iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Huh. Well now I feel like an idiot. I drove that road on an ice-covered winter day and what stood out to me was how you could see so far down on either side of the hill through the bare trees. It did not occur to me until just now that those trees would have leaves on them in season 😅

A picture from the side of the road of the sun shining through bare limbs of trees. The trees are covered in giant globs of ice like crystals. Everything is in shades of blue except for the trees and the road.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Here is a picture of my non-native cat, and some salmon berry flowers that I pressed on a back country trip building hiking trails

A long haired calico cat with green eyes sits on the foot of a bed. She is propped up almost like a human in a chair with her hind paws and tail stretched out in front. The effect is slightly undignified, and also has the air of a boudoir photo shoot.

A hand holds a small flower press about the size of a smartphone. The paper for the flower press is text from a book and there are bright pink flowers with rumpled petals. In the background is a variety of green foliage and a red backpacking pack.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Love some penny news! I feel compelled to point out that a soda for 100 pennies is not free. That is a soda for $1...

A screenshot from the article linked below. It reads
"One convenience store chain, Sheetz, got so desperate for pennies that it briefly ran a promotion offering a free soda to customers who bring in 100 pennies"
A free soda and who bring in 100 pennies has been highlighted by me

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

The lunch box terrarium I took home from my work on Orcas Island last month. I can never resist woods tReaSUre, and you find so much tREaSuRE when you work in the woods.

A photograph looking down into a reused WinCo bulk food bag. At the bottom is a bunch of vibrant green moss, a slightly greenish deer vertebrae, and two verried thrush feathers which are mostly a muddy black but have a splotch of white and burnt orange

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

Hosted a Voting Party for us all to fill out the very long county elections ballot together. #CivicEngagementAndSnacks There were jokes, there was research, and I made a string board for the city council elections.

A group of people sit around a crowded table full of snacks and paper ballots

A wall with a "conspiracy board" made of flyers from local politicians connected with string and sticky notes

Many notes taped to a door describe where to get information about what to vote for.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

Proud of my All Saints altar this year. My grandparents have been downsizing so I now have quite a lot of family treasures.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Here. Have a cat photo. As a little treat.

A long-haired calico cat with green eyes stares into the camera. She is surrounded by many green house plants all sitting next to a window

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Back to working on the Big Rock. I've now been out there in every season and every one of them has been stunning.

Three people lean over to try and flip a large rock in disturbed dirt. In the background, the ground drops away to reveal a valley floor full of trees in fall colors and dark blue foothills.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

*while trying to move a 500 lb rock with a steel bar* Me: I feel like Captain America. Kate: you look like Captain America. Me: I am Captain America, god damn it. I wrote a blog post about what it takes to keep trails functioning in spite of everything... kesialee.com/2025/03/22/n...

A series of narrow and rickety looking wooden stairs winds precariously through a green, sun dappled forest.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Public lands are yours to protect and yours to enjoy. The folks near Custer-Gallatin National Forest in Montana are trying to raise $1,000 for each of 30 employees that were recently laid off. Donate here gofund.me/c583e7aa

A black and white, highly textured photo of a bison head from a side-on view. It's fur is fuzzy and curly, it's eye stares straight into the camera, and a single broken horn is visible. The effect is dramatic and penetrating.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

I will always be proud that the American people overthrew one of the largest empires in history. We kicked one king's ass and we can kick another.

A man and a woman stand on a grassy field with the Washington State Capitol building in the background. Both people are staring into the camera. The woman is holding a narrow white sign that says no more Kings. The man is holding a long bent pole with a right side up American flag flying in the breeze.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

There are no trails without trail crews. And after this week there are very few trail crews left untouched.

A photograph of protesters standing on grass outside of the Washington State Capitol building. A large sign in the foreground is starkly painted in black and white. There is a skull and crossbones wearing a park ranger hat. And text written in a horror film font says protect public lands

A woman at a protest holds a sign and smiles grimly at the camera. The sign reads "1,000 rangers fired February 14th". The sign is hand-painted in reds and browns and below the text is a mountain range.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

A federal trail crew outside of Yellowstone were all illegally laid off by the Trump/Musk purge last week and in protest they are crosscutting in downtown Bozeman. (Yes, we still use these saws to do real work. Cool, right?) There are no trails without trail crews. 📸 sent to me by the crew

Several people in warm outdoor clothes stand outside on a snowy sidewalk. Two of them are pulling a crosscut saw to cut a small tree on a saw horse. Others standing around them are cheering and holding cardboard signs. One sign reads "I lost my job serving your public lands"

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Trail building is an incredible profession and one that I have been so proud to be a part of for the past four seasons. Without trail work, trails cease to exist. This week, so many trail workers that I heard from personally were laid off due to Musk and Trump's reckless cruelty.

