I had to wait about 45 minutes after my scheduled appointment because CVS's internet was down intermittently or something (and several customers got a little shirty about it) but I finally got this year's covid and flu shots.
In sports news, my friends from Philly, I still love you, but I enjoyed last night's Eagles and Phillies losses tremendously (lbr, I also enjoyed the Yankees getting eliminated but that's not quite the same). I especially enjoyed the Dart and Skattebo show for the NY (football) Giants! Gosh, I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to enjoy a football game my team played in! And then the post-game show with Dart showing his Star Wars fan bona fides (all with prequels questions too, which was funny) and Skattebo ripping his shirt off with Ryan Fitzpatrick! Not only did they win, they were fun! Though Dart needs to learn how to protect himself better on those runs. Yikes. Not that I expect them to win many more games this year, but boy it was enjoyable that they did last night.
In other fannish news, it sounds like book 8 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series is supposed to come out in June 2026, which I guess is ok. Still no word on Alecto the Ninth though.
And now I kind of want a DCC/TLT crossover...they are incompatible canons but oh boy it would be fun.
*
In sports news, my friends from Philly, I still love you, but I enjoyed last night's Eagles and Phillies losses tremendously (lbr, I also enjoyed the Yankees getting eliminated but that's not quite the same). I especially enjoyed the Dart and Skattebo show for the NY (football) Giants! Gosh, I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to enjoy a football game my team played in! And then the post-game show with Dart showing his Star Wars fan bona fides (all with prequels questions too, which was funny) and Skattebo ripping his shirt off with Ryan Fitzpatrick! Not only did they win, they were fun! Though Dart needs to learn how to protect himself better on those runs. Yikes. Not that I expect them to win many more games this year, but boy it was enjoyable that they did last night.
In other fannish news, it sounds like book 8 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series is supposed to come out in June 2026, which I guess is ok. Still no word on Alecto the Ninth though.
And now I kind of want a DCC/TLT crossover...they are incompatible canons but oh boy it would be fun.
*
All of Us Murders by KJ Charles:
( Read more... )
Monogatari Novels has, according to Amazon, pushed back Female General and Eldest Princess and Clear and Muddy Loss of Love's release dates yet again (this time to March 2026). Like there's baihe novels I like a lot more than them, but how these titles are getting handled is really frustrating.
( Read more... )
Monogatari Novels has, according to Amazon, pushed back Female General and Eldest Princess and Clear and Muddy Loss of Love's release dates yet again (this time to March 2026). Like there's baihe novels I like a lot more than them, but how these titles are getting handled is really frustrating.
I’ve been rereading Stephen King for comfort reasons, and I have a couple of observations. First, The Dead Zone—which posits political assassination as an actual solution to a potential presidential madman—hits a bit different these days. Second (and not unrelatedly), while I am happy enough to get the expanded version of The Stand, it was a huge mistake for King to try to change the setting from 1980 to 1990; random updated pop culture references can’t disguise the fact that America changed substantially in that decade, such that characters and settings that made sense in 1980 were no longer plausible in 1990. The teenaged, white Nick Andros would almost certainly not have used the word “Negro” to describe an old woman in 1990. The singer Larry Underwood would have different beliefs about music from the 70s, when he was a young child rather than a teen/early adult. From attitudes towards single mothers to how racism was expressed to the dumping practices of fabric mills, the revised version still reads like 1980, but with a mention of rap on the radio, and it’s not good.
books
Checkmate (The Lymond Chronicles #6) by Dorothy Dunnett. 1975. cw: war, murder, offscreen sexual assault, subsequent PTSD. The exciting conclusion to the series. No lie, this one was rollicking, despite an overuse of untranslated French.
still reading: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Book one. So charming.
still reading: Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed. 2023. Graphic novel. Shubeik lubeik translates to "Your wish is my command" in Arabic. This version of Egypt is modern except it has wishes that come true, and are regulated (and black market). Great concept. I'm only 20% through, but it's a good book so far.
yarning
finished a yellow bunny and the above calico Cat Stitch scarf. The scarf sold this morning (without even me listing it first) & another person wants to get a custom one made! Yay! I worked on a grey and black kickbunny at yarn group Sunday and had a nice time. I'm nearly finished with it, though now I have a commission to recreate a cat's favorite turkey leg toy with wool and catnip. And scarf customer reminded me that xmas is coming and it's time to to work on stocking the shop! I ordered more catnip & hopefully won't run out of silvervine yet. All in all, a productive week!
healthcrap
The drooping eyelid is making me crazy -- double vision, blurry vision, the eyelid being in the way of seeing. ( more healthcrap )
#resist
October 18: No Kings Day 2!
