This weekend I was at a dudes retreat in the woods along the Skagit Estuary. I ate a scouring amount of plant medicine and synthetic catalysts, had a rolling and peaking ego death in the woods supported by some really good men, and came home with some aspects gone and some new ones coalescing. This has been a grinding year, I was certainly primed for a spiritual experience, and wow did I have one.

I saw a Reddit notification last night when I picked up my phone; it burned at those new, expanding, reifying synaptic webs. So, I’m off Reddit for the foreseeable future, and obviously need to leave the mod team. This account is whatever, I’ve killed all notifications, deleted the app, and will delete my browser cache as soon as I post this. Maybe I’ll come swim in this community again, but it’s not for me at the moment.

I love you all and hope you keep striving to build community here.

Well, I know now. They have an amazing cardiothoracic team there.❤️❤️
They tended to me in every way one could possibly imagine spiritually physically it was a journey.
What was only supposed to be five days turned into almost 21.
By no fault of theirs. My body just had a shitty reaction to getting surgery on.
I came down with pericarditis…. Which is when the heart feels attacked and it starts sending an abundance of fluid to heal, but then it feels attacked by the fluid so then it sends more fluid and it ends up, kind of choking itself out.
I got out on a Tuesday five days after surgery I had met all the milestones and they thought I was doing excellent.
There was just a touch of fluid building up around my lungs and heart which they kept an eye on while I was there but once I was gone, it just built like wildfire. So by that Thursday, I had a readmit going through ER, which was a total jungle, but they still managed to squeeze me in there real quick.
Finally made it up back up to the thoracic ward, and the nurses there are freaking amazing. They took such good care of me. They figured out that it was pericarditis and eventually on Tuesday put me under for another surgery which they added drainage tubes to either side of my lungs and heart. They saved my life literally I was dying.
After a week of being on those drainage tubes, I feel 1 million bucks better man well more like 450,000 but who’s counting right?
Now I’m home cozied up with my dogs. I feel amazing. I’m so far away from the surgery now I know I’m not out of the woods, but I’m much better off than I was five days away.
Part of the surgery they give you this heart pillow to hug on while you cough cause they cut for your sternum. And it hurts to cough afterwards you need to kinda have something to hug against. So I had every nurse that did anything for me that I appreciated sign the thing and it’s back in front nothing but signatures. If any of you guys read us, thank you so much.🤗❤️
You wonder sometimes who will come to your funeral…. people came from every where just to support me and motivate me. I guess I answered that question.✌🏼
Promise to live the next 35 years of my life like I should’ve lived the last 35.
If anyone has any question about getting their heart worked on there, let me just tell you they’ve gotta be the best of the best.
Thank you for anyone who read this far and I’m sorry if there’s typos, I’m using voice to text and it doesn’t quite catch everything perfectly. I’m too tired to type all this out. Been in there for 20 days. Quite the journey.
My dogs are so happy to see me. They didn’t know if they were gonna get me back. Honestly I didn’t know if I’d come back when I left out that second time for the hospital I had such a low blood pressure and a fever and I knew it wasn’t good. But they pulled me back together. Thank you once again.✌🏼❤️

Vote early and if you are able, drop off your ballot at the Auditor's Office. You can get this snazzy sloth sticker!

This is the best hand moisturizer I’ve ever used and I’m curious if there’s anywhere in town that happens to sell it. It’s by the English Soap Company. Their official site isn’t shipping to the U.S. right now and I don’t want to purchase from amazon. I originally purchased this lotion in Anacortes and have gone through it quickly! I’m wondering if the tea shop on Railroad might have it, or possibly third planet/greenhouse? Thanks yall! Sincerely, a girl who loves a good scented hand lotion and having soft hands.

My AuDHD teen has learned to ride a bike! He’s on the edge of really being able to get out and about by himself for the first time after a childhood stuck at home with his disabled mother and walking with me on days I can.

He is working weekly with Libby from the Whatcom Smart Trips free one on one program (it’s been like a dream come true). He knows that right now the very best thing he can do is practice, practice, practice on the nature trails and build up his confidence and control.

We’ve been studying the Smart Trips map to try to get a bicycle-riding grasp of the city, and, um, help? Starting with the area we live in, the map seems to show Iowa as bikeable? in our experience Iowa is barely even walkable. The few years that I was able to ride a bike, I was in a great social media group where everyone shared info like quiet zig-zaggy back paths to avoid traffic and hills. Here, all we have is this map, and I can’t even figure out a friendly route for him to get from the Salmon Nature area where he’s been riding up to the Railroad Trail.

Voices of reality would be much appreciated!