A printed sign on a desk that reads "due to the large-scale termination of Forest service employees, Franklin falls and Denny Creek trailhead are closed. This site will reopen when we return to appropriate staffing levels."

Three people walk down a trail through thick green underbrush towards a glacier in the distance. Their backs are to the camera and they have outdoor gear and backpacks filled with tools such as chainsaws and shovels.

A view of a trail from a crouched position. The trail curves through the left hand portion of the frame and enters into a scree field in the background. On the right are Huckleberry bushes and Heather which are beginning to turn red for the fall.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

I'm still absolutely baffled that some people watched The Sound Of Music and came away thinking Ralph the Nazi mailman was the hero of that story.

The iconic gif of Christopher Plummer in sound of music tearing a Nazi flag in half with his bare hands.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

My great-grandfather was a nuclear scientist and wrote large portions of his journals in code. Conveniently he included a key in the back of the journal. My favorite is "ø - concerning feminology"

A photo of a journal entry from January 4th 1937. The journal entry is written in cursive script in black pen. I have edited the photo to circle parts of the entry where words are replaced with Greek characters.

A photo of a journal page. At the top is printed memo page for 1938. Listed down the page are a series of Greek characters with their correlated meanings written in cursive script.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Hello. We built this staircase. I am so proud of it. On to the next thing.

A top-down view looking at a rustic staircase in the woods. There are 18 steps in total. The top steps are partially filled with large crushed rocks and the bottom steps are all the way filled with gravel. There are several small curves in the staircase, it does not have a straight linear alignment. Several hikers can be seen at the base of the stairs.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Egg update from a friend: there are no eggs at her local Whole Foods. Send me your egg updates! I was told that my Canadian friend's coworkers are now invested in this project haha. We've gone internation.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Because things are better when you have a bingo card.

A handwritten bingo card that reads
1. Jd Vance becomes president
2. We go to sleep one night wondering if there will be a nuclear Holocaust
3. Trump manages to buy a new territory for America
4. There is a raid of the New York times or Washington Post newsroom
5. A high-ranking Republican comes out against Trump
6. Biden dies
7. The obamas call it quits and move overseas
8. We find out aliens are 100% for real
9. Eggs hit $5 a dozen
10. National abortion ban
11. Trump and musk have a public falling out
12. Something interesting happens with drones
13. Melania divorces Trump
14. There's an absolute banger of a protest song that everyone learns the words to
15. Coast guard buys an air carrier
16. A supreme Court judge dies or retires
17. Mitch McConnell or Nancy pelosi dies
18. Aoc runs for president. Fuck it.
19. LUIGI MANGIONE GETS MARRIED IN PRISON
20. Tick tock band does not go into place
21. Major social media platform goes extinct
22. A surprisingly good policy comes out of the Trump administration
23. A prophecy from Revelations undeniably gets fulfilled

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Happy inauguration day. There are no eggs. But I'm glad to know that this and all my other problems will soon be solved.

A photo of the empty eggshell at trader Joe's. There is a sign that says "Oops! Sorry for the inconvenience... Though we get eggs each morning, because of supply limitations we are sold out today. Our apologies"

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

...Your mother was a wee girl once, who played upon my rocky shore. And you, you are a broken boy, and you want more and more and more. You build a tower. You build a wall, You live in fear that they might fall. You who see nothing but your own face in the sheen of The Hudson River.

A photo of a rocky beach taken from ground level. There is a shallow depth of field so only the rocks in the middle fourth are in focus. All the rocks are a dark red color and palm sized or smaller. There is a singular light orange pebble which sands out, close to the middle of the frame. In the top fourth of the image there are stormy clouds, a low grass covered hill, the ocean, and two people walking. All of this is blurry and out of focus.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

And so I wondered: what might that rock of Lewis have to say about the 45th President of the United States of America Mary Anne Macleod's middle son, Donald John. And this is what the rock told me:

A black and white photo of a low stone wall next to a road. On the wall is a street sign. In large Celtic lettering at the top the sign reads "Sràid Leòdhais". Below that in smaller Roman lettering it reads "Lewis Street"

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

That son of Mary Anne MacLeod is powerful. But so too is the North Wind. The gneiss the marbled, metamorphic rock of Lewis is two-thirds the age of Earth amongst the oldest on our planet. It knows about power, and it’s seen a lot.