I hope all of y'all are doing well and can see with your regular number of eyes. :g:
Checkmate (The Lymond Chronicles #6) by Dorothy Dunnett. 1975. cw: war, murder, offscreen sexual assault, subsequent PTSD. The exciting conclusion to the series. No lie, this one was rollicking, despite an overuse of untranslated French.
still reading: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Book one. So charming.
still reading: Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed. 2023. Graphic novel. Shubeik lubeik translates to "Your wish is my command" in Arabic. This version of Egypt is modern except it has wishes that come true, and are regulated (and black market). Great concept. I'm only 20% through, but it's a good book so far.
yarning
finished a yellow bunny and the above calico Cat Stitch scarf. The scarf sold this morning (without even me listing it first) & another person wants to get a custom one made! Yay! I worked on a grey and black kickbunny at yarn group Sunday and had a nice time. I'm nearly finished with it, though now I have a commission to recreate a cat's favorite turkey leg toy with wool and catnip. And scarf customer reminded me that xmas is coming and it's time to to work on stocking the shop! I ordered more catnip & hopefully won't run out of silvervine yet. All in all, a productive week!
healthcrap
The drooping eyelid is making me crazy -- double vision, blurry vision, the eyelid being in the way of seeing. ( more healthcrap )
#resist
October 18: No Kings Day 2!
I hope all of y'all are doing well and can see with your regular number of eyes. :g:
I meant to post last night, but I fell asleep on the couch right after dinner and slept for almost 2.5 hours! So I didn't post, or organize my laundry, or take out the recycling, or watch the Rangers (lose) or any of the other things I intended to do last night. Losing that hour of sleep because I had to go into the office hit me hard, I guess, since I also didn't go to bed earlier as intended on Monday night. *hands*
I did frost the cupcakes after work on Monday - I made a 3x batch of the Smitten Kitchen American buttercream since it would use up the whole box of powdered sugar and make measuring less difficult, and only had a little left over once I piped all 72 cupcakes. They disappeared rapidly at work - a lot of people were in and they enjoyed them! As always, people ask if I bake professionally and I'm just like, "nope! Then it wouldn't be fun!"
I also got a couple of Teams messages asking for confirmation that I was the one who brought them so they could be trusted. Only one person opined that the SK ones were better than the Sally's ones, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to do a double batch of the Sally's, with the SK frosting, for Christmas. My co-workers also suggested that if I'm ever invited to give a spontaneous talk, it should be about the different types of frosting that you can make and the pros and cons of them. I may have given them a preview of such a talk. *g*
I also confirmed that there are no nut allergies on the team, so I am planning to do candied pecans as my gift this year. They are SO GOOD. I mean, I've never made them, but my brother-in-law makes them for the holidays and they are seriously addictive. I just ordered some mason jars to put them in, and I think that will be a nice gift. I just have to order the pecans from Costco.
Assistant J is corralling the party planning committee this year, but the COO has decreed who the caterer will be (we are combining the legal dept party with all the operations departments' parties this year at her suggestion), so that should curtail some of their insanity in terms of party planning. I hope. I told J that with the food selection taken care of, they could concentrate on decorations, games, and music, which they were all into last year.
Anyway, as always, people are happy to see me when I show up, but I already told my boss I won't be back in until the day of the party and she is okay with that. Whew.
*
I did frost the cupcakes after work on Monday - I made a 3x batch of the Smitten Kitchen American buttercream since it would use up the whole box of powdered sugar and make measuring less difficult, and only had a little left over once I piped all 72 cupcakes. They disappeared rapidly at work - a lot of people were in and they enjoyed them! As always, people ask if I bake professionally and I'm just like, "nope! Then it wouldn't be fun!"
