birdfeeding

Is this the week my body finally stops playing games with me (for a bit at least)? Need to catch up on housework and some organizing before getting back to the big crafty things, but some fun stuff planned this week!

Routine

GYWO: Write 20 minutes 0/4
Exercise 0/2
Bullet journal: 0/7

Tasks

Solo date (Pasta making video lesson through the library on Wednesday! ^u^)
Sock knitting: 0/10 rows
Deep clean bathroom (Saturday?)
Recycling
~~Valentine's Day nails~~

Delaying

Steam finished handspun
Plan Calad shirt modifications

Current Mood: optimistic
Current Music: The Kite, Luisa Marion & Noah Floersch

ysabetwordsmith

dialecticdreamer is hosting Magpie Monday with a theme of "just a normal day." Leave prompts, get ficlets!

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Consumers spend much more when making digital payments instead of using cash

The use of digital payments has led people to spend more than they do when using cash, according to survey evidence from more than 1,200 consumers.

The shift reframes everyday purchases as moments where restraint weakens quietly, long before shoppers notice any change in their budgets.

This is why one of the most effective ways to save money is to buy things with cash, and thus, one of the many reasons for protecting the use of cash.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem is spillover from the February 3, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from

kengr,

librarygeek, and (Anonymous) IP Address: (46.110.23.207). It also fills the "Take a Class" square in my 2-1-26 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by

janetmiles. It belongs to the series Daughters of the Apocalypse.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

mistressofmuses

This weird creature was a sticker from Abi Stevens Art. I picked it this week for the vibes. I still feel kind of weird and off, like a bizarre and monstrous serpent bird, so that seemed appropriate.

This week was the final stretch of recovery and my return to work. While I still feel like it wasn't quite enough time, I have been feeling far better than I did the previous week. I did have a few reasonably productive days at home, where I started to get caught up on some of what I'd missed. The week itself was difficult, though. The news on Wednesday about my friend Mark passing was... heartbreaking. I still just don't feel like he can be gone.

Goals for the week:

I did finally catch up on DW
I wrote up my January book reviews
I finished reading We're Here
I took more walks
I returned to work
I did not work on my reading page
I did my getyourwordsout check in: 12542 words
I did my tracker grids for the next month
We paid rent
I started reading Hell Bent

Tracked habits:

Work - 1.5/7 - I returned for a half day on Friday, resuming my regular schedule on Saturday
Household Maintenance - 5/7
Physical Activity - 7/7
Wrote 500/1000+ Words - 0/7
Non-fiction Writing - 6/7 - three days of over 500 words, three days of over 1000
Meta Work - 4/7
Personal Writing - 6/7
Other Creative Things - 0/7
Reading - 6/7 - I finished reading We're Here and started Hell Bent, plus read a small bit of my ebook side-read; Alex and I finished The Sun Dog and started The Luminous Dead
Attention to Media - 7/7 - Sunday had various background stuff, watched some reviews later; Monday had youtube in the background, then later watched agility qualifiers for the Westminster dog show; Tuesday Alex and I went to see Iron Lung (enjoyed it!) and later watched more dog show stuff; Wednesday watched more dog show stuff and some video game videos; Thursday was more game videos and later some of the Olympic snowboard qualifiers; Friday watched a paranormal video, a review, and some game videos; Saturday had news in the background.
Video Games - 0/7
Social Interaction - 5/7

Total words written: 8105, all non-fiction; some about the stresses of paperwork, some about my friend's passing, some on book reviews

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Location: my apartment

ysabetwordsmith

This poem is spillover from the February 3, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from

readera. It also fills the "Do What You Love" square in my 2-1-26 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by

janetmiles. It belongs to the Kraken thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "But an Empty Shell," "Beautiful, Damn Hard, Increasingly Useful," and "Filled with Things You Don't Know" ($49) so read at least the first two or this won't make as much sense.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is partly cloudy and cold. Patches of snow remain, separated by stretches of bare muddy ground.

I fed the birds. I've seen a large flock of sparrows.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 2/9/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

linky

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Current Mood: frustrated

ysabetwordsmith

This poem is spillover from the February 3, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by

janetmiles. It also fills the "Respect Limits" square in my 2-1-26 card for the Valentines Bingo fest.

