rhivolution | Reading

Books
Finished Evelyn Araluen's The Rot, which was, as mentioned last week, very good indeed.

Reading KC Davis' How To Keep House While Drowning and Victoria Goddard's Plum Duff.

Tech
Still working the phone side of my tech problems: prolonged backup of All The Things onto a different external drive. But I did also run Slay the Spire on my desktop once, just to confirm whether that would cause it to shut down: it did not. But of course it's less resource-hungry than Hollow Knight.

Garden
Three more ripe tomatoes. I tried to plant some basil, but it didn't survive the heat.

Cats
Ash's nose looking good. Both cats coping with the heat as well as can be expected, i.e. better than I am but still largely horizontal.

Nature
I am a delicate flower and do not like hot weather. This is a problem at this time of year. Slight understatement. But only slight. (My part of the state is not the worst-off. Our highs are low 40s, not high 40s. And I have aircon at home and don't have to go out. It's still bad, and I do have medical conditions that make me more sensitive to heat.)
Also I sustained mosquito bites on my arms while doing my nightly "try to keep the plants alive" water, and am very itchy, which at least has the advantage of being a small problem to grumble about without the undercurrent of constant dread.

Current Events
Australia Day bringing out the racists. Some unmitigated arsehole threw a bomb at an Indigenous elder at one of the Survival Day protests. I didn't protest: couldn't manage the logistics of getting to a protest.
Watching the events in Minnesota and thinking of you all.

nanila posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

torachan

1. I felt much better today when I woke up! Still not sure what set off that bout of stomach issues but I'm glad that level is not constant for me anymore the way it was several years ago when this first started.

2. I worked from home today, partly because I was expecting a large package, but partly because I didn't really have any need to go into the office. I think I'm going to do the same tomorrow.

3. The package I was expecting today was a new CD rack for the garage. Carla has a nice stereo system out there (including a turntable, though she hasn't gotten hardcore into collecting vinyl and is still mostly into CDs) and she's been building up her CD collection again after we sold off a lot of them years ago. Sometime last year I bought a new CD rack in the same style as the one we'd had in the house (which we also moved out to the garage), but when I went to order a third one now, they're completely discontinued! D: I really would have preferred to have everything matching, but we settled on one that's at least somewhat similar (light wood). I was expecting to have to put it together but it came completely assembled, so all I had to do was get it out of the box and set it upright. Nice!

4. I love when they sleep with all their limbs together like that. So cozy!

aurumcalendula

January 27 - 'What are your vidding ambitions for 2026?' for

serrico:

( Read more... )

(there are still slots open for the January Talking Meme here)

rachelmanija

The sequel to The Darkness Outside of Us. I enjoyed it! It's both interestingly different from the first book and is satisfying on the level of "I want more of this," which is exactly what one wants from a sequel.

Literally everything about this book is massively spoilery for the first one, including its premise. I'll do two sets of spoiler cuts, one for the premise and one for the whole book.

( Premise spoilers )

Stop reading here if you don't want to be spoiled for the entire book.

( Entire book spoilers )

rydra_wong

Sequel to this post.

( Cut for US politics, violence )

https://www.standwithminnesota.com/

torachan

1. I did have a few brief periods of intense itchiness on my tattoo today but overall it has been less itchy than the past couple days so hopefully it's getting past the itching stage.

2. I don't know if it was one particular thing I ate yesterday or just a build-up of stuff that doesn't agree with me, but starting yesterday evening I've had some of the most painful bloating I've had in a while. I considered not going in to work this morning because of it, but ended up going in for the morning and then coming home after lunch because I just wasn't feeling any better. I'm finally starting to feel better now, still bloated but just normal uncomfortable bloating, not painful. I'm going to stay home tomorrow anyway (was already planning to because I'm expecting a large package to be delivered) but hopefully will be feeling better when I wake up.

3. One nice thing about coming home early is that I was finally able to get to the doctor's office for the blood draw I've been meaning to do all month. It's checking my hormone levels, so I have to do it halfway through the week from my injection, which means Monday. But the last couple Mondays I've had something else I needed to do and was unable to get over there. I had resigned myself to skipping today, too, because I had an early-ish meeting, but decided to go on my way home. So now that's out of the way at least.

