December 23rd, 2025
princessofgeeks: (desire by taselby)
shadowkat: (Default)
Taking tomorrow and Friday off, and get Xmas Day off of course - it's a Federal and State Holiday in the US.

Happy to have the break at last - work has become infuriatingly tedious of late. Needless to say, I'm burnt out, and desperately need a break from all of it. Also the commute is playing havoc with my right knee, and I've been sleeping poorly as a result.

I hope to do knee exercises, and maybe get some watercolors and writing done. Lately, I've become addicted to Royal Match on my phone. Only one problem with it? It costs money - or I get tempted to expend small amounts for more tries. I need to find a game with no costs and no ads. The Majhong game's pop up ads kept freezing the game and my Iphone. See? This is why I'm not much of a gamer. I should try the board game link.

Pondering Buffy S5 and Angel S2 today - and in my rewatch, I picked up something that in hindsight, is relatively obvious. It's a television trope that I've actually seen a lot since Buffy/Angel aired, but not as much prior. I think the series may have influenced a lot of writers to play with it. What it is - is the bait and switch, or mislead the audience into thinking this is going to happen, but do something else entirely. Otherwise known as the hairpin plot twist. It's hard to pull off well, without annoying the audience. The writers of Buffy and Angel tried to pull it off in just about every episode of the series and in the seasonal arcs.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Like I said - it's hard to pull off.
Read more... )

I keep writing about this because I can't figure out how to articulate my thoughts on it. And keep thinking, perhaps erroneously, that writing it out will help.

**

Working my way through Angelica Huston's Memoir - which I keep forgetting the name of. Ah found it - A Story Lately Told - Coming of Age in Ireland, London and New York. It's well written and narrated. Listening to it on audible.

Gave up on "Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem" and went back to T Kingfisher's novel "What Moves the Dead". I like Kingfisher's writing style (possibly because it's very close to my own and I don't have to work that hard to read it? I've learned recently that reading a writing style that is close to my own style is easier for me to process, than one that is alien to it - or very different from it. Because of what I do for a living, and the amount of legal and technical reading I do - I have a tendency to skim formal writing, and disconnect from it. The more formal it is - the less likely I will be able to remember what I've read, without re-reading it five or six times.) It has a lot to do with dyslexia - I think? Formal writing has a tendency to make my eyes glaze over, and my focus shift away from the text.

Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem - has a formal writing style - in that the writer is trying to copy a formal British style of writing, most likely from the Victorian period. While I respect this choice? I wish they wouldn't. It makes it hard for me to stay focused on their story.

I can actually write in more than one style. I've been trained to do so, and can shift on a whim. I often do in these posts. I just prefer the casual or conversational writing style - it's easier for me to write in and to read. YMMV. People don't process information the same way or read the same way.

***

Off to bed, and hopefully to sleep. I need sleep. Been averaging 5 and a half hours the last couple of nights.
rahirah: (su_editor)
WESLEY Angel does have a point. Spike has been unintentionally disapparating more and more frequently.
GUNN Give him 20 minutes. He'll be popping up next to you in the bathroom, making cracks about your—(looks at Wesley) Am I the only one he does that to?
FRED I know he's done this before, but you saw the way he was acting. Something's different this time. He's agitated, hallucinating.
GUNN Ghosts can do that?
WESLEY We are dealing with a unique case here as far as manifestations go. Dementia isn't completely out of the question.
FRED He's not crazy.
GUNN Screaming about people who aren't there? That's grounds for involuntary committal under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act which states— Oh, sorry. Sometimes the law they stuffed in my noggin just clicks on.

~~Angel Season V Episode #92: "Hell Bound"~~



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ranunculus: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ranunculus at 04:12pm on 23/12/2025 under
Here is a holiday recipe for you!
This fruitcake is incredibly rich and yummy. I got it from my Mom, who undoubtedly clipped it out of a newspaper or farm magazine. I note that it is up on Cooks.com these days.

