden flax explains it, i have always bought the darker one-- and then we get that "uber healthy" appearance. I will have to try the golden for, um, stealth use.

Burra, could you give us a very roundabout idea of how you make the biscuits? I love using flaxmeal, and love biscuits. Every time I try something with that much flax, though, it usually looks leathery and.... icky! I grind it myself, maybe i'm not grinding fine enough? anyway, yours look fabulous and I'd love to try! thanks!

Welcome James!
Check out this thread https://permies.com/t/57366/Cool-person-space-methods#484308 about "cooling the person and not the space" (not "cooking the person", which for some reason my fingers really REALLY want to type....).

also https://permies.com/t/14038/Electricity-free-cool-home#125306

and also a super interesting project in a place that gets even hotter than where I live:  https://permies.com/t/129015/Geothermal-cooling#1013321

Welcome to Permies, S, hope you find what you're looking for.

It is a good time to check in with people, I'm finding! Today on the first day of "back to normal" for many people I felt myself feeling pretty crummy (that old anxious depression again!!) and decided to reach out to a few people I haven't heard from in a while. They're all feeling a bit edgy too, which in turn makes me feel a bit better. We're all just getting through this big old mess of a tangled up world one day at a time.

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:
BTW the question of this thread is 'are you okay?' I can tell you all I am feeling very okay at the moment. I decided not to stay in the house when I start having 'dark feelings'. When I'm outdoors everything feels lighter!

An excellent idea! Dog walkies and garden time are a big feature of this time of year.

John F Dean wrote:I caught a case of the stupids yesterday. ....
On the plus side, I got a hell of a lot accomplished.

my husband had a case of these yesterday. decided to undertake some crazy projects in insane heat yesterday. i had to keep interrupting my own work to get him to take basic heat protection measures (wet scarf on neck, drinking water, hat wearing, etc) and even so, by afternoon he had that heat exhaustion-melting-away thing happening. I was the one out mowing in the noonday sun, but also with no exposed skin and all the protection. He's not quite realized that as a 55+ he no longer has the capacity to do this stuff without consequences, unless he takes preventive measures. I can't imagine what would have happened if I hadn't been hounding him about what he should be doing.

it's been volcanic in terms of heat here, so we've been on japanese summer food- zaru soba with ice cubes in the noodle dipping sauce, principally, chuka soba (another cold dipping noodle), grilled meat wrapped in leaves, onigiri, etc. Lots of veggie salads. My husband is home this week, so I'm also cooking lunches as well as dinners (usually he takes a boxed lunch he preps on sundays and I eat whatever I can scrounge).

Today it rained and it's a bit cooler. I have some leftover cooked sausage and impulse purchased a bag of masa harina a few weeks ago (it is something I used to have to bring back from trips to the US, but the recent influx of venezuelans into Brazil means we can find it here now)-- going to make arepas stuffed with sausage and cheese for lunch. Dinner will be korean chicken wings in the air fryer (soy/garlic sauce) and DIY temakis or some sort of rice/nori situation. Negimiso and ume seem like good fillings, and I have sooooo many pickles in the fridge to use up.
On Wednesday we'll go away for a week to celebrate the new year with extended family, so I'm also trying to 1) prep the new years foods I'll bring with us and 2) draw down our perishables and pantry. So far I've caramelized a crockpot full of onions for mujadara, my contribution to the obligatory lentils-for-new-year tradition, and made a kilo of azuki beans to make anko bread for my sisters in law.  Those beans will get made into anko tonight, maybe.
I still have about 5 kg of tomatoes (and a pantry already full of passata....), so maybe I'll make some quickie salsa to eat with the arepas today. And there's a lot of ripe plums, so maybe a plum cake to bring with us Wednesday, or to drop off at the dog kennel when I leave the dog. It's like Iron Chef around here....

Dareios Alexandre wrote:Hi Tereza,

I agree, after thinking about it some more, I think it's unrealistic for me, especially considering I am still very much a beginner grafter. Question for you-would you avoid buying this place if pesticides have been used? Apparently the owners only sprayed for the 1st time this year to prevent the fruit from falling off the trees...Do you think it's worth investing in if I'm gonna be removing some of the trees anyway?

Dareios, for me there is an awful lot of "it depends" here. Mostly, what did they spray, why did they spray (whats the underlying reason why the trees might drop their fruit?), what kind of long term effects will it have on my pollinators? would be my three big questions.
That said I am a ridiculously conservative investor, even though once I see fruit trees I'm usually a lost cause!!

it is indeed a pretty interesting idea. I don't know about the feasibility of grafting into mature trees, compared to grafting into younger trees-- you may need to consider overall health and longevity, if these trees are old they will have a natural lifetime that will need to be considered. Likewise their overall health (or maybe external issues like water availability)-- have you determined why this orchard is for sale?
Another concern I would have is soil quality and contamination. Crete may not have this problem but where I live orchards and vineyards often have buildup of copper from bourdeaux mix, which is considered an organic anti-fungal, but it accumulates and can cause problems. But this is mostly a due diligence problem.

I did a quickie search about survival in grafting to mature trees and Perplexity said this:
Grafting new varieties onto mature citrus trees, known as topworking or reworking, is a realistic and established practice with success rates often exceeding 75-90% when done correctly. Healthy trees benefit from their established root systems, enabling rapid regrowth and fruit production in 3-5 years. However, success depends on proper technique, timing, and health management.
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Success Factors
Techniques like bark grafting, wedge grafting, and cleft grafting work well on limbs under 150 mm in diameter, performed during late winter to spring when bark slips easily. Use disease-free scion wood from compatible varieties, such as oranges or mandarins on trifoliate rootstocks, to avoid incompatibility or virus issues like exocortis. Nurse branches left on the tree aid sap flow and protect grafts from sun and wind.
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Risks and Challenges
Unhealthy or old trees yield poor results, and large pruning wounds near the ground risk heart rot or pathogen entry in citrus. Lemons and grapefruit reworking is less successful due to virus transmission. Post-graft care includes bagging grafts, monitoring pests, and adjusting irrigation to prevent failure.
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Practical Outcomes
Mature scions can fruit within 1-3 years, with real-world examples showing multiple grafts taking on stumps and producing fruit in 18 months. Full production returns quickly, though professional help may be needed for large-scale efforts.
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I suspect you would do better keeping a part of the valencias and cutting/replacing with other species. You'll need to be very alert to water needs, I suppose. Might be able to intersperse with grapes, blackberries/raspberries, pomegranates, and maybe even nuts (not sure what kind works with your climate).