diffrentcolours

I gave Capsule my new insurance information, and then had them deliver a prescription.

I will need/use the inhaler, but this is also confirmation that yes, I (still) have prescription drug coverage.

Other than that, not a great day. Fingertips are improving, but I had a sudden nosebleed while sitting quietly on the couch an hour ago. *sigh*

ysabetwordsmith

beavertech has posted the January batch of sponsored poems. :D

"So Many Words for Wood" on

first_nations_freaks

"The Infinity of Acorns" on

scienceworld

"Birds and Snow" on

the_magick_circle

"A Piecemeal Apocalypse" on

thefreaksclub

Current Mood: accomplished

fred_mouse

share selfish on Instagram or Facebook

suspicion: bit by autocarrot. However! This was an academic journal article; it makes me a little concerned about the editing.

questionable_content_feed

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5739

we've been over this. scented candles

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5739

shadaras

The thing about Martha Wells' Queen Demon is that I really adored Witch King and then was mad about the fact that it wasn't a stand-alone book because I didn't feel a need for more in that universe.

Queen Demon is a perfectly serviceable book. I generally like Martha Wells' writing and her casts of characters. However. One of the things that I did not mind in Witch King but do mind in Queen Demon is the dual timelines. I suppose they weren't precisely directly connected in Witch King either, but there it had the effect of explaining who Kai was and providing all the backstory to the world. In Queen Demon, it's like...

I can see echoes but it's not direct. It ended up feeling like I was intercutting between two novellas with a shared world/cast, rather than one book that built its thematic/narrative push along a split timeline.

And yeah that probably wasn't helped by how I read it (in three sittings, more or less, each a couple weeks apart), but...

The main feeling I had about this novel was that every chapter seemed designed to end on a cliffhanger, which is perfectly reasonable design/structure for a novel, but also way more annoying when you know that you're not going to be immediately following up on that bit of time when you begin the next chapter.

This then leads into my biggest "I didn't like this" about the book, which is that it ends in much the same way as any of its chapters end, just on a bigger scale. Which, like, yeah, that's normal for a book in a series, I guess? But it's not how I'm used to Martha Wells books in series ending! She is usually pretty good about wrapping things up instead of ending on "here is a dramatic change in status quo that we are not even providing characters time to have an emotion about before cutting from".

...which then leads to the biggest question I have about bk3, which is:

So if the naming schema so far has been "magic-user + royalty title", does that mean the next book will be named for the Immortal Blessed or the Hierarchs?

( spoiler-tastic specific ??? about the ending )

(yes I will read bk3 when it comes out but I still think that I liked Witch King as a standalone more than Witch King as a series.)

senmut

I have caught up on my circle, but barely commented. Still digesting national news (rage) and unofficial anecdata via work (grief concerning mortality in children and this "cold" that seems to be nationwide).

That said, I will leave the comments open to anyone who wants to prompt me for a drabble in a fandom I know or for original concepts. I will, however, screen them.

Format something like "Fandom/Character(s)/Simple Prompt" or "Original Genre/Character Archetype(s)/Simple Prompt". Include your name on AO3, SquidgeWorld, Ad Astra, or CFFA if it is fannish and you want it gifted.

We Will Persevere.

ysabetwordsmith

brickhousewench tipped me to Heading Prints, a company that makes scarves using book art as inspiration. They offer bandanas, skinny scarves, large rectangular scarves, square silky scarves, and also a few rings with designs to match some of their most popular scarf designs. Also, these are much more affordable on average than most fashion scarves I've seen, although they do cost more than the cheap random ones in a discount store.

If you've seen my post "How to Simplify Fashion," then consider these scarves as an option for color-matching. Look for a scarf whose colors you love and want to use. Wear it while clothes shopping to test if new clothes match your colors.

Current Mood: busy

hamsterwoman

two log cabins with snow on the roofs in a wintery forest the text snowflake challenge january 1 - 31 in white cursive text

Catching up on the last two days, because ugh, work. Who thought that was a good idea? XP

Challenge #3: Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.