4. Chloe's showing off her whiskers.

jazzyjj posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!

Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

aurumcalendula

January 26 - 'if given the opportunity, where would you like to travel in 2026?' for

goodbyebird:

( Read more... )

(there are still slots open for the January Talking Meme here)

jazzyjj posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!

Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

torachan

1. This morning I walked to the fancy donut shop and got a fancy donut.

It was called crispy (or possibly crunchy) french toast donut and it was so good!

2. It was a very nice morning for a long walk, so rather than go directly home, I headed down towards the beach, which is only a few blocks away at that point. This area is actually on a cliff quite high up from the actual beach, so there is a little area with plants and trails and a railing to separate the upper part from the actual cliff, and at one point I spotted the cutest kittens who appear to be living there.

( Kittens! )

There was a bowl of water set out for them and they look very healthy, so it seems like someone's taking care of them. I almost got the black one to get within petting distance, but not quite.

3. My tattoo continues to be itchy but is looking really good. As the redness and bruising goes down, the colors are looking brighter. There are a few spots between the colors where it needs to be filled in more, but she told me to come in after a month or so for a free touch-up, so that will get taken care of soon enough.

4. I finished up my first 1000 piece puzzle today! Looking at the date of the previous puzzle, it looks like it took be a little over three weeks.

5. Gemma's a cutie pie.

firecat

It’s the 10th anniversary of the first broadcast of Lucifer, which is one of my top 3 favorite TV shows.*
I FEEL SO OLD 😭

*The other two are Star Trek the original series and Babylon 5, just don’t ask me in what order.

What makes you feel old or young?
What are your favorite TV shows?

umadoshi

There's little I can say about the political landscape. The news is horrifying pretty much everywhere. US friends in particular right now, especially in ICE-besieged spots, you're in my heart.

Reading: I haven't picked up a new novel since I finished Inside Threat. I'm still slowly reading Braiding Sweetgrass. And for my first non-work manga read of the year, since I'd really like to get back to actually reading manga, I reread vol. 1 of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, chosen largely because a newish Bluesky friend loves it and it's been so long since I read any of the series. Before the huge lull in it being published in English*, it and Yotsuba&! were the only manga I was actively keeping up with in terms of actually reading, as opposed to a few things that I've still been buying. (Looking at you, once-a-year release of Kaze Hikaru, which I will someday actually read.) But I've basically forgotten everything, so back to the start I go.

*Publication finally--technically--resumed with omnibus editions, and am I still mildly annoyed that to get vol. 15, I had to buy the fifth omnibus, thus rebuying vol. 13-14? Yes. Has any more come out since then? Nope.

Watching:

scruloose and I finished season 1 of Pluribus, which got even weirder than we expected, and in ways we wouldn't have guessed. Really, really good. (Also Yona watched the season finale with us, very intently tracking everything that happened onscreen. No idea why she was suddenly so fascinated.)

Playing: I put in a bit more time with I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, and it's not really clicking for me; I think this style of game (RPG? A story that unfolds differently depending on your choices, Choose Your Own Adventure-style?) may just not be my thing?

In huge-for-me game news, Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven has dropped. It's the first really major expansion (priced as a full game, which makes sense given the scope) after several smaller expansions, and I'm overwhelmed by the number of new things I suddenly need to do to keep my little cult happy and thriving, but am having fun.

Weathering/Householding: It's currently very cold by local standards, esp. with the windchill, and tonight we have a lot of snow rolling in that's expected to keep falling all through tomorrow and possibly into Tuesday. Yesterday NSP (the power corporation) (*hisses*) announced that the grid is under an unusually heavy load (presumably due to people heating their homes?) and asked everyone to try to minimize power usage. It is very cold, yes, but not freakishly so, and public sentiment about NSP is...uh...very fucking negative, what with their profits and their constantly skyrocketing fees and their data breach and, oh, the rickety fucking grid that we are all paying through the nose for while fully expecting to lose power every time a breeze picks up. So we're putting off laundry, at least (one of the usual Sunday chores), and I'd had notions of actually baking something (!), but that may not happen; if it does, it'll probably involve something like mixing up cookie dough and only baking a handful in the toaster oven, or seeing about doing the actual baking with supper also in the oven (less likely; we'll probably just avoid the oven entirely).

