I just got a 24oz wide mouth as a gift the other week and I have to say I am thoroughly disappointed. I had been wanting one for the ease of cleaning (being dishwasher safe) and my other insulated bottle (hydrocell) was starting to lose its insulation after about 5 or 6 years. The one I got came with the screw on/off cap but I also ordered the straw lid as well since that is what I prefer. The first night I filled up the bottle 3/4 of the way with ice then the rest with cold water from the fridge. By the next morning (8 hrs) the ice was completely melted and the water was just cool. I kept giving it a few chances over the next few days and nothing changed. I then tried the screw on cap, and while it did do better, the ice was still completely melted by hour 12. I had done the insulation test and it passed, I made sure to screw on the caps tightly and to snap the straw piece back into place each time. Is this how they normally perform? If it is, I’m probably just gonna ask for a refund and order another hydrocell that’s a fraction of the price

So before I got my compost tumbler from a friend last year. I had the idea to DIY some with 5 gallon buckets that I could roll around on the ground. The first one I did I didn’t drill holes and rain water got it and I have neglected doing anything cause it just seemed nasty. Well I stumbled upon this thing called anaerobic ferment juice today which I believe I have unintentionally created. Most of the advice I could find was more so people trying to create it or compost tea intentionally. So my question is, would it be ok to just use it? I’m assuming I would need to dilute it a bit but it has honestly probably been in this bucket for 2 years. I took the lid off the other day and it didn’t smell bad, albeit I didn’t stick my head down into the bucket. I had thought about just pouring it into my larger compost pile, but if I can actually use it as a liquid fertilizer that’s even better.
It’s going to be made out of basic kitchen scraps like vegetables and coffee grounds. There may have been a few egg shells but I don’t remember if I was even composting those at that point and shredded paper.

As the summer season approaches, dropshipping entrepreneurs are gearing up to cater to the changing consumer demands. Summer brings with it a plethora of opportunities for e-commerce businesses, especially those offering seasonal products. For beginners venturing into the world of dropshipping, choosing the right products is crucial for success. Here are the top 10 summer-inspired dropshipping products that can pave the way for beginners' success:

1. UV Protection Sunglasses: With the sun shining bright, sunglasses become a must-have accessory for everyone. UV protection sunglasses not only offer style but also provide essential eye protection. Look for trendy designs and durable frames to attract customers.
2. Portable Cooling Fans: As temperatures rise, staying cool becomes a priority. Portable cooling fans, especially those with USB charging options, are convenient for outdoor activities, travel, and everyday use. Highlight their portability and energy efficiency in your marketing campaigns.
3. Beach Towels: Beach days are synonymous with summer. Colorful and absorbent beach towels are always in demand during this season. Consider offering personalized options or trendy designs to stand out in the market.
4. Outdoor Games and Activities: Entice customers with a range of outdoor games and activities suitable for summer gatherings and picnics. Items like beach volleyball sets, frisbees, or inflatable pool games can add a fun element to your product catalog.
5. Swimwear and Beachwear: Capitalize on the swimwear and beachwear trend by offering a variety of styles, sizes, and designs. From bikinis and swimsuits to cover-ups and beach hats, curate a collection that appeals to different tastes and preferences.
6. Portable Waterproof Speakers: Music is an essential part of summer adventures. Portable waterproof speakers that can withstand outdoor conditions are popular among consumers. Highlight features like Bluetooth connectivity, long battery life, and durability.
7. Grilling and BBQ Accessories: Summer is synonymous with outdoor cooking and BBQ parties. Stock up on grilling accessories such as BBQ tools, aprons, grill mats, and marinade injectors. Emphasize their quality, ease of use, and suitability for summer cookouts.
8. Outdoor Camping Gear: Cater to outdoor enthusiasts with a range of camping gear and accessories. Tents, sleeping bags, portable stoves, and camping chairs are essential items for summer camping trips. Target camping enthusiasts and adventure seekers with high-quality products.
9. Summer-themed Home Decor: Extend the summer vibe to indoor spaces with summer-themed home decor items. Think floral cushions, beach-inspired wall art, and vibrant tableware. Create collections that reflect the season's colors and motifs.
10. Reusable Water Bottles and Hydration Packs: Staying hydrated is crucial during the summer months. Offer reusable water bottles, hydration packs, and insulated tumblers that keep beverages cold for extended periods. Highlight eco-friendly features and the benefits of hydration.

When selecting summer-inspired dropshipping products, consider factors such as seasonality, consumer preferences, and market trends. Leverage social media, influencer partnerships, and targeted advertising to reach your audience effectively. Providing excellent customer service and fast shipping can also contribute to your success as a dropshipping entrepreneur. With the right products, choosing best dropshipping suppliers in India and marketing strategies, beginners can thrive in the competitive e-commerce landscape during the summer season and beyond.

So, I've owned a tonn of waterbottles before, but I'd like to hear this subs thoughts.

