To be sure of tomorrow's tomorrow
Sep. 6th, 2026 01:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolorosa_12This has been a much needed homebody weekend, like a big breath in between bouts of busyness. Last week was A Lot at work — involving, among other things, sitting on the exam board for an MPhil course, which was a new experience for me, and unbelievably exhausting! My manager and I were involved as we graded one piece of assessment for this course, and it counted towards the students' overall grades (a first for us as a library). It was really interesting to meet the other examiners, and see the whole degree programme in full, since we're so used to just seeing and working with students for a small segment of it all. Next week will be busy in a different way, as all our first year medical students start their course, and I have to give lectures to all 300 of them, and then deal with them showing up in confusion in the library about various things in dribs and drabs as the week continues.
As planned, Matthias and I assembled the futon sofabed yesterday. It went about as well as expected: the instructions claimed that assembly would take 45 minutes, and it took us ... 1.5 hours, but at the end of it all, we have a functioning sofabed, and Matthias even lay down on it to test that it wouldn't collapse on contact. So far, so good.
Classes at the gym yesterday were hard. My attendance has been so haphazard over the summer, and while that's been for a range of good things (travel, visitors, etc) and I don't want to be the sort of person who organises her life around her fitness regime, it will be good to settle back into more of a routine as we move into autumn. One of the leg tracks in the first class involved lots of jumping up and down off a step, and I am definitely feeling it today (and I say this as someone who loves jumping)! The pool, on the other hand, was an absolute delight this morning, and I feel fortunate indeed to have ended up in a lane whose other swimmers essentially swam at speeds compatible with my own.
By the time Saturday film night came around, Matthias and I were too exhausted by our struggles with flatpack furniture to watch anything more demanding than The Mandalorian and Grogu, so that was our viewing fare. I wasn't expecting much, but it really was just a compilation of nostalgia throwbacks and tropes, and I found myself delighted in spite of myself. (Pander to me more, I said to Matthias when the credits rolled.)
Other than that, it's been a weekend of cooking (a![[instagram.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/profile_icons/instagram.png)
loveleluu recipe last night, and one from labnoon this evening), reading, and dealing with the neverending glut of tomatoes that continues to burst forth in the garden. I'll finish with the books read, but I also wanted to flag a couple of fic I've enjoyed in the past week.
The first is not technically fanfic — author Rivers Solomon announced that they were going to be serialising a new original epic fantasy story on Ao3, and the first instalment is written already:
Once I Was Made of Earth (4814 words) by rivers
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Additional Tags: Angst, Fantasy, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Original Fiction, Nonbinary Character, Author Is Sleep Deprived, The Author Regrets Everything, Trauma
Summary:
And we've got another new Shetland fic fromraven:
to pull wild mountain thyme (what we need is here) (7216 words) by raven
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Shetland (TV)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Duncan Hunter/Jimmy Perez, Alison McIntosh & Jimmy Perez
Characters: Duncan Hunter, Jimmy Perez, Alison McIntosh
Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Ghosts, Magical Realism, Romance, big swoony romance, I’m having a time
Summary:
( On to the books )
I hope everyone else has been having lovely weekends!
As planned, Matthias and I assembled the futon sofabed yesterday. It went about as well as expected: the instructions claimed that assembly would take 45 minutes, and it took us ... 1.5 hours, but at the end of it all, we have a functioning sofabed, and Matthias even lay down on it to test that it wouldn't collapse on contact. So far, so good.
Classes at the gym yesterday were hard. My attendance has been so haphazard over the summer, and while that's been for a range of good things (travel, visitors, etc) and I don't want to be the sort of person who organises her life around her fitness regime, it will be good to settle back into more of a routine as we move into autumn. One of the leg tracks in the first class involved lots of jumping up and down off a step, and I am definitely feeling it today (and I say this as someone who loves jumping)! The pool, on the other hand, was an absolute delight this morning, and I feel fortunate indeed to have ended up in a lane whose other swimmers essentially swam at speeds compatible with my own.
By the time Saturday film night came around, Matthias and I were too exhausted by our struggles with flatpack furniture to watch anything more demanding than The Mandalorian and Grogu, so that was our viewing fare. I wasn't expecting much, but it really was just a compilation of nostalgia throwbacks and tropes, and I found myself delighted in spite of myself. (Pander to me more, I said to Matthias when the credits rolled.)
Other than that, it's been a weekend of cooking (a
loveleluu recipe last night, and one from labnoon this evening), reading, and dealing with the neverending glut of tomatoes that continues to burst forth in the garden. I'll finish with the books read, but I also wanted to flag a couple of fic I've enjoyed in the past week. The first is not technically fanfic — author Rivers Solomon announced that they were going to be serialising a new original epic fantasy story on Ao3, and the first instalment is written already:
Once I Was Made of Earth (4814 words) by rivers
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Additional Tags: Angst, Fantasy, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Original Fiction, Nonbinary Character, Author Is Sleep Deprived, The Author Regrets Everything, Trauma
Summary:
Maybe you will knit the poem that makes the world where I might live
She flings herself into animals to see different worlds, and he writes tales that make and remake reality. In a land steeped in civil war and bids for power, they are prey.
And we've got another new Shetland fic from
raven:to pull wild mountain thyme (what we need is here) (7216 words) by raven
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Shetland (TV)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Duncan Hunter/Jimmy Perez, Alison McIntosh & Jimmy Perez
Characters: Duncan Hunter, Jimmy Perez, Alison McIntosh
Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Ghosts, Magical Realism, Romance, big swoony romance, I’m having a time
Summary:
This little house could be the world’s heart. This place, Duncan thinks, with awful wryness, is his heart.