("Please use less power" is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but the combination of garbage infrastructure and the level of energy poverty in this province makes it insult to injury.)

Current Mood: annoyed

jazzyjj posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!

Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

torachan

1. I bought some purple sweet potato spread at work a couple months ago and hadn't used it yet because I had other toast toppings that needed to get used up first, but I finally tried it today and it's so good!

2. I took four walks today and walked almost ten miles total. It's really nice weather for it. Mostly cool and overcast, and though it was a bit sunnier around lunchtime it still wasn't really hot or glaring.

3. I wanted to walk somewhere for lunch today and go somewhere new, so I was just poking around at the maps app and seeing what was around and remembered this place called Pita House down the street that we'd wanted to try. I took a look at their menu as I was walking down and saw they have cheesy shawarma fries and that locked my decision in lol.

They were amazing. I still have half of them left, as well as a beef kebab and some pita, because the fries were listed as an appetizer so I thought it might be small, but I was wrong. The fries alone would be good for two people and the kebab was overkill. But now I have something to eat tomorrow for lunch as well.

4. I haven't seen the granola bar guy at the farmers market in a few weeks but he was there today. He said he was there a couple weeks ago, but that must have been a week I missed. He's got a new flavor, peanut butter and chocolate, and it's really good. I also got a couple of my favorite coconut macadamia ones.

5. Look at this blob!

torachan

Recently Finished
The Grapples of Wrath
New book in the Grave Expectation series! I had no idea this was coming out until very recently so it was a nice surprise. Still enjoying the series.

A Poison at Castle Gloaming
Second in the Jemima Flowerday mystery series. Enjoying this one as well.

Blackmail, My Love
Stand-alone mystery set in the early '50s with a queer woman investigating the disappearance of her (also queer) brother. I enjoyed this but didn't love it. Kind of slow-paced for a lot of it.

A High Five for Glenn Burke
Sweet middle-grade book about a boy who does a report in class about Glenn Burke, the baseball player who invented the high five, but is afraid that people will find out the other reason he likes Burke so much: that he was gay just like the MC.

Banned Book Club
Graphic novel about college student activists in South Korea in the '80s. This is not a period I had any background knowledge of so it was really interesting. I'm definitely interested in learning more.

The Great British Bump Off:-Kill or Be Quilt
New John Allison comic! I had no idea about this but it suddenly showed up on Hoopla. Although it shares the title with a previous comic from a couple years ago, it's not connected at all except by the main character (who is also a character from his Bad Machinery series). I love pretty much everything by him, and this was no exception. Very silly and cute.

Sakura, Saku vol. 9
I don't think I would have followed this series to the end of it hadn't been on Viz Manga, which I already subscribe to. It's cute enough, but started to feel annoying with the hurdles introduced. This was a decent ending to the series, though.

aurumcalendula

(belated) January 23 - 'What is your favorite fandom you've ever been a part of and why?' for

elipie:

( Read more... )

(there are still slots open for the January Talking Meme here)

nanila posting in

awesomeers

ineptshieldmaid

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

torachan

I went down to Disneyland after work this evening as it's the first day of the lunar new year festival. A lot of other people were doing the same, as it was pretty crowded. The parking lot was also ridiculously full, though not just from park guests, as it's across the street from the convention center and is used for convention parking as well and there's a big convention this weekend (NAMM). I had to park waaaaaay at the far corner of the lot from the bus loading area and the lines for the bus were looking long, so I just decided to walk over to the park.

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Reading

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Just One Thing (28 January 2026)

Daily Happiness

January Talking Meme - What are your vidding ambitions for 2026?

The Brightness Between Us, by Eliot Schrefer

"Minnesota taught us to be brave"

Daily Happiness

Just one thing: 27 January 2026

January Talking Meme - If given the opportunity, where would you like to travel in 2026?

Just one thing: 26 January 2026

Daily Happiness

Happy Anniversary

Weekly proof of life: reading, gaming (!), weather etc.

Just one thing: 25 January 2026

Daily Happiness

Weekly Reading

(belated) January Talking Meme - What is your favorite fandom you've ever been a part of and why?

Just One Thing (24 January 2026)

I come bearing fic!

2026 Disneyland Trip #5 (1/23/26)

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