I also got a couple of Teams messages asking for confirmation that I was the one who brought them so they could be trusted. Only one person opined that the SK ones were better than the Sally's ones, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to do a double batch of the Sally's, with the SK frosting, for Christmas. My co-workers also suggested that if I'm ever invited to give a spontaneous talk, it should be about the different types of frosting that you can make and the pros and cons of them. I may have given them a preview of such a talk. *g*
I also confirmed that there are no nut allergies on the team, so I am planning to do candied pecans as my gift this year. They are SO GOOD. I mean, I've never made them, but my brother-in-law makes them for the holidays and they are seriously addictive. I just ordered some mason jars to put them in, and I think that will be a nice gift. I just have to order the pecans from Costco.
Assistant J is corralling the party planning committee this year, but the COO has decreed who the caterer will be (we are combining the legal dept party with all the operations departments' parties this year at her suggestion), so that should curtail some of their insanity in terms of party planning. I hope. I told J that with the food selection taken care of, they could concentrate on decorations, games, and music, which they were all into last year.
Anyway, as always, people are happy to see me when I show up, but I already told my boss I won't be back in until the day of the party and she is okay with that. Whew.
*
Wednesday, October 8th, 2025 12:39 am
I'm definitely making this again. and again. and again!
I just discovered that you can make the perfect peppermint hot chocolate with Ritter Sport Peppermint. (I expect After Eight mints or similar would work too.) It turned out super delicious, so I need to share the joy!
Proportions: 250ml milk / 25g Ritter Sport Peppermint.
Just put the chocolate into the milk and heat in the microwave in short bursts, stirring thorougly in between, until it's entirely melted. (It pays to use a glass and not a porcelain mug, so you can see whether it's fully incorporated. *g*) Add a little sweetener to taste. YUM. :D
Proportions: 250ml milk / 25g Ritter Sport Peppermint.
Just put the chocolate into the milk and heat in the microwave in short bursts, stirring thorougly in between, until it's entirely melted. (It pays to use a glass and not a porcelain mug, so you can see whether it's fully incorporated. *g*) Add a little sweetener to taste. YUM. :D
Monday, October 6th, 2025 11:23 pm
one video game I finished recently and two I'm in the middle of
Night Cascades (2022):
( Read more... )
Road to Empress (2025):
( Read more... )
Sorry, We're Closed (2024):
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Road to Empress (2025):
( Read more... )
Sorry, We're Closed (2024):
( Read more... )
Woohoo, ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
guardian_wishlist revealed this morning with over 60 new Guardian & related works!
There is so much fantastic new stuff, and I haven't had time to properly look at much yet, but I need to share the three fantastic gifts I got:
So so many thanks to all of you, and everyone else who is part of this fest! You are all amazing! ♥ ♥ ♥
guardian_wishlist revealed this morning with over 60 new Guardian & related works!There is so much fantastic new stuff, and I haven't had time to properly look at much yet, but I need to share the three fantastic gifts I got:
- from
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
awanderingcoyote, lovely Guardian/Stargate Atlantis crossover art with a bunch of inspired concept notes for a crossover that's also a fix-it/sequel to the Guardian ending - from facethestrange, gorgeous Guardian RPF art that brilliantly combines the implications of the infamous weight-lifting BTS video with an interview question that, as the artist says, totally could be real
- and from nnozomi, an absolutely delightful ficlet about Jiajia and Professor Zhou (and Shen Wei, of course, in absentia), combining them in ways I'd never considered before
So so many thanks to all of you, and everyone else who is part of this fest! You are all amazing! ♥ ♥ ♥
Since I'm going to the office on Tuesday and my whole team is supposed to be in, I am finally going to be able to get some feedback on funfetti cupcakes. So today, I baked both the Sally's Baking Addiction recipe (black and white cupcake papers) and the Smitten Kitchen recipe (yellow and red cupcake papers) (pics), and I think the Sally's recipe is the winner. I particularly like that it uses melted butter instead of having to cream the butter and sugar, so it can be done easily by hand. (For Christmas, I will double the recipe, so I'll use the stand mixer anyway, but overall, I do like a recipe that can be made without one.) My plan is to make the SK frosting attached to that recipe (doubled, and potentially tripled if necessary since I have 72 cupcakes to frost (38 Sally's, 34 Smitten Kitchen - overall they made 40 and 36 mini cupcakes, respectively, but I ate 2 of each). Normally, I would go for cream cheese frosting for funfetti, but both my nephews have said they prefer buttercream, and since this is specifically for them (and to replace the vanilla cupcakes I've been making but have been unhappy with), I figured I'd go with their preference. We'll see how it goes.