(On music; ghosts; coming home.)
( On to the books )
I hope everyone else has been having lovely weekends!
Let's take our small victories where we can [projects, housekeepery]
Sep. 6th, 2026 08:02 amrebeccmeisterIt was tempting to just go ride bikes to the farmer's market yesterday, but then I had that moment of *waitaminute*, the fall semester is about to start and I have a bajillion frustrating small household projects I keep not getting to on account of a ludicrous travel schedule. Also, limited cash flow until I get paid in the middle of the month and hopefully get reimbursed for conference travel. And thus, no farmer's market after all.
Project 1: replacing a broken light switch. This was one I couldn't do by myself, because S has computers and electronics running and it isn't as though this house's breaker box is mapped out well. He had a good idea for a method to go through switches one by one as a team, but after doing that for a while while I watched the offending light, he emerged from the basement and declared, "Well, maybe that circuit isn't actually on a breaker. That's going to change the nature of the project considerably." But then it turned out there was one last switch he hadn't tried yet because he'd hoped to spare his electronics (and didn't), and the last switch was the correct one (I mean, yes, this is always the case, right?).
Behold, the hairy, scary old wires:
I am SO GLAD to have that done. This is the switch to the light and fan in the guest room/my office, and while it was possible to still operate them via the pull cords, that involved a little too much bumbling around in the dark.
Next up, the weatherstripping around the back door. Or, rather, the inadequacy thereof. The cold drafts that were coming through that door in the winter were not great and heating bills aren't going to go down anytime soon. Here I am partway through the process of scraping out the old disintegrating stuff:
I bought two separate types of replacement weatherstripping (felt strip and rubber strip), and applied the felt to one side and the rubber to the other side. Of course, once the new stuff was in, this old door became misaligned *just enough* for the latch to hit the strike plate instead of gliding across it to close. After a little bit of strike plate surgery, things went back together and the door closes again. Later in the day I noticed that I can see most of my weatherstripping handiwork from the outside of the back door when the door is closed, which tells you something about the gaps and the drafts. I didn't try to add more weatherstripping to the top of the door, where there wasn't any previously, but now I think I should go back and try to do that, too, based on how things looked. So this could very well turn into a neverending project, because there might then be more fussing with the latch and strikeplate. The main thing I know is that whatever I do can't be worse than how things were beforehand!
Oh, and a small note. This is a rental unit. The landlord has exactly zero incentive to fix the weatherstripping, and if we were to call in about the light switch, that would involve appointments and fussing and the same breaker box shenanigans we experienced ourselves, with the disadvantage of everything happening on someone else's schedule, for the sake of a $3 switch replacement. If the switch issue had ballooned into a larger project, we'd be calling the landlord.
After that, we tried to do a Goodwill run to drop off a bunch of stuff. I think I've mentioned in the past that we're rather low on thrift stores in this region (though perhaps I should add the caveat that I refuse to patronize any of the bigoted religious charity thrift establishments). We loaded up the car with a bunch of stuff and drove out to the first one in Guilderland, only to encounter a sign saying that they were Full for the moment and couldn't accept any more donations at that time. So then we drove off in the other direction to the other one way at the other edge of town, past Troy. Also full.
But I'm going to count just getting all the stuff into the car as a small victory. Plus we did chain on a trip to the grocery store, so we got something done, at least.
Back home once again, I managed to eventually summon the energy to tackle the next stage of what I should call the Tent Wall Project. Back in the middle of August, I managed to haul out all of the tent fabric pieces for the covers that go along with the tent frame that we're currently using as a catio, and laid them out across the lawn, like so:
I did all that on a rather hot day. That initial effort allowed me to at least start figuring out what I had and what I did not have. Specifically, there were tons of tent walls, but no tent top. In addition, there were two different kinds of tent walls, thinner ones that feel like they're made of polyester reminiscent of shower curtains, and thicker ones that feel more like white tarps. To make things even more fun, the thinner ones reeked strongly of mouse pee.
After giving the matter some thought and talking with a couple of people, this time around I:
-Bagged up the polyester ones and threw them all in the trash. I hate to see things go to waste, but that dislike extends to include my time and effort invested in salvaging things that are probably useless.
-Added Tent Wall labels to a stack of 5 of the tarp tent walls, then rolled them up individually to take back to the rowing club; they might still be useful at regattas where it's raining and the wind is blowing, as we experienced at Pittsford and another regatta this past May. If it turns out they aren't useful for that purpose, well, then we'll know and new plans can be devised.
-Tried out using one of the tent walls as a partial roof for the catio. It attached okay, but blocked too much of the view from the kitchen, so I promptly took it back off again. (also it could have caused some drainage problems during rainstorms because it would be redirecting water towards the house, so, yeah, no.)
-Got all of the remaining tent walls organized with labels facing out, rolled up, and put away for now.
Anyway, I'm feeling a little better now about the state of various projects. Oh! I also got the window a/c's uninstalled and stowed. I'll keep at it all today, although most of today's projects are more computer-based and more related to the upcoming Head of the Hudson Regatta.
