some good things

Thu, Feb. 5th, 2026 10:38 pm
kaberett: Trans symbol with Swiss Army knife tools at other positions around the central circle. (Default)
[personal profile] kaberett
  1. some washi tape I wanted has restocked at a UK retailer! Possibly a second one also! So as and when the website works out what's going on with Desired Tape #2, it is time to place a stationery order for meeeeeeeeeeeeeee
  2. Progress With Preposterous Puzzle! I now have all the edge assembled (I think I wound up with only one piece having been Actually Wrong) and even I have managed to start filling in very slowly (I am up to... about 5 pieces placed so far? which is a further 1% down!)
  3. I got a hug from the Child while saying goodbye this evening!
  4. I have worked out an acceptable Wagamama order from the current menu and am feeling pretty good about my dinner.
  5. Bread for tomorrow (anise, fig, hazelnut, copied from the local fancy bakery) is looking Extremely Promising.

Trying again

Thu, Feb. 5th, 2026 10:12 pm
tig_b: cartoon from nMC set (Default)
[personal profile] tig_b
 To get back into posting.
I've been writing new songs this month.
Instead of editing my books.
At least I'm writing.

How I Bulk Prep Swiss Chard

Thu, Feb. 5th, 2026 02:02 pm
jesse_the_k: Handful of cooked green beans in a Japanese rice bowl (green beans)
[personal profile] jesse_the_k

I love some green veg at lunch. Commercial frozen green veg are hard as rocks and nastily overcooked. Here’s how I bulk prep fresh swiss chard for my lunches

Read more... )

Fancake's Theme for February: Inept in Love

Thu, Feb. 5th, 2026 09:15 am
runpunkrun: combat boot, pizza, camo pants = punk  (punk rock girl)
[personal profile] runpunkrun
Photograph of two kingfishers perched on a branch. One is surrounded by a cloud of pink love hearts and the other has a single question mark over its head. Text: Inept in Love, at Fancake.
Just in time for Valentine's Day, [community profile] fancake's theme for February is Inept in Love! This round is for all those dingdongs who just do not know what they're doing when it comes to romance or even expressing their feelings for a best friend or family member.

If you have any questions about this theme, or the comm, come talk to me!

Thankful Thursday

Thu, Feb. 5th, 2026 04:58 pm
mdlbear: Wild turkey hen close-up (turkey)
[personal profile] mdlbear

Today I am thankful for...

  • Finally getting a phone call made, and finding that (as usual) it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. NO thanks to my phone phobia -- should have done it a month ago.
  • The Harwich - Hoek van Holland ferry. Would be more thankful if the night run afforded more time to actually sleep.
  • Ordering stuff online.
  • A nice warm fuzzy blanket to wrap myself in. NO thanks for a body that feels cold in the evening no matter what the air temperature is. ALSO no thanks for deliveries that make me get out of my nice warm fuzzy blanket to answer the door.
  • Good Drugs.
  • Filk cons I can get to by public transit.

Things

Thu, Feb. 5th, 2026 02:01 pm
vass: Small turtle with green leaf in its mouth (Default)
[personal profile] vass
Books
Finished reading Victoria Goddard's Plum Duff. I am extremely baffled by the theological worldbuilding choices she's making. What is she doing? Is it on purpose? Where's she going with this? Does she realise the implications of what she's doing? i.e. that this is a fantasy-Anglican religion which somehow managed to replace original sin with something worse?

Read Victoria Goddard's Stone Speaks To Stone, a rollicking boy's own adventure from Jemis' father's soldier days. I get that it was necessary to show the mindset of an imperial subject who "well believed in its civilising mission". I do understand that it was necessary. I just. Ugh. I'm still waiting for the ironic twist to that refrain "he was a loyal son of the Empire." One day Jack's going to learn better, right? Or else Jemis, who fancies himself a revolutionary, will have to contend with his beloved father's role in imperial expansionist wars.

Reading Ursula Whitcher's North Continent Ribbon, long after everyone else. It's time. (I still have some leftover guilt and anxiety about the roleplaying game during which [personal profile] ursula conceived this setting, and it's been getting in my way.)

Tech
*whimpering*

Garden
More tomatoes!