• I owned 2 swell Waterbottle that I loved, but the curved top frankly made it really annoying to clean; and it's hard to tell if/when it's fully clean.

I think I had made a smoothie in one, and accidentally lost it for a few weeks/months. Now I'm honestly too scared to use that one anymore thinking there's going to be some sludge I missed.

• I was given a Yeti waterbottle (the kind with a Straw), but it was honestly too bulgy/massive to comfortably take most places. And the insulation wasn't nearly as good as Swell's because of the Straw-hole, even when it's "sealed". For example, a hot drink might stay hot for like, 3-4 hours in that Yeti bottle, while the Swell one would be hot for 12-18+ hours.

So I'm looking for something that:

• has a flat top (aka not curved like the swell bottles)
• not too bulgy, fits in cupholders and backpacks without taking up too much space.
• no straw-hole due to the poorer experience with the Yeti one I had.
• prefer if the lid just comes off instead of the ones with a drinking-hole. (never found those too comfortable to drink from)
• ideally dishwasher-safe
• good for both hot drinks (coffee, tea) or cold drinks (water, soda, smoothie, etc)

Lower priority:

• cool design (I like some of the Starbucks waterbottle designs, but for other brands I tend to prefer minimalistic one-color. Like all black or white.
• durable

Howdy,
As the title says, my pork butt came out super dry after resting overnight in the oven. I decided to presmoke the meat the day before to serve at noon.
Here's what I did:
Seasoned and smoked about 10lbs of pork shoulders in my pellet grill @ 250f , spritzing every 45 minutes with apple juice and water solution for the first 3-4 hours.
Once I was happy with the bark and the rendered fat, it was about 186f internal. I placed the meat in an aluminum pan with more seasoning, apple juice, and some butter and foil wrapped tightly until my meater+ read 203. I can't remember how long that took, thinking 1-2 hours at the most.
Cracked open the foil lid to let the steam out for 5-8 minutes or so, feeling happy with the end result (bark and tenderness check using a probe). I set my oven to 170f and let it rest there until it was time to shred and eat.
Fast forward 12 hours resting in the oven at 170f (10pm - 10am), the tray was still nice and toasty, put it in an insulated cooler and I drove an hour to the party. The meat smelled amazing, shred really easily with my gloved hands but I noticed that the meat was extremely dry. Even when I incorporated the left over juice on the bottom of the pan.
I've also had a similar experience with two briskets that I prepared the night before for a lunch event. I'm seeing a lot of people here talking positively about resting overnight in the oven, but I can't seem to get it right.
I've had way better experience with waking up early and doing hot-and-fast to meet the lunch deadline and that method hasn't failed me so far.
Please educate me what I'm doing wrong here and share your experience.
Thanks!

Hi,
Looking to get a woodfired hot tub in the UK. I'm currently looking at these manufacturers (and buying direct):

• Gardenvity Premium Round For 6
• Royal Tubs - Deluxe Premium
• Skargards Regal 190 Dualburn

Acrylic insert
I've been told that this is a really good idea to have a an acrylic, rather than fiberglass insert:

• Gardenvity offer it as an upgrade option
• Royal Tubs only offer it by default
• Skargards don't offer it, but feel that it isn't needed an estimate the life-span of up to 25 years

Insert insulation This seemed like a good idea, but only Gardenvity offer it as an option. The others felt it isn't needed as it is quite efficient anyway, (and RT told me that it could even be a negative thing).
Woodburner All 3 offer an upgrade to 316 steel, but Skargards seems to be much more efficient as it routes the water through the boiler twice with their "Dualburn" technology.
LED Skargards seems to only offer a single large white internal LED (with 2 levels of brightness). The other two offer more choices, with Gardenvity seeming to offering the most (internal and external) and multi-coloured. Unsure of the functionality of RT's.
Water and Air Jets Skargards sounded quite basic (only offering "bubbles" with 6 jets), compared to the other two which offer air and hydro jet. RT offering 12 air bubble and 8 hydro jets. Gardenvity offering a variety, but considering 12 air and 20 hyrdro.
Anything else I haven't considered? Please help me make up my mind.
Thank you!