Project 1: replacing a broken light switch. This was one I couldn't do by myself, because S has computers and electronics running and it isn't as though this house's breaker box is mapped out well. He had a good idea for a method to go through switches one by one as a team, but after doing that for a while while I watched the offending light, he emerged from the basement and declared, "Well, maybe that circuit isn't actually on a breaker. That's going to change the nature of the project considerably." But then it turned out there was one last switch he hadn't tried yet because he'd hoped to spare his electronics (and didn't), and the last switch was the correct one (I mean, yes, this is always the case, right?).
Behold, the hairy, scary old wires:
I am SO GLAD to have that done. This is the switch to the light and fan in the guest room/my office, and while it was possible to still operate them via the pull cords, that involved a little too much bumbling around in the dark.
Next up, the weatherstripping around the back door. Or, rather, the inadequacy thereof. The cold drafts that were coming through that door in the winter were not great and heating bills aren't going to go down anytime soon. Here I am partway through the process of scraping out the old disintegrating stuff:
I bought two separate types of replacement weatherstripping (felt strip and rubber strip), and applied the felt to one side and the rubber to the other side. Of course, once the new stuff was in, this old door became misaligned *just enough* for the latch to hit the strike plate instead of gliding across it to close. After a little bit of strike plate surgery, things went back together and the door closes again. Later in the day I noticed that I can see most of my weatherstripping handiwork from the outside of the back door when the door is closed, which tells you something about the gaps and the drafts. I didn't try to add more weatherstripping to the top of the door, where there wasn't any previously, but now I think I should go back and try to do that, too, based on how things looked. So this could very well turn into a neverending project, because there might then be more fussing with the latch and strikeplate. The main thing I know is that whatever I do can't be worse than how things were beforehand!
Oh, and a small note. This is a rental unit. The landlord has exactly zero incentive to fix the weatherstripping, and if we were to call in about the light switch, that would involve appointments and fussing and the same breaker box shenanigans we experienced ourselves, with the disadvantage of everything happening on someone else's schedule, for the sake of a $3 switch replacement. If the switch issue had ballooned into a larger project, we'd be calling the landlord.
After that, we tried to do a Goodwill run to drop off a bunch of stuff. I think I've mentioned in the past that we're rather low on thrift stores in this region (though perhaps I should add the caveat that I refuse to patronize any of the bigoted religious charity thrift establishments). We loaded up the car with a bunch of stuff and drove out to the first one in Guilderland, only to encounter a sign saying that they were Full for the moment and couldn't accept any more donations at that time. So then we drove off in the other direction to the other one way at the other edge of town, past Troy. Also full.
But I'm going to count just getting all the stuff into the car as a small victory. Plus we did chain on a trip to the grocery store, so we got something done, at least.
Back home once again, I managed to eventually summon the energy to tackle the next stage of what I should call the Tent Wall Project. Back in the middle of August, I managed to haul out all of the tent fabric pieces for the covers that go along with the tent frame that we're currently using as a catio, and laid them out across the lawn, like so:
I did all that on a rather hot day. That initial effort allowed me to at least start figuring out what I had and what I did not have. Specifically, there were tons of tent walls, but no tent top. In addition, there were two different kinds of tent walls, thinner ones that feel like they're made of polyester reminiscent of shower curtains, and thicker ones that feel more like white tarps. To make things even more fun, the thinner ones reeked strongly of mouse pee.
After giving the matter some thought and talking with a couple of people, this time around I:
-Bagged up the polyester ones and threw them all in the trash. I hate to see things go to waste, but that dislike extends to include my time and effort invested in salvaging things that are probably useless.
-Added Tent Wall labels to a stack of 5 of the tarp tent walls, then rolled them up individually to take back to the rowing club; they might still be useful at regattas where it's raining and the wind is blowing, as we experienced at Pittsford and another regatta this past May. If it turns out they aren't useful for that purpose, well, then we'll know and new plans can be devised.
-Tried out using one of the tent walls as a partial roof for the catio. It attached okay, but blocked too much of the view from the kitchen, so I promptly took it back off again. (also it could have caused some drainage problems during rainstorms because it would be redirecting water towards the house, so, yeah, no.)
-Got all of the remaining tent walls organized with labels facing out, rolled up, and put away for now.
Anyway, I'm feeling a little better now about the state of various projects. Oh! I also got the window a/c's uninstalled and stowed. I'll keep at it all today, although most of today's projects are more computer-based and more related to the upcoming Head of the Hudson Regatta.
My Husband Read My Journal and Now He’s Furious. Was I in the Wrong?
Sep. 6th, 2026 07:59 ammagid posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
agonyauntFrom the NYTimes Ethicist.
For a long time, I’ve processed negative emotions by writing in a journal. It helps me clear my mind and sort through my feelings, especially when I’m overwhelmed. When I was a kid, it was all about my parents. After getting married, I started to keep a journal of the fights I had with my husband in a Google Doc on my phone. It’s a record of what was said during the fight and how I felt about it. The first entries are from around 2018, but I started writing in it more regularly later on with the encouragement of my personal therapist. We would talk about the journal during our sessions.
About two years ago, while I was pregnant with my second baby, the conflicts with my husband became more intense. During our couples counseling sessions, I started referring to my journal — the records of our past fights and the feelings I had written down. I did this because my husband had different memories of our experiences during my first pregnancy. He then became suspicious of what the journal contained. I told him it was private, but he stole my phone and read through it while I was sleeping.
He was devastated by what he read. He believes it was an unthinkable betrayal on my part to keep a journal of only negative things about only him for years. He says I shouldn’t have presented it during couples counseling as an accurate description of our experiences or his actions. He is upset that I left out key details of all the ways he did show up for me in our marriage and for our kids. He is also upset that I kept it on Google Docs because if our kids discover it in the future, they will see a record of negative feelings about their father.
