21 hours ago, PrettyDeadThings said:

@Matt! I donated $250 to my local animal rescue, and the universe threw me a full sevenfold hug. As the plumber wrapped up installing my new water heater, he caught something we thought was already handled: a hidden leak. Not in the washing machine like we thought (which is why we bought a new machine), but in the wall of my laundry room. He spotted it instantly.

I already had a $1,575 bill because of labor, heater, new pipes and shutoff valve. So when he said “leak,” my soul let my fucking body lol, I thought this was going to be another 500+ dollars fix, but no, he fixed it in five minutes and only charged me $25. That’s it. Total damage: $1,600. Could’ve been $2,000 easy, especially since he had to cut into the wall. But karma was on my side!!!

My mother-in-law? Glorious. Our visit? Genuinely lovely, which shocked the hell out of me. AND! about 22 years ago I thought I had lost my families' coat of arms. It was given to my Grandfather by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (little know fact but my dad's dad is related to the Queen).

This was for my Grandparents attending some event for Wilhelmina's daughter. I've removed my family name for privacy.

So my Mother in Law FOUND our coat of arms at my Father in Law's house in Seattle. She’s having it restored and sent to me.

And today marks the final day of summer like temps of 83°F (28°C). Tomorrow is ALL AUTUMN!!! with highs in the 68s (20°C), lows of 40s (14°C).

One more twist in the karmic happiness: the animal shelter I donated to has a puppy I might be adopting. We’re planning a meet-up in the park so she can be properly introduced to my current dogs, a Bullmastiff and a Cane Corso.

This is the possible new girl.. A Bullmastiff–English Mastiff mix. Nine months old, already 92.7 pounds, and projected to surpass 215+ If all goes well, she’ll be joining the home soon.

It's just one of those days.

I'm so happy for you! KARMA WORKS!

No way, that's so cool! Technically, that does make you part of the extended royal lineage. Does your family have an actual flag with the coat of arms on it? There’s some text under the coat of arms, but it’s too blurry to read?

Aww, a puppy too! 😭 I hope the meet-up goes well and she gets her forever home with you. (s*** can get out of hand real quick with bigger pups, even when they’re properly trained)

13 hours ago, Cult Icon said:

I know nothing about K-pop but why is "lisa" blackpink one of the biggest stars?

Summarized: she’s crazy talented, has insane stage presence, huge global appeal as a Thai artist, the biggest IG following of any Asian celeb and does collabs with brands like LV, Celine, Bvlgari, MAC and Adidas. And obviously, Blackpink is insanely popular worldwide.

On 10/18/2025 at 1:22 AM, Matt! said:

35 minutes ago, Matt! said:

I'm so happy for you! KARMA WORKS!

No way, that's so cool! Technically, that does make you part of the extended royal lineage. Does your family have an actual flag with the coat of arms on it? There’s some text under the coat of arms, but it’s too blurry to read?

Aww, a puppy too! 😭 I hope the meet-up goes well and she gets her forever home with you. (s*** can get out of hand real quick with bigger pups, even when they’re properly trained)

Our family does in fact have an official flag bearing the coat of arms, personally gifted to my grandfather by the Queen herself. I believe my Grandfather is one of her cousins from I believe her mom's side of the family. I honestly don't know, I haven't put much thought into how they're related. I just know that the coat of arms is extremely important to my family and because I thought I lost it I've felt extremely bad for years. This is my ancestry from the last 5 generations.

As for the dog, I’m hopeful she’ll mesh well with our other animals. If she does, she’ll be enrolled in professional training immediately. Mastiffs are typically calm and gentle, but they’re notorious for resource guarding and can become so protective that guests aren’t welcome until the dog decides they’re acceptable. At nine months old, I have no idea what kind of socialization she’s had... if any, and given her size, that carries risk. When we brought home our Bullmastiff and Corso, they were just two months old. We started immediately: vet visits, grooming appointments, and near-daily introductions to everyone in our lives. Petco, local shops, parks, downtown walks, constant exposure. By five months, they were ready for formal training. This new girl, though, she’s super skinny for her size, but, muscular, and already showing signs of resource guarding from the people at the shelter. That’s manageable with our dogs, who’ll give her space. It’s the cats I’m concerned about. Many people won’t take on a dog this size due to the financial strain and potential liability. But with my husband only home four or five days a month, I feel deeply secure in my home with my current dogs. That kind of peace is a blessing. Yes, we have weapons in the house, but I’d rather the dogs serve as deterrents first is shit goes sideways.