In other news, I am so sad HGTV cancelled Bargain Block - I still have the last couple of post-New Orleans episodes to watch, but then it will be all over and I will miss Keith and Evan a lot. I heard they also cancelled Married to Real Estate, which I also enjoy but still have a couple of seasons I haven't seen, and that Unsellable Houses is probably also going to get canned, which is a shame because that is my other favorite HGTV show and I have already watched all that is available. On the plus side, it seems like Home Town will be coming back, and I do enjoy that one, plus the new season of Help! I Wrecked My House (now in Park City, UT) has started (though I haven't watched it yet). And of course, my Elementary rewatch continues.
*
In other news, I am so sad HGTV cancelled Bargain Block - I still have the last couple of post-New Orleans episodes to watch, but then it will be all over and I will miss Keith and Evan a lot. I heard they also cancelled Married to Real Estate, which I also enjoy but still have a couple of seasons I haven't seen, and that Unsellable Houses is probably also going to get canned, which is a shame because that is my other favorite HGTV show and I have already watched all that is available. On the plus side, it seems like Home Town will be coming back, and I do enjoy that one, plus the new season of Help! I Wrecked My House (now in Park City, UT) has started (though I haven't watched it yet). And of course, my Elementary rewatch continues.
*
I don't think I posted about this yet: https://us.macmillan.com/tours/martha-wells-queen-demon/
There's more info at that link, but here's a brief list of the tour stops and dates:
- Mon. Oct. 6 at 7:30pm: Brookline Booksmith with Holly Black, offsite at Arts at the Armory (Brookline, MA)
- Tues. Oct. 7 at 7pm: Politics & Prose (Union Market location) moderated by Leigha McReynolds (Washington DC)
- Wed. Oct. 8 at 7pm: The Strand, with Meg Elison (NYC, NY)
- Fri. Oct. 10 at 6pm: Let’s Play Books, with Chuck Wendig, offsite at Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA)
- Tues. Oct. 14 at 7pm, Third Place Books (Seattle, WA)
- Wed. Oct. 15 at 7pm, Iron Dog Books, with Nalo Hopkinson offsite at Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
- Thurs. Oct. 16 at 7pm, Powell's (Cedar Hill location) with Jenn Reese (Beaverton, OR)
- Mon. Oct. 20 at 7pm: Bookpeople, with Ehigbor Okosun (Austin, TX)
- Tue. Oct. 21 at 6:30pm: Murder by the Book (Houston, TX)
- Thurs. Oct. 23 at 6pm: Nowhere Bookshop (San Antonio, TX)
- Saturday Nov. 8-9 Texas Book Festival, Austin TX
- Sat. Nov. 15 at 2pm: Hyperbole Bookstore, offsite at Ringer Library (College Station, TX)
There's more info at that link, but here's a brief list of the tour stops and dates:
- Mon. Oct. 6 at 7:30pm: Brookline Booksmith with Holly Black, offsite at Arts at the Armory (Brookline, MA)
- Tues. Oct. 7 at 7pm: Politics & Prose (Union Market location) moderated by Leigha McReynolds (Washington DC)
- Wed. Oct. 8 at 7pm: The Strand, with Meg Elison (NYC, NY)
- Fri. Oct. 10 at 6pm: Let’s Play Books, with Chuck Wendig, offsite at Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA)
- Tues. Oct. 14 at 7pm, Third Place Books (Seattle, WA)
- Wed. Oct. 15 at 7pm, Iron Dog Books, with Nalo Hopkinson offsite at Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
- Thurs. Oct. 16 at 7pm, Powell's (Cedar Hill location) with Jenn Reese (Beaverton, OR)
- Mon. Oct. 20 at 7pm: Bookpeople, with Ehigbor Okosun (Austin, TX)
- Tue. Oct. 21 at 6:30pm: Murder by the Book (Houston, TX)
- Thurs. Oct. 23 at 6pm: Nowhere Bookshop (San Antonio, TX)
- Saturday Nov. 8-9 Texas Book Festival, Austin TX
- Sat. Nov. 15 at 2pm: Hyperbole Bookstore, offsite at Ringer Library (College Station, TX)
I did a playlist for Witch King (https://marthawells.dreamwidth.org/627157.html) when it first came out in 2023, and now here's one for Queen Demon:
Seven Devils - Florence + Machine
Burning - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Bando - ANNA with MadMan and Gemitaiz
Bringing Murder to the Land - Anton Newcombe and Dot Allison
Bulletproof vs. Release Me - The Outfit
I Owe You Nothing - Seinabo Sey
W.I.T.C.H. - Devon Cole
Egun (theme from Manhunt) - Danielle Ponder
Warm - SG Lewis
Disease - Lady Gaga
Which Witch (Demo) - Florence + Machine
you should see me in a crown - Billie Eilish
Bakunawa - Rudy Ibarra, with June Millington, Han Han, and Ouida.