I feel devastated for him. The journal contains intense and angry emotions toward him. It’s my id — the worst part of me. And I hate that he experienced that because it’s not all of how I feel about him. When the dust has settled after all our conflicts, I have chosen to stay with him.
It has been over a year of fighting about this, and he’s still not over it. I’ve stopped keeping the journal regularly (it feels tainted), but it keeps coming up in fights.
Was I wrong to keep a journal of only negative things about my partner, to keep it private and to bring it up during counseling sessions?
( Read more... )
Posted because my first reaction is that Gdocs is not all that secure when compared to a site like Dreamwidth!
For a long time, I’ve processed negative emotions by writing in a journal. It helps me clear my mind and sort through my feelings, especially when I’m overwhelmed. When I was a kid, it was all about my parents. After getting married, I started to keep a journal of the fights I had with my husband in a Google Doc on my phone. It’s a record of what was said during the fight and how I felt about it. The first entries are from around 2018, but I started writing in it more regularly later on with the encouragement of my personal therapist. We would talk about the journal during our sessions.
About two years ago, while I was pregnant with my second baby, the conflicts with my husband became more intense. During our couples counseling sessions, I started referring to my journal — the records of our past fights and the feelings I had written down. I did this because my husband had different memories of our experiences during my first pregnancy. He then became suspicious of what the journal contained. I told him it was private, but he stole my phone and read through it while I was sleeping.
He was devastated by what he read. He believes it was an unthinkable betrayal on my part to keep a journal of only negative things about only him for years. He says I shouldn’t have presented it during couples counseling as an accurate description of our experiences or his actions. He is upset that I left out key details of all the ways he did show up for me in our marriage and for our kids. He is also upset that I kept it on Google Docs because if our kids discover it in the future, they will see a record of negative feelings about their father.
I feel devastated for him. The journal contains intense and angry emotions toward him. It’s my id — the worst part of me. And I hate that he experienced that because it’s not all of how I feel about him. When the dust has settled after all our conflicts, I have chosen to stay with him.
It has been over a year of fighting about this, and he’s still not over it. I’ve stopped keeping the journal regularly (it feels tainted), but it keeps coming up in fights.
Was I wrong to keep a journal of only negative things about my partner, to keep it private and to bring it up during counseling sessions?
( Read more... )
Posted because my first reaction is that Gdocs is not all that secure when compared to a site like Dreamwidth!
six sentence Sunday and Day 6
Sep. 6th, 2026 07:52 ammarcicatHere are six sentences I wrote at some point. Probably yesterday! (ETA: okay, not all of them were written yesterday. I decided the humor value of absolutely vague sentences was the priority, rather than timing.)
1. "Yes, I think so."
2. "No. Well, yes."
3. "I see," Edwin said, even though he most definitely did not.
4. "How unfortunate."
5. "I've heard absolutely nothing about you."
6. "What is it?"
******
Title: [working title: ugh]
Fandom: Last Binding Series (Freya Marske)
Pairing/Characters: Jack Alston & Maud Blyth
Content Notes: It's an AU! IN SPACE! But still with magic!
Prompt: spicy
( September Six - Jack & Maud - spicy )
1. "Yes, I think so."
2. "No. Well, yes."
3. "I see," Edwin said, even though he most definitely did not.
4. "How unfortunate."
5. "I've heard absolutely nothing about you."
6. "What is it?"
******
Title: [working title: ugh]
Fandom: Last Binding Series (Freya Marske)
Pairing/Characters: Jack Alston & Maud Blyth
Content Notes: It's an AU! IN SPACE! But still with magic!
Prompt: spicy
( September Six - Jack & Maud - spicy )
check in day 6
Sep. 6th, 2026 12:54 pmlilly_c posting in writethisfanficHow is the writing going?
Discussion: what are you working on this week?
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 1
Today I
View Answers
wrote
1 (100.0%)
edited
0 (0.0%)
posted
0 (0.0%)
sent to beta
0 (0.0%)
researched
1 (100.0%)
planned
1 (100.0%)
had a break
1 (100.0%)
dealt with life
1 (100.0%)
Discussion: what are you working on this week?
Fic: Vegetable Curry
Sep. 6th, 2026 10:41 pmvilakinsTitle: Vegetable Curry
Fandom: Blake's 7
Pairing/Characters: Vila Restal & Soolin
Content Notes: It's Vila's turn to cook dinner.
Prompt: 6 September - Vila Restal & Soolin - spicy
Vegetable Curry on AO3
Fandom: Blake's 7
Pairing/Characters: Vila Restal & Soolin
Content Notes: It's Vila's turn to cook dinner.
Prompt: 6 September - Vila Restal & Soolin - spicy
Vegetable Curry on AO3
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
Horsing Around (part 2 of 2, complete)
Sep. 6th, 2026 06:05 amdialecticdreamerHorsing Around
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 2 of 2, complete
Word count (story only): 1606
[December 2017]]
:: In the middle of a shopping trip, Simon takes a moment to help a stranger using forearm crutches. It becomes an opportunity to share the joy of playing with Buttercup. Part of the Finn Family series in the Polychrome Heroics universe. Written from a prompt byfuzzyred for the August 2026 Feathering the Nest prompt call, and sponsored anonymously, with my thanks! ::
Back to part one
:: Thanks for reading! ::
Half an hour after leaving Gino in the feed store, Simon pulled the SUV into the driveway at the speed usually reserved for looking for an unfamiliar address. Tolliver ambled out through the back gate, waving, then turned to greet the red economy car that followed, parking in front of the house. A girl fumbled at the barrette holding her straight, honey-brown hair away from her forehead, then snapped, “If you’d just let me cut it, Mom!”
