Science Fiction

Today I made apple topping. A slight tactical error: all we have to pour it over is vanilla ice cream, and the weather is currently subzero. 0_o Perhaps tomorrow I'll make something else to go with it.

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We've passed the third week of January. This includes more of the dropoff days: January 17, January 19, and the third Friday.

It's good for people to make their own plans, with help if wanted or needed. Variations of "How is that working for you?" are used to gauge progress. Here's an example from Brief Action Planning with a flow chart. This concept applies to most problem-solving situations, and it's something that anyone can learn to use.

The above approach is a shorthand version of the engineer problem-solving method. It requires following several steps such as defining a problem, brainstorming solutions, testing a solution, evaluating results, and making changes if necessary.

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Cities Must Fix Inspections

Think permitting and inspections reform don't matter? Listen to this hellish account.

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Good news: not as tired today!

Bad news: extra stress at work and otherwise!

Today's writing

I did manage to write a few paragraphs, but it feels like I'm just treading water right now. I really need to make some progress over the weekend; the next deadline is fast approaching ...

Tally

( Days 1-20 )

Day 21: alightbuthappypen, badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme

Day 22: badly_knitted, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadora

Day 23: china_shop, trobadora

Let me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)

Today is partly sunny and cold.  Heavy snow and deep cold are predicted for the weekend. :/

I fed the birds.  I've seen a small flock of sparrows and a male cardinal.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/23/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a large flock of sparrows and a female downy woodpecker.

EDIT 1/23/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/23/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night. 

Challenge #12

Make an appreciation post to those who enhance your fandom life. Appreciate them in bullet points, prose, poetry, a moodboard, a song... whatever moves you!

Thank you to all the people on my reading list, and to mistressofmuses in particular who comment so often on my posts and makes me feel like a real person.

And a special thanks to ysabetwordsmith for doing all the work she does to keep my section of DW full of interesting things.

bookclub_dw is running a poll about what to read in February.

Today's theme is Libraries and Librarians.

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For the chapter I am currently working on, I am trying to determine how often Portland, Oregon picks up road kill, or at least figure out which department takes care of that so I can ask.

The animal in question, a feral cat, died "a few days ago" after being hit by a vehicle, and Dalia will want to give it a proper burial if it's still there (her own cat - Alice - found it, and given that Alice is magical and much smarter than mundane cats, she could easily lead Dalia to the find).

I suppose I can either ask the librarians tomorrow, or Brooke suggested calling the city or county info lines. But if anyone knows before then, that'd be great. (It's after midnight right now.)

It's another of those minor details, as the dead cat isn't the main issue -- the main issue is she had kittens, that were found hungry from a few days of being left alone. But Dalia would still want to give the mama a funeral and a grave if she can. A memorial would be possible still if the body can't be recovered, but not as satisfying as having a body to bury. Though even in winter, a dead cat's body after a few days would probably be a real mess.

Here are the location notes for "The Bones of Chihuly."

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The other day I got some coupons in the mail for New Seasons Market, even though I almost never buy anything there because it's overpriced bougie bullshit. I do occasionally get things there that I can't find anywhere else, like ginger simple syrup or ginger juice or other products by The Ginger People. Also sometimes I get the bamboo toilet paper there, but that's been less frequent because even Grocery Outlet carries at least some brand of bamboo TP even if it isn't the first brand that did it, Caboo.

Anyway, very often these coupons are not at all interesting to me. But a few of these were actually something I would get. There's one for some free cheese with a $10 purchase, though that one is dated to start on the fourth of February. There's also a February coupon for a free pound of 81% lean ground beef with a $10 purchase. And a January one for a free pint of blueberries with $10 purchase. But I don't really care about blueberries. They're okay, but I never buy them unless they're in like a fruit salad or if they're an ingredient.