PART ONE THOUSAND AND ELEVEN
[Previous Chapter] [The Beginning] [Patreon+2]
Sunday
“Daaaaddy!”
Levi groaned, for the shouting whine from his bedside dragged him kicking and screaming out of sleep in a way no other alarm could. Only two other sounds garnered a faster reaction from him: someone vomiting right beside him or his baby girl screaming in either pain or fear.
He opened one eye, wondering if someone had ever made an alarm that sounded like either of those last two. Parents everywhere would never sleep in again, so maybe not.
A blurry red-headed vision was so close that he could smell her morning breath as it tickled his nose. “Heeey,” he yawned, pulling away enough to bring her back into focus. “What’s up, Peaches?”
He didn’t recognise the room they were in. Not even a little bit. He sat up fast and looked around, causing Maddy to let out an ‘eep’ of fright. “Daddy! You made some come out!”
And then the events of the night before came crashing in: the party, the knowledge that his roommate was going to have the kind of company Maddy didn’t need to see, the invitation to stay in Luke’s old room, and Maddy’s late-night escapades after he’d dropped like a rock after doing a double shift to make it to the party.
He saw Maddy’s uncomfortable wiggle-dance and the strained look on her face and remembered he’d locked the door. “Oh!” He flew out of bed, scooping her up in the process. If he ended up getting peed on, it was his own fault for not setting an alarm for his baby girl’s tiny bladder.
He unlocked the door and dove around the corner, willing to go through the shut bathroom door if he had to, but thankfully found the room open and vacant. Then he flipped the toilet lid before depositing her on the ground in front of the toilet. He immediately pivoted away, not because he was embarrassed by her but because Maddy had grown old enough not to like him watching her go to the toilet. She was starting to get antsy about her bath, too, but until she could adequately bathe herself and not merely play with her bath toys the whole time, that was a hard ‘don’t care’ line.
“Do you want to have a bath, baby, or wait until we get home?” he asked, crossing the room to hold the door almost shut to prevent anyone else from seeing her either.
“I don’t got clothes, Daddy,” she answered like he was an idiot.
Word choice aside, the sentiment was true. They’d borrowed the shirt she was wearing from Charlie. “Well, we need to figure something out, Peaches, because you are not leaving this house in only a nightgown and no underwear.” He’d send Charlotte out to buy her some clothes if he had to.
He heard the toilet flush and Maddy move up behind him, and turned long before she could touch him. “Three guesses what I didn’t hear, young lady?” he asked with a paternal frown. He pointed at the vanity when she looked up at him without a clue.
“But I can’t reach!”
“Then what are you supposed to do?”
Her shoulders slumped. “Daddy, c’n you help?”
He then smiled. “Better.” He put a hand on top of her head and spun her towards the vanity before guiding her forward. After they crossed the room, he loosened the faucet without turning it on and curled his hands around her waist, lifting her high enough that she could lean over the sink. She washed her hands, rinsing them thoroughly, then scooped the water and let it fall over the faucet before turning it off. Not that water alone would wash away the ‘germs’ of the initial contact, but the sentiment was there. Her mother had been a nurse, after all.
“Is Mister Larry still here?”
“I don’t know, baby. But how about we go and see if we can track down either Aunty Charlotte or Robbie and figure out where we’re at, okay?”
“We’re in Uncle Luke’s and Aunty Charlotte’s home,” she said, again like he was an idiot.
That had been a rather stupid thing to say to a three-and-a-half-year-old. “Alright, Miss Smarty-pants. And what are we going to eat for breakfast in Uncle Luke and Aunty Charlotte’s home if we can’t find them to ask them, hmm?”
“Food, silly.”
Clearly, he was going to have to up his game in parental rhetorical questions. Gone were the days when she’d take him at his word, and she was only three. Thirteen was going to be fun. “Right,” he muttered, shaking his head as he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
While holding Maddy’s hand, he peeked in the open door across the hall from the bathroom and saw a very plain bedroom in terms of the rest of the apartment’s décor. At first, he’d thought it was a guest room until he remembered the teenage kid Robbie had recently adopted. This was probably his room.
