Lauren Olamina
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olamina.bsky.social
Lauren Olamina
@olamina.bsky.social
330 followers 360 following 1.8K posts
Reading, listening, parenting, watching, eating, cooking, baking, hiking, yoga. Bull City. she/her
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olamina.bsky.social
My little city has a lot of love. It’s nice to get some goodwill from folks elsewhere, too. I really appreciate someone so thoughtful—and I really mean thinks about people and place and love with attention and insight—thinking of us.
Screenshot from a social media post by Kiese Laymon, who says, “Durham is my dream city. Its where I want to live and fight. Thank yall for fighting.”
November 20, 2025 at 12:50 AM
olamina.bsky.social
I made roasted pumpkin seeds and so much other food this weekend. It was all very quotidian. It’s abhorrent that this administration doesn’t think feeding yourself and your family is a basic human right, and considers it as a bargaining chip or something to be earned.
A photograph of a wide-mouthed, glass pint jar filled with roasted pumpkin seeds. Jar is on a wooden table, and a placemat, empty plate, and plastic lid are in the background.
November 2, 2025 at 4:19 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Triangle Pride Marching Band practicing right before the parade starts.
September 27, 2025 at 3:53 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Box o’ beans has arrived. I don’t know if I can communicate how pleased I am with this. These are mostly southern/ Caribbean beans, but I’ve had trouble finding some of these varieties dry in grocery stores.
Interior of a cardboard box with 9 pounds of beans. The beans are in clear bags with their names and the word Camellia and an image of that flower. From top down: field peas, small red beans, black beans, blackeyes, pinto beans, crowders. On the right side, labels up but upside down: pink beans, lentils, green baby limas.
September 3, 2025 at 4:12 AM
olamina.bsky.social
Fruits of lunch walk foraging. If I forget these are in my dress pocket, I’ll have an unpleasant rest of the afternoon.
Image of a left hand holding muscadine grapes. The grapes are dark purple with splotches of green.
August 25, 2025 at 5:34 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Reskeeting with alt text added to image.

My answer? Get Out. I grew up in suburban New England. I loathed it, but I certainly know how to survive without getting pulled into the sunken place.
Screenshot of a post from X, DannyDrinksWine writes: “If you were offered $10 million but had to live and survive for a whole year inside any Horror movie world, which movie would you pick?”
August 13, 2025 at 3:39 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Ok. I had to take photos of this to confirm I heard what I thought I heard.
Screenshot of a tv image with captions: a woman in a navy-patterned dress, viewed from the waist up, is talking. She says, “Too much begetting and begetting for my liking,” providing her perspective on the Bible. The next line, “Shame,” is from the other speaker. Screenshot of a tv image with captions: a man wearing a black jacket and coat, and the religious collar of a vicar, viewed from the waist up. He continues, from the word “Shame,” to say “The begatting’s the best bit.”
June 20, 2025 at 4:24 AM
olamina.bsky.social
Report and block.
Screenshot of Bluesky account. Text reads: Dr. Shitlib @drshitlib.bsky.social 34 followers 7 following 8 pos putting the FAS back in fascism Screenshot of Bluesky account. Text reads: rdrama.net/ goldmemer @maydaymemer.bsky.social 11 followers 36 following 510 k Pro-Palestinian Jewish-American, antisemites GTFO #TuckFrump
March 20, 2025 at 4:35 AM
olamina.bsky.social
One of the things about being a parent is that I definitely have nicer first aid in the house than my otherwise cheap self would have. I still don’t get the “for kids” on this. What adult wants to sting themselves if they don’t have to?
Photo of antiseptic liquid on a countertop, held still with a hand. The text on the bottle reads: NEOSPORIN® BENZALKONIUM CI LORIDE FIRST AID ANT SEPTIC FOAMING LIQUID FOR KIDS Ages 2 and up No Sting Kills Germs to Help Prevent Infection 2.3 fl oz (68 mL)
January 5, 2025 at 4:39 AM
olamina.bsky.social
And the finished product. This was pretty simple, but took me way too long to make 😅 I really liked the crowder peas, which I hadn’t had in ages.
A green plate piled high with food: rice topped with crowder peas, collard greens, and a piece of corn bread.
