iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Also: we discovered that our bikes don't fit on the racks in the light rail. We discovered this after maneuvering the heavy, unwieldy bike into place... doesn't latch over the wheels. Oh well!

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

7 miles to the light rail + 24 mile ride + 7 mile home from light rail = a 38 mile ride on a gorgeous day.

Two humans smiling in front of lots of bikes

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Is it weird that I'm looking forward to being in my 50's? i think it'll be a fun decade. [hopes that I don't dig this up in 5 years, laughing bitterly]

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I have been tackling my front garden, which has long suffered from overcrowding. It's distressing to cull plants in the name of having a healthy native patch...but it needs to be done. I hope that next year the remaining plants will thrive with all the growing space.

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

It was a short awoo, at 11:20ish rather than 1:00. Someone's finger must have slipped!

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Today I am processing and handing out this year's crop of Wolf River apples. It's a Wisconsin heirloom variety that is known for growing ridiculously large apples, best for cooking and baking. 6 of them, chipped, filled my instant/crock pot to the brim.

A box of apples with one on a scale in the foreground. It weighs 1lb4.5oz, a truly massive apple

A woman holding a box of Wolf River apples. They are absolutely humongous and she looks shocked.

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Reposted by Michele Ess

devon giehl🐀ratmaker @devongiehl.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

made a sandwich with this bread before i realized its smug ass was covered in mold. fuck you, bread

a slice of wheat bread with a mold pattern that looks infuriatingly like a smiley face. this bread is a piece of shit

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Tarp's on Terra Firma. That's how we started at the Home Opener - in the rain - but at least we have power this time.

Twins ballpark, tarp on field, fans in ponchos, rain delay.

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I will NOT like the White Sox. But they're making it so hard...

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Personally, I'm happy with the variety. Dressing up is fun, and it's not like those dressed in historical garb are strictly adhering to history. I also noticed there were lots of kilts. I do not mind kilts and in fact think they should be worn more often, by many more people. /fin

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

And that's fine, people are having fun and I'm certainly not a purist (I say, as I wore my very anachronistic jeans and Grateful Dead shirt). I wonder how other folks feel about it. Are there folks whose blood boils at the sight of green-painted goblins, goth princesses, Link/Zelda, etc? 🧵

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I recall going to the MN Ren Fest ~15 years ago & seeing someone dressed as a Tolkien elf, and thought that they really stuck out among all of the folks in historical (eh, semi-historical) costumes. I went today & there were just as many folks in fantasy-ish costumes as those in historical-ish. 🧵

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I could probably find something which needs a little hammering. *holds it high*

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

It's a beautiful day to sit on the patio! Unfortunately, it's also a beautiful day for my next door neighbor to replace his house & garage roof. Oh well - it's a beautiful day to be working on a roof outside, too.

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I think you're onto something.

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Just you (just you) And I (and I) Together, forever, in love

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Baroness von Roughen-Housen desperately wants someone to mix it up with, but the dog park is populated chill/old/tiny dogs today.

A cute dog, laying in the dirt, wishing one of her roughhousing friends was here

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Reposted by Michele Ess

JRho @jrho.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

The most absolutely massive flex from the state fair exhibit. This quilt is made of 40 years of prize ribbons from various categories at the New Mexico State Fair won by Carol St. Clair Johnson. She also won a prize for this quilt.

Massive quilt made of prize ribbons in blue, red, yellow, and white

Center square of quilt made of yellow and red ribbons and yellow rosettes

Block of quilt made of blue, yellow, red, and white ribbons. Ribbons state the year. Some have the prize winning object written on in marker

Carol St. Clair Johnson
born 1954; resides Albuquerque, NM

O Fair New Mexico-41 Fair Years
2023
satin ribbons

After unexpectedly winning her first blue ribbon for a sewn cape in 1981, Carol St. Clair Johnson developed an enduring love for the New Mexico State Fair. The quilt Fair New Mexico-41 Fair Years incorporates more than six hundred of the ribbons she won at the fair every subsequent year except 2020 (when the fair was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic). Johnson earned ribbons for needlework, knitting, crochet, pies, cookies, cakes, canning, jewelry, flowers, vegetables, and potted plants. The title of the quilt is a reference to the state song, and the design places the state's Zia sun symbol at the center. The quilt earned Johnson yet another ribbon: Best in Category (miscellaneous quilt) at the 2023 New Mexico State Fair.