I love reading people’s responses to this challenge (particular highlights on my flist were

muccamukk’s beautiful analogy and

author_by_night’s poem “To Fandoms I’ve Only Observed”), but I’ve done this a bunch of different ways for past Snowflakes and was struggling for a new angle. I thought about an abecedarian poem (as I’d done for characters at one point), but had a harder time coming up with a “balanced” list of fandoms in ABC order, about which I’d have about the same amount to say. I finally did settle on an abecedarian idea, just not a poetic one, so: (all links go to AO3 works-in-fandom pages, with a few exceptions)

I love fandom ( because fandom is )

Obviously some letters were harder to fill with fandoms than others, but all of this is true, and these are all reasons I love fandom :)

Challenge #4: Rec Your Last Page: Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!

Maybe I should go through my billions of open tabs and see if there’s something in there worth reccing? (and take the opportunity to close some, lol)

Relevant open tabs (and the reasons I have them open):

fandomtrees spreadsheet of needy trees. Reveals are targeted at Jan 10, but there are still 39 trees short of the goal of at least 2 gifts. (Mine is not one of the needy trees, but it is here.) (Open because I was checking how likely reveals were to be delayed.)

( and 10 more links, from general to specific )

hunningham

My father-in-law is staying with his daughter for a couple of weeks, so I have swapped one elderly relative for another and come up to Edinburgh to visit my mother. I came up on Saturday, and leaving tomorrow Thursday.

My mother doesn't need much help, so most of what I do is sit with her and listen. I have brought my laptop with me, and am also working while I'm here - this helps, it gives us a break from each other. I have also watched far too many episodes of a TV show called Bargain Hunt, and another show about house-hunting and lots of weather reporting. All the exciting weather is in the highlands, here it's just freezing temperatures & sleety rain. We've been to Tesco, where we managed to mislay each other, and my mother was horrified by the price of frozen mashed potatoes. The USA is gangstering into Venezuela.

It's been long visit, I'm not sleeping well, and I'm feeling very worn.

oursin

What I read

Finished Diary at the Centre of the Earth, which I really enjoyed.

Then on to Anthony Powell, Hearing Secret Harmonies (A Dance to the Music of Time) (1975) in anticipation of the final meeting of the reading group. This is the one that appears to have been invaded by characters from a Simon Raven novel, or that thing I have mentioned about writers getting a plot-bunny that was meant to go to someone else.... On another paw, at least Isobel gets rather more on-page time than she was usually wont.

Finished The Lathe of Heaven.

Discovered that there was a new David Wishart Corvinus mystery, Dead in the Water (2025) - I would say that not being informed of this is due to their only being available via Kindle these days, except Kobo, really not all that at keeping one informed of books in series one has been keeping up with. So I gritted my teeth, and read it via the app on the tablet. Not perhaps one of the top entrants in the series.

On the go

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dream Count (2025), for the in-person book group meeting in a week on Sunday, and nearly finished. I have writ before of the genre of '4 (usually youngish) women, connected in some way, affronting their destinies', which was all over in the 60s-80s, but possibly not so much these days? to which this has some resemblances.

Up next

I got partner the most recent Slough House thriller for Christmas and he has now finished it, so I guess that's probably my next read.

ysabetwordsmith

Today is partly cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/7/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/7/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/7/26 -- I gathered the raked leaves from the ritual meadow, enough to fill the trolley twice, which I dumped on the daffodil bed. (That should have been done in fall, but better late than never.) One quarter around the firepit equaled two trolleys and covered the daffodil bed completely. The tulip bed will need at least twice that much.

I startled several cardinals and the great-horned owl in the ritual meadow.

EDIT 1/7/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I filled a trolley with sticks from the brushpile beside the driveway, then dumped that in the firepit.