A wide angle photograph looking from almost ground level across a rocky beach. In the foreground there is wet sand and fist sized dark rocks scattered around. On the horizon there are stormy clouds and a low hill covered in yellowish wintered grass

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

And here - in the name of progress and profit - and executive golf - he would pit himself against time and tide. And in his wake the shifting sand dunes of Balmedie in Aberdeenshire would never be the same.

A wind angle picture of a coastline. In the foreground there is a dune covered in matted grass which creates a hillocked texture. In the mid ground a shallow beach filled with black rock runs into a light blue ocean. There is a slope of grass covered land running up from the beach and there are a few distant houses visible on the crest. The sky is overcast. Near the horizon it is a stormy blue but it fades to white at the top of the frame.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

"In May 1930 Mary Anne MacLeod from Tong on The Isle of Lewis boarded a steamer from Glasgow bound for New York City in search of a better life. There, she fell in love with a young man named Frederick whose family had emigrated to America two generations before. The couple raised five children.

A photo looking straight on from the sidewalk at two row houses. Although they are a singular building, there is a visible line right down the middle. Either side of the line is a mirror image of the other. Each side has a windowed gable, a gutter, a ground story window, and an iron fence. But one side is painted cream with burnt orange trim and one side is painted a blue grey with rust red trim. On the roof, the chimney is bisected by the line and each half is painted to match its own side of the building.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

"oh what are men compared to rocks and mountains" I'm mad about tiktok, I'm mad about politics, I was even briefly mad about this work project. But I enjoy being mad that this rock refuses to allow me to build a staircase up it. I will not enjoy being mad as my rights are further taken away.

A view of two people using a rope to climb down a steep rock face. Parts of the rock face are vertical, but the people are walking down a section which has been jackhammered to a steep but navigable angle. All around them are trees, ferns, and Moss. The view in the background is of hills leading into a cloud bank and blue sky.

A view of a landscape from a high vantage point. The photo is taken from a tall cliff face. Below there is an agricultural valley full of grass fields, a few buildings, bare trees, evergreens, and a lake. In the distance, the valley transitions into foothills, with a large snow-capped mountain in the background. There is blue sky with wispy clouds above it all.

Two people in hard hats and outdoor clothes stand on a rugged rock surface high in the air. They are looking at glacial striations in the rock, large grooves about leg sized which were caused by glaciers scraping over the rock face.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Things are getting ✨ interesting ✨ in egg price world. It's been less than a month since I last bought eggs at my local WinCo and they increased in price by 100%.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Hello from Cheese Week, a week without time where we didn't know what day it is and all we are eating in cheese

A plate of holiday food sits next to a Christmas tree. On the plate are roasted brussel sprouts, crackers, and two different types of spreadable cheese.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Every year since 2020 I have made a Christmas wreath. And this year 👏🏻 this year 👏🏻 I have unlocked natural cordage. This year my whole wreath will be biodegradable. I am unstoppable.

I hold a circle of twisted blackberry Vines that have been stripped of their thorns. They are bound together at the end with string that I made from dried spider plant leaves

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

See??? Every couple of years the spirit compels me. This was three years ago when I was living in the Smokies. Incredible work by me if I do say so myself.

A photo of a gingerbread cantilever barn. The top of the barn is long and rectangular with an arch cut out in the middle. It is balanced on two small pillars of gingerbread. The top of the barn sticks out over the pillars on either side, giving it the "cantilever" effect

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Love a manual with dry humor. "Many old saws suffered the indignity of having pastoral scenes painted on them so they could be hung on the walls of smoky cafes in economically depressed logging towns. While the art was usually quite bad, the paint has protected the saws from rust"

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Hot chocolate and reviewing crosscut saws before I teach a workshop this weekend.

Top-down view of a kitchen stove. On the stove, there is a small pot of hot chocolate cooking with a wooden spoon resting in it. There are also two open canisters of powdered sugar and cocoa powder. A book with diagrams on how to fell a tree is open on the stove as well. It is not on a lit burner, so it is not a hazard.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

We'll see how long this stands, but when it falls I get to eat it. Much like how I will get to eat the rich when capitalism falls.