Courtesy of Carol St. Clair Johnson

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

That's really good to know! I was caught off guard and didn't have cash on me. I'm glad they're not 100% relying on tips to make a living wage. If I ever do it again I'll have cash ready! And hopefully no mulch in the back of the car

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I was so late for a doc appt at the U that I used the valet instead of looking for parking. I have never used valet in my life. They took my car/keys & gave me a slip. I know I pay on the way out, do I tip too? I don't have cash. My car is ancient and has mulch in the back. How embarrassing

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Fancy new computer here. It's hilariously overpowered for what I do...is Stardew Valley going to be super super hi-res? Is that still a thing? Is it going to look like a documentary? Will Pam's makeup really pop? Will Joja be even more evil? Will the slime be even slimier?

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Double Indemnity: not the traditional choice for an anniversary movie date..but really, what is more romantic than life insurance fraud?

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Same here. 4am sucks...too late to go back to sleep and get up at a normal time, too early to get up and do normal daytime things. Bah.

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I have a bad habit of collecting sock yarn. To whittle it down I made a king size sock yarn blanket. It was a great tv-watching project, and it made a sizeable dent in the stash. OoooOoOOoOoooo I'm the sock yarn blanket ghost!

A person, entirely obscured, holding up a ridiculously huge knit blanket made out of ridiculously thin yarn

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The State Fair: if you sit on a bench and people-watch long enough, you'll see yourself walk by

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Re: Star Trek SNW having fun with silly episodes. Does anyone remember the TNG crew turning into Robin Hood and the Merry Men? Or the transporter accident that turned them into children? Or Beverly and the family sex candle? Star Trek has always had a silly side, and I'm here for it.

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

In 55421 we just have had 30 minutes of constant rolling thunder and a few raindrops. The anticipation is killing me! Antici.....pation

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Twins, just win so I can go to sleep

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

He doesn't look a day over 77!

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

59 good eatin' apples, 10 destined for applesauce. Nice! My honeycrisp did well this year. One more tree to go...the Wolf River apples are still green but are really weighing down the branches. Hurry up and ripen!

A woman holding a box of apples. It's a bit heavy

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I think that maybe it's just not our year. Oh well, Twins, I didn't have super high expectations anyway. :(

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Took a 20+m bike ride today. We found a teddy bear on the trail, picked it up and brought it along in case we found the owner. We did! A kid in a trailer a few miles up was upset because "bear was gone" and the parents had no clue what happened. Bear returned, family happy, I feel like $1,000,000.

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I read Songteller earlier this year. I have been a steadfast, unyielding Dolly Parton evangelist for my entire adult life. I'm glad to see that so many others felt the same...figured I'd add my voice to the chorus. I sent her an Xmas card a few years ago, got no reply. That's ok. I love her anyway.

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

1. Let's go for a hike up this really big sand dune! 2. Yeah maybe not. Walking in sand kinda sucks if you're not used to it.

A woman starting to climb up a large sand dune. She is excited and waving at the camera.

The same woman, walking hunched over, defeated by the sand dune.

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

An inland sea, A sandy shore The waves bring rocks But not much more.

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The inland sea kind. Lake Michigan

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Michele Ess @michele-ess.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Unbelievable: a Victoria Holt novel that I have not read. I'm working on that right now.

A sandy beach with distant people enjoying the waves in the background; a tawdry 70's romantic suspense novel in the foreground

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