World Book Day
Apr. 23rd, 2025 12:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
"Read Your Way: Diverse Books for Every Mind"
This theme emphasizes the importance of inclusion and diversity in reading. It encourages readers to explore different voices, perspectives, and cultures through literature, promoting empathy and global understanding.
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Good News
Apr. 23rd, 2025 12:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?
Insect Apocalypse
Apr. 22nd, 2025 10:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
New paper highlights 500+ interconnected drivers behind global insect decline.
Insects are disappearing at an alarming rate worldwide, but why? Agricultural intensification tops the list of proposed reasons, but there are many other, interconnected drivers that have an impact, according to new research.
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Birdfeeding
Apr. 22nd, 2025 02:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I fed the birds. I've seen several sparrows and house finches, two brown-headed cowbirds, a mourning dove, and two fox squirrels.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 4/22/25 -- We went out shopping. I picked out roughly 5 flats of plants at DeBuhr's. We found a garden hose, nozzle, and reel plus a gas can at Home Depot. Also at Home Depot I spotted a modular garage storage system that looks very promising. It has mounting rails for shelves and a wide variety of hooks. That ought to combine well with a pegboard.
EDIT 4/22/25 -- I planted a 'Sugar Snack' cherry tomato and a 'Yellow Pear' tomato in the large pots by the septic garden, each with 4 marigolds around it.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
If anyone could use a morale boost
Apr. 22nd, 2025 05:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Many many pictures.
Also, more protests yet to come, apparently, with ones scheduled for Oxford and Cambridge.
Palestinian Speculative Fiction Reading List
Apr. 22nd, 2025 12:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Today’s book lists
Apr. 22nd, 2025 12:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
From [Book Jockey Alex’s] blog:
- Notable Young Adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror of 2024 - while the original post was at the blog, the actual list is at ReacTor Mag.
- YA Book Bundles – Science Fiction & Fantasy, Part 1
- YA Book Bundles – Science Fiction & Fantasy, Part 2
general thought: Look, I get that the USA has a stranglehold on some aspects of publishing, and that someone writing from North America about books published in English is going to get a lot more options set in the USA. But for me to pick something set there to spend my precious reading time, the summary has to be spectacular. Ditto ‘class warfare (near) future dystopia’. I’m here for the escapism, dammit. In the Reactor article there were books more relevant to my interests later on, but I nearly noped out when the first five or so were so dire.
Overall - I didn’t quite make it through these lists. I found it near impossible to focus on the descriptions to see if there was something I was going to like; then I just skimmed to see if there was anything jumped out at me. Also, two of these are from 2020, so there were several I’ve either got on the wishlist, or have read. Of the ~80, I added four to the wishlist, but only one is a ‘really want to read’, and that’s because it is one of my must read authors.
The Spinoff’s best NZ books of 2024 - I found the summaries much more readable than the previous, and yet I added zero books to the reading wishlist.
The Best Books We Read in 2024—And What We’re Looking Forward to in 2025 by Words without Borders - books in translation. Another one where the summaries/reviews were interesting reading, but none sparked an interest in actually reading the books.
Read Palestinian Speculative Fiction Reading List by Sonia Sulaiman - to be fair here, I’ve read five booklists already, and I’m starting to flag. But this is the last one, and then I can close the window, and I’m very invested in that. So, I’m expecting to be unmotivated by any of the books, and that is not actually a commentary on what is written. … and then I started reading and discovered it is a stack of links. For now, I’ve shoved it into the ‘reading plans’ tab group, which is where anything online short fiction gets put until I have the oomph to read it.
Photos: Cookie Jar Terrarium Part 1: Setup
Apr. 21st, 2025 10:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Monday Update 4-21-25
Apr. 21st, 2025 01:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Birdfeeding
Spring Friending Meme
Intro to the Web Revival #1: What is the Web Revival?