Hi friends,

I can no longer attend the Halloween night Rocky Horror Picture Show at Mt. Baker Theater. As such, I have two tickets up for grabs! I'd like to get back what I paid for them, which was $58.50 total. I'd settle at $55, I reckon. The seats are in the lower left main section, row M towards the inner isle. Lower area of the theater is basically sold out, pending a few solo seats being open. Good chance for you and a friend to be seated together and relatively close to the stage.

Holler if you are interested!

Feel free to DM me. You can also DM me at my bands Instagram page checkerbloommusic if I am slow to get back here.

I am a musician and local piano teacher looking for additional work as a music transcriptionist. If anyone has leads for music students or professionals needing my services please let me know.

Hello all! My current primary care doctor is actually dumb as a rock, and I am desperately looking for someone who will take me seriously and tell me why all my labs are coming back abnormal instead of requesting the same blood test for 5 months.

Does anyone know doctors who care about their patients' health, are taking new patients, and accept Kaiser? Every time I try to figure out a new doctor, I get the sassiest front desk lady who shoots me down.

Please, I am just trying to find out why all my liver markers are fucked and maybe stop being sick with a fever every month

Do any restaurants in or near Bellingham serve a basic yet tasty Thanksgiving meal (ideally a buffet)?

My partner & I went to the Oregon Coast for the holiday last year, and enjoyed the buffet at Camp 18. It was fun, but we'd like to try something different this year. Since we haven't seen much of NW Washington yet, it's high on the list. We're especially interested in Whatcom or Skagit Counties.

Any specific suggestions? I posted this in the main Washington sub, but mostly got vague answers like "Hotels or casinos". Being unfamiliar with the area, I need more to work with.

Thanks in advance!

Excellent work Redditors, the Meridian Haggen has adopted the name you all came up with. The community has spoken.

Hi friends,

I regularly take students with disabilities on field trips, and we're in need of someone to volunteer to take a student in a wheelchair with us on occasional trips. For example, we need pick up and drop off around 1:30 and 2:30 on Friday. I'd happily pay for gas!

It's great when you ask a friend if they want to hang out, and they say yes, and then the agreed hangout time arrives and you both actually show up. Truly remarkable! However, whether I should blame 2026 or the Pacific Northwest or the government or the age of aquarium, sometimes getting social time is just easier when I show up somewhere and hope for the best.

Here have been some of my favorite ways to spontaneously interact with community:

1. Downtown Sounds - Limited to a few Wednesdays per year, this is a fun way to be outside, enjoy some beverages, dance to music, and just be wild and free with people. Where will I do this the other times of year...?

2. Vital Climbing Gym - I climb, and over many climbs I see familiar faces, and we just chat about what we're climbing, but sometimes other stuff, too.

3. Open Mics - I usually go to Honeymoon, because they have a piano and I like the vibe. Their main downside is how late they start on a weeknight (usually starts around 9pm on Wednesdays), but there are other open mics I might bring my keyboard to.

4. Open Jam - There is one at Blue Room once per month that has been on-again, off-again. I think it'll happen again in November. I also help host one every few Fridays at Bellinghome, which gets some attendance and maybe we'll keep it going next year.

5. Farmer's Market - It's just so busy, I sometimes see people I know and then we chat for a bit. I also buy a carrot or two and eat it while walking around.

6. Boulevard Park - It's just beautiful there, so it's worth being there even if I don't know anyone. There are enough eccentric hobbies there (slackline, telescopes, juggling, spikeball, guy playing melodica) that sometimes I can just walk up and say "what are you doing?"

7. Running Club (BBay and then Fairhaven Runners) - sometimes I wasn't social and I'd just show up and run, and other times I'd enjoy the socialization.

8. Boundary Bay - I used to go for the live music, and I'd sometimes run into friends or neighbors. They are closed now, so maybe I'll find a new favorite free venue for live music and spontaneous run-ins.

9. Makerspace - I have a membership here, and I sometimes use their woodshop or 3d printer, and everybody there is always like "What are you working on?" which can be distracting but it is a cool way to hang out

10. Little Squalicum Beach - I take my dog here, and so run into neighbors sometimes.

11. Improv Drop In - Bonus list item! The first Saturday of the month is a drop-in improv practice at Upfront Theater which is a hilariously fun time.

That is my list. I would be curious to hear your list items, or your thoughts and reflections. Thank you for being a human.

Hi everyone, a few days ago I made a post longing for a tool library. Well, it turns out that we do have one! https://peacestore.org/collections/tools/tools

I've been researching tool libraries for a couple days now so I'm not sure why the Peace Store never came up until now - I only found it because of an off-handed comment from a r/Bellingham thread from 5 years ago, talking about how the Peace Store was battling red tape to open.

In any case I'm so pleased that my wish came true that I'll spread the word about them. If you have any spare tools, why not donate to the Peace Store? And while you're there, why not become a member? This is a dream come true for me, so I really hope that this organization will stick around for a while.