"Books That Bite Back"

Some books are easy reading,
while others really are not.

There are the vindaloo cookbooks
and the guides to growing hot peppers.

There are the essays about ethics
and the history books written by losers.

There are the comparative religion texts
and the papers on quantum mechanics.

Just like food that commands respect,
there are books that bite back.

Current Mood: busy

conuly

Watch on YouTube

You can watch episode 1 here.

Also, since I have a few videos:

( Hobey Baker, probably gay hockey player from the early 20th century )

***

( Curling and all the nitty-gritty )

***

( The magnetic shadow effect )

conuly

(Mission Rejected, if you're curious)

and they took the time at the start of the most recent episode to talk about a charity in Minnesota that will bring food safely to people. I don't have the name of the charity, it's not on their website right now.

But what really struck me is that they spent a few minutes on this and never once mentioned or even alluded to why some people might need food to be delivered safely.

I'm not sure what I think about that, but I'm sure I don't like it much.

******************************

( Read more... )

dandylover1

Hello, Dear Readers. I promised you some Sullivan without Gilbert, but it took me a little while to get to it. Still, it was well worth the wait. There is also a funny anecdote from DB in this one.

( thoughts on Arthur Sullivan: Cox and Box or The Long Lost Brothers, and Haydn Serenade (really by Romanus Hoffstetter )

rizhi_fin

После того как моя супруга потеряла работу и положенный служебный автомобиль, а вернее была уволена в рамках широкомасштабной реорганизации в гос. структурах, я, как заботливый муж, уступил ей свой семейный транспорт и пересел на автобус и/или велосипед. Конечно, я предпочитаю велосипед. У него масса преимуществ. Например, чувствую себя двенадцатилетним; не жду в пробках; тренирую все что можно; не ищу парковку.

По сравнению с велосипедом, автобус, казалось бы, не имеет ни одного из вышеуказанных положительных сторон, ну разве если всю дорогу из Ваке на Плато не садиться, а стоять, не держась за поручни, и тем самым тренировать вестибулярный аппарат.

Однако, ни машина, ни велосипед, ни даже ходьба пешком, не дает того, что есть в общественном транспорте: общество. Захожу в автобус и обана, я в обществе. Здесь есть самые разные люди, которые согласились ради своих транспортных целей собраться вместе на некоторое время. Это время они проводят в соответствии с транспортным этикетом - берут билет, уступают места, пропускают, извиняются, и говорят тихим голосом.

Я недавно заметил, чего не замечал раньше. Иногда я смотрю на этих людей и чувствую что, вот, всех присутствующих объединяет какое-то общее чувство или настроение. Например, все думают о сексе. Или все злы как собаки. Или думают о смерти. Я смотрю на их лица и вижу что каждый из них в данный момент думает именно это.

Почему-то я чувствую благодарность к этим людям, которые на короткий срок принимают меня в свою жизнь вместе со всеми моими тараканами при условии, что я буду держать их в наморднике. Мы неподвижны, близки, сдержаны и полны волшебных тайн, которых никто не узнает. Остановка. Выхожу, и забываю моих попутчиков. Осталась одна благодарность.

Благодарность за то, что день ото дня они помогают мне наконец понять, что это я думаю о сексе, это я зол, и мысли о смерти это мои мысли. Просто я смотрю на них и их лица отражают мои мысли, которые наверное не оформились если бы я все время ездил на велосипеде.

badly_knitted

Title: Boyhood Heroes
Fandom: The Fantastic Journey
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Scott, Paul Jordan, Fred, Varian.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 488: Childhood Hero at

drabble_zone.
Setting: Many years after the series.
Summary: Now that Scott has kids of his own, he remembers the men he looked up to as a boy.
Disclaimer: I don’t own The Fantastic Journey, or the characters. They belong to their creators.
A/N: Triple drabble.

( Boyhood Heroes... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

badly_knitted

Title: Feeling Their Age
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 719
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: If Jack and Ianto thought running Torchwood was hard work, this is even more exhausting.
Written For:

raisedbymoogles’ prompt ‘Any, any, “any, any, I'm much too young to feel this damn old’, at

threesentenceficathon.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.

