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Current Mood: excited

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I'm getting a new binder for my non-English* Pokemon cards today! Says it'll be delivered in 2-4 hours from now.
My current binder is a 9-pocket Eevee-themed binder from 10-ish years ago, and though it has served me well (and is still in good shape), I've gotten more cards than it can hold now.
The new one doesn't have any design on it, just a plain black, so I'm hoping to coat it in stickers when it gets here. Still, some part of me is sad about moving on from the old one, just cause it's been with me for so long: but I'll keep it in case I ever need a smaller binder for something.

(* primarily Japanese. There's something like 1 French card, 1 German card, 4 Chinese cards in there as well, but not much)

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I've just finished s1e6

The more Arcane I watch, the more convinced I am that Viktor's last name is Frankenstein. The ~~Modern~~ Arcane Prometheus!

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Julé! 21/31 - the icon is appropriate

***

I am tired. Because I got up at six to go swimming. In the rain. Wait. I mean I walked 20mins through rain and then got wet again in the pool. Rain had stopped for the walk home but has been really coming down today, complete with special appearances from actual hail and thunder. Today I also had to commit mass murder because one of my ceiling spiders had about 50 baby spiders and I cannot accommodate that. I feel bad (because pms I legit teared up when I vacuumed them up) because that wasn't explicitly in the rules.

[In case you want to know, these are the Rules for Spiders in Kat's House:
1. Must stay above head level but not right above. Corner of ceiling is acceptable. Right in the middle of the ceiling above the sofa is not. Being at eye level or lower where accidental touching may happen, is very not acceptable.
2. No running in the house. Only move when I cannot see it. Any and all kind of movement on furniture is verboten (see Rule 1).
3. (new addition) No babies. I'm afraid we cannot accommodate families with children. Only single, child-free professional spiders are welcome.]

The point is, that I'm tired and cannot brain, so

sunshine_revival challenge #4 'ten things that make you smile' seems like a doable thing.

These are all everyday joys, not the big grand things of love and purpose etc.

In order that I thought of it...

1. Trick's little squeaky meows. He sounds like a cross between a haunted house door and a dog toy.

2. Sound of rain. Extremely soothing.

3. The fact that I have managed to keep my Aloe Vera plants alive for over a year now. I am, as a rule, not gifted in things green and growing.

4. Blueberry coffee.

5. Putting clean laundry out to dry on the line. Collecting it once dry and folding it nicely. Truly my favourite household task.

6. Berries, fruit etc. Today I've had raspberries, peach, and honeydew melon.

7. Swimming underwater. I'm up to five slow strokes underwater at the moment, starting from 'not out of breath for any reason' position, and working on it. It's so peaceful.

8. Getting silly memes, videos, pics and messages from my friends and partners throughout the day.

9. Candles and incense. I like former a lot and latter in moderation.

10. Stickers on my work laptop. I recently had to change laptops which meant I lost all my lovely stickers on it but never fear, I ordered more. What I have on my work laptop lid and thus purposefully on full display to students and colleagues are stickers that say

'Safe Space', over a Progress Pride flag with a heart in the middle
'Tax the Rich', shouted by an angry cat
'Capitalism caused climate change', in fetching shades of green
'Pan, Poly, Proud', in Pan flag colours
'Trans rights are human rights', in Trans flag colours
'Work', over a silhouette of Schyuler sisters from Hamilton
+ a sticker of a cartoon cat vomiting a rainbow and another sticker of a black cat whose fur is full of stars

***

Current Mood: busy

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Birdfeeding

Today is cloudy and warm. It rained yesterday.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen much activity yet.

EDIT 7/21/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/21/25 -- I refilled the thistle feeder.

EDIT 7/21/25 -- I planted 3 pots with 12 sweet cherry seeds.

It's been drizzling on and off.

EDIT 7/21/25 -- I potted up a white peach seed.

EDIT 7/21/25 -- I was going to go back out, but the drizzle has increased to light rain.

EDIT 7/21/25 -- I picked 3 red cherry tomatoes and 2 blackberries.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

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micro-post

😮‍💨

Every time I see someone imply or outright state that “explicit” only means explicit sexual whatever, I immediately feel the need to write some random explicit gore or other non-sexual explicitness.

As Hobbes said to Calvin (paraphrased/probably garbled a bit): adult content…like taxes!

Current Mood: busy

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Climate Change

The Ice Age Echo That Erased Entire Civilizations (The 8.2K Event)

Around 8,200 years ago, the Earth experienced a sudden climatic crash now known as the 8.2k event. Triggered by the collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and a massive outburst from Lake Agassiz, it dumped freshwater into the North Atlantic, disrupting the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Temperatures dropped 1–3°C globally for over a century. Monsoon systems weakened, rainfall declined sharply in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. The result: failed crops, abandoned Neolithic settlements, and major cultural shifts across regions like Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and the Sahara.