January 2, 2025 at 1:14 AM
olamina.bsky.social
Also, you don’t have to use black eyed peas. Other southern peas like field peas, sea island red peas, or crowder peas are good, too. I’m personally cooking crowder peas tomorrow.
A photo of a bag of crowder peas. The bag is made of brown paper and has a plastic window showing the contents. The peas are small, and range in color from tan nutmeg brown to a reddish brown. Underneath the window, the text reads “CROWDER PEAS Dixie Lee Field Peas A southern heirloom cowpea known for producing a rich broth (pot liquor). Dinner ribs creamy consistency for a delicious side or main dish.” Above the window is a brand logo of a bird in flight holding a sprig of grain in either talon, with a circle around it. The logo is black print. Below the logo, the text reads: “RED TAIL GRAINS FARM & MILL”
December 31, 2024 at 5:04 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Image of album cover of Meshell Ndegeocello’s “Bitter.” A woman reclines on her side on bed with a golden yellow bedspread. She is dark skinned, and her head is downcast, obscuring her face. She has a shaved head, and a cocktail ring on her right pinky. We cannot tell what sort of shirt, if any, she has. Her arms and shoulders dominate the image, and she wears dark pants or a skirt. The walls behind her are grey to the right and black to the left. The top of the image features the artist’s name in all caps in white font, with the album title, also in all caps below in a pale gold color.
December 10, 2024 at 3:56 AM
olamina.bsky.social
Um, these are definitely NOT black lentils, but I bought them because I was curious.
Photo of plastic bag that says “Organic Black Lentils.” A portion of the bag is a clear window, and it shows small black beans that appear to be teeny, tiny black beans, lacking the typical flat disc shape of black lentils and other lentil varieties. A close up of the same clear panel from the previous image. It is easier to discern the shape of the legumes in this photo, small black beans that appear to be teeny, tiny black beans, lacking the typical flat disc shape of black lentils and other lentil varieties.
December 9, 2024 at 3:29 AM
olamina.bsky.social
Y’all, this looks bad.
Dec. 3, 2024, 9:56 a.m. ET1 minute ago Choe Sang-HunReporting from Seoul “All news media and publications are under the control of martial law command,” Gen. Park said in a martial law decree that he said took effect at 11 p.m. Tuesday. The edict also banned labor activities and spreading “fake news.” Those who violate the decree can be arrested without a court warrant, it said.
December 3, 2024 at 2:59 PM
olamina.bsky.social
I’m pretty proud of this: I have added alt text to 100% of my images. Check out your stats using the link and instructions in the quoted post.
Screenshot from skyzoo.blue, which has a search engine to look up BlueSky user post statistical data. Page text reads: @olamina.bsky.social #424,291 7/29/2023 Insights (Rolling 21 days) Kind of post🐝 Epic Busy Bee Explorer Always working to connect the hive, buzzing between different conversations. Always venturing beyond, bringing external knowledge and resources to enrich conversations. Arch graphic with 3 colors indicating relative amounts. When you click on the 3 colors, you see the following: -Your new posts: 21 -Replies in posts you started: 14 -Replies to community: 32 Below, a circle with 4 colors indicating relative amounts. When you click on the 4 colors, you see the following: -Text only: 48 -Link to outside: 8 -Link to other post: 8 -Image (you rock! 🎸 100% text alted): 5 The alt text statistic has been clicked on and is visible in image.
December 1, 2024 at 11:08 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Post a film still from the year you were born.
Image from a film. A giant version of the muppet Animal bursts out of a roof of a building. In the foreground, the image shows several, at least 5, people from the back. Some of the people are flailing their arms, and the group looks disorganized and disoriented.
November 25, 2024 at 3:18 AM
olamina.bsky.social
Chilled batter over night, and the madeleines are doing fine. Thanks again for the advice!
Image of an oven showing madeleines baking. They have humps and are browning.
November 23, 2024 at 5:52 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Thanks so much for doing this. Here’s another to add to your list:
Screenshot of Blue Sky user cheflike69.bsky.social page. User has a post disparaging HHS staff.
November 19, 2024 at 11:21 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Success! Happy because I liked that recipe, and the square pain de mie (aka Pullman pan) slices are so satisfying.
