Personal blogs are also a fun place to discover things. They often recommend other interesting, hidden sites. I have luck with WordPress, Tumblr and Substack.
It’s so difficult to tell the quality of things online, I’ve returned to buying almost exclusively from brick-and-mortar stores. If they don’t have it, I just don’t buy it. It’s less frustrating to live without than to own something that’s not right.
My fiance developed an intolerance to alliums (onion, garlic) and mushrooms around the start of COVID, though he had never tested positive for the virus. Low-Fodmap diet helped us to find the culprit as well.
Seconded. I was extremely impressed when in response to one of my emailed questions, they directly contacted a manufacturer to ask about the acid content of a particular paper. But that’s not all! They then updated the specs on their listing to include the info I’d asked about on their site. It’s so refreshing to frequent a business that’s so serious about their work!
In contrast to this, there’s something really special about finding your little niche of fans. There are about 6 or 7 people on Tumblr for whom I make a lot of my art (though it’s all open to view for the public and generally has 50-100 repeat followers). We’ll often riff off of each others’ art as well; I find that making art for that small community inspires me, makes the work more enjoyable, and pushes me to produce much better work than I would for just myself.
But apart from finding a close community like this (who just happen to be online), I agree that engagement-driven or profit-driven creativity is generally an inspiration killer. It’s one of the main reasons why I chose to keep art as a hobby rather than a career. If I lost the passion for it, I wouldn’t know what to do with my life.
Your dating standards are high if weight automatically makes someone a sub-5 in your eyes. I’m not saying that’s morally wrong—you like what you like. But recognize that it’s a high standard and will make dating more difficult.
