Haha I get it! I’m more curious than cautious when it comes to things like this, for better or for worse. So far, I’ve only had good experiences. Just offered because I don’t think we live all that far apart.

I’d go in with you if you wanted. I order stuff from Europe all the time and it’s fine. PM if you want.

I never noticed it before, but the cream colored markings above Koda’s eyes look kind of like tiny horns. A very cute little vampire.

I always look forward to your posts and the past couple days were a treat.

There are different ones for different kinds of writing (general, academic, journalism, and more). Chicago Manual of Style is one of the general ones. It’s good, and considered authoritative, but you have to buy a copy or an online subscription.

A free one that I like is Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab from a university). It’s easy to understand and has good info.

Yep. That works well unless you’re cooking at altitude, then an overnight soak is the best and easiest way. Unless you own a pressure cooker.

Some beans you can get away with not soaking at all, just cook them low and slow for a couple hours. I’ve done that with great northern beans.

Yeah. The voice stays young if you take care of it and are healthy. You can be 60 and sound like 30.

It’s not exactly the same for me, but it’s pretty close. Sometimes it’s a little more faded. Just depends on what it is. Sound, on the other hand, I can picture that loud and clear.

Oh, she does have a great purr. Sounds kind of like a diesel engine :)

I don’t think I’ve seen a petting technique quite like yours. Maybe one of these days I’ll get a chance to try it out. The cats let you pet them for so long!

You can think of “le” as a way of showing that it’s a syllabic L. Meaning that you say a dark L, and there isn’t really a vowel before it. The L takes up the whole syllable. It can sound like there’s a schwa in there (usually just a blip of one), but that’s just part of how you say the dark L. It comes from having the back part of your tongue press down and back.

This happens at the end of a word when the L is in an unstressed syllable. The spelling can vary a little. For example:

• people
• simple
• model
• oval

There isn’t really a reason why the spelling is different. That’s just how it happened to develop.

The pronunciation can vary a little too. If you hold the L longer, or emphasize the syllable more, it can sound more like a proper vowel is in there. But your tongue stays a tiny bit lower than it does for the schwa sounds.

Aww. Looks like her fur is standing on end. But she’s pretty brave, getting so close to the Ungeheuer (monster). Nice to see her exploring her new home.

I love that view, especially at night. Crazy how different (and barren) it used to look.

Good posture also helps you breathe better, which can help you feel more energized and concentrate better. Your diaphragm doesn’t work right when you sit hunched over, so your breath gets more shallow.

If you ever need to talk a lot for work or some other reason, good posture is essential so your voice sounds good and doesn’t get tired too easily.

And it helps strengthen your core, which is good for balance and other things.

Pünktchen is a very cute and fitting name.

Und doch verbleibt er die flauschige Zicke die ich immer lieben werde.

I love this sentence and your translation “sir floofs-a-lot.” He looks too cute to be a jerk, but I guess appearances can be deceiving :)