Tolliver paused near the driver’s door, and accepted a hand signal from his husband with a nod.
He angled toward the red car, already waving. “Hi. Welcome! I’m Tolliver Finn, but you can call me Tolli.”
( Read more... )
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 2 of 2, complete
Word count (story only): 1606
[December 2017]]
:: In the middle of a shopping trip, Simon takes a moment to help a stranger using forearm crutches. It becomes an opportunity to share the joy of playing with Buttercup. Part of the Finn Family series in the Polychrome Heroics universe. Written from a prompt by
fuzzyred for the August 2026 Feathering the Nest prompt call, and sponsored anonymously, with my thanks! :: Back to part one
:: Thanks for reading! ::
Half an hour after leaving Gino in the feed store, Simon pulled the SUV into the driveway at the speed usually reserved for looking for an unfamiliar address. Tolliver ambled out through the back gate, waving, then turned to greet the red economy car that followed, parking in front of the house. A girl fumbled at the barrette holding her straight, honey-brown hair away from her forehead, then snapped, “If you’d just let me cut it, Mom!”
Tolliver paused near the driver’s door, and accepted a hand signal from his husband with a nod.
He angled toward the red car, already waving. “Hi. Welcome! I’m Tolliver Finn, but you can call me Tolli.”
( Read more... )
Horsing Around (part 1 of 2, complete)
Sep. 6th, 2026 06:03 amdialecticdreamerHorsing Around
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 2, complete
Word count (story only): 1225
[December 2017]]
:: In the middle of a shopping trip, Simon takes a moment to help a stranger using forearm crutches. It becomes an opportunity to share the joy of playing with Buttercup. Part of the Finn Family series in the Polychrome Heroics universe. Written from a prompt byfuzzyred for the August 2026 Feathering the Nest prompt call, and sponsored anonymously, with my thanks! ::
On to part two
Halfway through filling the flat cart with their shopping for the month, rough, thumping steps approached, bumping into the back of Simon’s chair. Gino, instead of scowling, reached down over Simon’s shoulder to steady the person. “Hang on there,” Gino offered in his thick accent.
“I don’t have much choice,” the youngster answered. “Sorry about that.”
Simon checked for Gino’s subtle nod before wheeling forward and turning in the aisle.
( Read more... )
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 2, complete
Word count (story only): 1225
[December 2017]]
:: In the middle of a shopping trip, Simon takes a moment to help a stranger using forearm crutches. It becomes an opportunity to share the joy of playing with Buttercup. Part of the Finn Family series in the Polychrome Heroics universe. Written from a prompt by
fuzzyred for the August 2026 Feathering the Nest prompt call, and sponsored anonymously, with my thanks! :: On to part two
Halfway through filling the flat cart with their shopping for the month, rough, thumping steps approached, bumping into the back of Simon’s chair. Gino, instead of scowling, reached down over Simon’s shoulder to steady the person. “Hang on there,” Gino offered in his thick accent.
“I don’t have much choice,” the youngster answered. “Sorry about that.”
Simon checked for Gino’s subtle nod before wheeling forward and turning in the aisle.
( Read more... )
Friday five on a Sunday
Sep. 6th, 2026 11:00 amsuncani1. What arts or crafts do you spend time on these days? Mostly cross-stitch, sometimes knitting. Occasionally english paper piecing when the mood takes me.
2. What arts or crafts have you stopped doing, and why? I've previously sewn my own clothes but I got frustrated as the fit was always off even after making adjustments. It's something I keep meaning to go back to, I certainly have plenty of fabric/tools for it.
3. What new art or craft are you interested in trying? I have plenty on the list but the perennial one is learning to draw properly. I'd like to learn to paint with watercolours but feel like drawing is a necessary foundation for the type I'd like to paint.
4. Are you more of an experimental craftsperson, or do you tend more toward the traditional? I follow instructions and patterns for most things but not necessarily traditional designs if that makes sense.
5. Choose your favorite, and explain why: line shape form light color texture
Colour. I love the variety, the effect on mood, pairing different colours together for different affects, all of it.
Treats and Treatment (part 2 of 2, complete)
Sep. 6th, 2026 05:54 amdialecticdreamerTreats and Treatment
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 2, complete
Word count (story only): 1351
[Date TBD]
:: Madelyn brings the kitten back to have the cast removed, and discuss some of the problems of caring for her first pet. Jules and Doctor Collinsworth work out ways to help the colonies of owlcats among other details. Part of the Mercedes and Lodestar story arcs in Polychrome Heroics. ::
Back to part one
:: Thanks for reading! ::
“I really don’t know what I’m doing, trying to take care of a cat,” Madelyn admitted in a rush. She reached out to smooth a bit of fur on the kitten’s back leg. “I want her to be safe and happy but I disagree with people who keep cats inside for their whole lives.”
“So far, all of the male cats do not have wings, and they seem to be teleporting.” Doctor Collinsworth led the way to the first examination room. “If you can learn to cope with wings and probably at least gliding, maybe real flight for short distances, you’re ahead of most experienced pet owners.”