This gives a stark look at how even robust, resilient systems can collapse under the pressures of an unpredictable environment. Modern civilization is fragile more than resilient. And the AMOC is faltering again.

Current Mood: busy

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blogging,
personal

Monday Update 7-21-25

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Permaculture
Conservation
Early Humans
Creative Jam
Birdfeeding
Recipe: "Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Spread"
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Productivity
Permaculture
Survival Skills
Self-Care
Birdfeeding
Current Events
Fireflies
Fruit Trees
Permaculture
Volcanoes
Follow Friday 7-18-25: Homestuck
Hobbies: Makeup Art
Conservation
Safety
Invasive Species
Birdfeeding
Anthropocene
Earthquakes
Evolution
Poem: "Beautiful, Damn Hard, Increasingly Useful"
Paleontology
Smoothie King
Birdfeeding
Good News

"Philosophical Questions: Looks" has 46 comments. "Not a Destination, But a Process" has 147 comments. "The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean" has 96 comments. "Incompetence, Sloppy Thinking, and Laziness" has 65 comments.

Last week's bonus fishbowl went well. Writing is slow, but I have drafts of a triptych to thumbnail shortly.

sunshine_revival is running through July. See the schedule, meet the moderators, and use the master post to navigate the event. Meet new folks in the friending meme. Spread the word!

* Sunshine Revival Challenge 1: Light
Poem: "The Pleasure of Escaping the Responsibility"

* Sunshine Revival Challenge 2: Tunnel of Love
Poem: "Legs of Grass, Feet of Flowers"

* Sunshine Revival Challenge 3: Food

* Sunshine Revival Challenge 4: Fun House
Poem: "The Bee Tree's Gift"

* Sunshine Challenge 5: Carnival Barker

* Sunshine Revival Challenge 6: Game Night
Poem: "A New Twist"

summerofthe69 is now open! You can see the calendar here and the current themes are and Greater Than 69 and Sopping Wet.

There are no open epics at present.

The weather has been hot and wet here. It rained again yesterday. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a pair of cardinals, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel. I've heard red-winged blackbirds, wrens, and a woodpecker without seeing them. Currently blooming: dandelions, pansies, violas, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, wild strawberries, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, impatiens, oxalis, moss rose, yarrow, anise hyssop, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, Asiatic lilies, cucumber, yellow squash, zucchini, morning glory, purple echinacea, narrow-leaf mountain mint, black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, wild bergamot, chicory, Queen Anne's lace, sunflowers, cup plant, gladioli, firewheel, orange butterfly weed. Tomatillo and pepper have green fruit. Wild strawberries, mulberries, tomatoes, and cucumbers are ripe. Peas are winding down. The first crop of blackberries is done.

I scheduled two interviews today

With a generous leave at one commute schedule and 2 hours between them

But then it turned out the first one had inexplicably been scheduled in GMT so I didn’t eat and barely made it out the door. And I’ll have to jog to get from one to the other, too!

Current Mood: energetic
Current Music: Darren Korb - Song of the Isles

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sunshine challenge: 2025

Sunshine Revival/Challenge 2025 #6: Games!

Sixth prompt time! The

sunshine_revival team has been providing some different topics to ruminate on.

Looks like there's also a new writing community at

fan_writers and some of my older December Days posts appeared as writing meta, so hello to anyone new poking around.

Let's get to the prompt.

It’s game night! Whether for you that means getting together with a group of friends or a quiet evening chilling out on your own with video games, this is where you get to tell us all about it. If you have a favourite game, tell us what you love about it.

Challenge #6:

Journaling prompt: What games do you play, if any? Are you a solo-gamer or do you view games as a social activity?

Creative prompt: Write a story/fic around the theme "game night".

( What games do we play? Many. )

Current Mood: chipper

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Sunshine Revivial Prompt #5: Feelings Left Unsaid (For Now)

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

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Soda Pop - Saja Boys

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12 Week Year WAM Week 04

Weekly Score: 69.2% (27/39)

Goal 1: Declutter house and take care of family. 79% (23/29)

Review: I didn't do the best on this. I'm having a hard time getting to bed at a good time, and it's becoming obvious.

Goal 2: Catch up on Fannish50. 80% (4/5)

Review: I managed to get both posts written, although I had to change the topic of one, but only posted two instead of the three I'd hoped to. I might have to make an actual schedule on this.

Goal 3: Prep for writing retreat. 0% (0/5)

Review: I didn't manage to do any of this, but it's getting close. So I'd better get moving.

Intentions for the future: G1: Five minutes a day on primary bed, bath, and closet, and get moving on Laundry. My husband managed to catch up with the dishes, so I'll have those to keep up on. G2: I have three posts to write, and at least three to post. G3: I need to email the writing group about the date I chose, and I want to get the meals figured out.