A completed gingerbread house sits on a plate on a table. It's roof and walls are decorated with green and red candies, white icing, and smashed peppermints. The roof is preposterously tall, due to some geometrical miscalculations on my part.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Okay, I think we have successfully managed to stay away from absurd and leaned into the simplicity of traditional. Next I have to put the roof on. Pray for my soul 🙏🏻

The walls of a gingerbread house successfully stand up in a long rectangular shape on a plate that is decorated with red flowers. The walls have icing windows, red and green chocolate discs as decoration, and some smashed peppermint candies as an accent.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Once, when I was working at the visitor center at Smoky Mountain National Park, I made a gingerbread cantilever Barn. It made it on the local news! That is absolutely my crowning professional achievement - of any of the many professions I have had.

A photograph of a gingerbread house being made. In the foreground there is a plate with red flowers painted on it. On the plate is one wall of a gingerbread house decorated with icing windows and red and green candy. In the background there are small ramekins with more candy and a cutting board holding the other completed walls and roof.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

In a previous capitalist incarnation I managed a bakery. And sometimes, like the Ghost of Christmas Past, that incarnation rears up to haunt me and demands tribute. Usually in the form of me making some absurdly decorated cookie.

A top-down view of a table. On the table is a plate decorated with red flowers that has a stack of large rectangular gingerbread sheets. Around the plate are three small ramekins. One has crushed peppermint and the other two have red and green chocolate discs. There is also a bowl with a spoon that has royal icing in it.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Making a gingerbread house and I forgot that I don't own a rolling pin right now. But what I DO have is a Stanley Thermos and an indomitable spirit.

Brown gingerbread cookie dough rolled flat on a kitchen counter. On top of it is an old green Stanley thermos from the early 2000s which I used as a rolling pin

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

I'm tracking the prices of eggs for the next 4 years. We'll discover together whether they go up or down. This is citizen science lol.

A sign at WinCo that says "Cage free large eggs $2.47 each"

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Trader Joe's check out guy: got any plans for tonight? Me: oh, gonna review rigging safety for work. Him: what's that? Me: it's the type of thing old-timey loggers use to move logs. And sometimes it would explode and kill everyone. Him: Jesus. And you still use it? Me: yup. That's why I'm reviewing

My coworker is sitting at a desk and I'm sitting on a couch. There are papers scattered everywhere with writing and diagrams that show lifting heavy loads with ropes and pulleys. We're both looking at the diagrams to remember how not to kill everyone.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

I'm posting the price of gas every time I buy it for the next four years. Come with me as we discover together if it's going to go up or down. This is citizen science lol

A gas pump with a price per gallon that reads 3.159

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Every year I make Advent cards inspired by @annelouiseavery.bsky.social short stories. It's one of my favorite traditions and makes me feel as though I'm one of the characters in Old Fox's cottage.

Four Christmas themed cards sit on a table. They are hand-made and decorated with scraps of old books, pressed flowers, foil, and postage stamps. Each card has a cut out illustration of an animal. One is a fox, one is a weasel, and one is a rabbit.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Me: I don't really have room or money for a Christmas tree this year Also me: brings home half the forest from work...

A large vase full of evergreen branches sits on a shelf. The branches are overflowing the vase and reach almost to the ceiling.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Turned myself into a walking botany field guide today at work. Trust me, it got even worse as the day went on.

A picture of myself in overalls. A variety of lichens and small tree branches have all been stuffed in my chest pockets.

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

This is a much more generous way to say "during the month of April, the most stable thing in my life was Taylor Swift's new breakup album which is a fate I would not wish on my worst enemy" Cheers Spotify, I don't know who's more unoriginal you or me...

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

And what happened here was I decided to be a cowboy over the summer so I created an incredible (but very short) playlist which I hyper-fixated on while driving to and from work. I stand by that playlist. It is the greatest single thing I created in 2024. open.spotify.com/playlist/6BQ...

A Spotify wrapped screen that says "August was your wild West banjo Americana season"

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Oh Spotify, I appreciate you trying to call it West end musicals when we both know I was disassociating from the US election by listening to Les Mis on repeat for a solid month.

A Spotify wrapped screen that says "October was your theatrical West end musicals moment"

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

My favorite moon phase: waxing crescent. It's often visible just above the horizon at sunset. It's sometimes called a cat's claw moon, which I think is perfect

A thin waxing crescent moon is in the sky just above the horizon. There is a sunset with low hills and water. Saturn can be seen as a bright dot near the moon

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Lee @mobiletoadstool.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Small triumph: I've been trying to cook one gluten free meal and one vegan meal a day both for my health and the planet. Yesterday I ran out of time to cook what I had planned so I was scrambling through the cupboards for a quick back up. (I travel a lot so don't keep lots of things on hand)

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