( Read more... )
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 2, complete
Word count (story only): 1351
[Date TBD]
:: Madelyn brings the kitten back to have the cast removed, and discuss some of the problems of caring for her first pet. Jules and Doctor Collinsworth work out ways to help the colonies of owlcats among other details. Part of the Mercedes and Lodestar story arcs in Polychrome Heroics. ::
Back to part one
:: Thanks for reading! ::
“I really don’t know what I’m doing, trying to take care of a cat,” Madelyn admitted in a rush. She reached out to smooth a bit of fur on the kitten’s back leg. “I want her to be safe and happy but I disagree with people who keep cats inside for their whole lives.”
“So far, all of the male cats do not have wings, and they seem to be teleporting.” Doctor Collinsworth led the way to the first examination room. “If you can learn to cope with wings and probably at least gliding, maybe real flight for short distances, you’re ahead of most experienced pet owners.”
( Read more... )
Treats and Treatment (part 1 of 2, complete)
Sep. 6th, 2026 05:52 amdialecticdreamerTreats and Treatment
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 2, complete
Word count (story only): 1377
[Date TBD]
:: Madelyn brings the kitten back to have the cast removed, and discuss some of the problems of caring for her first pet. Jules and Doctor Collinsworth work out ways to help the colonies of owlcats among other details. Part of the Mercedes and Lodestar story arcs in Polychrome Heroics. ::
On to part two
“Doctor Collinsworth, I’ve got everything set up for the next batch,” Jules explained. In the former examination room, now the production center for the specialized pet food that the veterinarian was trying to get approved by the FDA, the young man tugged at the white lab coat and checked for more nitrile gloves, although that pocket was already bulging.
She peeked through the narrow window on the door, then stepped inside. “You work fast.” She checked the layout, nodding approval. “Do you cook? This is more like mise in place for a complicated French recipe, not pet food.” One hand hovered over the pinch bowl full of slightly tinted eggshells. “Did you toast these?”
( Read more... )
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 2, complete
Word count (story only): 1377
[Date TBD]
:: Madelyn brings the kitten back to have the cast removed, and discuss some of the problems of caring for her first pet. Jules and Doctor Collinsworth work out ways to help the colonies of owlcats among other details. Part of the Mercedes and Lodestar story arcs in Polychrome Heroics. ::
On to part two
“Doctor Collinsworth, I’ve got everything set up for the next batch,” Jules explained. In the former examination room, now the production center for the specialized pet food that the veterinarian was trying to get approved by the FDA, the young man tugged at the white lab coat and checked for more nitrile gloves, although that pocket was already bulging.
She peeked through the narrow window on the door, then stepped inside. “You work fast.” She checked the layout, nodding approval. “Do you cook? This is more like mise in place for a complicated French recipe, not pet food.” One hand hovered over the pinch bowl full of slightly tinted eggshells. “Did you toast these?”
( Read more... )
LJ Idol Week 0: Introduction
Sep. 6th, 2026 01:24 amsingedsun Twenty years ago when the therealljidol was kicking off, I was several years into another LJ writing community called ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
brigits_flame . I dropped off about the time of the LJ exodus so many years ago, but it continued for many years after I was gone. In 2006, precisely the community for brigits_flame created a short story collection that is, to this day, still available for purchase on Amazon.
In signing up for the twentieth year of Idol, I recognized a few names that maybe also spent time at brigits_flame either before or after I was there. Or maybe we crossed over our days there, and if so, hello old friends.
Even though I left that community, I never stopped writing. In fact, that was about the time I got very into fanfiction. In the years after I would spend my writing time split between some pretty intense fandom communities (Dragon Age namely - and still), and writing for myself: short stories, poetry, Nanowrimo stories (a shame about them). And in 2004 a friend and I started our own video game review site, specifically to cater to women gamers. This was long before gamergate was a gleam in anyone's eye, in fact I got out of the whole space about three or four years prior to the mess that space would become online.
When I left that site and in fact a lot of my writing kind of went on pause, it was because my husband entered the foster care program and eventually adopted our daughter. She was 14 at the time (she's 30 now). About the only thing I had the energy for at the end of the day during that time, after I gave up game reviews and community driven writing and even my own original stuff, was RP writing with friends. It kept me engaged with friends I didn't have the time or space to see in person regularly and opened me up to a different kind of communal writing. Something I've continued to do on and off over the last twenty years (a lot of off, but recently a lot more on).
Community (on or off line) has been more important to me over the last twenty plus years than just about anything else. Even game reviews are communal - or they were for me. We had a team of writers for our site, we played games, we hosted podcasts, we held weekly calls (over Skype back in the day) where we talked about what we were writing and got feedback. It was great.
Similarly, but a little different, I've come to realize how important TTRPGs, like D&D are important to my writing and community building. Until last fall, I hadn't had a regular gaming group (one I played in) in over seven - almost eight - years. A previous in-person group fell apart because relationships in the group fell apart (a story for another time) and then we just couldn't rebuild. My husband and I are both pretty introverted and when that friend group fell apart, we didn't really have another one to pick up with. I started running my own game with some online friends, which I do love, but I realized last year how much running games and never playing myself was impacting how I feel about storytelling, and writing in general.
