Ooo, I think those would be ok for our kitty, thanks for the rec @diapasoun and @Elle and @katscratch !
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In the short term, if you don’t think Kitty would be interested, run a thin line of some kind of hot sauce along that threshold. Usually, ants will go somewhere else rather than cross that. You’ll need to leave it there for a couple of days in order for them to learn new habits. Or just leave it there until you can order the other stuff.
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I’ve been thinking about this question. I can think of Jewish authors writing Jewish or Jewish-inspired settings (someone already recommended Chaim Potok, and of course there’s Sholem Aleichem), Naomi Novik’s latest novel (which I haven’t yet read) is partially inspired by the Jewish European experience, and I remember some Jewish fairy tales I read as a kid, but no Jewish allegories on the level of Narnia and His Dark Materials. I am very interested to see if anyone comes up with anything. It just… doesn’t seem like a very Jewish thing to do! I feel like any Jewish allegories are going to be based on the Holocaust, which is obviously not at all the same thing.
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Oh A Map of Salt and Stars as well! It’s about Syrian refugees but also about classical Islamic history/myth.
ETA: and if your friend is interested in pagan stuff and not just contemporary major world religions then Kathrine Ardens books are great on Russian history/folklore.
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Yesss her newest one is fantastic (as are all of them). But it’s also a mix of Jewish and more animist/pagan views because she takes Eastern European folklore into the story. I’m not well versed enough in Jewish culture/religion to know if those magical creatures are things that everyone believed in regardless of religion or not.
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Oh man, I finally bought it after loving Uprooted a few years ago. (Pandemic inspiring me to spend money at my local bookstore!) Now I’m even more excited!
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Ooooh yes, Spinning Silver? That’s just an incredible book. Uprooted is so good too. Ughgggg I love her.
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Save me from myself and my overthinking.
I had planned on spending some of my stimulus money at local restaurants to bring stuff in to the office to share when we returned to the office, but the “go back to the office” date got pushed out from May/June to September. Maybe I can send it to other people who are having to be at work right now? Maybe librarians or … hospital workers I guess? Would it be weird if I just placed an UberEats order to be delivered to a library/ER? Or my son’s pediatrician’s office might be less weird, I do adore them and would feel less weird calling in advance to ask how many office staff they have. But then what if they have more people than I wanted to budget for a muffin+some coffee for everyone?
One restaurant is on the same side of town as me/pediatrician’s office, other restaurant is on the opposite side of town near library/hospital/various other businesses. Both have almost zero options for outdoor dining so I really feel for them right now.
Edit: Done, will be delivered Monday.
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My coworker had 10 meals delivered to our local ER a month or so ago which I thought was really nice of her. She isn’t generally a very charity minded person so I was a bit surprised. Her name and number were on the delivery slip as the person who ordered, so one of the nurses called and thanked her.
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Bike people! I could use a recommendation. I want some cages for my pedals that are easy to slip in and out of. I am not price sensitive, but I do not want clips.
Any recs on cages either specifically for women (ideal) or maybe for “big” kids? The standard adult men’s “unisex” cages are so long* that it puts my foot in a really awkward position.
Thanks!
*ETA: And I have had them made as small as possible already, at a bike shop, so it’s not a me putting it on incorrectly thing.
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I’m not familiar with types of cages out there- I’ve only used them when they’re already on the pedals
But - have you heard of power grips?
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@katscratch Woahhh, no I haven’t and those look really cool. I love how lightweight they look, and super adjustable! Ok, these are serious contenders.
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They are my favorite foot retention because I can use them loose with winter boots or in areas where I’m stop/starting a lot, or can snug them up for sandals or longer rides where I like more secure retention.
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Do you ever wish you had a full toe for pushing? Like when going uphill?
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I’ll second the recommendation for Power Grips. You can snug them up pretty well, it can feel almost like you are clipped in. I also think they are safer than the regular toe cages, which can be harder to get in+out of.
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I feel like they give me the same grip as clipless cleats do for hills. I mostly ride without any foot retention even on the recumbent trike I’ve ridden because I move my wonky leg around so much and end up with my foot in weird positions 
It probably depends on your particular pedaling style what’s going to feel the most secure/comfortable.
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That’s good to know, thank you so much!
And thanks to you too @mountainmustache29 !
I’m going to give these a try.
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I’m going to check out some of the recommendations below, since I loved both Narnia and His Dark Materials but don’t identify with any of those religions!
But there’s something about your friend’s list description that makes me a bit uncomfortable, depending on how she plans to use it. Both C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman I think intended their works to be allegorical representations, but I’m not familiar with the others and whether that was their intention or if they just happen to be writing in the context of their culture. It’s hard to know enough about what’s happening to really have an opinion, but I hope your friend is being careful with how she uses the info, and is doing more research before compiling and distributing the list. Or before reading those books and expecting them to be equivalent to her examples in terms of representation and advocacy.
Maybe this is coming from my gut reaction in line with @Clare-Dragonfly that it doesn’t feel super Jewish (although there are lots of great stories and commentaries so I’m not sure why it feels not-Jewish, I’ll have to sit with that a bit) and so it feels very possible that any book (again, haven’t read any of the suggested ones!) might just be shoehorned in to a list that’s coming from a very specific point of view. Some things don’t translate and that’s okay.
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You bring up very good points, which I will mention to her! This list is for her personal use only and to expand her reading and thinking. She assumed that since she’s familiar with both representations as they’re familiar to her in her culture that there must be others for other faith bases and cultures as well.
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I’m so glad you are weighing in!
Maybe it’s because telling a story that is an allegory for one’s belief system feels like proselytizing?
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