It seems that my Ladyfinger Cactus might have finally run out of luck. How do I know? 9 months after repotting it into a slightly larger pot, I discovered that it can be picked straight back up again.

Have you ever wondered “What was my house, before it was my house?” I have not, but due to a serendipitous visit to the City of Amsterdam Online Archive (Gemeente Amsterdam Stadsarchief), I now know.

Our Little House had a life before it was ours. In fact, it contained many more lives than I would have guessed.

No real bird could pluck a long-forgotten tune from the recesses of my memory and etch it back into in my brain. No real bird could snap me back to every moment of I’ve stayed up too late again! in my early 20s, in my basement bedroom of my parents’ house, snacking on junk food and lurking on various forums of the Early Internet ™

No, real birds don’t haunt people like that. This is a ghost bird.