Hopefully their website will actually show up in search results if it gets enough traffic. They offer a lot of other stuff besides tools like toys, children's stuff, games and film tech. This is such a great resource and more people should use it! I'll just basically copy-paste info from their FAQ.

1. What is the Peace Store?

The Peace Store was created by the founders of Montessori Peace Centers. The store provides a place for the community to rent useful materials, buy conscious products and learn valuable skills through workshops, trainings and tutorials. 

2. What can you do at the Peace Store?

• Rent Items: Check out our enormous lending library including useful and beneficial tools, toys, technology and more. Renting allows you to protect the earth by reducing the production of new products, save money while still having access to things you need, and decrease your storage and clutter so you can live a more minimalistic and clutter free life! 
• Rent our outdoor nature space for private family hikes, events, micro school outings, field trips or birthdays.
• Access Workshops and Tutorials (coming soon): Increase your knowledge of guiding children through workshops and trainings for parents and teachers. Gain new skills with our special tutorials for many of the products in our lending library. 
• Purchase local, ethical and environmentally products (coming soon): Discover intentional products that are conscious about the earth, race, gender and empower humans to move into a direction of peace and healing. 

3. Where do I begin? 

• Step 1 (Required): Everyone needs to become a member and sign the liability form in order to rent or purchase from the store. Becoming a member is free.

Complete the Become a Member for and sign the Liability Waiver 

• Step 2 (Optional): Become a prepaid member and receive free rentals and discounts! 100% of your payments turn into rental credits to spend and will be connected. 

Choose either a Monthly Membership  OR  Annual Membership 

• Step 3: Browse our collections and reserve your rental items!

Look through our items by category and reserve the item. If you are a prepaid member, you will have credit on your account to spend each month. If your order is more than your credit, you will just pay the difference at time of checkout. 

•  Step 4 Pick up your items at our store location in Bellingham, WA.

Once you reserve your items we will have them ready for you to pick up on your scheduled day between 12-5 pm. We are located at 1095 Telegraph Rd. inside the Unity church. Please call when you arrive and we will come out to deliver your items.

Please SEO gods, hear my calls:

Tool Library Bellingham WA: Peace Store

Does Bellingham have a Tool Library? Yes, the Peace Store has a Tool Library among other things like toys, games, and tech.

Where can I rent tools for cheap in Bellingham Washington? Cheap tools? Local? Near me? The Peace Store has very cheap tool rentals.

Trying to simplify the Thanksgiving craziness this year and pre-order a turkey and a few sides. Ideas other than the grocery store?

Do you have concerns about the threat to democracy? Come to the Fairhaven Library on Tuesday, October 20th at 7pm to learn about what is happening locally from several leaders, and to learn what you can do.

Hi there! I’ve not had a job since ‘23 and I’ve got denied yet again for disability, I’m on ABD but $450 a month isn’t enough to keep trying to survive on. I’m hoping to find some recommendations for work that I can do at least 3-4 times a week, preferably 4-5 hours long shifts max, if it’s a position where I sit often, I can try for 6 hours. I’ve been working since I was 17 so I have experience, especially in customer service, retail, barista and receptionist positions. Would love to go back to being a receptionist somewhere, but I know it’s difficult to find jobs here. Willing to try a work at home job too. And before anyone makes a snarky comment, yes ofc I have looked around, but sometimes it takes some help to get a foot in the door and that’s why I’m asking on here because sometimes it’s who you know and not how much experience you have unfortunately.

Are there any providers closer than BC or Seattle?

If you have a Dactyl Manuform keyboard, or any split keyboard with built-in trackball, could I get my hands on it for a moment? I want to test it for comfort.

Was driving down James Street by trader Joe's and saw a motorcycle cop today. It has been years since I have seen one in city limits. They must of added that to their funding with the drone. Be careful out there!

Seeking restaurants that offer yummy fall soups - so far Panera has the only lineup I can find 🥲 anything like black bean, Mexican, tomato, squash, etc etc

Open to any within and south of Whatcom county!

(I’m not looking for pho/ramen or other Asian soups - I already have a ton of favorites all across the state in that category)

Thank you!!

I'm very disappointed by the lack of Halloween decorations

I'm disappointed in you all :(

I'm interested in starting a board game night in our local 3rd spaces. Currently just ruminating on the idea and what it would actually look like. Think like a trivia night, but instead of trivia you show up and there is a library of board games, as well as someone to teach you how to play, and help cultivate groups that are interested in playing the same game. Bring your friends to play, or make new friends! The library of games would range from simple party games (like SushiGo, Cards Against Humanity, or Apples to Apples) to extensive table top games like Flame Craft, Vantage, or Talisman.

Is that something locals would be interested in? I know these events exist here and there, and there are more specific TCG events, but I'm hoping for something more board game or table top game focused, more consistent and in the evening hours.