California Fruitcake

3/4 Cup Flour We always used all purpose white flour.
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Soda
1 tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar Pack tightly into measuring cup.
1 1/2 Lbs Pitted Dates Mom used brown Medjool Dates common to Calif. I like to cut them in half.
1 1/2 to 2 Cup Dried Apricots Cut into halves or quarters. Pack tightly in measuring cup.
3 Cup Nut Meats (Walnut halves) in large pieces.
3 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients.
Add to fruit, coat fruit thoroughly with flour mix.
Beat eggs until foamy, add vanilla.
Pour Egg mix over dry ingredients & fruit. Gently stir in.
Line loaf pan (bread loaf pan) with wax paper or parchment paper.
Pack pan with mix.
Bake at 300 degrees 1 hour and 20 min.
Put small pan of water in oven with the fruitcakes while baking to help keep it moist.
When cool, wrap with tinfoil and store in a dark cool place for 4 to 6 weeks to blend flavors. Or eat immediately.
Storing give a much richer flavor. We tried it soaked in rum once, and never again. The flavors of this fruitcake are so rich that the alcohol dulled and muddied the taste.
princessofgeeks: (Damn Fangirls by Lotr Junkie)
gwyn: (yuletide lights)
Happy Christmas Eve Eve, if you celebrate! I had big plans today to take advantage of the fact that there was no rain predicted for once (if you're unaware of the recent horrific weather in the PNW, check out some news to see the flood and wind damage we've experienced for weeks now) and go up to the clinic for a blood draw, since my primary care physician wants to see how my thyroid levels are doing now that I've been on the thyroid medication for a couple months. But I've been trapped here waiting for UPS to come to deliver my main chemo drug; I have to sign for it so not only can I not leave till they come, I can't even take a shower.

I'm extremely unhappy with UPS now for a lot of reasons, most of them still including the fact that I'm out $700+ because of the returned laptop that some asshat didn't bother to scan in. There are no options that will help me--everything requires that the tracking number be in the system, which is the very problem I have. The pickup person didn't put it in the system. And the company that it's supposed to be returned to won't do anything, either, so I'm just...screwed. And now I'm stuck here in my house waiting for my meds, which were supposed to be here this morning (they always wake me up early). Booo UPS.

I was feeling pretty low last time I posted, and I think I haven't really improved in terms of my mood. It's mostly the financial issues, but also the health stuff, and what next year will bring. I've been trying to find out about financial assistance for my chemo med that costs $23k a bottle (the one I'm waiting for) but it's looking like I won't qualify because of how much I messed up my taxes this year, or at least, I've been looking at the thresholds and it seems like because of what I screwed up on, I'll probably be just over the limit. I did sign up for the Medicare thing where they cap out of pockets/copays to $2k and allow you to spread it around over time, but I also signed up for that last year and the Part D drug insurance I had never did that. I basically blow through all my deductibles and copays right away, because when I get that first bottle of obscenely expensive Pomalyst pills, the $3k copay wipes out all the remaining balances. So I'm not sure what to expect in '26. And also I have a feeling, since that two thousand dollar cap was put in place under Joe's administration, they're going to do everything they can to get rid of it. America!

Sometimes I find myself feeling so bitter about all the lucky people I know who are able to get out of this country. There's nowhere for me to go, no place that would take me since I'm not rich (which would overcome my disability and age issues), and I just wish so much I could go somewhere else more sane. But I also think, good for them, get out while you can.

And while I was dealing with all the money stuff, it was like, I got a notice that my Dreamwidth account was expiring, and then my Editorial Freelancers Assn. dues were...um, due, and I was like, sure. Why not. Of course. But some really lovely person out there gave me six months of paid time, and I wish so much I knew who you were so I could properly thank you. It really came at such a perfect time, just struggling with that hopeless feeling, and reminding me that there are so many nice people out there. Thank you so much, friend! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

I know I should not be putting more stuff on my credit cards, but I have decided that I'm going to Escapade next year again. Fortunately it's not ridiculously early like this year, and hopefully I won't have to drive home from the airport in a blizzard, but while I'm still physically able, I want to at least see some of the folks who will be going and just be in Southern California again. There wasn't a lot for me to do fannishly this last time, but just being around folks is enough.

