the_itsb (she/her)

Both my husband and my dog got Lyme disease this year because of the wild amount of ticks who made it through the mild winter, but we’re hoping our new flock of guinea fowl will help control them next year, because it seems like we’re going to have a lot more warm winters in our future.

You’re passing in my household! I wouldn’t have guessed you were trans from this picture. My husband walked into the room to ask me something as I was about to comment, and I stopped him, told him I was going to ask an obvious question but just play along, showed him your picture, and asked him to guesstimate your age and gender with no other information; he guessed woman in her mid-20s.

You have a beautiful face! Big, sad eyes, delicate brow and chin, and truly perfect lips (seriously - size, shape, everything about them is gorgeous). I really like your nose too, I’m super into strong noses on women and men and have told my husband and his sister - who hate their prominent noses - that the only thing I’d change about them would be to make them bigger. 😂🥰 Yours matches the proportions on the rest of your face perfectly.

You’re genuinely beautiful. I’m really sorry you’re not feeling that way right now, but hopefully we can nudge you back to reality. ❤️

Maybe they were just confused by the lack of quacks for expansion/contraction?

How long of a useful life are you looking to get out of this tabletop? How severe will the wear and tear be?

If you’re looking for something to last decades or stand up to heavy use, I think there’s no question that you need dowels/biscuits/whatever. Humidity and temperature changes are going to affect the bond between the glue and boards long-term, and the lateral pressure of heavy weight or motion will eventually be too much for that bond too.

If you just want to make something useful and nice while practicing your skills, don’t plan to have it support any real weight, and fully expect to transform it or cannibalize it for parts eventually, then probably just glue will do.

That was my answer for why I wanted to join, too! And I answered the “what will you contribute?” one pretty simply too, with the same things I try to bring to any conversation: my knowledge and empathy wherever they can be helpful.

I took the questions as the same kind of very basic filtering that my husband does for his tractor enthusiast Facebook group; he’s not looking for essays, he just wants to know people will actually read (and follow!) the rules and not be jerks.