He’d seen Charlotte and Robbie’s room the day they moved Charlotte in here, so a quick glance to confirm the room was empty was all he needed on that score. That left two doors on the right. And since both were close together, with the one on the left barely a couple of feet from the other and the front wall separating the living room, Levi was willing to assume the second one was a half-bath or a powder room or something. He went to the second door and knocked.
“Yeah?” Mason called from inside.
Levi opened the door and poked his head inside. “Hey, you wouldn’t by any chance happen to know where Robbie or Charlotte are, would you?”
Mason was at his desk, drowning in paperwork, it seemed. “Robbie, no,” he said, shaking his head. "As for Charlie, I’d try her office next door, between us and Boyd’s studio. She has a massive garage refit happening soon, so last I checked, she was in there getting things ready.”
The emphasis on his sister’s preferred name wasn’t lost on him. A sharp, jarring motion to his right caught his eye, and he saw something that really belonged in a space program somewhere.
“What the hell is that?” he demanded, ducking down low enough to see Robbie’s adoptee with his eyes glued on whatever was going on overhead and his fingers typing in a blur of speed.
“Naughty word, Daddy!”
Mason snickered at Levi’s slow blink. “It’s a gaming system courtesy of Robbie’s family. The damn thing is very addictive, though, and I haven’t told Brock that there’s a screen you pull down from inside the headset to cover your eyes that takes the game into 3D playing.”
Levi whistled. “I don’t even want to know how much that costs.”
“I know, and this Sectra table here is up there too,” Mason agreed, gesturing at the electronic display beside him. “But it certainly makes learning a lot more fun.” He tilted his head forward. “Isn’t that right, bunny?”
Bunny?
Maddy leaned into Levi’s leg, but she was grinning ear to ear when she nodded. “I wanna be a vert when I grow up,” she declared, looking up at him.
“Vet, baby,” Mason corrected. “We’re vets. Sounds like “bet’ and ‘get’ and ‘set’.”
“Vet,” Maddy repeated.
“There ya’ go. Step one is getting the name right.” He glanced up at Levi, his cheeky grin on full display. “Step two is getting Daddy to save up for the rest of his life to pay for the classes.”
“I hate you,” Levi whisper-smirked, and Mason pursed his lips in a cocky air-kiss.
Still shaking his head, Levi waved at Mason and left the room, leading Maddy through the kitchen and living room and into the hallway outside. For so many years, his baby brother and their friends had crushed themselves into that ninth-floor horror show, and no amount of pleading from everyone would budge Luke. Not pressure from their parents nor peer guilt from his brothers, who refused to bring their families over to the cramped space.
Charlo—Charlie was the only one who visited regularly, and at the time, he’d put it down to her being skinny, single with no kids, so she could squeeze into whatever gap she found. He knew who she was really visiting now, and Robbie had better be ready for the mother of all guilt trips coming from the family to make an honest woman of their sister. Nascerdios descended or not, he’d be a dead man if he broke her heart.
Thinking about his little brother’s relationship with all these men, it was like Luke knew the payoff was just around the corner. People like them didn’t live like this.
Well, Maverick kind of did, but he’d worked hard for what he had and could rattle off his list of sporting injuries to prove it. Robbie and Sam had simply taken a running dive off the world’s highest diving platform and landed in the kind of wealth the rich and shameless could only dream about.
Luke—Lucas was lucky in a different way. Yes, his friendship with Robbie and Sam had certainly opened the right doors financially, but what Levi had seen of Boyd’s work yesterday, the big guy was well on his way to becoming his own type of rich; much like Mav did for his family. And like Marley, Lu—ucas wouldn’t have to work a day again in his life if he didn’t want to. (Though he had just made detective and loved his job, so Levi couldn’t see him quitting anytime soon.)
He knocked on the closed door. “Come in,” Charlie called, proving Mason right. And like Mason, she was sitting behind a desk covered in paperwork with a phone cradled against her shoulder.
“Aunty Charlotte, we’re hungry!” Maddy declared, and Levi closed his eyes to hide from his sister’s evil chuckle.
“Well, we can’t have that, sweetie,” she said, and he heard the phone click as it was dropped onto the receiver. "Daddy gets very grumpy when he’s hungry.”
“It’s not the only reason he gets cranky,” he said, opening one eye a slit to give his baby sister the stink eye.
Charlie cackled and slid out from behind her desk. “C’mon. Robbie has your breakfast all ready for you in Voila.”
“We didn’t want to start going through things and guessing what we could eat,” Levi explained as they backtracked to the main apartment.
“That’s fine. Grab a seat—any seat,” she said, gesturing to the line of kitchen barstool chairs as she moved through the living room. She headed around the island and over to the box under the window without checking if they had.
Levi wasn’t thrilled about the height of the barstool chairs off the floor. “Do you have a belt or something I could use to tie Maddy in?”
Charlie swung around to him. “Oh! Oh, yeah! Hold on.” She slipped around the island and down her side of the apartment, coming back from her room with the kind of square booster seats that could be found in a restaurant. “Robbie ducked out and got this for her this morning.”
Levi scratched his head as the booster was attached to the second chair along the front of the island. “Where’d he get that from at this hour?”
Charlie looked at him derisively. “This is Robbie, bro. You know he’s got connections all over the place.”
It killed Levi not to ask for more details, but given it was probably either connected to the Nascerdios or, more likely, a wealthy former client in the city that still looked favourably upon Robbie, he hadn’t wanted Maddy to overhear the specifics of the latter. Too many times, his little girl had asked Robbie about different ‘gifts’ he’d been given by clients and how she had wanted to do whatever he did to get presents like that. ‘Over my dead body’ had been his mental declaration.
Maddy was pulling on his boxers. “Up, Daddy,” she said, holding her hands over her head for him.
Levi lifted her into the seat, and then buckled her in. In the meantime, Charlie went back to that wooden box, lifting the lid. “Robbie has this gift with food, so assume everything in the place is for you to eat, because it probably is.”
“Not everything,” Levi countered at Maddy’s wild squeal of delight. He gave her hand a firm squeeze. “Do not take anything without asking, young lady, or you’ll be in big trouble.”
“But Daddy…”
“It’s Daddy’s call, Maddy,” Charlie said, backing his play. She turned, holding a plate with two fist-sized Minnie Mouse-shaped waffles (the bow between the ears made it Minnie) with some type of white marshmallow fluff spread across them and a honey drizzle that drew perfect facial features on each. “Here’s breakfast for one cute-as-a-button Dobson,” she said with a flourish, sliding the plate in front of Maddy and pulling out a children’s stubby fork from the cutlery drawer.
“It’ll have to be cut u—” The words died in Levi’s throat as Maddy stabbed the nearest piece, and it broke into a small, bite-sized piece that Maddy happily popped into her mouth.
“Imma bi’ ’irl,” she said, in and around her food.
Levi tapped her nose. “Big girls don’t talk with their mouths full, Peaches.”
When he glanced at Charlie, she’d gone back to the box and returned with a dinner plate of fluffy scrambled eggs on two pieces of toast with cheese and bacon, and three sausages cut almost in half longways on the side. She nodded at the seat beside Maddy, then slid the plate into the empty spot at the end. “Siddown, bro.”
He might have whimpered a little on the first bite as Charlie went and poured them both a glass (technically, Maddy got a plastic tumbler) of citrus juice (not orange), leaving the jug on the bench between them. “Help yourselves to as much juice as you want. Even if you wipe this whole jug out, there's plenty more.”
“This is really awesome, Charlie. Thanks.”
Charlie placed her hand on her brother’s shoulder as she moved around the island into the hallway. “Anytime, Levi. But now I’ve gotta love you and leave you. There’s a mountain of work to get through in my office, so are you good here?”
“Totally. Thanks again, sis.”
As she walked out the door, Maddy held out a piece of her waffle to him. “Try?”
Waffles were usually too sweet for his blood, but this was the game he’d set up with her a long time ago to make her at least attempt to eat new foods. He couldn’t very well expect her to eat what he wanted her to if, now and again, he didn’t reciprocate the motion.
The honey and marshmallow whip (which tasted nothing like the jar-bought type) melted into the perfectly heated/not-too-hot waffle, giving it a sweet crunch as if it had just come out of the waffle iron. His surprise must have been written all over his face, for Maddy giggled, and he grinned. “That’s yummy.”
“Mmmm-hmmm,” she hummed, just as he always had when a new food passed the initial taste test.
* * *
((All comments welcome. Good or bad, I’d love to hear your thoughts 🥰🤗))
I made a family tree/diagram of the Mystallian family that can be found here
For more of my work, including WPs: Angel466 or an index of previous WPS here.
FULL INDEX OF BOB THE HOBO TO DATE CAN BE FOUND HERE!!