Seven Devils - Florence + Machine
Burning - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Bando - ANNA with MadMan and Gemitaiz
Bringing Murder to the Land - Anton Newcombe and Dot Allison
Bulletproof vs. Release Me - The Outfit
I Owe You Nothing - Seinabo Sey
W.I.T.C.H. - Devon Cole
Egun (theme from Manhunt) - Danielle Ponder
Warm - SG Lewis
Disease - Lady Gaga
Which Witch (Demo) - Florence + Machine
you should see me in a crown - Billie Eilish
Bakunawa - Rudy Ibarra, with June Millington, Han Han, and Ouida.
Ugh, I woke up at 3:30 this morning coughing my lungs out and didn't really sleep much after that. It's that itchiness in my throat and chest that make me think allergies, especially given that I haven't really been around people except at the dentist's office yesterday, so I don't think it's covid? But who knows at this point? My quest to get this year's flu/covid shots has been derailed a couple of times but I am off again next Friday, so that is going to be my next attempt.
In more fannish news, I read that Dungeon Crawler Carl has been optioned for tv, and now I want a Carl vid to Mike Ness's version of "Don't Think Twice."
*
In more fannish news, I read that Dungeon Crawler Carl has been optioned for tv, and now I want a Carl vid to Mike Ness's version of "Don't Think Twice."
*
It's the 1st of October, and the start of our annual Drawtober challenge over at drawesome! :D
I don't think I was able to manage participating at all last year, but I'm determined to do it this time around. Sometimes it helps to keep a theme in mind or a particular direction to go in, so I'm thinking about focusing on figure drawing - gestures, line of action, musculature, that sort of thing.
Day 1's prompt was THROUGH A WINDOW. I sketched the figure from a reference photo and filled with marker:
Feels like I haven't done any art in forever, so this is a good start I think! :)
One of my art goals is learning to convey movement using fewer strokes, to develop a more loose and natural figure drawing style, which I know will only come with practice. Not sure how many sketches I'll be able to do this month, but I'm hoping for around 10.
Here's the list of daily art prompts, for my own reference: ( Drawtober 2025 Prompts )
drawesome! :DI don't think I was able to manage participating at all last year, but I'm determined to do it this time around. Sometimes it helps to keep a theme in mind or a particular direction to go in, so I'm thinking about focusing on figure drawing - gestures, line of action, musculature, that sort of thing.
Day 1's prompt was THROUGH A WINDOW. I sketched the figure from a reference photo and filled with marker:
Feels like I haven't done any art in forever, so this is a good start I think! :)
One of my art goals is learning to convey movement using fewer strokes, to develop a more loose and natural figure drawing style, which I know will only come with practice. Not sure how many sketches I'll be able to do this month, but I'm hoping for around 10.
Here's the list of daily art prompts, for my own reference: ( Drawtober 2025 Prompts )
Rabbit, rabbit! Gotta start the month out right!
According to the dentist, my teeth are mostly fine but another old filling has started to crack so he wants to take it out and put a crown on it. Since I have money in my FSA because I didn't order new glasses, I said let's do it! So as long as he gets the approval from my insurance, I should be having that done on 10/22. I'll probably still have to pay about $500 out of pocket, but that's better than the whole $1500. As always, he marveled about the Maryland bridge I have, which has been in place since 1994; even when I got it, my dentist at the time said it would probably only last 5 years, so it's quite impressive. "Those dentists back then knew what they were doing!" he told me today, and I wanted to be like, "1994 wasn't that long ago," but it was 31 years ago apparently. That just seems wrong.
Anyway, I could barely stay awake on my way home, so I crawled into bed and ended up sleeping for THREE HOURS, which I was not expecting. I will take it though.