Books with Queer Autistic Characters for Autism Awareness Month
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Immigrants
Creative Jam
Vocabulary: Ladramhaiola
Join the Fictionfolk Webring
Safety
Read "The Greater Good"
Birdfeeding
Safety
Food
Where are the trans people toilets?
Jug Crafts for Gardening
Frugal Friday
Never Forget
Follow Friday 4-18-25: Graphics
Reality Imitating Art
Navajo Peaches
Birdfeeding
Anosognosia
Hobbies: Creative Writing
Gilda and Meek and the Un-Iverse
Success!
Transgender
Birdfeeding
Cuddle Party
"Not a Destination, But a Process" has 127 comments. "The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean" has 75 comments. Joann Fabrics going out of business has 56 comments.
Watch for Three Weeks for Dreamwidth coming April 25-May 15. People will celebrate the anniversary of the platform by posting things only on Dreamwidth and doing other blog activities. Think ahead about what you'll want to post while the traffic is higher.
"Babes in the Pineywoods" belongs to the Big One. It belongs to the Big One thread of Polychrome Heroics. Bo-Art and Creamjeans talk with the Black Doctor.
The weather has been variable and wet here. It rained last night Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a flock of grackles, a flock of brown-headed cowbirds, several blue jays, several starlings, two mourning doves, a male cardinal, a brown thrasher, a robin, and Nipple Squirrel. I've heard red-winged blackbirds and woodpeckers. Squills, pear, forsythia, and serviceberry are done. Currently blooming: daffodils, violets, blue grape hyacinths, tulips, dandelions, trilliums, snowbells, crabapples, lilacs, bleeding heart, redbud, columbine. Peonies have flower buds.
Birdfeeding
Apr. 21st, 2025 01:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a brown-headed cowbird.
I put out water for the birds.
The single yellow violet (which might be a hairy yellow violet) that I planted in the forest garden has seeded a whole new plant! :D 3q3q3q!!!! I am so excited.
We measured from the spigot to the old picnic table and the new picnic table. We'll need to acquire a 75-foot hose.
EDIT 4/21/25 -- The plumbers have come and gone. We have a working outside spigot! \o/ It has low water pressure for reasons that are not feasible to fix, but at least water comes out of it.
We dug up the old hoses. The yellow ones were in pieces so we threw those away. The green is still attached to a different spigot that it won't come off. But at least the yellows are gone. Progress.
I started working on a new cookie jar terrarium for the potted fern, but other things intervened so I haven't gotten very far yet.
I've seen the tufted titmouse! :D I haven't seen him in weeks, so I'm glad he's still around.
EDIT 4/21/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 4/21/25 -- I picked up more sticks for the firepit.
As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
Voter Suppression
Apr. 21st, 2025 01:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
UK people: disability benefit cuts
Apr. 21st, 2025 09:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/20/the-whole-policy-is-wrong-rebellion-among-labour-mps-grows-over-5bn-benefits-cut
(If you have a non-Labour MP, hassle them too and see if they can be persuaded to do something vaguely useful.)
LA, Day 1
Apr. 20th, 2025 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Oh, wait... it's now Day 2. Thursday (our arrival day) turned into a hot mess for so many reasons but it all got managed and then Friday we arrived at Casa
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Today was packing up still more books that the owners had on their shelves (I sent a bunch of books, some of which aren't here yet... but, if I'm going to be here for nearly six months I want the place to feel like mine, not theirs). Have a picture of Sweetheart on one side of a pothos and one of my pieces of Native American pottery (a bear) on the other. Desk is looking overrun. I have to figure out how to get it all organized. And we packed up nearly all the kitchen.... because, again, my house - and I have to have some place to store my food and so on. OMG SO many appliances and other things (I did keep the professional-level juicer here; I'm in SoCal. There will be juice!) There's a reason I rented a 5x10 storage unit for the duration! Sent all the kitchen stuff and books and more to the storage unit. Sent back several Amazon things for credit. Busy day. OH and the helper my On-the-Ground assistant brought LOVES arranging flowers - so I've hired her to arrange flowers for me each week, after going to a thrift store to pick up interesting vases and such. She's away this weekend. I'll have to order something for post-first-procedure recovery.