( Feeling Their Age... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

conuly

Or is something up with the create entry page?

ysabetwordsmith

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Buffalo Seed Company Order
Science
Birdfeeding
Website Updates
Early Humans
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Pregnancy
Artificial Intelligence
Birdfeeding
Website Updates
"An Inkling of Things to Come" is now complete!
Follow Friday 2-6-26: London
Economics
Food
Birdfeeding
Community Thursdays
Wildlife
Birdfeeding
Cuddle Party

Safety has 43 comments. Food has 44 comments. Wildlife has 36 comments. Food has 64 comments. Robotics has 135 comments.

Last week's Poetry Fishbowl went well. I am still writing.

The 2026 Rose and Bay Awards are now open for excellence in crowdfunding. It's time to vote for your favorite projects!

The award period for eligible activities spans January 1-December 31, 2025.
The nomination period spans January 1-January 31, 2026.
The voting period spans February 1-February 28, 2026.

These are the handlers for the 2026 award season:

Art: gs_silva Nominate art! Vote for art! (4)
Fiction: fuzzyred Nominate fiction! Vote for fiction! (3)
Poetry: gs_silva Nominate poetry! Vote for poetry! (4)
Webcomic: curiosity Nominate webcomics! Vote for webcomics! (5)
Other Project: curiosity Nominate other projects! Vote for other projects! (4)
Patron: fuzzyred Nominate patrons! Vote for patrons! (5)

"An Inkling of Things to Come" is now complete. Shiv and his classmates finish their first worldbuilding session.

The weather has been frigid here, but is slightly less cold than it was. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a large flock of sparrows, one female and three male cardinals, and a starling.

Current Mood: busy

low_delta

Saturday night we went to Milwaukee to see the Milwaukee Police Band. Kind of an orchestra pops concert thing. It's the oldest police band in the country, since 1898. Cindy's friends were officers and are heavily involved in the band. Karen joined the band over 40 years ago, and has been the director for more than 25. The concert was free, and at the Pabst Theater on a Saturday night, so they must have some funding.

I honestly didn't want to go, since that sort of thing doesn't interest me much, and I felt like I had more important things to do, but Cindy wanted to support her friends. The band did medleys of songs by Journey, Meat Loaf, Billy Joel and The Beatles. Let me tell you, as a huge fan of rock music, there are few bands Cindy likes less than Journey and Meat Loaf. After the intermission, they did three tunes as a jazz ensemble. This was more my thing, and I really liked the first one in particular. Too bad the two women behind me were chattering and laughing loudly.

The show was free and we had free parking, three blocks away at my office. It was 20°F, which doesn't seem like it should be very cold, but it was cold!

seaglassgarden

i was drinking sleepytime tea and reading a lil before bed and my dang carbon monoxide alarm went off :/// so i ended up outside in the cold waiting for the fire crew to show up

their monitors showed that there was indeed a little co in my apartment, but not an active source. possibly it was there b/c i cooked a lot today and/or didn't fully turn the knob off. it was cold outside so i didn't ventilate while cooking. that was probably it. im going to be better about doing that even in the winter when the air im letting in is freezing

they said i was safe but im so rattled by the whole thing! im drinking the rest of my tea and trying to calm down

ugh! and i was about to go to bed on time too!!!

Current Mood: stressed

ysabetwordsmith

... arrived today! :D They always send a surprise extra packet of something, this time 'Evening Sun' sunflower, which looks to be a cultivar that produces medium-size flowers in shades of red. That ought to be fun.

Current Mood: busy

Birdfeeding: Friends of a Feather Flock Together

Weekly Goals 2026: 07

Magpie Monday

Economics

Poem: "Libraries from the Ashes"

Habit Tracking: Week 06 (February 01 - February 07)

Poem: "A Never Failing Spring"

Ough

Poem: "Books That Bite Back"

Nobody told me there was a new episode of

I was listening to an audiodrama

Sullivan without Gilbert

Общественный транспорт

The Fantastic Journey Triple Drabble: Boyhood Heroes

Ficlet: Feeling Their Age

Is it just me?

Monday Update 2-9-26

police band

freaking. carbon monoxide

Buffalo Seed Company Order

Profile

February 2026

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