I made pancakes for dinner, but as I was mixing up my wet ingredients, I put what I thought was vanilla in the mixing cup, but as soon as I smelled it, I knew it was the wrong bottle. It turned out to be fior di Sicilia, which is lovely and smells like an Italian bakery, but is not what I wanted in my pancakes. Whoops. The vanilla bottle is the same size, so I have now rearranged that shelf so the vanilla remains in front and the fior di Sicilia is back behind a bunch of stuff. I also redid my wet ingredients - it was only an egg and some milk, so not a huge loss to start over.
Now I'm going to watch the new episode of Slow Horses and then later, the season premiere of Abbott Elementary.
*
According to the dentist, my teeth are mostly fine but another old filling has started to crack so he wants to take it out and put a crown on it. Since I have money in my FSA because I didn't order new glasses, I said let's do it! So as long as he gets the approval from my insurance, I should be having that done on 10/22. I'll probably still have to pay about $500 out of pocket, but that's better than the whole $1500. As always, he marveled about the Maryland bridge I have, which has been in place since 1994; even when I got it, my dentist at the time said it would probably only last 5 years, so it's quite impressive. "Those dentists back then knew what they were doing!" he told me today, and I wanted to be like, "1994 wasn't that long ago," but it was 31 years ago apparently. That just seems wrong.
Anyway, I could barely stay awake on my way home, so I crawled into bed and ended up sleeping for THREE HOURS, which I was not expecting. I will take it though.
I made pancakes for dinner, but as I was mixing up my wet ingredients, I put what I thought was vanilla in the mixing cup, but as soon as I smelled it, I knew it was the wrong bottle. It turned out to be fior di Sicilia, which is lovely and smells like an Italian bakery, but is not what I wanted in my pancakes. Whoops. The vanilla bottle is the same size, so I have now rearranged that shelf so the vanilla remains in front and the fior di Sicilia is back behind a bunch of stuff. I also redid my wet ingredients - it was only an egg and some milk, so not a huge loss to start over.
Now I'm going to watch the new episode of Slow Horses and then later, the season premiere of Abbott Elementary.
*
( books (Dunnett, Aaronovitch et al, Mohamed) )
VAMPIRE SALE!
I've put all my Interview With The Vampire Art Dolls on sale for 20% off for the entire month of October! (I have a post on Tumblr that it would be great if you could reblog! Thanks!)
yarning
I've been crocheting a lot, making and selling more kickbunnies. (Enough that I may even get my Etsy star seller badge back!) I went to yarn group Sunday and had a nice time. I just finished a purple bunny & an under the door toy. Next is a yellow bunny, though I'm running out of boxes and am waiting on Prime Day to order more, oops. OH! AND! Niece LOVED her globe & moon! I'm so relieved. I still don't know what to make her for xmas, but I'm going to do a reversible octopus for her 2yo brother with a happy face on one side and a frowny face on the other. He's learning the basics of FEELINGS & this may help? I hope so. Might do a reversible rose doll for Niece (one side is a doll from waist up with a big skirt. Flip the skirt over her head and it's a rose. Though I wonder if she already has one. Hrm.
healthcrap
I had botox for migraines Friday & the skin clinic Monday. Boo: I've got a badly drooping right eyelid from the botox this time & it's so bad I'm having trouble focusing. Yay: Topical horse dewormer is incredibly effective for rosacea, I'm glad to say. I thought I'd never get rid of the spots on my face, but this works. (Note, it does NOT work for Covid.) Speaking of, I got my Covid & flu jabs today. Fasting labs tmrw, gah, but they have to be done. ( cut for discussion of weight loss )
#resist
October 18: No Kings Day 2
I hope all of y'all are doing well! <333
VAMPIRE SALE!