The last interesting coupon was for free store brand olive oil (extra virgin) with $10 purchase. I had ten bucks, and needed an excuse to get out of the house that would override my hatred for the cold, so I went and got some things. I got two zucchinis, a bag of tortilla chips, and a ginger beer by Fever Tree. It was just over $11, but hey, that's fine. The olive oil in question is over $13 without the coupon, which is ridiculous, especially as it's the store brand. I certainly would never spend more than maybe $6 on olive oil ordinarily. Not that I get olive oil very often, as I tend to cook with butter or sesame seed oil, but I didn't get any sesame seed oil this month, and thought some olive oil would be good, especially if it's technically free. Sure, you gotta spend $10, but I needed zukes anyway, and the other two things are fun treats.

Also, I found two full plastic bags of returnables on the way, just sitting there with nobody else in sight. Clear plastic bags, and not huge bags, but I estimate there's probably about ten to twelve returnables in there. Hold on, I'm gonna go count em.

Holy SHIT I hit the jackpot! There's 33 of the buggers! I now have two full green bags of returnables (had 1.5 before). So I guess tomorrow I'm gonna go back to New Seasons Market to drop off those two bags there.

EDIT: Actually it's 35 returnables, not counting the deposit on the ginger beer.

Here are the character notes for "The Bones of Chihuly."

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This poem is spillover from the March 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from librarygeek. It has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. This poem belongs to the Big One and Shiv threads of the Polychrome Heroics series.

Warning: This poem contains intense topics that may distress some readers, especially glass artists and fans of glass art. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes upset friends, crying man, emotional first aid, Shiv's awkward but effective crisis response, Chihuly Garden and Glass destroyed by earthquake, salvage operations, insufficient organization causing emotional upset, reference to clumsiness, sorting broken glass that used to be art, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your taste and headspace before deciding if this is something you want to read.

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Tonight I committed myself to dancing my solo to Fos by Amanati at Shimmyfest in June. I performed it just before Christmas to an audience of women from my belly dance class and it had a remarkable reaction:

For everyone else the audience made encouraging noises and clapped along at the fast bits. For me it was absolute silence. They did clap afterward, but I really wasn't sure if it was a success or an abject failure.

Today, however, the instructor mentioned that Shimmyfest was looking for soloists, so I asked her if Fos would be appropriate and she said Yes in tones that actually suggested enthusiasm, so I told her I would do it.

She also asked me if I had thought about costuming, which suggested to me that she did not think what I had been wearing at Christmas was adequate, even though I made the skirt myself out of translucent, watery-like material. I guess the t-shirt over the top was not very professional.

Fortunately at that same hafla there had been a lady selling her old dresses just to get them out of her house, and I picked up something more professional looking from her for £25. Unfortunately, I have been dieting since then and have lost a stone and a half (21lb), so the dress may need some taking in. I won't know what shape I'll be until much closer to the date.

Still, time to drag the choreography back out and start practicing again before I forget it all :)

I'm incredibly tired again today for no discernible reason. *sighs*

Today's writing

Still slowly working on things. Still not gaining any momentum, but haven't thrown in the towel either, so there's that?

Tally

( Days 1-20 )

Day 21: alightbuthappypen, badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme

Day 22: china_shop, trobadora

Let me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)

Today is cloudy and chilly.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/22/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/22/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/22/26 -- I filled the trolley twice with large branches that I hauled to the ritual meadow.  Now all that's left of the brushpile by the driveway is one big forked branch that I can't break down myself, and the leftover twigs that will need to be raked up. \o/

I've seen a large flock of sparrows, a male and a female cardinal separately, and a starling.

EDIT 1/22/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen a pair of cardinals.

I am done for the night.
 

This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...


* Posted "How to Restart When You've Fallen Off Your Goals" in goals_on_dw.

* Continued checking and responding to Wishlist posts in snowflake_challenge.  See my Granting Wishes post.

* Made my 3 nominations for the Rose and Bay Awards: Other Project in crowdfunding. Nominations are still open through January, so if you haven't made yours yet, we could sure use more! Boost your favorite crowdfunded projects and patrons from 2025.