For a while I wasn't able to continue with my reading, which bummed me a bit since I had been excited about catching up on books, but I'm back to it at least for a while. I left off The Golem and the Jinni about 1/3 of the way in, so I restarted that, and I'm also hoping that even though I'm not doing Yuletide again this year, I can go through the archive this time and find some fun stuff to read (last year, I somehow missed reading Yuletide entirely). I'm not doing anything as usual on actual Christmas, except I'm going to try to bake the ancient anise cookie recipe that no one else likes that Dad and I used to make. It's very challenging even when you're healthy, and I found it very physically taxing last time I did (2 years ago), but I feel determined. [personal profile] mlyn helped me with the cutting out and baking part, but since it's the actual holiday, I figured I'd be doing it myself. It could be very interesting.

And then I need to schedule an appointment with the endodontist after the holiday, because my worst fear came true and I will have to have a root canal for the tooth I had a crown replaced on last year. She warned me it might be a possibility, but still...everything was going great till a few months ago. The oncologist has stopped the infusions of zometa because of the necrosis of the jaw risk, but NGL, that whole thing still scares the shit out of me! Though I managed to walk out of chemo a couple weeks ago without getting my new chemo schedule, so I don't even know how soon any of it can happen!

I hope those of you celebrating this holiday have a great time. Thanks for listening to me whine this year, I really hope things will be a bit brighter this year for all of us.
Mood:: 'anxious' anxious
Music:: Christmas Wrapping-the Waitresses
silverusagi: (xPride & Prejudice 10)
posted by [personal profile] silverusagi at 03:05pm on 23/12/2025 under
Mood:: 'good' good
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] james_davis_nicoll at 02:42pm on 23/12/2025
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)


An all-new Bundle featuring the Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game, the tabletop game of eldritch horror from Monte Cook Games based on Steve Shell and Cam Collins' Old Gods of Appalachia anthology podcast.

Bundle of Holding: Old Gods of Appalachia
prisca: (fic promptly mod)
umadoshi: (cheese 02 (icarusfall1ng))
A few months (?) ago, Discord updated on my computer and promptly stopped working. [It would technically launch, but the program window was just a blank rectangle.) Subsequent updates (which happen pretty much every time I relaunch my browser) installed cheerfully enough and made no difference. I grumpily chalked it up to not having updated my OS in ages (I'm very resistant, but usually enough things eventually get creaky or stop working that I give in and get [personal profile] scruloose to update the system), and since Discord was still working on my phone, I figured that was that for the foreseeable future.

Then a couple of days ago, I let Discord install its newest update...and suddenly everything worked again. o_o I certainly wasn't going to complain, but it surprised me enough that I mentioned it to Kas on the weekend, and having just dealt with some Discord shenaniganry himself, he had an answer: Discord has decided it doesn't play nicely with some VPN locations, and I had happened to change my location setting to one it liked.

I mostly lurk on Discord, but there are a couple where I make tentative attempts at being social, and my dislike of typing more than a sentence or two at a time on my phone meant I was even quieter than usual for a while there, so this is a good development. But also, WTF, Discord.

Did I forget to mention the new-to-me Christmas ice cream here? It looks like I did.

A local ice creamery (Dee Dee's) does Advent calendars, which I had largely forgotten about until I saw mention of it on Bluesky, at which point I was safe from ordering one (too late!), but it got me to look at their seasonal flavors. Next thing I knew, I was asking [personal profile] scruloose to stop at a local-groceries shop that carries their ice creams, because I had to know what the chicken bones* flavor was like.more about that, plus a cheese stash )
Mood:: 'blank' blank
Music:: Blackmore's Night - Christmas Eve
tozka: (cosmic leanings)
A Christmas wreath with a plastic skeleton wearing a Santa hat in the middle. The skeleton is waving.