EDIT 1/7/26 -- I filled another trolley with sticks, then dumped that in the firepit.

There's not much left of the brushpile now, mostly pieces too big for me to break down.

It's 5:05 PM. The western sky is still twilight, the east considerably darker.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Challenge 4: Rec Your Last Page

Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!

On many of the fannish websites we use, our history is easily compileable into "pages". When we look back through those pages, sometimes we stumble upon things that we think are rather cool.

Snowflake Challenge: A mug of coffee or hot chocolate with a snowflake shaped gingerbread cookie perched on the rim sits nestled amidst a softly bunched blanket. A few dried orange slices sit next to it.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

amaebi

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

apiphile posting in

derekpoetrydump

the centre of the universe is not a real place and you are not it

it is awful that world doesn't stop for your grief,
but moves on, and it is awful,
that we must still plant crops,
when they're gone, and it is awful,
that life is so brief and it is awful, just awful,
that their loved ones are not dead too
and it is awful, purely awful,
that they are not suffering along
with you and it truly is awful,
that you cannot just make them feel
a fragment of your pain and it is awful
that if you visit it upon them
in the name of education then.
then the cycle starts again
and someone else feels awful
and demands the world cease
forever for their grief.

quillpunk posting in

booknook

It's Wednesday! What are you reading?

spikedluv

What I Just Finished Reading: Since last Wednesday I have read/finished reading: Tripwire (A Jack Reacher Novel) by Lee Child and Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher.

What I am Currently Reading: Tomb of the Golden Bird (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) by Elizabeth Peters.

What I Plan to Read Next: Undecided, but I have several to choose from; I have another library book out, another requested, and a couple on my own shelf, so it’ll be whatever I’m feeling after I finish this one.

Book 1 of 2026: Tripwire (A Jack Reacher Novel) (Lee Child)

I enjoyed this book. With the usual caveats. ( spoilers )

The mystery part of this book was really good; I'm giving it four hearts.

♥♥♥♥

Book 2 of 2026: Gwen & Art Are Not in Love (Lex Croucher)

This was really good! ( spoilers )

I enjoyed this book; I'm giving it five hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/whoaaaa-man-2026

[putting on sunglasses]

[lighting groovy cigarette]

[signalling groovy bass player to start groovy bass music]

CAKE!

So sad, bra.

Standing like Santa,

Grilling like gangsta...

I wonder who gives out more
COAL.

[whispering]

As the ephemeral frigidity succumbs to day's full wrath...

My cone melts.

CAKE!

Sad.
Cake.

Dripping like mad

Come back to my pad

I'll make you
a
sprinkle
surprise.

Hey Jane, hand me
that shovel.

Why's it always have to be snakes?

Popsicle.

IN MY FACE.

[blows out candle]

Thanks to Kristin and Gary H., Ashley B., Ellen M., Mab R., Wendy H., Rachel J., & Margot V. We're all snapping our fingers in your direction.

*****

P.S. In case this post wasn't painful enough:

Exceptionally Bad Dad Jokes

There are a lot of "dad joke" books out there, but this one has awesome ratings AND the word "spiffing" on the cover, so it's a clear winner.

******

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/whoaaaa-man-2026

purplecat

Reading: I just finished the Doctor Who Reader. The later essays were a lot more accessible, but more by the way of personal accounts and more in the mode of fan writing than the earlier chapters. They feel more like things that could be/would be/are intended to be primary sources collated together for future academics than secondary sources. The whole is interesting and, hopefully, useful. I get quoted in one chapter though my identity is obfuscated as I was one of the interviewees.

Listening: Not much running this week, I do not like slippery surfaces for running, so not much listening. Currently I have Toby Hadoke in Indefinable Magic musing on the various actors in Doctor Who have been awarded M/O/CBEs or knighthoods etc. Toby is always entertaining but, it has to be said, this is not a subject that particularly grabs me.