Current Mood: busy

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Permaculture

Just LET IT DIE

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

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Conservation

The genius invention that made peace with lions

A 12-year-old boy invented a system of lights that mimicked human patrols, thus shooing lions away from homes and livestock. This reduced interspecies conflicts, allowing lions to coexist peacefully with humans and their livestock.

Think about how humans and wildlife interact. Where there are dangerous conflicts as above, seek to understand each other's behavior and how small changes can reduce or eliminate conflicts so that all species can live and let live. Watch for effective solutions and spread them.

Things To Think About

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

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A good grade

One of the LED bulbs in the bathroom vanity developed a distracting (which is code for sensory nope) flicker. Since the porch fixture takes the same bulb, I proposed that the ailing bulb become a public nuisance rather than a private one.

One of my oncologists (I believe I have dubbed her Dr. Bitsblobs, the oncology gynecologist) is retiring soon. So she has been bidding her patients farewell. Apparently I am a "gold star" patient in terms of trying my best to comply with medical advice, and for self-advocacy. A good grade in cancer, something that is normal to want and possible to achieve.

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vital functions

vital functions

Reading. ( Wells, Lister, Tufte, Brosh, McMillan-Webster )

... I also technically started reading a little bit of Descartes, and more around Descartes, for the pain project -- but really not very much as yet.

Playing. A round of Hanabi with A & houseguest! We were playing with very different House Norms which led to some hilarious miscommunication, but A Good Time Was Had.

A good time was also had following the toddler around a playground, including some time On A Swing where we worked out How Legs Do. :)

Cooking. Several Questionable loaves of bread (mostly "too much liquid, ergo puddle"). Three more recipes from East, none of which were particularly interesting to us. (Piccalilli spiced rice; Sodha's variant on egg fried rice; a tempeh-and-pak-choi Situation.)

And Ribiselkuchen! I have been very very happily eating Appropriately Seasonal Ribiselkuchen.

Eating. A made us waffles for breakfast this morning. I had them with SLICED STRAWBERRIES and SLICED APRICOT and MAPLE SYRUP and also LEMON JUICE and VANILLA SUGAR and I was very happy about all of this.

Making & mending. It is Event Prep Week. There are so many potions.

Growing. ... I got some more supports in for my beans? I have just about managed to break even on the sugar snap peas this year (should NOT have eaten the handful I did...) and might yet manage to do a little better than that, with luck.

Squash starting to produce female flowers (yes I was late starting them). More soft fruit (which desperately needs processing; I will be sad if I wind up needing to just compost the jostaberries that have been sat in the fridge for ...a while, now). Many many tomatoes, none of which were actually ripe yet last time I actually made it to the plot...

Observing. Peacock butterfly at the plot! Tawny owl (audio only)! Bats (ditto)! The Teenage Magpie Persists!

Also a variety of awkward teenage waterfowl in Barking Park, along with a squirrel who was most unimpressed when our attempts to feed it mostly involved accidentally handing it an empty half-peanut-shell. It made it very clear (well before any of us had independently noticed The Issue) that it understood we were willing to feed it but that we were doing a terrible job at this and Should Try Harder. I was delighted.

Current Mood: busy

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Poem: "A New Twist"

This poem was written for the Sunshine Revival Challenge 6: Game Night. It also fills the "Dodge" square in my 7-1-25 card for the Western Bingo Fest. It belongs to the series Love Is For Children.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

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Sunshine Revival Challenge 6: Game Night

Sunshine Revival Challenge 6: Game Night

Journaling prompt: What games do you play, if any? Are you a solo-gamer or do you view games as a social activity?

Creative prompt: Write a story/fic around the theme "game night".

Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

( Read more... )

Entry tags:

life

Insight, or something

I wear a brace most of the time rn because of wrist tendinitis, which means drawing isn't just a matter of grabbing a sketchbook and pencil and go anymore. I have to undo and remove the brace -- which doesn't take very long, but it's enough of a roadblock that I have time to consider if I should do it (probably not). I end up not drawing as much as I want to and WOW a lot of stuff I usually watch on youtube feels so much more boring and I retain so much less of it when I'm not drawing at the same time.

Unrelated, but I can't decide and want opinions: is saint worship a form of ancestor cult?

Current Mood: busy

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Early Humans

11,000-year-old feast uncovered: Why hunters hauled wild boars across mountains

Ancient Iranians hosted epic feasts with wild boars that had been hunted and transported from distant regions. These animals weren’t just dinner—they were symbolic gifts. Tooth enamel analysis revealed they came from different areas, suggesting early communities valued geography in gift-giving. The event took place even before agriculture began, hinting at deeply rooted cultural traditions.