Oh, msbelle, that's hard. I hope the adjustment period doesn't last too long, for any of you.

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From the caption:

Spike and Drusilla costumes. Excellent costumes, and I tend to treat Whedonites gently, anyway. Sweet, dorky bastards that they are.

msbelle, I hope it gets better and you guys can work through some of the immediate tension.

I think it is great that they are going to go to therapy; frankly, they will need it, too.

I feel for all of you, msbelle. It's got to be one of the hardest parenting stories I have heard (tho Kat's is also tough as hell). It's got to be hard to balance your love for him, with the exhaustion and upset. I hope you know you are wonderful, and doing a hard as hell thing with grace.

I hope you also know it's ok to feel pissed as fuck yourself, sometimes; I cannot imagine not ever being angry, disappointed, resentful sometimes. No one can be all grace all the time, darling.

I really hope the therapy works for everyone--you are all going through so much, I want life to get better for you!!

And in strange-things-I-learn-at-work news, did you know that, in New York State, pumpkins sold for decorating/carving purposes are not considered to be for consumption and therefore must be taxed? My question is how do they know that you're not buying a pumpkin to eat the innards after you carve the exterior?

Hivemind, how do I dry herbs?

My balcony caved in last week. I had to remove my entire garden and all the furniture. Put all the plants in the backyard.

Now all my flowers and herbs and veggies are infested with ants. I can't bring them back up like this. I have to harvest what I can, and maybe I can put some of the flowers in the front yard. I'm broken about the whole thing.

I have sweet basil, italian parsley, regular parsley, garlic, green onions, sage, chives, and oregano. I'm unsure how to properly dry the herbs.

The flowers I'm losing: Petunias, impatiens, begonia, red riding hoods, pansies. I think I can put them out in the front yard.

I'm going to miss my garden. I can't afford to replace everything. Just angry.

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For herb drying. If you have a closet that's cool and dry (and has a bit of space) you can tie the stalk with a bit of twine, and hang upside down till they dry. Most herbs are dried top-down.

I'm sorry your balcony died; that's crazy. I hope they replace it soon.

Thanks, Erin! It's been repaired, but they're painting it and then sealing it, so it will be the weekend before I can put the furniture back.

Tim sent over the contractor who has been working on his home renovations to take a look at the damage so Kristen and I would know what we were dealing with before the landlord sent someone over.

It was termites (long dead) and the wood beams were like paper. It just had to cave eventually. I thought I was going to go right through it. Terribly scary.

And in strange-things-I-learn-at-work news, did you know that, in New York State, pumpkins sold for decorating/carving purposes are not considered to be for consumption and therefore must be taxed? My question is how do they know that you're not buying a pumpkin to eat the innards after you carve the exterior?

They don't know, but at the store I worked at the "Jack O'Lanterns" were very different looking from the pie/eating pumpkins. Nowadays they scan, but we had to remember to hit "tax modify" and produce. The other differentiation is that the Jack-O'Lantern's would not be able to be purchased with food stamps.

If you think that is crazy, at the time that I worked mini-marshmallows were considered a baking item, and were non-taxable and regular marshmallows were "pop/candy" and were taxable. Also books are taxable and magazines not. Except that Harlequin Romances were sold by the month, and considered a periodical.

It was termites (long dead) and the wood beams were like paper. It just had to cave eventually. I thought I was going to go right through it. Terribly scary.

Yikes! Glad there were no injuries.

Dang, Allyson - I feel the loss of your garden, but I'm so very glad it wasn't people that fell through!