Last fall, I realized I hadn't really written anything for myself or otherwise for almost a year. Work had burnt me out, life had burnt me out, and I didn't feel creative in the least. This wasn't a true depression, but it was a lack of creative spark. I am chronically ill and the fatigue and burn out had just bled me dry of all that creative juice. Last fall I watched a video from a creator in the TTRPG space on YouTube where she interviewed a bunch of DMs and players that utilized StartPlaying.com to have regular games to play. Yes, it's a paid service, but that was part of what intrigued me and eventually led me to sign up for a game. If I was paying to run the game, I had to be there - the DM had to be there - the other players would want and need to be there. Less flaky players, more consistent gaming.
And maybe unsurprisingly after that lead up, I fell in love with communal storytelling all over again. I've started writing my own original work again. I picked back up with an old RP partner again. And I'm in two regular games every other week that have given me back the spark for running my own games. Now, I'm not saying a few D&D games are a cure-all. It didn't happen overnight either. What it did was give my brain the little bit of a kick-start it needed to remember why I love writing.
So while the world burns, especially here in the States, I have a little bit of creativity in my life and I aim to keep adding to it.
therealljidol was kicking off, I was several years into another LJ writing community called brigits_flame . I dropped off about the time of the LJ exodus so many years ago, but it continued for many years after I was gone. In 2006, precisely the community for brigits_flame created a short story collection that is, to this day, still available for purchase on Amazon. In signing up for the twentieth year of Idol, I recognized a few names that maybe also spent time at brigits_flame either before or after I was there. Or maybe we crossed over our days there, and if so, hello old friends.
Even though I left that community, I never stopped writing. In fact, that was about the time I got very into fanfiction. In the years after I would spend my writing time split between some pretty intense fandom communities (Dragon Age namely - and still), and writing for myself: short stories, poetry, Nanowrimo stories (a shame about them). And in 2004 a friend and I started our own video game review site, specifically to cater to women gamers. This was long before gamergate was a gleam in anyone's eye, in fact I got out of the whole space about three or four years prior to the mess that space would become online.
When I left that site and in fact a lot of my writing kind of went on pause, it was because my husband entered the foster care program and eventually adopted our daughter. She was 14 at the time (she's 30 now). About the only thing I had the energy for at the end of the day during that time, after I gave up game reviews and community driven writing and even my own original stuff, was RP writing with friends. It kept me engaged with friends I didn't have the time or space to see in person regularly and opened me up to a different kind of communal writing. Something I've continued to do on and off over the last twenty years (a lot of off, but recently a lot more on).
Community (on or off line) has been more important to me over the last twenty plus years than just about anything else. Even game reviews are communal - or they were for me. We had a team of writers for our site, we played games, we hosted podcasts, we held weekly calls (over Skype back in the day) where we talked about what we were writing and got feedback. It was great.
Similarly, but a little different, I've come to realize how important TTRPGs, like D&D are important to my writing and community building. Until last fall, I hadn't had a regular gaming group (one I played in) in over seven - almost eight - years. A previous in-person group fell apart because relationships in the group fell apart (a story for another time) and then we just couldn't rebuild. My husband and I are both pretty introverted and when that friend group fell apart, we didn't really have another one to pick up with. I started running my own game with some online friends, which I do love, but I realized last year how much running games and never playing myself was impacting how I feel about storytelling, and writing in general.
Last fall, I realized I hadn't really written anything for myself or otherwise for almost a year. Work had burnt me out, life had burnt me out, and I didn't feel creative in the least. This wasn't a true depression, but it was a lack of creative spark. I am chronically ill and the fatigue and burn out had just bled me dry of all that creative juice. Last fall I watched a video from a creator in the TTRPG space on YouTube where she interviewed a bunch of DMs and players that utilized StartPlaying.com to have regular games to play. Yes, it's a paid service, but that was part of what intrigued me and eventually led me to sign up for a game. If I was paying to run the game, I had to be there - the DM had to be there - the other players would want and need to be there. Less flaky players, more consistent gaming.
And maybe unsurprisingly after that lead up, I fell in love with communal storytelling all over again. I've started writing my own original work again. I picked back up with an old RP partner again. And I'm in two regular games every other week that have given me back the spark for running my own games. Now, I'm not saying a few D&D games are a cure-all. It didn't happen overnight either. What it did was give my brain the little bit of a kick-start it needed to remember why I love writing.
So while the world burns, especially here in the States, I have a little bit of creativity in my life and I aim to keep adding to it.
Never Split the Difference
Sep. 6th, 2026 07:58 amwatervole
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris VossMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was an interesting read. Voss has a lot of experience in negotiating for hostage releases. And he's very successful at it.
But he didn't start out that way - he learnt a lot from people on the way. For instance, a spell working on the Samaritan's help-line hammered home the rule that you can't tell people how to sort out their lives - you have to help them find solutions themselves.
This applies across many fields - Rather than telling the hostage taker how much you are willing to pay, explain your situation: eg. I can only raise that much money by selling my house. But that would mean waiting until it sells. What should I do?
Now your problem becomes their problem to solve - which may result in them accepting a much lower sum of money if they can have it now, rather than in six months.
View all my reviews
Wildlife
Sep. 6th, 2026 01:19 amysabetwordsmithClimate change threatens primates where new species are still forming
Central Africa, Namibia, Madagascar, southern India, and Indonesia hold deep, widely spaced branches across 569 squares. Lineages there have lasted tens of millions of years, so Teng’s team calls those places evolutionary museums.
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, northern Brazil, and southern China look different. Their 499 squares are full of monkeys closely related to one another, the product of fast and recent species formation. Those are the cradles.