(no subject)

Wed, Feb. 4th, 2026 08:42 pm
neekabe: Bucky from FatWS smiling (Default)
[personal profile] neekabe
Mentioning this mostly so I have the date. I went to the ophthalmologist today and it was a quick checkup. Things aren't worse! I'm doing things right. We can just maintain the status quo.

I have a follow up in 1 year and they just book 6 months in advance. So sometime in august I'll have to call and book for next Feb. She said it's a good time of year to be seen because everything is so dry the eyes are at max annoyed so the worse they're probably going to get for the year XD

insurance company annoyance

Wed, Feb. 4th, 2026 05:03 pm
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
[personal profile] redbird
After a lot of time on chats and multiple phone calls, the last person I spoke to said that Dr. Awad is in-network, so I don't need the insurer's "continuity of care" paperwork.

This started with me being told that she was out of network, and that I would need a "continuity of care" form to keep seeing her. The first person I talked to, in chat, said I needed that form, and offered me one to download. When I looked at it, the form he'd sent me said it was for four specific states, not including Massachusetts, and that mental health required a different form anyway. He also told me that I need a referral for psychiatry, and don't need a referral for behavioral health, and didn't understand why I was confused.

I tried again, and got someone who agreed that I needed a special form, and gave me a phone number. I stopped there, showered and dressed, and went out to pick up prescriptions and buy ice cream. That at least worked smoothly.

I came home and called the behavioral health team, which asked a few questions, and told me to call a different number. The person I spoke to this time said that she would need a bunch of information, and I should have the provider call them. I then asked if the doctor's NPI number would help. Yes, it would: according to that, she's in-network for me, because she takes Medicare. I hope that's true, but am not confident of that, or anything related to this.

Separately from that, I have asked Dr. Bershel's office for referrals, including to Dr. Awad, which is why I'd already looked up her NPI number.

What I'm Doing Wednesday

Wed, Feb. 4th, 2026 02:35 pm
sage: the words "We the People" in purple on a white field with a crowd of protesters in silhouette below. (We The People)
[personal profile] sage
books: Pratchett )

yarning
Sunday I delivered 25 hats to my contact for the children's shelter at yarn group. Had a nice time. Started balaclavas for ICE protesters in Minneapolis with Walmart yarn. Started a donation kickbunny for the new momcat at Kitten Academy. Received yarn today to make more balaclavas. Got an etsy order today for two catnip-silvervine hearts. Yay!

healthcrap
I've had a low grade fever off and on with a constant runny nose and sore throat, and also I bit the crap out of my tongue, on the side at the back, so I've added benzocaine gel to the meds lineup. And thyme tea, since I can't take guaifenisen, which is in all the cold meds. Also, the med I'm titrating off of causes hot flashes as a withdrawal symptom, which can go on for a month after the med is totally stopped. (Grr. I'm so impatient to feel better.) And I need to get those labs done at some point, oops.

#resist
+ https://standwithminnesota.com
+ https://projectreliefme.com (mutual aid in Maine -- the ICE surge in ME is over, but they arrested 200 people there and their families still need help.)
+ Feb 17th: #50501 Protest: Impeach, Convict, Remove, Defund
+ March 28: #50501 No Kings Protest #3

I hope you're all doing well! <333

Wednesday Reading Meme

Wed, Feb. 4th, 2026 02:30 pm
sineala: Detail of Harry Wilson Watrous, "Just a Couple of Girls" (Reading)
[personal profile] sineala
What I Just Finished Reading

Nothing. I have had a migraine every day.

What I'm Reading Now

Comics Wednesday!

Avengers #35, Nova Centurion #4, Ultimate Endgame #2, Ultimate Wolverine #14 )

What I'm Reading Next

I mean, it'd be nice to get to read something. I do get to switch migraine medication. Maybe I will get my brain back. How is it that I am reading comics, you ask? Well, if you click on my reviews, I'm finding them very confusing. I'm also not reading as many as I would like to.

Got to brag a little last night..

Wed, Feb. 4th, 2026 11:36 am
chicating: I have a new dragon (Default)
[personal profile] chicating
over my latest upcoming clip, and even more exciting, spoke with some authority about my ideas, process(gotta get one!) and the like.
It was most unusual and a pleasure to discuss without the "Wow, you made that *all by yourself* vibe that has accompanied prior discussions of my stories.
I could get used to that, but probably shouldn't. Will try to carry it with me, though, going forward.

