iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

So I think I figured out who has been fussing at us when 16 has the forge fired up at night…

Two barn owls sit in the rafters of a barn.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

I'm glad someone appreciates my snark.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Insurance said they won't pay for a med because they won't cover it for more than 24 months. Rx was first written in [checks notes] October '24. Insurance company rep did not appreciate my offer to help them understand how calendars work.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

16’s reward for good grades was a(nother) knife making class. My reward for rewarding him is this absolutely epic knife he made

A small fishing knife in a white cardboard box. The handle of the knife is made to look like the skin of a rainbow trout.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

- Wake up - Let Lincoln out - Step outside to get some fresh air before it gets too hot out - Get run into by a ground squirrel that Lincoln is chasing - Decide going back inside and staying there is a better option How is everyone else's Sunday starting?

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Update: our first set of kids started their rods today and got their handles assembled and epoxied. Some super excited kiddos!

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

The episodes just keep getting better. Pretty sure I would follow Patricia into battle.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

16 has three days left in his junior year, and I just watched a bunch of his friends graduate and I'm in my feelings. I am just going to be a mess his entire senior year, aren't I?

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

He kept dropping toys on my head while I was trying to do glute bridges, but eventually figured out where to position himself when I was doing bird dogs so that he could get scritches every time I stretched out an arm.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Have ruled out arrhythmia for the POTS-like symptoms I’ve been having, and getting started on a CHOP protocol while a few more things get ruled out. Unfortunately that means a lot of exercises on the floor. How it’s going so far:

A black Labrador retriever lays curled up on a yoga mat while the leg and arm of someone trying to do a hamstring stretch is barely visible at the side of the mat.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Is anyone else watching Widow's Bay? Patricia is just the best.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Friends, it was Weezer and U2. Please excuse me while I go join AARP. (2/2)

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

While I was cooking dinner, I let Apple Music serve me up a playlist of "Today's Rock", because, y'know, I'm still cool and hip and stuff. Most of the songs I was kind of meh about, but there were a couple I thought I could get into, so I looked up who the artists were... (1/2)

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Looking at this schedule from an upcoming 4-H Conference 16 wants to go to, and pondering if these workshops are taught by cats and dogs respectively...

A screencap of a schedule of workshops. The first two listed workshops are "dog judging" and "decoding cat behavior".

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

UPDATE: he feels good about how AP Chem went. AP Lit & Comp in the morning, so please keep the good vibes coming.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

16 will be starting the AP Chemistry exam in just a bit. Please send good thoughts for him and his classmates!

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Oh yeah. But I always think of that happening when I read someone with opinions on how other people choose to "claim" their expertise. Like, if people aren't ever condescending to you b/c of some aspect of your identity, maybe don't try to police others. Or maybe just don't try to police others.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Yeah, so I have a super worn in and comfy MIT hoodie that I wear a fair bit (because wearing gear from where you went is a normal thing). I actually had a guy (acquaintance-level for several years) see me in it and ask "Don't you think wearing that is a little... arrogant?"

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Got a recumbent exercise bike so I can do a proper workout without a heart rate spike [shakes fist at POTS symptoms]. Anyone have opinions on apps (Zwift, JRNY, Kinomap, etc) to entertain me while my workouts are in my garage? MUCH more interested in scenery than I am in coaching or social aspects.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

They are super cool but they make *really* different noises than cows do, and the edge of their pasture is not far from my bedroom, so occasionally I'll wake up in the middle of the night a little freaked out trying to figure out WHAT IS MAKING THAT SOUND OUTSIDE.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Just trying to enjoy my yard and the neighbors keep staring me down.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

If anyone needs a calming image, this is the view from my yard this morning. Turkey vultures standing watch over the bedded-down stompyfloofs. And the local bird population is SUPER vocal.

A view onto a green pasture. There are two large turkey vultures on fenceposts in the middle distance, and a herd of bison bedded down a bit farther away.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

The cat wasn't innocent in all this. When I came to see what happened she looked at me and slunk off into another room.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Heard Lincoln crying and whining frantically from down the hall, so I rushed to see what was wrong. Turns out the cat (13 pounds) was lying down in the middle of the hall, blocking him (95 pounds) from getting to where I was at.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Got a mass email from our vet that they won’t have on-call hours this weekend, so of course this doofnugget is looking for trouble. So far he’s bounded off an embankment after a ground squirrel and rooted around in tall grass to come up with a (non-venomous but VERY annoyed) snake. Pray for us.