📍Phoenix, Arizona - December 2025 / All Photos / Pixelfed



Update: There's two more photos in the comments of more skeleton Christmas decorations-- from different houses, btw!
posted by [personal profile] jazzyjj at 08:43am on 23/12/2025 under
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!
trobadora: (Juliette - faces)
My second [community profile] ficinabox story! This one is Grimm, because how could I resist when someone (*cough* [personal profile] miss_ingno *cough*) requests my tiny OT3? :D

The prompt was, "canon divergence where Juliette copes better with her transformation into a Hexenbiest" - and when I thought about where to branch off and rewatched some episodes, I realised I could start right at the beginning, with her very first woge. Derail it all before it gains any ground! No secrecy to come between Nick and Juliette, no losing control, no shocking reveal in the aftermath of violence ... and if Nick was there for her first woge, she'd see his Grimm eyes, too!

Of course Nick still has issues, and Juliette is still struggling - but that's where Renard comes in, because when the two of them turn to him together, magic happens. *g*

(And so much happens in that one night that I managed to derail some other plot as well, just from having Juliette woge in front of everyone! I had so much fun with that. :D)

**

Farewell to the Monsters (10,183 words)
Fandom: Grimm (TV)
Rating: Mature
Relationship: Nick Burkhardt/Sean Renard/Juliette Silverton
Characters: Juliette Silverton, Nick Burkhardt, Sean Renard, Rosalee Calvert, Monroe, Hank Griffin
Content Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode Related, s04e08 Chupacabra, Hexenbiest reveal, Hexenbiest Psychology, Hexenbiest Sexuality, UST, Developing Relationship

Summary:

Juliette almost wished Nick didn't know what was happening to her. She could quietly deal with it on her own, get rid of it, go back to normal before anyone found out.

That would have been so much easier. Instead, she'd woged in front of everyone. And there was no turning back.
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)


In honour of Blish's Prometheus nomination, Blish and Knight's classic fascist utopia!

A Torrent of Faces by James Blish & Norman L. Knight
dark_kana: (3_good_things_a_day official icon)
posted by [personal profile] dark_kana at 11:05am on 23/12/2025

1) Last day working this week. Also, started working early today, so I can stop early today, and I'm working from home so, yay very early start of the very long weekend :-)

2) I am actually really looking forward to the Christmas days and parties

3) Lazy evening 

December 22nd, 2025
radiantfracture: Beadwork bunny head (Default)
posted by [personal profile] radiantfracture at 10:49pm on 22/12/2025
Thank you, [personal profile] james for the excellent dinosaur card!

I've been too exhausted to do any of the semi-bespoke painting I half-promised over the summer, but I had a last-minute compulsion to make hand-printed cards because anything that looks like work went into it makes me appear marginally better.

You see? the cards say. An Effort.

I don't mind how they turned out. Sort of "the Dove of Peace is pissed and wants you to get your shit together."



§rf§
ranunculus: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ranunculus at 09:26pm on 22/12/2025
The river came up and did a little of very half hearted flooding yesterday, mostly it just ran bank full.  Today it didn't rain till well after dark. Tomorrow's forecast is for 1.25 inches, enough to bring the river right back up again, but I doubt the flooding will be bad here very close to the headwaters of our Russian River. 

The cows wandered into the horse pasture yesterday evening, prompting Donald and I to go out, cut a tree and a limb off the fence (they were fairly small) and get the fence working.  My it is nice to have repaired the wire under the road! It makes the whole system work better.  The meter says it is carrying 8 jewels, which is enough to make you really, really, really wish you had never touched the wire.  Speaking of he cows, they seem calm and happy so whatever was scaring them either isn't there any more or isn't in this pasture. Since there really is no boundary except a wire fence (with the gate open) I hope that whatever it was has moved on.  Donald and I walked from the top to the bottom of Jungle Pasture today and saw nothing out of the ordinary. No tracks even.

Due to the forecast of flooding and holiday traffic I took Donald to the Smart Train today. Tomorrow there might be flooding and it will be raining.  Today it was a pretty nice drive. 