Read Owned TBR Books

Wed, Feb. 4th, 2026 06:51 am
maryquitecontrary: (book fortress)
[personal profile] maryquitecontrary
I figured I should make a post for keeping track of my TBR Read-down goals.

I've read less than 15% of the books I own, so the goal is for 50-70% of books read in 2026 to be from my own shelves. (About 25-35 books.)

As of February 4th, I've read 28.6% Owned TBR vs 71.4 Borrowed Books. Not doing great so far, but most of the borrowed books so far this year were manga and quick reads.

buttonsbeadslace: A white lace doily on blue background (Default)
[personal profile] buttonsbeadslace
Overall great success. I made Budget Bytes bean quesadillas because they fit the criteria of:
- eat with your hands & without a plate because we don't have enough plates or silverware for everyone
- vegetarian & relatively low on Ingredients People Don't Eat, apart from the cheese
- satisfyingly filling
- flavorful but not super spicy
also I love them, it's one of my favorite recipes and I hadn't made any in a while. Black beans are not the most common kind of bean here (which is a shame bc they're my favorite) so I used kidney beans instead. They were a hit, and in a couple of weeks we will do it again & one of my classmates will make gyoza.

(Also a big thank you to my classmate for agreeing with me that most food here is bland. Like, it's not BAD, but it is bland. By US standards I have a pretty low spice tolerance, but even so, I'm used to even most foods that are not specifically Spicy Foods having a little bit of spice to them. Pizza. Pasta. Sandwiches with spicy mayo. IDK. But here it's like, if it's a cheese pizza it's dough + squished tomatoes + mozzarella and that's it! Like at least put some onion and garlic in it! Some regular black pepper! Something!)

Done Since 2026-01-25

Tue, Feb. 3rd, 2026 10:04 am
mdlbear: blue fractal bear with text "since 2002" (Default)
[personal profile] mdlbear

Note that this was written on Monday, 2 February, but is being posted on Tuesday the 3rd because posting from just my laptop is tedious and I have no confidencs in Sable's ability to stay up long enough.

Despite it being disaster season, it's been a pretty good week, modulo exhausting travel and (voluntarily) limited sleep, all thanks to Contabile, the main UK filk convention. N and m went last year; this year we all went (m traveling separately because they're living in the UK now). It's been a very good weekend, and not a bad week before that.

As usual, I'm unlikely to write a separate trip report later (one can hope, but...). The trip was definitely an adventure, taking the ferry from Hoek de Holland to Harwich, then two trains and a cab to the con hotel. The premium lounge on the ferry serves surprisingly good food. So does the con hotel, the Wensum Valley Hotel, about a 20 minute cab ride outside Norwich.

My travel planning and prep has definitely declined. The biggest problem was taking a laptop with a grossly inadequate batter -- I should have taken (Framework 12)Lilac, instead of (Thinkpad x230)Sable, which is definitely showing its age, and has a usable batter life measured in minutes. The list of forgotten stuff is under the cut following the entry for Friday.

Notes & links, as usual )

WTF

Tue, Feb. 3rd, 2026 01:08 am
soc_puppet: A crude pencil drawing on lined paper of what's supposed to be a dog; the dog's mouth and eyes are on one side of its face, while its snout is on the other. (Art time!)
[personal profile] soc_puppet
Downright astounding that I managed to forget about basting stitches for nigh on two decades.

On the plus side, now that I've remembered them, patching the worn out inner thighs of my pants is much less of a headache!

Groundhog Day gift exchange

Mon, Feb. 2nd, 2026 09:00 pm
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
[personal profile] redbird
The Scintillation Discord does an annual Groundhog Day gift exchange, a somewhat arbitrary date that has nothing to do with either weather/climate predictions or time loops (xkcd: https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/groundhog_day_meaning_2x.png). I received two small books, a blank notebook, and some dark chocolate stars, along with a note explaining that the giver wasn't sure what to get me.

The bag of chocolate says "contains: milk, soy" with no further information, so I sent the shop an email asking for more information, and explaining why. The store is in Minneapolis, so I added that I hope they aren't doing too badly under ICE occupation. I have already heard back, with a note saying that the items are made for them, so he can't be sure how much milk or soy they contain, and that they are doing OK during these very troubling times.

January 2026

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