A goofy black Labrador retriever in mid air with his ears flapping weirdly and his mouth gaping open towards a tennis ball that he hasn’t quite caught yet.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

UPDATE: 16's team took second place at state with a strong performance from everyone on the team. 16 placed seventh as an individual!

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

* Any donation would go to a registered 501(c)3 non-profit, so would be tax deductible, if it helps.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Working with 16 on helping kiddos in the local 4-H Fishing Club learn to build rods. We have a good educational discount from our supplier, and a few sponsors, but could use a few more donors to cover equipment to get started. Anyone know any interested donors*? Let me know!

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

16 and his high school's FFA Nursery/Landscape team are at the state competition today (they won districts, and 16 got 3rd high individual there). Send thoughts of beautifully designed landscapes with correctly identified plants and well thought out cost estimates, OK?

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

What’s your favorite Bible verse? (Wrong answers only) I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks. (Turgidson 19:64)

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

OK, so obviously I turned off the Blazers game too early...

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

I had to stare at it for a while. And yeah, there were a lot of other reasonable choices that might actually look like the thing they are supposed to be.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

If that plant is supposed to be what I *think* it's meant to be... that plant's flowers do not look like that. Not even a little bit.

An image of a Coca Cola mini can that is red with a white stripe. In silver the word "OREGON" is in smaller letters with a larger "OR". Beneath it is a silver star with a red image inside. I think it's meant to be an Oregon grape, but it has two oregon grape leaves with three flowers on a single stem above it.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

I am! Things have just been a lot lately. Thanks for checking in!

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Was starting to search online for ways to file a complaint about Collective Health's management of PEBB Providence insurance, when a "Yikes, we're working on it" mass email arrived from PEBB. Seriously, this transition has been an absolute omnishambles.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Any of you in the mid-Valley should come see us at our annual Holiday Fair on Friday and Saturday (9 AM to 5 PM at the Polk County Fairgrounds in Rickreall), and help us raise funds to support 4-H in Polk County! Spread the word!

A flyer that reads "Polk County 4-H Association Presents the 2025 Holiday Fair. Friday and Saturday November 7th and 8th 9 AM to 5 PM. Located at the Polk County Fairgrounds. Door prize raffle every 15 minutes. Come spend the day shopping with friends for all your Holiday needs. No entry fee! Donations support the Polk County 4-H Youth"

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Sometimes I tell Frodo the Cat that she's a good kitty, and I immediately have to tell Lincoln that he's also a good kitty or he gets terribly upset. Conversely, when I tell Lincoln he's a good pupper, Frodo is completely unbothered by not being included.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

We found their owner, and they've been retrieved. Their names are Henry, Missy, and Fancy (the critters, not the owners).

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Looked out the front window into the post-storm sunshine and saw these horse (and horse-adjacent) critters in the pasture by our garden. We do not currently own horses (or mules).

A sunny green pasture with two mules and a horse grazing.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

Aren’t most Texas-style BBQ places south of Boston?

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

POV: you have asked your Labrador retriever to give you ‘just a little bit of space.’

An extreme close-up of a black Labrador retriever

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

I will be able to calm down enough to get some sleep in approximately three weeks.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

It has been zero days since the furry jerkwad that lives in my house got in a tussle with several large mammals in the backyard. [He's fine, and all the deer escaped. My throat is so hoarse from screaming at him that I can't talk. He’s not even the tiniest bit sorry.]

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

Things my child said to me that I decided not to ask follow-up questions about to preserve my sanity (an ongoing series): "I'm actually running pretty low on googly eyes because of... the incident."

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Just me, drowsily wondering who left a boot lace on the ground outside, and almost ending up with a handful of not-bootlace. Have I mentioned my vision isn’t great without my glasses in?

A small gopher snake on cement next to a plastic chair leg. Its brown and yellow pattern resembles a boot lace.

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

15 is 16 today! Anyone who wants to pass along birthday wishes, please feel free!

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Marita Barth @maritabarth.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Invested in an automatic tennis ball thrower for Lincoln and he hasn’t yet worked out the part where he puts it back in the machine, but in general this is the Best Day Ever.

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