I've put all my Interview With The Vampire Art Dolls on sale for 20% off for the entire month of October! (I have a post on Tumblr that it would be great if you could reblog! Thanks!)
yarning
I've been crocheting a lot, making and selling more kickbunnies. (Enough that I may even get my Etsy star seller badge back!) I went to yarn group Sunday and had a nice time. I just finished a purple bunny & an under the door toy. Next is a yellow bunny, though I'm running out of boxes and am waiting on Prime Day to order more, oops. OH! AND! Niece LOVED her globe & moon! I'm so relieved. I still don't know what to make her for xmas, but I'm going to do a reversible octopus for her 2yo brother with a happy face on one side and a frowny face on the other. He's learning the basics of FEELINGS & this may help? I hope so. Might do a reversible rose doll for Niece (one side is a doll from waist up with a big skirt. Flip the skirt over her head and it's a rose. Though I wonder if she already has one. Hrm.
healthcrap
I had botox for migraines Friday & the skin clinic Monday. Boo: I've got a badly drooping right eyelid from the botox this time & it's so bad I'm having trouble focusing. Yay: Topical horse dewormer is incredibly effective for rosacea, I'm glad to say. I thought I'd never get rid of the spots on my face, but this works. (Note, it does NOT work for Covid.) Speaking of, I got my Covid & flu jabs today. Fasting labs tmrw, gah, but they have to be done. ( cut for discussion of weight loss )
#resist
October 18: No Kings Day 2
I hope all of y'all are doing well! <333
Pet-sitting over the weekend was ok, not great. Bleu was a good boy and a sweetheart. Brie was fine when we were inside, but once she got out, it took a couple of hours - repeatedly - to coax her back into the house, because even though she was happy to climb into my lap on the couch, she flinched away whenever I stood in the doorway and called her to come in. Even just sitting in a chair and propping the door open and putting down treats to lead her in took a while. So that was not great. Additionally, because of the cat, I had to take a ridiculous amount of allergy medication just to breathe and my throat and chest were itchy the whole time.
On the plus side, the pizza I ordered was delicious!
I took yesterday off and scheduled a grocery delivery, which never arrived. Apparently none of the drivers would take it? I don't know what that even means, but I took that personally. I cancelled the order, and then today, put in an Aldi order which arrived on time and only cost half as much. *hands*
I'm off again tomorrow for a dental appointment. We are battening down the hatches for a govt shutdown at work, but should be okay if it doesn't last too long. Otherwise, there could be furloughs.
If you, like me, want to escape into fanfic, here's this month's recs update:
unfitforsociety has been updated for September 2025 with 10 recs:
✭ 9 Batfamily and 1 Batfam/Spiderman crossover
***
On the plus side, the pizza I ordered was delicious!
I took yesterday off and scheduled a grocery delivery, which never arrived. Apparently none of the drivers would take it? I don't know what that even means, but I took that personally. I cancelled the order, and then today, put in an Aldi order which arrived on time and only cost half as much. *hands*
I'm off again tomorrow for a dental appointment. We are battening down the hatches for a govt shutdown at work, but should be okay if it doesn't last too long. Otherwise, there could be furloughs.
If you, like me, want to escape into fanfic, here's this month's recs update:
unfitforsociety has been updated for September 2025 with 10 recs:✭ 9 Batfamily and 1 Batfam/Spiderman crossover
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While I was in Wales, when I wasn't hiking, collapsing after hiking, drinking local beer after hiking, or blogging, I read Emily Skidmore's True Sex, and I recommend it highly to those of you who are interested in queer history! She traces the lives of eighteen American trans men in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, which is fascinating in itself, but part of her focus is that, while queer history has tended to focus on cities and the development of queer communities in them, these men pretty much all lived in small cities, towns, or rural areas, and clearly did so by choice in most or all cases. I mean, many of them moved around a lot; they could have moved to Chicago, but they stayed in Nowheresville. And they could sometimes be welcomed and treated as men there even when their communities knew they were AFAB.
Also, of course, a significant number were only publicly revealed as AFAB after years of living as men, sometimes only after their deaths. Skidmore doesn't spend a lot of time on this, but to me that means that there were a lot more stealth trans men who never got found out at all.
I did want her to dig deeper into racial issues, She often ties the ability to live as a man to white privilege, but I think that tie is weak without a discussion of the experiences of, and community acceptance of, black (or other nonwhite) trans men, which she doesn’t really offer.
Her research is impressive, and it's smoothly readable, not jargony. I recommend it highly!
Also, of course, a significant number were only publicly revealed as AFAB after years of living as men, sometimes only after their deaths. Skidmore doesn't spend a lot of time on this, but to me that means that there were a lot more stealth trans men who never got found out at all.
I did want her to dig deeper into racial issues, She often ties the ability to live as a man to white privilege, but I think that tie is weak without a discussion of the experiences of, and community acceptance of, black (or other nonwhite) trans men, which she doesn’t really offer.