Apparently, I'm already a bit of a legend at the doctor's practice? R, the premier caregiver said I was - and with a tone that says it's a good thing and not that I'm anticipated to be a PITA. I'm boggled because I don't have any idea why that is... but it's clear that I've really got the A Team. Too, I'm sure the decision to move here for six months to ensure I get the most complete recovery and follow-up that I can have probably got them to realize how seriously I'm taking this. All of which is true - but also I don't have the mobility or the patience to return home between procedures. Staying here - where folks know what they're doing, know how the doctor works, and so on - just makes so much more sense.
And now I should think about heading to bed.
vital functions
Apr. 20th, 2025 10:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Reading. I continue to make slow progress with both What An Owl Knows (Jennifer Ackerman) and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke).
Writing. Grumpy e-mails to Labour, mostly? Grumpy e-mails to Labour. Oh, and separately to the DWP courtesy of My UC Journal.
Playing. I have tripped and fallen back into 2048. I do not know why I have tripped and fallen thus. There are other things I would rather be doing. Brain whyyy.
I Love Hue current status: just started The Alchemy/Knowledge/12.
Cooking. Two new-to-us recipes from East: caramelised fennel and carrot salad with mung beans and herbs, of which I am a fan but about which A is a bit meh; and Amritsari pomegranate chickpeas, with the decaf English Breakfast I bought the other week, which I also quite liked but A was mildly dubious of.
Today has featured a different Welsh cake recipe, from one of the charity-shop books I acquired for the purposes of the special interest in EYB indexing. This one includes honey and ground mixed spice; I am decidedly disconcerted by how much they taste like Wrong Texture Mince Pies when cool.
Eating. ... yeah it's been A Migrainey Week, and has consequently contained two rounds of Wagamama. TRAGICALLY I decided on the first of these to branch out and try Not My Usual. Not My Usual turned out to contain The Dread Mayonnaise (I had been lulled into a false sense of security by the number of things called "slaw" I had recently encountered that did not contain mayo). It was mostly salvageable...
Exploring. ADVENTURES in VAN HIRE for the purposes of moving SHED. This involved heading out to Hatfield, because the one fifteen minutes up the road was already Thoroughly Booked. We got to observe MORE FLOWERS and lo they were good.
... I think that's it? I think that's it. (A also went on another adventure to acquire roof box and appropriate rack, but I stayed at home for that one.)
Making & mending. I have not, technically, actually resumed A's pair of gloves, BUT I have now got the information from A I need in order to do so! So that's a progress.
... there has also been. Event prep. So much event prep. The meal ticket booklets for crew are all done; the potions are all sliced and folded ready for laminating (except for the one that needed someone to actually finish writing what it did); ... progress?
Growing. SO MANY SQUASH. Not all of the ones I sowed, but... a lot... have come up.
Somewhat irritated that somebody found my Bravest Dwarf Pea, which had actually managed to find and attach itself to the pea sticks, and severed the stem a little below said attachment. :|
Main infrastructural progress this week was getting all the railway sleepers and shed bits up to the plot (with significant and indispensable help from A). I've not done anything with them yet but they are there, I have plans, necessary hardware is en route, etc.
What else what else? First of the beans are in the ground. I was feeling decidedly surly about my redcurrant but this turns out to have been premature and unfair -- since last weekend it's unfurled a little more and is looking much more promising in terms of potential harvest. The raspberries also seem to be very much enjoying the mulch + semi-regular watering, which is pleasing.
Observing. I totally forgot to mention in last week's section on this topic that on the ride back from Anglesey Abbey we observed Many Cowslips, including at least one that was red!
Tulips continue fantastic. Irises are getting into the swing of things at this point. The bindweed is definitely waking up...