I’ve been searching for an insulated tight fitting lid for the 100 gallon Rubbermaid tubs to no avail. Has anyone run across somewhere that sells them or someone who makes them?
I currently have a loose vinyl cover that fits over it, with a plywood board cut to fit under it, but for whatever reason, it seems to attract slugs 🐌 so when I take the cover off in the morning the rim of the plunge is lined with them - which just doesn’t entice me to want to take a plunge.
Thanks!

I was the one that found Jake dead, Tucked in the dark corner of the parking garage in his idling pest control truck that vibrated minutely.
The parking garage always had a humming from stainless metal fans to circulate the humid and hot Virgina air. Walking closer to the truck I saw his chemical box in the bed of the truck was open with the top flap sticking straight up.I thought nothing weird about the open box because it's not just us in the pest control company that live there and from time to time we steal from other trucks. For the summer the company buys out dozens of rooms for the employees to stay. Most employees are door to door salesmen who make a living selling pest control as a same day service. Where Jake and I, with a few others, come into play is after the sale. The ones who actually spray your house, the ones who interact with the customers and bring them down to reality after the salesmen fluff our feathers, or are they fluffing their own? We are the ones who click the rap trap mouths in place, with black jagged teeth…waiting, with the delicious neon blue food for the rats to nibble on and share with their newborns. We had 7 other trucks in the parking garage and from time to time chem went missing. Sometimes us technicians didn't want to wake up early and drive 30 minutes to the office to pick up materials, truckers were closer, much closer. I'd be lying to you if I didn't steal a de-weber every now and then off a truck, but I always made no trace of the thievery. I can't speak for everyone though. So when that lid was pointing up to the rusty pipes and concrete ceiling above, I wasn't surprised, hell I might have had a smirk on my face.
With the swing of my arm I slapped the box closed, a whiff of chemicals spewed out and hit my nose which gave me a feeling of a stinging sneeze that never comes. I gave the window a knock to see if he would turn around.. Silence. I got closer to see if he was glued to his phone and didn't hear me or didn’t bother looking. I put my hands up on the window and smushed my eyebrows against my index fingers to get a better look. I saw the seat was fully reclined back, him laying there…still as a morning lake. I knocked on the smaller back half door. Tap tap TAP. No movement. It was too dark to see so I dug my hand in my pocket to get my phone light out and put it flush to the back oval airplane shaped window. That's when I saw this face—— god his face—— skin a purplish hue and pulled taught by swelling, eyes adrift and red which were bulging out like they wanted to leave, jaw open with dark fluid sitting in his mouth, escaping on the sides. The streaks of dark liquid rolled down his purple face, curving down the back of his neck, and dribbling down the strands of hair meeting the head rest. My eyelids opened so wide they touched my eyebrows. His fingers curled limply around a chemical bottle, cap off and the liquid color matching that of the pool in his mouth…
“Jake” I whispered, my voice feels like it was stolen from me, my skin is tingling like an unknown channel on tv as heat takes over… I begin to fall, the last thing I notice are my fingers streaking down the window. I passed out.
4 months pass
I'm moving out of the building where it happened. I’ve wanted to get out of this building since it happened, but didn’t have the financial backing. Now I plan to stay in Virginia for the winter and move in with roommates from the pest control company. The salesmen call this time their “off season” due to them all leaving and going back home, most to Vegas. My other two roommates run the regular technician routes which consist of stopping at 14-15 designated houses a day, spraying chemicals and setting traps to take care of the contracts those grimey salesmen sell.
I used to share a room with jake. All of his things were taken out either by investigators or the maid service. The other roommates in the building told me to combine the abandoned twin bed with mine but I never touched it, I couldn't.
I’m making this entry due to finding something. Something I believe was very close to Jake.The last day of moving I had everything packed but my mattress and box spring. While moving my mattress lazily with the sheet still on I lost grip and it hit his mattress sliding it off the box spring and hitting the wall. I let go of my mattress automatically and wanted to fix his bed…. Preserve it. I wrapped my hands around his mattress when a wave of dizziness veiled over me. My hands became clammy and I didn't want to touch his mattress anymore, like a kid that doesn't want to touch an old person. I had to put it back! If I didn't it would haunt me forever my mind yelled at me. Just as I forced myself to slide the mattress back, my middle knuckle dropped into a slight groove, and I stopped in place. I pushed the mattress to the right and traced where my knuckle had been and found a slit in the box spring.I hesitated, staring at the unnatural slash in the cloth, Thinking about when Jake and I would make fun of our manager who always had a bone to pick with jake ever since the first day they met, the new manager 2 years younger than us yelling at jake to tuck his shirt in while his own untucked, covered his belt and belly. A smile slowly disappeared from my face as I was brought back with my whole forearm now in the slit of the box spring. My fingers clutched an object that had to be a book. I pulled My arm out of the box spring like pulling a calf out of its mother, now half expecting to see red viscous liquid and tiny wet legs, my eyes shut slowly like elevator doors closing.
But My hand appeared dry and my fingers clenched around a book of sorts. The outside of the book was void of color, almost like it absorbed it instead. I sat down on my thrown mattress and the empty apartment surrounded me. I flipped to the first page as the spine creaked at me, I saw Jake's name and it clicked in me that this wasn't a book. It was Jake's notebook! I flipped page after page reading Jacob’s writings about days of killing bugs and missing home till I got to the page. Sometimes I wish I wasn't lazy, I could have taken the sheet off the bed, this would have never happened, I would have never found the notebook. The apartment seemed to be silently closing in on me now like I was in the digestive tract of some huge monster. God the page—— in big dark letters he had written “THE LADY IN THE BASEMENT IS THE REASON WHY I AM GONE.” I was stuck reading the words again and again thinking I was seeing things. My heart was pumping so vigorously I could hear it agitate the fabric of my shirt little by little each beat. There was a dark arrow so dark that seemed to suck in light and pointed toward the right of the page wanting someone to flip it or something to flip it, so I did. For the next pages he wrote why…. And I clinging to every word …began to read.
2 months pass
The warm thick air has passed now, leaving a cold grey in the air. Virginia feels less claustrophobic with the heat gone. Winter is stinging its way into the picture more and more, breath starting to become visible almost every day.
My new apartment looks over the town of Arlington which is a nice view from the 13th floor. Whenever people ask where I live I tell them, “it’s 5 minutes from the pentagon,” I’ve said it so much it numbs me.
There are 3 guys in total that live in this apartment so the decor is minimal at best. Our tv stand is an upside down plastic bin, with our coffee table another bin, at least its a set. The floor is thick and worn carpet, light tan in color. The walls have the same yellowish void look. My favorite part of the apartment is the balcony that spans the whole side of the living room to which I can see a sliver of the Potomac river, an icy cold thing this time of year.
I've marinated in Jake's notebook for a while, I think I’m ready to share some of what is inside. Jake goes into extreme detail about these situations so I’ll just copy them down for you all to read, I think that is what’s best. After reading this I wasn’t the same, you are warned.
Thursday July 18th 2020 (7 months ago)