Watching: B and I are currently feeling very listless about the vast choice of watching material available. We spend much time scrolling aimlessly through the listings. We started The Acolyte but found it too grim. We've discussed watching Midsomer Murders which seem like our kind of easy evening watching, but these start at season 22 on Disney so we will clearly need to investigate where earlier seasons can be found. We keep falling back on watching NCIS and miscellaneous food programmes on the BBC.

fred_mouse posting in

unclutter

How did you go with decluttering your rest space? Did you have thoughts about what you might do, did you deal with one tiny thing, or did you have a startlingly productive week?

For the second week, we are moving from rest space to hobby space. Can you find something to declutter? What this might look like:

acknowledging that you aren't going to come back to a craft project and rehoming the materials
clearing WIPs so that there is space to work on Just One -- especially if one of those is something that will leave the house when it is done! Gift yourself space while finishing that gift!
clearing a path to the sewing machine (this one is me. I really need to do that, because if I do that I can start work on repairing the clothing I want to keep and repurposing the ones I don't)
working through a shelf of books / DVDs / games and deciding which ones spark joy, and which ones can go.
going through the tool box and working out just how many pairs of scissors or screwdrivers or gumblesprockets* you really need

Alternatively: keep going with the resting space! Get something out of the house!

* no, i don't know what a gumblesprocket is either. It was one of the list of silly words for tools I learned in a poem as a kid

selki

I'm leading a library Zoom discussion on this 2005 Newbery Medal (YA) winner next week. Discussion prompts:

The two sisters each think of the other as having saved them from the dog. Are they both right? How does this relationship hold up during the book?
Humor is mixed in with the grief of the story. How did the balance work for you?
What's the longest road trip you've taken? How did it compare to the Takeshima family's trip?
How did the family deal with the move from Iowa to Georgia?
While finishing up the trip to Georgia, Katie notices that every Georgia town declares some claim to fame. Have you noticed towns in Maryland that do this? Do you remember any other town-identity signs from your travels? (e.g., Webster, NY "Where Life is Worth Living").
Who else laughed when Katie's dad told her what the "B" word meant ("Bad Lady", referring to the mean woman at the hotel), and told her not to tell her her mom he'd told her?
What did you think of the chess in this story compared to *The Queen's Gambit* that some of us read earlier?
What did you think of the way the story portrayed the main adults?
Did you have a favorite character? (mom, dad, Katie, Lynn, Sammy, Uncle Katsuhisa, Silly, others)?
Lynn keeps a diary. Have you ever maintained a diary for long? Have you read any diaries?
What did you think of the portrayals of racism in the story? Were they age-appropriate? Should the story have gone farther?
The chicken processing plant has long and hard hours, but also emphasizes hygiene. How does this compare to other food-related jobs you've read about in books?
What are examples of kindness of strangers shown in this book?
How did Katie's dad and Katie's stress/grief coping mechanisms compare?
Is there a scene or quote you'd like to share and discuss?
Would you recommend this book to others?

Profile

diffrentcolours

January 2026

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

Custom Text

Wibble wobble

Style Credit

Style: Neutral Good - Custom header for Practicality by timeasmymeasure

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Jan. 20th, 2026 09:25 pm

You Don't Live Like I Do

At the mercy of any sister with wrist scars and black eye goo

Network

new year, new insurance

New Poems

Typo du jour

Ayo Is Doing Great

(no subject)

Apologies, and More Joy Day (tomorrow the 8th)

Shopping

Snowlake, challenge 3 and 4

A week after last post

Wednesday is indulging in a spicy margarita

Birdfeeding

Snowflake Challenge 4: Rec Your Last Page

Emailing my federal legislators

(no subject)

RIP (Read In Progress) Wednesday

Wednesday Reading Meme & Books 1 & 2 of 2026

Whoaaaa MAN.

Reading, Listening, Watching

January Challenge (2 of 5)

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

Profile

January 2026

Links

Most Popular Tags

Custom Text

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags