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Acrylic paint works on fabric but is not durable. Here is what happened when I compared acrylic paint, Lumiere fabric paint, and screen printing ink for adding dots to tie dyed shirts. Can you use acrylic paint on fabric? Acrylic paint will stick to fabric, but it isn’t durable and can crack or peel with regular washing. For shirts, screen printing ink or fabric paint holds up better and can be heat set for long term use. Testing paint on fabric I was looking for a way to paint dots on my ombre tie-dyed shirts. The look I’m going for is a tropical fish pattern or a rainbow trout pattern where there are usually two layers of color. I use dye for the ombre and then add contrasting dots with fabric paint because it is opaque and stands out on top of the dye. Acrylic paint on shirts In my research, acrylic paint technically works on fabric, but it is not long lasting. It can crack and peel with normal washing. It does not need any heat setting or curing, but it also does not bond deeply, so it is not going to last forever. Jacquard Products The two options I tested are screen printing ink that is water based and the Lumiere fabric paints that are specifically made for fabric. Screen printing inks are also meant for fabric, but they are usually aimed at professional screen printers using a totally different setup. You do not need any of that equipment. You can apply the ink however you want. I put mine into a tie dye squirt bottle and watered it down so it would flow the same way as fabric paint. Working with ink The fabric paint comes thinner right out of the bottle and is probably easier for beginners. It also comes in a wider range of colors in smaller bottles, which is nice if you want a lot of options. The screen printing ink starts thicker, but I do not mind thinning it to the consistency I like. I also do not mind mixing colors. Both the screen printing ink and the fabric paint will be more durable than acrylic paint. Both need heat setting so the pigment bonds to the fibers. I prefer the feel of screen printing ink once it is dry. It reminds me of a regular screen printed shirt. How I painted this shirt On the orange shirt in the photos, I used the tie dye bottle to dot turquoise screen printing ink all over one side. It took around ten minutes. It will probably go faster on the second side now that I have the rhythm down. After the ink dries completely, I run the shirt through the dryer to set it. Then I wash and dry it normally. If it survives that first wash, you know it is properly set and you will not have any slow failure later. How much water The only experimenting you need to do is figuring out how much water to add when thinning the ink. There is a point where too much water weakens the bonding, but I have added close to 40% water and it still worked fine on the sweatshirt where I used gray dots. Corky Lorenz November 27, 2025

Here is a collection of links to people and groups that can provide more information about sewing and donating menstrual care items. Sewing Cloth Pads to Donate Here is a collection of links to people and groups that can provide more information about sewing and donating menstrual care items. Days for Girls https://www.daysforgirls.org/ Cloth Connection Outreach Charity https://www.facebook.com/clothconnectionoutreach Menstrual Justice Initiative https://www.facebook.com/menstrual.justice.initiative If you know of an organization that should be mentioned, please let me know . This is just an initial list I started for my own reference. Corky Lorenz February 6, 2026

If your RV water heater isn’t working in cold weather, the water may be too cold to heat. Use heat tape on the inlet line to prewarm the water and restore normal function. Why is my RV water heater not working? If temperatures drop near freezing, and your RV water heater suddenly stops working, the heater probably isn’t broken, it just can’t heat water that’s nearly freezing as it enters the system. Applying heat tape to the incoming water line is necessary in cold climates. If your RV water heater stopped working in cold weather This usually happens when outdoor temperatures drop to around 35°F (1–2°C). At that point, the water supply line often isn’t frozen, so water still flows normally. That makes it feel like the heater suddenly failed. In most cases, it didn’t. What’s actually going on RV water heaters can only raise water temperature by a limited amount. When the incoming water is near freezing, the heater can’t bring it up to operating temperature fast enough. Many units will either: Shut down to protect themselves, or Run but never produce hot water This is a cold-inlet issue, not usually a broken heater. Check Before assuming the heater is defective: Stop trying to restart it repeatedly If the unit is in a protective shutdown, forcing restarts won’t help. Check your exact heater model Look up whether it has cold-weather limits or freeze protection. Many tankless RV heaters do. Confirm the recommended cold-weather setup Manufacturer or dealer support can tell you whether this model requires inlet water warming in low temperatures. Heat tape Some RV owners prevent this issue by keeping the cold-water inlet line warmer in cold weather. If you do this: Use heat tape rated for exterior plumbing Apply it only to the cold-water supply line Do not apply heat tape directly to the water heater or hot-water line Add insulation over the taped line for efficiency Plug into a grounded outlet If you’re unsure, skip this step and contact a professional. Some tankless RV water heaters are not designed to operate reliably in sustained freezing conditions without additional winterization or enclosure heating. In those cases, the solution is environmental, not mechanical. If your RV water heater stops working during cold weather, it’s often reacting to very cold incoming water, not failing outright. Corky Lorenz November 7, 2025

Admission is $12 for adults, $9 for seniors, and $7 for children at Fernwood Botanical Garden. Members visit free all year. Includes membership and event pricing info. What is the cost of admission at Fernwood Botanical Garden? Tickets to Fernwood Botanical Garden cost $12 for adults, $9 for seniors, and $7 for children. Kids under 4 get in free. Members visit free all year, and some events or photography sessions may have extra fees. Fernwood memberships are available for individuals, couples, and families. A membership includes free daily admission and reciprocal access to many other gardens across the country. Locally, that includes Wellfield Botanic Gardens and Potawatomi Conservatories, both excellent companion destinations if you enjoy plants, trails, and calm spaces. Special events like LIGHTS at Fernwood may have separate admission pricing. For the latest discounts and details, visit Fernwood’s official website . Corky Lorenz November 3, 2025

Known for its Olive burgers and standard fast food menu, this location in Sturgis Michigan is the last remaining Hot n’ Now restaurant. Is Hot n’ Now still open? There was one remaining Hot n' Now location in Sturgis, MI, but recently a second location has been opened, in Wayland, MI. A few months ago, a friend asked me if I’d ever been to Hot n’ Now. I said no, and he was appalled. So we immediately drove from Elkhart to Sturgis Michigan. He got the famous Olive burger, which is in the picture above and I got a normal cheeseburger. We also got fries and onion rings to share. The crispy fried foods were exactly as you would expect and lifted my mood as intended. It seems like they stayed consistent with the branding and menu, even though they now operate independently. I noticed in the drive-through they had Hot n’ Now merch that they were selling. This is a very nostalgic fast food place for a lot of people because when I posted about it on Facebook, it went kind of viral locally. Corky Lorenz October 5, 2025

Hognose snakes are harmless but dramatic reptiles known for their hissy personalities and playful bluffing behavior. Learn what to expect if you’re thinking about keeping one as a pet, from temperament to feeding habits. Are hognose snakes good pets? Hognose snakes can make good pets for people who appreciate their dramatic, hissy personalities. They’re harmless, expressive, and a little theatrical, which some people find charming and others find annoying. Surprising behaviors The first time I encountered my friend's hognose, he knew I was about to be surprised. He held the snake out to me, and when I got close and touched it, it hissed and startled me. He didn’t miss a beat. It didn’t scare him at all, and he laughed and said that happens with every new person who meets them. Some of his baby hognose snakes can be very entertaining, with their hissing and bluff strikes. When they are trying to scare you away, they will pretend to strike at you. They also flatten out their head and body to appear bigger. Not all hognose snakes will be like this, it just depends on the individual's temperament. Hognose Personality Hognose snakes are known to be dramatic and hissy. When you approach them, they’ll start hissing and sometimes pretend they’re going to strike, but for the most part, they’re harmless. They just like to make a big show. If you’re looking for a snake that won’t startle you, the hognose might not be for you. But if you enjoy that personality and think their turned-up nose is cute, you’ll probably like their temperament. They can be a little trickier to feed than snakes like boas, which usually eat easily without persuasion. Most hognose snakes eat well, but sometimes it takes patience if they’re not in the mood to eat. Hognose handling Whether a hognose is good for handling depends on the individual snake’s temperament. My friend has two adults. The female is handleable but sometimes looks like she might strike or bite, and she has envenomated his hand once. The male is calmer and will even snuggle in his hoodie while he sits on the couch. Corky Lorenz October 18, 2025

Fernwood Lights 2025 runs November 28 through January 2 at Fernwood Botanical Garden. Adult tickets start at $14, and visitors can reserve timed entry slots to walk the illuminated mile-long garden path. Fernwood Lights 2025 Ticket Prices and Dates Fernwood Lights runs from November 28, 2025, through January 2, 2026. Adult tickets cost $14 on regular days or $16 on peak days, with discounts for members and reduced pricing for kids. On November 1, I visited Fernwood for the first time and noticed that they were actively setting up lit trees and Christmas lights along the main path. After I looked it up, I realized this is a whole event that I didn’t know about called Lights at Fernwood. It’s a mile-long loop that you walk at night as a Christmas lights season experience. You buy tickets in one-hour increments ahead of time, and then you can go enjoy the amazingly lit paths through the gardens. It seems like they put a ton of effort into this display, because when I was there, I saw several people working on assembling the lights, wrapping archways, setting up artificial trees that are lit, and wrapping trees that can support the lights without any damage to the trees themselves. From the pictures I’ve seen in previous years, it looks like a really beautiful experience. You can get tickets from Fernwood Botanical Garden’s website. They list them as $14 per adult who is not a member, but most of the days are labeled as peak days where the tickets cost $16 per adult. Children’s tickets are $5 on off days and $8 on peak days. There’s a reduced cost for people who are members, and kids under two years old are free. Most of the available days are Thursday through Sunday, but around Christmas they also open some midweek nights. Each evening has a few different entry times, and you can buy your ticket for a specific one-hour slot all the way up until that time, as long as spots are available. The first night of the show is November 28, 2025, and the final night is January 2, 2026. Corky Lorenz November 9, 2025

Tarantulas do make webs, and they fill their enclosures with silk to walk on and sense movement. @amber_arachnid showed how baby tarantulas use their webs for feeding and hunting. Do tarantulas make webs? Yes, tarantulas make webs, but they don’t spin the big wheel-shaped kind. Amber, from Amber Arachnid says they fill their space with silk that they use for walking, sensing, and catching food. At the Goshen Reptile Expo, I met a vendor named Amber who had a really nice setup for her tarantulas. Her handle is @amber_arachnid on Instagram. When I asked if I could take a photo, she opened one of the containers and showed me a baby tarantula, called a sling. Inside, you could already see thin layers of webbing across the soil and moss. She said the whole container eventually fills up with silk. When it’s feeding time, she just drops the feeder insect right onto the web, and the tarantula feels it move and goes to get it. So yes, tarantulas make webs. They don’t build big spiral ones like garden spiders, but they weave plenty inside their enclosures. The web helps them sense movement, find food, and stay connected to their little world. Corky Lorenz November 8, 2025

The process of tie dyeing a shirt with grey fiber reactive dye. Color names and link to process video. Grey Tie Dye Shirt The process of dyeing a shirt with low immersion, for a crinkle dye pattern. Process This shirt was dyed with fiber reactive procion dye, from Dharma Trading Co. The shirt was pre-soaked in soda ash water, and then spun out before adding dye. This is a cotton shirt since tie-dye requires natural fiber, fabrics. You can also use this kind of dye on fibers like rayon, hemp, silk, and linen. Colors: seafoam & better black 1/2 teaspoon of dye powder per color Results I prefer the way the results look on the inside of the shirt. Next time, I don't turn the shirt inside out before dyeing it, and I would use more dye powder. Video See the full process in the YouTube video . Corky Lorenz January 29, 2026

2 hour plant sale at Potawatomi Conservatories, in South Bend, IN. There will be vendors, and you can bring your own plants to swap. Plant swap at Potawatomi Conservatories 2 hour plant sale at Potawatomi Conservatories, in South Bend, IN. There will be vendors, and you can bring your own plants to swap. Date & time Sunday, January 11th, 2026 12pm - 2pm Admission Adults $5 Kids $3 Members Free Location Potawatomi Conservatories 2105 E Mishawaka Ave, South Bend, IN 46615 There will be vendors with tables, for browsing plants for sale. You can bring plants or cuttings to share or swap with others. You can see more info about this event on the official event post on Facebook . Corky Lorenz January 4, 2026