Rectangular bread loaf photographed from side. It’s on a cooling rack. The crust is brown. Rectangular bread loaf photographed so square end is facing camera. It’s on a cooling rack. The crust is brown. Rectangular bread loaf photographed at a diagonal. It’s on a wooden cutting board. The loaf has been sliced, showing square bread with a light tan interior and brown crust. One slice is on the cutting board.
November 14, 2024 at 3:35 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Election Dy sourdough. I voted early, and took the day off with the kids. This sourdough was started on Sunday (starter fed Saturday night) and had a 36 hour cold fermentation in the fridge. 50% white bread flour, with the rest mostly KA golden wheat and a tiny bit of rye.
Round bread loaf photographed from above, on a cooling rack. It has one big score line down the middle, and smaller score lines—opened up into ovals with pointy sides—radiating from either side of the main line. Some flour remains on top of the loaf, highlighting the scores. Otherwise, it’s brown in color, possibly burnt in places. Round bread loaf photographed from the side. It is on a cooling rack. A few pointy oval shapes on the top of the bread are visible, as is some flour. The loaf is brown. Nineties-era tile backsplash in background.
November 5, 2024 at 6:42 PM
olamina.bsky.social
The personification of everything is getting out of hand.
Screenshot from a phone text chat. At the top, an image of a woman with short blond hair, wearing a tee-shirt and blazer, right hand holding an electric toothbrush like a microphone, left arm up dramatically, hand out of frame, in the posture of someone singing a ballad on stage. Below, the text of the chat reads: Philips: Hey I'm Susan Toothbrush, here to help you make better decisions about your oral care and let you know that it's time to ditch the old-school toothbrush for a Philips Sonicare. Click here to Make the Sonicare Switch! [link]
October 21, 2024 at 7:37 PM
olamina.bsky.social
An actual child:
he tried to calm his boss down and asked him to hand over the PlayStation controller that was used to pilot the vessel. But Mr. Rush refused. “Every time I went to take the controller from him, he pushed it farther and farther behind him,” Mr. Lochridge said, and described his nervousness at seeing debris from the shipwreck that was floating in the water nearby. Finally, he said, one of the passengers who had paid for the ride shouted at Mr. Rush to give Mr. Lochridge the controller, using an expletive as tears filled her eyes. Mr. Rush obliged by throwing the controller at Mr. Lochridge, hitting him in what Mr. Lochridge described as the “starboard side” of his head.
September 17, 2024 at 5:11 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Um. What the hell?

“David Lochridge, who was in charge of marine operations at the underwater exploration company OceanGate until being fired in 2018, described the harrowing earlier trip to a U.S. Coast Guard panel that is investigating last year’s deadly implosion.”
Mr. Lochridge said he watched warily as Mr. Rush haphazardly deployed the submersible, a precursor to the Titan known as the Cyclops 1, and ignored Mr. Lochridge’s warnings to keep his distance from the deteriorating shipwreck about 250 feet under the Atlantic Ocean. Mr. Rush “smashed straight down” when he landed the vessel, Mr. Lochridge said, and then turned it around and “basically drove it full speed” into the wreckage, jamming the submersible underneath. Then, in full view of the three additional passengers on board, Mr. Rush flew into a panic, Mr. Lochridge said, asking whether there was enough life support on board and asking how quickly a dive team could arrive.
September 17, 2024 at 5:09 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #414,786!
An image of a white card on background that goes from charcoal grey to nutmeg in a diagonal ombré. The top left of the white card has the blue butterfly that is the logo of BlueSky. In the middle, text says “Celebrating 10M users.” The next line, in larger, bolder font says,”#414,786.” Running into the bottom edge of the “86” portion of the number is a stamp image that says “BLUESKY ELDER CERTIFIED” in a circle around the text “First 10%” The bottom left of the white card had the poster’s user name with her BlueSky @ address below. The bottom right of the card says “Joined July 29, 2023.”
September 16, 2024 at 11:31 PM
olamina.bsky.social
Why does my dog listen to me best when I address her like Vampire Bill calling Sookie?
Image of a houndy dog on a leash.
September 15, 2024 at 4:32 PM