Dani K. @dani@wandering.shop

I was getting used to, for a little while, logging on here and being able to catch up on my home and local feeds within a short amount of time. Then came in the influx of new and returning folks. Which is great! Yay for cool old/new connections!

But I tried to do the same keeping up up every time I'd log in and realized it was taking up a lot of time/energy and I was starting to focus on my engagement levels. Which is what I've been trying to stay away from with my social media habits. 1/

With the request for #intro toots, I've remembered that I've never actually posted one before.

So, hello! I'm Dani. I work in an academic library on the west coast of Canada, where my job involves helping people with tech/digital tools such as 3D printers. I'm super into food/bev. Have two novels I'm working very, very slowly on. Recently began my long journey to learn Mandarin.

Me talking to one of my houseplants (because yes, I’m one of those people):
Look, Harrow, I know moving you into the other room well over a year ago was a bad idea but I thought it was going to be better for you in the end. I didn’t think you’d almost die, okay? Will you be happier if I move you back into the same room with Gideon?
Also, now that you’re moving back, please don’t tell Dolly about the existence of Jolene.

Two proud auntie moments at the lake were when
1. The niblings at various moments opted to read and/or draw in the books I picked out for them instead of playing with cousins or toys, or even eat a meal at one point.
2. After asking about my fan and finding out I’d painted it myself, asked me to make them each one too.
(They are my bro-in-law’s kids who I haven’t seen for a couple of years, and are still little, so are a bit shy around me, so these things felt pretty big.)

Just remembered that I have a paper fan on the chair next to me. Sweet relief.

When I was at the lake recently, I got some familiar “I don’t quite understand Dani” looks when I had this fan with me… until people were trying to cool off and I fanned them and their eyes got big with surprise at how delightfully effective a hand fan can be. I mean, why else do people think these things have existed for literally centuries?

PNW heat and I’m not getting the worst of it because I live on a sheltered island with occasional luscious sea breezes and I’m in a mostly perpetually cool basement suite. But it’s warm enough that the small dogs are panting (while still insisting on snuggling, ugh), I made the bad decision of drinking booze whilst making dinner so now after cooking over a hot stove and eating steaming food there is sweat literally dripping down my neck. 我的天啊.

We cleaned our place last week before we left town for the weekend so that I wouldn’t have imaginary scenarios running through my mind where our non-judgemental dog-sitter pal was judging us while staying here. As exhausting as that was for two chronically ill people, the upside is that I now get to sit in a less-gross place after the work day is done.

Stopped by the lil free library that was on our path and found Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss in Turkish (according to the translate app language detection). This reminds that I have a few books at home to drop off to a lil free library.

Earlier part of my day at work: helping people/staff with tech and digital tool stuff.
Later part of my day, break time: showing a queer pal where to find ripe pacific dewberries nearby so she can go berry picking when she needs a mental health break this week.

*sigh* I was AT the lake. I wasn't the lake, myself. Just to clarify. Though, it would be interesting to be a lake for a weekend, I think.

This was the lake. I got to paddle about in a kayak here, except during the day time.

The only #florespondence photo I took while I was the lake.

I haven’t been exposed to this much sun, socialization, or country music in years.

I always forget how much bigger the deer are on the mainland compared to the island.

Up next will be 105, 108, 114, 122…

We’ve passed 70 Mile House, 93 Mile House, and are now passing through 100 Mile House.

First time out of town since pre-2020. First time passing through these little ___ Mile House towns in what seems like eons.

I’m the one who knows our printers the best and maintains them if they break down, so hopefully they behave while I’m away. One of the major downsides to having a cycle of temporary student staff. It’s so great to give them work experience for their careers (and I love working with students!) but it means I’m constantly training new people and there’s no one who can be my consistant backup.

Walked out of my office near the end of my day to see a cheerful but somewhat stressed engineering student talking with our assistant about his project, to hear him say their class has all their projects due Wednesday. Most of them are trying to get them 3D printed through us. I look over at assistant with a smile as his eyes get bigger, the realization probably hitting him that I’m away until Tuesday, and he gets to deal with most of these projects without me.