Tomorrow. Chores around the house, replace light fixture at the Red Barn. 


hamsterwoman: (Taskmaster -- John time starts now)
I was watching/reading a bunch of CoC IV-related content in the lead-up, and I’m going to post about it before posting about the episode itself, though I’ve obviously watched it as soon as that was an option. Askmaster and interviews )

Which reminded me that I should revisit my quantitative ranking of the series, because I’d fallen a couple behind, and some of the more recent ones were worth re-scoring.

original post

Revisiting s15-17, scoring s18-20 )

OK, and the main event:

Tasmkaster CoC 4 – So, I did end up going and spoiling myself for the winner and the scores before sitting down to watch, which was the correct decision. SPOILERS )

I’m just really sad we don’t get more than one episode with this group. This was a really good line-up (even if one of them is someone whose comedy I don’t enjoy that much).

*

There’s some kind of weird thing with me and the Penric books, where I’ll read a bunch in a row, then not read any of the new ones coming out for a couple of years, until I have a bunch in a row to read again, repeat. So, like, the last time I read Penric, it was to read 6 in quick succession in late 2022, and meanwhile she’s released 4 more, that I’m finally getting around to reading. (I think it’s that the novella length is not quite long enough to be worth re-immersing myself in the world and the growing cast for just one of them.)

7. Lois McMaster Bujold, Demon Daughter (Pen & Des #12) – I was intrigued by the premise of this one, and enjoyed it, even though it was very, very domestic – much more so than I expected from the dramatic cover. More, with spoilers )

8. Lois McMaster Bujold, The Adventure of the Demonic Ox (Pen & Des #14) – I skipped Penric and the Bandit semi-accidentally – by which I mean that I finished Demon Daughter on the plane to Oregon, went to see what else was openable on my Kindle, and it was the ox one, so I figured it had to be the next one. Then when I realized it was not, because there was a significant time-skip and it referenced an incident with bandits, I figured I’d just keep reading. (And later it turned out I did have ‘Bandit’ on my Kindle, I just couldn’t call it up for some reason, in offline mode.)

This was a weird one… I found the first half of it slow and fairly boring, and found myself skimming, which I pretty much never do with LMB’s books. But then it picked up some (spoilers) )

I’m presently catching up on reading Penric and the Bandit, so we’ll see if I make it through all of the currently-out Penrics (that one + one more) before I run out of reading steam…
cornerofmadness: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] cornerofmadness at 11:36pm on 22/12/2025 under
Yesterday was Federico's Italian store, Aldi's and Kroger's. Today was the liquor store and it was supposed to be CVS but shockingly THIS CVS also doesn't stock my insulin. Fan-tast-tic. The only other thing I've done is edit [community profile] fandomtrees stories (and found I forgot to post one)

OMG I'm doing bad with the advent tea review so let me catch up....again

Day 17 Gingerbread Black Tea - Organic China black tippy tea, organic cinnamon, organic cloves, organic ginger and gingerbread flavoring. It wasn't bad but it was mostly cinnamon forward

Day 18 Tulsi Orange Cranberry Ginger Organic Herbal Tisane - Organic tulsi, organic orange peel, organic rosehips, organic hibiscus, organic ginger, natural blood orange flavor and natural cranberry flavor. Now this was very tasty. I'd recommend it but sadly I can't drink it often because hibiscus and rose hips mess with blood thinners

Day 19 Cozy Comfort Tea black teas, organic cinnamon pieces, orange blossoms and Black Walnut flavor. I found it to be rather weak and unimpressive

Day 20 Holiday Blend Tea Black teas, rooibos, peppermint leaves, organic alfalfa leaves, vanilla flavoring, malva blossoms, erica flowers, and vanilla beans. - Very mint forward

Day 21 - Goldenberry Herbal Tisane Apple pieces, candied papaya pieces (papayas and sugar), strawberry leaf, hibiscus, lemongrass and natural Goldenberry flavor. Also tasty also not good for me

Day 22 Sugar Plum Fairy - Rooibos Herbal Tisane Organic green rooibos, organic whole cloves, rosehips, hibiscus, sweet blackberry leaf, plum flavor, mallow blossoms, raspberry pieces, natural strawberry flavor, and vanilla beans. I bought this one last year (not seeing that it had hibiscus and rose hips) It's actually dull in spite of all the flavoring


It's music monday and let's make it some of your favorite holiday songs

For solstice



I know I share this one every year



Because Dino






Music:: The Mighty Nein
Mood:: 'hot' hot

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