( Read more... )
Central Africa, Namibia, Madagascar, southern India, and Indonesia hold deep, widely spaced branches across 569 squares. Lineages there have lasted tens of millions of years, so Teng’s team calls those places evolutionary museums.
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, northern Brazil, and southern China look different. Their 499 squares are full of monkeys closely related to one another, the product of fast and recent species formation. Those are the cradles.
( Read more... )
Another science fiction/fantasy Humble Bundle featuring the work of Elizabeth Moon
Sep. 5th, 2026 11:33 pmthewayne$16 for 9 books featuring four books of the Paksenarrian series about a young woman who wants to become a mercenary fighter and ends up a god-touched paladin, and five books in the Heris Serano series where a woman is drummed out of the Regular Space Service on trumped-up charges, takes command of a rich old lady's yacht - she's mainly interested in horses - and still has to save the universe.
I recently re-read the first three Paksenarrian books, it's an excellent series. It's been ages since I've read the Serano series but I remember quite enjoying it.
Elizabeth Moon is a former United States Marine and has won a Nebula Award, a Robert A. Heinlein Award, and has been nominated for both the Hugo and the Arthur C. Clarke Awards.
This Bundle's charity is Canine Companions, which "enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained service dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships, all free of charge." It just started Saturday and runs for another twenty days.
All books are epubs with no DRM.
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/elizabeth-moon-paksenarrion-and-more-minibundle-baen-books-books
I recently re-read the first three Paksenarrian books, it's an excellent series. It's been ages since I've read the Serano series but I remember quite enjoying it.
Elizabeth Moon is a former United States Marine and has won a Nebula Award, a Robert A. Heinlein Award, and has been nominated for both the Hugo and the Arthur C. Clarke Awards.
This Bundle's charity is Canine Companions, which "enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained service dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships, all free of charge." It just started Saturday and runs for another twenty days.
All books are epubs with no DRM.
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/elizabeth-moon-paksenarrion-and-more-minibundle-baen-books-books
My wallet is gone
Sep. 6th, 2026 12:20 amsilver_chipmunkDisaster, though somewhat mitigated.
I overslept this morning and got to my meeting late. It was a good meeting though. Went to the diner afterward, had French onion soup.
Went to CitiField from there, got my Mrs. Met bobblehead giveaway, and went to meet Larry.
We lost the game, though it was at least interesting and exciting to watch. I got a sweet Italian sausage with peppers and onions, and ice cream.
I shoved everything in my purse. I couldn't close it but I thought it would be OK.
Larry and I took the subway to Flushing. I put my debit card (that I use to pay for OMNY) in my wallet, and my wallet back in my purse.
Got to the bus stop. The bus came. I took my card out of my wallet, put my wallet back in my purse, got on the bus and paid, went to put my card in my wallet, and it was gone.
I went back to the bus stop. Not there.
I took the next bus home and immediately started cancelling and blocking credit cards. I sat on the bench at the bus stop while I did.
Then I went home and called the Kid. I called until she answered, and I told her what happened. My big worry was being able to pay for Oreo's vet visit Thursday. She said that if I called to cancel my Chase card and told them I needed it by Thursday for a big purchase they could expedite it.
So I called Chase. Finally got to speak to a human and they will send a card within two business days.
So then I felt a little better, and called the FWiB and had him Team. I told him everything. We talked for about an hour and a half, then I got off and calledmashfanficchick
Ze said I should apply online for a Carecredit card, and use that for Oreo, so I did and was approved.
Then I tried to print the card and my printer wouldn't work.
I talked to zer for awhile longer, about getting my ID replaced too, and then got off and worked on my printer. Had to download a driver again, but got it working.
I feel sick about my wallet. At least I have my debit card so I have access to my money!
Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. The Kid.
3.mashfanficchick
4. RK.
5. I have my debit card.
6. My meetings and the people there.
I overslept this morning and got to my meeting late. It was a good meeting though. Went to the diner afterward, had French onion soup.
Went to CitiField from there, got my Mrs. Met bobblehead giveaway, and went to meet Larry.
We lost the game, though it was at least interesting and exciting to watch. I got a sweet Italian sausage with peppers and onions, and ice cream.
I shoved everything in my purse. I couldn't close it but I thought it would be OK.
Larry and I took the subway to Flushing. I put my debit card (that I use to pay for OMNY) in my wallet, and my wallet back in my purse.
Got to the bus stop. The bus came. I took my card out of my wallet, put my wallet back in my purse, got on the bus and paid, went to put my card in my wallet, and it was gone.
I went back to the bus stop. Not there.
I took the next bus home and immediately started cancelling and blocking credit cards. I sat on the bench at the bus stop while I did.
Then I went home and called the Kid. I called until she answered, and I told her what happened. My big worry was being able to pay for Oreo's vet visit Thursday. She said that if I called to cancel my Chase card and told them I needed it by Thursday for a big purchase they could expedite it.
So I called Chase. Finally got to speak to a human and they will send a card within two business days.
So then I felt a little better, and called the FWiB and had him Team. I told him everything. We talked for about an hour and a half, then I got off and called
mashfanficchickZe said I should apply online for a Carecredit card, and use that for Oreo, so I did and was approved.
Then I tried to print the card and my printer wouldn't work.
I talked to zer for awhile longer, about getting my ID replaced too, and then got off and worked on my printer. Had to download a driver again, but got it working.
I feel sick about my wallet. At least I have my debit card so I have access to my money!
Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. The Kid.
3.
mashfanficchick4. RK.
5. I have my debit card.
6. My meetings and the people there.