 -Jake’s notebook- 

Today I am changed. It was right after lunch when my work phone notified me a house was booked. Usually I disliked the salesmen but the one that booked me was just alright, tolerable. I pulled into the neighborhood as the sun dimmed from clouds rolling in, storm maybe. Multiple groups of six townhomes were placed throughout the neighborhood with tall trees and bush linking them. The small homes shared walls only separated by a slight offset in depth, looking like crooked teeth. Porches stuck out a measly foot from the homes which were more for decoration than enjoyment. The porches all had different faded color variations that staggered from each house, blue, red, orange, green, and back to blue. The peeling wood porches had the style of a western movie set which I thought interesting, but I knew the webs were going to be a bitch to get out. I rolled up to the address the app told me as the salesmen popped out of some trees to greet me, probably pissing. Wind whipped his hair, yes a storm. I rolled down the window and stopped the truck, wheels stopping the popping of gravel underneath. He gave me the rundown of the house while leaning on the windowsill of my truck, where the smell of sweat leaked in from him. He mentioned the old woman that lived in the townhome and said she was an oddball but kind. I thought nothing of it, just another job before getting off. As I parked the car, I asked the salesmen, “interior?” He replied, “yes.”
My shoe covers zipped on the asphalt as I walked toward the door, pump tank in my hand. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. The old woman opened the splintered door as I introduced myself and got all the signatures I needed to apply the pesticides, legal reasons. The first thing I noticed about the woman was her eyes, they looked worn, tired as if she stayed up all night… or something was keeping her up. I smiled as I slipped the signed papers in the back pocket of my jeans, she reciprocated the smile and pushed the door open wide as creaks escaped the henges. Right before I stepped in I saw the salesmen grab a deweber from my truck, he is an alright one this salesmen. I looked back and the old woman kept her eyes on my face, I smiled again to break the slight awkwardness. The smell of wet concrete hit my nose when I stepped in the home, it started to sprinkle behind me, it cut off as she closed the door behind me.
The old woman’s home was tight like lungs that never sucked air back in. The layout was like a strip of gum, the start was the door I walked through and The end was the living room which had a step down. She offered me water which I politely declined, I could see the kindness the salesmen were talking about. The home was filled with random knick knacks but not messy, organized chaos. I asked her the routine questions about bugs like where she was seeing them to which she replied almost everywhere, thank god this was a small home. I started to spray in the kitchen which was directly left of the door I walked through. Spray shot Around the sides of the refrigerator and the baseboards and the woman followed me almost attached to the hip or like an obedient dog. I didn't think it weird, she kept conversation and genuinely looked fascinated about where I sprayed while listening to my little tips I replayed from the back of my mind on how to keep bugs away. We rounded the kitchen and stepped down into the living room where carpet met my boot covers with peppered static zaps. I sprayed the sliding back door focusing on the bottom track where bug highways usually gravitated. Then I traced the baseboards around the living room, avoiding wires powering lamps and televisions.
I heard quick stomps coming down the stairs to which I gave a glance of curiosity toward the bottom of the staircase and temporarily lifted my hand off the spray trigger. A child rounded the corner and ran to the old woman yelling, “grandma!” Must have woken up from a nap or something. The child then looked up at me and asked who I was and she explained in young terms, “he is here to make the bugs go away.” I smiled at that to reaffirm the old woman's version of me she gave, I was a version who told the bugs to go away, not kill them by the thousands. I liked that version of myself.
I had finished treating the main floor and now followed the old woman and child up the stairs, her veiny hands scratching her grandson's head. I went through every room, closet, bathroom, and windowsill spraying with the old woman still following me everywhere I went, pointing out the hotspots, her close presence becoming normal, almost warming as she reminded me of my grandmother. The child seemed just as interested as his grandmother about how I spray and I thought it wholesome.
After this point things took a dark sinister turn.
My job was now finished I thought. We were all on the main floor now and I began to reach for the front door and tell her we would finish the outside service now when she for the first time broke her distance from me. This made me feel, for lack of better words, alone. She steadily glided toward the living room not looking back and she stepped down the dip heading for the couch. Did she forget I was still in the house? Did she imagine opening the door and letting me out? The kid then followed her and jumped off the small dip in childlike fashion into the living room and landed on the carpet, gracing his tumble. The old woman never sat down, and her back was facing me as she stood there…. Her Body was still. Why didn't she sit down? She broke the silence right as my fingers touched the front door knob, her voice was colder now, “won't you come here for a second?” The knob rang numbly for a split second as my hands slid off. I then took a step toward the living room patiently, waiting for.. what? The rain now beat on the old woman's back windowed door, with the flash of illumination, lightning struck close, then thought of the salesmen with the metal deweber pole, that combination like brushing teeth and orange juice. The thought was erased as the tip of my boots hung off the step to the living room. I looked at the woman's face and dropped down in the living room, her wiry hair now covering some of her face with a blank stare. The kid now hugging her legs hiding his whole body except the right side of his face, the eyeball piercing me. Her hair was delayed as she snapped her head at me, then the hair caught up and fell. Her face then shook like when a student tries to stay awake in class, she then looked around, lost and took a deep breath. She said, “sorry sometimes I get these headaches, they just take over me,” as she laughed it off dryly. I told her “it's fine, I get them too,” I get them too? Are you stupid jake? She then raised her old saggy arm pointing to a door. I knew what this door led to. Being in hundreds of townhomes with the same layout, they led to the basement. Pairing with my thought she forced out, “Dear please spray the basement too, will you?
