It’s pretty quiet over on ! benignexistence since there aren’t too many users following it at the moment, but it’s a good place for light, chilled out conversations when people pick up on a post.

I understand that feeling well, although I do it the other way around - I’m usually awake far later than everyone else! The peace and quiet is wonderful.

Did you get to see the sunrise?

Kbin/Lemmy definitely feel a lot nicer and less mentally draining to me, there definitely seems to be fewer flame wars sparking off in the comments. It’s a welcome change.

What are you listening to in terms of audiobooks? Any recommendations?

I’m currently reading Dune by Frank Herbert. I tried to read it once when I was in my early teens and didn’t finish, but I figured I’d give it another go with all the hype over the recent TV adaptation. I’ve just passed the point where I gave up before (~150 pages) and I’m kicking myself, because it turns out I stopped just short of where all the action seems to really get going. The book is front-loaded with a lot of worldbuilding by way of sci-fi/fantasy terms presented without much context, so I can understand why my younger self got bored and gave up. I’m really enjoying it this time around though, I think I’m a lot more patient as a reader now than I used to be.

It’s arguably light on the worker placement, but Ishtar: Gardens of Babylon is a good choice. My partner and I picked it up on a whim and it’s fast becoming a favourite on board game nights with friends. It’s a very pretty game to boot!

I love this one for tomato and mozzarella couscous salad. Sometimes I swap out the fresh tomatoes for sundried ones, I find the tomato flavour’s sometimes a bit more intense that way.

It’s a bit more of an involved recipe than some, but still manageable when my brain is half-melted from hot weather!

I’m with you on it having taken ages to get used to couscous, but I’m glad I came round to it. I love how stupidly easy it is to make, it’s great for warm Summer days when you really don’t want to be slaving over a hot stove or oven to cook.

Got any particularly good coucous related recipes to share?

Oh my gosh, he’s adorable. How long did it take you to come up with the pattern?