Her research is impressive, and it's smoothly readable, not jargony. I recommend it highly!
Just in case someone else missed it too - rarepairexchange reveals are delayed. Instead of 5 October, they're projected to happen on 19 October.
The reason I missed it: the delay was announced at the top of a pinch-hit post the day after the deadline (which was 21 September). I didn't even think to look at it at the time because I knew I didn't have time for any pinch-hits.
If that's you too, now you know. *g*
(Yesterday I happened to notice the new pinch-hit deadline, which is after the original reveals date, and got very confused. But the sticky post is up to date, which cleared up the current schedule, and then I tracked down the original announcement.)
rarepairexchange reveals are delayed. Instead of 5 October, they're projected to happen on 19 October.The reason I missed it: the delay was announced at the top of a pinch-hit post the day after the deadline (which was 21 September). I didn't even think to look at it at the time because I knew I didn't have time for any pinch-hits.
If that's you too, now you know. *g*
(Yesterday I happened to notice the new pinch-hit deadline, which is after the original reveals date, and got very confused. But the sticky post is up to date, which cleared up the current schedule, and then I tracked down the original announcement.)
Tuesday, September 30th, 2025 12:19 am
Purrcy in autumn sun; Blogcomment: Chinese textile taxes
Purrcy was loving being petted while being as close to outside in the lovely fall sunshine and smells as he could get. Even though we're in NJ, we have *coyotes* as well as foxes, Great Horned Owls, & motor vehicles--it's much safer to be indoor-only, as well as better for the birds.
This week (well, last week) Bret Devereaux continued his series on "Life, Work, Death and the Peasant" with Part IVd: Spinning Plates, about women's traditional work: household textile production. Devereaux's expertise is on Rome, broadening to the Meditteranean and premodern European more generally. I commented:
I also pointed out that although, unlike in the west, Chinese women's labor was a crucial & explicit part of the state's tax system, and the marriage system relied on bride prices, not dowries (which are supposed to be better, maybe?, for women's rights)--yet neither factor gave women rights, respect or control.
I also got to tell someone about how Iceland used to use cloth as currency.
This week (well, last week) Bret Devereaux continued his series on "Life, Work, Death and the Peasant" with Part IVd: Spinning Plates, about women's traditional work: household textile production. Devereaux's expertise is on Rome, broadening to the Meditteranean and premodern European more generally. I commented:
Women's textile production was *even more important* in China than in western Eurasia, believe it or not. The saying "Men till, women weave" was the classic expression of the gendered division of labor for more than 2000 years. Since the time of the Han dynasty at least both men and women were subject to taxation. Depending on the dynasty, either the household had to provide both grain and textiles, or each adult male was assessed an amount of grain, each adult female, textiles.I linked to my comment on Bluesky, and suggested that Chinese peasant households were probably more *efficient* at producing textiles than West Eurasian ones were, because they HAD to produce surplus to the household's needs: enough for the family, plus enough for taxes.
The cash value of the grain & textile taxes tended to be roughly equal (see, e.g. Francesca Bray, Technology and Gender: Fabrics of Power in Late Imperial China, p. 186), but it's rare to see either primary sources or scholars admit it: the life-or-death significance of the grain tax, and the grain harvest, absolutely dominates everyone's thinking. But (as Bray shows) up until the Single-Whip Tax reform of the late 16thC (after which all taxes were rolled into one, to be payed in silver) women's textile production wasn't just a foundation of the home, it was a foundation of the *state*.
As is usual for premodern technology, most of the technical innovations Dr Devereaux mentions above were invented in China several centuries (at least) before they appeared further west. Originally, Chinese tax textiles were hemp in the north, silk in the south. Cotton became important starting around the time of the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty, and spread rapidly. I don't know enough about the workflow for hemp and cotton textile production to know how much of it went to spinning. The workflow for silk production is very different: silk is "reeled", because it comes off the cocoons as long threads, several of which need to be twisted together to make a workable floss.
I also pointed out that although, unlike in the west, Chinese women's labor was a crucial & explicit part of the state's tax system, and the marriage system relied on bride prices, not dowries (which are supposed to be better, maybe?, for women's rights)--yet neither factor gave women rights, respect or control.
I also got to tell someone about how Iceland used to use cloth as currency.