Before I could answer the kid somewhat loudly asked, “wait grandma… he is going into the basement? Grandma! Why the basement?” My neck chilled to goosebumps. I stepped back up onto the wood and stopped at the tooth white door expecting the old lady to open it for me, she had done this the whole way through the house, opening cabinets, windows, doors, flipping on light switches for me but here I am with the old woman standing firm in the same spot and the kid saying the same question, starting to cry. I looked back at the door as she said, “yes that door, the light switch is on the left, close the door when going down… we don't go down in the basement.” My heart started to pump faster and my fingers and forearm twisted the knob, opening the door, my mind replaying, “we don't go down in the basement, we dont go down in the basement,” What the fuck does that mean! I took one last look at her and saw only a part of the woman, due to the kitchen wall, she sat down now and grabbed something off her neck and started sifting it through her hands. She then did something my ears will never forget, she started to pray in spanish… and I took my first step down.
I shut the door behind me as then I switched the light on. It was very dim, only giving me the bare minimum brightness to reach the bottom. The walls were different as I descended, the light didn't bounce off them, instead the walls seem to let the light in. The old woman's prayers and childs crying muffled the creaks the wooden staircase gave off. The prayers were getting louder. I dreadfully got on the floor of the basement now. To the left, a wall, to the right, a long hallway leading to complete and utter darkness. My body felt a shiver like flying to a cold part of the world and the airport doors exposing you to the weather for the first time. My head naturally looked down at my feet for some reason. There was a door to the right of me now which I saw coming down the stairs. I shifted toward it with my boot covers scraping the carpet tips, uneasily, I opened it. The boiler room was dark as the swing of the door brought a string to my vision. The light for this room of course is a fucking string light. I pulled on it hard and light struggled to do its job. The light reminded me of when my 7th grade science teacher, mr. Crutcher, told us what would happen if a light bulb traveled the speed of light in space, “you will see the light, yes! But it will reflect no light! Precisely! what is a light but more than a mere tool that reflects light off of other things!” The memory should have put a smile on my face. I then sprayed around the water heater and cotton candy pink insulation sticking out from the room’s walls. My heart pounding and a veil of sickness came over me. The cold got stronger. This place… was pure sickness itself. Holding my hand up I wrapped around the string but paused, something deep inside of me telling me not to shut the light off, I almost felt as if someone with a remote was controlling my movements, I was separated from myself. I let the string slither out of my hand as I walked out of the room. My head fell back down at my boots, as if something didn't want me to look up. What would I see if I looked up? The exposed insulation made the old woman's prayers fuzzed, but now I was back in the hallway and I could hear the extent of it. She was screaming now. I imagined her old neck veins popping like blue miniature rivers flowing up to her wrinkly face.
I faced the hallway now, the walls darkening the further they got from the top stairway light. My brain was yelling at me to hurry and go as fast as I could but my body did not listen, we were disconnected. I took my first step still looking at my feet seeing the dark entrance from the hallway get closer, another step I go, I get closer, step, closer, step. I now know the sick thing in this home is in the dark void I approach with every step… waiting. I finally reach the end of the hallway and my body stops. The old woman's screams reach a pinnacle. The kid crying and yelling accompanies it. I am all alone. Even my brain is alone. I can do nothing. The darkness is all around me. I twitch my head to the right, it reminds me of the old womans movements, and reach my hand out to feel for a light switch, nothing. When I do this I can see in the dark room slightly with my hat hiding me from most, not all. My head comes back down to the center. I feel like throwing up now, my sickness is terrible. My head is spinning and so is my stomach. All of my extremities are ice now. I twitch my head to the left, my hand grazing the sandpaper wall and I feel A switch! My heart relaxes from the touch. Finally I'm not alone! the light switch accompanies me! Click…my finger flips the switch. My stomach drops. Click.CLICK.CLICK. NOTHING. My breathing is like a car engine that just turned over. The only thing that was with me for even a second is gone. No light. I won't move. I can't move. My hat doesn't cover it all. The ceiling now shakes from the old woman screaming as my eyes… my god damn EYES…. glance into the darkness and see the lady in the basement…. everything goes black.

I have an Ember tumbler and although it comes with a slide lid. I find the slide lid bothersome to clean. Does anyone know if the travel mug lids work with the tumbler? I’d love to buy one of the clear slide lids or a sipping lid.

What I assume in the future:

1. For current 9barista "naked portafilter", is not even close to an actual naked 58mm portafilter. (not 100% naked yet)
2. Current core parts should be more than enough to be adapted to 58mm standard without big changes
3. Design improvements on removal and cleaning of water boiler (adding some insulated handle maybe)
4. Allow customers to pick/customize the parts with reasonable price difference (current option too much clutter if customer want to upgrade to naked portafilter and stuffs)
5. More safety feature such as mesh/ventilated lid/cover to prevent high-pressure coffee jet to the face?